If the Shoe Fits (25 page)

Wrong!

She’d come so traitorously close to forgetting everything about who they were and what their friendship meant, so close to just stretching her neck slightly and raising her lips to his. It had snuck up on her like a thief in the cover of darkness, and it felt so natural somehow, so … familiar.

Julianne wondered if she’d dreamt it, but in that moment she had so clearly known the matter-of-fact touch of Will’s kiss. But how could that be? She hadn’t kissed him in that way since their senior year of high school!

Or had she?

“No!” she admonished herself through clenched teeth. “No, no, no, no, no.”

Not going there. Not going there. Not with Will
.

Julianne raked her fingers through the roots of her hair, and she yanked in an effort to put the scalding and lingering desire for Will’s kiss out of her mind. She’d been dateless for far too long, she decided. What she needed was a real one to put the whole concept of hypothetical romance into proper perspective! After all … Will?

Come on, Julianne. Get it together
.

In the fraction of a second that it took for her office door to slip slowly open, she dropped her hands from cradling her aching head, forced her stark, wide eyes to a normal level of openness, and glued an awkward smile to her seared lips.

“You okay?” Will asked her as he poked his head through the opening.

“Yeah. Great. Never better. Why? Why do you ask? What’s up? I’m fine.”

He chuckled and one corner of his perfect mouth quirked. “All evidence to the contrary.”

“Ah,” she blurted in an effort to sound casual. Waving her hand and rolling her eyes slightly, she quipped, “Too many taquitos, I guess.”

“Okay. Well, Reynolds is here. Can you stop in to say hello?”

“Give me five minutes.”

He nodded and pulled the door shut. At the sound of the click of the latch, Julianne melted and collapsed into her big chair with a groan.

“No, Charming, no,” she managed. “God, please help me. I need some perspective. But I think no is best—no way am I going to roughen our relationship, no, no, no, no.”

The pretty yellow dog seemed to shrug at her before he stuck his tail between his legs, turned around, and made his way back to the dog bed under the window.

The maiden lay in the lush green grass on the hill
and peered up at the cloudless blue sky as she wondered
,
How will I ever get my prince to notice me?

“Perhaps your search for love has led you astray,”
her fairy friend suggested from the tree branch just above her
.

“No, that can’t be true,” the maiden insisted
.
“I’ve followed all the signs, and they’ve led me straight to him.”

“Hmm,” her friend sang. “Then I should find him lolling at your
side, should I not? If you’ve followed all of the signs toward him
,
why are you, once again, on the hillside alone?”

“Mr. Reynolds,”
Julianne said with her most enchanting smile, “we’re so happy to have the chance to meet with you today. Will tells me your company has had quite a growth spurt over the last year.”

“If all goes well, we’re just a few years from making the Fortune 1000,” Zach Reynolds told her, and Will couldn’t help noticing that their eyes stayed locked for just a few seconds past his own comfort zone.

“That’s exciting,” she said, and Zach hurried to his feet in time to pull out Julianne’s chair. “Thank you. Omni Publishing might just put Cincinnati on the map.”

“I’m pretty sure Cincinnati has done just fine in finding its way to the map without us. But speaking of businesses on the map, I’m happy to hear that Hanes has lured you away to the dark side.”

“The dark side?” she asked, glancing at Will curiously.

“Now that you’ve left the public defender’s office, are you ready to make some
real money
for your new firm, Julianne?”

She chuckled. “Always! Are you going to help us do that, Zach?”

“Well, I was on the fence until you walked in. But it can’t hurt Omni to have a fresh-faced stunner like you on our payroll.”

Will considered excusing himself so that he could hurl his breakfast into the trash can. Navigating the waters of this flirting between Julianne and Zach made him a little seasick.

“Hanes, why didn’t you tell me that your law partner was this charming?” he exclaimed. “How can I consider any other firm now that I’ve fallen helplessly in love the way I have?”

Julianne slipped one leg over the other and leaned back with a sigh. “I’m pretty sure a company like Omni doesn’t make the Fortune 1000 by succumbing to the influence of anything outside of solid business sense,” she told him with confidence, and Will’s faith took a step toward restoration. “But I’m sure Will has drawn a clear bottom line for you about who we are and what we can do for you. If you choose us based on that, I’ll be convinced that you’re even smarter than you look.”

Zach chortled at her reply and smacked the desktop with his hand. “I love this girl, Hanes!”

Will shook his head and forced a smile. “I can see that.”

“Let’s start off with copyrights and see how the honeymoon phase goes for us, shall we?”

“I think that sounds like a good start,” Will replied.

“In six months or a year, if we’re still standing together, we’ll talk about expansion.”

“Us or Omni?” Julianne inquired.

“Both.”

She smiled at Will, and he read the excitement in her subtle expression.

“What about lunch, Julianne?” Zach asked. “Have some with me?”

“I’m sorry, Zach,” she said as she rose from the chair. “I’m tied up for the rest of the day. But let’s set something up when we sign the contracts and collect a retainer from you. I’ll bet Will can get the three of us a table at Boi Na Braza.”

Good girl
.

“Did you see that, Hanes?” Zach asked playfully. “Did you see how she shut me right down?”

“Nobody does it better,” he replied, swallowing the deeper truth of the observation.

Julianne shook Zach’s hand, thanked him in her most charming and enigmatic way, and quickly retreated to her office.

“Is she spoken for, Will?” Zach asked softly once she’d gone.

I wish I knew
, he thought.

