Love, Lies & The D.A. (23 page)

I
straighten the sheets on the bed before leaving the room. When I enter the
mezzanine, I hear voices below. One is Jonathan’s. I suspect the other might be
Delores, the housekeeper. For the first time, I get to fully appreciate the
views. The blue lake sparkles against the backdrop of blue skies and snow-white
peaked mountains. It looks like the house is so near the slopes, he might even
be able to go skiing from here.

I head
into my room, shower, and change into white leggings and a white off-the-shoulder
tunic sweater. I’m beginning to get hungry. I head downstairs.

Delores
is exactly how I imagined that night when I spoke to her on the phone. She’s a
polite Spanish lady, probably in her late fifties. The kind, lovable, mother
figure type. After kissing me lightly on my cheek, he introduces us. I think I
remember her face from Charles’s funeral.

I sit
next to him at the kitchen island. She places a mug in front of me and offers
coffee or tea from the two pots she holds, one in each hand. I am thankful for
some coffee. Perhaps it will help wake me. She then disappears from view.

“Are
you hungry?” Jonathan asks.

“Famished.”

“Great.
I made reservations at the Ritz nearby.”

“That
will be a treat. I haven’t been.”

“Let
me get ready. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

His
hair is wet, and I can smell his aftershave, so I assume he’s going to throw on
attire that is more appropriate—more appropriate than the loose-fit linen shirt
and washed-out, worn, ripped jeans he’s wearing.

I take
the opportunity to dab on a touch of makeup, I slip on pair of blue suede
loafers, and I think I’m ready to head out the door.

“Did
you sleep well last night?” Jonathan asks as we drive down the street.

“Barely.
I’m exhausted.”

“Then
why didn’t you sleep in?”

“I
didn’t want to be a bad-mannered guest.”

“You
had a rough week… We both did. The only reason I got up is because I heard
someone enter the house. Then I remembered I forgot to tell Delores she didn’t
need to come in today.”

“She’s
a sweet lady.”

“My
family has known her for years. I think I’ve known her from about the age of
twelve. She used to work at the house where we used to stay during our
vacations.”

“So
she knows you very well.”

“She
does…”

We
arrive and park. Soon, we sit at what appears to be the best table in the room.
Located by the window, it has lovely Sierra Mountain views. After the host
hands us the menus and disappears, I can’t help myself.

“So
who’d you lambaste to ensure that we got this fantastic table?”

He
smiles at me.

“Impressed?”

“Not
if you attacked the host to get it.”

“FYI,
that host you felt so sorry for, her name is Mandy, and I paid her a healthy
tip just so she could help me to get your attention.”

“You
lie.”

He
laughs, nodding at me. “It’s the truth.”

“Well,
Mandy dearest made some serious money in tips that day. I paid her extra for
your rudeness.” I blush.

I
still can’t believe it. Neither can I believe the lengths he went to get me to
notice him.

“Why
would you do that, anyway?”

“I was
waiting for Megan while she went to the bathroom when I saw you walk in. You
were beautiful… You seemed so sure of yourself, proudly asking to be seated in
your party of one. I thought that was cute. I can’t say I know any woman who
would attend Sunday brunch by herself.”

“So
you couldn’t figure out a nicer way to get my attention?”

“Well,
for one, women always want what they can’t have.”

“Is
that right?”

“I
guess what I wasn’t anticipating was that the woman I was so attracted to had
just gotten her heart broken. You really did put me in my place. I wasn’t
prepared for that.”

“I’m
sorry, Counselor. Did I embarrass you?”

“As a
matter of fact, you did.”

“I
thought I pissed you off. You had that little twitching thing going on by your
temple.”

“You’re
one of the few people ever to notice that. I was slightly angry, also shocked,
then embarrassed, but when I had some time to process what you had said… I
think I empathized with you.”

Images
from that period travel through my mind.

“But
then you were a jerk at dinner at David and Kat’s. What was that all about?”

“I
think the lawyer side of me enjoyed arguing with you. I can’t say I’m used to
the smart mouth and innuendo outside of the office. But then you insulted my
sister—”

“She
was
supposed
to be your fiancée, remember?
Besides, I said she was smarter than she looked. Some would take that as a
compliment.”

“Yeah
…
I got
over that.”

“Do
you know I was thinking about apologizing for that? Until you called me a rich
bitch.”

“I did
not.”

“Well,
you certainly implied it in your tone.”

“I
regret what I said to you that night. I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that,” he
says, gently smiling at me.

“You
apologized already.”

“I
thought I’d completely burned my bridges with you by the end of that night,
until my father called me and said his new client had a crush on me.”

“Oh my
God. He didn’t.”

“He
did… He said you didn’t know it yet, though.”

I’m
sure my cheeks are inflamed, and I’m thankful when the server arrives to take
our order. I haven’t even looked at the menu yet. I quickly peruse through it,
place my order, then she leaves.

Jonathan
continues right where he left off.

“I
think my father liked you from the moment he spoke to you on the phone.”

“I
spoke to him at one of the lowest points in my life… I’m not sure what I could
have possibly said to him that would make him feel that way.”

“I
think it was your blatant honesty.”

“Well,
frankly, I think dishonesty is a complete waste of everybody’s time.”

“Too
bad the rest of the world isn’t like you.”

