Read Online Brent's Law by Ylette Pearson - Free Book Online Page B

This”—she circled her hand in the air—“can’t lead anywhere except for a nice holiday romp in the hay.”
    “True, but it still isn’t a game to me.” He smiled indulgingly. “But I’ll play along with one condition.”
    “Yes?”
    “You can’t avoid the questions and you have to answer honestly.”
    “That’s two conditions.” Blood rushed in her ears, but she forced her heart rate to settle. There was no way he could know about her varsity years. The other questions she could handle.
    He raised his eyebrows.
    “All right, I’ll play.” She reclined in the chair.
    “Why study law?”
    Damn, damn and double damn. Trust him to ask the one question she didn’t want to answer. At least not honestly. She bit her lip. Maybe she could fabricate some ghastly story from her childhood so he wouldn’t think she was too pathetic.
    “The truth, remember.”
    This was going to sound so cliché, but for the life of her, she couldn’t come up with a way to make it sound better. She inhaled then exhaled slowly.
    “I studied pharmacy at first, but then my boyfriend at the time studied law and it sounded so much more sophisticated than boring chemistry. I convinced my parents I had a yearning for the law. When we broke up, some of the glamour of studying law faded. Pathetic, I know, but when you’re young and think you’re in love, not even an earthquake can convince you of the error of your ways.”
    “But you’re good at it.” It was a statement, not a question.
    “I love it.” She traced the rim of her cup with her finger. “It might have been the most pathetic and juvenile motive for studying the dusty volumes of law, but in the end it was the right decision for me.”
    He nodded. “Your turn.”
    She ached to ask him about Amber, but swallowed the question. Just because he’d inadvertently stumbled upon her most embarrassing moment, didn’t allow her to put him on the spot.
    “Why do you still play rugby when you know you can get hurt?” She pointed at his leg.
    “I love the structure of the game. You pit yourself against your opponents, both physically and mentally, and when you are triumphant…” He shrugged. “Only sex rivals the euphoria you experience.”
    “But is it worth getting injured like you did?”
    He nodded. “Absolutely. You can get injured playing tennis. Granted the risk of injury is greater playing rugby, but you can’t live your life constantly worrying about getting hurt.”
    She couldn’t hide her smile. “And when you’re too old to play?”
    “I’ll support the teams. I know a rugby player’s lifespan is short and I’ve often considered retiring, but my life doesn’t revolve around rugby alone.”
    “You’ve considered retirement? But you’re what? Twenty-six?”
    “You have to be realistic. Every day the competition to stay on the teams gets tougher. I don’t want to end up a broken old man because I didn’t know when to quit.”
    She inhaled, but he held up his hand. “My turn.”
    “Okay, fire.”
    He pushed his plate away. “Let’s go for a walk. I need the exercise and though we’re in the Lowveld, the nights can get chilly.”
    Before she could answer, he rose and held out his hand. Her hand disappeared into his as if it were the most natural thing to do. For the rest of the afternoon, he educated her on the Bushveld and the animals residing within. At least she learnt the crying baby was indeed a Trumpeter Hornbill, common in the area.
    She also learnt he’d been hell on wheels as a child and he had been no stranger to emergency rooms. One particular motorcycle accident when he was a teenager had left him with a cracked femur and hipbone.
    “Aren’t those injuries at greater risk to reoccur with the impact of playing rugby?”
    He shrugged. “Maybe, but the injuries healed well enough for me to have a clean bill of health to play. The residual damage from the injury was much worse and irreparable, so a few broken bones are the least of my