Page 6 of Alive At Night

Cameron’s head popped up over the row of patrons lining the bar as he waved to get my attention. Hoisting my bag higher on my shoulder, I pushed through the suits and slacks until I reached an empty chair on the corner of the bar top. It wasn’t until I was settled in my spot that I glanced up to see Julian staring at me, his light blue eyes nearly translucent, even in the darkened bar lighting.

Their entire family had eyes like that. Not to mention the auburn hair and fair skin with a slight dusting of freckles.

Somehow, Julian always managed to tan more than the rest of the family, and his face had an irritating golden glow to it. Damn him for looking like that when I was definitely bright red and brushing sweat off my brow. He’d shed his suit jacket, but beyond that, he didn’t look even a bit flushed. His dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and his exposed chest looked dusted by the sun. Not blasted with it, like I felt.Ugh.

“So nice of you to join us, Lily,” he drawled before tipping his beer bottle back for a swig.

Cameron’s brows drew together, so I interrupted his thoughts before he could ask.

“Ignore him.” I cleared my throat. “He thinks it’s cute to forget my name, even though it makes him seem incompetent.”

I shot a glare at Julian. He took another pointed drink of his beer.

It was hard enough to be named after a freaking plant without having someone constantly remind me about it.

“Cuteis not usually the vibe I’m after,” Julian muttered.

“Oh?” I cocked a brow. “Then what precisely are you going for?”

“Precisely?” His beer bottle clinked loudly against the bar top as he set it down. “A certified pain in the ass that you just can’thelpbut find endearing.”

I snorted. “You had me until the end.”

Julian’s lips spread slowly, cockily, as though he didn’t believe I thought he lacked any endearing qualities.

He sure as hell couldn’t be more wrong about that.

“Come now, Willow. You knowexactlythe vibe. You’ve been practicing it for the last fifteen years or so. I’m just following your example.”

“You always have been unoriginal.” I rubbed my dry lips together, wishing someone would swing by so I could order a drink. “Is this how you spend your free time, Julian? Jotting down plant names in a little journal you keep next to your bed so you’re ready to antagonize me?”

“The things I keep next to my bed have nothing to do with you. Trust me.” Julian’s eyes met mine, a dare of sorts, and I felt more sweat tickle the back of my neck before he kept talking. “Besides, that would imply that I had some sort of intention of seeing you, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“Well.” Cameron clapped his hands together, clearly wanting to interrupt us. “This is going to be fun, isn’t it?”

Cameron and I had different definitions of the wordfun.

I turned toward him while jerking a finger at Julian. “Did you know that when hesaw my name outside our office, he actually asked Tyler if you’d put him up to it?”

Cameron threw his head back and laughed. “I can only imagine Tyler’s reaction to that. Poor guy.”

“Tyler’s not the one we should be feeling bad for in this situation,” Julian snapped.

He always did have a short temper.

“You’re right,” I interjected. “It’s me, isn’t it?”

My temper had never been much better.

Stuck between us, Cameron didn’t seem to know what to do. Or say. His mouth opened and closed twice before he figured it out.

“I knew we were onboarding more than one new associate attorney, but I was gone last week, so I didn’t catch all the details.” He gave Julian an apologetic glance as though he was sorry for not warning him. About me. But he was also struggling not to keep a smile off his face, seemingly amused by our far-from-ideal situation and how his friend was suffering from it.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Was I happy to see Julian Briggs on my first day as an attorney? Absolutely not. But at leastIwasn’t acting like a little drama king about it and guilt-tripping my friends.

I hated the phrasedrama queen.It implied that women were more sensitive and driven by feelings than men, which couldn’t be further from being true. Case in point: Julian Briggs.

I caught a bartender’s attention while Julian asked Cameron about his recent trip—the reason he was out of office. Soon, an Aperol Spritz appeared in front of me, and I sipped on it while listening to Cameron’s account of visiting his sister in California.

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