Knight (Political Royalty Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

pragmatist. He hasn’t stopped before now because it didn’t bother my mother—or if it did, she didn’t say anything about it. It gave him a license to do what he wanted and get away with it.”
    “Would he really stop just because you asked him?”
    “Without a doubt. He wants a Walker in the White House more than he wants a piece of ass. After I’m elected, it won’t matter anymore and he can go back to doing what he wants.”
    For the first time since they started talking, he looked tired, and Haven wondered how much his father’s infidelity cost him. It would be hard for a man like Shep to look up to a man who ran around on his mother, even if she didn’t complain. Maybe especially if she didn’t complain. Unless he himself was prone to the same kind of indiscretions.
    “What about your marriage?” She’d seen pictures of Sandra Walker on the senator’s arm at events or in posed photographs with the couple’s daughters. She was a beautiful woman, blonde and lithe, a perfect counterpoint to the senator. Together they made a striking couple, the kind that looked like they belonged in the White House.
    “What about it?” he asked, and she fought hard against the desire to poke him in the eye with her chopstick. She wasn’t asking him to solve calculus problems. They’d just been talking about his father’s infidelity. Her question should be self-evident.
    “Have you ever cheated on your wife? Is there a chance there’s a secret baby somewhere? Is she okay with you running for president? Are you happy together? Do you love each other? Just pick a fucking question, Walker, and answer it.” She spoke slowly, the last of her patience exhausted.
    “It’s complicated.”
    “Of course it is.”
    ––––––––
    H OW WAS HE supposed to explain his marriage to Haven? He had a feeling the fierce, beautiful woman sitting across from him never settled for anything in her life. So how did he explain to her that he and Sandra’s marriage was more a convenience—a check this box—instead of a love story?
    He’d much rather talk about her and the back of Ben’s pickup. He loved seeing her slightly rattled as she remembered. He didn’t imagine that often happened. That wasn’t the only first time he wanted to hear about either. Not that he’d ask. Not when he was trying to convince her he’d always been faithful to his wife, which was the truth. His sex life might suck, and his marriage might have all the depth of a glossy magazine page, but infidelity was a line he’d never crossed. He’d made his icy bed, so he’d lie in it.
    “Sandra and I have known each other since we were kids. Our families have been friends forever. We didn’t start dating until after college. I’d just started Aqua Biofarms and wanted to make a run at the state senate. She wanted a husband and children more than she wanted a career, and I needed a wife. It just made sense for us to choose each other. Our parents were thrilled. It certainly made holidays easier.” He shook his head, struggling to believe it had all boiled down to that.
    “You’re seriously trying to tell me it’s a marriage of convenience? You, William Shepherd Walker, married a woman because she was in the right place at the right time and not because you loved her?”
    It sounded a hell of a lot worse when she said it. Most days he could convince himself that he’d done what made sense for both him and his family, but with Haven looking at him as if he’d sprouted another head, it was hard not to feel the loss of everything he’d given up. Which was stupid. He’d gained so much more than he lost. Without Sandra, he wouldn’t have his children, and it’s not like he knew anyone who actually had a happy marriage. His parents were a case in point.
    It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to discuss his choices with Haven. He hated the idea of seeing judgment—or even worse, pity—in her gorgeous hazel eyes. All she needed to know was that