Chapter 9
Chapter 1
Harper Hamilton whacked the yellow racquetball so hard he heard his wrist crack, but when it bounced off the wall and smacked his youngest brother upside the head, he felt an odd twinge of satisfaction. Great move, wrong family member, he thought, wishing his cousin Jake had been on the receiving end of the powerful, unexpected blow.
“Are we cool?” Nelson asked, touching a hand to his cheek.
“Yeah, why?”
“Because that’s the second time you’ve whacked me in the head!”
Harper wore an apologetic smile. “Sorry, man.”
“You better be.” Nelson coughed, flexed his jaw to make sure it wasn’t broken. “This face will be worth millions one day, so take it easy, bro. I’m a budding movie star, remember?”
The brothers shared a hearty chuckle.
“I came down here to let off some steam,” Harper confessed, raking a hand over his head, “but I probably should have just stayed at the office. I have depositions to read, motions to file and an important client meeting first thing tomorrow morning.”
“You still pissed because Cameron Childs picked Jake to represent him instead of you?”
“No, I’m over it.” Harper gripped his racket, imagined he was squeezing his cousin’s neck. Thinking about how he’d been overlooked—again—for another high-profile case made his blood boil. He put in longer hours than anyone else at Hamilton, Hamilton and Clark, actively sought out new clients and had an impeccable reputation. No John Edwards-type scandals or skeletons falling out of my closet, he thought, dribbling the ball with his racket. I haven’t lost a case in years, so why do I keep getting passed over for the most lucrative cases?
“I still can’t believe Jake proposed to Charlotte and is about to become stepdad to a two-year-old boy,” Nelson said, taking a swig from his water bottle. “If someone had told me a month ago that Jake would be engaged, I would have called them insane!”
“You and me both. I knew Jake was feeling Charlotte, but I never saw this one coming.”
“No one did.” Nelson added, “Well, no one besides Aunt Jeanette. Nothing gets past her!”
“I hope all the chatter dies down soon so everyone can get back to work,” Harper said, cleaning the sweat off his face with the bottom of his Adidas T-shirt. Ever since Jake had gotten engaged to his paralegal, Charlotte Evans, things had been crazy around the office. Harper couldn’t go anywhere without someone gushing over the couple. And he was sick of it. Sick of his colleagues congratulating Jake, patting him on the back, taking him out for celebratory after-work drinks. “We have a huge fraud trial coming up, and there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Harp, but no one’s thinking about that fraud case anymore. The whole city is talking about Jake and Charlotte, and the only thing people care about is who’s hosting their first official engagement party!”
“You’d think Jake invented the institution of marriage,” Harper grumbled, folding his arms. “Charlotte’s a good woman, and it’s obvious Jake loves her and her son, Harry, but I don’t understand why everyone’s fussing over them. Couples get engaged every day. Big deal!”
Nelson chuckled. “People love a good old-fashioned love story, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made the rounds on the local TV shows, because viewers can’t get enough of office romance stories.”
Harper glanced at his titanium-steel sports watch and scowled when he saw the time. Premier Fitness was not only the most expensive gym in Philadelphia, but it was the busiest, and since he only had the racquetball court booked for an hour he didn’t want to waste another second discussing his cousin’s surprise engagement.
“Enough talk,” Harper said, poised to serve. “Let’s get back to our game—”
“Harper Hamilton?”
At the sound of his name, spoken on such a rich, melodious tone—one that evoked thoughts of passionate kisses, tender caresses and soulful lovemaking—he wheeled around. And when Harper saw the tall, willowy woman standing before him in the white tank top and workout shorts, the temperature in the indoor court soared to a thousand unbearable degrees.
“I’m Azure Ellison,” she said, offering her right hand. “We met last month when I interviewed your family for Eminence magazine at—”
“My uncle’s Integrity Estate,” Harper finished, taking her soft, supple hand in his and giving it a light squeeze. What he really wanted to do was take her in his arms and discover once and for all if her lips tasted as sweet as they looked, but fear of getting slapped upside his head and humiliated in front of his younger brother prevented Harper from acting on his desires.
“You don’t need to remind me who you are, Ms. Ellison. I know.” How could I forget? You’ve had a recurring role in my dreams for the past three weeks!
“I’m flattered that you remember me.”
“I never forget a face, and certainly never one as gorgeous as yours.”
* * *
If only that were true, Azure thought, masking her disappointment with a fake smile. She’d been convinced that once they were alone, away from Harper’s family and all of the employees crawling around the Integrity mansion, he would remember her. But Harper didn’t, and for some inexplicable reason, it stung.
Azure
