“What…am I…” She reared back in her chair, spluttering. “You… I let you…I believed you!”
Like a boulder dropped from the sky, understanding crashed over him. That dawning had him cursing himself all over again. She’d entrusted her body to him. Trusted he wouldn’t bring her harm. And he’d unwittingly betrayed her. Fuck.
He pulled his overstuffed chair close enough he could rest his forearms on her desk and lowered his voice. “Cassie.”
When she refused to look at him, he reached across the polished mahogany surface and laid his hand atop hers. “Look at me.”
Slowly, she lifted her gaze.
“Look, what happened is between us. This isn’t high school—I’m not going to tell stories in the locker room. We’re consenting adults.” As her gaze slipped back to their joined hands, he gave he squeezed gently. “Damn it, it’s not like I want the entire world knowing what turns me on either.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. But with her short nod, the tension disappeared from her spine. She relaxed by obvious degrees. He should let the subject go. They couldn’t explore this further anyway. Still, the way she refused to hold his gaze bugged the hell out of him. He laced his fingers through hers. “Talk to me.”
She tugged free from his grasp and tucked her hand in her lap. “It’s not important.”
“Like hell it isn’t.”
She bent sideways and hefted a three-ring binder off the floor, onto her desk. “No. It’s not.” With a brief, but pointed, glance at him, she added, “Not anymore.”
“So it would be if we weren’t standing on opposite sides of the courtroom?” Damn it, why couldn’t he just let the subject drop?
“It doesn’t matter, Brad. You’re right. An hour ago we were good with leaving everything behind us. That’s where it belongs.” She flopped the binder open. “Your last email said your client was amenable to the proposed holiday arrangements, with Anna staying here in Colorado, with Jennifer, for the holidays until she reached the age of ten.”
So that was it, business as usual. It was the rational choice, the only option open to them. To pursue this, whatever it was, would be a colossal violation of ethics. If they did, and the partners at Blackson and Goodwell were to find out, he could kiss his partnership goodbye.
He liked her, but not enough to sacrifice everything he’d been working for since graduation day. She was right—none of it mattered anymore. Last night was nothing more than a beautiful memory meant to be forgotten.
Flipping the book around, he tapped a finger on the paper. Now was not the time to mention his client’s change of mind. “Let’s review the standard components first.” A bitter chuckle escaped and his mouth twisted with a sardonic smirk. “All this money spent on love. Now what do they have to show for it? A pile of pretty things, a piece of paper that says he never cared about them in the first place, and one little girl who will inherit two mansions, not just one.”
On no level had he prepared to witness the shock that filled Cassie’s pretty, chestnut eyes. He’d expected her to chuckle and agree, like the rest of the family law attorneys he’d worked with over the years. But as her mouth opened and closed, and she struggled with a response, he realized he’d once again said the wrong thing.
Thank God, her secretary interrupted the overwhelming silence by sauntering in with two travel mugs of coffee in hand. Her intrusion saved Brad from having to back peddle out of a minefield. He hurried to stand and fished his wallet out of his back pocket. “What do I owe you?”
The young woman set both mugs down on Cassie’s desk. “I got it.” She patted his arm, let her fingers linger three seconds too long. “You just let me know if you need anything else, cutie.”
Brad choked back a groan. The day had officially become a disaster. He did not need to deal with a flirtatious secretary on top of everything else. Particularly not Cassie’s secretary.
When she retreated, and he sank into his chair, he found Cassie smirking. “What?” he grumbled.
“She thinks you’re hot.”