“For vehicular manslaughter?” Cami’s voice had gone from hoarse to strident in an instant.
He nodded. “I’d already been in the Navy for four months when my mother called me with the news of Rienhardt’ssentence.” He made finger quotes on that last word. “You better believe I spent the next three months dreaming up ways to kill him. The first time I got leave, I parked outside the bastard’s house and waited for an opportunity to break in and use the tire iron in my trunk to bash his skull in.”
Flames of remembered rage burned in his eyes, even after all these years.
And who can blame him?she thought, easily commiserating.
She knew, no matter how long she lived, she’d never forget her father was the reason her little sister was dead. She might someday work her way around to forgiving him. But because she could never forget, she could never let go of her fury. It would always smolder inside her.
“What stopped you?” she asked quietly.
“Lily.” The muscles in his jaw gave one final twitch. “I kept hearing her voice in my head telling meno. That what was done was done, and that I would only make a terrible situation worse by killing the man. I couldn’t disappoint her.”
Cami didn’t think she could love him more, but she would swear that last statement made her already full heart pull a Grinch move and grow three sizes.
“I’m sorry you never got any justice for her.” She placed a hand on his forearm, feeling his muscles flex at her touch.
“That’s lawyers for you.” His shrug in no way looked as nonchalant as she figured he meant it to. “They talk big about upholding the law until upholding the law affects them. And then, because they know all the loopholes and all the ways to maneuver, they can break the law so fast it’ll make your head spin.”
“Notalllawyers, Dalton,” she assured him.
He sat back on his heels, his eyes roaming over her face. “That’s what I’m learning, Cami. That’s what you’ve taught me. But that’s why I went from hot to cold on you so fast once I found out what you did for a living. Because wanting you, alawyer, felt disloyal tohersomehow. I know that probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. I mean, you’re not—”
“It makes perfect sense actually,” she interrupted. “It felt like you were sleeping with the enemy.” A thought suddenly occurred. “Or maybe…” She stared hard into his eyes. “Does itstillfeel like you’re sleeping with the enemy?”
“We haven’t slept together, so how would I know?” He tried for a grin, but it didn’t quite work.
“I’m serious, Dalton.”
He sighed. “I know.” Turning his head, he spent an eternity watching the flames of the candle dance.
Eventually, he looked back at her. When he spoke, her stomach took a nosedive. “The truth is, I don’t know. Since Lily’s death, I’ve never had a moment’s hesitation about sleeping with any woman. But from that first night, something has held me back from sleeping withyou. I can’t blame that on the lawyer thing, because I didn’t knowyouwerea lawyer then.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I thought we didn’t sleep together because you passed out on the floor of my hotel room.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “And the last time I let myself get that drunk was my freshman year in college. Come on, you’ve gotten to know me since. Do I strike you as the kind of guy to booze myself into oblivion?”
She didn’t want to admit it, but… “No.” She shook her head. “I hadn’t thought about it, but no. You don’t strike me as that kind of guy.”
“Because I’mnot. I used the whiskey as an excuse.” His brow puckered. “I’m not sure IknewI was doing it at the time. But in retrospect, it’s clear. Even then, something was telling me to pump the brakes.”
“Do you…” She had to swallow when her voice came out sounding strangled. “Do you know what it was?”
“Oh, yes.” He nodded. “It was because Ilikedyou.”
She blinked and waited for understanding to set in.
It never did.
“I’m sorry,what?”
“Ilikeyou, Cami.” His words were nice, but the look on his face was anything but. He looked almost…ill. “I’ve liked you from the very beginning. We met and it was like…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. It’s like we’re old friends. We use the same pop culture references. We have the same sense of humor, which, in case no one’s ever told you, can strike some people as sharp and caustic. We talk and joke like we’ve known each other for years.”
Yes. Despite the massive amounts of alcohol they’d imbibed, she remembered that night as fondly as he did. Which was probably why, despite the acerbic slights he’d started sending her way once he learned she was his lawyer, she’d kept coming back for more.
“I felt the same way,” she told him truthfully. “Ifeelthe same way. It’s just…” She searched for the right word.
“Easy,” they said in unison.
