Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Okay…”
“His father is an attorney, and his wife was his paralegal.”
My eyes widened. “What are you going to do? Call his dad and say, I’m sorry for your loss, but here’s someone to sit in the chair that’s still warm in your office?”
“Of course not!”
“Thank God.”
“I’m going to stop by basketball practice tomorrow morning and bring your resume to Nick. It’ll go over better with him pitching you to his father than a stranger.”
I sighed. “I’m not that desperate yet.”
“I know. But I hate seeing you so down. That reminds me, you didn’t look so glum when I saw you talking to Dawson in the hallway earlier. There’s something there. I can tell.”
“We spoke for less than five minutes, and then he spent most of the evening next to his date.”
“His date?” Lily laughed. “That’s Dawson’s little sister. She’s nineteen. Sarah’s in town visiting, and he asked if he could bring her.”
“Oh.” I hated that I felt instantly lighter knowing that.
She grinned and pointed to my face. “You like him. Your face was tense all day. I thought it was because you didn’t know anyone here. But your forehead smoothed out the minute I said the beautiful woman wasn’t Dawson’s date.”
“You’re insane.”
Lily stared at my forehead. “Nope. It’s like you just got Botox. The worry is completely gone. Why don’t you stay longer? When Dawson left, he said he was going to try to come back. His sister is in town to see a concert with her college roommate at the Barclay Center. He went to make sure they got there safely.”
“The first time we met, I wound up with a broken hand. The second time, he passed me over for a position. Sticking around for a third round might make me a masochist.” I kissed my friend’s cheek. “Go back to your company and be the hostess with the mostest. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I’d made it to the bottom of the front steps when I spotted Dawson on the sidewalk two houses down. My steps faltered.
“You’re not leaving, are you?” He rounded the corner into the front courtyard.
“I can only do small talk with strangers for so long before I turn into a pumpkin.”
Dawson smiled. “I’m the same way.”
I tilted my head. “Yet here you are back for more?”
Dawson met my eyes. “I actually came back to see you.”
My traitorous heart fluttered. “What for?”
“I owe you an explanation.” He looked up at the door to Ben and Lily’s, then looked down the sidewalk. “Would you want to grab a drink? There’s a shitty little bar down the block.”
“Wow. A shitty little bar? How can I refuse that offer?”
Dawson chuckled. “I’ll throw in some shitty free peanuts.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip. I didn’t have anything to rush home to, but I wasn’t big on getting rejected multiple times.
“I should get going. This was my first time taking the subway to Brooklyn, and I don’t want to be riding back to the City on the train too late.”
“Just one drink. And I’ll get you an Uber home.”
I’d probably regret it in a few hours, but who could say no to a free Uber? Plus, I was curious what he wanted to talk about. “Okay. Why not?”
Dawson put his hand on my lower back. “Excellent. This way.”
***
“You really described this place well,” I told him.
“What did I say?”
“You called it shitty.”
Dawson laughed. “Why don’t you grab us a table, and I’ll get our drinks?” He looked around the almost completely empty bar. “They’re filling up fast.”
I smiled. “Sounds good.”
“What are you drinking?”
“I’ll have a glass of merlot, please.”
“You got it.”
Sliding into a booth, I had a straight-line view of Dawson from the side. He was leaning with elbows bent on the bar, talking to the old man standing behind it. I couldn’t help but notice the way the fabric of his T-shirt stretched around the flex of his biceps. It had taken me the better part of a week to forget what that man’s muscles looked like after the fiasco at the cabin. I suddenly wished I hadn’t chitchatted with Lily at the door and had left five minutes earlier. I’d be on the subway home now instead of rekindling my lust affair with that body.
Dawson carried our drinks to the table and slid in across from me.
“Thank you.” I sipped. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“When we spoke earlier, you asked if I’d hired someone yet, and I said something like there’s no one competent out there. I saw your face when I said it, and I realized you thought I was including you in that category. I want to apologize because I wasn’t.”
I shook my head. “I actually didn’t think that. I assumed I wasn’t in consideration because of my disbarment.”
Dawson nodded, but his face didn’t indicate agreement.