Meet Cute(46)

His lips brush my cheek as he finally pulls away. “Her messages were so frantic. I felt sick.”

“She was worried something had happened to you.” So was I. “What made you so late?”

Dax doesn’t have a chance to answer because Emme throws the door open and grabs my hand. “I need you to look at the menu with me so you can pick what you like, too.”





Once dinner is finished, Emme excuses herself to her room, apparently recovered from the earlier trauma, giving Dax and me a chance to talk. He told Emme that he got stuck in a meeting and his phone died, but his stiff posture tells me there’s more to the story.

He opens the fridge and grabs a couple of bottles of beer. “You want one?”

“I should probably go soon.”

“You could just stay for one drink? I can explain what happened this afternoon.” He inclines his head toward the backyard.

The last time I sat out there with him he kissed me. The memory haunts me like a ghost, and has evolved into dreams that leave me wet and wanting when I wake. “Uh, the living room might be better. It’s starting to cool off tonight.”

I have no idea if that’s accurate, but I do not want to find myself in that position again, especially since I enjoyed it so much. If I manage to persuade Dax to come to Whitman, I can’t indulge in this kind of relationship with him anyway. There’s a strict no-fraternization policy in effect, and for good reason. Interoffice romances only cause unnecessary drama and discomfort between colleagues, especially when relationships fail. And at a small firm like Whitman, the awkwardness would be magnified.

A small smile appears as he tips his head to the side. “Okay.”

I follow him into the living room. Of course he chooses to sit on the love seat, forcing me into close proximity anyway. I’m still dressed in a pencil skirt and blouse. His gaze roams lower, to my signature patterned hose as I cross my legs. I smooth my skirt down, wishing I were wearing something more comfortable. “So what happened this afternoon, exactly?”

“Court went a little long, and I still had to go back to my office, but even with the stop I only would’ve been a few minutes late. Except Linda’s lawyer ambushed me in the lobby.”

“Why?”

“Who the hell knows? I assume Linda sent him to make me late. He had papers I’ve already seen. Emme stays after school on Tuesdays for music, and Linda knows that. I was in such a rush to get Emme, I left my keys in Felix’s car, and I had to wait for him to bring them back. My phone died before I could call Emme to let her know. By that time she must’ve called you. It was just a shit day.”

“I think you need to have a backup plan for nights when you might be late, whether you want Emme to be able to take the bus on her own, or you let me know and I can come get her.”

“I don’t want to put that on you.”

“I have clearance for this kind of thing for a reason, Dax. Let me help when you need it.”

He scrubs a palm over his face. “It’s all been such a whirlwind, you know? I don’t know if I’m coming or going half the time.”

I run a soothing hand down his arm. “Have you talked to your boss about your hours? Are they being flexible?”

“They’re trying, and I guess so am I. They’re so used to me working these long hours, I think they forget sometimes that I have these obligations now that they don’t. Most of the guys with families aren’t doing this on their own, they have wives and nannies. It’s just different.”

“There are other options, Dax. Beverly would give you very flexible hours. Emme’s school is close to the firm, and the library is right down the street. Some of my colleagues’ kids hang out there after school and catch up on homework. It’s very family friendly, particularly for someone in your situation.” Despite what Beverly wants, it would be so much better for Emme, and likely Dax, to make the switch. They’d have stability. I would be suggesting this even if it wasn’t what Beverly wanted.

Daxton sighs. “I’m supposed to make partner at Freeman this year.”

“There are a lot of demands with being a partner, though.”

He rubs the back of his neck. “I had all these life plans and they’ve been altered so dramatically.”

“They’re just on hold. You’d have the same opportunities at Whitman, and you can take your time getting there. You can wait until Emme is done with high school and off to college before you make the push for partner if that’s what makes the most sense. You’re young, you have time.” As much as it might sound like a sales pitch, it’s true.

“It’s something to think about, especially after today.” He stretches his arm across the back of the love seat. “You must be close to making partner at this point.”

“My dad and I had bet before he passed that I would make partner by thirty.”

“Is that what you want?”

“It’s something I’ve been working toward,” I reply. Maybe throwing myself into work isn’t the most rational way to deal with loss, but up until now it’s how I’ve managed.

“Is this getting in the way of that?” He motions between us and it takes me a second to understand his meaning.

My stomach knots with guilt that he’s become part of what will get me the partnership I’ve been seeking. “Oh, you mean is being Emme’s conservator impacting my cases? No, not at all.”