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“That’s pregnancy for you.” Although my daughter was twenty-one, I remembered the nights when Courtney had sent me out for whatever new food she needed that very second. “Be glad it was a flavor you didn’t need to drive hours to find.”

“Yeah, it was relatively simple compared to some of her other cravings.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Although I’d happily drive however long it took if she’d stop working now so she could enjoy the last two months before the baby comes.”

Lila was a sought-after celebrity makeup artist who worked with many of the firm’s top clients. “I had dinner with Hudson and Serena on Saturday. She mentioned she has your wife booked for the next two weeks.”

“The press junket was lucky timing. At least I know Serena will make sure Lila keeps her feet up as much as possible. Can’t really say the same for many other A-list actresses.”

“You really can’t,” I agreed, my thoughts drifting to how well she and Celia had seemed to get along in the moments I’d seen them interact. Most of my clients would’ve treated the personal chef like staff, but Serena acted like they were lifelong friends.

Reid tilted his head. “What’s with your face?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.” I forced my thoughts away from the woman who had been on my mind more often than I liked to admit, even to myself.

“I recognize that look.” He sat forward. “There’s a woman, isn’t there?”

Reid had made partner because he was sharp. I’d just never had his insight turned toward me in this way.

I should have shut it down. As managing partner of the firm, I rarely brought my personal life into the office. But Reid had come to me when he was struggling. And he’d turned his relationship around. My track record didn’t have a similar win.

“Not the way you’re implying, but yes,” I reluctantly confirmed. “The personal chef from Hudson and Serena’s dinner party.”

Reid’s eyes widened. “And?”

I closed my eyes for a moment and saw Celia so clearly. She could’ve been in the room with us. She hadn’t bothered with makeup that night, but her bare face hadn’t taken away from her beauty. Her pale skin was flawless, her dark hair thick in the ponytail she’d worn, and her green eyes lined by dark lashes. The chef’s jacket she’d worn had only hinted at her curves, but my fingers had still itched to explore them. “I haven’t stopped thinking about her.”

“That’s a hell of an admission from the firm’s notorious Ice Man.”

Sighing, I opened a file I didn’t need at the moment. “Are you here for a reason, or did you come to interrogate me?”

“Sorry, didn’t mean for this to sound like a cross-examination.”

I shrugged. “Occupational hazard.”

The intercom buzzed, and my assistant’s voice came through sounding stiffer than usual. “Julian, your ex-wife is on line one. She says it can’t wait.”

His tone suddenly made sense. My ex-wife was difficult to handle at the best of times. “Thank you, Stewart. Please let Courtney know I’ll be available in just a minute.”

“Will do, sir.”

Reid stood. “That’s my cue. Good luck.”

“Thanks. I’ll need it.” He shut the door on his way out, and I picked up the call. “Courtney.”

“Took me long enough to get through,” she grumbled.

I grabbed one of the stress balls from my drawer and squeezed hard. “One of the other partners was in my office, a conversation Stewart interrupted to let me know you wanted to speak with me.”

“Only after I had to beg him to put me through,” she complained.

Her definition of begging sounded more like harassing the person on the receiving end, but that wasn’t a point worth arguing right now. “What do you need?”

“You should have done more on the prenup. The agreement you let her sign is a joke. If he leaves her, she gets almost nothing.”

Our daughter had gotten married only two weeks ago, and her mother was already planning the divorce as though it was inevitable. “The terms were fairly standard, which you know because we had this same conversation several times leading up to the wedding.”

“She was rushed into the whole thing,” my ex insisted, refusing to listen to reason.

Nobody had forced our daughter to get married so quickly. The whole thing had been all her idea. The start of her relationship had been messy as hell, and I’d been relieved to walk her down the aisle because it meant the drama was finally over. Ellie was twenty-one and took after Courtney in ways I didn’t like to think about because that would mean admitting to myself that I’d failed her as a father.