The Sparkling One

Page 11

“Okay. Great.”
He reached for her, but instead of falling into his embrace, she rose and crossed to the window. Once there, she stared out at her view of the side street and the apartment building across the way.
“I don’t know why you don’t trust me,” she said softly, folding her arms over her chest. “You’re going to have to get over that, David, or we’re going to be in trouble.”
“I do trust you.”
Mia didn’t say anything. Although she and David were the same age, sometimes she felt years older. Maybe all that crap about girls maturing more quickly wasn’t exactly the crap she thought it was.
“I know things are different for you,” she said, not wanting to fight. “You’re in your first year of college. You haven’t even picked a major yet.”
“A lot of people haven’t.”
“I know.” She turned to face him. “I’m not being critical. I mean, most kids don’t know what they want when they enter college. I happen to be one of the ones who did.”
“You also started college when you were sixteen. What was that all about?”
He grinned as he spoke, reminding her that this was a familiar point of discussion. He accused her of being too smart for her own good while she called him a lazy bum who couldn’t pick a direction of study.
But what if they weren’t really kidding?
Mia didn’t know where the thought came from. She also didn’t like it.
“I love you,” she said intently.
David rose and crossed the floor. When he reached her, he pulled her close. “I love you, too. I want to be with you for the rest of my life.”
She leaned into him, parting her lips for his kiss. When he picked her up to carry her into the bedroom, she found she sometimes quite liked that he was big enough to push her around.
6
T he delivery guy from the Thai place arrived thirty seconds before Katie did. Zach paid the bill and added a generous tip for speedy service, then waited by the open front door while Katie parked her convertible in front of his house.
She turned off the engine, then collected her ever bulging briefcase and stepped out onto the street.
It was nearly seven, and long since dark. The night was cool and damp. Winter, such as it was, had returned to Southern California, keeping daytime temperatures in the fifties. In deference to the change in season, Katie wore a lightweight coat over slacks. As she approached, street-lights illuminated the red in her hair.
“I wasn’t sure you’d show up,” he called.
She stepped onto the walkway. “This is business. Besides, I don’t scare off that easily.” She glanced at the large bag he held. “Am I too early? I thought you said seven.”
“I did.” He held up the bag. Already the smell of Thai food made his mouth water. “It’s a peace offering.”
She sniffed once, then smiled. “I could be persuaded.”
He was hoping she would say that.
Zach ushered her into his tall, narrow house. The split level entry led down to the main living area and up toward the bedrooms.
“How long have you lived here?” she asked, glancing around. “It’s a fabulous location.”
“Two blocks from the beach with a perfect view,” he said. “David and I moved in two years ago. We’d been living on the west side for a few years and wanted a change.”
They walked into the kitchen and Katie set her briefcase on the granite counter. Bleached birch cabinets lined two walls. Aside from the Sub-Zero freezer and six-burner stove, the previous occupants had left behind a built-in under-the-counter wine cellar and Jenn-Air cooktop in the center island.
Katie did a slow turn. “I’m not a huge cook, but even I could envy this setup.” She glanced at him. “Let me guess. You only order take-out.”
“Something like that.” He set the food on the counter. “Let me take your coat.”
He moved behind her as she slipped out of her jacket. Beneath, she wore tailored black slacks and a soft-looking sweater in emerald green. She’d piled her long hair on her head, leaving her neck bare.
Zach draped the coat over his arm, ignoring the scent of Katie’s body and the warmth lingering in her coat. He hung the garment in the hallway closet and returned to the kitchen. He had to keep his mind on business. At least for now.
But when he found her leaning against the counter, looking at several pictures of David on the refrigerator, he found thoughts of business fading. Instead he focused on the curve of her hip as she rested her weight on one foot, and the way her fingers gracefully skimmed the collection of photos.
He could imagine those fingers touching other things—namely him. He would do some touching in return. Naked, he thought. He wanted her naked.
He mentally cuffed himself. Time for a distraction.
“So you didn’t call me up and tell me to go to hell,” he said.
She glanced at him. “Was I supposed to?”
“You could have. You were mad.”
“I’ve always been more of a ‘living well is the best revenge’ kind of person. I’m going to throw you a party so incredible, you’ll have to eat your words.”
He appreciated that she’d twisted the situation to her own advantage and that she wanted to win.
“Until then, let’s eat Thai,” he said, grabbing the bag of food and moving toward the table in the corner. “You willing to put business on hold until after dinner?”
“Sure.”
He plied her with noodles and Thai chicken, all the while asking questions about what it was like to grow up at the winery.
“Four girls,” he said. “Any complaints about not having a brother?”
