It was not a dark and stormy night.

(Sorry; that would have been a better story).

But it was a typical mid-winter January morning that was damp and snow-covered (you remember snow, don’t you?).

Former state senator Gretchen Whitmer had invited a certain reporter over to her pad in East Lansing for an announcement.

“Great to see you again,” she said as she opened the door.

She heard this greeting in return: “So, you’re gonna run for governor, hey?”

And, with that, she confirmed it on camera and then jumped in her car and was off to tell other news outlets that she was running — and was getting a head start some 22 months before the November 2018 election.

Little did she know, sitting comfortably and innocently around her kitchen table with a cup of joe, the adventure she was about to endure, including speculation now that she may run for president — not of the local PTA, but the other one in D.C.

It’s not exactly a new story for her, as questions about running for higher office have bird-dogged her ever since President Donald Trump propelled into the national political spotlight by calling “that woman from Michigan.”

Now comes word that the governor will have a book about her life for sale in July, and the speculation meter is off the charts both nationally and here in the state about whether she wants to live in the White House.

When she first confirmed last December that she had been approached about penning such a tome, she was reminded that the eventual announcement would only toss gasoline on the “I wanna be president” flames even more.

She laughed that Whitmer laugh and brushed it aside, saying “lots of people write books and never run for president.”

Notice she didn’t deny that she would run, which is the way she has wonderfully orchestrated the whole story for over a year.

In some 60 national media interviews — more than any other Michigan governors combined — she would repeatedly say she was focused on being governor and wanted to stay in Michigan and all that other clap-trap she would trot out just to give the impression she would not run.

But she never confessed one way or the other, which is what savvy would-be office-seekers always do. Keep them guessin’ and coming back for more, because, once you make a definitive statement that you are not going to do it, guess what? The media spotlight is refocused on somebody else.

When her name was being kicked around to be the vice presidential candidate with Joe Biden, she confessed on camera that “it was good for Michigan” (publicity-wise) to have her name in the national media, as she did nothing to stop the rumors.

She, of course, did not get the second spot on the ticket, but, after months of nagging her to answer the question, she finally revealed the truth.

“If he had offered the vice presidency, I would have accepted,” she disclosed for the first time on the Michigan Public TV broadcast “Evening with the Governor.”

So much for wanting to focus on being governor.

So much for wanting to stay in Michigan.

Now, the storyline continues that she will run for president.

She has ruled it out for now, promising she would finish her full term in office, which is up in 2026.

But, other than that, she has confessed that anything is possible.

But the betting money at this listening post is that she will ride the pony as long as she can, with the book deal allowing her to get even more mileage out of the story throughout the summer, but, when it comes right down to it, she and her retired dentist hubby will find some other gig, as both of them have confessed they don’t want to retire in the White House.

Any bets?