Chapter 1
CHAPTER ONE
cameron
ICOULD THINK OF a million moments when I’d wished I could pick up the phone and call my dad, but this one had to be at the top.
So many years had passed since I’d heard his voice, but I tried to imagine it: that bit of rasp and deep timbre.
There’d be hearty laughter, jovial congratulations.
He had this way of making everything seem like a big deal, even when it was a small one.
I’d spend entire summer baseball seasons barely making it to first base, and he’d hype me up like I was the star of the Little League show, even when I was shit.
But this actually felt like a big deal.
Or, it was certainly on its way to being a big deal. Something Dad would appreciate, anyway.
All I’d ever really wanted was to be like him, to fill the shoes he’d left behind. And what Daphne Gardner just told me…it felt like the closest I’d ever come to fitting into them.
I was going to be the youngest junior partner at Gardner Law.
God, that thought felt good. Really good.
There were only two bitter parts about it. One, that I couldn’t share it with the one person I really wanted to, and two, it wasn’t a sure thing. Yet.
But I was only a case or two away from making it happen; that was what Daphne had just insinuated in our meeting, when she’d started by asking if junior partner was something that interested me, that twinkle in her eye because she knew the answer.
I kept replaying the conversation in my head as I walked out of her palatial office, with its towering bookshelves and boxy Styrofoam couches.
I wanted to make sure I hadn’t misunderstood.
But there was no doubting it: partner was going to be mine—as long as I didn’t fuck up. As long as I kept my clients, kept winning, and kept going.
I bit down on a grin, staring at my feet as I walked, finally feeling like I was moving in the right direction.
Hell, I wasn’t much of a resolutions kind of guy, but I had made two goals for myself this year, and junior partner was one of them. Honestly, of the two, it was the more attainable target, had a clearer path to success, and therefore, it had become my priority.
As for the other one? Well, I didn’t really know where to start with it, but after only a few seconds of celebration, my brain wandered there anyway, like it did every day. Without fail.
I should be thinking about clients. About the cases I could close, and how I could do it faster.
I should be thinking about how best to convince Daphne that I was absolutely ready for this promotion in the firm.
I should be thinking about what I was going to say to Julian when he stopped me in the hallway in a matter of minutes, lying in wait to pester me about the meeting like the meddlesome, supportive friend and colleague he was.
But no, all I could think about was her.
Because why think too long about anything practical when I could spend all my time thinking about a woman whom I’d probably never see again?
Truthfully, it was a damn miracle Daphne was recognizing my work at the firm, considering I spent about half of every day with my head up in the goddamn clouds, fantasizing about what I’d do if I got a second chance with the woman of my fucking dreams. It had been six months, and I hadn’t stopped thinking about that night, couldn’t stop thinking about the way I’d let her slip through my fingers, on the precipice of a kiss.
It would have been the best kiss of my life, I just knew it. But something had clicked in her brain as I’d pulled back and searched her eyes for consent, causing her to flee instead of giving in to me like I’d been hoping.
I wanted to find her. Wanted to apologize. Had it been something I’d done? Had I misread the signals? Misunderstood the soft moans leaving her lips as I trailed mine up her neck? Miscalculated the way her pulse had thumped—raced—against my open mouth?
I had no idea. No idea who she was or what had gone through her brain.
But I wanted to know, was dying to find out all of it.
And besides going back to Mulligan’s whenever I had a free night, hoping to see her again, I had no idea where to start.
But I was determined to figure it out. Sparks like that didn’t ignite often.
And when they ignited in a place that meant as much to me as Mulligan’s did? Fuck.
She was my second goal—the unattainable one.
First, make partner.
Then, get the girl.
It would likely help if I knew her full name. Or maybe her phone number. A general location I could send a pigeon carrier? I’d take literally anything at this point.
But I had nothing. Absolutely fuck all.
Sighing, I checked my watch. Only a few minutes to go before my meeting with the Londons—a meeting that Daphne had just surprisingly mentioned. It seemed to be of particular interest to her, creating suspicion that this was the case that hinged on me making partner.
