he’d graduated from law school. The first time had been that trip to Crete with Chase, before he started articles.
Crete. Just the word conjured up unforgettable images.
“Yeah, it was great,” Tonya said.
What? Oh right, he’d mentioned their honeymoon. Man, he was lucky she didn’t know where that train of thought had led him.
“That balloon ride was awesome,” she said.
“And our wedding night wasn’t? That sounds like another ouch sent in my direction.”
She chuckled.
And the truth was, while he remembered the balloon ride very well, he had only the vaguest recollection of making love on their wedding night, compared to that crazy afternoon in Crete. He remembered every single detail of that lovemaking.
No. Sex. It was just sex.
Sex so hot it had him squirming in his chair.
“Jax? You pouting, babe? Honest, I didn’t mean to badmouth your skills in bed. The sex was always good with us, wasn’t it?”
“Good?” There was a damn-with-faint-praise word to deflate a guy’s dick.
Sure, once they’d been married a few weeks they’d started squabbling, mostly over the long hours he worked, and the bedroom became more a place for making war than love. But in the beginning, the sex had been pretty damned great.
He remembered when he’d finally given in and let his mom introduce him to her neighbor, the one who was taking cooking classes and was always looking for people to experiment on. The attraction had been immediate and mutual. There’d been lots of nights he and Tonya had planned dinner or a movie, taken one look at each other and ended up in bed instead.
Funny thing was, he couldn’t call to mind any details of those nights either.
“Jax? You hang up on me?”
“I’m here. Seems to me, when we first got together, the sex was better than good.” Crap, could he sound any more huffy?
“Ooh, bad word choice. Yeah, I guess it was. It’s a while back, but I do remember some bells and whistles. But then we got married, and work came first for you.”
Another barb.
He shot back. “You were working too, with all those cooking courses, those sous-chef jobs.”
She paused, and when she spoke again, her tone wasn’t snippy, but sad. “Yeah, but my work wasn’t more important to me than our marriage.”
And to that, there was no answer, because she was right. She’d been able to juggle career and marriage. He’d learned he couldn’t handle both, and he’d had to choose. His career came first. Always had, always would.
“Oh shit, Jax, this really isn’t why I called. I didn’t mean to get into another rehash. You’re doing what you want to do, and I’ve got my bells and whistles with Benjamin, and thank God, this time they’ve actually survived marriage. So you ’n’ me are both happy, the past is behind us and I really do want us to be friends.”
“Me too.” He’d failed at marriage, and he hated to fail. He ought to at least be able to succeed at being Tonya’s friend.
“So, let me tell you my real reason for calling.” Now her voice rippled with excitement. “You want a new client?”
“Always,” he said promptly, straightening and grabbing a pad of paper and a pen.
“God, Jax. You sound so…hungry.”
“I am. Bringing in clients is one of the criteria for partnership.”
“I know, believe me I know.” But this time her voice was teasing, without the barb. “So I figured I’d do my bit to contribute to the game plan.”
“You know someone who needs a lawyer?”
“Yeah. Me.”
“You?”
“It’s time. I’ve been looking around. Found a perfect place, a price I can afford, so…” She gave a shaky laugh. “Yes, I’m doing it!”
She was going to open her own restaurant.
Damn, she wasn’t a real client. Not for him, in the high-powered litigation department. He represented corporations fighting product liability suits, antitrust charges and so on.
Fuck. What an asshole he was, for reacting this way.
“Jesus, Tonya, that’s great. Congratulations.” This was her dream. She’d worked for it and he really was happy for her. “How can I help?”
“Oh, all that corporate stuff. You work with corporations, right?”
Had she ever really listened when he talked about his work? Or had he ever found the time to try to explain it to her, beyond telling her about all those billable hours he needed to put in?
“Space and equipment leases,” she was saying, “contracts with employees and suppliers. Oh, and before I do all that, of course I’ll actually need to incorporate.”
He was scribbling as she talked, adding other tasks she hadn’t mentioned. “Most of this work is done by paralegals, so we can keep the bill down.”
“Thanks. And you can have dinner on the house any time. Bring a date too.”
Yeah, like that was going to happen. Didn’t sound to him like the recipe for a relaxing meal.
Not that he had time to date, anyhow.
Ever since he was old enough to understand the sacrifices his mom was making for him, he’d been determined to succeed. To make her proud, justify all she’d done for him.
If he stuck to work, ignored all distractions, he’d make partner in another year or two. Then, maybe, senior partner.
Just the thought of it made his heart pump. An immigrant kid from Jamaica, raised by a single mom who worked two minimum-wage jobs, becoming senior partner at one of the most prestigious law firms in San Francisco. Now there was a dream he could buy into!
But this was Tonya’s day, not his. “When the incorporation comes through, I’m buying you a bottle of Dom Perignon.”
“Sonoma bubbly will do me just fine. I’m a California girl and I absolutely refuse to get all pretentious.”
“Not going to serve French wine at that restaurant of yours?”
“No way. I’m going to focus on local products. The cuisine’ll be a blend of everything that’s gone into the making of California. Kind of like me.”
Tonya had been born here, but her grandparents truly were an ethnic mix, with roots in Africa, China, Scotland and Mexico.
“Jax?” Her voice was breathy with excitement.
