“Same. In the aftermath of everything with Shannon, I realized that she was never the right person. I just wanted it so badly at the time that I made it happen. If I ever stand at the end of the aisle again, I’d have to be sure I wasn’t making the same mistake.”
“You made it happen, huh?” She grinned. “Do you always get everything you want, or only on days that end with a Y?”
I smirked. “If I know what I want, I go after it. Life’s too short to go about things any other way.”
“That’s true.” She bit into a mozzarella ball and made a sound I’d definitely be thinking about again later. When I was very alone and not sitting in a crowded restaurant. “Does being sure mean you’d want to date someone for years to make sure they were the right one before you get married again?”
“Nah. If you know, you know. I knew Shannon wasn’t it for me. I just didn’t listen to my heart at the time. We’d been dating an acceptable amount of time. I wanted to settle down, so I asked and she said yes.”
“Do you know why she said yes?”
A dry laugh escaped from my chest. “She’s always liked being the center of attention. Loves the spotlight.” I sighed, shaking my head at myself. “I asked her to marry me onstage at a concert being put on by her favorite band. I only found out later that she agreed because she didn’t want to disappoint the audience.”
“That must have been a pretty big blow to hear.” She rolled her lips into her mouth to wet them. “I’m sorry I asked. I shouldn’t have.”
“It was a blow until she also told me that she never felt she deserved someone like me, and that while she’d thought at the time that she loved me too, she eventually realized that it wasn’t me she loved. It was the thought of being married to, and I quote, a pretty good-looking, pretty successful lawyer who was good in bed that she liked.”
“You added that last bit yourself, didn’t you?”
I shrugged and tried to hide the grin begging to break free. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Laurie and I didn’t stop talking for the rest of the night. I’d thought her case would come up earlier, but it didn’t.
It was only once we were outside and about to say goodnight that it was mentioned, and I was the one to do it. “By the way, my paralegal and I have already gotten started on your suit. Eric handed over the file when he realized he was fucked. Our first court date shouldn’t be too far off. If you want, you’re welcome to stop by the office tomorrow morning and we’ll discuss it?”
“I didn’t want to ask because of what Eric said, but wow.” She looked like she might be convincing herself not to do something, but the next minute, she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. “Thank you so much.”
Our hug might’ve dragged on a little longer than necessary. Our goodbye was also a lingering one. Once Allie and I were in the car, my little girl was sleepy but happy.
She’d have to wake up early to do her homework, but going to bed definitely wouldn’t be a problem. “I like Laurie. Katie and I had so much fun today.”
I couldn’t deny that I’d had a great time, too. A better time than I’d had in a long, long while. “Me too, honey. We’ll do it again soon.”
I only hoped I wasn’t lying, but it sure as hell didn’t feel like I was.
Chapter 23
Laurie
After dropping Katie off at school the next morning, I headed to Jacob’s office. Although he had invited me to pop in to discuss the case, I still felt nervous about it. The last thing I wanted was to be the overbearing client Eric had accused me of being.
In an attempt to make up for bothering him at work, I grabbed us coffees on the way. I remembered his order from the last time we’d had coffee together, and I hoped that would at least make him not regret telling me to come see him.
The truth was, I was really looking forward to seeing him. Like really, really looking forward to it.
I knew I was his client and that I wasn’t really bothering him at work so much as being the work, but I didn’t want him to feel like I was also a pain in his ass. I wanted him to be looking forward to seeing me, too, and to feel that way every time we had to have a meeting.
The previous night had changed everything for me. It had opened my eyes to the fact that he wasn’t at all what or who I’d thought he was. He was so gracious and kind when I’d broken down, he’d made me feel like my grief wasn’t something I needed to hide from him.
It was the first time I’d been able to be so completely vulnerable with someone since Kat had died. She would’ve been the one I would turn to, and without her, I had just kind of come to the conclusion that I would never have someone like that again.
Not that I had Jacob, but it sure felt like something might be brewing there. Obviously, it wasn’t something he’d be in a rush to explore, but there was definite chemistry between us, and now that we were becoming friends, I was starting to hope it might lead to something more.
Eventually. Of course.
All in good time. Once he wasn’t my lawyer anymore and hadn’t seen me reduced to a giant ball of snot less than twenty-four hours before. He’d probably also have to forget how horrible and rude I’d been to him when we’d first met before he’d ever look at me that way.
If he ever even looked at me that way. Sure, he’d asked me for a date on Black Friday, but a lot had happened between then and now.
In the meantime, I had to be careful about this crush I was developing.
A beautiful, strawberry-blonde woman smiled at me when I approached Jacob’s office. My stomach sank when I saw her, and an irrational flare of jealousy shot through me. Stupid crush.
Her smile was friendly enough, and I forced myself to return it. “Hi, I’m Laurie. I’m here to see Mr. Parker.”
“Of course. I’m Dannie. It’s so nice to meet you,” she gushed, looking somewhat starstruck for some reason. A light flush covered her cheeks and her blue eyes shone with excitement. “I’m not supposed to say stuff like this to clients, but I’m a huge fan of your work. I was so looking forward to seeing the movie before I found out what happened.”
My heart lurched. This is why I have to be careful about this crush.
Dannie was being perfectly friendly and polite, but a part of me still wanted to poke around about her relationship with Jacob. Thankfully, I had the willpower—despite the jealousy—not to kick her in the shin and run away.
“Thank you,” I said. “It’s still really weird for me to believe I have fans out there. Let’s hope the movie doesn’t disappoint anyone. Whether I was involved with it or not, I don’t want it to be a letdown.”
“It won’t be.” Her smile grew even wider and she motioned toward a door behind her. “You can go on in. He’s expecting you. I just need to run out to deliver some documents. It’s probably going to take a couple of hours, so I might not be here when you leave, but it was very nice to meet you, and I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
As if to prove her point, she scooped up a pile of papers from her desk before moving out from behind it. She gave me a wave and another smile before taking off down the hallway I’d just come from.