by Diana Nixon
“Are you hungry?” Leonel asked, taking a seat next to me. He loosened his tie and then took it off.
“I am actually.” He didn’t need to know that after another sleepless night – all thanks to him and his last night’s behavior – I felt like a sucked orange and didn’t have time for anything but a sip of coffee in the morning. I was in a rush and didn’t want to miss the beginning of the hearing that promised to be interesting.
“Peter, take us to The Bay, please. Have you ever been there?” He asked, turning to me.
“No.”
“It’s the best seafood restaurant in the city. You’re gonna love it.”
“Like everything that you say or do,” I said, recalling his words during one of our office conversations.
He chuckled. “Exactly.”
When the driver started the car and sped away from the court, Leonel said quietly, “I’m sorry about what happened last night. I don’t know why I suddenly thought that driving you up the wall with my stupid comments and moves would help us know each other better.”
“Oh, don’t be. What you did, actually told me a lot about you. As well as about the contents of your boxers that you preferred not to put on before my arrival.”
He made a face. “That’s why I thought I owed you an apology. I bet now you think I’m a jerk to the bone.”
“It was what I thought about you the first time we met.”
“Which means now your opinion about me is even worse?”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I’m a very caring person. Don’t you know that by now? I lost the case for you. Isn’t it enough to change your biased attitude to me?”
“You lost the case for me?”
“Of course. You wanted me to play fair and I played fair. Don’t I deserve a second chance?” “Your puppy face isn’t working on me.” Though I couldn’t but admit that he looked really funny pretending to be such a goodie-goodie. A pleading look in his eyes was adorable.
“Does my naked body work better?”
I felt the rush of blood in my veins. Which was almost as illegal as for Leonel to be such a damn good-looking bastard.
“If you thought that dropping your towel in front of me would make me fall in love with you, you should have thought twice before doing it.”
“Why, you didn’t like the towel or what was hidden under it?”
“I didn’t look at what was hidden under it.”
“Liar. Your eyes dropped to my cock the moment the towel hit the floor.”
Despite how stoic I tried to seem, I knew my cheeks would give away the embarrassment I felt. I couldn’t see my face now, but I knew it was on fire.
“And here I thought your apology for your last night’s behavior was sincere.”
“It went from the bottom of my heart, Liv. I swear.” He put a palm to where his heart was beating beneath his jacket. “But it doesn’t change the fact that I like teasing you. And even more do I like the fact that you enjoy it.”
“I am not!”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that shit. Maybe you will believe it.”
“You are so full of yourself.”
“Would you prefer to be full of me?”
I inhaled sharply. “If you don’t stop being an ass with me, I’ll leave the car and will never come back to the office again.”
His laughter was so pure and free as if it belonged to a kid, and not to a grown-up man. He took my hand in his and laced our fingers. “Mrs. Morgan was right after all – we make a great team.” A wink followed the words.
I tried to pull my hand out of his but he wouldn’t let me.
Whatever.
At this point, I thought it would be much better to ignore him. So, I turned to the window and tried to focus on anything but the things Leonel’s touch caused inside of me.
His hand was soft and warm. I knew I was safe with him.
God, why did he have to be so good when all I wanted was to see the worst side of him? I needed to make sure he paid for his mistakes, but on the other hand – I wanted nothing more than to stay in this car, with him, holding hands and saying funny things to each other…
What a disaster.
And then my phone saved me from any further mental tortures. To answer the call, I needed to free my hand from Leonel’s. He let it go and watched me pull the phone out of my bag.
“Hello?”
“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting something, Liv,” Rose said. “But Bella can’t find her favorite porcelain doll, and I don’t want her to be upset.”
“It’s okay, Rose. Check the blue box that is under her bed. It should be there.” Judging by the noise coming from the other end of the line, Rose was trying to find the mentioned box.
“Thank God…” She said a few moments later. “I found it!”
“Good. Hope it makes her day.”
“I’m sure it does.”
We said goodbyes and I put the phone back into my bag.
“Is everything all right?” Leonel’s question was dipped in concern.
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know you had a child.”
I swallowed hard. I wasn’t going to tell him about Bella, at least not right now. But it didn’t look like I had a choice. “Bella isn’t my daughter,” I started carefully. “She’s my niece. She’s staying with me while her mom is…on vacation.”
“Oh… How old is she?”
“Will turn four in a couple of months.” I still had no idea how to tell the poor thing that her mother would have to miss her birthday. Bella couldn’t wait to see her again.
“Where is her father?” It was the last question I expected to hear from Leonel.
Right here. Sitting next to me, asking questions I’m not ready to answer.
“I don’t know. We’ve never met. My sister preferred to keep his identity a secret.”
“Why?”
“It was her decision and I never pushed it.”
“I see… Do you want me to change your working hours so you could spend more time with Bella? It’s a beautiful name, by the way. My grandmother’s name was Bella. I always liked that name.”
