Chapter 9

nine

. . .

Easton

She insisted we go inside her house first so she could drop off her purse and I could leave my keys there.

Henley went to grab a couple of beach towels as I took in her place. It was not what I’d expected. It was completely decorated, as if she’d lived here for months. Her style was relaxed and warm.

“Okay, I’m ready, birthday boy.” She waggled her brows, and I laughed.

Why the fuck was I doing this?

We worked together. She was the managing partner’s daughter. This couldn’t go anywhere.

It was inappropriate for a multitude of reasons.

Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from getting out of the car.

I wanted to be around her.

Needed to be around her.

Hell, I wasn’t even mad that my mom had invited her to Sunday dinner. Normally, I would have lost my shit when she extended the invitation to a woman without running it by me.

But I was happy she’d invited her.

I’d always liked to be alone on my birthday. I’d go to work and then head home, where I drowned myself in booze and tried to get through the night without being haunted by the memories.

But here I was, going for a night swim with my mentee.

Maybe we could be friends. I’d never had many female friends, so this wasn’t really my field of expertise.

But something about Henley was different.

I dropped my keys, my phone, and my wallet on her counter, before slipping my dress coat off and leaving my shoes and socks inside, as well.

She was barefoot as she padded by me to step outside, and she flipped on the lights on the patio, as the sky was completely dark now.

“I thought you’d cheat and go put on a swimsuit.” I followed her over to the pool.

“A deal’s a deal, Chadwick. Swim in our undies and then make you some pasta,” she said as she stopped at the lawn chair near the shallow end. The pool was a decent size and set about forty feet from the river.

The view was unbelievable.

Similar to mine, but I didn’t have a swimming pool.

I slowly unbuttoned my dress shirt. “Good to know you don’t back down from a deal.”

Her eyes scanned my chest before she unbuttoned her white blouse, exposing a peach-colored bra. My mouth watered at the sight. I’d imagined what she’d look like beneath her clothes at work hundreds of times.

Her tits were works of art.

Perky.

A perfect handful.

Two hard peaks pointed through the lace, taunting me.

“You’re staring,” she said, as she raised a brow.

“You didn’t say staring wasn’t allowed.”

She let out a breath as I dropped my shirt on the chair and lowered my pants. Now it was her turn to gape at me. I looked down to see that my dick had decided to make a grand entrance by standing tall and proud beneath the black cotton fabric of my briefs.

“What? Have you never seen an erection?” I quirked a brow.

Her cheeks flushed as she unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the ground. She wore purple lace panties, which surprised me, because I was sure they’d match her bra.

“Of course, I have. But not normally when I’m going for a professional swim with my mentor.” She covered her mouth with her hand, an attempt to muffle her laughter.

“I’ve got news for you, Princess. HR would not approve of this. There’s nothing professional about swimming with your coworker after hours in your underwear.”

She walked toward the steps and dipped her foot into the water. I stayed back, enjoying the view. Her ass was pure perfection, even covered by the layer of lace hugging her cheeks. Round and toned and everything an ass should be.

“So, if we were in swimsuits, would that make the difference?” she asked, as she dropped all the way into the water and turned around, her shoulders and head the only thing exposed.

I walked around to the side of the pool, before picking up speed and launching myself into a cannonball. I wanted to be in there with her now. Regardless of whether I got to touch her. I wanted to be closer to her.

How the fuck could I want to be close to her today, of all days?

I pushed the thought away.

She squealed, and her head fell back in laughter when I surged up from the water and shook my head like a dog. My feet touched the bottom of the pool, and this was where being six foot four inches tall always came in handy. She was treading water, and I ran my hands through my hair, pushing it away from my face.

“I don’t think the bathing suits are the problem here.” I smirked.

“What’s the problem?”

“Well, for starters, your panties don’t match your bra. That’s offensive.”

“Oh, I see. You have a problem with my mismatched set?”

“I’m just saying, I think HR would have a problem with it. Though your ass and tits are pure perfection.”

