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“They really are.” He took a swig of his drink. “What about you, Ivy Prescott?”
“What about me?” She sipped water through her straw, and his eyes fixated on her lips.
“What about your family? Are you originally from California?”
“I’m actually from Connecticut.”
“And you and Martha went to law school together?”
“Harvard,” she replied.
His eyes widened. “Wow! Impressive.”
She shrugged. “I did okay.”
“So, how did you end up in California?”
She glanced away for a moment. “My boyfriend and I moved there together.”
His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “I see. And did he move to Michigan with you?”
She paused for a few beats, not making eye contact. “It didn’t last between us. That’s one of the reasons I took the job here. Moving there with him was a serious lapse in judgment. It derailed my original life plan. But I’ve put that behind me and am back on track and in control of my life.”
That seemed more in line with the confident air this woman projected.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
She nodded resolutely.
“What’s this life plan you mentioned?”
“When I was in law school, I knew exactly how I wanted my life to turn out. Graduate, pass the bar, get a great job, move up to partner.”
“That’s all career stuff. Don’t you have any aspirations where your personal life is concerned?”
She pursed her lips. “I’d like to meet someone and marry and have two kids—a boy and a girl, of course—before I’m forty. But after my disaster of a relationship, career comes first from now on.”
Franky rested his elbows on the table and leaned closer. “But what if you meet someone before you see all your career goals come to fruition? What if someone comes into your life who understands your dreams and supports you in them? What if that person is who you’re meant to be with? Will you push him away?”
“I guess I would have to take that under advisement,” she said with a smile.
Franky chuckled. “Good answer. I like that you’re focused on what you want. I wish I knew what I wanted.”
“Don’t you?”
He laughed. “Not at all.”
“But you made partner. That doesn’t make you happy?”
He leaned across the table and whispered, “Can you keep a secret?”
She leaned closer, and Franky caught a whiff of a very pleasant floral perfume.
“Of course,” she replied.
“I don’t like being a lawyer.”
Her eyes widened and lips parted. “Are you serious?”