Page 11 of Attorney Privilege
“Tonight,” I say in a rush between kisses. “I want to see you tonight.”
“Tomorrow,” she counters and pushes against my chest. “Now go.”
It takes all my strength to force my foot to take a step back, then another. When there’s finally space between us, I see how flushed her cheeks are and how the silk robe has come open, revealing her soft curves. I ache to have her in my arms again, but she’s right: I’m out of time.
“Tomorrow,” I tell her with a glare, and she touches her bottom lip like she can still feel my kiss on her.
“I’ll find a way to come to your office.”
“If you don’t, I’m coming to you.” I grab the curtain to pull it open, but before I do, I rush back to Emerson and pull her into my arms. This time when I kiss her, it’s not a goodbye but enough to hold me over until I can do it again.
Once I let go of her, she stumbles back, and then I’m storming out of the changing room. It feels like I just chugged a bottle of tequila and electrocuted myself at the same time, and it takes me a second to find my feet.
“Don’t worry, you’re not the first groom to sneak in here,” the sales clerk says. “It’s our little secret.”
“Thank you.” I straighten my suit and glance back at the changing room, regretting that I can’t go back in there. “Before I go, could I make a suggestion?”
“Always.” She seems excited by this idea and follows me to the back of the store.
When I snuck in earlier there were racks and racks of dresses in the back, but there was one in particular that caught my eye. I must be doing this to punish myself, because choosing her wedding dress for another man is not my brightest idea. But something about the dress made me think of Emerson, and I know that if she were mine, it’s what I would want her wearing.
“This one,” I say, pointing to the dress.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, this dress wouldn’t be possible. It’s on loan from another boutique for fashion week, and it’s not for sale.”
“How many?”
The sales clerk blinks at me. “How many?”
“I’m already buying one dress from you today. How many more will it take to make this one happen?”
Her sly grin tells me that it’s going to be a lot more, but I don’t care. I give her my card and tell her to run it for whatever she wants and take her commission off the top. Dollar signs are dancing around her head as she hands me back my card and carries the dress to Emerson’s dressing room.
I’d love to watch her try it on, but if I did, I don’t think I’d be strong enough to walk away.
And that’s exactly what I have to do.
Chapter Seven
EMERSON
As I sit across the table from Conner at our lunch date, I tell myself this is worth it. Normally, when it comes to me, Conner’s attention can be fleeting. He never puts in a ton of effort and only came out to my family estate a few times. He mostly visited when my parents were hosting an event. Even now his attention is on his phone more than me.
Mother always talked him up, so I knew she wanted us to date. Based on our brief interactions, I didn’t think he was into me. He’d ask for a dance here and there, but that was it. So when the whole engagement came up, it was really out of left field.
I was taken aback when he unexpectedly announced our engagement one night over a dinner in front of twenty people. I suppose I accepted the engagement, but he never actually asked.
When I mentioned dating more before we got engaged, Mother said it was improper. I thought that it was normal to date someone you were going to marry, but apparently in our world, that’s not how it works. Clearly I don’t know much when it comes to these things.
When I needed an excuse to get out of the house today, I thought this might be my chance. It was the best reason I could come up with to get into the city without Mother. Conner and I are engaged, so why couldn’t we go on a date? One that I know I can easily slip away from.
“You’re still pissed at me.”
My drink is almost to my mouth when Conner finally speaks. I put it down and try to remain pleasant as I smile at him.
“I asked you to lunch,” I point out. Also, I don’t know that I feel pissed. I think more than anything I was disappointed when I found out he’d been dating others while we were engaged. I know we aren’t some fairytale love story, but I thought we could at least make it work. I’ve never wanted to have a marriage like my parents'.
“But you’re being cold.”