Everything inside me tightened into a knot. All those fears I had before I started working for Leonel, ran through my head. As if he just opened the door that had been locked all this time. But it couldn’t stay locked forever, because the secrets it protected were supposed to be revealed, sooner or later.
What if he puts two and two together and realizes I’m here for a reason? What if he knows Bella is his daughter?
“There’s no need to change anything,” I said as calmly as possible. “As you already know, I have a babysitter. Rose is very nice. And she loves Bella.”
“Okay.” He thought for a moment and then he added, “Anyway, let me know if you need anything.”
I looked at him in surprise. “Like what?”
He shrugged. “Like anything. Except for babysitting Bella.” He smiled gently. “I have no idea what to do with the kids. Especially if they are as impossible and stubborn as their aunts are.”
Chapter 6
I couldn’t make myself eat. My appetite died the moment Leonel started asking questions about Bella, and I seemed to be unable to stop thinking about the moment I would tell him she was his daughter.
The more time he and I worked together, the less I understood Winter’s reasons for choosing him of all the men. She always liked men with a good sense of humor, who didn’t really care about building a career or becoming famous. Most of her previous boyfriends were satisfied with the lives they were living, as well as with the clothes they were wearing. I had never seen a suit on any one of them, not to mention polished shoes or ties.
But Leonel was different.
And the worst thing about him was that he had depth. And the deeper I dug into his world, the better I could see it.
“A penny for your thought,” he said, putting apple jam on a piece of croissant. “You haven’t touched y
our food. Are you okay?”
Why did he have to be attentive?
“I’m fine. It’s just that I…remembered how much work I need to do when back in the office.”
He smiled. “Considering I just lost one of the most profitable cases ever, and I did it willingly, the rest of the work can wait until tomorrow. Go back home and spend the rest of the day with your niece. I bet she’s missing you.”
“All the time.” I was glad I didn’t need to go back to the office. I needed to put some distance between Leonel and me, even if that was going to last less than one day.
“Before you go, I want you to finish your lunch,” he insisted. “I don’t want you faint on the way home.”
His care irritated me. And touched me at the same time. Damn it.
I didn’t want him to be so good, so perfect in his imperfections and stubbornness. But the more I told myself I shouldn’t like him, the more I fell for everything he was saying or doing.
I knew it was wrong in so many ways. But I couldn’t help it.
I gave up. “Okay. Can I ask you a few questions?” If I needed to find another reason to hate him, why not try finding it now?
“Sure. What do you want to know?” He put a piece of chicken from his Caesar salad into his mouth and chewed it, waiting for my question.
“Why aren’t you married? Be honest.”
“Well…” He sighed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “As you already know, my profession taught me a good lesson – never get into something that you are not sure about. In my opinion, marriages are pointless. If you love someone and want to spend the rest of your life with that person, why do you care if it’s legally documented or not?”
“True. But most girls want weddings. And before you ask, I’m not an exception to that rule. This means one day, when I meet the man I fall in love with, I would definitely want him to propose.”
“Call me when it happens and I’ll give you a million reasons not to go for it.” He smiled. “Or at least let me help you make a good marriage agreement to make sure you get a few bonuses from your marriage.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” I thought about my next question. “Have you ever been in love? For real.” I was sure he would say he was. Because how else would Winter believe he was the love of her life? Unless he was really good at faking his love for her.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What do you mean by ‘for real’?”
“So that you couldn’t imagine letting that person go, even for a second.”
I think my heart skipped a beat, waiting for his reply. I really wanted to hear his feelings for my sister were real. But on the other side, I didn’t want to hear anything about it…
Maybe I shouldn’t have started this stupid conversation after all. It looked like with every word he was saying, my attitude to everything that happened between him and Winter got even more complicated. I didn’t know what I wanted to hear. And even less did I understand how I was going to make him pay for what he did.
Our eyes met, and we stayed quiet for a few moments. Then he said, “I think the answer to your question is ‘no’. I guess I’m not a loving type.”
“What about all those girls you date? Don’t you feel anything for them apart from the obvious desire to sleep with them?”
He almost choked on his coffee. “All those girls… You make me feel like a hopeless womanizer.”
“Aren’t you one?”
He shrugged. “I never thought about it. Besides…” He leaned closer to me. “All those rumors you’ve heard about me are not true. But don’t tell anyone or I might lose my reputation as a womanizer.” He sat back in his chair. “As for your question about feelings… I don’t know what love is. I’ve never seen it or touched it. I only heard about it. But it’s not enough to feel it.”
“Are you going to stay a bachelor forever?”
“Who knows? Maybe one day, I will find someone able to make me change my opinion about everything. I’m not saying I don’t want to have a family and kids. But at this point, I can’t imagine myself being an exemplary husband or a father.”
Why am I not surprised to hear that?