Fine by me. Actually, more than fine. That would be ideal, honestly.
This meeting was the least of my worries.
Daphne must have forgotten, or maybe she’d never known, that I knew the Londons.
Well, I knew Noah London. I’d never met his sister before—who was my actual client in this case—but it was the relation to Noah that had Daphne wringing her hands.
We weren’t usually the type of firm that dealt with high-profile clients.
That, and I had a hunch that she was a bit of a fan.
But while he might be a national-level sports celebrity as the quarterback for the New England Knights, Noah London was also just someone who moved in my circles. Had been for years since he went to college with my sister and was one of Julian’s best friends.
Julian, who was staring at me from the doorway of his office as I strode down the narrow hall of Gardner Law, crystal clear conference room windows passing me by.
“Can I help you?”
Julian raised one auburn eyebrow. “How’d it go?”
I shrugged. “Good.”
“Man of few words today, huh?”
“She was…encouraging,” I added. There really wasn’t much else to say. Nothing concrete to share. Yet. “I think she wants to meet Noah.”
Julian laughed. “Daphne’s a Knights fan? Never would have guessed.”
“Or something,” I muttered, not really sure if it was the football she was a fan of or just Noah. Hopefully, it was sports-related, considering Noah was very much taken. By Julian’s sister, Gemma. And I had a feeling Julian wouldn’t want his sister kicking his boss’s ass.
Reading my mind, Julian asked, “My future brother-in-law coming with today?”
My brows tugged together. “Did they get engaged?”
“Nah, but they will soon.”
I nodded, not surprised. “I think Noah’s coming. And Blake, possibly. Natalie included him on the initial email she sent me. I think he’s been helping her work through things.”
Julian nodded, but I could see the gears in his head moving, and I knew he was thinking what I was.
Natalie having the support of her brothers was great; we always wanted to see that clients had a good support system in these types of situations.
But because of what her ex had claimed in his recent filing, it was going to be important to balance Natalie’s family support with her stance that she could provide for her nine-year-old daughter, Chloe, on her own.
“Have you met Natalie?” Julian questioned, curiosity in his gaze.
Shaking my head, I checked my watch again. Five minutes until our appointment. “No, have you?”
“Yeah, a couple times.” He leaned his shoulder against the door frame of his office. “Gemma is Chloe’s figure skating coach. Before her maternity leave, I went to a couple of her shows, so I’ve seen Natalie there. She’s great; Gemma loves her.”
I crossed my arms, taking mental notes. “You ever see her ex showing up for his daughter at those shows?”
“God no,” Julian snorted. “That piece of shit? Not a chance.”
For Natalie’s daughter, who deserved to have her dad show up to things that were important to her, that wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear.
But for our case…it was good news, exactly the type of anecdote I needed to compile more of.
We were going to win this thing. I’d give Daphne the kind of results she wanted to see.
I’d put Natalie London’s ex in his place.
And I’d help a single mom get back to focusing on her life without any interruptions.
From what I knew about Natalie and her job as a trauma surgeon, she was busy enough without dealing with a custody battle.
I wasn’t worried.
At least, not until I left Julian behind and headed toward the front of the office, walking up in time to see Noah London open the glass doors, sandy-brown hair, broad shoulders, slightly bleary-eyed from late nights as a new dad.
Another man followed behind him, his hair darker, his face a little slimmer than his brother’s, his expression serious.
He held the door, allowing his sister to slip in front of him.
Sparkling green eyes met mine, ones that almost matched Noah’s but were brighter, more dazzling.
Her honey-colored hair was swept up in a clip, but several strands framed her face.
That face. That beautiful fucking face that had been haunting my dreams for months, ever since she sat beside me in a bar and then abruptly disappeared into the night a few hours later, like a princess who had to make it home before the clock struck twelve.
The woman I’d been trying to figure out how to find?
The woman I never got to kiss?
The woman I’d been thinking about kissing ever since she slipped away?
She was standing right in front of me. Her name, apparently, was not what she’d told me that night. No, it was Dr. Natalie London.
And she was my newest client.