by Nadia Aidan
Lisa exchanged a knowing look with Sonya as if to say ‘not this again.’ When Lacy switched back into professor mode it could get strange.
"Do these brilliant minds know you're now a stripper and a sex club owner when they seek you out, because that would explain why there are so many of them.” Sonya chuckled as a teasing grin flashed across her face and her eyes twinkled with laughter.
Lacy shot her a hard look as she balled her fists against her hips. “I keep telling you I'm not a stripper. I'm a burlesque performer. And what you like to call the sex club is an exclusive establishment specifically devoted to fulfilling the fantasies of women. If you would just visit The Pleasure Palace, as I keep telling you to, then maybe you wouldn't have such a narrow-minded view of what I do now,” she huffed.
"Honey, I'm an elected judge. If I was spotted there all hell would break loose."
Lisa held up her hands in surrender. “Don't look at me. My husband's running for national office, I probably shouldn't even be seen with you.” Her eyes glowed with amusement and she laughed at Lacy's expression.
"Some best friends you two are. I don't know how my sexually liberated ass got stuck with you two prudes for friends,” she said with mock exasperation as she flopped down in one of the empty chairs.
They all burst into fits of laughter at the picture Lacy painted, because from the outside looking in one might view it that way, but all three of them possessed a unique sensuality they weren't afraid to show. Lacy just happened to be more expressive about hers—a lot more.
"Don't you three spend enough time gossiping on the phone every day? I would think by Saturday you would be tired of each other."
Three pairs of eyes swung toward the door where Richard stood with his muscular arms folded across his broad chest looking at them as if they were three naughty school girls who'd just gotten caught stealing. She smiled at the stern expression on his face, because she knew Richard pretended to have such a tough exterior, but deep down he was a big softy.
She'd met Richard at the same time she met Adam when he too had been one of the bachelors in the auction. He'd been so drawn to her cause that he ended up signing on as a volunteer within weeks of the event. He'd been there for almost two years now and she wouldn't know what to do without him. He was amazing with the kids, although he had a tendency to end up wrapped around their little fingers.
"Hello, Richard,” Lacy said in a sing-song voice and she rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. Lacy was a shameless flirt. Although everyone, including Richard, knew her flirting was just harmless fun.
His smile was patient. “Hello, Lacy. Weren't you supposed to be sending someone to the library to replace you?"
She tapped the heel of her hand against her head. “Darn. Sorry about that, Rich.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, Sonya can you fill in for me? I need to leave a little early today."
Lisa struggled to hide the grin that threatened to break free when Sonya stiffened. She praised the poised beauty for hiding her discomfiture as she said ‘sure’ with a tight smile. Everyone knew what Lacy was doing, including Richard, but no one came to Sonya's rescue. It was high time the older woman got over her issues with the age difference between her and Richard and just let the man take her out already.
Hell, if she wasn't married, she would have been flattered if a sexy, hot chocolate hunk like Richard showed interest in her, no matter how many years separated them.
Sonya hopped off her desk and crossed the room toward Richard on stiff legs.
"I'll see you gals later,” she said and waved goodbye, but her gaze remained on Lacy for just a half second longer. This time Lisa just let her grin shine when Sonya's eyes promised retribution to her meddling friend later before she followed after Richard.
* * * *
Richard grinned as he walked down the hallway toward the library. He purposely kept brushing his arm against Sonya only to watch her jerk further and further away in the opposite direction. She was so blatantly transparent it was laughable. They'd been battling their attraction to each other from the day he came to volunteer at the center, but Sonya pretended to be unaffected by his advances, brushing him off as a young playboy out for one thing. They both knew he was not the man she painted him out to be, but it was easier for her to simply ignore the simmering attraction between them than face the definite reality that a younger man wanted her.
"If you move just another inch, then you may actually crash into the wall which seems to be your intent,” he teased as his eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Mr. Ellis, if you would just give me some breathing room, then we could keep that from happening,” she shot back.
He grinned wider. He loved many things about her, but her feistiness had always been a definite turn on. She didn't know it but he'd actually developed a crush on her when he'd worked as an Assistant District Attorney almost ten years ago when he'd been fresh out of law school. At that time she'd still been a District Court judge, she'd also still been married. That hadn't stopped him from wondering what lay hidden beneath that robe in the middle of many of his depositions. A couple of times he'd even flirted with her when he'd been called to the bench. He remembered one such incident had landed him in a jail cell for a couple of hours in contempt of court. He smiled then. He hadn't thought about that embarrassing episode in years.
"You remember that time when I was trying that arson case in your courtroom and you threw me in jail for no reason?” He turned his head to gauge her reaction. He almost laughed aloud when her eyes widened and embarrassment stole across her face before it quickly disappeared and she flashed him a quelling look.
"Oh, you had a very good reason for ending up in that cell, Mr. Ellis.
"I don't think so. I was just trying to give you a compliment,” he said with a grin.
