Page 77 of A Legal Affair
“I’ve been in shock ever since you texted me from the restaurant last night.” April shook her head, sipping her green tea smoothie. “What the hell was he even thinking?”
“He was thinking about getting laid,” Daniela grumbled. “He probably figured if he took me out for dinner at a fancy restaurant, I’d feel obliged to repay his kindness by sleeping with him.”
“Ew. Asshole.”
“One hundred percent.” Daniela chewed and swallowed another bite of her burger. “Is it crazy that I sort of felt sorry for him?”
April snorted. “You’re better than me. He deserved a kick in the balls.”
“Oh, I was definitely tempted,” Daniela said, chuckling. “I didn’t want to cause a scene, though. Like I said, it was a nice restaurant.”
“You should’ve stayed and ordered the most expensive appetizers and entrées on the menu—two of each. Oh, and the most expensive bottle of wine,” April added with spiteful glee. “That would’ve served his ass right.”
“Doubtful,” Daniela said wryly. “He’s a trust fund baby who receives a sizeable monthly allowance. Blowing six hundred bucks on dinner wouldn’t have fazed him.”
“Shit. You’re probably right.” April stuffed a forkful of salad into her mouth, glancing around the courtyard. “He missed class today. I wonder if he’s avoiding you.”
Daniela snorted. “That would suggest a level of self-awareness he obviously doesn’t possess.” She dragged a French fry through a puddle of ketchup on her plate and took a hungry bite. After an entire weekend of not being able to keep food down, she was still playing catch-up days later. Having sex with Caleb had also ramped up her appetite. The man was a beast. A bona fide sex god.
When they got to her house last night, he’d ordered her a bunch of food from an upscale steakhouse. She’d laughingly protested, insisting it was too much, but he overrode her objections. He wanted her to have leftovers so she wouldn’t have to cook, freeing up her time to complete her reading assignments. His thoughtful generosity made her swoon. Then he’d rolled up his shirtsleeves, settled her on his lap, and fed her bites of succulent prime rib and creamy truffle risotto, groaning every time she slowly licked the tines of the fork.
It was some of the best foreplay she’d ever had.
“…so glad you’re feeling better,” April was saying. “We haven’t had a chance to catch up this week, but I was really worried when I didn’t see you in class on Monday, and when you didn’t answer your phone.”
“Sorry about that,” Daniela said, picking up her burger. “I got your messages, but I was too out of it to call you back.”
“No worries. Oh, hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you, who was that man with the deep, sexy voice who answered your phone on Sunday? He sounded absolutely gorgeous.”
Daniela chuckled. “That was my brother Noah. And, yes, heisgorgeous, if I do say so myself.”
April grinned. “How old is he? And is he married?”
“He’s thirty-five, and still very much single.” One corner of Daniela’s mouth lifted in a wry smile. “If ever there were a consummate bachelor, Noah would be it.”
“Commitment-shy, huh?”
“No, justverypicky.”
April issued a long, plaintive sigh. “The good ones usually are. Speaking of gorgeous, elusive bachelors, guess who else missed you in class on Monday?”
Daniela’s heart tripped. Feigning a bland tone, she asked, “Who?”
April glanced around the busy courtyard as if checking for eavesdroppers, then leaned close to whisper with barely suppressed delight, “Professor Thorne!”
Daniela allowed just the right amount of surprised curiosity to enter her voice. “Really? What makes you say that?”
“He stopped me after class that day to ask where you were, and he seemed genuinely concerned.” A mischievous twinkle lit April’s dark eyes. “I wanted to test his reaction, so I told him when I called you, a man answered your phone and said you were sleeping.”
Daniela paused, burger halfway to her mouth. “You didn’t.”
“I did,” April crowed, grinning as she speared a cherry tomato with her fork and popped it in her mouth. “Without batting an eye, he told me to tell you that you ‘might want to rethink the wisdom’ of skipping his class this early in the semester.”
Daniela arched a brow. “Is that what he said?”
“Yup. But you know what? I got the distinct impression he was more bothered by a man answering your phone, than you missing class.”
This drew a low, husky laugh from Daniela. Hadn’t she detected a note of relief in Caleb’s voice when he learned that Noah—her brother—had visited her on Sunday? He’d assumed from his conversation with April that the man who answered Daniela’s phone was her boyfriend, and he’d gotten jealous and decided to pay her a personal visit. She wondered what he would have done if her “lover” had answered the door when he showed up.