“Down, boy,” Will said instead. “Let’s keep our business businesslike, shall we?”

Zach didn’t look as if he appreciated that answer, but he endured it just the same.

“Call me when you have your contracts in order.”

“Next week. I will.”

Will escorted Zach to the door. As he shook his hand, he noticed that Zach’s eyes had diverted to Phoebe. He stood there for a moment, watching her fingers fly across the keyboard. She was clearly unaware of his scrutiny.

“How do you do it, Hanes? You’re surrounded by some of the prettiest faces in the city.”

“Yeah, that’s just how I roll.”

Zach laughed as he left, and Will gratefully closed the door behind him.

Phoebe didn’t glance up from the monitor as she dryly commented, “Very genuine guy.” Will guffawed at the observation.

The phone rang, and Phoebe picked it up. “Hanes & Bartlett Law Offices.” Will had nearly reached his office door when he heard her add, “Yes, Mr. Weaver. If you’ll hold a moment, I’ll connect you.”

Paul Weaver. Calling to deliver his decision about taking Julianne to the gala, no doubt
.

“Paul Weaver on line one.”

Will dallied in the doorway until he heard Julianne exclaim, “Oh, Paul! That’s so great! Thank you so much. You’re saving my life!”

He pushed the door shut behind him and dropped into his chair. Leaning both elbows on the edge of the desk, he closed his eyes and massaged his throbbing temples. She was really going to
pay
Paul to take her? Worse yet, he was going to let her? What sort of dude was he?

Will heaved a massive sigh, smacking his forehead a couple of times with a soft fist before he dialed the phone.

“Hi, Alison. It’s Will … I was wondering if you’re free on the twenty-third. Would you like to attend a black-tie gala with me?”

“Why on earth have you stayed away so long?” Amanda asked as she hugged Suzanne and rocked her from side to side. “Was it something we said?”

“Of course not,” she replied, grinning at Julianne over her mother’s shoulder. “You know how life just gets away with you.”

“Well, I used to know.”

Julianne snickered as she sat down next to Davis at his kitchen table. “Don’t let her fool you. She has a busier social life than either of us. If she’s not movin’ and groovin’, she’s taking a sculpting or a weaving class, or she’s volunteering down at the hospital.”

“Amanda,” Suzanne teased. “Are you a candy striper?”

“Oh, heavens no!” she cried. “That job is reserved for the young girls with all the energy.”

“You have more energy than just about anyone I know,” Davis told her.

“Will’s out back grilling the turkey burgers and corn on the cob,” Amanda announced. “Julianne, why don’t you check on his progress so we can time it just right. I’ve got a few side dishes to heat up.”

“I’ll do that,” Suzanne said as she placed her hands on Julianne’s shoulders. “I want to say hello anyway.”

“Mom, what can I do?” Julianne asked as Suzanne headed through the back door.

“Just sit there and keep Davis company while he slices up the tomatoes and onions, that’s what. We’ll be eating supper in two shakes.”

Julianne reached over and grabbed a tomato slice. Davis pretended to slap at her, and she giggled as she popped it into her mouth and reached for her iPhone to check email.

“Where’s your foster child tonight?” Davis asked. “I thought she’d come along so we could meet her.”

“Phoebe?” Julianne laughed. “She’s soaking in the bathtub and ordering a pizza for dinner.”

“I guess there wasn’t much tub-soaking in her life lately.”

“No. Not much at all. You’ll meet her soon though. I’ll bring her around once she’s all settled in and feeling comfortable.”

Isaiah, the fat old cat Julianne and Will had rescued from a stream the summer before ninth grade, waddled into the kitchen and stood near Amanda, meowing.

“I dropped a slice of cheese two hours ago, and he keeps circling back, hoping I’ll do it again,” she told them. “Go on, Isaiah. Get out from underneath my feet.”

“Tell me what ever happened with that Prince Charming of yours,” Davis said as he cautiously chopped a big yellow onion.

“Paul?” she asked with a sigh, curling her leg underneath her and staring at the screen of her iPhone as she deleted a couple of spam emails from her inbox. “Oh, he’s not really all that charming, as it turns out. Or else I’m not. It seems he’s not interested in going out with me anymore.”

“Well, he’s a nitwit then.”

“Aw!” She leaned over and pecked his cheek. “Thanks, Davis.”

“Gotta be a nitwit to miss what you have to offer him.”

Julianne shrugged one shoulder and reached over for a dill pickle spear to munch on. “He did agree to take me to the Bar Association gala, but after that we’re kaput.”

“Why on earth would you want to go with him then?” Amanda asked with her back to them, facing the stove. “If he doesn’t want to date you anymore, I mean.”

“Well, I can’t go without a date, Mom.”

“He’s not the only date in the world, Julianne. Why couldn’t you go with Will?”

“That’s like wearing an old dress to the party,” Davis remarked. “Everyone’s already seen that one. She needs a new one for a special occasion like this.”

“As a matter of fact, Davis, just the other day, Will told me he was done being my ‘consolation prize.’ So, I couldn’t ask him if I wanted to.”

“Ah … I see.”

Davis’s face tilted downward as he concentrated on his work as Amanda’s sous-chef, but Julianne couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t serving up a little sarcasm with his chopped and sliced condiments. She nibbled on another slice of tomato as she watched him, waiting for him to lift those mischievous blue eyes of his.

“Do we want some bleu cheese crumbles for the burgers?” Amanda asked them. “I brought some along just in case.”

“Sounds dandy,” Davis replied without glancing up.