“Does it hurt?” he asked with some snark. It made me like him.
“Just a bit. Like a dull ache.”
He snorted a quick laugh. “Penny for your thoughts,” he continued, pressing a bit.
“Oh, they’re worth way more than that,” I argued.
He laughed again and ran his hand through his blonde hair. “I would think so, considering how much time you have to spare to give to charity.”
“Yeah,” I said, not sure what else to say. I really didn’t like boasting about my accomplishments.
The man next to me nodded. “I mean it. It is rare that I hear about that kind of generosity. Especially from a lawyer. I mean, we don’t exactly have the best reputation.”
“I know, I’ve heard the jokes,” I said.
“Jokes? What jokes? There are jokes?” Leo asked, a grin turning up one side of his mouth.
We sat in silence for a few moments, and I noticed that he was drinking whiskey just like I was. The guy couldn’t be all bad, then.
“How long ago did you graduate?” I asked.
“A while ago, I had a hard time finding a job and had to take other work for a few years before joining Howell and Howell.” He glanced away like it was a subject he was uncomfortable with.
I didn’t press. The man’s business was his own. “That’s likely why you have never heard the jokes.”
We both laughed, feeling more comfortable again, and were joined by Drew, drawing looks of burning ire from Ann’s side of the table. Probably because she was exactly the kind of lawyer that the jokes tended to be told about. I could laugh at them, and suspected Leo could too because we knew that it didn’t really apply to us and what we did.
“You really are generous; I do mean that.”
“Thanks, honestly, it is easy with strangers, particularly those oppressed. I’m not good with personal connection, either negative or positive. When it comes to matters of the heart, I can be even more guarded.”
“What do you mean?” Leo asked, looking genuinely curious.
“You’ve likely heard about Emma and me, right?”
“Well yeah, it’s kind of the talk of the office, especially when you came up with your mom.”
I nodded. I had forgotten that Leo had the office a few doors down from mine.
“That was not my idea,” I explained, knowing how loud my mother could be.
“Clearly, there was a bet as to where she was holding the gun,” Leo said.
“Oh, she doesn’t need one. She’s armed with the mighty power of weaponized guilt.”
“I think I have heard the legends,” Leo explained.
“Take heed young one,” I said.
He laughed. “So, what’s really happening with you and Emma?”
“Well, that’s the thing. There isn’t anything, really. At least there isn’t meant to be if there is, if that makes any sense.”
“Not even a little bit,” Leo admitted.
“Okay, let me start again. I’m being honored at the governor’s gala for my charity work.”
“I knew that,” Leo said.
“Right, and my mom is after me to settle down and get married and make all the same mistakes that she did because if she’s in a rut, we all have to be.”
“Seems a bit harsh but, okay,” Leo said.
“Right, and as you may or may not know, I am chronically single by choice.”
“Not what I heard,” Leo said, eyeing me and taking a sip from his glass.
“Oh, there are lots of women. Lots of one night stands I should say. I’m rarely at a loss for someone to go home with but that’s not the same as having a relationship. That is the matter of another part of the body other than the heart. Anyway, my mom is so nuts; she invited my crazy ex to the event, no doubt in hopes of getting us back together so I can get married and be respectably miserable. Then someone, who shall remain nameless, told me about how you and Carina first got together, and it didn’t sound like a bad idea.”
Leo smiled and nodded. “So, you choose Emma to be your fake fiancée?”
“Not exactly. I had decided a fake fiancée would be a way to put my mom off the warpath. Sure, she might be a bit upset I hadn’t told her the second I got engaged but figured she would get over it. I didn’t know who to ask to be my fake fiancée but ended not having to choose anyone, Emma offering herself for the job.”
He grinned again. “Looks like someone has a crush.”
“So, it would seem.” I drained my glass. “You haven’t heard the bad part.”
“Oh, sorry, please, continue.”
“Well we were hanging out, getting to know each other, one thing led to another and -”
“You didn’t.”
“We did, twice.”
“Oh, dear.”
“You haven’t heard the worst part,” I said again.
“There’s more?”
“Indeed, last night, Emma said that she is falling for me.”
“How do you feel about her?”
“The same, I think.”