Page 54 of Relentless Pursuit

He took her hand, pulled her close to him, and kissed her softly. Everyone at the table stopped their conversations and stared at them. She stumbled back, clearly thrown off guard by his PDA, but he caught her arm and held her up.

“I’m Julian Anders,” he said to her friends. “Kayla’s boyfriend.”

Kayla let out a low gasp.

I’m surprised too, sweetheart.

“It’s good to meet you.” The tall woman with the jet black hair shook his hand. “I’m Gina. That’s Lana, Kelli, Josh, Ray, and Mitch. There are some others around the bar area too.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” He pointed to Kayla’s chair. “Please, sit back down.” The women in the group watched his every move, eyeing him up like some piece of meat.

“Okay.” She took the chair on the end next to a vacant one as Julian placed his hand on the small of her back, quietly staking his claim and letting the others know he was a one-woman man.

Mitch glanced at Julian’s hand and then back to Kayla.That’s right, she’s mine.

“Can I get you another drink?” he asked as he sat next to her. “Champagne, perhaps?”

“No.” Her eyes sparkled. “We know what happens when I drink too much of that.”

“Indeed.”

“I had no idea you knew our Kayla,” Mitch said.

My Kayla.

“I’ve known her for years.”

“When did you start dating?”

“A couple of months ago. We reconnected when she moved to the city.”

“How odd, Kayla,” Mitch taunted her. “You never mentioned a boyfriend. Not once.”

“I like to keep my personal life private.” Kayla finished her beer. “Maybe I will have one more and then we can get out of here,” she said to Julian. “Maybe grab dinner?”

“Whatever you want.” He waved the server over. “She’ll have another.” He pointed to her beer bottle. “Would anyone else like anything?” A few people refilled their drinks and ordered some appetizers. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here and eat?”

“I’d rather be with you,” she whispered. “I just don’t want to be rude and leave too soon.”

After forty minutes and much incessant small talk, Kayla was ready to leave. She said her goodbyes, gave her hugs, and promised to stay in touch with her friends. While Julian waited at the front of the restaurant for her to use the restroom, he checked his emails and answered a few texts.

“You’re quite the popular attorney,” Mitch said as he approached him. “We’ve interviewed you a few times at the station and always get a favorable response after we air it.”

“I just do my job.”

“You have a large success rate, rarely see trial, and when you do you win.”

What did he do? Google me?

“Your job is demanding. I hope Kayla can handle being second.”

“She knows my job is important, but I don’t neglect her.” He didn’t like to admit it, but the reason he hadn’t neglected her was because they had terms. No strings, no one got hurt. He was starting to rethink that arrangement. “We’re doing just fine. No need to concern yourself.”

“I like to watch out for her. She’d a goodkid. She has a lot to offer the right guy, but she’s young and naïve. I’d hate to see anyone take advantage of her.”

“Speaking of which...” Julian had fully intended to let this go. Kayla was an adult and said she could handle him, but now Mitch chose to involve Julian.Big fucking mistake.“You’ll want to lose her number after this evening.”

“Excuse me?”

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