Free Forbidden by Pat Warren Page A

into the campaign, making herself almost indispensable to Fitz. Diane
     was smart enough to know that the way to Adam was through his brother. The other volunteers were running out of steam. She’d
     just caught her second wind. She was at the office early and stayed late, learning, watching; no job was too large or too
     small for her to tackle. She loved the political atmosphere, the hint of power, the excitement of being close to a winner.
    And Adam was a winner. If only he would let go of his teenage crush.
    Diane dug into her purse, found an Eve cigarette, pressed it into her gold holder, and lit up. She looked across the room
     to where Molly and Liz sat talking. Ever observant, she knew that Liz and Adam had been seeing one another, though they’d
     been careful to hide that fact from the others. She’d been around the block once too often to miss the telltale signs that
     indicated a man and a woman had been intimate. She’d seen Fitz’s speculative glances at the two of them, so perhaps he, too,
     had guessed. And it was likely that Liz had confided in Molly since the two of them were thicker than thieves. But no one
     else had noticed, she was sure.
    Why were they hiding their relationship? Her best educated guess was that Adam wasn’t anywhere near ready to get serious.
     And a ditzbrain could tell that Prissy Miss Townsend was the forever type.
    Inhaling deeply, she reflected on their affair. It wouldn’t last, she knew. Soft and spoiled, Liz didn’t have the guts to
     be a rising politician’s wife. An affair was one thing, but a man going places needed a wife who’d help him up the ladder:
     a woman who knew how to play the game, how to sweet-talk her way around any situation, how and when to bend the rules a bit.
     She was that woman, and soon Adam would realize it.
    When Diane set her sights on something important, she could be very patient. Uncle Howard used to say she waslike a hound dog with a meaty bone, hanging on for dear life. Let Adam have his fling. Let Liz have the scraps of his attention
     now. Soon
she
would have the whole enchilada, Diane thought. She couldn’t resist flashing a smug smile in Liz’s direction.
    “Why is that bitch sending us a shit-eatin’ grin?” Molly asked Liz, frowning at Diane.
    Liz glanced around first to see if anyone else was near enough to overhear her friend’s earthy remark, then turned toward
     Diane. But the blonde was walking over to Adam and Fitz. “I have no idea,” she said in answer to Molly’s question. From the
     beginning Liz had had little to do with Diane, sensing the other woman’s unexplained dislike. Liz had thought it best to avoid
     her since they didn’t seem to have much in common other than this campaign.
    “I don’t trust her,” Molly added, watching Diane lean close to Fitz and whisper in his ear. “Fitz looks nice today, don’t
     you think?”
    “He always does when he takes off that dumb hat and puts on a suit.”
    “I like the man, but I feel a little sorry for him. He’s so much in Adam’s shadow.”
    Liz crossed her legs. “He shouldn’t be. Adam told me Fitz has a genius IQ, that he practically aced the bar exam, and that
     he walked away from a law firm that was offering him tons of money in order to run Adam’s campaign.”
    “Sibling loyalty, I guess.”
    “I finally got it out of Adam why Fitz is so devoted. There was a river near their house when they were growing up. They weren’t
     allowed to swim in it because of the fast current. When Fitz was twelve, he disobeyed and went anyhow. He would have drowned
     if Adam hadn’t found him and saved his life.”
    “That would win my loyalty.” Molly shifted on her seat so she could see Liz’s face. “How are things between you and the man
     of the hour?”
    Liz
lifted a shoulder. “Same old, same old. No better, no worse.” She watched Fitz take the microphone and introduce their mother
     to the restless crowd. Mrs. McKenzie began talking of how even