Page 59 of From the Courtroom to the Court
"What do you mean?" Leah's friend dares to ask.
Emma clears her throat and runs her hand through her hair. That's it, she's said it and now she's not backing down.
"I like you too, Mia, and believe it or not, that's given me something to think about."
"That you like a ball picker must be very hard for you," she mocks.
Emma's only response is to throw a cushion that Mia easily dodges.
"Believe it or not, it is," Emma says seriously. "When you spend your whole life surrounded by people who only see appearances and money, there are things you can't afford."
"So what's changed?" Mia asks.
"I haven't felt like dating anyone for a long time. I don't remember the last time I really wanted to get to know a woman; I can't even tell you how long it's been since I thought about a girl before falling asleep."
Mia sketches a mocking smile.
"Do you think about me before sleeping, attorney Harris?" Mia raises her hands in peace when she sees her companion's angry gesture. "Sorry, I'm being silly."
"What I mean is that I want to get to know you too, date you, but I warn you that you'll need patience," Mia nods and Emma continues speaking. "I've spent my whole life walking on golden cotton balls, and bad habits don't disappear overnight."
"What matters is that you want to do it, Emma."
"I do," the lawyer confirms.
"Then," Mia Clark jumps to her feet and extends her hand for Emma to do the same, "we can say that, starting tonight, we're going to get to know each other a little better."
Emma smiles and Mia bites her lips. They share a kiss as soft as those from that night when they made love, and the lawyer sighs, melting.
"How about we eat now?" Mia suggests.
"You're going to love the food."
"I hope it's not caviar or those things you rich people eat that taste awful and leave you hungry."
Emma bursts into laughter. Mia is right, but tonight they'll eat more than caviar, though what she's really looking forward to is dessert.
Chapter 31
After checking for the umpteenth time that she hasn't forgotten anything, Emily zips up her suitcase and lifts it off the bed to carry it to the door. She knows it's too much for a weekend, but she's one of those people who prefers to have too much rather than too little.
She checks the time and realizes there are still ten minutes before Leah is supposed to pick her up, so she starts pacing back and forth, not knowing what to do with herself. She's experiencing a mixture of emotions that are hard to control—nervous, excited, and above all, intrigued because she has no idea where Leah plans to take her. All the lawyer knows is that yesterday, after training, Leah told her not to make any plans for the weekend and to prepare a bag with a change of clothes.
Emily fired a barrage of questions at her like she was a client she needed to defend, trying to get as much information as possible, but Leah was relentless and didn't give her a single clue.
"You'll find out when we get there," she said and planted a kiss on her lips before leaving Emily standing there like a statue and heading to her next class.
Emily smiles at the memory and checks the time again. Five minutes. She lets out an exasperated sigh as she waits. The truth is she doesn't care where they go; she needs to disconnect because the last two weeks have been intense at work, and she's barely had time to enjoy her newly formed romance with Leah.
Her case against Vanessa Cooper continues to progress, and after preparing Mia, Leah, and their mothers for the interview with the judge, it was time for them to meet with her, for Aaron to undergo psychological evaluation, to speak with the social worker, and to submit a mountain of paperwork that Emily wanted to review with Emma. Now they're waiting for the judge's decision, and Emily has felt so much stress during these two weeks that she feels this weekend with Leah is exactly what she needs to disconnect from everything.
Anxious, she decides to go outside and wait on the sidewalk, and just as she's closing the door, Leah's car appears down the street.
"We're sleeping away for one night, Emily, not a week," Leah says when she gets out of the car and sees her loaded down as if she's moving houses.
Emily laughs and throws her arms around Leah's neck, greeting her with a deep, tongue-filled kiss.
"If you do that again, I might change my mind and we'll spend the weekend at your place," Leah says with darkened eyes.
