Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set(27)
“Impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible if you have an open mind. I’m proposing a partnership.”
He forestalled her argument with a wave of his hand. “I know we got off to a rough beginning and I didn’t make things easy on you.”
“Thank you for admitting that.”
“That’s the least I could do. Alix needs the attention you’re giving her. But I can see by the last two weeks alone that this addition to your schedule has been rough.”
“Like I said, it’ll pass.”
“Maybe it doesn’t have to. We can help each other here. This isn’t just a selfish thing, though that’s what this arrangement has been from the start.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” she chided. “But what did you have in mind?”
“You’ve already said you’re referring more cases than you’d like. I need to build a client base. Working together, you no longer dole out cases to other attorneys and I start a solid practice.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought this through.”
“Truthfully, I haven’t. But talking this out is as good a means as any for finding flaws.”
“What if we don’t get along all that well? I’d call that a major flaw.”
He glanced down at their hands, still intertwined. His thumb created circles on her soft skin. “After what just happened, I’d have to dispute that statement, counselor.” He reached out and brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. He let the slight tremor that shook her pass without comment.
“Do you make it a practice to mix business with pleasure?” she asked, slowly removing her hand from his.
He chuckled aloud. “No, but I am glad to know you’d label that kiss pleasure.”
She groaned.
“Look, Chelsie, I work out of the house. I’m always around for Alix. This way, you would be too.”
“Low, counselor. Even for you.” She jumped out of the chair, nearly knocking him over in the process. “I’m not that child’s mother. Installing me in this house as if I were is unfair to her.”
“And to you?” he asked in a low voice.
She didn’t answer.
He stood, ignoring the cramping in his legs from remaining in a crouched position for so long. When he turned, she stood facing the fireplace. He reached out a hand to grasp her upper arm. “Turn around and look at me.”
She pivoted slowly, her reluctance evident in her stiffened muscles and the way she kept a definite distance between them.
He met her solemn brown eyes with a serious stare of his own. “I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you or your relationship with Alix.”
She sighed. Her muscles relaxed enough so that he felt sure she was listening. He released his hold, but she didn’t move away.
“I know that.”
He regretted pushing for an answer without giving her time to think. Before she could say no, he rushed on. “I’ll admit things between us are strained. But I’m also willing to admit something’s brewing.”
“Okay.”
“It has to be easier to share ideas with someone than talking to the walls.”
“Okay.”
“And you’ve got the experience dealing with real people. Mine is with institutional clients. I could learn from you.”
She tried unsuccessfully to suppress a grin. “Cut the humble act. From what I’ve heard around family court, you talk circles around the most seasoned pros. So you can dispense with the I-need-you routine.”
“How about a plain I want you?”
Heat rose to her face, causing a pink flush to tinge her cheeks. But instead of backing off, her soft hands grasped his chin and turned him to face her. “I said okay. If you’d stop rambling long enough to hear me, you’d realize I gave in a long time ago.” She laughed. “And to think you called me long-winded.”
He relaxed, though he wasn’t foolish enough to think all his problems had been solved. An uphill battle awaited him. His own roller-coaster emotions were not going to be easy to deal with. Neither, he suspected, was his new partner. “You won’t be sorry,” he said.
“That, counselor, remains to be seen.” She grasped his outstretched hand. As her satiny skin brushed his calloused fingers, more than a business handshake passed between them. And he had the sinking feeling she’d be proven right.
SIX
“Did you weight these damned things with rocks?” Ryan dropped the large box onto the floor with a grunt.
Chelsie laughed. “You should have seen me in law school. My book bag outweighed me.”
“That I can believe. Is that the last of them?”