Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
God, I loved it that he laid it out like that.
“Me making coffee wasn’t real mature either, Cap. I was being a bitch.”
“Let’s try not to do that again,” he suggested.
“Deal,” I replied.
He gave me a smile.
I said, “Look at our growth. I think we should celebrate our newfound maturity by having a quickie on the kitchen floor. After I finish my French toast, that is.”
His smile got bigger but he shook his head. “That’s not all I need to talk about.”
Bummer.
I took a huge bite then circled my fork again.
“I paid Clarice a visit yesterday.”
I choked on French toast.
I downed it and asked, “You did?”
“Yeah.”
Interesting.
“What’d she say?”
“She said her deal with you was for you to share with me. She knew we were together, but when she made her approach to you, although she’d heard I was in town, she didn’t have any idea we’d connected. Her and me and you, it was a coincidence.”
“Do you believe her?” I asked, dubious myself.
“Clarice doesn’t talk shit. She never has.”
Well, I believed that.
I went back to my toast. “What’s her story?”
“While she was at the shelter, she got tight with Daisy, another of our crew. Daisy took her under her wing. Clarice got her high school diploma and went to the University of Colorado. She graduated top of her class and scored a place at Harvard Law. She graduated top honors there too. Daisy and her husband, Marcus, paid for her education. Clarice didn’t want to come back to Denver, she didn’t have a lot of good memories there, so Marcus set her up in a practice here.”
I wasn’t sure how I got tangled in this Rock Chick/Hot Bunch web.
Though, I was not complaining.
“The DAs are terrified of her,” Cap continued. “When she came on the scene, she was young, fresh out of law school. They thought she was green. But she’s a law savant, coupled with the fact she brings the rules of the street to a court battle. In other words, she’s seriously fuckin’ shrewd, never caught unaware and entirely unafraid to fight dirty. This means she kicked their asses. They thought at first, they were just underestimating her. They’ve learned that wasn’t it.”
I believed that too.
Cap kept going.
“She’s also ambitious, quickly but carefully cultivating a firm of whip-smart attorneys that cover clients from criminal to family, corporate and tax law. She’s a year older than me, been practicing for nine years, and has one of the premier law offices in Phoenix with over twenty attorneys working for her.”
“Impressive,” I whispered.
He nodded his agreement. “After I talked to Clarice, I got on the phone with Marcus to make sure they weren’t involved with any of this, whatever it is, and he said they weren’t. He also told me she paid him back four years ago for setting up her firm. She tried to pay them back for her education, but Daisy threw a shit fit, so she backed down from that.”
Totes was gonna love this Daisy chick too.
He stopped talking and held my gaze.
Shit.
It was my turn.
While alternately finishing my French toast and my makeup, I gave him the lowdown about Clarice and “We.”
When I was done, I watched in silent fascination as he stayed immobile, still leaning into the counter, waging an internal battle against his inner Raye My Woman! caveman idiot.
This took a while.
I knew my Cap emerged victorious when he cocked his head to the side and said, “Promise me one thing?”
I nodded.
“You get in a situation you don’t like, you call me. No questions asked, I’ll be at your back.”
He…totally…
Rawked.
“I can promise that.”
His inner caveman idiot took over as he lifted his hand and crooked a finger at me.
It was hot, so I tested the stability of my stool by pushing up on the foot bar to get close enough to give him a kiss.
There was tongue.
He tasted of Cap and coffee. I probably tasted of berries and maple syrup.
It was an awesome combo.
He broke the kiss and said, “Gotta hit it, babe.”
I reached for my setting spray and reminded him, “Dinner with Dad is at six thirty.”
“You doing okay with that?”
“You and Luna will be there, it’ll be fine,” I hoped I didn’t lie.
He studied me a second, apparently approved of what he saw, rounded the bar, came in for another kiss (with more tongue), then he said against my lips, “See you tonight.”
“Absolutely.”
He took off.
I sprayed my face with setting spray.
When I went out to the car, I saw men disassembling the short security fence and wide gate by the mailboxes.
I called “Yo” to the workers as I strolled by.
They’d already stopped working and were checking out my legs in my short, rose dress with tiered skirt featuring micro-ruffles and ties at the shoulders.
Seriously.
How did men rule the world when they got distracted so easily?