Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Mara
“Are you sure there aren’t any new filings stacked up under one of our desks?” I lower my brows and look around the office I share with Jayden.
“No, don’t say it! You’ll jinx us.”
“It’s because we had Robson this week instead of Hampton. Robson don’t play. She likes her courtroom efficient and on time.”
“Hampton wasn’t made for traffic court.” I run a hand over the empty spot on my beat-up old wood desk where pending case files are normally stacked.
Jayden snorts with amused agreement. “He wasn’t even made to be a judge. Performance theater is his game.”
Every time one of us says, or even asks, if our workload is caught up , it’s like a Bat-Signal to drivers in the county to speed, run red lights and drive while blindfolded. So we try to be cool about it and not tempt fate.
It’s 4:55 p.m., and we’re going to be able to leave for the day. I could take some work with me, but after a long day of hustling hard in court, I’m not feeling it. Maybe I’ll actually have an evening to relax.
“I think I’m leaving now.” There’s a questioning note at the end of my sentence because lately, Jayden and I take turns forcing the other to power down the computer by 5:15 so we can badge out before 5:30 and not get busted working late.
“I’m right behind you.”
“You have plans tonight?”
“Dinner with Jana’s parents.”
I stand and grab my coat from the coat tree in the corner of our office. “Nice. You like them, right?”
“For the most part. Her dad has asked me at least fifteen times over family dinners why I bothered to go to law school to work at a job that pays less than seventy grand.”
I scoff. “He sounds delightful.”
Jayden grabs his suit coat from the back of his work chair. “Perks of our salaries being a matter of public record, I guess.”
“No, he’s being a dick.”
“We’ve beaten the subject to death, so hopefully it’s over. My fantasy football team kicked his team’s ass this year, so I try to steer the conversation toward that topic.”
I walk out of our office and he turns the light off, locking the door behind us. We used to have our own offices, but we work more efficiently sharing one.
“How about you?” Jayden asks on the walk to the elevator. “Got any plans?”
“I’m going to enjoy the quiet of my apartment. Maybe catch up on some Housewives .”
He cringes. “Jana loves that garbage, too.”
“Well, not all of us are highbrow enough to spend our downtime rooting for pretend football teams.”
“Okay, fair.”
The elevator doors slide open and we step inside, several other courthouse employees joining us.
Once we’re on the first floor, Jayden waves and we head in separate directions.
His fiancée, Jana, is a first-grade teacher, but I’ve only met her a couple of times.
Jayden and I are friendly, but not friends, which is how I like it.
My coworkers have never seen me drunk and unfiltered, and I plan to keep it that way.
Light snow is falling when I walk outside. I button up my wool coat and pull my gloves out of my coat pockets, putting them on.
The crunch beneath my feet takes me back to a trip I took with my parents to Chicago when I was a kid. It was before our lives were upended, and I assumed all our days would be as magical as that one.
My mom loved the holiday window displays downtown, having visited them with her parents when she was growing up. We lived in Arizona, and I’d never seen snow other than in pictures.
I don’t think I stopped smiling once that day. The crunch of snow beneath my shoes as we walked, the magical holiday decorations and getting to ice-skate outdoors with my parents as holiday songs played created a core memory.
They took me into a toy store and let me pick out a new stuffed animal. I chose a white unicorn with a rainbow horn. If I saw it today, I’d probably break down in tears. Memories of the good times are bittersweet.
My old, rusted Chevy sedan is parked a block away today, and by the time I’m almost there, my nose is ice cold. I squint at my car when I see that the windshield has already been cleared of snow.
Must have been a random act of kindness. I reach my car, take out my car keys and am about to open my door when someone steps out of the Range Rover parked next to my car.
“Hey.”
The man’s deep-voiced greeting makes me look over. I’m surprised to see Leo standing there, dressed in jeans and a brown Carhartt coat.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
A smile plays on his lips. “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”
I wait for him to explain. He shifts, discomfort flashing over his expression.
“Are you hungry?” he asks. “I need to talk to you about something. Maybe we could talk over dinner.”
I lower my brows, suspicious. “Did something happen to Suki? Or one of the girls? I don’t want to wait; you need to tell me now.”
“No, they’re fine. This isn’t about them.”
My heart races as I consider the options. None of them is good.
“Is it about Carter?”
Agitation flashes in his eyes. “No. It’s nothing bad. I need to ask you a favor.”
“Leo, if you agreed to pet sit again, I’m going to kick you directly in the balls. There’s no way I’m helping you.”
