Page 24 of Legal

His lips curved as he regarded me. I had no doubt that I looked neurotic as I tossed around my conclusions inside my head. “And I’m thirty-eight.”

In less than two short years, we wouldn’t even be in consecutive decades. I watched his face closely, and to his credit, he didn’t even flinch, much less recoil with disgust.

“So?”

“So?” What was the matter with him? “That’s—”

“Fifteen years.”

“I can do math,” I snapped, then felt guilty. But, God… fifteen years? Really? It sounded a lot worse hearing it out loud. “I was going to say that’s wrong. As I’ve already stated, I don’t date younger men.”

He wrapped his hand around my arm and pulled me in. “Jillian.” I could see the softness of his lips, taste his scent, feel the vibration when he spoke my name. I was messed up. “Not a date. Dinner.”

Was he going to kiss me? I wanted that. No, I didn’t. My reality was dangerously twisted. This boy was all man. His mouth was inches from mine, and my pussy throbbed. Literally throbbed. My brain kept sending down the hint to pull away, but it was drowning out in all the wetness.

I was sure that kiss was coming any second, but he lifted my hair and went to my ear instead. “And as I’ve already said, Jillian, I find you interesting,” he whispered, the heat from his breath making me tremble. “And sexy as fuck. You may have a wild imagination, but I don’t think you’re a very good pretender. You enjoy my company as much as I enjoy yours.”

Well, wasn’t that presumptuous? I should just… He stroked my neck, and I told myself to shut up. I closed my eyes, wondering how he’d explain the melted woman all over the floor to the janitor when he removed his hand. I lifted my lids, feeling utterly defeated. Good, bad. Right, wrong. I didn’t even know which end was up at that point.

“One dinner,” he said. “Two people enjoying each other’s company and sharing a meal. That’s all I’m asking right now.”

All I could see was his masculine face, the hard angles and soft eyes. My senses waved good-bye, and I nodded. Before I knew it, I’d given him that phone number I’d tried to protect.

I walked out of that room feeling like I’d been through an electrical storm, having no idea what had hit me so hard.

Not a date. Dinner. I could do that. I happened to eat dinner all the time.

Don’t look back. Just keep walking, Jillian. Do not look back.

I looked back. Chase stood outside the door, watching me leave. It was arousing as hell. I faced forward and pushed open the front doors. I’d just consented to something I felt very strongly against.

How would anything ever be the same again?

“What the fuck, Perry?”

We’d just finished our early family lunch, and Perry was stuffed full of lasagna. My stomach was too filled with nervous flutters to add any food to it. The sultry air blanketed over me, coating like a second skin. To say I was uncomfortable didn’t do my anxiety enough justice.

“What the fuck, Perry?”

“You already said that.”

“It deserves to be said twice.” The gravel crunched under our shoes as the two of us took a post-meal walk down my mother’s block. Perry wanted to burn off some of her bloated belly; I wanted to settle the little score I had with her and get all this murkiness out of my head before it knocked me on my ass. “Just what am I supposed to do now?”

“Watch out for that turtle!” I looked down in time to step over the little guy. We stood there and waited for him to finish crossing the street before we moved on. “Do you want to sit down by the pond?” she asked.

“I thought you were full enough to puke your guts all over the table?” I believe those were her exact words back at the house.

“Yeah, I’m good now. We’ve moved enough.”

We trekked up the hill to the little wooden bench. A heavier stickiness was creeping into the air with a vengeance, making it feel like I was stuck in an armpit. The skies were still pretty clear, but they were predicting major storms for the rest of the holiday weekend.

“Maybe I should go with you guys tonight if they don’t cancel them,” I said.

She gave me a sideways glance. “You already declined the invitation.”

“Yeah, but that was before….” Before Chase asked me to dinner. Before I told him I wasn’t going to the fireworks. Before Perry took it upon herself to play Little Miss Matchmaker.

She said it was fate when she’d noticed the team photo on her sister’s table. And just like that, Chase’s identity came barreling right at her. All she had to do was ask the name of Emily’s coach, and voila! Perry had her confirmation. She said everything fell into place so easily after that, it must prove it’s meant to be. According to her, it wasn’t digging if it landed in her lap.

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