One of the great things about Neil was that he didn’t pry about her past. Early on, they’d agreed never to talk much about exes, and they’d both stuck to that rule, only exchanging basic information. She planned to keep it that way. “Mr. Lowry is the opposing counsel on the case I had depositions for today.”
“So you’re adversaries?” Neil asked, looking down at her for confirmation. Then he placed a quick kiss on her mouth. “That’s my girl.”
“I wouldn’t say adversaries,” Garrett said smoothly, his voice oozing with charm. “More like we have opposing views.”
“Semantics.” Neil waved his hand. “And I thought the only reason you were here was because Nana Ruby forced you to come.”
Garrett’s back stiffened. “When my firm found out I was going to be in town anyway, they reassigned the case to me.” He gave Blair an appreciative smile. “Your fiancée made mincemeat out of my associate during their last encounter. He didn’t fight me for it.”
Neil didn’t look impressed, and Debra released a disapproving moan. “Blair, that’s so unladylike.”
Debra’s eighteenth century attitude was almost enough to make Blair lose it, particularly on top of the rest of the sexist nonsense that had been thrown at her all day. Debra Fredrick’s insistence that Blair quit her job and devote herself to being a wife and mother was easier to dismiss when she was three hours south in McDonald County, Missouri. At least Neil firmly supported her career and didn’t want her to quit. But Blair swallowed her pride. She couldn’t afford any discord at the wedding. She needed to keep everyone happy to impress the partners and their spouses.
Garrett waved toward the table. “Please, sit down. I don’t want to keep you from eating.”
Neil pulled out a chair for her, surprising her with his uncharacteristic attentiveness . . . until she noticed Garrett watching them from the other side of the table, where he’d taken a seat next to Debra. Huh. There was some kind of competition between the men.
Neil’s mother shifted in her seat and picked up the menu. “I think I’m going to order the pulled pork.” She looked up at Blair. “What about you, dear?”
“Uh . . .” Blair’s gaze was on Garrett, who was watching her just as intently as she was watching him.
“Why do I think there’s something else going on here?” Neil asked, glancing back and forth between them.
What sucky timing for Neil to suddenly become observant.
“I think we’re just surprised to see each other in a social setting,” Garrett said, something shifting in his eyes before he picked up his menu. “Especially after our last deposition.”
“No shop talk,” Debra muttered dismissively.
Garrett made a mocking face, and Blair had to stifle a laugh. It was no surprise that Garrett didn’t like his aunt. What was surprising was that he and Neil were cousins. Now that she’d had some time to absorb the initial shock, it made sense to her that she’d never discovered the connection. While Neil never really mentioned his nemesis cousin by name, Garrett had never mentioned his cousin at all. And she purposefully steered clear of Facebook, having seen more than one attorney ruin themselves with a poorly planned photo op. One of the associates at her firm had been let go after only a few months on the job. The senior partners didn’t have a problem with the associate attorneys posting vacation photos on social media, but they weren’t so understanding of the pictures of Byron’s vacation to Mexico. While his own photos were mundane, run-of-the-mill vacation pics, his friend had posted photos of Byron swinging from a rope in a pair of bikini briefs. He had a bottle of tequila raised to his mouth while bikini-clad women—none of whom were his wife—stuffed money into his briefs. The caption read “Byron plays piñata before some banging of his own later.” Blair deleted her own account within the hour.
Garrett’s gaze shifted to her hand, which was currently clutching the menu. “That’s a very pretty ring,” he said. “Can I get a closer look?”
His request was odd, but she saw no reason to deny him. What she didn’t understand was why everyone else at the table tensed at his words.
She held it out to him, and he curled her fingers over his hand, leaning over for a closer look at the diamonds.
It was hard to ignore the way his touch sent tingles shooting through her body, but she made a valiant effort. “Neil says it’s a family piece.” She hoped no one else noticed how breathy her voice sounded, but the look of satisfaction in Garrett’s eyes and the way his grip tightened told her he hadn’t missed it. It only added to her agony.
Garrett turned her hand so that the diamonds sparkled in the light. “Neil is correct. It belonged to our great-grandmother. However, it wasn’t his ring to give.” His hold on her hand tightened, and something in his eyes flickered before they hardened. He turned to Neil. “It belongs to my mother, which makes it mine.”
“What the hell?” Blair asked in astonishment.
“You son of a bitch!” Neil shouted.
“I knew it! You bastard.” Debra’s chair screeched as she pushed back from the table and turned to look at him.
“About damn time.” Neil’s father’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter as he grabbed a beer bottle from a passing waitress and took a long chug.
The waitress stopped and gave him an exasperated glare. “Sir, that’s not yours!”
“It is now.” He took another long sip.
Debra looked torn between addressing her wayward husband or her derelict nephew. Her husband won out. “Gene! What the H-E double hockey sticks are you doing?”
He lifted the bottle. “Seems pretty damn obvious to me.”
She put her hands on her hips. “That’s the devil’s brew.”
“And the devil’s a-brewing, ain’t he?” He took another drink.
Neil’s mouth hung open, and Blair suspected it was because he hadn’t seen his father defy his mother for years, if ever. Garrett started to chuckle. “Uncle Gene, we should hit up a couple of breweries this week before you go home.”
Gene finished off his bottle and grabbed the sleeve of a passing waiter. “I’ll take another one of these.”
“Get me one too,” Garrett said.
The server looked confused. “I’m sorry, but I’m not your waiter.” But then he scanned the chaos at the table and patted Gene’s shoulder. “Not to worry, sir. Coming right up.”
“Gene!” Debra shouted. “Stop this nonsense right now!”
“If Garrett can drink, then so can I.”
Debra must have decided her husband was now the lesser of the evils. She picked up the plastic cat and shook it as she swung her attention to her nephew. “You had this in mind all along! You’re here to cause trouble! First you claim the ring, then you encourage my poor gullible Gene to drink.”
“You can’t blame Uncle Gene’s newfound independence on me, although I would gladly accept some of the credit, and I’m only here because of Nana. Until now, I didn’t care about the ring, but seeing it on Blair’s hand has given me second thoughts.” His gaze found Blair’s. “Now I know what I want, and I intend to fight for it.” There was no mistaking the true meaning behind his statement.