Read Online Let's Make It Legal by Patricia Kay - Free Book Online Page A

and she knew it. She was too tall, her feet were too big, her hair was too straight and she had no feminine wiles whatsoever. And as for her legs . . . well, she guessed they were okay.
They’re more than okay, and you know it. Why else did you buy those red heels?
Sydney squirmed uncomfortably, thinking about the Manolo Blahniks she hadn’t been able to resist the last time she’d had to go to New York on a case.
    “Okay,” John said agreeably. “If that’ll make you less uncomfortable. What do you want to talk about?” He ate some more of his food.
    “You. What kind of law did you practice?”
    “I was a tax law specialist.”
    “Tax law!” Somehow, John didn’t fit the role.
    He grinned. “Sounds boring, doesn’t it?”
    “Actually, yes.”
    “It wasn’t. I really enjoyed it. I was good at it, too. What kind of law did you think I practiced?”
    “You look like a criminal lawyer.”
    “That was Andrea’s specialty.” At the mention of his wife, the grin disappeared.
    Sydney hesitated a moment, then said, “Your wife must have been very young when she died.”
    “Thirty-six.”
    Only two years older than Sydney was now. “What happened?” she asked softly.
    He sighed and laid down his fork. He took a final swallow of his margarita, then set the empty glass down. “We always jogged together. Every morning. I ran ten miles a day, but Andrea could never run more than six miles at a time, no matter how hard she tried. I always teased her about it, because she was so competitive, and she hated me to best her at anything.” Sydney watched his face as he talked. Although his voice was impassive, his eyes mirrored his emotions.
    “On that particular morning, I said something like, ‘Why don’t you admit it? There are some things a man can do better than a woman, like run.’ She said she’d never admit that, that she’d run as far as me that morning if it killed her.”
    Sydney’s heart seemed to stop. She knew what was coming and she wanted to tell him it was okay, he didn’t have to say the words out loud.
    “I egged her on. That’s what I can’t forget. I egged her on, and fifteen minutes later, about mile eight and a half, she collapsed,” he said tonelessly. “She was dead before the ambulance arrived.”
    “Oh, God,” Sydney said. “How awful for you.”
    “The doctors said it was an aneurism. That it didn’t matter that she was pushing herself. That it could have happened even if she’d been sitting quietly.” He laughed, the sound ragged. “I know they were telling me the truth, but that doesn’t help. I still feel guilty. I still feel responsible.”
    “Oh, John, surely you don’t blame yourself!”
    “Who else is there?” he said bitterly. “I’m alive, and Andrea’s dead. And how can the doctors be so sure the jogging had nothing to do with what happened?”
    “John, even I, who know very little about medicine, know that an aneurism doesn’t just happen. If a person has one, it can remain stationary for years, causing no harm, and then one day. . . boom. It’s all over.”
    “Look, I know you mean well, Sydney, and I appreciate it, but let’s change the subject, okay? I really don’t want to talk about this. I usually don’t. I don’t know why I did tonight.”
    Sydney impulsively reached across the table and touched his hand. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to tell me.”
    He turned his hand palm up and closed it around hers. Their gazes met and held for several heartbeats. Sydney didn’t even realize she was holding her breath until he released her hand after first giving it a little squeeze.
    It was only then that she admitted to herself how very much she wanted John Appleton to keep trusting her.
    And how very much she wanted to keep seeing him.

Chapter Five
     
    John wasn’t sure what was wrong with him, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t get Sydney out of his mind. All week long, whatever he was doing, his thoughts kept straying to Monday