by Jade Kerrion
“It’s up to the state, but we certainly hope so.”
“That’s great. Are all your cases like this?”
“None that has gone this public. Most cases are settled quietly, and I’ve only handled two Hannah’s Home cases in the past three years.”
“So how does a not-for-profit get into the good graces of a legal firm?”
Nicole shrugged. “I’ve volunteered with Hannah’s Home for many years, and when I finally became a lawyer, I realized I could help on an even higher level.”
“It’s amazing how you find the time to volunteer. Saturday is my only day off. I’m in the clinic Sundays through Fridays.”
“But you own it, right?” Nicole asked.
Rico nodded. “I realized early on I didn’t have the right temperament for taking orders from other people.”
Nicole laughed, a surprisingly musical sound that made his gut clench. In the sunlight, her face only lightly touched with makeup and with a dazzling smile on her lips, she looked different from the uptight, impatient business woman who had strode into the clinic on Friday morning, or the tired, exasperated woman who had entered it on Friday night.
She was actually pretty.
“How long have you owned your clinic?” she asked.
“Is that a not-so-subtle way of asking how old I am?”
She laughed. “Actually, lawyers who bill in 15-minute increments can be refreshingly direct, and in my experience, I’ve found only a slight correlation between maturity and age. You’re a business owner, and you have experiences others don’t.”
“Probably so,” Rico agreed. “I started working at the clinic six years ago after graduating from veterinarian school, and bought it about two years ago, when Jack Smith decided to retire.”
“Are you the only vet in the clinic?”
“No, we have two. Phyllis is one of the original employees of the clinic when Jack started it two decades ago. She could have bought Jack out, I suppose, but she wanted to deal with animals, not accounting, payroll, and balancing the books.”
“And you did?”
“Well, not really the accounting, payroll, and balancing the books part, but the being-my-own-boss part? Sure. The paperwork is a small price to pay for not having to answer to anyone else.”
“Spoken like a true entrepreneur.”
“What about you? Ever thought of owning your own firm?”
“Me? No.” Nicole shook her head. “Or at least, not yet. Partnership is a long way away.” Her smile faded as if the mention of partnership had struck an unhappy chord.
“Hey, want to grab some brunch?” Rico pointed to a corner café. “They’ve got a great selection of bagels with any trimming you could possibly want for breakfast or lunch.”
“I know. It’s one of my favorite places.”
“Ever tried their Norwegian Blast? One of my favorites.”
She gave him a skeptical narrow-eyed look. “Fish smear isn’t high on my list.”
“They have smoked salmon on it too.”
“But they have that smear of what they think is fish. In reality, it could be an oil slick, and you wouldn’t know it.”
“Wow, cynical much? It smells like fish—”
“Rotten fish.”
“Still counts for something. Come on. Hey, Big Guy!” Rico raised his voice and the Belgian Malinois stopped. “He knows his name. Smart dog,” Rico said to Nicole in normal tones before calling out to the dog again. “This way. Lunchtime.”
“You handle that so casually,” Nicole said as Big Guy sauntered over to them, hardly inconvenienced by his splint.
“What?”
“Dogs.”
“I’m a vet. I’d be a poor excuse for a vet if I didn’t handle dogs easily.” He stroked Big Guy’s head. “We’ll have to get an outside table, if you don’t mind.”
“It’s not that cold, and I like the fresh air. I’m cooped up indoors most days.”
“Me, too. That’s why I love my Saturdays. It’s my only chance to be out and about.”
“I see you’ve already had your exercise this morning.”
“Yeah. Three-mile run, enough to get the juices pumping, not enough to screw up the knees.”
“You have screwed up knees?”
“Came from playing football back in high school and college. Lost a scholarship when a bad tackle blew out my knee. Fortunately, my buddy’s parents helped pay for my last year in college, or I might have dropped out.”
“That was fortunate. But what led you to veterinarian school?”
“Always loved animals. It was my sweet spot. Never regretted it.”
“Not even if you could have made more money playing football?”
“Well, football was always a long shot. My buddy—the one whose parents helped me—was the quarterback. I was the running back. In the end, he joined the Marines. Went to do his bit for the country.” He shrugged. “Life rarely seems to work out the way you planned, but sometimes, it’s a bit better than all the planning you could have done.”
“Guess you got lucky.”
“And you? Did you get lucky?”
She paused, as if thinking hard about his question. “Yes, I did. In the grand scheme of things, I supposed I lucked out.”
He studied her. “So why aren’t you smiling?”
“I lucked out, but someone else didn’t.”
“I don’t think the world works that way. Someone doesn’t have to lose so that you win.”
She snorted. “Life doesn’t dole out the goodness in an evenhanded way. If it did, we’d have no need for a justice system. No need for the rule of law.”
“Justice is blind, huh?”
“Luck is even blinder, and it has worse aim.”
Rico chuckled. “What made you so bitter?”
“I’m not bitter, just realistic. How come you’re so sweetly optimistic?”