“It’s a bit of a sore spot,” she admitted as she scooped up more noodles. “My grandparents are old-fashioned and want a male heir. That’s why there’s some pressure to marry and have grandkids. Jeff, Brenna’s husband, is a sweetie and we all adore him, but he wasn’t interested in wine. Instead he wanted to be a doctor, if you can believe it.”
“You never married.”
Her brown eyes widened slightly. “Was that a question or a statement?”
“Which isn’t going to get me in trouble?”
She smiled. “I think it’s too late for that. As for me being married, I was engaged when I was eighteen, but things didn’t work out.”
“What happened?”
She took a bite of food, then chewed. After she swallowed, she said, “He joined the service three days before the wedding. I always thought it was pretty tacky of Greg to prefer the possibility of going to war over marrying me.”
“He dumped you?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Thank you for putting it so delicately, but yes.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“It’s been about ten years. I’ve managed to get on with my life.”
“Without getting married.”
She put down her fork. “Marriage is one of those topics we should probably avoid.”
She held her own with him—he liked that. “So let’s talk about me.”
“Your favorite subject?”
“Absolutely. Ask me anything.”
“Who do you prefer to represent in your work?” she asked, leaning back in her chair. “The husband or the wife?”
“I take on whoever asks me first.”
“So you don’t care about being on the side of right?”
“We’re talking about divorce. There’s almost never a ’right’ side. I’ve yet to see a marriage fall apart all because one person is inherently evil. Usually both parties have some claim to the blame. In the case of drugs or alcohol, the nonabusing spouse doesn’t usually deal with his or her problems because the substance issue is bigger than both of them, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
“I never thought about it,” Katie admitted. “There hasn’t been any divorce in our family. I guess we’re just lucky.”
“Luck helps. In my line of work I don’t see very much of it.”
“Why a divorce lawyer? There are a lot of ways for a lawyer to make a living in this town. Why’d you pick that specialty?”
“Let’s move to the living room first,” he said easily, rising, then pulling out her chair for her. “It will be more comfortable.”
She reached for the empty plates on the table, but he brushed her hands away. “I’ll get that later.” At her look of surprise, he shrugged. “I can be domestic when the situation calls for it.”
He put his hand on the small of her back. She didn’t move away. Score one for his side, he thought, pleased that she liked being close to him. He didn’t find her nearness a hardship, either, which meant being charming to get his way had plenty of perks. Pleasant working conditions always improved his attitude.
The sunken living room had west-facing, floor-to-ceiling windows. Katie walked toward them.
“You must see amazing sunsets,” she said, staring into the darkness.
“If I’m home in time.”
“If I lived here, I’d make sure I was home.”
“The hacienda overlooks the Pacific. You see the sunsets from there.”
“That’s where I grew up, so it’s different.”
She started toward the sectional sofa. As she passed a hip-high table, she paused. He saw that her gaze had settled on several framed photographs. Zach shoved his hands into his pockets and waited for the questions. So far everything was going according to plan.
A beautiful blonde smiled out from one picture. The same woman laughed in two other pictures. She and a much younger Zach were together in a fourth.
“She’s stunning,” Katie said, a question in her voice.
“David’s mother.”
“Oh. She’s really lovely.”
“On the outside. On the inside—” He shrugged. “She walked away from David when he was four, and I don’t think she’s seen him more than twice since.”
Katie’s gold-flecked brown eyes widened. “I don’t understand. How could she not want to be with her child?”
“She never wanted children.”
He hesitated, more to figure out how much to tell than because he was reluctant to share his past. He didn’t usually spill his guts to people he just met, but extraordinary circumstances called for extraordinary measures. He needed Katie as an ally, but he had to be careful.
He motioned to the sectional sofa. Katie sank down onto the cushions. Zach settled across from her. He schooled his features into his “I’m concerned but I’m okay” look.
“I met Ainsley in high school. She was the head cheerleader, prom queen. You know the type.”
“I’ve met one or two,” Katie said with a slight smile.
Zach nodded. “I thought Ainsley was a princess. So I wooed and won her. Boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy gets girl pregnant.”
Katie winced. “How old were you?”
“Just seventeen. We got married. David came along nine months later. It wasn’t how I planned to spend the summer after graduating from high school. But we learned how to be parents. It wasn’t easy.”
He didn’t go into details. There was no point in discussing the fights, the anger that had flared between them as they struggled to take care of their son. They’d both felt trapped. Whatever infatuation they’d once shared had quickly burned away.
“I had some money from a trust fund,” he continued. “That paid for our living expenses, although there wasn’t much left over for more than basics. Ainsley’s parents paid for her college. I had a scholarship. Both our moms helped out with daycare. It was still tough.”