“Thank you. But for the record, I cheated a little on our agreement.”

“How so?”

“When I went to get the beach towels, I changed my panties. They originally matched my bra, and that felt… inappropriate, seeing as this is a professional swim. Plus, I was wearing a thong, and I wanted a little more coverage.”

I barked out a laugh as I moved closer to her. “Are you shitting me, or are you serious?”

“About what part?”

“Did you change your panties, Princess?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t put on a swimsuit.”

“No. I wouldn’t break our deal. But you never said anything about what panties I had to wear.”

“Maybe I wanted the thong. It is my birthday, after all.” I was standing right in front of her, and she was still treading water, her breaths coming faster now.

“I think you’ll live.”

“You getting tired of treading water over there?” I held out my hand. “All you have to do is ask.”

“We said no touching,” she said.

“That was a stupid rule, wasn’t it?” I moved so close that the tip of our noses were almost touching. The water moved between us as she continued moving her arms and legs beneath the surface.

“I think it was probably a smart rule.” She pulled back and swam toward the shallow end, where she could stand. “Tell me why you got defensive about my dad calling me out for getting second in a tennis match years ago. I’m no longer offended by it, so why were you?”

“Because he was being an asshole.”

“He’s your boss. You don’t want to piss him off.”

I moved toward her before swimming in a circle around her. “I don’t give a fuck. If someone’s being an asshole, I’m going to call them out.”

“Even if it’s the man who gets to decide if your name is on the door?”

I came to a stop and floated on my back. “Yep.”

“That’s bold.” She copied my movements by flipping onto her back and floating beside me. “But he clearly likes you because he didn’t lose his shit on you.”

“Your father may get to decide if my name goes on that wall, but the truth is, he needs me as much as I need him. The managing partners don’t have near the trial wins that I do, nor did they in their prime. And now, they don’t want to work eighty hours a week. He knows how dedicated I am to this job, and he knows that I’m good for the firm. Why do you think he asked me to take you under my wing?”

“Makes sense.” She was quiet for a bit as she floated beside me. “Tell me something that I don’t know about you.”

I used my hands to slide back beside her as we started to float in different directions. “I don’t know what you know about me. So, ask me whatever you want.”

“You’re an open book?” she asked, the back of her hand grazing mine as we stared up at the stars.

When was the last time I was this relaxed?

“Not even fucking close. I’m a fairly private guy.”

“Then why did you just say that I can ask you anything?”

“How about you just take the win. I trust my gut. If you want to know something, ask me,” I said.

“Why didn’t you make plans tonight for your birthday?”

Of course, that was what she wanted to know. It was the one thing I wouldn’t answer. “I told you that I have a twin sister. She’s the only girl in the family, so our birthday was always a big fucking deal. And I’m happy to celebrate with her. But with her living in Magnolia Falls now, I don’t really give a shit to celebrate. I’d rather work. And trust me, my mom will go overboard on Sunday.”

“All right. Seems like a fair answer. Can I keep going?”

“Yep. So far, this is painless.” My hand brushed against hers again as we both floated on the surface of the water. The warm summer air kept us comfortable, and a light breeze off the river moved the branches on the trees in the distance.

“So, I know you have this big, wonderful family. And you’re the best at your job, according to you ,” she said over her laughter, before I splashed water at her. “You didn’t let me finish. Everyone at the office thinks you’re a god, and my father allowed you to call him out at the table, so clearly, you’re fabulous at your job.”

“Is that the question? Because the answer is yes. I’m fabulous at my job.”

“That wasn’t the question, oh, humble one.” She laughed, and I pointed at the star moving across the sky, and we both stared before she spoke again. “So you said you don’t have a girlfriend. When was your last relationship?”

I didn’t mind the question coming from her for some reason.

“College. Undergrad.”

“How long did you date?”

“Three years.” I cleared my throat.

She rolled onto her stomach, and her jaw fell open. “Three years? I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. It’s not that shocking.”

