Page 6 of A Legal Affair
“I should have warned you. As soon as Kenny told me about the assignment—which, by the way, I had to pry out of him because he was being so damn secretive—I googled Caleb Thorne.” Janie made a low feline sound. “Girl, that man is fine as fuck.”
Daniela groaned. “Words can’t even begin to describe. That face. That body. That hand tattoo. And let’s not even talk about hisvoice.”
“No, let’s,” Janie urged. “How does it sound?”
“Deep, dark, smooth as melted honey. By the time class was over, I’d left a puddle on my seat.”
Janie shrieked with laughter and then clapped a hand over her mouth, belatedly remembering that her mother-in-law was fast asleep in a bedroom down the hall.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Daniela confessed. “Just between you and me, I already feel like I’m in way over my head. I mean, I’m a nerd with a glow up. A number cruncher whose idea of a wild time is hunting for antiques. What the hell do I know about being a femme fatale?”
“Bullshit,” Janie laughingly scoffed. “I’ve seen you bat those long lashes and toss that pretty hair when you want something badly enough—like that antique rug under your feet.” She grinned at Daniela’s sheepish expression. “Seriously, El, I don’t think you’ll have to become a seductress to accomplish your mission. Think about it. Smart, gorgeous men like Caleb Thorne get hit on all the time. He’s probably been slipped more thongs and phone numbers than he can count. Stand out from the crowd. Be yourself. Something tells me Caleb won’t be able to resist getting to know the real you.”
“As much as that’s possible, considering I came into his life under false pretenses.” Daniela pulled in a deep breath, suppressing a pang of guilt over the duplicitous role she’d been asked, and had agreed, to play.
Janie gave her a sympathetic look, understanding her predicament. “It’s gonna be okay, El.”
“I hope you’re right.” Daniela sighed.
Janie glanced at the diamond-encrusted wristwatch that had been a tenth-anniversary gift from Kenneth. Then she rose fromthe sofa, stretching her limbs with the fluid grace of a gymnast—which she’d been in another lifetime. “I have to pick up the kids from school. They won’t appreciate Mommy being late on the first day—or any day, for that matter.”
Daniela smiled softly, thinking of her seven-year-old niece and nephew, fraternal twins who’d both inherited their mother’s intolerance for tardiness. “Give KJ and Lourdes my love. And thank you so much for coming to the rescue with Mom today, and for agreeing to come back tomorrow. I really appreciate it.”
Janie waved off the gratitude. “Believe me, looking after your mom—flu and all—beats picking up after the twinsanyday of the week.” A wistful note in her tone made Daniela wonder, not for the first time, whether Janie regretted her decision to quit her job in exchange for full-time motherhood. With an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, Janie had been climbing the ranks at a top advertising firm when she learned she was pregnant—with twins, no less. She and Kenneth had decided it was best for one parent to stay home with the children, and Janie had been the unanimous choice.
She hugged Daniela and retrieved her belongings, then headed for the front door. “Oh, that reminds me,” she said over her shoulder, “call Kenny whenever you can. He’s been trying to reach you all day—he wants to know, of course, how everything went this morning. He kept complaining because you weren’t answering your phone. Guess that’s because you accidentally left it on the kitchen counter this morning.” Janie’s wicked grin told Daniela that she’d enjoyed making her husband sweat it out.
Daniela chuckled, getting up to follow Janie to the door. “Serves him right. If he thinks I’m going to be checking in with him every minute of the day like this isCharlie’s Angels, he’s got another think coming.”
Janie laughed all the way to her white Escalade parked in the driveway.
Long after she left, Daniela stood at the window thinking about her sexy law professor and the impossible mission she’d embarked on. She hadn’t been lying when she told Janie she felt like she was in over her head. A man like Caleb Thorne wouldnotbe easy prey, despite what she may have secretly hoped. He was shrewd, tough and powerfully seductive. When he looked at her with those midnight eyes, she could hardly remember who was supposed to be the hunter, and who the hunted. Her attraction to him was a serious weakness she couldn’t afford.
One way or another, she’d have to find a way to keep sight of her goal. Buying her mother’s dream ranch was the goal. Falling victim to Caleb Thorne’s animal magnetism wasnot.
As long as she stayed the course and remained focused, she would escape this mission unscathed.
Failure was not an option—not when her mother’s future happiness hinged on the successful outcome.
3
It was after seven o’clock by the time Caleb steered his Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat through the heavy iron gates of the C&C Ranch.
His last class had ended before two. Although it was only the first day of the semester, his office had seen a steady flow of foot traffic from students seeking everything from academic counseling to career advice. There’d been more than a few “suspect” visitors—girls who seemed more interested in perfecting their flirting skills than actually tapping into Caleb’s legal expertise.
Afterward he’d hung around a little longer than his scheduled office hours dictated, telling himself his reasons had nothing to do with a certain dark-eyed beauty whose image had invaded his thoughts more times than he cared to admit.
Scowling, Caleb shoved aside the unsettling reminder and hit the throttle. With a low roar, the supercharged rig barreled uphill, the grind of wheels on gravel sending clouds of dust through the open windows. Once outside city limits, he never ran the air conditioner. He preferred—no,needed—to soak it all in as he drove: the rolling hills, rugged canyons and dense thickets of vegetation; the call of elk grazing in pastures; theshimmering hues of rivers and streams stocked with largemouth bass and black catfish.
His father had purchased the property years ago, long before South Texas Brush Country was discovered by out-of-state billionaires seeking a recreational paradise in what many considered the last frontier. The invasion of affluent buyers and investors had driven up real estate prices, so that even Crandall Thorne would have balked at purchasing the Hill Country home he now claimed as his primary residence.
Caleb slowed the Durango as the road steepened in elevation, and after several more minutes his father’s sprawling estate rolled into view. Built of stucco and covered with a red Spanish tile roof, the hacienda-style ranch sat on a high bluff boasting stunning views of the rugged valley. The property included three barns, three silos for storing grain and feed, two outbuildings and a large roping arena. The main house had six bedrooms, a guest wing separated from the family living areas, and six detached garages.
Caleb nosed his truck into an empty bay and killed the engine. Bypassing the front door entirely—and knowing he’d catch hell for it from his father’s longtime housekeeper—he headed straight toward the covered patio spanning the rear of the house.
He knew his old man would be waiting for him, seated in his favorite Adirondack chair facing east of the hills, where he wouldn’t miss the setting sun. After twenty-five years of pouring blood, sweat and tears into building a successful legal empire, Crandall Thorne had finally learned to appreciate sunsets.
It was amazing how a brush with mortality could change a man.
