Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

KENAN

Garner fell asleep in my arms. After getting up and washing us both off, I'd settled back in the bed with him for a cuddle. His head rested naturally on my shoulder as I tickled my fingertips softly up and down his back and across his shoulders. It took less than three minutes before his body relaxed more heavily against mine and his breathing evened out.

I needed to leave.

His fear had been palpable earlier, and I knew he would wake up and revert immediately to the man who'd decided early on to lock away all signs of a romance between himself and another man during his presidency.

And I would go along with it.

I would be the one person in his life who didn't make demands of him. Who didn't rush him. Who didn't expect more than he could give.

Garner knew how I felt about him, and as long as he carried that with him, deep and solid in the center of his chest, I would be happy.

And I would wait.

I let myself have ten minutes only, and then I slipped out of bed and pulled my clothes back on before checking myself in the mirror to make sure there was no sign of what we'd done.

Then, I laid out a clean T-shirt for him on the bedside table in case he had to wake suddenly and realized he was only wearing pajama bottoms. I leaned over for a final kiss to his temple before turning off the light and walking out.

The agent on duty nodded at me as I walked past and made my way back to the staff room to take a seat and try to get some sleep while the president slept. Thankfully, no one, including the agent on duty, had looked at me funny. Everything seemed normal as I settled into my seat and fastened my seat belt.

President Ashley's personal assistant leaned over from the seat next to me. "How's he doing?"

Rosa Muran had been Garner's assistant for almost fifteen years, ever since he was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives. She doted on him almost as much as I did, but her doting was public, while mine was very much not.

"He's understandably upset by the losses," I murmured. "He'll have to call the families in a few hours."

She nodded. "I have everything ready. When he gets up and starts his day, I'll facilitate the calls with him."

I reclined the seat and closed my eyes. Images of our time together kept me company as I forced myself to relax. Rosa's comment reminded me how hectic Garner's schedule would be as soon as we returned to the White House. Understandably, I would go back to being his silent shadow, only this time, I imagined there'd be an invisible live wire connecting us.

He would be too scared to go public with our relationship. I knew that for sure. But I wondered if he'd consider at least discussing options.

What would I do if he asked me to quit my job before we went public? He'd have to hire a new bodyman to take over my position, and where would that leave me? Finding time with the president was nearly impossible, even with his own closest advisors.

I couldn't imagine how difficult it would be for a new boyfriend.

No. If given the option, I'd much rather continue to be his bodyman, take care of him night and day, and bide my time for three and a half more years until we could be together.

Perhaps snatched moments like the one we'd just experienced would tide me over…