He snorted. “Ah, yeah. The stupid bet you won’t keep.”
Connor slammed his coffee down on Cian’s dark mahogany desk so hard that it spilled.
“Hey! Mess up your own desk.”
“I meant it. I’m going on five dates to forceMatch Me!to be honest with their clients.”
Cian’s eyes widened in alarm. “No. You just said that to piss her off.”
“I shook hands with her.”
“What? But you only shake when…”
“I know. And you're always nagging me about finding a serious relationship. I’m merely fulfilling your wish.”
“Are you for real? You’re absolutely the wrong person for this bet!” Cian exclaimed incredulously, jerking his hands away from his neck. “If you’re so keen on losing, play a game of darts with me! But don’t bet our law firm’s door for advertising!”
He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I won’t lose. I never lose.”
“Well, first off, in a divorce, both parties lose. Second, Connor, no offense, but your closest relationship is…well, with me. And I hate to tell you, but things are going badly. Extremely badly. You forgot our anniversary.”
Snorting, Connor raised one corner of his mouth. “I did not. I gave you flowers, remember? Fifteen is a special number afterall.” He had met Cian while studying law at Harvard and hadn’t been able to get rid of him since.
“They weren’t my favorite flowers.”
“Only because carnivorous plants don’t do well in an office setting. And you’re acting like I’m incapable of relationships.”
Cian nodded seriously. “I’m glad you finally understand what I’m getting at.”
“I can be in a relationship!”
“Oh yeah? But you neverhavebeen in one.”
Connor blinked, irritated. “Because I haven’t wanted to be.”
“And you still don’t, or have I missed something? You don’t want to fall in love, but that couples' therapist probably does.”
He wasn’t so sure about that. Connor knew a bluff when he saw one. And Rachel had blinked a little too often at the thought of finding the love of her life. No, it would be a fair fight. It was really just a matter of who gave up first, or who could act better after the five dates. He didn’t want to brag, but he’d been forced to pretend to his mother and siblings for twenty years, so he’d had practice.
“I have healthy relationships,” he stated firmly. “With you and Gareth, with Ada, my siblings…”
“You mean the siblings who live on the other side of the country? The ones you call every few years and visit at Christmas?”
He sighed and closed his eyes. Yep, Cian always found something he didn’t want to hear. “I love them. They love me. I’d be there for them if they needed me and they for me. We all know that. That’s what matters.”
“No, it’s not,” Cian said quietly.
Connor pressed his lips together. No, it wasn’t.
His best friend sighed heavily. “Look. I’m merely stating that you’re good at picking up women, but not at keeping them, and…”
“Oh, I love that I’m showing up during this part of your conversation,” came a voice from the entrance, and the next moment, the door closed with a dull thud.
Izzie stood in the entryway, grinning from ear to ear. She wore her usual uniform of dark green canvas pants and a black tank top, and her currently purple hair was loosely fastened on top of her head. A thick folder under her arm completed the picture. Izzie wasn’t officially part of the staff, but she was there so often, she might as well be paying rent. But her own office was small and the coffee there terrible and that was all she needed as an excuse to spend most of her time on the couch in their reception area, as long as there were no clients. She was their in-house genius private investigator, helping them with their difficult divorce cases. She was extremely loyal, extremely direct, extremely quick (be it physically or verbally), and extremely curious. Which probably served her well in her job, but didn't serve Connor at all. All in all, she was wonderful, but no one would ever dare say that because Izzie cared as much for compliments as she did for Connor’s womanizing. She always claimed to be allergic tostrawberries and sentimentality. Maybe that was why they got along so well – because they were similar in that area. Well, in terms of sentimentality, not strawberries.
He and Cian had been working together since they’d gone into business for themselves three years ago. Connor had grown tired of his former big law firm and downtown Los Angeles, and Cian wanted flexible hours so that he could adjust his time to meet his daughter’s needs. Starting a law firm together had been the best decision they’d ever made. He’d never told Cian, but spending every day with his best friend felt like hanging out with his family, which comforted him whenever he missed his real relatives.
“So, why are we talking about Connor’s inability to have a serious relationship?”
