Page 3 of Already At Risk
“Nah, but they will soon.”
I nodded, not surprised. “I think Noah’s coming. And Blake, possibly. Natalie included him on the initial email she sent me. I think he’s been helping her work through things.”
Julian nodded, but I could see the gears in his head moving, and I knew he was thinking what I was.
Natalie having the support of her brothers was great; we always wanted to see that clients had a good support system in these types of situations. But because of what her ex had claimed in his recent filing, it was going to be important to balance Natalie’s family support with her stance that she could provide for her nine-year-old daughter, Chloe, on her own.
“Have you met Natalie?” Julian questioned, curiosity in his gaze.
Shaking my head, I checked my watch again. Five minutes until our appointment. “No, have you?”
“Yeah, a couple times.” He leaned his shoulder against the door frame of his office. “Gemma is Chloe’s figure skating coach. Before her maternity leave, I went to a couple of her shows, so I’ve seen Natalie there. She’s great; Gemma loves her.”
I crossed my arms, taking mental notes. “You ever see her ex showing up for his daughter at those shows?”
“God no,” Julian snorted. “That piece of shit? Not a chance.”
For Natalie’s daughter, who deserved to have her dad show up to things that were important to her, that wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear.
But for ourcase…it was good news, exactly the type of anecdote I needed to compile more of.
We were going to win this thing. I’d give Daphne the kind of results she wanted to see. I’d put Natalie London’s ex in his place. And I’d help a single mom get back to focusing on her life without any interruptions. From what I knew about Natalie and her job as a trauma surgeon, she was busy enough without dealing with a custody battle.
I wasn’t worried.
At least, not until I left Julian behind and headed toward the front of the office, walking up in time to see Noah London open the glass doors, sandy-brown hair, broad shoulders, slightly bleary-eyedfrom late nights as a new dad. Another man followed behind him, his hair darker, his face a little slimmer than his brother’s, his expression serious. He held the door, allowing his sister to slip in front of him.
Sparkling green eyes met mine, ones that almost matched Noah’s but were brighter, more dazzling. Her honey-colored hair was swept up in a clip, but several strands framed her face.That face.That beautiful fucking face that had been haunting my dreams for months, ever since she sat beside me in a bar and then abruptly disappeared into the night a few hours later, like a princess who had to make it home before the clock struck twelve.
The woman I’d been trying to figure out how to find?
The woman I never got to kiss?
The woman I’d beenthinkingabout kissing ever since she slipped away?
She was standing right in front of me. Her name, apparently, was not what she’d told me that night. No, it was Dr. Natalie London.
And she was my newest client.
CHAPTER TWO
natalie
WITHIN TWO MINUTES OF meeting my new lawyer, I knew two things to be true.
One, he didnotremember meeting me six months prior in an Irish pub. He didn’t remember the drink we shared or how it had turned into two drinks, then three drinks, thenmaybefour.
Admittedly, that was probably why he didn’t remember.
But two, itbotheredme that he didn’t remember. It annoyed me that when we approached him in the lobby a few minutes ago, he introduced himself as though we’d never met before. When he held out his hand for me to take in a firm shake,hedidn’t blush or react like his skin was on fire. And if there was any flicker of recognition in his system, he sure as hell didn’t let it show.
I didn’t typically let the behavior of men get under my skin. After years of enduring my ex-husband’s emotional abuse, gaslighting, and—the cherry on top—affair, I didn’t let men affect me.
Except…he had that night. Affected me, that is.
So shameful to admit, honestly.
I really shouldn’t let my brain wander into the details, not right now as he led me into his office, my brothers flanking me on either side.
