Which is really fucking stupid.
She looks around, a small smile on her face. It makes me wish I could read her thoughts.
“How was your first day back at work?” I ask, needing to break the silence so I can distract myself from my ogling.
Surprise brightens her features. “Not as bad as I was worried it would be.”
“I thought it might be difficult for you.” I hesitate before finishing, knowing how it’s going to sound. “That’s why I wanted to stop by. To check on you.”
When she told me she was going to go back to worktoday, I was worried. Worried about the press coming into her work, worried about what the police would think. But I understand her not wanting to just sit around waiting for the next shoe to drop. I’d go insane if I had to do that, so while I’m nervous for her, I understand and want to support her.
Her lips turn inward, and a hint of a smile teases me. “That’s really nice of you, Chris. Thank you.”
I nod once and adjust my suit jacket, suddenly warmer than I was before, with Lily staring at me with gratitude in her eyes.
She breaks eye contact to look down at the menu. “Have you been here before?”
“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite restaurants. The owner is a client. I helped him out with a contract dispute a couple of years ago. It saved him from having to move to another location.”
“It’s beautiful in here,” she comments thoughtfully as she looks around again.
Not as beautiful as you.
“He’s done a great job.” I clear my throat. “So, president of a marketing firm. That’s pretty impressive.”
Her face beams with pride and confidence. “Thanks, it was a lot of work to get here, but I love it.”
“Is that what you’ve always wanted to do?” The desire to know everything about her thrums through my veins.
“I went to school for marketing.” She gives a tiny shrug. “I wasn’t sure what to do with it right out of school. But when we moved to Nashville, I got a job as a receptionist at the firm I still work at. I loved it because it was this amazing woman-owned business, and the second I met the owner, I wanted to be just like her. Thankfully, she hired me, and I worked my way up.”
The more I know about this woman, the more I’m captivated by her. Everything about her is unexpected in the best way, which isn’t helping my resolve to pretend I’m not insanely attracted to my client.
She bites her lip as she studies me for a few moments. “Can I ask you a question?”
“You can ask me anything, Lily.”
A soft smile pulls at her lips. “I might hold you to that one of these days.” She toys with her silverware as she says, “I’ve read some of the articles. About how good an attorney you were.”
I hold up a finger to halt her. “Just for the record, I still am a good attorney.” I lift my hands, palms up. “Some have saidthe best.”
She huffs a light laugh. “Sorry, yes, I have no doubt about that. I’m just curious about what made you stop being a defense attorney.”
I look to the left to collect my thoughts, deciding how much I want to reveal. I don’t talk about it a lot, so very few people know everything, but there’s something about Lily that makes me want to tell her my story, down to the most painful parts.
But not yet.
I take a deep breath and look back into Lily’s green eyes as I give the best carefree shrug I can manage. “Sometimes people just get to a point in their career when they need a change. And I was at that point.”
Lily narrows her eyes, and I’m pretty sure I’m saved from further grilling when the waitress comes over to take our order.
Once we’re alone again, she sighs. “That seems like a deflection, but I won’t press you on it. But one more question?”
With a slow nod, I agree, before taking another sip of water.
Lily leans forward and rests her elbows on the counter, and the scent of her perfume hits my nose. “Why did you decide to defend me?”
The million-dollar question of the decade.
