“I’d be happy to give you a ride whenever you wanted,” he answered and returned to the living room. I wondered if it had been a genuine offer or a double entendre. I had a feeling that my Fiesta would be coming to an end soon. Ole´. I put two cups of tea on a tray and found some scones that were probably still edible.
When I came back into the living room, rather than sitting and waiting, he was examining a bookshelf in my writing nook. I stopped in my tracks and held my breath. I hadn’t told him my pen name because I hadn’t wanted him to read my sexual fantasies in book form, especially since, lately, he was the star. I saw him tilt his head to the side and pull a book off the shelf. Oh shit. Why hadn’t I chosen a better pen name?
“An erotic romance by Lilah Alden,” he said, a smile slowly forming on his lips. “You know, I’m sure it’s purely coincidental, but Lilah Alden sounds a lot like Lily Adler.” He looked up at me triumphantly.
“Would you like me to autograph it for you?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant as I walked over and put the tea tray down on the coffee table, before it shook out of my hands.
“Will you write something dirty?” He laughed.
“I’m sure I could work in the word ‘fuck’,” I replied and he laughed even harder. I sat down and helped myself to my tea, pretending that I wasn’t freaking out.
“Touch, huh? And where can I purchase this great piece of literature?” He brought it with him as he came over and sat on the love seat across from me.
“Just take it. I know how much you’re dying to make fun of me.”
“That’s not why I want to read it,” he said very seriously.
“Then why are you so eager to read a romance novel?”
“Because it’s sexy and you wrote it,” he said. My stomach did a back flip. One thought and one thought only screamed in my brain; ‘Oh no, please God. A physical attraction is bad enough. Please don’t let me be falling for Adam’.
Not knowing how to respond, I looked away nervously, noticed that I had forgotten to close my curtains when I came in, and went over to do it. Because it was darker outside even with the streetlight, all I saw was my reflection in the glass until I got there, but I decided that I had better take a quick peek out the window to make sure nobody had stripped Adam’s car.
Cupping my hand above my eyes and peering through the glass, I saw that the Saab was still there and intact, and I was about to look away and step back when something in the building across the street caught my eye. The window directly across from me revealed a room in semi-darkness with a shadowy figure just standing there, completely still. It felt like someone watching me and it creeped me out, so I backed up and closed the curtains quickly. Adam must have noticed my reaction, because he got up and walked up behind me.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, making me jump.
“Nothing,” I said, feeling foolish. “I just thought maybe I saw someone watching me from the apartment across the street but it was probably a mistake.” He pulled the curtain back again and took a look himself.
“I don’t see anybody,” he said, peering out. I checked again too and the figure was gone. “You’re just getting all flighty because of that burglar we chased out in the woods. While I agree you should be careful around here, don’t let your imagination run away with you.”
“Yeah, okay. Well, stop telling me how I’m taking my life in my hands living here, then.”
“Speaking of the local crime rate, I guess I should get going before somebody really does boost my car. You going to your Girls’ Night thing tomorrow?” he said, walking over to the door and grabbing his coat off the peg.
“Gabrielle and I are just going to hang out with Jess. Beth is out of town.” I went over to let him out, and stood there, suddenly feeling amazingly awkward and almost shy. What did I want, a freaking goodnight kiss? Snap out of it, Lil!
“I’ll be at Braden’s. If you get a ride there, I’ll give you a ride home. Then maybe your car will last another ten miles.”
“Okay, thanks. It has been making some weirder noises than usual lately.”
“Give me your number so I can call you when I’m coming to pick you up.”
“Give me yours then too, in case my plans change.”
I wanted to keep everything with Adam on equal ground. I went over to my purse, grabbed my phone, and brought it over. I handed it to him so we could exchange information, and as I did, his hand brushed against mine. The fact that it made me want to knock him down and “go cowgirl” was more than just a little disturbing. When was this going to pass? He called my phone and typed in his info, while I tried not to look like I was picturing him naked.
