“He’s hot, Viv,” Cara said. “He could be your rebound guy.”
“No.”
Marcus walked in and rested a hand on Cara’s shoulder. She gazed up at him adoringly. “I didn’t mean he’s hotter than you, baby. No man’s hotter than you.”
“I’ll go to dinner,” I said, eager to get one or both of them out of my office. “But Marcus, don’t ditch me with him.”
“Agreed.”
“Where’s dinner?”
“Six.”
I laughed. Then I laughed some more. “No. I won’t go there.”
“Come on, I got us a great table.”
I shook my head. “There’s no possible way I’m going there. At all.”
Cara looked up at Marcus. “That’s Kane’s club. The guy she was seeing until a couple weeks ago.”
Marcus’s eyes widened. “Matthew Kane? That’s who you were seeing?”
I glared at Cara. “Yes, and thanks for sharing that, Cara. Pick another restaurant or have a nice dinner without me.”
“You are the ballsiest junior attorney I’ve ever known,” Marcus said. “It’s almost impressive.”
I gave him a tight smile. “I guess you making me chase your playboy client all over the country and endure his vapid personality brought us closer together.”
“You win. We’ll go to the Chopping Block.” He had a hand on the back of Cara’s neck now, massaging her. “You’ll join us, right, babe? I don’t think we’re discussing the case. Just celebrating the disposition.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll meet you there,” I said, putting my reading glasses back on. “I need to finish a few things up first.”
They left and I rested my elbows on my desk, trying not to think about Kane. I didn’t really have anything to finish. I just couldn’t stand being around a happy couple right now. Not when the pain of losing Kane was still so fresh.
Kane
I heard her laugh.
That rich, throaty laugh that made me smile and get horny for her all at once. I’d missed that laugh so damn much.
“I do believe it, actually,” she said. “You seem just crazy enough to do it.”
“Crazy can be fun.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. It was a man’s voice. Viv had just gotten out of a cab near her apartment with another fucking man. From my spot on the side of her front stairs, up against a stone wall, they couldn’t see me. I couldn’t see them, either, but I could hear them.
“Don’t write me off, Miss Marceau,” the man said. “I know I test your patience, but there’s a lot to me you haven’t seen. The playboy reputation is more for show. I like being a one-woman man, if she’s as feisty and beautiful as you.”
My muscles tensed and I pressed a fist to my mouth, struggling to maintain control. I wanted to fly down to the sidewalk and kick this asshole into next week.
But I also wanted to know if she wanted him. Had she moved on from me already? Was I too late?
“Henley, thank you,” she said. “I’m flattered. But I’m . . . with someone.”
“Why the pause?”
“It’s complicated.”
He laughed. I could tell by the laugh the guy was a douchebag. It was girly. Fucker.
“Ah, complicated is never good. That usually means ‘I don’t know how to get myself out of this mess’.”
“It is a mess,” she agreed. “But I love him. And love isn’t something I take lightly.”
“Is this the guy you said would kick my ass for being friendly to you?”
“Yes. And he would. He’s fiercely protective and loyal. My unpolished gem.”
The man’s voice got a little lower. “Give a polished gem a shot, Vivian. You’ll find it quite nice.”
I sprang up from the step and jogged down. “She said no, motherfucker. What’d you say to her? Did you touch her?”
The pretty twentysomething’s eyes got big. “What the fuck?”
“Kane,” Viv said.
A burly man in dark clothes stalked toward me. “Back away from Mr. Cartwright, sir.”
“Make me, asshole. That’s my girlfriend he’s trying to get with.”