Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
F ifteen minutes into talking with Jonas and Cece knew she’d misjudged him. A lot. Possibly as much as one person could misjudge another. “You’re really an attorney?” she asked a second time.
“Was,” he said. “I retired two years ago and moved to the Colony. The life I was living, being an attorney, was…” He shook his head as he picked up a French fry.
“It was turning me into someone I didn’t want to be.
Someone I didn’t like.” He sighed as though remembering how those days had weighed on him.
“You don’t look like any retired attorney I’ve ever met.
” And not just because he was handsome, something she was glad she hadn’t imagined.
There were a lot of good-looking attorneys out there.
He was just so…laid-back. He was also pretty well-dressed compared to how he’d looked on the beach.
Tonight, he looked like he’d walked off the pages of a Tommy Bahama catalog.
Beautiful, tropical silk shirt, pressed khaki shorts, matching woven tan leather belt and loafers. His hair was neatly combed, and he was clean shaven. The water-hued blues of his shirt made his blue eyes impossible to ignore. He also smelled good enough to?—
She distracted herself by snagging a fried shrimp and dipping it in the mango salsa. For a bowling alley, the food was shockingly good. It would have been good anywhere, actually.
Jonas leaned in, a twinkle in his eyes. “Would it help if I were fat and balding?”
She nodded. “Tremendously.” She smiled halfway through the word, unable to keep a straight face. “I thought you were…never mind.”
“Come on, now, tell the truth.”
“I’m not under oath.”
He laughed. “No, but I know how people see me. They usually think I’m a beach bum looking for a handout.”
She slowly moved her finger to the tip of her nose. “Got it in one.”
Still grinning, he shook his head. “So you agreed to go bowling with a beach bum?” His eyes narrowed. “Good to know the bar’s set so low.”
“I agreed because—” she sighed. “I have to be honest. I’d had a little too much wine last night.”
“You did mention that, but thanks for confirming it. So you’re saying you’re sitting here because of poor judgment.” He clutched at his heart. “I’m wounded. I thought my charm and charisma had overwhelmed you.”
She smirked. Joe, as he preferred to be called, was quite a character.
She was glad she hadn’t canceled. Nothing would come of this, of course, but it would be an entertaining evening.
Something to tell the Queen Bees about at the next book club meeting.
“I’m glad I said yes now that I know you’re not a psychopath. ”
He gestured at her with a French fry. “The night’s young. I still could be.”
She nodded and ate another shrimp. “True. But would a psychopath really have given me that beautiful shell?”
He smiled. “Very astute observation.” He picked up his fried grouper sandwich. “How’s your food?”
“Kind of astonishing for a bowling alley. The mango salsa is delicious. And there’s nothing like fresh-cut fries with the skins still on. This was a good choice.”
“Good, I’m glad.”
“What do you do with yourself now that you’re retired?”
“You’re going to laugh, but that’s okay.” He ate a fry. “I’m pursuing my lifelong dream of being a working musician.”
She blinked. “I’m not laughing. That’s really cool. Do you write music? Do you play an instrument? Tell me more.” She couldn’t sing or play, so she was immediately impressed.
“I play the guitar and sing. I do some covers but if the crowd’s right, I do a few of my own songs, too.
” He was clearly pleased to be sharing this and also pleased that she hadn’t laughed.
“Shooters Bar in town has an open mic night once a month and they liked me so much I play one Friday a month there now.”
“That’s fantastic. Good for you. I will have to get my friends to come with me some night to hear you.”
“Yeah?” He nodded. “That would be all right.”
He couldn’t spend that much time on his music, though. “You must also spend a lot of time on the beach to be that tan.”
“I do,” he said. “It gives me a real sense of peace to be by the water. I write a lot of lyrics out there. And, yes, I hunt for shells. My mom and I used to do it, and it stuck with me. Kind of my way of keeping her memory alive, I guess.”
“That’s sweet.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why did you ask me out? You’re obviously a lot cooler than I am.”
He laughed. “I don’t think that’s true.” He shrugged and stared at his basket of food. “You looked so beautiful in that golden light. There was such joy in your eyes.” He winked. “Now, I know it was the wine.”
She chuckled. “That was probably part of it.
“I felt like running into you that way wasn’t just happenstance. It made me think there was a reason it had happened. That I should at least get to know you. Asking you out seemed like the best way to do that.”
She tried not to focus on the fact that he’d called her beautiful, but she was extra glad she’d asked for Blaise’s help getting ready tonight. “You believe in fate?”
