“No one knows how to parent. Mine had no idea but they did pretty well. They loved us and listened to us. We spent summers on the west coast of Ireland, running wild with frozen toes and red cheeks along the beach and through the dunes. I don’t think anything will ever beat that, even a holiday on a tropical island.” I did love those holidays with my siblings even if they hadn’t been glamorous.
My attention went back to Grant, who was looking at me as if he was seeing something he hadn’t known was there before. “What?”
He smiled, making me paranoid that I had something stuck between my teeth.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing.” He looked away. “Who’s your date with?”
“Why do you want to know?”
He rubbed his face as if he was trying to rub sense into himself. “I’m curious what sort of man you’d go out with.”
“Who says it’s a man?” I shot him my most favourite grin and walked into the room where Michael was.
We reached a settlement half an hour before I was meant to meet my date, who was indeed a man. I called the bar to pass on a message that I was running late, before diving into the toilets to get changed and apply make-up that would make me look less like I’d spent a day in some rather sweaty rooms. My clients were happy and it looked like the outcome would be Plan B-point-five. Grant’s clients looked relieved, which did make me wonder whether I should’ve pushed harder but there was a line you could cross if you were too greedy and in this instance I didn’t think I’d crossed it.
The elevator doors opened and I saw Grant in there already. It’d been me this time who’d stopped it from heading off.
“We really should stop meeting like this.” I checked my reflection in the mirrored walls, feeling confident. I looked good and even if an adrenaline crash was possible in a couple of hours, I felt good now.
He looked me up and down, his eyes coming to rest on my face. “Where are you going?”
“A bar round the corner. I know the staff so if I don’t like my date, I’m not in an awkward position.” My mother had told me countless horror stories of dates in New York going wrong. She’d instilled enough fear in me to make sure I always had a safety plan.
Tonight though, I was hoping for some action. My lady parts were possibly full of cobwebs, it had been that long, and my date was exceedingly attractive. I had no idea if he was intelligent or could carry a conversation, but that didn’t matter. Tonight was not about the talking.
“Good plan. Who’s your date?”
“Nosey, aren’t you?”
“It’s someone you’ve made an effort for.”
“Is that your way of saying I scrub up well?”
“If that’s how you want to take it.” His grin was dirty. Too dirty.
“You don’t need to know how I take it.” Oh fuck, I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t flirt with other lawyers and there were no two ways about it: this was flirting.
“Maybe I’d like to find out.” He put it out there.
I paused. Took a breath. Composed myself. Grant Callaghan was undeniably one of the most gorgeous men I’d ever met, but he was currently my mortal enemy – if we were being dramatic – and a single dad to four wild kids.
“I don’t date lawyers.”
“I didn’t mention a date.”
Thankfully, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, my dad entering along with a man I figured was Grant’s father as the resemblance was too striking for otherwise.
“Marie, you look pretty. Off out?”
I smiled at my dad, nodding. “A date, but don’t worry – I won’t be late for work in the morning.” And with that, I ran from everybody.
Especially Grant Callaghan.
CHAPTER 4
SEPH