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, and she studied me. “Fine. It’s no surprise at all. But you’ve been out of college a long time. You went on to law school and have been practicing law for years. You’ve never had a relationship since…” She raised a brow as if she were curious about the woman I’d dated.

“Jilly.” I rolled over and stood abruptly. “And no. It was a one and done.”

“Interesting. Why’d you break up?”

“How about you take a turn in the hot seat.” I moved closer to her. “When was your last relationship?”

“Sure. I dated Pete Powers for about a year. He played guitar in a band. He’s a super-talented musician. We ended things a few months ago.”

“Why’d you break up?”

“We had no future. Pete is fabulous. We’re still friends. But we want different things.”

“What did he want?”

“Well, if you must know, Chadwick…” She tucked a loose strand of hair that had fallen free behind her ear as she stood in the shallow end, looking up at me. “He wanted to basically get high and have sex all day, every day.”

“Ah… not a horrible plan.”

“Correct. And every Saturday for a year, it was intriguing. I’d work all week and spend one weekend day with him. I’m not going to lie, it was nice, you know, being wanted all the time. No pressure. No hurry to do anything or go anywhere. Being with Pete was like being on vacation. But for a year. And I was ready to end the vacation and go back to living my regular life.” She chuckled.

“I get that. And before the pothead sex fiend, who did you date? A strip club owner or a pimp?”

She used both hands and sent a gush of water in my direction. “Not even close. I dated Houston Callen for three and a half years. Most of my undergrad years, actually.”

“Houston. He sounds like a bore.”

She laughed, and the sound trickled around us like a song in the breeze.

“Houston was anything but a bore. He was driven and very similar to me when it came to working hard and studying. He was also on the tennis team with me, and he was determined to go to law school, as well.”

“It sounds like a match made in Division I sports heaven,” I hissed, because I hated the dude, and I had no idea why. Henley chuckled at my tone.

“It was. And I loved his parents and his sister. They were sweet and down to earth. I’d go home with him on the weekends often, and a part of me thinks I was more into his family than him.”

“So you dumped him?” I asked.

“No. He dumped me.” She looked up at the sky, as if she didn’t want to see my reaction.

“That dickhead.”

She chuckled and looked at me. “We both applied to Harvard Law. He didn’t get in. And he decided that I only got in because I was a legacy.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You had a perfect score on your LSAT. Your legacy had nothing to do with it,” I growled. Sure, I’d thought it before I knew her. But this was her fucking boyfriend.

“My grandfather and my father both wrote a letter of recommendation for him, too. But he didn’t score well on the LSAT, and he was hungover when he interviewed there, so apparently, he didn’t make a great impression.”

“And then what? He just broke up with you for getting into Harvard?”

She tipped her head to the side. “No. He broke up with me when he asked me not to go to Harvard, and I let him know that I was going. He then told me that he wanted to be with a woman who didn’t have my professional aspirations.”

“What a fucking joke. He was jealous of his own girlfriend.”

“I don’t know. After all was said and done, I packed up and left for Boston and never looked back.”

“You never spoke again?” Why was I so fucking curious?

“He reached out a year into law school to tell me that he was engaged. I wished him well, and that was it.”

“Did it bother you when he got engaged?”

“Nope. After everything he’d said before I left, I didn’t look at him the same way. I was relieved it wasn’t me that he’d proposed to.” She shrugged. “So tell me why you and Jilly broke up.”

I glanced out at the river and then turned back to her. “If I tell you, can we make a deal that you won’t ask any questions about it?”

Her gaze softened. “Of course.”

“Jilly and I never broke up. She was killed in a car accident.”

It was as if the universe had heard me say it aloud. A gust of wind came off the river, and Henley shivered.

“I’m so sorry.” She shook her head and studied me.

“Come on. Let’s get out of the pool.”

And just like that, the mood shifted.

Memories of my past bringing me back to that time in my life.

Bringing me back to this specific day.

To all the reasons I liked my life exactly how it was.

What in the fuck was I even doing here?