“Tired?”
I pinched my lips together. “Maybe. You’re not?”
“Exhausted.” His voice almost made me tremble.
I smiled. I liked knowing I was the reason he was tired. That every time he yawned or his eyes burned today it would be because we had spent the night together. He felt everything I felt.
I leaned against the bark. “Thanks for coming over last night.”
“Sounded like you needed a friend.”
“I did.” I hadn’t told Vaughn anything about Garrett. In fact, we never talked about why he showed up. I had greedily soaked up an excuse to focus on something else.
“And tonight? Does dinner work for you?”
This was the part where I could have played hard-to-get. I could have told him I needed a few nights before I was free.
“Yes.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“There’s this Italian place in Georgetown where the women roll the pasta by hand. You’ll like it.”
“How do you know I like Italian?” I teased, stalling to keep him on the phone. I liked the sound of his voice too much.
“See you then.”
“Bye.”
I let my eyes close for only a second. But it was a beautiful second.
I straightened my back and walked toward the building.
Max Harrison’s office smelled like the back of the collections section of the library. Books were piled on every surface. There were leather-bound law volumes from every state. Some appeared to never have been opened.
I sat in a chair facing Max’s desk, while he searched for his evaluation form with my name on it.
“Found it!” he held it up.
I smiled.
“So tell me, Elliot, how would you describe your first weeks at American?”
“Good. It’s been great. Everyone has been fantastic to work with.” I pinned on another grin.
“And your classes? How are those going?”
I nodded. “My students are great. I have no complaints.”
“And clinic? You’re in women’s issues. How is that going?”
Before I spit out “great” again, I paused. “Challenging,” I answered.
Max looked up. “Explain. What do you mean?”
“I don’t want this to sound like a complaint, but the clinic is severely understaffed. We can’t help everyone who needs it.”