“I guess I’ve seen things work out time and time again. Family and friends, you know. They always come through for you.”
“I think love blinds you,” Nicole whispered. Her half-smile was wistful, almost sad. “Love makes you want to give people another chance.”
“And what’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with forgiveness and a fresh start?”
“When it’s not really a fresh start.” She forced a smile. “Look, this is a terrible conversation to have on a bright and happy Saturday morning. Why don’t we talk about something else?”
“But I like this conversation. It gives me this peek into you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why would you want a peek into me?”
“Because you’re fascinating.”
She flushed and looked away.
“Hmm.” Rico tipped her chin up and was rewarded with a jerk of her head away from his fingers. “I didn’t think a compliment would make a worldly person like you uncomfortable.”
“Maybe it’s the sincerity of the compliment that’s in question.”
“Ouch,” Rico said, but he was less offended than he thought he would be, perhaps because cynicism and suspicion seemed to be her default style. “Have I given you any reason to doubt me?”
“Not in the less than 36 hours that we’ve known each other.”
“Okay, they really do train you to be sharp-witted and sharp-tongued in law school.”
She tossed her head, and her long brown hair swayed in the breeze. “Dumb isn’t a privilege most people can afford these days. What do you want from me, besides free board for a stray dog over the weekend?”
Nicole was a tough pickle, no question about it.
But he liked tough pickles, especially if they made him work for something worth having.
It occurred to him then that he hadn’t been in a meaningful relationship for a while. The occasional dates his sister set up for him didn’t count. The clinic had kept him too busy to notice, and the occasional dates, which lasted through the night, kept him from feeling, too acutely, his sexual drought.
No, the sexua
l drought wasn’t the issue. Now that the clinic had reached a steady state and he wasn’t consistently working 18-hour days to stay on top of the paperwork, he was realizing the lack in his life. The lack of someone he could text message through the day with a random thought. The lack of someone he could share a funny picture he had received over social media. The lack of an emotional connection to one person.
He stopped walking as they approached the bagel store. “So, are we still on for brunch?”
Nicole’s eyes narrowed. “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m starving.”
“I don’t know. You seemed to retreat when we started getting personal.”
A grin tugged up at the side of her mouth. “I’m a lawyer, Rico. I don’t retreat. I just find somewhere else to go on the offensive.”
“We’re going to have a really interesting friendship if you keep framing things in terms of war.”
“Friendship?” Nicole eyebrows arched. There was something wicked in her expression, and damn if he wasn’t turned on by her playful streak. “Do you always move so quickly?” she asked.
“When I see something that interests me,” Rico said.
“You don’t even know if I’m in a relationship.”
“I don’t think you are. There aren’t any telltale pictures in your apartment.” Rico frowned; it was odd that she wasn’t in a relationship. Someone with her looks, style, and wit wouldn’t be on the singles market for long, unless it was by choice.
“So you snooped around?” Nicole asked.
“You didn’t say not to. Are you in a relationship?”
Her smile turned chilly. “I just broke off an affair.”
His heart stuttered. “You what?”
“I just broke off an affair with a married man.”
Rico could feel the skin on his face tighten. “Why?”
“Because we were done.”
“No, I mean why would you have an affair with a married man?”
“Because he was safe.”
If his eyes could have popped out, they might have. “Safe?”
“He wasn’t going to ask me to marry him, and we both knew it. It was safe. The relationship had a guaranteed end date.”
Rico stared at her until he could find his voice. “I don’t think…I’ve ever met someone like you.”
Her response was an arched brow. “Someone like me?”
“Someone who wasn’t looking for a long-term relationship. A boyfriend. A husband.”
“I don’t need those to be happy.” For an instant, her mocking smile edged toward sadness.
“No, of course not, but it doesn’t stop most people from looking.”
“Well, I’m not, unless you’re in the market for an affair?”
Rico grimaced. “Well, I don’t have a girlfriend or a wife, so technically, I can’t have an affair, can I?”
Nicole shrugged and walked past him to grab a table near the outdoor heater. Big Guy followed her and sprawled beneath her seat. She looked up at Rico. “Why are you staring at me like a specimen under a microscope?”
“Probably because I’ve never had a woman flat out tell me she wasn’t interested in me unless there was some kind of expiration date on the relationship.”
“All relationships have expiration dates. Some are imposed by life. Others—well, let’s just say I prefer to set my own terms. I’m not looking for anything long term, Rico. As long as we both understand that, I’m willing to have a drink or two with you and see where things lead.”
Huh.
It had been one thing when a date, followed by a night together, led to a mutual realization that the chemistry wasn’t enough for a sustainable relationship. As far as he was concerned, he had gone into it with honorable intentions. He had walked away, his conscience clear.
But with Nicole? Rico didn’t even know where to start. He frowned. “I’m a little offended you would dismiss the possibility of a long-term relationship with me out of hand.”
“I would have thought that most men would be thrilled at the idea of a no-commitment relationship.”
