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Story: Overruled

However, the most surprising thing that I feel as I gawk at the person I’ve been trying not to think about for the last two weeks—because again, it’s what Iaskedfor—is the flood of overwhelming relief that washes over me seeing Ezra standing there. Like a breath I’ve been holding. Like suddenly someone let all the air back into the room.

And that feeling fucking terrifies me.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

My mother smacks my arm. “Dani! Don’t be rude.”

“I’m sorry.” I try to let some of the harshness leach out of my tone even as my heart thuds against my ribs. I shouldn’t berelievedto see him. Not in the slightest. I take a calming breath. “Can I ask how my opposing counsel—who you barely know—ended up here?”

“I saw him at Frank’s last week,” Dad says with a wave of his hand. “We got to talking. Did you know that he was captain of the football team back in high school?”

No idea how that’s relevant, but: “I didn’t, but that makes sense.”

“I told him all about the touch football games we have out here,” Dad says.

I roll my eyes. “You guys haven’t played that in three years. Not since Lou fractured his tibia.”

“We could play again,” Dad argues. “Whatever.” He squeezes Ezra’s shoulders. “This guy told me he planned to spend the holiday by himself at home! I couldn’t have that.”

“Of course you couldn’t,” I mutter.

Ezra is uncharacteristically quiet through this exchange, watching me curiously as if waiting to see how this will play out. Is that why he came? To get a reaction from me? Was the whole “we’ll keep things professional” a crock of shit? The thought is…disappointing. It shouldn’t be, but it is. And I need to pack those feelings right up into a tight little box where they’ll never see the light of day.

I grab Ezra’s arm, tugging at it as I keep my tight smile plastered on my face. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Oh, let the man have some fun,” Dad protests. “You’re the one always saying no work stuff here.”

I have entered another dimension. That’s the only explanation. I am currently in another reality where my worst nightmares have all come out to play, and my dad is suddenly best friends with mywork nemesis who—up until a few weeks ago—I was sleeping with.

“Ezra?”

His eyes flick down to my hand that is still wrapped around his bicep, and all at once I am overly aware of how warm his skin is. I’m acutely aware of the time that’s passed between us since I last touched him. In this moment, I can feel every second.

Finally, he gives me a slow nod. “Sure,” he says casually. “We can talk.”

My dad grumbles the entire time he releases Ezra from his hold. “You come back in a while, yeah? I want to hear how that Petrovsky case turned out.”

“I said no work talk!” I toss over my shoulder as I drag Ezra closer to the shed a few yards away, where there are fewer people.

He follows me easily, and my hand is still clutching his arm, the muscles bunching under my fingers in a way I am doing my best not to think about. It stirs up too many memories of those same muscles tightening and stretching because of the way he was touchingme. I don’t stop until we’re both hidden in the shadows just beyond the shed door, releasing my grip on him and giving his chest a light shove.

“What are you doing here?”

“Hello, Dani,” he answers flatly. “Nice to see you too. How’s the weather? You look nice in that dress. Are you enjoying the party?”

Don’t you dare get fluttery. Don’t you do it, Dani.

“Don’t play with me. Why in the world are you here?”

He shrugs. “It’s just like your dad said. I was having lunch at Frank’s this week and ran into him eating alone. He invited me to sit with him, and we got to talking. There’s no evil plot here.”

“But you knew I would be here,” I huff.

I can only hope that the slightly needy edge to my voice is unnoticeable. I’m sure Ezra would find it hilarious to think that I might have missed him. Not that I did.

Even in the dim lighting, his gaze is thoughtful, something there I can’t quite read. “I did.”

“And you didn’t think that would be awkward?”