Chasing Forever (The Forever Series #1)(24)

Regan bit her lower lip. She didn’t want talk about their past. All those good memories were tainted by deceit. “Fine, then I hate soup, particularly tomato based soups.”

“You’ll love this.” Lucas handed the menu to the waiter. “Two bowls of the cioppino and two house salads, dressing on the side on one.”

“On top is fine,” Regan interrupted. She always ordered her dressing on the side. She hated it any other way, but she didn’t want Lucas to think he still knew her preferences. Conceding she still loved a double shot cappuccino, dry with one bag of raw sugar, and clam linguine was disconcerting enough.

Lucas frowned, then turned toward the waiter. “Dressing on top of both.”

With the menu gone, Lucas wouldn’t postpone their conversation any longer, so she decided to beat him to it. “Lucas, this isn’t going to work. I think it will benefit both of us if I accepted the position at the District Attorney’s office.”

Lucas reached for the white linen napkin and placed it in his lap. “You don’t want to practice criminal law. An internship at the D.A.’s office would be a complete waste of time.”

Regan knew that. She didn’t need him to point it out to her. She already felt sick to her stomach about having to give up one more thing because Lucas walked into her life six and a half years ago and turned it upside down. She shrugged, feigning indifference. “Not your problem.”

Lucas sighed. “Can we move past what happened between us six years ago? I think it’s been long enough that we can get past any hurt feelings. We’re adults. There’s no reason to dwell on the past. Friends?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.

Staring at his hand, anger burned through her. “That’s easy for you to say when you weren’t the wronged party.” She took a sip of her ice water. “Look, Lucas. I’d love to finish my summer associate position, but you can’t blame me for not wanting to reciprocate any sort of friendship. Let’s keep everything professional.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do,” Lucas responded, dropping his hand and leaning back in his chair.

Regan rearranged the napkin in her lap. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page. No more lunches, no work trip to Colorado, no prying into my personal life. Just work. You assign it. I complete it. End of story.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” she responded, looking up from her lap.

“We need to work together effectively. That means we can’t ignore each other. Lunches, the trip to Colorado, and other little social encounters are necessary. We have a rough history, but so do a lot people and just like everyone else you need to put your big girl pants on and work around it.”

What a jerk. Regan lifted her hand in protest.

Lucas leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table, a condescending smile on his face. “Consider this your first lesson in practicing law. You may not always like your client, opposing counsel, the judge, or your colleagues, but you need to learn to get past it in order to be an effective advocate for your client, and if you can’t do that, then you might as well pack up your bags and go home.”

If she leaned forward just one inch she could flick that patronizing smile right off his face. Instead, she pushed her chair back slightly and crossed her arms. He had effectively boxed her into a corner. She couldn’t disagree without looking immature and unprofessional. If she agreed, that would mean she agreed with him. She hated agreeing with him. The silence stretched to the point of awkwardness. She glared at him wishing she could tell him exactly where he could stick his lesson, but she couldn’t, not if she wanted to stay at Martin and Black and she did.

Exhaling loudly, she gave herself a pep talk. She could do this. She could finish the summer with her dignity intact. Feeling slightly better, she pasted an overly bright smile on her face. “All right.”

Lucas flashed his brilliant signature smile, the one that earned him the King of the Panty Droppers title in college. “Really?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. Really.”

“No more talking about the past.”

“It’s buried.” For now, she silently added.

He reached his hand across the table again. “Friends?”

She eyed his hand, then shook it. “Not quite, but something like that.”

He chuckled. “I’ll take it.”

“You’ll take what?”

Regan snatched her hand back at the sound of that voice. She turned toward Richard, the senior partner in the corporate litigation department. He stared at them with one eyebrow raised. She wanted to squirm in her chair, so she folded her hands in her lap forcing herself to remain still.

Lucas shrugged. “The bet.”

“Huh?” Regan said, her eyes wide.

He looked at her pointedly. “She doesn’t think the Giants can win tomorrow night. I disagreed and proposed a little bet.”

Richard shoved his hands in his pockets. “She’s going to lose. The Dodgers’ best pitcher is out with an injury.”

“I told her that. She didn’t care.”

“Not smart,” Richard said, looking at her and shaking his head.

“What can I say? I’m not much of a baseball fan.” She looked at Lucas and smiled her most innocent smile. “It’s kind of boring. It’s a sport for men who have limited athletic abilities. It doesn’t take much talent to stand by a little square waiting to hit a little ball, then run in a circle.” She used to love baseball before she hated it. He ruined it for her. When she watched a game, it reminded her of Lucas. Just one of the many simple pleasures in her life he destroyed by being the biggest * to walk the face of the earth.