She kicked off her heels, turned on the TV to the local news, and went into the bathroom to wash her face and take out her contacts. When she came out, the reporter was saying something about the homeless problem in L.A., and she listened as she changed into her pajamas.

“Earlier today, senator Max Powell had a press conference on Skid Row that some are calling just a publicity stunt. But others are grateful to the senator for shining light on this problem.”

“It’s shameful the way we’ve treated our fellow citizens, many of whom are veterans,” a strangely familiar voice said.

Olivia looked up at the TV and promptly dropped her pajama pants on the floor.

Was that . . . ?

Could that be?

She sank down onto the edge of the bed. Yes, it was. It could be. Max in the baseball hat from the bar was not some C-list actor. He was United States senator Max Powell.

Holy shit.

She laughed out loud and picked up the phone to call her sister.

“You are never going to believe what happened to me tonight.”

Chapter Two

Max walked toward the hotel ballroom, his staffer Andy by his side. They were there for the anniversary fundraiser for a newish community center in an underserved part of L.A. He was happy to help salute this place, and plus, his speech would be a good opportunity to push his big criminal justice reform bill. He hoped that when the Senate came back after this recess, he’d be able to get some traction on it.

He took a deep breath and straightened his tie. He loved doing events like the one today—he always had. He loved the part of his job that was speeches and shaking hands and talking to people; he found people and their stories endlessly interesting. But he had to be at least twenty-five percent more for these things: louder, friendlier, more intense, with a firmer handshake. People were coming to see Senator Powell, after all—he needed to give them what they were looking for. But sometimes when he walked into these rooms, he felt he had to push his ON button.

He and the community center’s board president walked into the ballroom to a round of applause. Max sat patiently through his introduction, dropped his speech on the podium, and smiled at the crowd before he started talking.

He glanced around the room a lot as he spoke. It helped him to connect with the people there, and to see if his speech was landing well or not. If he saw people on their phones for most of the speech, he knew he had to go back and make some changes before the next time. This one was going well; there were lots of smiles and laughs all around the room. Midway through, he looked at a table to the right of the stage, and that’s when he saw her, staring straight at him, with that knowing look on her face he remembered so well.

Olivia. The woman from the hotel, three weeks ago. He’d spent the whole next day full of regret that he hadn’t at least gotten her number. He’d even gone back to the hotel bar the next night to see if she was there, but Krystal had told him Olivia had come to say good-bye and had checked out of the hotel. He’d thought he would never see her again, and here she was.

They made eye contact, and he grinned at her. She grinned back at him with that same cocky smile on her face she’d had at the bar. He really liked that smile. And once again, he felt like he’d won the lottery when it was directed at him.

The crowd laughed, which reminded him he was in the middle of a speech and he should really pay attention to what he was saying. Thank God he’d done this kind of thing enough that he could daydream about the woman in front of him when he was halfway through a speech and still keep talking and making sense. But now he needed to concentrate.

He took a sip of water, looked at the other side of the room from Olivia, and cracked a joke that got the whole ballroom laughing again. He was going to finish this speech, and then he wasn’t going to let that woman leave the room until he’d gotten to talk to her again.

To what end, though? Was he really going to ask her out? Did he really have the time and energy to try to navigate dating someone not even two years into his first (and hopefully not only) six-year Senate term?

He wasn’t sure. But he’d thought about her every day for the past three weeks. He’d gotten a second chance; he couldn’t waste it.

He finished his speech to a round of applause and made his way off the stage and down into the ballroom to chat with the crowd . . . and to find someone to introduce him to Olivia. It would help if he positioned himself by her table . . . like so.

He didn’t have long to wait.

“Senator, can I introduce you to Olivia Monroe?” The board president had his hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “She’s an old friend of mine and a fantastic attorney who just moved to L.A., and I’m trying to convince her to join our board. I know she could be a wonderful asset to us.”

She’s a fantastic . . . attorney? But she’d said she was an accountant.

He kept the bland, professional smile on his face and shook her hand.

“Ms. Monroe, it’s so nice to meet you. What law firm are you with?”

Her smile turned wry for just a split second. Ah yes, she remembered that she’d told him she was an accountant.

“My own,” she said. He saw the pride in her eyes. “Monroe and Spencer. A friend and I started it last month.”

Well, she had moved to L.A. for work; that part had been true.

“Congratulations,” he said. “And welcome to Los Angeles.”

Olivia smiled at him, then glanced over at the executive director.

“Thank you. It’s very exciting but also very busy. Which is why, as I told Bruce here, I might be too swamped to join the board for a while, but I’ll be thrilled to be involved in any way I can.”

Bruce shook his head.

“I was hoping the senator here would be able to convince you to join the board, but I understand.”

She looked back at Max. She had on a gray pantsuit with a blue blouse and black high heels—the kind of standard outfit he was used to seeing women in. So why did it look so special on her? Why was that row of buttons on her blouse—buttoned high enough so they almost, but didn’t, show more of her curves underneath—so enticing?

“I was excited to hear about all of your programs with teenagers,” she said. “And, Senator, I’m thrilled about your bill to demolish the school-to-prison pipeline.”

Yes, yes, right, he was here to talk about his criminal justice reform bill, the entire reason he’d run for the Senate in the first place.

“I’m so glad to hear that,” he said. “It’s by far my biggest priority in Washington.”

Bruce beamed at Max.

“We’re thrilled about your bill as well, Senator.” He glanced around the room and jumped. “Oh! Gloria is here, wonderful! Let me bring her over to meet you, just stay right here!”

He scurried away, and Max and Olivia were finally left alone.

“So you’re an accountant, huh?” he said under his breath.

She shook her head, but with a smile on her face.

“I’m sorry I lied to you about that. But my God, the things people say when you tell them you’re a lawyer! Sometimes I can’t deal with one more stupid lawyer joke.”

He’d been thinking about this woman for weeks; he couldn’t believe he’d actually found her again. And that she was just as gorgeous and funny as he’d remembered.