“What would you do if one of your dates told you she was pregnant with your baby?” It was a risky question to ask, but I couldn’t stop myself.
He gave me a long, thoughtful look and for a second I got worried I pushed it too hard with him.
“What are all these questions about, Liv? Do you want to get pregnant with my baby?” He was kidding, I knew it.
I smirked. “God forbid. And it’s not because I think you are a bad man. But I just can’t imagine myself undressing and sleeping in one bed with you, not to mention…” Judging by the smile on his face that was growing wider with every word I said, he found my rambling speech very entertaining.
“Not to mention what?” He took a long sip of his coffee, watching me above the cup.
“Never mind.” Damn it, talking about sleeping with him was not a good idea.
“Wanna know what I think about you and me sleeping in one bed?”
“No.”
But he still voiced his thoughts. “I can easily imagine it happening: you, me, my bedroom, the lights are off. You are taking off your dress – the one that you were wearing the day we met. It drops to the floor, and I see everything that I’ve been dying to see since the very first cup of coffee that you spilled on my pants.” I looked around carefully, hoping no one but me could hear what he was saying. “I will never forget the look you gave me when I told you I wanted you to take them off me. If sleeping with me, you keep hating me, I’m sure the night we spend together will be something.”
Heat ran all over me. I swallowed, trying to play it cool. I sure as hell didn’t want him to see what his words caused inside me.
Forbidden. Never supposed to happen. Wrong.
His voice turned into a murmur, and he proceeded, “Here I come to touch the satin of your skin and breathe in the sweet smell of your perfume. You wrap your arms around my neck and your lips move closer to mine; my palms slid up and down your back until I realize that your lingerie is in my way to get the desired. I…”
“Okay, I got your point,” I said, seeing a waitress approaching us.
All the time that she was taking away the dishes, Leonel stayed quiet. But his eyes were screaming playfulness and I wondered if talks like that were a usual thing for him.
As soon as the waitress was gone, he said, “Your cheeks are of the most adorable shade of pink.”
Shit.
“I should more often say something inappropriate to enjoy the view.” He smiled and bit his lower lip; his eyes focused on my mouth.
“It’s because it’s too hot in here.” I took a glass of water and drank a good part of it.
“It will get even hotter if you decide to sleep with me.”
Oh, he had a nerve…
I put on my best smile and said, “Sorry, not interested.”
He grinned, and the temperature of the air around me scaled up. “Of course, you are. I’ll wait as long as you need to admit it.”
“Wait as long as you wish, but I’m not going to sleep with you.”
“From my own experience, I know for sure that unpredictable things happen. Especially when you least expect them.”
“As well as the divorces.”
“Damn true.” He motioned for the waitress to come and bring us a bill.
“Are you sure you won’t need me in the office today?” Not that I was trying to make him change his mind about giving me a short break from work. But I felt like I needed to hear one more time that his decision was final.
“Positive. Unless you’ve changed your mind about sleeping with me. The couch in my office is very comfy.”
I stood up and shook my head. “You are such a saucebox, Mr. Cohen.”
“Fact.” He stood up too, walked me out, and waited for me to catch a taxi. I got in and was about to thank him for lunch, when he spoke firs
t, “Next time you want to talk about my personal life, make sure we are alone and there’s no one to interrupt me when I tell you more about my dirty fantasies about you.”
***
Something was seriously wrong with me. It’d been almost five hours since the moment I said goodbye to Leonel, shutting the taxi door after his stupid comment about his stupid fantasies. But I still felt like he was somewhere near; so close my breathing caught when I imagined him standing next to me, telling me more about the things he wanted to do with me.
He was not joking when making me picture all of his fantasies in my head. He wanted it, almost as much I wanted to hate him, but failed every time I told myself it was wrong and his eyes told me I would never win this case.
Still, something weird was going on with me.
Deep down inside, I knew I couldn’t let my hate for him go. When, on the other hand – I was getting closer to the moment I would tell him everything about Bella and ask him the only question I always wanted to ask – How could he leave her and Winter alone?
Just then, my cell phone vibrated on the table, and I saw a message from my boss flash on the screen.
“Any plans for tomorrow night?”
“Still not sleeping with you!”
“(: Too bad… How about a movie premiere then? I’ve got an invitation for two.”
“So? Don’t you have anyone else to join you?”
“I want it to be you… Besides, the invitation came from one of our clients. Accepting it might help us understand why he wants a divorce.”
“I thought you didn’t care about the reasons that make people pay you a shitload of money.”
“:) Put on something hot. I love you making me burn…”
WHAT. THE. FUCK?
I wasn’t going anywhere with him. Period.
But instead of typing another message, I found his number in my contact list and called him.
“I knew the mention of me burning for you would make you tickle,” he said instead of greeting me.
“Aren’t you tired of trying to piss me off?”
“Some things never get old.”
“So I thought. Anyway, I can’t go to the premiere with you.”
“Why?”
