“We already had a rendezvous, Iron Man. I’m tired too. How about if we just cuddle and see how we feel in the morning?”
“Sounds good.” We both set about getting undressed and ready for bed. It took me a while to wash off the make-up and brush out my hair and when I left the bathroom I saw that Braden was sitting in bed reading and waiting for me. I just stood there and stared for a minute.
“What?” he asked, looking up with a smile.
“I was just thinking what a nice sight it is to see you reading in bed.”
“It’s a nice sight to see you doing anything in bed.” He pulled back the covers invitingly and I came over and snuggled in. He put down his book and turned out the light, pulling me into his arms.
“I told your mom that I was quite smitten with you.”
“Well, I told my dad I was quite smitten with you. That’s what I was talking to him about after lunch.”
“I wondered what you were talking about.”
“I just had some relationship questions. I trust his judgment. My parents are very happy together.”
“My parents are too and they still flirt with each other even after all the years of marriage.”
“I’d really like to meet them.”
“How about next weekend?”
“You’re on.” I could tell even without being able to see him that he was smiling.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Everyone was late getting downstairs the next morning and we all met for brunch in the dining room. Afterward, we packed up our stuff and got ready to go. Even though we were only a half an hour away, everyone was hugging and promising to call and visit and e-mail. Beth and Claire made me promise to have lunch and go shopping with them too. I could see how happy that made Braden. In the car ride on the way home he had a contented smile on his face.
“Are you and Jessica just going to hang out tonight?”
“Yeah, she’ll be curious to hear about the weekend.” And personally, I wanted to gush about Braden and his family and talk to her about moronic Marla, creepy Cole and mean Mrs. Mason. As far as Cam went, I figured I would just mention the coincidence that an old college friend of mine was Braden’s cousin, and mention that he might be shadowing us sometime in the future.
“I’m going to do the usual Sunday night hang out thing with Mark and Adam.”
I wondered if he talked to Adam and Mark the way that I talked to Jess. Probably not. There would probably be a few suggestive jokes and then they would eat pizza, drink beer and watch sports. That seemed to be their pattern. Braden brought me back to my apartment and helped me with my bags, giving me a warm kiss goodbye and telling me he would call me later to say goodnight. As I walked in the front door Jess came hurtling at me like a human cannonball.
“Was it good?” she demanded in between bites of the Haagen-Dazs she was holding.
“The weekend? Yeah, it was fun,” I answered with a smile. She gave me a “don’t fuck around with me” look.
“And how was the sex?”
“That was amazing.” She followed me into my room and sat on my bed while I unpacked. She listened avidly while I gave her the basic run down as she made appreciative noises and comments. She actually blushed a little when I told her about the pool house. I don’t think she realized that Braden could be such a naughty boy. I also told her all about the rest of the weekend, from Drew’s funny comments to Cole’s obnoxious ones. We spent the better part of the evening giggling and laughing and between the two of us we polished off all of the Rocky Road.
Monday came and went without much fanfare. I visited clients at the jail and caught up on paperwork. Braden made a goodnight call and I was already looking forward to seeing him again. Tuesday morning Jess and I arrived at work as usual, coffee in hand, and we were just sitting down at our desks to start preparing cases for court the next day when Chief Deputy Public Defender, Chuck Collins stopped by our office with Cam in tow. His request had been granted. He would be shadowing Jess and I and sharing our office space for the next few weeks. Jess seemed perfectly happy with that and I suspected that the fact that Cam was a really cute and sexy guy made this assignment a little less burdensome.
Before long Cam and Jess were laughing together, which I took as a good sign. I had been so engrossed in my work I hadn’t even heard what they were talking about.
“Any interesting cases tomorrow?” I asked, wondering what was so funny.
“Nothing spectacular. How about on your list?”
“I’ve got a pretty good one. A guilty plea — Mr. Maximillian Davis. I’m not going to spoil it for you though.” I smiled. The hours went by quickly and we made plans to go out to lunch with Braden, who stopped by at noon. The four of us headed for Reading Terminal Market, chatting on the way.