Page 32 of His Temptation

“Answering a question with a question.” He arched a brow. “Did you pull that one out of your handy-dandy attorney handbook?”

“You’re such an ass.” I took a swig of my beer.

“So, itisa guy.” Jay ran his teeth over his bottom lip. “Anyone I know?”

“No,” I said and then instantly regretted it because he got that look on his face. One that told me he wouldn’t rest until I told him the truth. He should’ve been a detective. No one could bullshit him. “How the hell did you know, Foley? Be straight with me.”

“Easy.” He motioned to get Brent’s attention and pointed at his empty beer. “You haven’t been back to my bed.”

I snorted. “So that automatically means I’m seeing someone else? It’s not possible for me to just not want you?”

“Definitely not,” Jay said, having more confidence in his right hand than I did in my entire body.Cocky bastard.

“Well, I’mnotseeing anyone,” I answered before drinking more beer, draining half the bottle. Cason’s face popped into my head. I hadn’t realized I’d been avoiding Jay until Mr. Cocky himself pointed it out. All because of a guy with the softest eyes I’d ever seen. A smile that hid an unspoken pain but still radiated warmth. Someone I had no right to touch. “It’s complicated.”

“Hey, I know all about complicated.” Jay grabbed the bottle Brent had just brought over and winked at the kid. Brent gawked at Jay and bumped into another table as he turned to walk away. Jay’s smile grew as he watched him, and then he moved those green eyes to me. “Talk.”

“You have to buy me a few more beers before you can boss me around, Foley.”

“Then get to drinking.” He touched his bottle to mine before throwing it back, his throat moving as he drank.

One beer turned to five. It’d been a while since I’d let myself relax like that, and Jay—even with his constant torture of poor Brent and flirting with every person who looked his way—proved to be good company.

“So, my brother is moving here,” Jay said after a while.

“I didn’t know you had a brother. Is he as big of a pain in the ass as you?”

“He wishes.” A soft smile touched his lips. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him and his son. They’re comin’ from North Carolina.”

Talking about our personal lives was new territory for both of us. But I liked it.

“When will he be here?” I asked.

“End of summer. So I have a while before he gets down here and whips my ass into shape.”

I laughed. “Older brother?”

“Nah. Younger. But he was a Marine.” Jay leaned back in his chair. “I can still take him though.”

“Sure.” I lifted the beer to my mouth, hiding my smile.

“Can I ask you something?” Jay said.

“I doubt you’ll give me much choice in the matter.”

A crooked smile upturned his lips before falling. “Do you think Ritter did it?”

“Doesn’t matter what I think,” I answered, my stomach dipping as I met his penetrating gaze. “Our jobs are to look at the evidence and leave our conscience out of it. It was up to the prosecution to bear the burden of proof, and you succeeded in convincing the jury of his guilt. Case closed.”

“Damn, that was a textbook answer, Cross.” Jay grabbed a cigar from a passing waiter and lit it up before placing it to his lips. He inhaled, the end burning bright, and then slowly blew out the smoke. “Though, it’s interesting that you bring conscience into it.”

“Why is that interesting?”

“Because it tells me you had to throw ethics aside while defending him.” Jay took another puff of the cigar. “You’re just as glad as I am to have him behind bars.”

I hated that he was right. I’d had to compartmentalize a lot while working on Jeff Ritter’s defense, shoving my own personal beliefs to the back of my mind. Even with very little physical evidence, my gut told me he’d killed his wife.

Maybe Iwasas horrible as everyone said: believing someone was guilty and defending them anyway.