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“It’s okay,” he said, stroking my back.
“Ms. Levine,” the judge huffed in impatience.
“It’s okay,” he repeated before letting me go.
My legs shook from the energy coursing through me at a hundred miles per hour, and I reached for the bottle of water Jared had forgotten on the stand, taking a sip to ease the sting in my throat.
“Good day, Ms. Levine,” Mario said, smiling at me. From this angle, he looked so damn good, I hated the situation we were in. I couldn’t even enjoy watching my men in court since we were fighting for our lives here, and our rivals were my very own parents. It was surreal.
He was wearing a gray suit that almost appeared light blue with a crisp white shirt on the inside. His suit looked brand new, seamless. His skin was shaved clean, which brought attention to his pink lips against eyes that were so bright and blue, they appeared almost translucent. His white shirt made his teeth appear even whiter, and my heart flipped over in my chest at the sight of him and Jared next to him. Jared looked like he was about to throw up, and his grayer hair was rugged from him running his hand through it. He looked a lot cleaner before he took to the stand. Now, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. And boy, did I understand.
“The opposition asked a question about how long Mr. Crawford knew Chris Levine, implying…” Mario started.
“Objection! Speculation,” my mother yelled at the mic.
Rolling my eyes at my mother’s objection, I knew what Mario was trying to do. He knew what my father did by leaving the question hanging in the air, and he wanted to draw attention to it.
“My apologies, Your Honor,” Mario said, resting his hand against his chest, smiling and bowing ever so slightly. The judge cleared her throat, appearing flustered even though she was about my mother’s age. She did her very best not to let it show though.
“Sustained,” she said, fixing on her poker face.
“Thank you, Your Honor,” he said before turning to me. “Ms. Levine, when would you say you met Jared Crawford?”
I smiled at Mario as he got the question out of the way so that it wouldn’t sit with the judge for too long. He was so charming about it too. Damn, he was so attractive. “This year,” I responded.
The weight that Jared held on his shoulders seemed to fall off, and I glanced at him as he took a deep breath in and out. Oh, my sweetheart. My heart.
“Just to be clear, are you sure that you’ve never met Jared Crawford before that?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m sure. My brother and I are more than fifteen years apart. He was already away at college and by that time, he didn’t make a habit of coming home. I barely knew him growing up. I even forgot I had a brother most of the time. I knew he existed, but we didn’t have a relationship. And when he did come home, times I could probably count on one hand, he came alone. So, yes, the first time I met any of his friends was this year,” I said.
“Thank you, Ms. Levine.” Mario smiled. “And why don’t you walk me through what it was like when you first met Mr. Crawford,” he continued.
I grinned. “Uh-oh.” Well, that probably wasn’t the appropriate response. And Jared covering his face briefly, hiding away a smile in embarrassment, wasn’t helpful in our portrayal of the truth either. I filled the silence quickly.
“Well, um, we didn’t like each other. Not one bit,” I said, and it seemed so long ago and so far apart from where we were today that a smile escaped me as I fought the need to grin.
Mario nodded and hid a smile—he knew. Oh, he knew how rough my feelings for Jared were then. It was hilarious now.
“God, I couldn’t stand that man.” I laughed as Jared made an awning with his hands to cover his face, staring at the desk before him. “He drove me up a wall. The first day I stepped into his office, he wanted me out, and that drove a fire in me that made me want to stay even more because well, it was Crawford & Beam, one of the best law firms, and it would annoy him. He got under my skin, so I wanted to get under his. But one day, something changed, and he became irresistible to me,” I said.
Jared lowered his hands from his face now, clearing his throat. I knew he did because it echoed through his mic as he straightened his tie and shifted in his seat. My skin had grown hot, making me shift. The memory of that day we kissed for the first time sizzled through me. We did a lot more than just kiss.
“What changed?” Mario asked.
“Hm,” I sighed. “You know, there’s something hot about someone who irritates you so much, you want to either punch them or rip their clothes off. I chose the latter.” I grinned.
My parents’ faces grew red. Well, what did they expect us to talk about during this case? Besides, they were the ones painting gross pictures, not me.
Jared ran his hand over his short beard, and I could tell from the glint in his eyes that the memory just shot through him in the form of a feeling, but then his eyes went dusky and pained. Damn, this was hard.
“At any point in your relationship with Jared, did you feel coerced into having sexual intercourse?” he asked.
“Objection, leading,” my mother said.
“Overruled,” the judge responded. “It’s a legitimate question. Isn’t that why we’re all here?” she asked.
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Mario and I said at the same time.
