Just the Sexiest Man Alive(86)

Needless to say, Taylor’s mind was traveling in a thousand different directions as she pulled her car into the driveway of her apartment building.

Which is probably why she didn’t notice a familiar black Aston Martin parked on the street out front until she got to her front door and saw Jason heading up the walkway toward her.

Thirty-two

TAYLOR STOOD FROZEN on her doorstep as Jason headed over to her. He wore jeans and a lightweight navy sweater that brought out the blue of his eyes from ten feet away. He looked casual and rumpled and uncharacteristically tousled about. Taylor thought he had never looked better.

He stopped when he got to the edge of her doorstep.

“I need to talk to you.”

“I thought you were in New York,” she said. She had watched his live interview on the Today show that morning before leaving for court. Not that she needed to admit that to him.

“I flew back this afternoon.” Jason gestured to her front door. “Can I come in?”

Taylor nodded. As Jason followed her into the apartment, she noticed that he seemed nervous. Frankly, so was she. The two of them had an awkward moment, fumbling around each other as they stepped through the archway to the living room at the same time.

Taylor stopped and gestured for Jason to go first. Then she politely offered him something to drink. He politely replied that a glass of water would be nice.

A person could’ve cut the tension in the air with a spoon.

Taylor headed into her kitchen, berating herself for acting like such a moron. Miraculously, she somehow managed to pour a glass of water without dropping or spilling anything. When she returned to the living room she found Jason standing in front of the fireplace, checking out the family photographs she had set out along the mantel.

“You look like your father,” he said as she handed over his glass of water.

“Really? People usually say I look like my mom.” Relaxing a bit, Taylor moved next to Jason to see which photo he was looking at.

“It’s the eyes.” He turned and studied her, as if searching for an answer to some unasked question.

“I’m glad you came here tonight,” Taylor found herself saying. She saw this put Jason at ease for the first time since he’d got there. “There’s something I need to talk to you about as well.”

“Okay . . .” he said hesitantly, presumably remembering an earlier conversation between them that had begun this very same way. “You go first this time.”

So Taylor took a deep breath. “I settled my case today. It’s over. Done.”

Jason was surprised by this. “Over? I thought you said you were only halfway through your trial.”

Taylor nodded. “And then there were supposed to be posttrial motions and then likely an appeal, too. But today the plaintiff made us an offer we couldn’t say no to. It’s a great result. In fact, it was such a great result that, well . . . the firm said they’re going to make me a partner.”

Jason’s face broke into an enormous smile. “Holy shit—you’re kidding!”

“But I have to go back to Chicago.”

That wiped the smile right off his face.

He said nothing at first. He carefully set his glass of water down on her coffee table, unnecessarily adjusting it on a coaster as if needing a minute. Then he straightened up with his arms folded across his chest.

“So what did you tell them?”

Taylor met his gaze.

“I told them yes.”

They both fell silent.

Jason began to pace in front of the coffee table. He looked shocked. And angry. He appeared to be struggling for the right words to say.

“But . . . what about everything you have here in Los Angeles?”

Taylor shook her head. “It’s up or out at my firm. If I don’t go back to Chicago, I don’t have a job.”

“That’s the decision they force you to make? Then screw your job.”

Now that fired Taylor up. “Oh well, I suppose that’s easy for you to say. Do you even remember the last time you saw anything less than seven figures on a paycheck?”

For her sarcasm, Jason rewarded Taylor with a glare. It made her feel quite defensive.

“I’ve worked really hard for this,” she told him. “Three years of law school followed by six years of killing myself at that firm. I worked nights, weekends, even holidays. All that, and your only advice is ‘screw your job’?”

Jason circled around her. A floodgate seemingly had been opened.

“Oh, you want my advice? Okay, let’s see . . . Gee—I don’t know, Taylor, maybe you could find a new job. Here. Have you ever considered that? Did you even stop to consider the possibility of not running back to Chicago? Did you think about the fact that you might be walking away from something really good here? Did you once consider the possibility of giving—”

He stopped suddenly. Catching Taylor’s gaze, he shifted uncomfortably and regrouped.

“—Did you ever consider the possibility of giving L.A. a chance?” he finished.

But Taylor wasn’t fooled; she knew exactly what Jason had been about to say. But she, too, found it easier to dance around the subject rather than to actually say out loud what they both were thinking.

“There are a lot of things I like about L.A.’” she said carefully. “Things I like very much. But it’s too risky. What if things didn’t work out, Jason?” Her voice cracked a little as she said this. She collected herself. “With L.A., I mean.”