He leaned back as if slapped, but his eyes looked more amused than anything. “Touché.” She could feel his eyes on her even as she averted her eyes to the table.

“Perhaps,” she said, but she wasn’t about to apologize.

“You look beautiful,” he said. She lifted her gaze, but she didn’t speak. There was an uncomfortable silence between them. He leaned back in his chair, one arm dangling behind him. “I thought Mark left your father’s firm for good. I even heard it was a nasty departure.”

“I asked him to return.”

Greg raised a brow. “Why?”

“I was, and still am, not prepared to take over the firm.”

“Why didn’t you come to me, Lindsey?” There was irritation, even a bit of heat, in his voice.

“Greg, please don’t make things more difficult than they have to be.” It took all of her willpower to make the words sound civil.

“I would have helped you.”

Lindsey knew his form of help, and it was all about power and control. She wanted no part of it. She leaned forward, using every bit of mental fortitude she owned to hold back full-blown anger. “I didn’t need help. I needed experience at Paxton, which Mark has. In case you didn’t notice, I am quite capable of taking care of myself.” Though he’d tried damn hard in the past to make her feel she couldn’t.

“Lindsey . . .” he started to speak, but Lindsey held her hand up to stop his speech. “Greg, stop. Let’s change the subject.”

He was silent a long moment, shifting in his chair. “I tried to call you in Washington. You never returned my calls.”

“I know.”

He looked pointedly at her left hand, which cupped her coffee. “I take it you’re not married.”

“No, not married.”

“Me either. I’m still waiting on you, Lindsey.” His voice was a seductive purr.

Lindsey’s eyes narrowed on his, her discomfort heavy. “We are the past. Gone. We both know that.”

“You never even told me why you ended our engagement. I deserved, correction . . .” he leaned forward, “deserve, to know what happened.”

She shrugged, and leaned back in her seat wanting distance. “It wouldn’t change anything, so it’s pointless.”

A wave of vulnerability flashed through his eyes, surprising her. “Two people in love can deal with whatever comes their way.”

Lindsey shifted in her seat and cleared her throat, not liking the direction he was going with this. “Greg, please drop this. Tell me about the Williams case. Seems pretty circumstantial to me.”

He stared at her in disbelief. “So does my guilt at this point.” He lowered his voice and put his hand on hers. “Lindsey, I love you.”

She stiffened and pulled her hands to her lap. “No you don’t, Greg. You never even knew me.”

He ground his jaw tightly. “What?” he asked, disbelief in his voice. His eyes narrowed. “If anything, I knew you better than you knew yourself.”

She shook her head from side to side. “No,” she said adamantly. “You knew the Lindsey my father created, the Lindsey you helped him feed and keep alive.” She pointed at her chest with her finger. “I am not that person.” She enunciated each word.

He glared at her. “Lindsey, this is crazy. We were in love.”

She met his gaze with an unblinking stare. One of the things she always hated about her relationship with Greg was the way he told her what she felt. Didn’t she deserve to decide her own feelings? “No,” she said with ruthless intention. He didn’t understand any other tactic. “We were not in love.”

Greg just stared at her like he didn’t comprehend her words. After a long moment, he fell back in his chair as if the wind had been knocked out of him, emotions darting across his face in wild array. His face settled into hard lines of anger. “I see,” he said through clenched teeth. Squaring his shoulders, he continued, “Obviously you came here to talk business, so let’s talk business. Williams is guilty. Life, with no parole. That will spare him the death penalty. Take it or leave it.”

“Circumstantial evidence is all you have. That’s not going to fly,” Lindsey shot back.

“You have to make the offer to your client,” he pressed.

“He will decline,” she retorted.

“You can’t win,” he declared immediately.

“I will win, you can count on it,” she stated firmly. Lindsey stood abruptly, pushing her chair back from the table. “See you in court, Greg.” She turned and left the coffee shop without a look backwards.

Seconds later, Lindsey stepped hard on the pavement, still feeling the sizzle of anger as she walked towards her apartment. Only she wasn’t sure if she was angrier with herself or with Greg. She had thoroughly screwed up any chance to get cooperation or information from him. If only she had controlled her feelings until she had picked his brain. Instead, she turned winning the case into a more important issue to Greg than ever. Winning was now about his ego.

“Damn,” she mumbled.

How was she going to tell Mark she’d played the wrong game, and lost?

* * * * *

The words on the page began to drift together, and Mark tossed his pen onto the desk. Rubbing his eyes with his fingers, he tried to clear his view and then glanced at his watch. Exhaling loudly, he realized it was nine o’clock. No wonder he couldn’t see straight. Working was the only way he knew to keep his mind off Lindsey with Greg. Only it wasn’t working. Looking at the clock, he double-checked the time. It couldn’t be this damn late and he’d made so little progress with his work.

Swiveling the chair around to the window, he stared out, a full moon a huge light in the dark sky. Like Lindsey was too in the darkness of his blank mind. After last night, he would have thought Lindsey would be in his arms about now, snuggled to him, safe and warm. Instead, he felt like the walls between them were bigger, wider, and taller than ever.

Backing out of their deal wasn’t an option. He was too involved. Besides he cared about her too much to leave her with the mess she would inherit. Being a fool wasn’t on his list either. Seeing her with Greg had made him downright furious. He’d been ready to walk. Now, a bit calmer, he thought distancing himself from Lindsey was the smart thing to do. He needed a clear head, and he most certainly didn’t need to be thinking with the one in his pants.

He sighed. What was it about Lindsey that drove him to distraction? He walked with a perpetual hard-on. But it went beyond the physical attraction. His life in general had been put on hold for Lindsey. He’d dropped his business plans and ran back to Paxton to help her. He snorted. And she was off with some other man. Correction, off with her ex. That was even worse.

Pushing to his feet, he decided on a beer at his old stomping ground, the Tavern. Royce would be there, and he wouldn’t mind bending his ear. If there was anyone he trusted, it was his pal Royce Walker. And then tomorrow he would make some phone calls and let the rest of the world know he was still alive. A drink with the guys would do him good. Anything to keep his mind off Lindsey.

He walked to his car, determination building in his mind. Distancing himself from Lindsey was necessary so he could get a grip on reality. No way was he letting this kind of control slip out of his fingers any longer.

Chapter Nine

Stepping to her apartment door, she could hear the ringing of her phone through the wood. Hoping it was Mark, she quickly rammed her key into the keyhole. Slamming the door behind her, she raced across the room and grabbed the phone. “Hello?”

Click.

“Damn,” she muttered and slammed down the phone, wishing she had signed up for the caller ID she’d insisted she didn’t need. If she knew it had been Mark, she would call him back. But she didn’t, so she couldn’t, and she wasn’t even sure why.

Then her eye caught on her blinking message light and silently she cheered. Three messages, surely one of them was from Mark. She hit the playback button and leaned against the desk. The first two were hang-ups, making her frown. Would Mark hang up without leaving a message? The third was from her father.