Page 68 of One Good Reason

“I ate lunch. Why?”

“That was hours ago, and that’s your third drink. You should slow down until you get something on your stomach.”

“I’m okay, Lawton.”

“You’re unpredictable when you’ve been drinking. I’m trying to have a good night. I don’t’ want you to misconstrue anything I say and be angry with me as a result.”

“I won’t.” I giggled. “Besides… Gema would have my ass if I did.”

“Umm.” He hummed. “So, my girl is still on my side?”

“You expected her to not be.”

“I don’t know what I expected. I figured since you were pissed with me, you had her on your bandwagon.”

“Well lucky for you, Gema isn’t one sided. She’s extremely fair, even when I give her a hundred reasons to not be.”

Placing the menu down, Law leaned in and propped his elbows on the table. “You said that to say what?”

“I wasn’t your biggest fan and I told her.”

“And instead of her being mad right along with you, she was neutral.”

“Too neutral for my liking.” I frowned.

‘Remind me to get her a gift.” Picking up his glass, he tossed back the shot of bourbon. The view of his Adams apple bobbing when he swallowed had my thighs clenching under the table. After swiping away remnants of the liquor from his beard he asked, “Ready to order?”

“No more than what I was minutes ago. But go ahead.”

Waving the server over, Law placed an order for his rack of lamb and kept it light for me by ordering me a medium well steak with asparagus and mashed potatoes as my sides. After ordering another round of drinks for the table, the two of us settled into light conversation.

Once the food arrived at the table, we ate and caught up on what each other had been doing the few weeks we hadn’t talked.

“How is the application coming along?”

“I just finished the essay portion of it. I’m going to scan it and send it over to your email so you can look at it. I figured once I felt secure with it, I could go ahead and send it in.”

“When I spoke to the contractors yesterday, they were working on the restrooms. I’ve gotta get a plumber out there. He mentioned something about the toilets running.”

“Any water damages?”

“No. They just keep running after being flushed. Doesn’t sound like a serious issue but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“You’re right about that. Patton mentioned knowing an inspector.”

“Yeah. He’s got a connect that he’s going to send over to handle that part.”

“Good.” I nodded. “So, I’m guessing after we’re given the go ahead, we can file?”

“We can,” he confirmed.

“I didn’t expect it to move this fast.”

“That’s why it’s best to know people,” he voiced.

“Of course, it is–” I started but stopped when the conversation I had with Gema earlier circled through my mind. Deciding to change the topic, I asked, “So, I know you said you had business to take care of. But what’s therealreason you disappeared?”

“Life got in the way,” he admitted vaguely.

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