One Hot Weekend

A lifetime ago, she’d worn a ribbon like that around her neck every day. It’s just a coincidence. She dropped her briefcase and moved closer to her desk.

There was a card taped to the cellophane and she could see a ring of Corona beer bottles inside there. Oh, this wasn’t good.

She never drank anything but Pinot Grigio anymore. She almost didn’t want to open the card but that was foolish. It was just a card. It had no power over her.

As she studied the cream-colored envelope, a shiver of anticipation moved down her spine. Her hand shook but not from fear. A tingling awareness rippled through her.

This is so stupid. I’m thirty-two for chrissakes and in control of my life.

The handwriting wasn’t familiar to her. Of course, it wouldn’t be familiar. “Stop being ridiculous.”

Mitch Hollaran had been out of her life for a long time and he wasn’t suddenly going to show up again. She used her French-manicured nail to open the back of the envelope, and pulled out a card. Instead of the standard FTD one, the thick vellum bore the monogram of a prestigious Los Angeles law firm.

Her stomach sank. She opened the card and inside was the handwriting she recognized—bold, brash and filled with the kind of passion a girl could die from knowing.

See you in court.

There was no signature, just a scrawled M. But then she didn’t need a signature to know it was from Mitch. She sank down on one of the guest chairs and closed her eyes.

Memories of the man she once knew and of the passion they’d shared assailed her. The Corona incident had happened right before they’d broken up. Too poor to be able to afford a winter vacation, they’d stayed in their apartment near the Harvard campus where they both were studying law, with the thermostat cranked up to eighty, listening to blues music and making love for four days.

She seldom let herself think about that life. She was a different woman now. She was in line to become the Deputy D.A. in Orange County. All of Orlando knew she was a woman to be reckoned with inside the courtroom and out.

And she no longer indulged the sensual side of her personality. She’d learned the hard way that professional drive and personal passion didn’t mix inside her. They might for other women, but not for her.

She hadn’t had a lover since Robert had left her eighteen months earlier. He’d wanted marriage and Sophia hadn’t been able to commit herself to him. She hadn’t analyzed it and didn’t want to. She just knew Robert wasn’t as important as her career and never would be.

That’s probably why Mitch’s reappearance in her life was making her hot inside by dredging up memories of the most erotic time in her life.

But instead of focusing on that, she reached for the tin and pulled open the cellophane. Inside were six Coronas and a bag of limes. Next to the limes was a Stevie Ray Vaughan CD. She shivered hearing the raspy sound of Vaughan’s blues in her head and remembering Mitch’s fingers on her neck. Cool and wet with the juice of the lime, stroking down her back.

Her phone rang and she jumped. She put a hand to her neck and took a deep breath before answering the call.

“This is Deltonio.”

“Joan wants to see you in her office,” Alice said.

“Now?”

“As soon as you can make it. It involves the Spinder case.”

“Thanks, Alice. Tell her I’ll be right down.”

Sophia hung up the phone. She slipped the note and black velvet ribbon from Mitch into her briefcase. She took the Corona bucket and put it on the credenza behind the panty basket. Though hidden from view, the washtub continued to taunt her with memories.

The blues riffs of Stevie’s guitar echoed through her mind as she remembered the thrill of Mitch’s touch. This wasn’t good.

She had to focus. The Spinder case involved a Hollywood hotshot and a seventeen-year-old girl, Holly McBride. The charge against Jason Spinder was having sex with a minor. The alleged act had taken place last fall when Holly was only sixteen. Jason had been shooting his latest blockbuster—this summer’s Maximum Exposure in Orlando.

Sophia ran the facts of the case through her head, pushing Mitch back into the past. She was meeting with her boss and couldn’t—wouldn’t—let a man from her past interfere with her career. Damn. She needed a date a hell of a lot more than she’d thought if one basket could whip her into a frenzy like this.

She took a tube of Bobbi Brown lipstick from her purse and carefully touched up her lips. She fluffed her shoulder-length hair, then smoothed it into place. She banished Stevie Ray Vaughan from her mind and instead focused on ACDC’s “Back In Black.” The song she always played before entering the courtroom. The raucous rock ’n’ roll never failed to pump up her blood and make her feel invincible.

She grabbed the file and notes she’d made on the Spinder case. Already the D.A.’s office had more press than normal and she wasn’t looking forward to the media circus a high-profile defendant would bring.

That explained the basket of Coronas. From the news clippings and alumni newsletters she’d scanned guiltily for news about Mitch, she knew he’d developed a reputation for winning that anyone would envy. In fact, he was fast becoming the preeminent lawyer to the stars. Mitch had to be Spinder’s lawyer.

Of course, he’d have to reenter her life now when things were finally on track. When she wasn’t scraping to make a career and she’d finally found a place where she was comfortable being alone.

Damn, after ten years it shouldn’t matter that he was coming back. Except she knew it wasn’t going to be a happy reunion. She knew that she’d done him wrong in the worst way a woman could. She knew that he hadn’t forgotten or forgiven her. The Coronas and the CD guaranteed he was coming out here for more than courtroom victory.

He was coming for revenge.

JOAN MUELLER WATCHED her protégé nervously chew on her lower lip. Sophia usually brimmed with energy—ready to take on any challenge. But there was something different about her today.

“What took you so long to get here?” Joan asked. It had been fifteen minutes since her initial call. It wasn’t the first time that Sophia had taken her time arriving so that didn’t bother her. But there was something off about Sophia today.

“I had to find the file,” Sophia said.

That made sense. Sophia was the most organized attorney she had on staff and also the busiest. “Congratulations on your win.”

“Thanks. I can safely say that prosecuting a man called the panty-raider is something I never expected to do.”

“That’s what I love about this office. We see some really different cases.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Sophia said.

“Are you ready for this afternoon?” Normally, she wouldn’t have mentioned the arraignment phase of the case but with all the press interest she wanted to make sure every detail was smooth as silk.

“Um…about that. My caseload is really heavy. I was wondering if…?”

Joan sat back in her chair. Where was Sophia going with this? Sophia needed a high-profile win to add to her already impressive résumé to make her a definite shoo-in for the Deputy position. Joan had mentored the younger woman since she’d come on staff nearly seven years ago.

“Sophia, what’s wrong? You’re the only one I considered for this case. You need the practice with the press.” She’d been grooming Sophia for the Deputy D.A. position and until this moment hadn’t had any doubts that Sophia was the right attorney for the job.

She mentally went through the other candidates. Joseph O’Neill was a possibility. He was young and hungry. But Joan had wanted to see another woman succeed her when she retired.

“You’re right,” Sophia said.

“When this case is over you can take some time off,” Joan said. Sophia hadn’t taken a vacation since starting with the D.A.’s office. She’d never wanted one before.

“I do need a vacation,” Sophia admitted.

This case was important to the District Attorney’s office because it was high-profile.

Joan remembered her fifth year in the office and the decisions she’d had to make. At that time Maurice Hanner was still asking her out. And after a brief affair she’d thought about marrying him. But in the end no man could hold a candle to the law for her.

She hoped Sophia made the same choice. But just in case, Joan decided to start keeping a closer eye on Joseph.