Carolyn Arnold - McKinley 04 - Politics is Murder by Carolyn Arnold Read Free Book Online Page A

to the positive. “At least, on the upside, darling, it wasn’t your nose getting the brunt of it this time.”
    He stopped walking and she ceased movement with him. She turned to him and he flicked her gently on the nose.
    “Hey.”
    He shrugged, a smirk on his lips. “What can I say? Misery loves company.”
    “You’re a brat.” She laughed.
    “Yes, but I’m a brat who loves you.” He pulled her in tight and kissed the tip of her nose.
    She laughed. “So, first you flick it and then you kiss it? I must say you’re confusing me, Mr. McKinley.”
    “It’s a good thing you have a lifetime to figure me out then, isn’t it.”
    “I’d say.” She caressed his arm and then his forehead, down, tracing around his temples and touching his brow line. “Poor fella.”
    “Sorry about your nose.”
    She narrowed her eyes, released herself of his embrace, and reached for his hand. “Uh-huh.”
    “I am, darling.”
    “As Dad would say to Mom, I’ll get even, and when you least expect it.”
    “Oh.”
    She glanced over at him. A smile rested on his lips, humor had returned and that meant he was feeling somewhat better. In a couple more hours, he’d be feeling almost as good as new.

 
     
     

     
    Class Is In Session
     
    HALIE WAS GOING THROUGH TO acquire her bachelor in literature and her eleven o’clock class was with Professor Harland. Sean and Sara arrived to the room in the middle of his lecture. He was discussing topics that soared over Sara’s head and she was starting to second-guess her ability to write a piece of fiction.
    Her thoughts drifted to her work in progress for a moment. She had left her protagonist in a precarious situation and really needed to find the time to get back to writing. She hadn’t written a word in over a month.
    Sean gestured to a couple available seats in the back row and they excused themselves as they slid in, past a few students, to reach them.
    Their arrival didn’t seem to affect the professor at all. He carried on as if he wasn’t even aware of his tardy, older visitors.
    Sean leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Anything like you remember?”
    A young woman in front of them, turned around and shot a glare at them, brows furrowed.
    “Quiet, darling.” Sara laughed while noticing another female student had her attention on Sean—for a different reason. It caused Sara to smile. He could get so jealous of her, whether he’d admit to that or not was another story, but he had women lined up who were interested in him too.
    As the professor carried on, her mind kept going back to her book. When they got to the hotel tonight, she’d make some time to sit down in quiet. The concept, which had mostly eluded her before, due to a busy schedule, now seemed squashed out by a desire to spend as much time as possible with Sean. They had been inseparable since they were married. In fact, her whole way of life had changed.
    She glanced over at Sean, taking in his dark hair and the set of his jaw, the way he exuded charm just by breathing. She didn’t regret her decision or have a desire to go back in time. She loved him, deeply, but in this moment—blame it on a visit to the past—she missed her identity. If even for an iota of time, she realized her old schedule was obliterated. She didn’t take time each morning to read the obits, and, while she wasn’t the most dedicated writer, she would have at least scribbled down a couple hundred words in the last month and a half.
    Sean turned to her and smiled, sending a pulse of regret through her for even thinking about her life before. It was perfect now, wasn’t it?
    While Sean faced back toward the professor, she kept her eyes on him. Really, the fact she missed certain aspects of her former life didn’t mean she loved him any less. He loved her then, for the person she was. Wasn’t she risking more by changing so much, by conforming to a settled existence in marriage?
    She reached for his hand and held it tight. No, he