All of My Soul (31 page)

“Brian is going to be speechless when he sees
you in that.”

“I hope so,” she said, suddenly looking sad.
“He loves me so much.”

This was an atypical side of my friend. She
was normally so strong and defiant.

“What’s wrong?”

She let out a small, humorless laugh and
shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Ken.” I touched her arm and tried to make
eye contact with her. “You can tell me anything.”

“I know I can,” she said as she hugged me.
Rebecca was helping Emily into her dress in the other room, and
Kennedy lowered her voice to not be heard. “I made a mistake a long
time ago. I don’t know how or why, but somehow Brian forgave me. I
was so stupid, but I will spend the rest of my life making it up to
him.”

“Oh, sweetie. If he forgave you, that should
be the end of it. Obviously, I don’t know the details, but I’m sure
he doesn’t want you to feel guilty for the rest of your life.”

She sighed deeply. “I know.” Giving me a
small smile, she shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Jillian.
We’ll be fine.”

“All right. But I’m here if you ever need to
talk.”

She gave me a genuine smile and hugged me
again. “Okay. Let’s not worry about this tonight.” She turned us
toward the mirror. “Jillian, we’re fucking hotter than hot. Our men
are going to have to scrape their jaws off the floor.”

And just like that, my sassy friend was
back.

Emily and Rebecca joined us in front of the
mirror as we checked ourselves out. Poor Rebecca was dressed in
jeans and a white-and-black peasant top since she wasn’t attending
the ball, but Emily was decked out in jewels that matched her teal
metallic satin empire-waist gown. It was an old dress of Kennedy’s,
but it fit Emily like a glove.

“If Carter doesn’t pull his head out of his
ass after he sees you in that, then he’s a bigger idiot than I
thought,” Kennedy told my sister, causing her to smile shyly.

Rebecca scrunched up her face in a frown. “I
wish I was going.”

“Aww…” I flung my arm around her shoulders
and pulled her forward in front of the mirror with us. “Next time,
Bec.”

“I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you
staying here with the kids,” Kennedy said.

Rebecca shrugged. “Well, I have to watch
Tabitha anyway, and our kids get along so well.”

“Well, I still appreciate it.”

“All right!” Emily exclaimed with enthusiasm.
“Let’s do this!”

As Kennedy predicted, our men were dumbstruck
when they saw us. Brian enveloped his wife in his arms and
whispered into her ear, causing her to smile and kiss him.

Carter’s eyes grew big as he appraised my
sister, and he swallowed hard a few times. I thought I heard him
call her a goddess before his cell phone rang and he excused
himself to answer it. Emily’s face fell as Carter walked away from
her, and I frowned at Carter’s lack of manners. Poor Emily.

I didn’t have time to worry about my sister
though, as Lincoln suddenly stood in front of me, commanding my
attention.

Despite his awkward disabled arm, Lincoln
looked incredibly distinguished and debonair in his tux. He was
mouth-wateringly handsome, and I found myself having a hard time
looking away from him. It wasn’t just his appearance. He just
looked… happy and relaxed, and it was irresistible. I hadn’t
realized the toll the stress of my situation and his career had
taken on him. Now that our problems with Mackenzie were almost
behind us, he looked so carefree.

We stared at each other for a long while,
neither one of us speaking. I tried to commit to memory exactly how
he looked in this moment, and I felt like he was doing the
same.

Carter must have returned from his phone
call, because I heard Kennedy announce it was time to go. The room
cleared out, and Lincoln and I were left alone, our gazes still
locked on each other. Finally he offered his uninjured hand to me,
and I placed mine in his. He clasped my fingers and brought my hand
up to his lips, placing a small kiss on the back of it.

“If I died right now, heaven would be a
disappointment compared to how beautiful you look tonight.”

Tears prickled in my eyes. “Oh, Lincoln.
That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.” Just when I thought I
couldn’t love this man any more than I already did, he says
something like that.

He leaned in and gently placed a kiss on my
lips. “Ready to go?”

I smiled as I tucked my small clutch purse
under my arm and slipped my hand around his elbow. “You look
amazing too, you know. So handsome.”

He gave me a crooked smile. “I’m just a guy
in a penguin suit who’s lucky enough to be your date.”

