Page 22 of My Always One

“Is it that obvious?”

“You’ve been staring at him for the last fifteen minutes.”

“Do you know him?” I ask, keeping my voice and anger at bay.

“A little. I’m not a member of his fan club, but from what little interaction I’ve had with him, I believe it’s a club of one.”

She makes me smirk. “So you do know him.”

“My husband has done some work with their law firm. My connection is distant, but I’ve had enough encounters to know he is a conceited piece of...” She lifts her glass of red wine to her smiling lips. After taking a drink, she asks, “Why do you care?”

“His fan club has recently inducted a new member. He’s engaged.”

“To that blonde over there, the one he’s been schmoozing with since we arrived?”

“Nope,” I say matter-of-factly.

“How well do you know his fiancée?”

I like Melinda. She’s maybe ten years my senior and has worked hard for her place in our firm, yet she’s never talked down or acted like she knew more than any of the newer members. She’s been open to our ideas while willing to point out her own. She’s a team player, which is about the best compliment I could give anyone. I look directly at Melinda. “His fiancée is my friend. I’ve known her...forever.” I shrug. “She’s probably my best friend.”

“That explains why you look like you want to punch something.”

My poor teeth are ready to splinter as I increase the pressure. “I was thinking more of someone.” I look around the bar, but Sami is nowhere to be found. “I want the piece of shit to know I’m here.”

“You could yell across the bar, but I suggest a more direct approach.”

I look at our group, all chatting and smiles. This is an occasion that deserves celebration. However, my thoughts are consumed with what I’m seeing. I can’t hear what Carmichael and the blonde are saying, but I’m not naive. I’m about as far from it as one can get. I recognize the moves, the body language, the fluttering of her hands and the way he leans in to speak.

Fuck, I perfected those moves.

“Melinda, if anyone asks, will you tell them that I went to speak to afriendand I’ll be right back?”

“Friend?” Her eyes narrow. She reaches for my arm and leans closer. “Be open-minded.” When she releases me, she grins. “See, that—my touching your arm and leaning toward you—was innocent, but from across the bar...”

“Yeah, sure.” Melinda’s touch lasted maybe five seconds. I’ve been watching Carmichael for over fifteen minutes. “I’m very open-minded.”

Open-minded that Jackson Carmichael is a horse’s ass.

With each step, I remind my heart to slow and my blood pressure to calm. I haven’t felt this protective of Sami since college when there was an asshole at a party making his moves on her. Thankfully, he never pressed charges. I’d heard he sported a black eye for a bit. As I neared the group of people, I reminded myself that Sami thought of Carmichael as her forever.

She’d also considered Todd and Josh to name a few.

Josh turned out to be a good guy. He was hired by the Lions. It also happened that after he moved away from Ann Arbor, he discovered what he hadn’t been willing to admit. Josh prefers men to women. A smile comes to my lips as I remember the way Sami took it.

God, she was great.

Last I heard, she and Josh are still good friends.

She’s dated other men along the way, but none of them had put a ring on her finger.

As I rounded the end of the bar, my gaze went from the snow-covered balcony to the dark-haired man at the bar. By the change of his expression, he saw me too.

“Michaels,” Carmichael said with a nod and a sobering expression. “What are you doing here?”

I straightened my shoulders and utilized every inch of my height. “It’s a bar.” I lifted my tumbler. “I’m having a drink. What are you doing here? And” —I nodded at the blonde, who was now scanning me in a way I recognize— “who is your date?”

Carmichael bristled. “This is our newest intern, Ellen Modarski. Ellen, this is Marshal Michaels.”

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