Neil got in multiple digs at Garrett over the course of the dinner, but it was easy to ignore him, particularly because Blair was at the table. He was dying to find out more about her life. He thought about waiting, but it would be considered normal for him to ask a new acquaintance questions about her career.
“So, Blair,” Garrett said as she cut her pork with a knife and fork. “When did you start at Sisco, Sisco, and Reece?”
“Blair is a career woman,” Debra said, slurring her words. She leaned her elbow on the table. It slipped on the surface, and she nearly fell face first into her baked beans.
Garrett grabbed her upper arm and helped her upright. “There you go.”
She gave him an exaggerated look of confusion as she patted the top of her head. “I’m feeling a bit dizzy.”
Neil shot daggers at him across the table. “I blame you for this, Garrett.”
Neil’s mother shook her head, almost falling out of her chair. “Garrett’s being a perfect gentleman, Neilson.” Then she added, “For once.”
His cousin looked furious.
“Blair doesn’t like to keep house or cook,” Debra continued. “She hires someone to clean.” His aunt spat out the sentence as though she’d just declared that Blair drowned puppies for sport.
“After watching Blair in action, I’m certain she’s exactly where she needs to be,” Garrett said.
Blair’s eyes widened at the compliment, but Neil’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “And where’s that, Garrett?”
Blair tensed, confusion flickering in her eyes.
“As a practicing attorney, Neil. What else could I be referring to?”
Blair took a deep breath and released it, her resolve returning. “I love what I do and have no intention of giving it up.” She gave Garrett a withering glance. “And while Mr. Lowry is trying to appear gracious, I have no doubt that this is just a tactic to throw me off before our depositions tomorrow.” Her upper lip curled. “But I can assure you it won’t work.”
Is that how she saw this? An elaborate attempt to sabotage her strategy? She should know better than to think he’d employ such tactics. He’d always preferred a fair, equal match. It was the only way he could know he’d won fair and square. But he’d let her down in almost every way possible, so maybe she didn’t believe him capable of anything good.
He suddenly felt like he was fighting a hopeless battle.
Chapter Seven
Garrett backed off the rest of dinner, and Debra got more and more inebriated. When she ordered her third hard lemonade, Garrett pulled the waiter aside and requested that he deliver her a regular lemonade instead. But she noticed the difference with her first sip.
“This tastes different.”
“It’s the water,” Garrett said.
“The water?” She waved her glass and sloshed her drink over the side onto her hand.
“They ran out of hard water. Thus its name. This batch was made with soft water.”
“Oh.”
Blair grinned when she bought it, but Neil didn’t look so amused.
As soon as they were done with dinner, Neil pulled out his phone and sighed. “I have to take this. It’s the hospital.” He got up and walked toward the front door, his phone pressed to his ear, although from Garrett’s angle, his phone had a blank screen—no incoming or missed calls or texts. Not that Garrett would have believed it anyway. The timing was too convenient.
But Garrett decided to take advantage of his absence and turned to Blair. “So how long have you and Neil been together?”
She gave him a frosty gaze. “Two years.”
“How did you meet?”
She studied him closely, as though trying to determine if he had an ulterior motive. “At a First Friday.” When he gave her a blank look, she shifted in her seat and explained. “Every first Friday of the month, a bunch of the art galleries and restaurants downtown are open to the public, and they feature local bands and artists. We met at an art gallery. One of the associate attorneys in my office introduced us. He’s an acquaintance of Neil’s.”
“Was it a whirlwind romance?” he couldn’t resist asking.
Her eyebrows lifted, and she gave him a deathly glare.
“She’s lucky to have him,” Aunt Debra said, thrusting her shoulders back like a linebacker preparing to tackle. Unfortunately, her normal personality seemed to be returning along with her faculties.
Garrett lifted his second beer and winked. “Seems like it’s the other way around to me.”
Blair’s shoulders relaxed, and he saw a grin tug at the corners of her mouth.
“How long do you think you’ll continue working, dear?” his aunt asked her, lifting her glass to her mouth and giving her a sly grin. “You’ll want to start having children soon, at your age. The clock is ticking.”
Blair tensed again, and Garrett could see she was biting her tongue. She forced a smile. “I’m not going to quit my job. I love what I do. I’m not sure I even want to have children.”
Aunt Debra choked on the sip of lemonade she’d just taken, her eyes widening in horror. “What?” She started coughing, and she scooted her chair back, the wood screeching on the tiles. She dropped her glass, and it shattered on the hard floor, splattering lemonade on a woman walking behind her.
The young woman shrieked and jumped backward, landing in the lap of a man who was dining with a group of friends at a nearby table. From their Royals baseball shirts, Garrett figured they were grabbing dinner before the game. The man wrapped an arm around her back to steady her, a surprised grin lighting up his face.