Page 30

"So, can we leave now?" asks Anne when Emily accompanies them out of the office, where Leah waits for them, having entered before them.

"Yes, that's all. Thank you so much for coming," Emily responds with one of her smiles, as radiant as it is sincere.

"Perfect. Will we see you at the club?" probes Natalie, unable to contain her curiosity.

"Yes, of course. I won't miss the next practice," Emily assures.

Natalie smiles, glancing sideways at Leah, whom she plans to interrogate as soon as they get in the car.

"Shall we go, Leah?" asks Anne, but Leah's eyes remain fixed on Emily's.

"One second, Mom," the tennis player requests and approaches Emily, takes her hand, and moves her away from her mothers before bringing her lips to the lawyer's ear. "Have lunch with me?"

Emily hadn't anticipated this proposal, but finds it impossible to refuse, especially with the trembling in her legs after feeling Leah's breath slide across her neck.

"Sure, but it'll have to be near the firm. I have to meet with a client in a couple of hours."

"No problem." Leah turns to her mothers with a satisfied expression, reaches into her pocket, pulls out the car keys, and hands them to Anne. "Go without me. I'm having lunch with Emily."

Natalie's eyes widen, and she opens her mouth, ready to interrogate her daughter in the middle of the hallway, but Anne moves faster and takes the car keys.

"Of course, honey. Will you take a taxi afterward?" Anne asks.

"Yes, I'll figure it out. Don't worry."

Leah and Emily walk them to the car, wait until they leave, and then head in the opposite direction toward one of the nearby restaurants Emily classifies as suitable for lunch during work hours.

"When we have more time, I'll take you to my favorite place, but for now, this will do," she says, approaching the door to open it.

"You mean like a date?" Leah smiles, narrowing her eyes.

Emily nearly falls when she goes to push the door and it opens from inside. She doesn't lose her balance because Leah, already accustomed to her clumsiness, moves quickly and grabs her by the arm before Emily collides with the person exiting.

"I'm sorry," says Emily, and upon looking up, she loses her breath seeing Vanessa Cooper in front of her.

"No, I'm sorry, Emily. I opened the door too abruptly," says Vanessa, passing by while also observing Leah. "See you around the courthouse."

"Yes, see you," says Emily with flushed cheeks.

Leah notices the lawyer's discomfort after crossing paths with the woman but decides not to comment until they're seated at their table.

"Everything okay, Emily?" asks Leah without intending to pressure her.

The attorney slowly exhales until her lungs empty and adjusts her back against the chair. She could respond that yes, Vanessa is just a work colleague, but she doesn't want to lie to Leah either.

"Yes, everything's fine, but that woman, the one we just ran into at the door..."

"Yes," says Leah, encouraging her to continue.

"She's a lawyer, and also my ex," Emily finally admits.

"Mmm, I see," says Leah, "and she doesn't seem like just any ex."

Emily smiles and thanks the waiter when he hands them the menu.

"No, not just any ex. She's the one who broke my heart."

Leah grimaces and nods, thinking that if Emily had told her a few minutes earlier, perhaps—accidentally—she could have stuck her foot in front of Vanessa Cooper's ankle when they crossed paths and made her trip.

"Can I ask what she did to you?" says Leah. "Only if you feel like telling me, Emily. I'll understand if you don't want to talk about it."

"Do you want to hear it?" asks the lawyer, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"Yes, of course. I want to know everything about you."

Emily's heart races so suddenly that she feels as if her body has shifted slightly. She looks into Leah's eyes for a few seconds and realizes that therapy is definitely working because, before attending sessions with Dr. Mitchell, she's sure she would have told Leah she didn't want to talk about it, or that she couldn't. Now, however, she wants to tell her, to open up and let Leah know her most vulnerable parts.

"I've moved past it," says Emily while continuing to eat her meat in sauce as she explains the story to Leah, "but I can't help feeling anxious when I see her, especially if it's unexpected like before."

"I guess that's normal. She betrayed your trust, and no matter how much you forgive her, I imagine that's impossible to forget," comments Leah.

"Yes, I really didn't see it coming. Actually, it was a textbook mistake on my part. You should never reveal anything about your strategy to opposing counsel, much less information they could use against your client, but she was my girlfriend and I trusted her completely. It never even crossed my mind that she would do what she did," explains Emily, surprised by how easy it is to express her feelings to Leah.

"It must have been a tough blow," says the tennis player, extending her arm across the table.

Emily takes her hand and they intertwine their fingers, immediately smiling as they look at each other.

"It was," she says without letting go. "When I heard her speak in the middle of the courtroom, spilling everything I had told her after such an intimate moment, it felt like taking a bullet to the center of my chest. I couldn't forgive her, so at that moment, everything ended. I lost the case and I lost her too."

"I'm sorry," says Leah.

"Thank you," Emily smiles, "but I'm good now," she winks and Leah's pulse races.

The waiter arrives with the dessert menu, and they realize they're still holding hands across the table. Emily laughs again as she lets go, like an embarrassed teenager, but when Leah is about to ask if she wants to share a dessert or wants one for herself, Emily becomes transfixed watching the television.

Leah turns to see what's captivating the lawyer's attention and frowns, confused to see it's an advertisement for an amusement park.

"Do you like those places?" asks Leah when the commercial ends and Emily's attention returns.

"Almost as much as tennis," Emily laughs. "I used to go a lot, I mean during my student years, when I still had time to breathe. I love the rides, especially the fast ones, because I can scream like a maniac without anyone looking at me like I'm crazy."

Leah bursts into laughter and continues listening as Emily enthusiastically tells her about the many times she visited those types of parks and how long it's been since she's been to one, thinking she should find time to take her there, despite hating them herself.