“Try to stay alive, Adler,” he said with a sexy smile as he turned to go.
“Hope your car’s still there, Roth,” I called after him. I closed my door and leaned against it with a stupid grin on my face.
Chapter Five
“Fuckety-fuck! Get in here, honey and tell us what happened with Captain Ego!” Jess exclaimed excitedly the minute I walked through the door.
“How did you know?” I asked with surprise. I had only texted her a quick confirmation that I was coming. I was saving that bit until I got here. I was in such a good mood that I had splurged and taken a cab so that the bus wouldn’t ruin it.
“Mark told Braden,” Gab explained. “I overheard part of the conversation and I made Braden tell me everything.”
“You made him tell you?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow inquisitively.
“She has ways,” Jess chimed in. “And don’t think he didn’t enjoy the interrogation process, honey.” She smiled knowingly.
“I’ll bet.” I laughed. “The way Braden looks at Gab is enough to make me blush.”
“I’m going to work hard on finding out what Adam had to say about it tonight,” Gabrielle said with a look of happy anticipation. “It’s the least I can do.”
“She’ll go to the mattress for you, honey.” Jess laughed, taking a sip of wine.
“So, what inside information were you able to get me, Mata Hari?”
“Well,” she began, leaning forward conspiratorially, “last night, when Mark decided to have a little fun and flirt with you, Adam got really jealous, and neither Braden nor Mark can ever remember Adam getting seriously jealous over any woman before.”
“Braden said that Adam officially invoked the ‘Guy Code’,” Jess jumped in, reaching over and grabbing my upper arms like she was going to shake me senseless.
“The ‘Guy Code’?” I asked curiously, while gently extricating myself from Jess’s death grip and retreating out of range.
“Adam called Mark this morning and told him that he was finally thinking about possibly asking you out on a date,” Gab explained. “That’s an implicit directive not to flirt with you.”
“He was thinking about possibly asking me out? What is that, like calling dibs on me?”
“It’s better than peeing on you, honey,” Jess replied, smothering a Triscuit with Port Wine cheese.
“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t hold your breath. The evening that he slept in my room after we chased down the burglar, the one thing he said before he passed out was, ‘I’m not ready’.”
“That was two months ago. I don’t suppose you want to take the bull by the horns, huh?” Gab asked, pouring some more Chianti into her glass.
“My parents never liked me very much. I have rejection issues.”
“The problem is, so does he,” Gab said.
“Adam has rejection issues?” I asked incredulously. “Why in God’s name would Adam have rejection issues?”
“Same reason you do, because of his family,” she answered.
“Are you kidding? Adam’s the baby of his family and the only boy. His three older sisters adore him. His mom thinks he’s a walking miracle.”
“Exactly,” Gab replied. “Which is why it has always seemed natural for other women to adore him. But you’ve always been different. He isn’t sure of you. You might tur
n him down and his ego couldn’t take that.”
“Even if we did date, the minute we had sex it would stop being a challenge and he would get bored.”
“You challenge him in other ways,” Jess responded.
“And he wouldn’t get bored in bed either. Just let him read your books,” Gab added.
“He saw them in my apartment and figured it out. I let him keep a copy of Touch.”
“The one where you two are the characters?” Jess asked.
“They’re not us,” I insisted.
“The biggest obstacle is that the two of you have never really communicated with each other well,” Gab noted, “but you’re both attorneys. You can always negotiate.”
“What, like a plea bargain?” I asked.
“Think of it more like a contract,” she replied. “Braden and I started out with a negotiation. It just turned out to be a bit easier for us.”
“A bit? You were happily married within three months of your first date. Adam and I have been battling for twenty-three years.”
“I’m telling you, you got this, Lil,” Gab said, looking me straight in the eye.
“I think so too,” Jess said, waggling her eyebrows and taking a sip of wine.