I stopped short and pulled at his elbow so he
would turn to face me. “I’m the lucky one, you know.” I locked my
gaze with him, trying to ensure he knew how serious I was. “You’ve
changed my life.”

He brought his face close to mine and cupped
my cheek. “And you’ve made mine worth living.”

Chapter
Twenty-Three

The fundraiser was held on the rooftop of the
Passade Hotel in downtown Chicago. As the elevator doors opened, we
stepped out to join hundreds of people, all in ball gowns and
tuxedos, mingling around large round tables set for a fancy dinner.
The warm May weather was perfect for an evening of dining and
dancing under the stars.

Strands of twinkly white lights hung from
pillars set around the edge of the roof, and a four-person band was
playing soft instrumental music on a stage at the far end of the
dance floor. At least a hundred round tables covered in fancy white
tablecloths with gorgeous floral centerpieces in the middle of them
had been set up around the perimeter. I couldn’t believe I was here
with Lincoln, surrounded by so much elegance.

“Lincoln!” a woman called while waving a
gloved hand at my boyfriend. “Oh, my dear. How are you feeling? Do
you need to sit?”

She made a move as if she was going to touch
his injured side, but Lincoln pulled away quickly.

“I’m okay, Mrs. Herrera. Thank you for your
concern.”

“Oh, I don’t know how you play that game.
It’s so brutish!”

A man came up behind Carter and clapped him
on the back. “Ah! The Monaghans! My favorite family!”

I saw Kennedy roll her eyes.

Emily looked hurt and rejected as Carter
rudely shook her hand off his arm and eagerly reached for the man’s
hand. “Governor Herrera, it’s an honor to see you again.”

“Likewise, Carter! Likewise!”

The governor shook Carter’s hand with gusto,
and Kennedy rolled her eyes again. She seemed to hate this.

Lincoln chuckled. “Governor and Mrs. Herrera?
This is my girlfriend, Jillian Thompson.”

My mouth suddenly went dry. This was the
governor of Illinois and his wife! I stupidly hadn’t been expecting
this. I swallowed hard and offered my hand to her. “It’s an honor
to meet you.”

“Oh, my dear. You too! Lincoln’s mother has
just been raving about you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “She has?”

She patted my hand as she shook it. “Oh, yes
dear. You’ll have to invite us to the wedding someday.”

My mouth gaped open. “Lincoln, what have you
been telling your mother?”

He laughed and kissed my forehead. “Nothing,
baby. I think she just knows.”

Kennedy made a gagging noise, but discreetly
turned it into a cough before anyone other than Lincoln and I
noticed.

“Mrs. Herrera, you remember my sister,
Kennedy, right?”

Kennedy groaned quietly but quickly plastered
a fake smile onto her face and shook the governor’s wife’s hand.
“So nice to see you again.”

“Oh, of course. Same to you, dear.”

The two of them continued to make small talk
and Lincoln leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Watch
this.”

I looked up at him with confusion, but he
just grinned.

“Hey, Ken. I keep forgetting to ask you.
How’s your rash doing? Did the doctor ever figure out what it
was?”

Kennedy and Mrs. Herrera froze midhandshake.
Lincoln’s sister’s face turned the same shade of red as her dress,
and Mrs. Herrera quickly pulled her hand away from Kennedy’s with a
horrified look on her face.

Lincoln was right. Paybacks were a bitch.

I tried to suppress a laugh, but when Brian
snorted with laughter at his wife, I couldn’t keep my composure any
longer.

Lincoln burst out laughing, and finally Mrs.
Herrera caught on that he was joking.

“Oh, you kids,” she said while laughing.

The Governor and his wife excused themselves
to greet some other influential people who had just arrived. Once
they were out of sight, Kennedy turned and smacked Lincoln on the
arm with her purse.

“Ouch!” Lincoln protested.

I stood between my man and Kennedy,
preventing her from hitting him again. “Hey, come on. He’s still
healing.”

She took a step forward and jabbed a finger
in Lincoln’s face. “All right, jockstrap. Hide behind your
girlfriend. But you’re going to pay for that little comment
eventually.”

Lincoln threw his head back with laughter.
“Ha! Bring it on.”