She stopped walking to stare at him. “Mr. Ellis, if I recall correctly when I called you to the bench you said—and I may be getting old, but I think I remember your exact words were—I know this case must be the hottest thing you've had in a long time with that loser husband of yours, but if you just get rid of him, then I will show you hot. Does that sound familiar?"
He quirked his lips into a smug grin. “I was a young hothead then."
"I would argue you still are."
"But,” he continued, ignoring her snappy come back, “even then I knew a good thing when I saw it,” he whispered as he backed her against the wall and trapped her between his arms. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in surprise and he ached to capture the full, pouty “o” of her lips in a toe curling kiss that would leave her begging for him to show her just how hot things could get between them.
"Mr. Ellis, you need to back up. I shouldn't have to remind you we are in an establishment with children who look to us to be role models."
"Yes, you keep reminding me of where we are every time I get within an inch of you, and yet you refuse to see me outside of here where there wouldn't be any children to distract us. There would just be us."
She pinched her lips into a tight frown. “How many times do I have to tell you that I am not interested..."
He stroked his finger across her full bottom lip effectively bringing her outburst to an end. “I love how you try to lecture to me as if I am one of the kids. You enjoy being the cool, poised woman who is always in control and who always knows best. But when it comes to this thing between us you know nothing. Because if you did, you wouldn't be trying to use these feeble attempts to keep me at arm's length.” He dropped his hand from her mouth and pushed back from the wall.
"There is going to come a day when you run out of excuses to keep me at bay. When that day comes you better have a better defense then you're just not interested, because if we were in a courtroom and you were still a lawyer, you would have already lost this case."
* * * *
Richard's words came back to haunt Sonya three hours later as she sat in her car preparing to leave for the day. She turned over the key and frown
ed when nothing happened. She did it again. Nothing. She checked the power by flipping the lights. Again, nothing.
She didn't need this. As always the kids had worn her out along with the mental gymnastics required to verbally spar with Richard. All she wanted to do was drive home and soak in a hot bath.
Letting out a long sigh, she popped the hood and got out of her car. Walking around to the front, she checked the oil and then stood there feeling stupid. She was an independent, empowered woman, but when it came to dealing with cars, she was still a woman of her mother's generation. She was pretty much useless if it didn't involve checking the oil or changing a tire.
She reached in her pocket, flipped open her cell and dialed AAA. After giving them her location, she grabbed her purse and locked the car to head back inside to wait for the tow truck.
She only got about two feet when she spotted Richard marching toward her with purposeful strides, his expression full of concern.
"Great. Just what I need,” she muttered under her breath. Trying to keep Richard at arm's length was like trying to keep a pig from getting dirty—it was impossible. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why such a breathtakingly handsome young man was interested in her. That question didn't enter her mind because she had low self-esteem or anything. Actually that was not her problem at all. For her age, she thought she looked pretty damn good. Lacy often told her that she could be Angela Bassett's twin sister with her ‘cocoa hued skin, prominent cheek bones, short natural hair cut, and cat-like hazel eyes’ as her friend liked to describe her looks. She'd always rolled those same ‘cat eyes’ at Lacy and quipped that could be true if Angela Basset had somehow gained forty pounds and was now a size fourteen. She did her best to eat healthy, exercise and take care of herself, but she was not under any naïve impression that her full breasts were still perky and that after having a son, there weren't visible pockets of cellulite and stretch marks in places where she wished they weren't. Despite her healthy self-image, she also wasn't delusional. She was a divorcee, who by society's standards was past her prime, with an adult son. She had baggage. Richard didn't, so again why was he really interested in her.
"What's up with your car?” he asked as he neared her.
"It won't start. But don't worry about it. AAA is on their way,” she said when he leaned over the hood.
"I'll wait with you until they get here and then I'll drive you home.” She opened her mouth to protest but snapped it shut at the look in his eyes that left no room for argument. Richard was a southern boy all the way to the bone and she was sure it violated some unwritten southern boy code to allow a lady to receive a lift home from a stranger when her car was broken.
Giving up that battle, she simply folded her arms across her chest and watched as he tinkered with her sleek, silver convertible V8 Vantage, courtesy of her divorce settlement. Hell, if her husband could have a mid-life crisis and cheat on her with some eighteen-year-old college student, then she could buy herself a luxury Aston Martin. Now, one would think that after all the money she'd spent on the thing, it wouldn't be susceptible to breaking down, but then again, luxury or not, it was still a car.
"It's your alternator. The thing is shot. I could fix it if you like."
"Tonight?"
He grinned. “No, but tomorrow afternoon. I can drop by then and fix it."
She bet he could and while he was there she was certain he would try to fix her too.
"That's a luxury car. How can I trust that you even know what you're doing and won't ruin it?"
He shrugged. “I worked in my father's shop as a kid during the summers, and during college until I went off to law school. I've fixed an alternator before, on an Aston Martin, no less."
She studied him. It was tempting to let him do it. She hated waiting at garages, knowing that they were just going to rip her off. “Fine. If you can fix it then I would appreciate it, but be forewarned I will sue you, Attorney Ellis, if you break my car."
He smiled. “When it comes to luxury items, I take the utmost time and care to ensure that something so priceless leaves my expert hands in perfect, primed condition."
