Page 31 of See You There

“Feel better.”

“Yeah.” But Chandler was already checking his phone.

Most likely to see if he was still trending, she thought. He didn’t even look up when she closed his door.

CHAPTER NINE

After droppingDahlia off at the hospital, Luke drove back to the high-rise that housed his condo and offices. He was supposed to start his vacation the next day, and his calendar was clear. Not having any other client meetings was theonlyreason his mind insisted on returning to the gorgeous redhead, he assured himself.

He tugged at his tie, pulling it loose as he unlocked the door. Luke tossed it on the granite counter of the kitchen island and put his suit jacket on the back of one of the kitchen stools. He assembled the ingredients for his protein shake, and then dialed James.

“Still puking?” Luke asked, when James’s groggy voice answered after several rings.

“No, thank god.”

Luke dumped the ingredients in a blender. “Want me to bring you anything?”

“Nah, I’m just going to sleep the rest of the day. I’ll be fine by tomorrow. How’d it go this morning?”

Luke let the whir of the blender buy him some time. How did he want to answer that? Dahlia Everton was a client. Definitelyin the off-limits column. James wouldn’t appreciate hearing about his attraction to her.

But there was something different about Dahlia. It wasn’t just that she was gorgeous. He had slept with plenty of beautiful women. Dahlia seemed to glow from the inside until she was around other people, and then the flame went out, the movie star taking over. It was a puzzle he needed to solve.

“It went well,” Luke said when the noise stopped, and he lifted the top off the blender, gulping straight from the glass container. “She’s very smooth… Knows what she’s doing. They tried to press a gambling addiction angle with the boyfriend, but she shut them down like a pro.”

“That’s good news. Provided they don’t charge her, this should blow over in a week or two. Neither one of them are big names.”

“I doubt they’ll charge her. Turns out we’ve got a bargaining chip. She was taking a selfie with a fan when the gunmen entered. She got a picture of one of their tattoos.”

James let out a low whistle. “That’s an excellent piece of luck.”

“I’ll send it to the detective on the case and put a call in to the DA to see if we can put this to bed.”

An image of Dahlia in his bed flashed in front of him. He shook himself. This wasn’t like him. Fun was fun, and business was business.

“She’s got two events tomorrow, but I’ll be well enough by then to go with her. Thanks for covering today,” James said.

The blender pitcher stopped halfway to his mouth. “That’s okay. I’ll cover them.”Why did he say that?Luke could tell by his brother’s silence that he was wondering the same thing.

“Doesn’t your vacation start tomorrow?”

“It does, but I don’t have any firm plans.” He set the pitcher down and braced the free hand against the cool surface of the counter.

“But instead of having the day off, you want to watch Lia Everton give an interview?” James’s dry tone said more than his words.

His twin knew him well. The years they’d spent apart hadn’t changed that. “Her name is Dahlia, but yeah.”

James groaned.

“It’s not like that.”

“Luke.”

“I just think the situation is interesting.”

“The situation?” James sighed. “I feel too shitty to argue about this. But since we’ve never discussed it, let me be clear. We don’t get involved with clients. If you’d met her before, it wouldn’t be as big of a deal but…”

“Technically,youare her attorney of record.Yousigned the documents.” Luke didn’t know why he was poking at his brother. James was right. It had never occurred to Luke to pursue a client before.Not that I am now.