“Your dad
was a sweet man. I’m starting to realize he probably got to know me very well
during that period. He knew some of the most intimate and personal details of
my life…”

I am
saddened as I realize the man that we’re talking about is dead. I know this
must be enormously difficult for him.

I look
over at Jonathan. I can tell his mind has drifted elsewhere. I slip my hands
over his. The mood has changed. It’s more serious now.

“You
know, the last conversation I had with him before he died was about you. He was
very protective of you.”

“I
wasn’t aware of that. I remember being in my room and thinking that you were
having an argument. Did you?”

“We
did,” he murmurs, tearing his eyes away from mine.

My
heart sinks as I realize that the last conversation with his father was a
fight. That can’t be easy.

“I’m
sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“He
told me to be careful with you… He said you were vulnerable… If I wasn’t
careful, I’d hurt you, and you didn’t need that. Then he gave me a long lecture
about appearances versus the truth.”

“That
hardly qualifies as an argument. You and I have had that very conversation.”

“He
warned me not to hurt you.”

“Is
there a reason he was worried that you’d do that?”

“I
think he was upset with me when I didn’t marry Lacy.”

“Lacy?”

“My
ex. I think he might have thought that I had commitment problems.”

“But
didn’t you tell me you two were engaged?”

“Yes,
we were. She wanted to get married in the middle of my campaign. For me, the
bigger problem was she wanted to immediately get pregnant.”

“Don’t
you want kids?”

“I do.
But I didn’t want to have kids when I knew I was about to take on the biggest
job of my life.”

“And
she didn’t understand that?”

“No.
She really wanted a child. In retrospect, I think that was more important to
her. She neglected to tell me that she stopped taking the pill.”

“Did
she get pregnant?”

“No.”

“How
did you find out?”

“I saw
a discarded pregnancy test in the trash… and after much beating around the bush,
she admitted it to me.”

“Things
ended because of that?”

“Partly.
I couldn’t trust her. I couldn’t make her happy. In addition, I don’t think she
wanted to, or understood my career goals. I wanted to wait until a couple of
months after the election to get married, but she didn’t want to.”

“It
might have increased your approval rating.”

He
chuckles lightly. “Sometimes, I think you’re my campaign manager. Anyway, she
gave me an ultimatum, and I don’t do well with those. Our relationship ended
after that.”

“What
was the ultimatum?”

“That
we go down to city hall that week or it was over.”

“A bit
extreme…”

“She’s
married now and pregnant with her first child—six months after we broke up.”

“Wow.
Sounds like she really wanted a baby…”

“For
sure.”

“Didn’t
your dad know any of this?”

“Not
all the gooey details. We were very close, but I didn’t go as far as discussing
explicit details of my relationships… at least not that one.”

“So
you think he was disappointed in you?”

I
realize I’m treading on sensitive territory here. He looks at me for a second
then closes his eyes, massaging his temples.

“Jonathan,
you’re wrong.”

“How
would you know?”

“Because
I spoke to your father every day, sometimes twice or three times a day. Your
father became a close friend. Trust me, our conversations weren’t always about
my case. Sometimes, he helped me keep my sanity, sometimes he gave a listening
ear, and sometimes, during my lonely moments, he’d indulge me just so I’d have
someone to converse with. He was proud of you. All of you; your father could go
on for hours talking about his family.”

Momentarily,
he looks into my eyes.

“What
about you? Do you want kids?”

I
guess that means he doesn’t want to have this conversation, and because this is
all so fresh, I table it for now despite knowing he’s wrong about this.

“I
might,” I finally respond. “My biological clock may have expired by now,
though. Who knows? Richard and I discussed trying to get pregnant after we got
married, but…”

Our
breakfast arrives and that conversation ends. We eat in silence for a few
moments, but when the French chef comes by, we carry on a short conversation. It
lightens the mood. After breakfast, he slips his arm around my waist as we take
a walk around the property.

Before
we head back to the house, we meet up with my realtor at my old residence to
pick up his SUV. The temporary bridge is now up. He entrusts me to drive his
Bentley, and I follow him as he leads the way home.

It’s
about noon
when we enter the silent house. Not even the dogs are
home. I sit at the island while Jonathan pours each of us a glass of water from
the refrigerator.

“You
spoiled me this morning. I really had a great time. Thank you.”

“It
was my pleasure,” he replies, walking over to me. “So what would you like to do
for the rest of today?”

“I
have no clue. What would you be doing had I not been here with you this
weekend?”

“Stuff
you wouldn’t want to be doing.”

“Like
what?”

“Well,
I have a room full of gym equipment that I have to assemble downstairs. Then I’d
probably go biking. Then maybe dinner with some friends if they were in town.”

“Great.
Let’s do that then, all except the dinner with friends. I’m not up for
socializing.”

“You’re
kidding, right?”

“No, I’m
not. I’ll run upstairs and change.”

I
return five minutes later. He has those worn jeans on and a black T-shirt that
clings to his broad shoulders.

“Are
you sure you want to do this?” he asks.

“Sure…
besides, if I get tired, I can always admire the view.”

He
walks over to me, circles my face in his hands, and kisses me tenderly on my
lips. I tip toe to reach his. He lifts me by my hips and places me on the
kitchen island. Kissing me once more, I feel rhythmic throbbing in my chest. I
return his deep kisses, placing my hand gently on his profile as our
penetrating kiss grows more urgent.