"Order extra on the side, then. I'm sure you can make that happen."
He shook his head. "Nope. It won't taste the same if it doesn't come on the pizza."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Did it ever occur to you that my piece doesn't taste the same after you've pilfered from it?"
"All in your imagination," he said, wisely ducking before the words had fully left his mouth. But he quickly straightened. "Oh, look. There's my worthy opponent."
Chloe peered at the screen, reading the caption. "Charlie Jackson?"
Knox looked at her, brow raised. "Yep, that's him. Have you been under a rock?"
More like under Knox. "I've been a little busy the past two days." In reality, she'd probably seen his opponent's name while stalking Knox online that morning, but she'd been a little more interested in his personal life … then intrigued by the fact she'd found little of it. He'd escorted a couple of dates to dinners and such, but the gossips had taken the time to point out that they'd left in separate limos. Not one photograph of him with anyone seemed to hint at intimacy, not that that meant anything. She'd yet to find a single image of her with Knox, and they'd been together for months.
He went for another piece of her pepperoni and came up empty. Without missing a beat, he said, "He's been making noise against Rex for months."
"Yeah, well, I haven't exactly followed Rex's career," Chloe said, noting that Knox called his father by his first name. She thought that interesting, but she didn't ask.
"Now that Rex is out, Jackson turned on me." Knox grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.
Charlie Jackson faced the camera with an unmistakable air of superiority, complete with a puffed-out chest and a smirk. "Knox Hamilton's only claim to fame is his father, who now leaves the office in disgrace. Knox doesn't have any Senate experience-"
"Please," Knox said, hitting mute. "And he does?"
"What does he do?"
"Aside from being a pain in the ass? He's an ambulance-chasing lawyer. Even with Rex's accumulation of so-called minor indiscretions, he's still beaten this guy soundly in three elections."
Chloe suddenly regretted her avoidance of all things Knox-for a DC reporter, her lack of knowledge of the finer details was almost embarrassing. But she didn't need to rehash the destruction of their relationship. Moreover, her focus of late had been on Rex, and for good reason. "So why hasn't anyone who can actually beat Rex taken him on?"
"For all his personal faults, Rex is a damn good politician, and he's got a strong record and appeal across the aisle-both parties love him. That makes him really hard to beat, so no one really wants to run against him."
"So why aren't they all jumping in now? The usual reasons?"
Knox shrugged. "Someone might, but I put my foot in the door the moment Rex cracked it open, and I've been polling well. You don't have as much time to prepare for a special election as you would a general election, so the money has to be there. You know how things work in this arena. A successful campaign requires a lot of cash, and a few weeks isn't much time to launch a campaign, secure backers, and put the money toward winning votes. I've got the advantage of the family name-not just my father, but my grandfather before him-and Jackson has been after this seat for years. We were both in a position to strike. Jackson has a better chance of defeating me than he did Rex, but it'll be hard for him to pull off."
They'd just turned back to the TV when the doorbell rang. Knox tossed the remote on the coffee table and stood. "That would be Toby."
Toby Russo, campaign manager extraordinaire. And, because he'd likely pushed Knox to fall in line with the poll results, probably a big part of the reason she had a ring on her finger.
"Nice place," Toby said as Knox led him into the room. "You must be Chloe."
Chloe stood. "It's nice to meet you."
"And you. It's good to have you on board."
On board?
Knox pointed toward the TV while Toby helped himself to a slice of pizza. Knox glared over the pizza theft but didn't mention it. "Chloe and I were just discussing the many qualities of my opponent."
"None of them worthy, I presume."
Knox shrugged. "He puts up a good show."
"He's really playing up that like-father-like-son angle. It's a good thing you found someone quickly."
Chloe winced. Apparently Knox's Only-You speech meant more to her than she'd realized. She could have done without Toby's blunt assessment.
"Hey, man. I told you … if Chloe had said no, we'd be having this same old conversation about me needing a wife all the way up through election day, win or lose."
"More likely the latter," Toby muttered. Clearly they'd gone rounds on the subject.
"So be it, then. I have no intention of being elected on a deception." He graced Chloe with a smile that turned her knees to mush. "What am I, if not my word?"
Toby snorted. "Channeling Shakespeare, from the sound of it."
She wasn't sure what to make of Knox's campaign manager. He seemed … analytical. But to navigate the turgid political waters of DC, a person needed to be wired a little differently.
Toby turned to Chloe. "Did he tell you we met at Yale?"
"Excuse me," Knox said. "Are you hitting on my fiancee?"
Slack jawed, Toby turned to Knox. "Because I went to Yale?"
"No, because you want her to know you went to Yale."
"Well, hell, earlier today I was at a bus stop. Am I now trying to get her to have my baby?"
Chloe cleared her throat. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't in my contract."
"I'm glad someone knows the difference between business and pleasure."
Oh, the irony. Because that person was so not her.
"Back off," Knox growled.
Toby raised his palms in surrender. "Done. You keep this up and I'm bringing a tranquilizer gun with me next time. Big game."
Chloe laughed. Turning to Toby, she said, "Yale, huh?"
He blinked. "Are you trying to get me killed?" Then in a stage whisper he added, "Apparently he's the only one allowed to get personal in here."
If only he would.
Toby looked at Chloe and tipped his head toward Knox. "Have you done your research on him? Memorized his life story?"
She wasn't entirely sure he was joking. He seemed a stickler for details. "He graduated top of his class from Yale with a degree in political science. Served as a legislative staffer to a congressman friend of his father's, which led to a position as his chief of staff, from which he currently has a leave of absence until this election is decided."
Not that she'd seen it online.
"I never told you all of that," Knox said. "Did I?"
"It's easy enough to look up."
"You should have told her," Toby said to Knox. Then he turned back to Chloe. "You'll need to know more than that," Toby said. "Like you said, that part's easy."
"Well, I know where his tickle spots are. Do you think that will come up?"
Both men stared at her.
Toby cleared his throat. "What about your marriage? You'll need more intimate details."
"More intimate than tickle spots?" she asked.
Knox spoke. "If Charlie tries to dig up proof I hired her to play my wife, he'll just learn we dated for months prior to our marriage. When he makes that big announcement, he'll help my campaign, not hurt it. For all intents and purposes, we look legit."
Toby's brow rose. "If she knows your tickle spots, I'd say you're a hair past legit."
"Are you here for a reason?" Knox asked.
"Just dropping off paperwork," Toby said, glancing at Chloe. "And now I'm going."
Knox shot a pointed look at Toby's empty hands. "Okay, but are you actually dropping off paperwork?"
"Yeah. My briefcase is in my car."
"I'll walk you out."
"Yeah. Good night, Chloe."
"Bye," she said, her eyes trained on Knox as he left the room. He was too personal? She didn't know what to think of that. On one hand, of course he was. But Katherine thought him different, and now Toby. And if Chloe didn't get over worrying about why it mattered, she'd torture herself.
When Knox came back, he held a sheaf of papers and wore a slight frown. "I'm sorry about that."
"No worries. I kind of like the guy."
Knox frowned.
"I need to catch up on some work," she said. "Leave me a slice for later, okay?"
"Sure." His brow furrowed. "Something wrong?"
Not something. Everything. "Nope. I just haven't had my nose in my computer all day, and I feel a little lost. I need to make sure I haven't missed anything important."
"Okay. If you need me for anything, just let me know."
There he went again. Not exactly the words of a man who didn't care, but then again, he'd never said he didn't care. He just said he wouldn't love. And what did it matter? It was a complication with no place in a temporary relationship.