That’s when I swore off relationships and focused on just keeping my life on track. I may be clean and have done a fairly good job of keeping myself that way, but when it comes to picking men I am still a mess. In a way, Avery isn’t an exception to that rule, because we have bigger hurdles than a wife and kid to get around: we have public Avery. The person the world believes he is—and that person wouldn’t date a recovering pill popper.
But when I’m with Avery and he’s looking at me the way I look at strawberry shortcake, he makes me want to forget all that stuff. He makes me…crazy. Crazy isn’t good for me. I know this. The off-kilter, out-of-control feelings Avery brings out in me are unfamiliar and addictive. Honestly, no man has made me feel like that. With Mike and Joel, I was addicted to the way the narcotics they gave me made me feel, not how they made me feel. With Marty it was short and never once did it feel as amazing as it does when Avery simply smiles at me.
I feel light-headed and giddy, like I’m drunk. But I’ve only had one glass of wine, which is why when I hear my name called as I make my way back to the table, I think I’m hearing things. But then I glance to my left and see Daniel, a junior lawyer from our firm, standing up at a table a few feet away and smiling at me. My feet stumble to a halt in my high-heeled booties as he comes around the table and I glance at the men in expensive suits that he’s with. None is a client, at least not one I recognize. Possibly they’re other lawyers, but not from our firm, or I would know them.
“Hey! What are you doing here?” I say with a smile and let him hug me.
“Dinner out with the guys,” he tells me. “The wives are doing a girls’ weekend in Vegas. When the cat’s away…”
He laughs at his own joke, and I force another smile. Daniel is from San Diego and was hired new to the firm when we opened this office; he wasn’t transferred like my boss and me. At first he seemed friendly but professional and the consummate family man. He talked about his wife and kids a lot at the office. But the longer I work with him, the more I realize that’s an act. He’s become more…sleazy. Not with me but in general, with some of the things he’s been doing, like leering at me in the elevator and ogling Maddie’s ass the other day while she was at the photocopier. “What about you?”
“Dinner with someone,” I say vaguely, because I just want the conversation to stop so I can get back to Avery and out of this place.
“Stephanie, these are my friends Phil and Ben,” he introduces the two at the table, who both stand and shake my hand. “They’re senior partners at Staal and the entertainment law firm around the block from us.”
“Nice to meet you both,” I say quickly, and turn back to Daniel. “I should be going.”
“No. Stay for a drink. Just one.”
“I’m here with a friend…,” I reiterate politely, and glance toward the front of the room.
“Is it Maddie? She’s your roommate, right?”
I try not to gag at how needy he sounds when he talks about her. That’s not good. At all. Why did he have to turn into such a sleazeball? He glances at his buddies and chuckles. “Boy, if our legal secretaries are eating here, we must be paying these girls too much.”
The men chuckle, as they would. Because they’re dicks.
“Hey! Steph!”
I turn and see Avery coming toward us. Suddenly I panic. I have no idea why. I take a small step away from Daniel and give Avery the “one-minute” sign with my hand, but he keeps on walking right toward us. “I have to go…”
But Daniel is no longer looking at me. He’s looking at Avery. The next thing I know, Avery is standing on my left and Daniel is on my right. I’m sandwiched between the two of them. Avery is smiling down at Daniel, but it’s guarded. Daniel is looking up at Avery like he’s trying to figure out why he recognizes him.
Avery glances at me quickly before turning his gaze to Daniel and extending his hand. “Avery Westwood. Hi.”
“Hi. I’m Daniel Jackson. A lawyer at Steph’s firm.”
One of the guys at the table—the one I think he said was Phil—perks up. “Avery Westwood! Man, I’m a huge fan! I was so psyched when the Saints landed you.”
Avery slips into that Colgate smile he has for fans and media and milk commercials. “Thank you very much. I’m happy to be here. It’s a great city and a great team.”
“We weren’t great last year. You’ve really turned the team around!”
Before Avery can answer, the other guy is introducing himself and shaking Avery’s hand.
“Should we get going?” I finally find my voice and look up to see Avery’s face. He’s smiling down at me. Smirking, actually. It’s hot but disconcerting at the same time.
“Yeah. Ty and Maddie are at Alibi with some friends. Thought we’d join them?” Avery says, and I nod.
“Yep. Sure.” I turn to Daniel. “Nice seeing you, Daniel. Have a good night!”
I smile at the trio, give them a quick wave good-bye, and head back to my table. Avery takes an extra second to shake their hands again and follows me. At the table I reach for the bill. Avery’s hands land on my hips and send a ripple of heat to the spot between my legs.
“I took care of it,” he tells me.
“How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. Unless you want to pay me in something other than money.”
