I shake my head in sympathy. Whatever he’s seen on the job likely hardened him in a way he wasn’t ready for, and forced him to mature into the man standing before me. Curran’s no longer that carefree frat boy I remember. I can see it. And in a way, it makes me sad.
“No one will know we went to college together,” he promises.
I place my hand against my chest. “Thank you,” I say, meaning it.
With that I turn and proceed down the second set of steps, stumbling over the last two when Curran yells, “But can I still brag about our crazy sex?”
Chapter 3
Curran
I try to lift Tess off the floor only to have her nail me in the shoulder with her little fist. “Hey, knock it off—I’m trying to help,” I say, laughing.
I reach for her again. This time, she smacks me across the chest with her giant purse. “Don’t you touch me, you cretin!”
I think about it. “I guess that’s a better word. Don’t remember Bugs using that one.”
“How about ‘asshole’? Did Bugs ever use ‘asshole’?”
“No. Come to think of it, I don’t think he did. Though it would have been damn funny if he had.”
Her pretty eyes narrow over her crooked glasses. “How did your mother not drown you at birth?”
I grin. “Ma wouldn’t do that. I’ve always been her favorite.” I hold out a hand. “Come on, let me help you up. The judge is waiting—you said so yourself.”
Instead of letting me help her, she pulls herself up by grasping the metal railing, clinging to it while she gathers her things. And although she’s limping, she pushes forward. “Looks like you did a real number on your knee,” I point out.
She stops halfway down the next flight and just glares at me over her shoulder. “No shit.”
I chuckle. “You said ‘shit.’ Aren’t you worried how that might affect your rep?”
She spins around at the next landing and points at me. “You are intolerable, unbelievable, and insufferable.”
“Yeah. I think you mentioned that once or twice back in college.” I wince. “Oh, sorry. I forgot that I’m supposed to keep our mutual education a secret.”
She stamps her feet all hissy-fit like. I didn’t think sexy broads did that. Come to think of it, I also didn’t think they wore argyles. “What’s up with you and those socks, anyway?”
Her cheeks flush to a deep red. “We were both young, and intoxicated, and, and—”
“You forgot horny.”
And holy Hannah, I thought for sure she was going to punch me in the nuts. Instead she lifts her chin and clenches her teeth. “Whatever. It seemed like a good idea at the time!”
I burst out laughing. “I wasn’t asking why you tied me up with them way back then—that I’m not complaining about—that was all kinds of hot. What I mean is, why do you wear those things?”
She opens and closes her mouth several times before finally forming her words. “They’re conservative,” she manages.
I lean against the wall. “Like you? And how you want others to see you?”
She presses her lips into a line. I don’t think she’s going to talk, but she does manage a small nod.
I smile. “Then that’s how it’ll be.”
“You won’t mention our time alone together?” she asks, staring past my shoulder.
I take one step down. Then another. And another after that until I’m standing right over her. “No. I wouldn’t do that to you, Tess.” I grin a little. “But if you knew me past our time in bed, you’d already know as much. Come on, let’s get you to court.”