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she would remind herself, I can get through anything. I can get through this.
    As she caught the words falling reluctantly from Jo Carson’s mouth, though, she felt as if she just might stop breathing.
    Hotel. Affair. News channel. The words repeated in her mind, a vortex leading to the swirling and haunting world of her inner demons.
    She had assumed for months that John was cheating. Without any evidence, though, it had been easy enough to ignore. That was the way she wanted it. She didn’t want to think about her husband sleeping with another woman. It was much easier to get through the day pretending that everything would be all right when she got home.
    “Do you want to comment on the story, ma’am?”
    The compassion in Jo’s voice broke through her distress, finally capturing Madeline’s attention. She looked up to tell her to tell the press John was a lying, cheating asshole, but when she opened her mouth, a choked sob came out instead of words.
    Jo was by her side immediately, pulling her into an embrace as the tears began to fall. Madeline wanted to be strong, but it was as if someone had opened the floodgates. She leaned into Jo’s embrace and quietly sobbed.
    Jo continued to repeat, “I’m so sorry,” as she stroked Madeline’s hair.
    Madeline was not big on showing emotion in the first place and crying in public could be disastrous for female politicians. But being here with Jo was oddly comforting. She was thankful that she was the one who had come into her office to tell her the news. She was even more grateful that Jo had had the foresight to lock the door. No one needed to see the mayor bawling like a baby. Not even Jo Carson, she decided.
    Sniffling, Madeline did her best to regain her composure. “I apologize, Jo.”
    “No, don’t apologize. I’m here if you need anything.”
    The sympathy was too much. For reasons she couldn’t explain, it triggered another sobbing fit.
    * * *
    As Madeline Stratton sobbed quietly in her arms, Jo felt her own heart breaking. She fought off tears of her own, continuing to stroke Madeline’s hair, trying to channel her empathic reaction into an alternative outlet.
    What kind of jackass would crush the heart of such an extraordinary woman? Would walk out on someone so beautiful, someone whose blue eyes held within them both intelligence and sweetness, especially when they were crying? It didn’t make sense that someone this incredible should be crying her eyes out, wondering what she had done wrong.
    Then again, it didn’t make sense that Jo was the one who had rushed to her rescue, who had needed to be there when Madeline got the news. She didn’t have an established relationship with the mayor like some of the other staff members did, but a tornado could not have ripped her away from Madeline’s side in that moment. If Madeline needed her, she would be there, even if she couldn’t explain why.
    “Do you want to get out of the office?” Jo asked carefully, deciding that if she were having a breakdown of her own, she wouldn’t want to be here.
    Madeline nodded her head weakly. When she looked up at Jo, the raw pain in her eyes was enough to make Jo’s eyes pool with tears.
    “Wait here for a minute. I’m going to shuffle some things on my desk, and I’ll drive you.”
    “I’ll be fine,” Madeline insisted.
    “No. I’m not going to have you driving yourself anywhere right now. Please, just wait a moment.”
    For a woman who was usually filled with enough fight to take on an army by herself, Madeline’s concession came too easily. “Okay,” she agreed in a voice barely above a whisper.
    Before Jo was out the door, she added, “Please tell the reporters ‘no comment.’ I don’t know what else to say.”
    Jo nodded, feeling every bit of Madeline’s pain as if it were her own.
    Quickly she walked to Jacquelyn’s office and shut the door behind her.
    “Holy shit, you’re as white as a ghost. How’d she take it?”
    “I’m taking her