She rolled her eyes at the latent provocative undertone of his seemingly innocuous words. “Yeah, that's what they all say,” she muttered under her breath.
Although, she had the distinct impression that Richard's strong, capable hands could actually deliver on his promise.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Six
"How were things at the center?"
Lisa stopped walking to backtrack until she got to the open door of Adam's office. Peeking her head inside, she gave him a weak smile.
"Tiring as usual, but the kids were great."
"How is Tommy? Has he managed to stop wetting the bed?"
A smile tugged at her lips and she walked into his office as an image of the adorable and precocious seven-year-old boy that worshipped Adam flashed in her head. “I'm afraid not. He misses you,” she said softly.
After their split, Adam had stopped volunteering at the center. She knew it was for the best, but the kids didn't understand that. They were having a hard time grasping how two people could still be married and broken up at the same time. She'd done her best to fill the void that Adam's departure had left, but his absence had been noticeable. It still was.
"I miss him too. All of them,” he said, his expression full of guilt and regret.
"I know."
"Would you mind if I started volunteering again?"
She blinked at him for several moments. She knew he enjoyed his time at the center, but she didn't realize how much he missed volunteering there. She smiled brightly as she nodded her head. “Of course I wouldn't mind. The kids miss you. I think if you walked in there next week they would light up like you were Santa Claus."
He chuckled softly, and she noticed that he looked weary, as if he hadn't slept last night. If that were true then he wouldn't be the only one.
Silence blanketed the room and she turned to leave, but stopped in mid-stride when he spoke.
"These last three months I tried to understand how it is that you don't want children and yet you are so devoted to the kids at the center."
She spun around to face him, unable to hide the shock that she now felt. Ever since the day their marriage had fallen apart, Adam had refused to discuss this with her. After their stormy argument, he'd shut down, effectively closing the topic off from discussion. Her mouth suddenly went dry and she swallowed hard. Maybe they were getting somewhere if he was willing to finally open up about this and talk to her.
"Those children are already here, Adam, and there is nothing any of us can do to change that. They need people around them who can love them and make them feel like they are special and wanted. But having a baby is different. To choose to bring a child into this word not knowing if you can shield them from forces that want to harm them, well, to me that is different. I never said I didn't like kids, Adam, just that I didn't want to take on the responsibility that being a mother entails."
Pain flashed in his eyes and she knew her words had struck a nerve. She wished she could have lied to him, told him what he wanted to hear so she didn't have to dredge up all of the painful memories that she knew would hurt him, but he deserved better. He deserved the truth.
"You never talked about your childhood, what it was like growing up in foster care."
"Because I couldn't. I still can't."
"But I think it would help me understand you."
"Adam, please. Don't start this right now.” He must have seen the resistance in her eyes because he backed off. She was grateful. She always broke out into a cold sweat whenever she thought of those horrible years she'd spent bouncing around from one abusive foster home to another until she'd eventually run away at the age of sixteen. Besides Sonya and Lacy, she'd never told anyone about her childhood. Not even Adam, especially not Adam. She wanted to be perfect in his eyes, not the damaged woman she knew he would see if h
e ever found out about what life had been like for her all those years ago.
Her inability to open up about her childhood had always been like the elephant in the room with them, but it hadn't become a source of contention until their marriage began to crumble. In Adam's eyes it boiled down to trust, which she now realized was something they'd lacked. That was mainly her fault. Three months ago she couldn't bring herself to reveal the demons that still plagued her, not even to save their marriage and for Adam that had been the final straw. She wondered if she could do it now. She'd spent these past months on self-reflection and really searching deep inside herself. Could she finally trust him with her darkest secrets if it meant that it would save their marriage? She wanted to, but she wasn't sure if she had the courage inside her to actually do it.
On shaky legs, she turned to leave his office, and this time he let her go.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Seven
Sonya smiled as Richard walked her up the steps to her front door and turned her key in the lock. Sometimes she forgot he was younger than her with all of his old fashioned chivalrous ways.
"Thank you, Richard. I had a lovely evening."
A single dimple creased his left cheek when he smiled down at her and she fought the urge to swoon. Good Lord, the man was fine.
"Me too. Now don't you feel bad for trying to stall?"
She returned his smile and nodded her head. She did. She should have seen it coming the day she'd allowed him to fix her car. He refused to do it until she agreed to go out on a date with him. She'd been so pissed with herself for not having the hindsight to realize he was bound to pull such a stunt. She'd agreed to the date, but for several weeks she kept canceling with one excuse after another, until she finally ran out of excuses. Now she had to admit that Richard had been even better company than she could have ever imagined. She'd never realized they had so much in common and she found herself not wanting the night to end.
At the thought of the night coming to a close, her smile instantly disappeared. She hadn't been out on a date in so long that she didn't know what the norm was now. Should she invite him in for coffee? Was she supposed to give him a kiss goodnight or would that be seen as too aggressive? She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to throw caution to the wind and drag this sexy hunk of a man straight to her bed before he came to his senses.
