Page 45 of Danny Hall Gets a Lawyer
The sudden queasy swoop in my gut made me realize something.
I was falling for Miller Clarke.
I mean, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Miller was the total package, and I wasn’t just talking about his dick—although that was pretty great. A whole lot of my time was spent wondering when I could see him again.
It should have been a happy realization, except we came from different worlds.
And then I saw the expression on Grandma’s face. She was testing me. Pushing me to make me admit something to myself that I’d been dancing around for a while now. Of course Grandma didn’t give a shit if Miller polished his real leather shoes and had a law school degree, whereas this morning I’d added water to the shampoo bottle for the third time just to try to stretch it out. Pretty sure I was washing my hair in just water at this point. Washing it in cold water since we were still waiting on the plumber.
Anyway, that stuff didn’t matter to Grandma, and she was reminding me that it shouldn’t matter to me. So I guessed the only question was, did it matter toMiller?
“He is actually a beer and burgers guy,” I said. “And just because he dresses nice doesn’t mean he’s a snob or something.”
“Well, good,” Grandma said with a smile. “I’m glad to hear that.”
I realized she’d been angling to make me say it the whole time.
I thought of Miller again. Maybe wecouldtake this to the next level and actually date. I mean sure, we lived in different towns and lived different lives, but we could make it work. Hell, we’d been making it work so far, right?
That was assuming he felt the same—which was a hell of a leap on my part. Miller thought I was cute, and we were fire between the sheets, but that didn’t automatically mean he wanted more.
But despite telling myself not to get too excited at the idea, I couldn’t stop hope welling up in me. Miller would be back in Hopewell late this afternoon. Would it be weird and stalkery if I drove over and waited for him? Probably.
I’d text him first, andthenI’d drive over and meet him.
I just hoped this didn’t turn out to be a mistake.
As the day wore on, restlessness bubbled away under my skin. I tried to ignore it, along with the churning in my gut and the nasty little voice that whispered I was about to make a giant fool of myself.
Miller likes you, I reminded myself. He’d invited me over and asked me to stay. He called me just to talk. And he was a decent guy. So even if he wasn’t into the idea of something more, he wasn’t gonna be a dick about it. And hey, I could always fall back on the classics—namely, I’d suck his dick, and then we’d never mention that me and my stupid feelings had made things awkward ever again.
No big deal.
CHAPTER 12
MILLER
My working week got off to a bad start when I arrived at the office only to be met by a wheezing, slobbering Alexander Hamilton.
“Hey, bro,” Marty said and waved at me from behind the reception desk.
“I’m not your bro, Marty,” I said. “We talked about professionalism, remember?”
“Oh, totes,” he said. “Anyway, bro, Ms. Missy Thurston-Wallace is in your office.” He got a faraway look on his face. And given how far away he usually was, that was saying something. “Ms. Missy. Ms. Missy. Mzzzzzz.”
I wondered if it would be rude to ask if he’d taken his meds. Then I decided I wasn’t invested enough to care, not with a pug snorting and wheezing and drooling on my shoes. “Bring me Missy’s file and a coffee when you get the chance, please.”
I knew he likely wouldn’t remember, but it turned out I was an optimist.
I drew a deep breath and walked down the hallway to my office. When I opened the door, Missy was already seated. “Good morning, Ms. Thurston-Wallace,” I said cautiously. “Did we have an appointment?”
“Oh, Miller!” she gushed, her eyes bright with excitement. “I have the most amazing news!”
I took in her bright smile, her freshly manicured nails, and the shiny new diamond ring on her finger, and I knew what was coming even before she said it. “Chad and I are getting back together!”
I plastered a bright smile on my face. “Well, that’s good news. Congratulations.”
Was that the right thing to say? Whatwasthe correct response forI’m glad you and your awful husband aren’t going to be released back into the dating population?