“You need to be around each other more, though,” Gab said. “You have that annual law librarian party at O’Malley’s on Friday, right? All of us usually stop off there after work on Fridays. Come and hang out with us afterwards.”
“We’ll make sure he takes you home,” Jess added
“You may not have to. He offered me a ride whenever I wanted one. In fact, he’s supposed to give me a ride tonight.” Jess and Gab exchanged excited looks. “You seem to be enjoying this quite a bit.”
“Well, first and foremost we want you to be happy,” Gab explained.
“But you have to understand, honey, the thought of Adam smitten, brings us a great deal of pleasure for many reasons.”
“So, how long will Beth be gone?” I asked, changing the subject to another close friend who usually joined us for these Girls’ Nights.
“A few weeks,” Gabrielle replied. “Since she’s going to be in charge of the non-profit side of the legal clinic Braden and I are starting, we have her down in D.C. observing a similar practice. She’s staying in her family’s townhouse down there.”
“It’s nice to have a parent who’s a senator,” Jess noted.
“It’s nice to have a parent you can stand to be around,” I added dryly.
Time flew by quickly and my phone rang in the middle of a giggling fit that Gabrielle brought on telling me stories about her former clients. When I saw the name, adrenaline shot through my body and I got butterflies in my stomach. I told myself to get a grip and remember that this was the same guy who had answered “Lily Adler” when our ninth grade Biology teacher had asked him to name an asexual organism.
“I assume that’s you, Adam, since I don’t know anyone named ‘Phone Sex’.”
“I liked your book.”
“You finished it?” I saw my friends look up and make all kinds of excited faces.
“You know, I’m sure it’s purely coincidental, but your main characters look a lot like us,” he said smugly. I rolled my eyes.
“Are you calling to point that out to me?”
“No, I’m calling to tell you I’ll meet you in the lobby in five minutes.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Bring Gabrielle down with you. We’ll bring Cameron and arrange a trade.”
“We’ll be there,” I answered and ended the call, looking up to see my friends smiling at me gleefully, just like Bruce last night.
Gabrielle and I said our goodbyes to Jess and got our things together, heading for the lobby. She went over to chat with her former doorman, so I picked up a copy of the Metro, a free newspaper, and stood leaning against a wall. I started to read the coverage of a big mob trial that was about to begin. Apparently, the government had some important witness who could put the favored son of a famous South Philly crime family behind bars.
My concentration was broken a couple of minutes later when I felt a hand at the small of my back. My jacket was thin, and so even over the top of it, it felt nice. I smelled Acqua di Gio and a warm, excited feeling filled me up inside.
“Well, if it isn’t Lilah Alden, erotic novelist.”
“So you liked my book, huh?” I asked without turning around.
“I couldn’t put it down.”
“I assume you can read with one hand then,” I joked.
“You have a dirty mind, Ms. Adler. I like that in a woman.”
“I’ll bet.” I laughed.
“Reading about the Moretti trial, I see. They’re talking about doing some of the related cases in Common Pleas. I’m hoping they’ll assign me to one of them.”
“Couldn’t that be dangerous?” I asked, trying not to sound like I cared as much as I did.
He rested a hand on my hip and leaned in so close that I could feel him smile against my ear. “Why, Lilith, are you worried about me?” he asked in a quiet, sultry voice. I pulled in a deep breath and steadied my nerves. Then I folded my paper and spun around quickly, so that we were literally toe to toe. I looked up at him and gave him my best cocky smile.
“If anything happens to you, I’ll have to start driving again. Let’s go, Phone Sex.”
Cameron must have already gone upstairs, and Gabrielle and Braden were probably halfway to bed by that time. They were a very passionate couple, even for newlyweds. We stepped out into the November night and I pulled my thin coat around me more tightly. Adam must have noticed, because he put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. I looked up at him with surprise. “It’s cold and that jacket can’t be very warm,” he said in answer to my silent question.
