“Blair, stop being so stubborn,” Garrett said. “Let me take you home.”
She put her hands on her hips and gave him a frosty glare. “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
He unfolded his arms. “What do you think I’m going to do? We spent the night together last night, and we didn’t do a thing.”
She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening. “We really didn’t?”
A grin lifted the corners of his mouth. “You don’t remember anything from last night, do you?”
She held his gaze, but her confidence faded. “Bits and pieces.”
“I was a perfect gentleman. I made sure you got to your room without being accosted.”
Relief washed over her face. Had she really thought him capable of taking advantage of her? She quickly regained her composure, then gave him a sarcastic leer. “And of course you stayed.”
“I offered to go spend the night in the airport, but you insisted I stay.”
Realization replaced the relief on her face. “It was your room, wasn’t it?”
His voice lowered. “It doesn’t matter, Blazer. We slept on the same bed, and nothing happened, which proves I’m trustworthy. Let me take you home.”
She flinched at the use of his old nickname for her, and her eyes filled with fire at the word trustworthy, but then some of the fight bled out of her. Even back in law school, she’d rarely showed extreme emotion. She had the ability to make most people wither with a mere glance, yet he knew there was more to her. The icy inaccessibility was her wall to keep the world from hurting her any more than it already had. And it was very effective. To his shame, he was sure he’d helped build that wall even higher. The key to Blair’s soul was in her eyes. To the casual observer, they were icy blue and full of intimidation, but if you held her gaze long enough, they turned a sky blue that pulled you in deeper. Most people were too intimidated to hold her gaze for long enough to see it. Had Neil?
She released a sigh. “Okay.”
He tried not to show his surprise, but her laughter told him he’d failed.
“You didn’t expect me to agree?”
He grinned and lifted his shoulders into a sheepish shrug. “I admit that I expected more of a fight.”
“Maybe I choose my battles now.” She pulled her purse out of her car and locked it. “Let’s go.”
He led her to his rental car across the parking lot and opened the passenger door for her.
She shot him a sarcastic glance. “No need to waste your gentlemanly manners on me, Lowry. This car ride won’t end with you in my bed.”
He grinned. “I have no such delusions. I’m merely being a Good Samaritan.”
“Trying to earn karma for all the wrongs you’ve committed?”
And if that wasn’t a well-deserved stab in an old wound. “I think it’s going to take more than a car ride to right all of my wrongs.” Rather than give her a chance to respond, he walked around to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel, then started the car. “Okay. Where to?”
“Get on the highway and head east, and I’ll give you directions.”
This was his big chance to make some inroads, but he had no clue where to start. He was like a teenager on a first date. His sweaty palms slipped on the steering wheel, and his tongue was heavy in his mouth. He found it ironic that he was known for being able to schmooze anyone, yet now, when the gift of the gab actually mattered, he was tongue-tied. If Blair knew the truth, she’d love every minute of it. Finally, Blair caved to the silence.
“I can’t believe you’re Neil’s evil cousin.”
He laughed. “He calls me evil, huh?”
She put her hand on the armrest. “Not in so many words, but I can read between the lines.”
“We’re cousins all right. We used to spend two weeks together every summer at Nana’s farm. Neil hated it.”
“I can imagine. And you loved it.”
He glanced at her. “What makes you say that?”
“You like the outdoors.” She paused. “Or at least you used to.”
Her last statement gave him hope after the comment she’d made in the restaurant about people never changing. “Still do. I just don’t get out very much anymore. You know how it is to be an associate attorney, always trying to prove your worth, hoping to make partner. You spend most of your time enclosed in glass and metal.”
Her easygoing attitude dissolved. “Yeah.”
So his earlier assessment had been spot on. Something else was going on with her, something to do with her firm. “How long have you been at Sisco, Sisco, and Reece? You never answered me before.”
“Since law school. I did a summer internship there and was offered a position.” She tensed. “What about you? Divorce law. I never would have expected it.”
He shrugged. “I kind of fell into it. I started out practicing entertainment law, then switched soon after moving out to L.A. With all the high-profile people, not to mention all the alcohol and quickie weddings, there can be some pretty profitable cases.”
“And plenty of skinny actresses,” Blair said, disgust in her voice.
There was no use denying it. It was one of the reasons he’d moved to the West Coast. But now he was stuck with an awkward silence and no clue how to fill it without saying something else to piss her off. Then an idea hit him. The reason he was here.