“I’m starting at the top and will work my way down,” he crooned, following each touch with a gentle kiss. “You can do me after.” The wicked tease in his voice couldn’t hide the edge of exhaustion, and it hit me that I hadn’t asked about his day.
“Tell me how the trial went.”
“Motion to reopen,” he corrected, rubbing each vertebra. “Then another motion to dismiss the charges for lack of evidence.”
“Mmm, keep talking that sexy lawyer talk. Makes me hard.”
“I’ve heard that before.” Bailey peeled off my briefs and massaged each ass cheek. “I think everything makes you hard. You just want me for my body.”
Grinning, I rolled over and watched as he got naked. “What’s wrong with that?”
“I can’t think of one damn thing.” Bailey ran his tongue across his lips, and with a sigh, sat back on his heels. “Lucas should be free in a few days. I gather Ambrose was happy when he returned to the shop?”
“Ecstaticis a better term. He couldn’t stop talking about what a great lawyer you are and how you made the ADA look like an idiot.”
Bailey winced, and his eyes blazed. “Jerk.”
“The ADA?”
“No,” Bailey snapped, and at his tone, I sat up. “Sorry. I meant Ambrose. I didn’t make the ADA look foolish. I did my job by reciting the facts. It wasn’t the other lawyer’s fault—it wasn’t even his case.”
“But the cops were wrong. You said that.” Maybe I was missing the point.
Grumpy now, he swung his legs off the side of the bed to sit. “Yeah. They screwed up, but Lucas is nothing but trouble. Ambrose hero-worships him for no reason other than he’s the big brother. I hope he’s prepared for more heartbreak when Lucas screws up again, because I have no doubt he’ll be on the other end of some handcuffs sooner rather than later. Maybethen Ambrose will get the message that Lucas is no good and doesn’t deserve his time. I hate seeing relatives get caught up by family members who don’t give a damn about them.”
Bailey was a great attorney because he cared about his clients, regardless of the fee. There was so much more to him than he allowed most people to see. The fun and joking personality was his facade, masking the sadness he hid from everyone else. Just like I’d chosen to be hard and closed off, each of us held on to a past we could never revisit, but had chosen to cling to, despite how much it hurt. Now we needed to create a bright new future that, like a tattoo, would be everlasting.
“Come here.” I patted the space beside me. “Were you serious about living in this area? I don’t want you to think I wouldn’t move to live with you.”
His cheek rested against my shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind a change of scenery. I have no ties to that area, and we work downtown. But I’m not sure about those high-rises where everything is cookie-cutter. I want my place to have personality. Like me.”
“I don’t know if I can live under such chaos.” I ducked away from the pillow he tried to hit me with. I grabbed him, and we kissed until our laughter turned into moans of pleasure.
**
“Can we really afford a two-bedroom?” I asked Bailey.
It was a busy Saturday, but I was on my lunch break. Bailey was at his office, catching up on some files, and we were reading the listings our real estate agent had sent. Almost two weeks had passed since the night we’d decided to sell our apartments andmove in together. Our plans were moving full speed ahead, no stop signs in sight. Bailey had put his place up for sale, and it was snapped up in four days, with a bidding war driving the price well above asking. Once he’d accepted the offer, he’d moved in with me as the buyers had asked for a thirty-day closing. The real estate agent assured me she could get the same kind of interest on my apartment, but first we were waiting to see what she’d come up with for us to look at.
“You’re kidding, right? Between our places, we’ll have plenty of cash for a significant down payment. Remember, I didn’t pay much as an insider, and you said Carlos’s mortgage is pretty nominal because the apartment was a fixer-upper and he bought it before the East Village took off as a hot spot.”
As usual he failed to mention his father’s house. It was a ticking time bomb between us, something that had yet to be settled.
“I-I don’t know. These prices scare me. Hundreds of thousands, millions. I’m not sure I see myself with that kind of money.” For someone who’d grown up without enough change to buy snacks from vending machines, I couldn’t catch my breath at those numbers. It all seemed like pie in the sky.
“It’s overwhelming. Trust me, I understand.” Bailey’s warm, soothing voice sought to calm my nerves, and he almost succeeded. Almost. “But you’re not that lost kid anymore. You’re a business owner, an employer. Plus, you’re not alone. You have your family—Grady and Lauren. Friends who care about you. Most importantly, you have me. The one who loves you. So damn much.”
My face grew warm, and I wondered if I’d ever get used to hearing someone say they loved me. “I never would’ve taken this step without you. It still feels surreal.”
The door burst open, and Ambrose rushed in. “Where’s Bailey? I need to speak with him.”
Without answering him directly, I asked, “What’s wrong? Are you in trouble? Is Carly?” Of course, I already knew the answer.
“No, it’s Lucas. Is that Bailey?” He pointed to the phone.
“Sorry,” I hedged, not directly a lie, and when I heard Bailey’s whispered, “Thank you,” I ended the call. “What happened?”
“He was with his old girlfriend, Tiffany, and they had a fight. Her pain-in-the-ass neighbors called the cops, and Lucas told them they couldn’t come in, and they did anyway.”
