All In: Raising the Stakes (6 page)

"Oh, sorry," she says softly, sitting up straighter in her seat.   

"You don't have to keep apologizing."

This new kinder, gentler Katie is concerning me. I’m used to the abrasive Katie and know what to expect from her. This Katie, well, it’s a whole new ball game. Seeing this more vulnerable side of her makes me want to pull her on my lap and wrap my arms around her. Except she hates me, and very likely has a boyfriend.

"Who's Drew?" I ask.

She looks at me, eyes wide in surprise. "How-how'd you know about him?"

"You said his name when you were dreaming, or having a nightmare."

"Oh," she mutters, lowering her eyes from mine. "Ah, he's my sister's little boy."

"Oh," I say in relief, glad that there's not another man in her life, even if there is one in mine. "Do you have an older or younger sister?"

"Younger."

"So Drew's your nephew?"

"Uh-huh."

"How old is he?" I ask since I'd never heard her talk about her family before. Hell, she's never talked to me before unless it's about a case, or she’s insulting me.

"He just turned three on November first." 

"Well, then I bet he's a handful."

"You have no idea," she replies with a smile, her love and adoration of him showing clearly on her face.  

The mention of kids has me thinking of Lacy, wondering how she’s holding up. She’s had a lot on her with her mom's suicide and now the pregnancy. Her morning sickness has been really rough, too. I wish I could help take care of her, but I guess that’s Will's job and not mine.

I already know that I'm enough of a wedge between Will and Lacy that I shouldn't force my way into their life any further. I guess I am jealous of Will, because he's in that protector/provider position for Lacy and the baby that I never will be. Sure, if it's my child then they wouldn't stop me from seeing him or her, but it'll never be a permanent situation where we all live together as a family. An outsider, a mere spectator, is all I'll ever be in my son or daughter's life. Damn, that's depressing. Although, that would probably be best for him or her since there's nothing stable about my life, and I don't know the first thing about taking care of babies. What sort of role would Chad play in their life? Am I supposed to just be content with whatever he and I are doing for the long-term? And the flings we have with Lacy and Will can't keep going on forever. Chad could start dating a woman and then where would that leave me? Alone. That's a scary thought, but nothing new. I've been lonely my entire life, so you would think I'd be used to it by now.

My mind is racing a mile a minute on all the
what ifs
when the seat belt light comes on and then my ears pop, telling me we’re losing altitude. Katie stays quiet beside me, both of us in our own heads as the plane lands and the front passengers begin to file out.

"Do you know how we're supposed to get to the hotel?" I ask her, just to have something to talk about.       

"I think they're sending a shuttle."

"Oh good," I reply. Standing up, I grab my bag from the overhead bin, and hand Katie hers.

"Thanks," she says absently when she takes it from me.

"Are you feeling okay, Katie Kat?" I tease her. "You've been nice to me all day."

Her eyes lower and her pale cheeks color to a beautiful pink right before my eyes. "I just figured that if we're going to have to work together, I should try and be a little nicer to you."

"Oh, well, I’m glad."

"And I may have misjudged you," she adds quietly.  

"Really?" I ask. A crazy sensation of hope wells up in my chest.

"Yeah, you're not the cocky, nonchalant, playboy I thought you were."

"Oh, I wouldn’t go that far." I laugh in relief of hearing her say those words. She's finally getting to know the real me.                                      

"Maybe I just don't want to keep being the bitch you think I am," she says on a heavy exhale.

"Katie, I've never thought that about you," I tell her honestly.

"We should probably go." I think she's actually embarrassed or upset about giving me a hard time. I've always figured she had her reasons for not liking me, even if I wished she'd just give me a chance.   

As the passengers in front of us begin to file out of the plane, I squeeze out from our seats to follow. A few rows up, someone's luggage comes crashing down from the overhead, causing me to have to stop abruptly. Behind me, Katie slams into my backside, one of her hands reaching out to grab ahold of my waist.

"Shit, sorry," she says, jerking her hand away from me like I burned her. It’s the first time she's ever actually touched me, and I smile at the contact. Hell, I consider repeating the sudden stop again just to feel her pressed against me.  

After we both round up our luggage, we go outside and search for the Coconut Grove Resort's shuttle, the place where we'll be staying all three nights and attending seminars in their conference rooms during the day.

When we pull up out front I’m surprised by how nice the place is, an enormous, oceanfront resort with palm trees lining the front canopy, and a large waterfall sign. The state has gone all out for setting us up here for the whole weekend. Everything about the place; the salty smell of the ocean air, the cool breeze, the environment as a whole instantly invokes this calming effect on me. Miles away from the courthouse, I'm already starting to de-stress.                                                           

The lobby, a restaurant, and bar are all packed full of people. Not people, but attorneys based on their attire. We're an entirely different breed, especially the ones running around this place, most of them in suits instead of the casual floral shirts like you'd expect in this touristy place. This group here makes up the best trial attorneys our districts have to offer, which is why we've been assigned homicides. I have no problem admitting I’m pretty damn good in trials, but I think what sealed the promotion for me was my prior defense experience. I know all the lies, tricks, and plays in the criminal's handbook, so now I can prepare for them and attack their weaknesses. 

"There are a lot of arrogant bastards running around," Katie says from beside me while we wait in the long check-in line.

"I was thinking the same thing. That and we're about twenty years younger than everyone else."

"That too. Are there any other women here?" she asks, glancing around. Now that she’s mentioned it, there does seem to be a majority of men in attendance, which is strange. In the legal field, the number of women is equal if not greater than the number of men in most offices. For some reason women must steer clear of murder cases.

