McIver's Mission

“Dinner with me,” Shaun interrupted without raising his voice, “or I’ll call Nikki.”

Arden lifted one eyebrow, silently communicating her displeasure that he’d drag her cousin into this. “Why would you call Nikki?”

“Because I’m concerned about you. You’re upset about something, and I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

“I have things I need to do.”

He pulled a cell phone out of his jacket pocket and held his thumb poised over the keypad. “She’s on speed dial.”

Arden sighed. The last thing she wanted was her cousin to be worrying about and fussing over her. “I want Mexican.”

“Mexican it is.” He dropped the phone back in his pocket.

Shaun sat across from Arden at a scarred wooden table, studying her as she studied the menu, wondering how they’d ended up here together. His invitation had been as much a shock to himself as it had been to her. But he couldn’t leave her alone when she was obviously distraught about something.

Her nickname around the courthouse was “ice princess,” and everything he knew about her confirmed that she’d earned that designation. Not that he’d ever referred to her as such. Not out loud, anyway. Although it seemed to him more of a compliment than an insult—a tribute to her ability to remain detached and professional as she represented her clients.

There’d been nothing cool or detached about the woman who’d cried in his arms. She’d curled into him, her body soft and fragrant and completely feminine. She’d been vulnerable, almost fragile, her sobs wrenched from somewhere deep inside. As he’d held her, the outpouring of grief had squeezed his own heart.

He frowned, disturbed by this thought. He didn’t want to have warm, tender feelings toward Arden. He didn’t want to have any feelings for Arden. He respected her as a professional acquaintance, he appreciated her as a woman, but he had no personal interest. Besides, she was practically family.

Okay, so she wasn’t related to him in a way that would make any sexual interest illegal or immoral. But the connection was close enough that he’d have to be a complete idiot to risk a romantic interlude. If it ended badly, it would be awkward for both of them on family occasions.

Besides, he had his own reputation as a love-’em-and-leave-’em kind of guy. It was as inappropriate as he now knew Arden’s to be, but it didn’t bother him. The reputation was an effective deterrent to all the marriage-minded women who might otherwise set their sights in his direction. He hadn’t had a serious relationship since Jenna had ended their engagement six years earlier, and he wasn’t in the market for one now.

The appearance of the waiter brought his attention back to the present. Arden still had her nose buried in the menu, although he could tell by the distant look in her deep brown eyes that her thoughts were elsewhere. He reached across the table to pluck the menu out of her hand and return it to the waiter.

“Why don’t we start with the deluxe beef nachos, followed by chicken fajitas?” he suggested.

“That’s fine,” she agreed.

The waiter scribbled down the order.

“And a couple of Corona,” Shaun added.

The waiter returned almost immediately with two bottles topped with wedges of lime. Shaun picked up his beer and tapped it against hers.

“To better tomorrows,” he said.

She forced a smile, but the sadness continued to lurk in her eyes. “I don’t think I thanked you.”

“I got the impression you would’ve preferred to be left alone.”

“I would have,” she admitted. “I don’t like to fall apart. I like it even less when there are witnesses.”

“There’s no shame in needing someone to lean on every once in a while.”

She tipped the bottle to her lips and sipped. “When was the last time you soaked someone’s shirt with your tears?”

He sat back, considering. “I can’t remember.”

“Yeah,” she said dryly. “That’s what I thought.”

“Sometimes it’s harder to let go than it is to hold it in,” he told her, knowing that it was true for Arden.

What had happened to her that she felt compelled to bury her feelings so deep? Why was she always so determined to be strong and independent? And why was he so affected by the hint of vulnerability in the depths of those beautiful eyes?

He reached across the table and covered her hand with his own. She jolted, and the furrow on her brow deepened. He found he enjoyed seeing the cool and controlled Arden Doherty flustered. And he found it quite interesting that his touch—even something as casual as his hand on hers—seemed to fluster her.

She tugged her hand away, but not before he noticed the way her pulse had skipped, then raced. It made him wonder how she might react if he ever really touched her. And it forced him to admit that he wanted to really touch her.

He shook off the thought, took a mental step in retreat. Offering to share a meal with a woman wasn’t analogous to feeling an attraction. He did not want to touch Arden. He wasn’t looking for any kind of involvement.

And if being here with her had him contemplating something more than dinner, it was just that he’d obviously been too long without a woman in his life. Besides, contemplating was steps away from acting, and he had no intention of making any kind of move on Arden Doherty.

Still, he was relieved when the waiter returned with a heaping platter of nachos.

Arden’s stomach grumbled; Shaun grinned.

“I missed lunch today,” she admitted, as she dipped a nacho chip laden with spicy beef, cheese, and jalapeños into the dish of sour cream. “I was tied up in court all morning and then…I had…somewhere else I had to go.”

Her evasive comment intrigued him. “Somewhere else” was obviously where she’d been before he’d found her in the park. It shouldn’t matter to him; he shouldn’t care where she’d been or what had upset her.

He decided to redirect the conversation. “I can’t believe we’ve never had dinner together before.”

“We’ve had dinner together plenty of times.”

“With Nikki and Colin,” he agreed. “Never just the two of us.”

“Why would we?”

He shrugged. “We’re colleagues, of sorts. We’re family, almost. It just seems strange that we’ve never shared a meal.”

“We wouldn’t be doing so now if you hadn’t blackmailed me,” Arden reminded him.

He grinned. “I must admit, it’s a novel approach for me with a woman.”

Her lips twitched in a reluctant smile, and Shaun’s breath caught. He’d always known she was beautiful. Almost too beautiful. It was an observation, he assured himself, not an attraction. Yet, he couldn’t discount the immediate physical response of his body when those sensual lips curved, parted slightly. He wanted to touch his mouth to hers, just once, to know if she tasted as sweet as the promise of those lips.

“There’s no need to waste your charm on me,” Arden said.

“Why do you think it would be wasted?”

“We both know I’m only here with you because you thought I’d fall apart again if you left me alone.”

“I was concerned about you. I am concerned,” he admitted.

“Don’t be.”