Rod Blagojevich describes meeting the woman in a red dress.

He met Patti, the daughter of a powerful Ald. Richard Mell, and fell in love soon after.

Blagojevich takes the tale back to Lon Monk, underscoring a theme he'll develop later about betrayal.

"I flew out to Washington D.C. and spent the weekend with him," Blagojevich said of going to talk to Monk about making the big decision. "Spent the weekend talking about me making the big decision about me getting read to get married."

Blagojevich talks about asking Mell for Patti's hand. It was important to ask Mell, he said. But had he said "no."
"I would have done it anyway," Blagojevich says.

They get married, Monk reads the 23rd Psalm and stands up in the wedding, Blagojevich said.
"Lon was a dear close friend, who, as I said, was two of my best friends in life."

They move to politics. Mell taps Blagojevich, asking him to run for state rep.

"You interested in running, Blagojevich?" he said Mell asked him.
"Her dad liked me," he says. "I had a better shot with Patti."

Blagojevich said he had a question: "Am I free to make my own decision on the issues?"
Mell responded, according to Blagojevich: "I don't give an f-about that."