One of the women was petite with long brown hair that curled at the ends. The other one had red hair and I couldn’t help but think of Hadley. Their heads were tilted toward each other as if they were deep in conversation, unaware of anything going on around them.
When the bartender stopped in front of them, both women faced him, and I could see their faces. I drew in a sharp breath when I realized the one closest to me was Hadley.
“What, you know them or something?” Nolan asked, drawing my attention to him.
My heart thumped in my chest. I wasn’t ready for anyone to know I was attracted to Hadley. At least, not while we had a professional relationship. “The one with red hair is my attorney.”
“Your what?” His brow furrowed and he placed his beer down on the counter.
“My attorney. I hired her to collect overdue payments on the contracting side and to draft membership contracts for the karate studio.”
Nolan nodded, respect in his eyes. “It’s about time you took your businesses more seriously.”
I shifted on the barstool, so I was facing Nolan. I didn’t want to interrupt Hadley’s evening out.
When the bartender took their menus and walked away, I heard her say my name, “Cade?”
I turned on my stool to find Hadley standing next to me, her elbow leaning on the counter—her friend was gone.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I winced. My questions were so lame. Clearly, she was out with a friend for dinner and a drink.
“I’m with a friend. You met her at the firm. Avery?” She shrugged. “I don’t know many people here yet.”
“Right.” I tipped my beer to my mouth, feeling her gaze follow the movement.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Nolan asked as he shifted forward on his stool, probably to get a better look at Hadley.
I leaned back so she could see him. “Hadley, this is my younger and more immature brother.”
My voice was light and almost flirtatious. Hadley smiled, reaching past me to shake hands with Nolan. Her hair brushed over my forearm. She was so close to me I could smell her fragrant shampoo. I tried not to think about how close she was to my dick.
“Nice to meet you, Hadley. You work for this asshole?” He dropped her hand and gestured to me.
She looked at me and then my brother, a conspiratorial smile playing on her face. She stood so close to me, it was difficult to breathe. “He hired me to do some work for him. I can’t talk about it. It’s protected by attorney-client privilege.”
“Of course not,” Nolan said. I looked in time to see him wink at her. He saw something between us. It must have been my reaction to her leaning over my lap. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“Oh, I’m here with a friend. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“Nonsense. We can move to a high-top table.” Nolan grabbed his glass, moving to a table before I could protest.
Given my attraction to Hadley, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to hang out with her in more social situations. It was hard enough to keep a distance from her in karate.
“Sure.” Hadley went to talk to Avery, who’d returned, presumably to tell her they were joining us.
“Why did you do that?” I asked as I moved to sit next to him. At least the table would be between Hadley and me.
“You’re interested in her.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he held his hand up. “It doesn’t have to be anything or lead anywhere but live a little.”
The idea of dating again made me feel older than my thirty-three years.
“Thanks for letting us join you. This is Avery, my co-worker, and partner at the firm. Avery, this is Nolan, Cade’s younger brother, and you remember Cade.”
Avery smiled shyly at Nolan, shaking his hand before moving to sit across from him. “Of course, I remember Cade. How could I forget our first real client?”
“I didn’t realize you were their first client. We should celebrate.” Nolan waved a finger at the waitress to ask for a round of shots.
I wasn’t confident I could hide my attraction to Hadley sober, much less after drinking.
“Shots?” I asked when the waitress left with his order.
“Relax.” Nolan shook his head at me before focusing back on Avery. “Are you from here?”
Gone was the weary brother who tried to pull me off my couch and out of my house. In his place was the Nolan I remembered from before, lighthearted and fun.
“Sorry, I’m late guys.” A woman dropped her purse on the empty chair next to Avery. “Hi, I’m Dylan.” She held her hand out to me and then Nolan while Avery introduced us.
“Nice to meet you. I’m the third partner at the firm. I’m just finishing up my last couple of days at my old job.” Then she turned to the other women. “I thought we were getting together tonight talk about Hadley’s nonprofit.”
“Nonprofit?” My gaze bounced from Dylan to Hadley. I remembered Hadley mentioning a speech therapy nonprofit during our first meeting, but she hadn’t mentioned it was hers.
“Yeah, it’s something I started in New Orleans and I’d like to expand it to other cities.” Hadley straightened.
“Specifically, in Annapolis,” Dylan said, all business.
“I’d love to hear more.” I shifted in my seat and rested my elbows on the table.
“Right. It’s called Kids Speak. I work with schools to identify kids who need help with their speech but don’t necessarily qualify for assistance. Speech therapists work with them after school. Kids with speech impairments like lisps or stutters are less confident and more likely to avoid saying words that will trigger their impairment to avoid teasing.” Hadley shrugged like it was no big deal, but I wanted to know why she’d chosen that particular issue. Had has she been the object