“Well…” Rico dragged out the word. “Yes, until they don’t.”
Nicole laughed. “That was singularly unenlightening.”
Rico tried to stick his hands into his pockets until he realized his sweatpants had none. “How about I go get you your brunch while I think of an answer?”
“Sounds great. Toasted blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese, please. And a hot coffee, black, unsweetened.”
“No dash of human blood on the side?”
A dimple flashed in her cheek. “I don’t eat dessert too early in the day, and a dash would be too little anyway.”
Rico chuckled as he stepped away. She had a snappy, self-deprecating sense of humor. It counted as a plus. Still, something rankled and tightened into a knot in his chest. It made no sense. She was right; he should have been grateful for a no-expectations relationship. Didn’t most men want a beautiful woman for companionship and sex, and no commitment? Which man wouldn’t be over the roof with that option?
This man.
He mulled over the dilemma as he waited for his order. His head was no clearer when he carried the bagels and coffee back to the table. She was there. Somehow, he hadn’t been sure she would be. When was the last time a woman had him this off-balance?
Never.
The guessing—the never knowing—was a huge turn-on.
I’ve always been a sucker for a good chase, and she’s that, all right.
He set her order in front of her. “Enjoy.”
“Thank you.”
For a moment, he settled for watching her, not commenting when she offered bits of her bagel to the dog. A soft heart under that prickly, uncaring exterior. And she loves dogs. And the dog loves her.
The dog couldn’t possibly be wrong.
It was enough for him. “Deal.”
She looked up quizzically.
“An affair sounds great.”
Nicole laughed. “Okay, so do you want to let me know when you find a girlfriend so that we can start our affair?”
“Nah, we can skip that part.”
“Are you sure you’re all right with it? You’d expressed some reservations.”
“Ah, I love the lawyer in you. Does your mind ever turn off?”
“As it would lead to bad decisions, I’d say no.”
“Ever had a bad decision lead to a good outcome?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Because an affair with you is sort of falling into the category of questionable—if not a necessarily bad—decision.”
“Oh, please elaborate.”
Her persnickety tone turned him on; he had to be crazy. Rico sipped from his too-hot coffee, but it did not jolt him back to his senses. Too far gone—and over what exactly? “I’ve never done this no-commitment thing before.”
“Really? Never been on one-off dates? Never had a one-night stand?”
“Well…” He dragged out the word.
“I rest my case.”
“It was never with the intention of a one-off. It was always with a mind to see if it could be more.”
“Intention is the difference between murder and manslaughter, but in the end, someone’s still dead, and in many states, the sentence isn’t all that different.”
“Wow, you really do know how to make any conversation morbid.”
“I’m a lawyer. I’m not sunshine, happy tunes, and apple pie.”
“I wouldn’t think it for a second. I was just hoping for normal.”
Nicole exploded into laughter—a silvery burst of sound that tugged a smile to his lips. The sound warmed him, made him feel like he was part of the insider joke. Part of her magic. The part that made it hard to make sane choices.
Beautiful girl with smarts and a great sense of humor offers a no-commitment relationship. Why aren’t I leaping at this chance?
The words popped out of his mouth. “What’s the catch?”
; She shrugged. “It’ll end.”
“When?”
“When we get tired of each other. When we’re ready to move on to different things. I won’t be offended, and neither should you.”
“What if the other person thinks that it’s not time to move on?”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Rico. That is precisely the point of making the agreement explicit up front. I’m not looking for permanence.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not real.”
His jaw dropped. “My parents are coming up on their fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
“Congratulations,” she said without malice.
“What’s that if not permanent?”
“Don’t get your feathers in a ruffle. People can do whatever works for them. I’m just saying it’s not for me. I don’t want to mislead you; that’s why I’m telling you now.”
“What if I accidentally fall in love with you?”
“Why would you do that?”
“I don’t know, but I thought I’d ask, just in case.” He couldn’t help the belligerent edge in his tone. She had a way of bringing it out in him.
“I’ve never had anyone have that problem before.”
“Why? Are you unlovable?”
She recoiled as if he had hit her, and for the first time, she looked stunned. When she smiled, the curve of her lips did not seem as steady. “I…I’ve never had someone ask me that.”
“There’s always a first time.”
“Yes, but why you?”
Rico frowned, uncertain of how to answer her rhetorical question—or at least, he hoped it was rhetorical.
She continued speaking, her tone reflective as if she were working out the details in her head even as she spoke. “I suppose that when there’s a clear absence of a long-term commitment, people invest less in the relationship. Less time. Less effort. Less of themselves. The result is something less than spectacular. Something not worth holding on to.”
Rico leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. “I wonder why. It’s practically a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
She stirred her coffee. “Oh, don’t be condescending. I don’t have the time or inclination to invest in a relationship. My life is complete as it is—without dog and without boyfriend. At least I know what I want. Do you?”
Did he? He chewed on his bagel because it bought him time to think. “I want what my parents have. A marriage that lasts decades.”