Carter stepped up next to me. “Okay, you two.
Let’s go find mom and dad.”

~~~~~~~~

The Monaghan family, Emily, and I sat
together at a round table near the stage as we enjoyed our
expensive, thousand-dollar-a-plate, five-course dinner before the
dance. I got to talk with Lincoln’s parents again, and I met the
mayor of Chicago and her husband. It was a little surreal, but I
loved being here with Lincoln.

“You look so beautiful in that dress,” he
whispered as we swayed on the dance floor. His right hand rested on
the small of my back while his left hand, hindered by his cast,
held one of mine directly over his heart.

My head rested against his chest as we swayed
gently under the starry night to the instrumental music the band
was playing. I smiled and snuggled tighter into him as he held me
close.

“You look so sexy in this tux.”

He let out a small laugh. “Even with my ugly
cast?”

“Oh, trust me. I’m not looking at the
cast.”

Lincoln laughed loudly and then kissed the
top of my head. “Aren’t you just full of it tonight?”

I lifted my head from his chest and looked up
at him, trying to look seductive. “Mm… I can’t wait to be full of
you.”

He exhaled sharply. “Jesus, Jillian. We still
have one more week.”

I weaved my fingers through his hair. “I
think I remember the doctor saying that was just a suggested time
frame.” I lightly scraped my fingernails against his scalp, giving
him a sly smile when I felt him shudder under my touch.

“You better not be teasing me, Princess. I
don’t think I could take it.”

“I can’t be apart from you any longer,
Lincoln. I don’t care what the doctor says. We’ll go slow, but I
need you.” I was practically begging him.

He closed his eyes, inhaled a deep breath,
and lowered his mouth to my ear. “Tonight, baby,” he whispered,
sending shivers down my body. He pulled me closer to him as we
danced to the music. “Tonight I’ll show you just how much I love
you.”

I thought he was going to surrender to my
lips and kiss me, but he surprised me by spinning me out away from
him. I couldn’t help but grin with happiness as my dress swirled
around my feet and he lifted our arms and spun me around under
them. Lincoln’s bright smile made my heart swell as he pulled me
back close to him and held me tight. I laid my head back on
Lincoln’s shoulder and sighed, resigning myself to have patience
and wait for later tonight.

We danced to several more songs, and I
watched the couples around us on the crowded dance floor. Emily
must have forgiven Carter; he was holding her close as they swayed
to the music. Kennedy and Brian were dancing a short distance away
from Lincoln’s parents who were mingling with another couple
Lincoln had introduced me to, but I couldn’t remember their
names.

The sound of microphone feedback fractured
the enchanted moment, and everyone cringed and looked up at the
stage. The mayor was standing behind the podium, trying to speak
over the horrible screeching noise until it finally cut out,
leaving only the sound of her voice.

“Oh, that’s better,” she said in relief.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of Governor Herrera’s reelection
campaign, I would like to thank you all for your attendance
tonight, especially our esteemed Senator Monaghan and his
family.”

Applause broke out through the crowd, and the
senator smiled widely and waved to everyone before kissing the back
of his wife’s hand.

Mayor Hodgkiss started speaking again. She
gave a long-winded speech on the importance of being politically
active and the duty we have to our forefathers to uphold the
constitution.

The mayor’s voice faded into the distance as
Lincoln put his arm around my shoulders and leaned down to whisper
in my ear. “I can’t wait to get you home and slowly peel that dress
off you.”

Patience, schmatience.

I ducked my chin down and nuzzled my cheek
against his chest. “Mm… how much longer do we have to stay?”

He chuckled and kissed the tender skin below
my ear, causing me to whimper.

Red, white, and blue fireworks exploded in
the sky behind the mayor as the screen behind her lit up with the
dollar amount raised from the dinner.

“Thank you everyone! And God Bless America!”
The mayor lifted her hands over her head and waved to the crowd as
confetti shot out of cannons on the sides of the stage.

People cheered as the governor took the stage
and shook hands with the mayor and a few other important people.
Little pieces of red, white, and blue paper fluttered through the
air as cameras flashed at the photo opportunities on the stage.

Watching the excitement and elegance, I
almost didn’t notice when the screen behind the stage full of
politicians blinked out. It seemed natural that they would turn off
the screen at some point, so when it flickered back on, it drew my
attention. I shrank back against Lincoln and gasped as Mackenzie’s
awful picture of me filled the screen. Across the top someone
horrible had scribbled:
“You don’t belong here, bitch.”