I’d apparently rendered him speechless with my tirade because he wasn’t saying anything.
Clark Kent stared at me for a while before he finally said, “No, actually, courts never close on Christmas Eve, just Christmas Day. I’ve spent many Christmas Eves in court.”
I arched my brow. “Oh yeah? You a criminal or something? Why is that?”
He cracked a smile. “I’m a trial attorney.”
I squinted my eyes. “Really…”
“Does that surprise you?”
“Actually, no…come to think of it, you look like the stuck-up-suit type.”
“Stuck-up suit?”
“Yeah, you know…pretentious, entitled, argumentative…know-it-all. That was my first impression of you, and the job fits.”
“Know-it-all? Did you just call me smart?” He winked.
God, he’s kind of adorable in an asshole-ish kind of way. Charming, too.
Maybe I should try being a little nicer.Rubbing my hands together, I stared out the window for a bit to gather my thoughts before turning to him again in an effort to be cordial. “So…where are you headed?”
“I have some quick business to take care of before I head home to Cincinnati for the holidays.”
“To your wife and kids?”
He gave me a funny look through his glasses, like the answer to that was none of my business. “No, actually, I live here in New York. My parents are in Ohio.”
“I see.” I offered him my hand. “I’m Meredith.”
He took it. “Adam.” The warmth of his hand amidst this cold night felt better than a warm cup of Christmas cocoa.
“I’m sorry for unloading everything onto you like that.” I blew a breath up into my blonde bangs. “I’ve had a major streak of bad luck lately.”
He shook his head. “There’s no such thing, beautiful.”
His use of the word “beautiful” made me feel flush.
“What do you mean…no such thing?”
“No such thing as bad luck. You’re in control of most things in your life, whether you know it or not.”
Narrowing my eyes, I said, “How can you say that? No one is in control of everything.”
“I said most things. The old lady who fell asleep with her head on your shoulder? You should’ve never let that happen. I mean, how can you have not known your watch was being removed? You should’ve been more vigilant. I will admit that Santa grabbing your ass and the cat dying weren’t your fault. Shit happens. But the rent issue? That probably could’ve been avoided if you think back hard enough. I bet you’re spending money you don’t have, am I right? Money that could’ve gone toward rent. That Louis Vuitton purse had to have cost two grand. If you can’t pay your rent, you shouldn’t own a two-thousand-dollar bag.”
I clutched my Louis Vuitton Pallas bag defensively, even though he was partially right.
This bag cost twenty-five hundred, to be exact, jerk.
How dare he tell me what I can and cannot own.
“You think you know everything? This was a gift from my boyfriend. I didn’t buy it.”
He smirked. “The one who’s proposing at Rockefeller Center under the tree?”
I swallowed. “Well…ex-boyfriend. The one who will not be proposing to me under any tree. I’d had this stupid fantasy that he was going to ask me to marry him this year. We’d kiss under the tree at Rockefeller Center…and he’d bend me back in a dramatic dip.”
He laughed. “That sounds like a scene out of a cliché, old movie—the dramatic dip. Not sure that happens in real life, beautiful.”
Stop calling me beautiful, gorgeous.
“Yeah, well…none of that will be happening because he dumped me for one of my friends, actually—right around Thanksgiving. I suppose that was my fault, too?”
His expression darkened. “Ouch. I’m sorry. No…not your fault. He’s a douche. But it wasn’t bad luck, either. Sounds like he did you a favor. I’d say that’s good luck that you dodged a bullet.”
I kind of liked that rationale. “You’re right. I suppose that’s a good way to look at it.” I sighed and gazed out at the snow falling before I asked, “What about you? Do you have a significant other?”
Before he could answer, the car skidded on some ice. I instinctively grabbed onto Adam. To my mortification, I realized my hand wasn’t on his leg. It was on his dick!
Whipping my hand off of him, I cringed. “Uh…I’m sorry.”
My hand had lingered long enough to confirm that he was definitely packing.
“Apparently I have a magnet on my crotch, seeing as though it’s not the first time this morning you accidentally made contact with my groin area.”
Shit.
I cleared my throat. “That’s right…it was an accident.”
“Sure, it was.” He chuckled then changed his tune when he got a load of my ashamed face. “I’m just kidding, Meredith. Jeez.”
Something about hearing him utter my name in that deep voice did things to me.
Blowing out a breath, I tried to change the subject. “Anyway…you were saying…”
“I wasn’t saying anything. You were being nosey and wanted to know if I had a girlfriend or a wife. Then, before I could answer, you grabbed my crotch.”