He shakes his head. “Will you stop? Just get in my car and let’s go get some dinner. Anywhere you want.”
I look him up and down. The jeans and coat are working well on his tall, muscular frame. The lack of a hat or gloves sends the message that he’s too manly to be bothered by the cold. And the breath clouding in front of his face is making me imagine what his breath would feel like on my bare skin.
But it’s Leo. He drives me crazy, and one night of great sex isn’t worth him never letting me live it down.
It’s not . I have to forcefully remind my sex-deprived self that riding him is a bad idea I’ll regret later.
I unlock my car door. “Let me guess—there’s a party in your pants and I’m invited? No thanks. I wasn’t coming onto you with the prank. It was just a prank and it’s over.”
“Mara.”
His stern tone makes me turn and face him. His expression is almost troubled ... like he genuinely needs something and doesn’t want to have to ask me for help.
“Okay.”
I lock my car and get in the passenger side of his instead. It has that heavenly, leathery new car smell and is pristinely clean. My car smells like coffee and is covered with cracker crumbs.
“Where do you want to eat?” he asks.
He looks so damned troubled that I can’t help feeling bad for him.
“You don’t have to take me out to dinner. Just tell me what you need. I can’t fix anyone’s court cases, though, if that’s what it is. Not even a parking ticket. I could lose my job.”
“It’s not that.” He wraps one of his big hands around the steering wheel and looks over at me. “You like seafood?”
“Yeah, but seriously, we don’t have to go to dinner.”
My car seat is deliciously warm, the heat seeping into my back and legs. I could have had a car like this someday if I’d been smart and stayed in corporate law. I’ll probably be driving my beater well into my fifties.
“Well, I haven’t eaten yet,” he says, his eyes locked onto mine. “Have you?”
He really does have nice eyes.
“No.”
He nods and puts the car in reverse, checking his backup camera. My heart is still racing over this unexpected development in my day.
“Are you sick? Do you need help breaking the news to Carter and Suki?”
He exhales through his nose, his lips turning up slightly in a smile. “No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Is someone suing you? Because I’m not the right kind of attorney for a sexual harassment case, but I can ask around.”
Pinching his brows together, he glances over at me. “Jesus, Mara. No. No one’s suing me for sexual harassment.”
The car is silent for a couple very long minutes. Silence makes me uncomfortable, so I find a way to fill it.
“Carter and Suki got home. Hallie said she had fun.”
He nods. “Carter looks like he’s been on a monthlong tropical getaway.”
“Yeah, Suki had a little color, too. But she’s so fair she doesn’t really tan.”
“You like Neptune’s? For dinner?”
I’ve only been to the upscale restaurant once, when Carter and Suki invited me for dinner to celebrate Olivia’s birthday. On my salary, the closest I get to seafood is usually a Filet-O-Fish.
“I don’t care where we go. I’m good with bar food.”
“Well, I’m buying, so we’re going to Neptune’s.”
I look down at my fitted gray pants and black flats. With the red silky cami and black cardigan I’m also wearing, it’s dressy enough, I suppose. On the rare occasions when I go to nice restaurants, I like to wear dresses and heels.
But this isn’t a date. It’s just a weird, impromptu dinner with Leo, whom I mostly dislike.
“Just tell me what it is,” I blurt. “I can’t stand not knowing.”
“I want you to hear me out.”
“And you think I won’t do that if we’re in the car?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “I think if you have a nice glass of wine on the way, you’re less likely to blow up and leave.”
“Okay.” I shake my head, aggravated. “I can buy my own wine and drink it at home if I want to. Out with it.”
He shifts in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “So it starts with my teammate Anson. He’s a good guy, but he’s hairier than a fucking gorilla. He’s very masculine-looking, you know?”
“And this relates to me how?”
He sighs heavily. “He has a twin sister. And apparently she has a thing for me.”
“Aw, she’s blind?” I cover my mouth with my hand. “I’m sorry. That just slipped out.”
He flicks a glare at me. “She’s his twin sister, and she’s coming here for New Year’s Eve. He wants to fix me up with her, and when he mentioned it at dinner yesterday, I sort of told him I’m already seeing someone.”
“There you go. Problem solved. No hurt feelings.”
He nods, not saying anything. I just look at him for a few seconds, waiting.
“Are you going to get to the part where this has anything to do with me?”
“Just a sec ...” The light we’re at turns green and he accelerates. “Just let me get up to a speed where you can’t jump out of the car ... okay, surely this is fast enough. I, uh ... said I’m dating you .”