“Thanks,” I mumbled and snuggled up against him closer. It didn’t help all that much, but Lord, he smelled good.
His car was only about another block away, and so we were out of the cold in minutes. We got in and he started the engine, letting it warm up for a minute. The Black Keyes started singing Lonely Boy, and he turned it down.
“What’s that perfume you’re wearing?” he asked, looking over at me.
“Coco Chanel. It’s one of the things I splurge on so that I can still feel like a girl.”
“You’re a girl. Trust me.” He glanced at me again and his eyes dropped to my body for just a second before he looked away. “What else do you splurge on?” he asked, as he pulled out into traffic. I became hyper aware of how close he was in the enclosed space of the car. Now that he had put his arm around me, all I could think of was how much I wanted him wrapped around me again.
“Not that much, some cute shoes, some pretty lingerie. Everything else goes to my books,” I answered, feeling distracted.
“Can I read the rest of them?”
“You actually want to?” I asked, surprised.
“I like good smut,” he said with a smile. Feeling emboldened by the praise, I decided to take a chance.
“If you meant it about giving me a ride, and you’re going to be at O’Malley’s on Friday, maybe I’ll take you up on it,” I said, casually. “I have to be there for the annual party for law librarians, and Jess and Gab asked me to hang out afterwards.”
I was doing my best to seem completely nonchalant, but meanwhile, my stomach felt like a tight bundle of nerves, and if my heart beat any harder, I was going to break a rib. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone had made me feel this way.
“A holiday party for law librarians. Sounds pretty wild,” he joked.
“Last year Bruce and I were almost comatose by the end. It doesn’t help that because it’s an officially sponsored event they won’t serve alcohol.”
“Why do they hold it in a pub then?” he asked, furrowing his brow.
“I can only assume it’s some kind of cruel joke,” I answered.
“Well, in answer to your question, yes, I’ll give you a ride. It’s my civic du
ty to keep a beaten up Ford Fiesta off the roadways.”
“I probably would have just taken the bus.”
“The bus? Why don’t you just wear a ‘mug me’ sign?”
“When I’m a famous …”
“Yeah, yeah. I know, Hemingway.”
Chapter Six
Soon he was parking. We went through the ritual of the sticking front door, the broken inner door. When we got inside, I saw M. Davis, the elderly man from the second floor, come down the stairs. He seemed like a sweet old guy. He looked at Adam and did a double take.
“Hey, I recognize you!” he said to Adam and came over to us like he had found an old friend. I thought maybe they knew each other socially or something.
“I recognize you too,” Adam answered, a smile slowly forming on his lips.
“Yeah, you weren’t the fella who was prosecutin’ me, but you were there with him. I’m Maximillian Davis!” He smiled at Adam, who was now grinning from ear to ear.
“Right, Mr. Davis! You were the gentleman who committed all the moving violations on your way to make a booty call.” I must have looked shocked, and Adam must have seen it in his peripheral vision, because he almost lost it.
“You do remember! My Viagra had kicked in, but I didn’t know how long I had!” I could see Adam struggling not to laugh, and I knew that he wanted desperately to look at me, but that he couldn’t do it without cracking up.
“Ms. Adler here, is close friends with your former lawyer.”
“Oh, I remember her! She was a cutie pie and, oh boy, she was feisty! I think that other prosecutor had a crush on her,” he said with a knowing smile. “Bet you guys get all the cute lady lawyers, huh?”
“Ms. Adler, also a lawyer,” Adam answered, practically overflowing with amusement as he implied that he was ‘getting’ me. I wanted to strangle him.
“Nice to meet you,” I said evenly. He finally turned to me and the ‘sweet’ old guy proceeded to check me out!
“The pleasure’s all mine, cupcake. If she’s as feisty as her friend, I’ll bet she keeps you busy,” he said, giving Adam a wink and an elbow.
Legal Briefs (Lawyers in Love) Page 4