“I’m pretty boring. I’ve been here about a month, and came from a boutique firm specializing in divorce, custody arrangements, and adoptions. I was a partner there, but when Daniel Roth approached me, the opportunity—both prestige and earnings-wise—was too good to pass up. That’s about it for me.”
“Wife? Kids?” Manny’s eyes lit up. “Girlfriend? Boyfriend? I can hook you up with either. I have three bright and beautiful cousins—Rita’s a lawyer, Marina’s a real-estate broker, and Esther is a stockbroker. And Johnny’s got a cute resident, Evan, who’s looking for a boyfriend.”
“Are you sure my father didn’t send you here to match me up? He’s been nagging me for years to get married.” Stalling, Iate some of my sandwich. “I guess I’m a confirmed bachelor. I’ve never found the right woman.”
“You’re young. You’ve got lots of time. Trust me,” Ralph insisted. “I’ve got plenty of years on you, and there’s lots of living to be done. My wife and I are married close to thirty years, and we’re still not sick of each other. Excuse me a minute. I’m going to grab a few of those cookies. I’m not allowed to have dessert at home, so I want to get my happiness while I can.”
Manny and I laughed as Ralph hurried off. “And that’s why you want to hook me up with someone?”
Manny waved a hand in the air. “Nah. He’s kidding. If they’re married for so long, I’m sure they love each other.”
I was happy for Ralph, who sounded like he had a good, solid marriage. But I also knew the other, ugly side. So many people started off with forever in their eyes, yet only a few years later sat across the table, snarling with hatred. Betrayal, money problems, lack of trust…so many pitfalls could cause a marriage to fail and love to die.
Maybe I’d shied away from commitment because I’d seen too much ugliness and didn’t want to fall victim to it all. I’d rather keep it light and easy than open myself up to hurt.
A burst of laughter caught my attention from Weston’s table, and when I looked in that direction, I found his eyes on me. My heart slammed at the mix of fury and pain in his face.
“What’s with that guy?” Manny asked. “He looks like he wants to bite your head off. You know him?”
“No. Just same section in law school.”
“Maybe he wants to step it up a notch.” Manny leaned close. “’Cause he looks like he’s jealous we’re talking to each other.”
I sputtered with laughter even as hot and cold simultaneously washed over me. “Don’t be ridiculous. West is straight, and soam I. We’ve never gotten along. It sounds silly, but any time we’re together, we spend it trying to top one another.”
Manny’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll bet.”
Somehow, I had a feeling we weren’t talking about the same thing.
Chapter Eight
Weston
Who the hell is Brenner talking to?
The man murmured something in Brenner’s ear that had him laughing out loud. Brenner. The perpetual scowler. I watched as they whispered to each other. He squeezed Brenner’s shoulder and I caught sight of the light picking up the gleam of a wedding band. He walked away, leaving Brenner alone, and that made me feel better, though I couldn’t understand why.
“What’re you staring at?” Grady murmured. “Or should I say whom?” His voice held an undertone of amusement I didn’t appreciate. As if he were looking inside my head and seeing the mishmash of twisted emotions.
“Nothing. Just seeing who’s here.”
“Mmmhmm.”
I set my coffee cup on the table and shifted to face him. “Okay, what?”
A lazy grin ticked up Grady’s lips. “What, what?”
“Come on. I’m in no mood for games. You clearly have something to say. So go ahead, spit it out.”
Maddeningly slow, Grady finished his coffee. “You’re awfully jumpy. And all throughout lunch, you kept glaring at Brenner.”
“Glaring? Better get your eyes checked, my man.” I’d always prided myself on my poker face and made good use of it while talking to Grady, who was a master at digging beneath the surface. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was seeing if there was anyone I hadn’t yet met and wondering who’d be at the bar later.”
“Classic denial,” Grady said.
“Meaning what? You’re talking in riddles.”
Grady shifted his chair closer. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think there was something going on between you two.”
