28. Sunny #2
“Well, I’m sure I get my curly hair from…whatever ethnicity I partially am, so what you’re really saying is that the hair I was born with doesn’t look professional. It’s the same bullshit reason companies use to justify firing an employee with dreadlocks, or?—”
He starts nodding. “I see your point. But that’s not how I meant it.
Litigation is all theatrics, babe. Actors change their hair all the time, depending on the role, right?
You have to look the part. When you’re dressing for court, you want to keep it simple.
If you walk in there with cascading curls like a Botticelli painting, that’s all anyone’s going to pay attention to, and they won’t hear a word you’re saying.
Trust me—I’m in court all the time. You’ll fit in perfectly like this.
” He gives me another tight squeeze and, when he finally gets a smile out of me, he goes to sit on the edge of the bed .
After a beat, I hear him sigh while I’m putting in my earrings. “Sunny, I know you don’t like talking about your biological father. Not that there’s much to talk about. He’s a piece of shit for never wanting to know you, and I understand why you don’t want to know anything about him . But…”
Every muscle in my body braces. As if I weren’t already tense enough this morning.
He’s right—I do hate talking about the guy who contributed half of my genetic material and didn’t care enough to stick around.
Whenever Jeremy’s asked me questions, I’ve answered them to the best of my ability, but I’ve never once brought up the subject.
So why the hell is he choosing to discuss this now, before I set foot in a courtroom by myself for the first time?
I turn around with my hands on my hips and glare at him. “ But ?”
Jeremy tilts his head. “Well, it’s just that I was reading this article about genetics the other day?—”
Of course he was.
“—and it got me thinking about when you and I have babies,” he says.
My gaze softens and, before I know it, I’m smiling. I walk to the bed and sit next to him. “You’ve already started thinking about us having babies?”
He nods. “Not now, of course, but down the road, yeah. And I think it might be good to know what your ethnic background is. They’ve come a long way with prenatal genetic testing, and if there are conditions that you or the baby are at risk for, it would be helpful to know before we start trying. ”
My eyes well up. Jeremy has this way of making me feel so special. I mean, he has the most discriminating taste in the world, and he wants me to be the mother of his children.
He puts an arm around my shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you emotional before court.”
I shake my head and smile. “No, it’s okay.
What you’re saying makes sense. Maybe I should start by asking my mom what she knows about his background and medical history, but…
I’m a little scared, honestly. She’s always refused to talk about him.
” I wince. “I had to do one of those family tree projects in school when I was a kid, and when I asked her for a picture of him, she said she’d ripped them all to shreds. ”
He takes my hand in his. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there with you. We’ll handle it together.”
I let out a little laugh. “She’ll probably be a lot more receptive if you ask her. Her beloved Jeremy.”
“Women have a hard time resisting my charm,” he teases. Then he pulls me in for a kiss.
Once we get started, it’s hard to stop, but eventually we do.
“I’m going to get in the shower,” he says when we pull apart.
“Do not worry about court, okay? You’re spectacular, Sunny.
Most people never make it to the big firms, but here you are.
Here we are. We’re a team, remember? Just like in law school.
And if we do the grunt work now, it’s going to pay off big-time when we make partner. ”
Jeremy’s parents are both partners at big law firms in Manhattan.
I haven’t met them yet, but from what he’s described, it sounds like they’re not the warmest people.
The only time they ever paid Jeremy much attention growing up was when he impressed them with an academic achievement.
It’s no wonder making partner means so much to him.
“We’ll have everything we ever wanted,” he continues.
“We can send our kids to the best private school in Chicago. We’ll have a big house in Lincoln Park with a two-car garage…
and maybe a place in Michigan too. We’ll retire there, and you can read as many sappy romance novels as you want while I’m drooling in front of the TV. ”
I giggle.
“Doesn’t that sound nice?” he asks.
I nod. “It does. It sounds wonderful.”
“Good.” Jeremy stands and kisses the top of my head.
“Hey,” he says, tilting my chin up to look me in the eye.
“You know I think you’re beautiful no matter how you wear your hair, right?
You could shave it off, for all I care. But…
I can’t say I don’t find this particular style incredibly sexy on you. ”
He runs his fingers through my hair and gives it a little pull, like he does when we’re in bed sometimes. Then he kisses me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Once he’s in the bathroom, I walk to the front door where my Italian leather briefcase and Jimmy Choo stilettos—both gifts from Jeremy as well—are waiting for me. I step into my heels and give myself a final once-over in the front hall mirror before I leave.
Maybe Jeremy’s right. My hair does look good straight.
I guess it wouldn’t hurt to keep it like this a while longer.