“I guess I did in that moment. You don’t?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Do things always happen for a reason? If so, the universe owes me some answers.”
“Maybe all those things that happened were leading you here.”
“An easier path would have been nice.” She quickly smiled to take the bitterness out of her words. “Sorry. I’ve been through some stuff in my life but who hasn’t, right?”
“You can say that again. Life is not always simple, is it?” He got an odd look on his face. “Have you ever been nearly disbarred?”
Her eyes widened. “You were disbarred?”
“ Nearly .” He shook his head. “I had to make a choice about a case, and it cost me my career, but I can still live with myself, so I’m all right with it. I didn’t expect to be forced into early retirement, but it worked out.”
She wanted to tell him what had happened to her, but she also didn’t want it shared. Suddenly inspired, she pulled a dollar bill from her purse and slid it across the table. “Here. I want to hire you.”
His brows bent in confusion. “I’m not?—”
“I want attorney-client privilege.”
His confusion changed to amusement. He took the dollar. “All right, you’ve got it, but I’m putting this dollar toward the tip.”
“Fine with me.” She took a breath. “I was an investigative journalist. I broke a big story. Won the National Press award, then it was discovered that one of my sources, my main one, lied to get revenge on his employer.”
“Wow,” Joe whispered.
The hurt and humiliation of those days came back to her. She nodded. “The award was rescinded and my husband left me, although I later found out he’d already been seeing someone, and my scandal was the perfect excuse he was looking for.”
“What a piece of?—”
“Yes, he was.” She almost told him about having to go through cancer alone, too, but she didn’t want his pity.
“I’m really sorry that happened to you.”
“I’m really sorry you almost got disbarred.” They had more in common than she’d have guessed.
He shook his head. “You didn’t need to hire me for me to keep your secrets but thank you for confiding in me.
What you went through was worse than my situation.
That kind of betrayal…I don’t get how human beings can treat each other that way.
That’s part of why I had to stop being an attorney.
The things I saw…” He exhaled. “My soul couldn’t take it anymore. ”
“What did you do to get almost disbarred? Or is that the investigative journalist in me going to far?”
“Not too far, but a story for a different time.” He glanced at his watch. “We have about twenty minutes to finish our food and get to our lane.”
She ate another shrimp. “About that. The whole bowling thing. Since we’re being so upfront with each other, I lied about that. I’ve never bowled a day in my life. Not even lawn bowling.”
“Cece Davenport.” He gave her a look. “You’re not supposed to lie to your attorney.”
She grinned as she took a French fry. “You weren’t my attorney when I told you that.”
“I’ll allow it then. Fortunately for you, I am quite the bowling expert. I’ll show you what to do. If that’s all right.”
“That would be great. I’m prepared to roll a lot of gutter balls and completely embarrass myself, but at least your expectations will be low.”
“I don’t know. I think even if every ball is a gutter ball, I’m still going to want to see you again.”
That left her without a reply. She’d really thought this would be a one-time thing. She wasn’t interested in getting tangled up with a man who would most likely disappoint her. She was happy single.
Just her and Peanut.
But Joe was such a different kind of guy. Not at all like the men she was used to. Was she insane to think he wouldn’t disappoint her?
“Okay,” he said. “I can see you weren’t ready for that.
One thing you’ll soon figure out about me, if you haven’t yet, is that when I want something, I go after it.
I don’t let fear or worry hold me back. To use a baseball analogy, it means I swing at everything that looks good, but my batting average is terrible.
” He was studying her like he was sizing her up. “And I’m all right with that.”
She was all right with it, too. “You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”
His brows lifted. “Quoting Wayne Gretzky? I’m impressed.”
She shook her head. “Don’t be. That was one of my dad’s favorite sayings. He was a big hockey fan.”
“Sounds like a great guy. And it sums up my attitude toward life.”
“I’m not like that at all. Not anymore. Not since I got burned.” She ate her last fry. “But maybe I should be.”
He smiled. “As your attorney, I approve.” Sandwich gone, he pushed his basket away, then dropped a generous amount of money on the table. “Ready to knock some pins down?”
“You’re very optimistic.” She got her purse.
He stood and held out his hand. “Someone’s got to believe things can still go right, even after they’ve gone wrong.”
It was hard not to smile around the guy. She wasn’t about to tell Joe this, but she was already thinking he might be good for her.
She took his hand.