Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
She was so emotional this evening. She could remember the moment so clearly. She could feel the way the air had changed from the heat outside to the air-conditioned office, hear the slight rattle of the ceiling fan, taste the sweet tea the secretary had offered her. “Your dad and his secretary didn’t treat me like a dumb kid. He talked to me like I was smart. And he dealt with the situation. He negotiated a deal so she only got probation. The public defender had told my aunt she better be prepared for Cassie to serve at least three years. And that was when I knew I wanted to be a lawyer.”
“I’m glad he was able to do that for you. How is Cassie today?”
“She’s married with three kids. She moved to Houston and works for an insurance company, and she has a good life that I don’t think she would’ve had if it wasn’t for your father.” She wiped away another stupid tear. “I thought I was going to go into criminal law. That was my plan when I started. Sometimes I think about how far I’ve drifted from where I thought I would be.”
“And I think about how I never even once drifted, and that means I never got to figure out if there’s anything beyond right where I am.” He set down his glass and leaned toward her. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”
“I’ve changed a lot since I was that kid. It’s okay.”
“I promise I’ll never make that mistake again.”
The silky sound of his voice did odd things to her libido. She was surprised she still had a libido. She’d kind of thought she wasn’t that woman, but Quaid Havery was reminding her that she had all the right parts and hormones. He made her understand she’d been fooling herself all these years, shoving her physical needs aside.
It was a bad idea.
It would be so much easier on her if she hadn’t stopped at the office. She had enough money for a couple of days at a motel. Especially if the motel needed some legal representation, because then she could barter for a room. She could sell the last of her handbags and find a job. Any job that didn’t keep her in the same space as the most tempting man she’d ever known. She couldn’t go down this road again. Quaid wasn’t Todd, but their families were similar.
“I should go to bed.” If she stayed up any longer, she worried she might end up in the man’s arms. Arms would lead to lots of other mingling body parts. “I’ll answer the phones tomorrow if I can’t convince Sienna to come in, but if I can’t find a place to stay soon, I’ll have to move on. I’ve got a friend in Dallas I might be able to stay with until I can deal with the bar situation.”
“Jayna, you can stay here for as long as you need. And I’ve got the bar situation handled. I was going to talk to you about this tomorrow. I found an attorney who specializes in bar complaints. We can call her tomorrow but she’s going to be at a conference I’m attending in New Orleans in a couple of weeks. I was hoping you would come with me and meet her.”
More and more temptation. “You want me to go to New Orleans with you?”
“That’s where she’ll be,” he replied as though it was a very simple situation and not one fraught with a never-ending minefield of sexual tension. “I suppose we could drive separately, but it’s a networking conference so you might get something out of it, too.”
She knew that conference well. She’d signed up for it before the divorce. “I’ve got tickets. I go every year. Todd and I split up those conferences so we didn’t have to do them all. And so that he wasn’t uncomfortable banging every blonde in sight.”
He completely ignored her quip, nodding her way. “Excellent. I’ve got a suite.”
A suite in one of the most romantic cities in the world with a man who made her mouth water. “I don’t know if it’s such a good idea that I stay with you.”
“I would try to get you your own room, but I believe the hotel is full. You’d have your own room in the suite.” He studied her for a moment. “You do realize I was planning on staying here tonight, don’t you? That’s why I was here so late.”
“I thought you were working.” How she’d gone from being thoroughly annoyed by the man to kind of wanting to be around him . . . a lot . . . she didn’t understand. Kind of? She needed to stop lying to herself. She still had a thing for him, and it wasn’t merely sexual. She liked him.