Page 67 of Pride & Precedents

Noah risks a glance in my direction from across the pool table, then uses lightning fast reflexes to pretend he wasn't looking. He's been staring at me off and on since I announced my suspension. When Cory jumps up to go to the men's room, I turn to find Noah, yet again, staring at me.

"What's with all the weird looks?" I ask, foregoing small talk to get straight to the meat of the issue. A rueful smile tugs at Noah's lips.

"I just…don't know where we stand," he admits hesitantly. "I wouldn't have even come today, since I thought it would be awkward, but, you know, it's mandatory."

"Of course it is. You don't want to end up looking like a hobo in an off-the-rack suit if Adam decides to go bespoke."

Noah chuckles lightly, but his smile doesn't reach his eyes. We're both silent for a while.

"I really am sorry about what happened," Noah mutters before taking a sip of his Maker's Mark.

"I know you are," I sigh. "We're good. I just…It just felt like, when Adam and Cory both knew about Naomi, all of you had been laughing at me behind my back." Noah rears back, offended.

"That's not how it was at all! You might not remember, but you were a real pain in the ass formonthsafter it happened. I finally broke down and told the others so they'd stop worrying about you."

Wow.I never realized my brothers care enough to worry about me.

"And the stuff about Camila?" I ask, eyebrow raised. Noah's excuse for telling them about Naomi seems plausible enough, but why the hell would he need to give anyone details about what I did with Camila? His expression turns chagrined.

"That was just one too many Maker's Marks. As soon as it came out, I knew I'd made a mistake." I grunt and drain the rest of my glass.

"I'm not saying it's cool, but thanks for telling me what happened. Camila is really special to me." Noah waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oooh! She is, is she?" I brace myself for some brotherly ball busting. "So when do Mom & Dad and the other brothers get to meet her? Is she coming to the wedding?"

I wish I knew.I shrug and stand to take Cory's place at the pool table.

"Did Mom tell you Damon changed his flight? He'll be here a full two weeks before the big day." I silently pray Noah lets me get away with changing the subject yet again. The look on his face says "no such luck".

"You know she reached out to me about a week ago," Noah says. He casually gets up for another drink at the bar, like he didn't just drop a nuke on my brain.

"She who?" I ask, hoping he's talking about someone else. He turns and looks at me like I'm a moron. OK. So we're clearly talking about Mila.

"Well, what did she want?" I ask, trying to control the pleading tone of my voice. Noah's smile turns a little wicked. Although he accused Cory of enjoying holding things over people's heads, that was definitely the pot calling the kettle black.

"It was about work, actually. She asked if there were any entry-level positions at my firm, something a new lawyer could use to cut their teeth." Noah tries to cover his laughter at my stunned face with a cough. He fails miserably.

"She reached out for ajob?!" The gravity of his words hits me like a bucket of ice water.What is she doing looking for jobs? She's coming back once she passes the bar, isn't she?My palms start to sweat.

"Hey bro, chill," Noah says in a soothing tone. He pats me awkwardly on the shoulder. "It was just a meeting. Nothing is set in stone. I took her resume and set up a meeting for her with HR. That's it." Hearing Camila's thinking of leaving the firm, of leavingme…

"Are you going to hire her?" I croak. I'm having a hard time catching my breath. Noah's eyes dart away uncomfortably.

"I mean," he starts, avoiding eye contact, "what firm wouldn't want someone with 5+ years of experience supporting a partner at BBS&P, even a paralegal? And she'll have her J.D. from Syracuse soon?"

He waves his hand like the answer is obvious and I gulp because it is. Painfully. Noah leans over for another stiff pat on my shoulder.

"Don't start panicking yet, bro. I told her nothing could move forward without a recommendation from you. Honestly, I thought she might have talked to you about it already, but obviously not."

"Well…I guess that's something. Now she'll have to talk to me." Noah sees a bad idea brewing and thankfully intervenes.

"And you'll do the right thing like you always do, and you won't hold her career hostage just because things didn't work out. Right?" The doubt in his voice is enough to squash the idiotic notion before it can take root. I won't deny her the recommendation—her work is stellar, and she's had to deal with my bullshit on top of all of that—but if she thinks we're not talking about us, she's crazy.

While my whole world is imploding around me, Adam comes out from the dressing room with Cory hot on his heels. Adam'swearing a black velvet tux with a satin shawl lapel. There's subtle paisley on the velvet, which I thought would be too trendy when I saw it on the mannequin, but it actually works. He looks incredible. He knows it too, judging by the way he's smiling at his reflection in the mirrors.

"That's the one," Noah and I both say, then laugh. We never did much of the twin speak, even as kids, but we're clearly on the same page about that beautiful suit. Even Cory looks impressed, though he opts not to say anything. Adam turns to see the suit from another angle.

"I think you're both right. This suit is the one," Adam says. I stand with my glass raised, swaying a bit from the two previous glasses.

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