Dissident by Cecilia London Page B

office. Formality wasn’t exactly her strong suit. He held it out for her and helped her put it on.
    She grabbed her gold and blue striped Marquette scarf off her leather desk chair and tucked it under the collar of the tea length wool coat. Caroline always enjoyed a touch of whimsy with her outfits. Maybe that was why she liked winter so much; she got to wear that scarf every day.
    Jack laughed again as she buttoned her coat and put her gloves on. “Your loyalty to your alma mater knows no bounds.”
    “Ring out Ahoya!” Caroline declared proudly, and tweaked the cashmere around Jack’s neck. “You might do well with a bit of blue and white from Villanova, yourself.”
    He fingered the dress scarf. “Not a chance. I like to keep it classy.”
    “Are you implying that my winter ensemble lacks grace?”
    He put his hand on her back and guided her out the door. “No, I think it’s cute. The Dubliner okay with you?”
    Jack had known her long enough to know she preferred casual over prim and proper, especially when it came to lunch.
    “Perfect,” she said.
    *              *              *              *              *
    The pub was busy, but they seemed to have avoided much of the crowd. Given the weather, it was mostly folks who worked on Capitol Hill as opposed to tourists or other Washingtonians. Jack talked her into splitting an appetizer. He seemed to appreciate that she ate real food.
    “A lot of women I know, particularly the women I’ve dated, order salads when they go out,” he said, when the artichoke and spinach dip arrived. “Most of their meals match their personalities.”
    Caroline was still hesitant to ask him about his past. She hadn’t yet heard any rumors about him continuing his womanizing ways once he arrived in Washington, but she only made a halfhearted attempt at seeking them out after the conversation she had with Christine.  It wasn’t as if there weren’t opportunities around every corner. He was handsome, he had money, and he was a Congressman. A pretty seductive package.
    “I make no secret of the fact that I really like food,” Caroline said. “Good food. And my New Year’s Resolution to get to the House gym on a more regular basis is failing miserably.”
    “You look great to me,” Jack said.
    She blushed and put some dip on her plate. “Thanks.”
    Jack spooned a huge amount of the dip on his own plate. Caroline was happy he was taking all the giant chunks of artichoke. She was more into the spinach and cheese.
    “Do you know that you blush any time anyone says anything remotely nice about you?” he asked. “You sometimes do it when you’re on Sunday morning talk shows too.”
    “I do?” One more thing for her to worry about when she made public appearances.
    “I think it’s sweet, but I don’t understand it.”
    Caroline decided to subtly change the subject. “How’s Washington treating you so far?”
    “You ask me that every time we go to lunch.”
    “I never know if the answer has changed or not. The first few months are a bit of a whirlwind.”
    “I’m holding my own. There are a lot of secret rules to learn. And I’ve met some good people along the way.”
    “That helps.”
    “Of course, the nicest one - and don’t blush - is definitely you.”
    Caroline, naturally, blushed on cue. “That’s not saying a whole lot. This town is full of assholes.”
    Jack scowled at her. “Caroline, seriously. I know you delight in being self-deprecating but you really need to give yourself more credit sometimes. That is not what I meant at all.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t apologize. I’m sure you must suspect that there are a great many people who both like and respect you around this place. Even those who may not be speaking to you right now.”
    The Minority Leader. Who was still pissed about her vote for Speaker Allen. And not even bothering to hide it.
    “Guess I shouldn’t have kept my promise to