Read Online Always Right by Mindy Klasky - Free Book Online

the brief done and watch a couple of games.”
    “ Her ,” Amanda clarified, but her lips curved in the hint of a smile. “I told her . Pretty much word for word what you just said.”
    “Then I fail to see a problem.” He wasn’t an idiot. He knew exactly what had pissed her off. But he wanted to see that flash of anger in her green eyes, wanted to see the flush on her cheeks as she explained.
    “The problem ,” and she raised her eyebrows to emphasize the word, “is that after three lousy weekends, I’ve lost half my credibility as a lawyer.”
    “Half your credibility?” He purposely drew out the phrase. “How do you measure that, exactly?” Before she could retort, he leaned forward. “And why do you care? Isn’t it an advantage to have people underestimate you? Isn’t it better if opposing counsel thinks she can walk all over you?” He emphasized the pronoun just enough to remind her he was listening. She hadn’t lost any credibility with him. Not a bit.
    “That’s not—”
    But he wasn’t done yet, not when he had the advantage. Because he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to get the advantage on Amanda Carter many times in the future. “Besides,” he said, riding right over her words. “Whatever you’re losing in credibility, you’re gaining in attractiveness. At least from where I’m sitting.”
    That seemed to confuse her. She obviously wasn’t used to anyone telling her she was attractive, which was a crying shame, because he hadn’t been able to get the thought out of his mind for two and a half weeks.
    It didn’t make any sense. She’d taken him for a hundred thousand dollars. She held the power of his hitting streak in the palm of her hand—all she had to do was snap those sunglasses in half, and his game would be back in the toilet. She was sitting across the table, radiating spikes like a porcupine cornered by a hound dog, and he could barely keep his hands off her.
    He couldn’t forget that goddamn kiss in front of her apartment building. Sure, his dick remembered it, pressing against his zipper even now. But his brain remembered it too—how she’d stiffened when he first kissed her, how she’d fought against her natural response before giving in to what she actually wanted, to who she really was.
    He wanted to see behind that wall again. He wanted to see more of the real Amanda Carter.
    Of course Artie managed to screw that up. The guy chose that moment to come in with their appetizers—shrimp cocktail for her—cold, pink curls on ice. Kyle had opted for the blistered sishito peppers.
    But it didn’t matter that Artie broke up the flow of their conversation. Kyle had all evening with Amanda. He could afford to let the conversation drift back to safer topics for now. He could let her relax, forget that she didn’t trust him, forget that they were adversaries, at least where their bank accounts were concerned.
    As Artie ducked away under the velvet curtains, Kyle said, “So? Tell me about law school. What made you decide to be a lawyer?”
    ~~~
    Amanda couldn’t believe she was sitting there, having a normal conversation in a normal restaurant with a normal guy. Okay. Maybe Kyle wasn’t a normal guy. He was so superstitious she wondered how he got out of bed in the morning. She couldn’t imagine what he’d do if a black cat crossed his path, if he had to walk under a ladder.
    But despite his lack of logic, despite the crazy connections he made and then held on to like they were the holy word of God, he made her feel more relaxed than she’d been in ages. His quirks opened a door for her. They gave her freedom when everyone else in the world made her feel more burdened, more pressured, more responsible for every single thing that could go wrong.
    Like her brother. If she’d worked harder, finished law school earlier, made partner sooner, she would have the money Alex needed. She could help Hunter, get her nephew the care he required.
    She took a deep breath.