"You got a room?" I ask as he puts his phone away.
"It was already booked. Tom knew the hearing was today. When Celine called, Tom assumed she meant this weekend not next, so that's what he wrote down."
"I can't believe they had a room with all the tourists here to see the leaves."
"He said he had a cancellation right before Celine called to book the room. Guess it was meant to be."
What if it was? What if everything lined up this way so that Aiden and I could spend more time together? But why would that happen if nothing could ever come of it?
"You should probably tell Celine."
"Already texted her," he says, his thumbs moving over his phone. "And I texted Tanner to tell him I won't be at the gym tomorrow."
"You guys go to the gym together?"
"Only if we're playing basketball. We reserved a court for tomorrow morning with some other guys."
I need to end things with Tanner. He's a great guy but I don't like him the way I should. I can't get past seeing him as a friend. When I kissed him the other night, it didn't feel right. There was no passion, not even a spark. I was going to give it more time but seeing Aiden again confirms that I need to let Tanner go. I'm not even dating Aiden and yet I feel more for him than I do for Tanner.
"Hal," Aiden says, walking down the hall to meet up with an older man in a black suit. "Thanks for doing this."
"I'm happy to," the man says, shaking Aiden's hand. "It's good seeing you again. How are your parents?"
"Good. Dad's been working a lot. Mom keeps telling him to slow down but you know how he is. Work is how he relaxes."
The man smiles. "I don't see retirement in his future."
"No. Definitely not." Aidens turns to me. "Sophie, come meet Hal."
I walk down to them, standing next to Aiden. "Hi, I'm Sophie. Nice to meet you." I shake the man's hand.
"Hal Turner. I went to college with Aiden's father."
"He's the lawyer I was telling you about," Aiden says. "He lives in Burlington but was kind of enough to make the drive down."
"I don't mind," Hal says. "It was a beautiful drive with all the leaves."
"You get stuck behind any tourist buses?" Aiden asks.
"Only one. I know the back roads so I'm usually able to avoid the tourist routes." He smiles at me. "So this is the girl your parents told me about. Any wedding plans in your future?"
"Oh. No," I say with a laugh. "I'm just a friend."
"Celine decided to stay back in New York," Aiden explains. "Sophie is the girl I told you about on the phone. The one who also got a ticket for littering."
"I didn't even know I did it," I say. "One minute I was talking to my boss and the next thing I know I'm being pulled over by a police officer."
"It was my fault," Aiden says. “When the papers flew out of my car and hit her windshield she couldn't see."
"What did I teach you?" Hal says, his brows drawing together. "Never admit fault."
"She's not going to sue me." Aiden glances at me and smiles. "Are you?"
I smile back. "No. But you owe me dinner for having to miss a day of work."
"Deal." He looks back at Hal. "You want to join us? The inn we're staying at has really great food."
"Wish I could but I need to get back to Burlington. The wife invited some friends over tonight for cards." He checks the time on his watch, then pulls a folder from the black leather messenger bag hanging off his shoulder. "Did you fill out the form?" he asks me.
"From the clerk?" I nod. "Yes."
"If you have questions for Hal," Aiden says to me. "Go ahead and ask."
I look at Hal. "What if I want to plead not guilty? Like I said, I didn't do this on purpose."
"Pleading guilty is the fastest way to get this over with. You'll have a misdemeanor on your record but that's better than coming back here for a trial."
"Those are my only options? Plead guilty or go to trial?"
"I'm afraid so."
A woman comes racing out of the courtroom, tears running down her face.
"That doesn't look good," I say in a low voice as she heads to the restroom.
"The judge today is a tough one," Hal says. "He likes his rulings to make a statement, or so I've heard."
"What does that mean?" I ask, sounding panicked. "For Aiden and me?"
Hal chuckles. "You have nothing to worry about. You're charged with a very minor offense. At the very most, he'll give you the maximum fine but I'm guessing it'll be somewhere in between the minimum and the max."
"Why wouldn't it be the minimum?" Aiden asks. "It was just a few sheets of paper and a water bottle. It's not like we dumped garbage all over the road."
"The judge likes to stick it to out-of-towners. Teach you a lesson so you'll know how to behave when you come back to visit."
"Great," Aiden says with a sigh.
"How much of a fine are we talking about here?" I ask, thinking of my nearly empty bank account.
The door of the courtroom opens and a man appears. "Chambers and Mills?"
"That's us," Aiden says.
"Let's go." Hal leads the way, walking tall and confidently as he goes in the courtroom. Now I'm wishing I'd told Aiden I wanted Hal to represent me, not that I could afford him, but maybe I could've paid him in installments. I didn't think I'd need a lawyer but hearing Hal talk about the judge has got me worried.
We walk to the
