Too bad Garrett had spilled the slightly amusing, slightly sad tale of what the emergency actually was, because as soon as he did, his boss decided to use it to his advantage.
Earlier that afternoon, Garrett had been packing his messenger bag when his boss walked into his office looking like he’d won the lottery.
“Since your emergency isn’t so emergent, you can do some work while you’re there.”
Garrett patted his bag. “That’s what I’m planning to do, Matt.”
Matt shook his head, his grin so wide it was a wonder his face didn’t split open. “Nope. Congratulations. You get to take the depositions on the Norfolk case.”
Garrett’s mouth dropped open. Could this trip get any worse? He shook his head in dismay. “No. Anything but that.”
His boss only laughed and dropped a huge file on Garrett’s desk. “Look at it this way. Now you don’t have to take vacation time.”
“I’ll take the week off without pay to get out of this.”
“Too late. It’s already been decided by the big guy upstairs.” He pointed his finger toward the ceiling. “He figures you’ll do a better job than Lopez has done. The client’s lost confidence in him, and you have a reputation of being a barracuda, so . . .”
Garrett groaned and picked up the file, flipping through the pages. “Dammit. I hear the attorney representing the wife is a real bitch.”
Matt laughed. “You don’t know the half of it.” He looked over his shoulder at the door, then turned back to Garrett and lowered his voice. “Rumor has it she made Lopez cry.”
Garrett started to laugh before realizing he was the one who had to fill Lopez’s shoes.
“Lopez’s assistant will email you more details about the case, but the file should be enough to get you up to speed. Your first deposition is tomorrow at ten and should get the week rolling.”
“First deposition?”
His boss laughed. “There are multiple people to depose in this case. The wife. The husband. The girlfriends. Plural.”
“I’m flying home on Sunday, Matt. And I supposedly have wedding activities on Thursday and Friday.”
Matt headed for the door and called over his shoulder, “Don’t come back until they’re all done.”
The wedding itself had begun to look like a cakewalk.
But now he was grounded in Phoenix for the night, and while he didn’t regret missing an early start to the wedding festivities, he didn’t want to delay the depositions. He had no desire to stay in Kansas City a minute longer than necessary, and he was pretty sure Nana wouldn’t see work as an excuse to get out of forced family fun.
But all thoughts went out the window when he ventured down to the bar at the hotel he’d booked. Because he recognized the woman sitting at the bar.
It was her, the woman who’d ruined all other women for him.
Blair Myers.
He blinked, certain his mind had given up and induced some type of psychosis, but the look of recognition in her own eyes proved she was real.
She was more beautiful than he remembered her. She still wore her blonde hair long, and it hung loose, though slightly mussed—totally unlike the put-together woman with whom he’d spent nearly a year. She wore a black skirt and a light gray silk blouse that clung to her breasts. Her four-inch black heels rested on the metal footrest attached to the bar. Her clear blue eyes were focused on him.
It took him a full three seconds to come to his senses and another couple to figure out what to do. Did he ignore her? Did he say hello? He knew what he wanted to do, but what did she want?
In the end, his feet made the decision for him. He found himself moving toward her, and he stopped only a few feet away, his pulse pounding in his head. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this nervous, and from the way she was clutching the tumbler the bartender had just handed her, so was she.
What did he say? A half a dozen things popped into his head. I miss you. You look good. Are you happy? There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret what I did. But the only thing that came out of his mouth was “Hi.”
She continued to stare at him, her gaze slightly unfocused.
“Can I sit?” He motioned to the stool next to her.
His question snapped her out of her daze. She gave him a half shrug, then turned to face the bar. “I can’t stop you.”
He took the fact that she hadn’t kneed him in the balls as a good sign. He slid onto the leather stool as she leaned her elbows on the counter, swaying slightly. No one else would ever notice, but he’d spent the better part of a year studying her instead of his law books. The Blair he knew didn’t get drunk. “What are you doing in Phoenix?”
“Passing through.” She took a sip of her drink.
He was going to need fortitude. He flagged down the bartender. “I’ll take a draft beer. You got Coors?”
The bartender nodded and went to get his drink. Blair chuckled, but it was a brittle sound. “You still drink that crap?”
“Crap?” He leaned his forearms on the bar. “It’s made from pure mountain spring water.”
She laughed, a genuine laugh, and something in his chest seized with a longing that caught him by surprise. He’d missed her, but the ache was even stronger now that she was beside him.
She turned to him, her gaze searching his face. “Are you married?”
He couldn’t believe he was sitting with her now. Maybe this was the universe giving him a gift he didn’t deserve, or maybe it was some uniquely horrible form of torture. Either way, he’d take it, but he had to tread lightly. He wanted to tell her what an idiot he’d been, but he needed to take this slow or he would scare her off. Every moment he had with her was a gift, and he wasn’t about to screw that up. He forced a chuckle. “What do you think?” He instantly knew it was a mistake.