Finally, after a long wait, it’s our turn at the front desk.

"Hi, Joseph Montgomery and Katie Albright checking in," I tell the young clerk.

She types on her computer, and then says, "Found you. However, check in is not until three. If I can get your cell number, we'll call when the room is ready."

"Wait, did you say room, as in one singular?" I ask, thinking there's no way I can be that lucky.

"Yes, a non-smoking suite with two queen beds."

"Hell no," Katie speaks up from beside me, throwing her elbows up on the desk. "There should be two rooms, one for each of us."

The wide-eyed, nervous clerk looks at her computer and types some more. "I'm sorry, but your reservations were just made last week for the one room that someone happened to cancel at the last minute. As you can see, we're full this weekend for the seminar."

"Who made the reservations?" I ask.

"Let's see. All it says is Brandy."

"That bitch," Katie mutters. Brandy is DA Caldwell's assistant.

"So, what number should we call when the room is ready?" the clerk asks.

I give her my cell number and ask if they have a place to stow our luggage until then, so we won't have to lug it all around for the next several hours. Thankfully there’s a storage room for it, so we ditch our bags.

Katie has her phone out a second later, calling the office, I'm sure.

"Brandy, is there a reason you only reserved one room for two people?" she asks. I smile at how sexy she is when she’s pissed off. Hand on her hip, lips pursed, eyes narrowed. The fiery redhead is so fucking hot.

"
You thought we'd make do
? You could've asked us if we could make do!" she yells into the phone.

"Katie, it's fine. It's only for three nights and there are two beds. It's not that big of a deal," I tell her.

She doesn't look happy at all. I, on the other hand, am ecstatic. Sharing a room with the woman I've wanted for months? Hell fucking yes. This is the perfect opportunity for me to seduce her. I can already hear Lacy's response when I tell her. She'll probably say something like, "Wake her up with a tongue-fucking, then she'll be yours forever." I can't help but grin at the thought of how amazing that would be, which only seems to piss Katie off more based on her scowl. Then I'm suddenly struck wondering if Chad would care if I make a move on her. He knows I've wanted her forever. We haven't discussed it, but I guess I should warn him ahead of time.

When Katie finishes yelling at Brandy, she marches back up to the counter. Cutting to the front of the line, she asks, "Can't you find another cancellation?"  The clerk looks like she really is trying her best, her fingers flying frantically over the keyboard. I hold my breath praying that there won’t be any other rooms. A few minutes later, I get my wish when the clerk shakes her head at Katie with a sincere frown.

"Come on, Katie Kat, this isn't that big of a deal," I tell the angry woman after buying her a gin and tonic at the bar. We don't have anything else to do, so I’m gonna try and get her drunk on the state's tab. "We're both adults, and we'll have our own beds. Besides, it's not like we'll be in there for anything but sleeping a few hours each night."

She sighs, and then she visibly deflates, her posture slouching on her bar stool. I assume she's finally let it go.
Thank God
. The woman’s acting like sharing space with me for a couple of days is a death sentence.

Her phone rings and she immediately jumps up, walking away to answer it. I take the opportunity to call Lacy to tell her the good news.

"Joe? How's Florida?" she answers.

"Haven't seen much, other than the really nice resort we're staying in. But get this, Katie and I are sharing a room."

She laughs. "No shit? That’s great. Now, listen, this is very important. You need to go shirtless as often as possible. And if you get the chance, put your magical mouth between her legs. Oh God, I'm getting tingles in my panties just thinking about it."

"Thanks for the tips." I chuckle. "So how are things in Charlotte?" I ask.

"Good."

"And you and Will?"

"We had a good start to the morning," she says, and I can hear her smile.

"Tingling in the panties good?" I tease.

She laughs. "If I had been wearing any there definitely would’ve been tingles."

"Glad to hear it. Well, I better go try and give a certain redhead a hard time. Or even better, some panty tingles."

"Okay. Have fun seducing her!"

"Thanks. Love you, Lace."

"Love you, too."

Still holding the phone in my hand, I try to decide if I should call Chad. I don't like feeling this...obligation to him, but at the same time, wouldn't I want to know if he was fucking someone else, or at least trying to?

I hit his name in my contact list.

"Joe?" he answers like he's surprised to hear from me.

"Hey."

"You make it to Florida?" 

"Yeah, we've been here a few hours."

"Good. So what's up? Everything okay?"

"Uh-huh. Katie's here. With me. She's the other new homicide prosecutor."

"Katie? Wow. I bet you're excited."

"I am. She's actually being nice which is unusual, but I'll take it."

"Maybe you're finally softening her up."

"Maybe," I agree. Glancing around I make sure she's still out of earshot. She's pacing a few hundred feet away and talking animatedly on her call. "So, um, crazy convenient, but the resort is packed so the two of us are sharing a room."

"Damn. The odds that you’ll end up fucking her this weekend are drastically increasing," he says, and I'm not sure if he doesn't like the idea or is just stating the obvious.

"They are."

"Which means the odds of you and I fucking again are drastically decreasing."

"Pretty much," I admit. "I thought, I don’t know, that I should at least tell you."

"I get it, Joe. You've wanted her forever and now's your best chance. You'd be crazy not to take it. The woman is sexy as fuck. With her feistiness, I bet she's a damn Hellcat in bed. If nothing else, you owe me explicit details if the two of you hook up."

I let out the breath I was holding, thankful he didn't go all jealous boyfriend on me. Oh shit. Is that what he is? Maybe I need this weekend to figure out what the fuck I'm doing with him.