Free A Second Chance at Love: A Hometown Hero Series Novel by Clare Connelly Page B

President.”
    Dean laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners in genuine amusement. “I do indeed. I happen to play golf with him when he has the time.”
    “You do?” Her dark eyes were enormous saucers in her sweet face. “Oh, wow. That must be terrifying.”
    “Only when I win,” he said with a wink.
    Madeline felt relaxed for the first time in days. She sat back in her chair, saying nothing when Dean topped up her wine glass, despite the fact she rarely had more than a single glass.
    “Why? Does he get mad?”
    Dean, enjoying himself, shook his head. “It’s not him I worry about. It’s the secret service.”
    “Oh! Are they scary? Are they everywhere?”
    “Everywhere!” He nodded. “In fact,” he reached across Madeline, so that he could tap on the window pane. “That’s one out there.”
    At the rat-tat-tat sound, Colin turned around and scanned the restaurant. He lifted a hand in a wave, in response to Dean’s obviously casual greeting.
    “You guys are totally awesome,” Ivy enthused happily. “What do you do? How do I get to do it too?”
    Dean laughed. “Well, I’m in congress.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “A lot of sitting around, mostly,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
    “That’s boring. But then, you do get to play with the president. I’m on the fence.” She looked above their heads and waved. Madeline froze, and beneath the table, her hand reached for Dean’s. Slowly, she tilted her head, until her eyes locked with Harrison’s. He had the advantage. He’d presumably seen them long before she’d realised he was watching.
    “What about you, Madeline? What do you do? Cause you know the president as well. And maybe your job is a bit funner.”
    “More fun,” Harrison’s voice broke into their conversation, correcting his daughter automatically. His strong body was taut and controlled, as he stood firm above their group.
    Ivy showed one of her eye rolls to Dean, earning a chuckle. “What do you do?”
    Madeline looked up at Harrison, her cheeks glowing with pink. “I’m a lawyer. Harrison, this is my… husband… Dean Howard. Dean, this is Harrison. Ivy’s father.”
    Ivy’s father , Harrison fumed. That’s how she chose to introduce him? Of all the ways she could have chosen to detail their relationship, that was what she said? He clenched his teeth together and extended a hand. Dean was just what he’d expected. Conservative. Wealthy. Attentive to Madeline.
    He resisted the urge to crush the other man’s white-collar hands in his own firm grip.
    “What kind of lawyer?” Ivy was persisting. “Sit down, daddy. You’re off duty now.”
    And despite the tension of the situation, Madeline smiled at the girl’s incredibly precocious attitude.
    “I’m a human rights lawyer,” she said plainly.
    “What does that mean?”
    “Well,” she looked up at Harrison thoughtfully. “Say your daddy wasn’t letting you go to the playground. I mean, ever. And he told you it was just because you had brown hair. I would probably go to court for you, to make your daddy take you to the playground.”
    “Any excuse, hey Madeline?” Harrison said in an undertone, slipping his broad frame into one of the chairs.
    Dean squeezed her hand, eyeing the other man thoughtfully. “My wife is an excellent lawyer, Ivy. She just won a huge case, for a little girl not much older than you. The New York Times came to interview her, and the president told me he thought it was a ground breaking win.”
    “Woah. That’s so cool. What did you win? Like I mean, why was she um, what were you… what?”
    Madeline hid her smile. “Her parents weren’t very nice.” She flicked her eyes to Harrison, whose expression was utterly inscrutable.
    Dean picked up the tale. “They were mean to her. And everyone who should have been able to protect her was actually just horrible. So Madeline did everything she could to bring that girl to the States, so that she could live here, and go to a