parent who was now dead, who’d left thousands of dollars in medical bills I still needed to pay. Law school loans. Undergraduate loans. Two little brothers who needed food, new clothes, sports equipment and college funds.
This was why I shopped at Bargain Basement . And why most of the time I didn’t think twice about it.
The gorgeous, tasteful homes blurred into each other. I wouldn’t have any idea how to live in a house like one of these, in a posh neighborhood like this. I’d never be able to relax. I’d always have to dress up, get plastic surgery, and wear enormous sunglasses just to take the trash out. I looked over at Walker, with his thick, tousled black hair and his thousand-dollar suit. He looked over at me and smiled, the lines on his face only increasing his attractiveness. My heart plummeted to my stomach. Why was this man so gorgeous, smart, rich and nice? It was one of those days when it was brutally clear to me: life wasn’t fair. I wanted to be Minky Lucca, the Hollywood starlet in the yellow ruffled bikini, splashing water at his gorgeous abs. Instead, I had to use all my considerable brain power just to keep him out of jail.
And I’d never get to sleep with him.
“You’re being quiet,” he said. “Are you plotting Introverted Barbie’s next move?”
I pushed my glasses up on my nose and pouted at him. In the back of my mind I knew I desperately wished my pout was sexy — but the front of my mind knew that it was not. “Yes. Yes I am, Walker,” I said.
He pulled the car, suddenly and expertly, into a garage next to one of the brownstones. My mouth dropped open. “You have a garage ?” I asked, incredulous. “I thought garages in Boston were an urban myth.”
“Yes, I have a garage,” he said, and laughed at me. “Don’t get too excited. It’s only a two-car. The Patriots linebacker has a four-car garage. He got into all sorts of trouble with the Zoning Board, but then he and his gorgeous wife both signed some autographs and signed on to all sorts of charitable events, so…”
“So?”
“So apparently everybody on the zoning board thought they were great, and they got whatever the hell they wanted,” he laughed. “Would you say no to his wife? She’s a lingerie model. I freaking wouldn’t.” His eyes had the faraway, lustful look of a red-blooded male considering a tall, gorgeous lingerie model. Against my will, my face scrunched into a pout again. I was on the short side and I was no lingerie model. I pouted some more.
He looked at me, searching my face as we sat in the car. “Nicole, are you one of those girls...that think if I say someone else is pretty...that I don’t think you’re pretty?” he asked. “You’re smarter than that, aren’t you?”
“Walker, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, and I felt my face turn absolutely, flaming scarlet. Does he think I’m PRETTY? My brain screamed at me, but I ignored it. “First of all, I’m your attorney. Enough said. Second of all, and no offense, but I already know that you have a thing for pretty women. It’s not like it’s a big secret.”
He looked at me again, half a smile on his face. “It’s not like I planned on being in those magazines,” he said. “Those last pictures, on the beach with Minky…those were embarrassing. She actually had them set up. She wanted them for publicity. But I didn’t find that out until afterwards.”
I shrugged at him.“I’m not judging you, Walker. You’re City Magazine’s most eligible bachelor, and a successful CEO. You can do whatever you like with Minky Lucca.” And her stupid yellow ruffled bikini, I thought. I sighed, willing myself to stop having this conversation with my client. But I had to get the words out so I could concentrate on my job. And not his gorgeous face and big shoulders.
“That’s not why I’m here — not for flirting, not for talking about personal stuff. Yes, you are easy to talk to. Yes, you are friendly and
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