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“Where are you? You sound like you’re in a wind tunnel.”
He replied again, not that I could make it out in the rush of noise. I distinctly heard a feminine laugh and then there came the sounds of movement before the line quieted.
“Sorry about that. How the hell are you, Pres?”
“Where are you?”
“On a beach loving life. You could use one of those.”
So, my buddy was on the same track as I was. Summertime and the living was easy. Well, it was almost fall, and my life wasn’t easy yet, but I was getting there.
“Which beach? I can meet you.”
“Before five on a Thursday? Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?”
“Try me.”
His laughter was loud and rich. “Pretty sure you can’t meet me, bud. I’m in the South Pacific.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Sure am. I told you I needed some time off. Well, I took it. Now I’m not sure I’m coming back.” He laughed again.
I frowned. He was kidding. Of course he was. People didn’t go on vacation and just…stay there. Did they?
Then again, most people probably didn’t sleep with a woman one time and rip apart their whole life. Was insanity catching?
Possibly.
The truth of it was that I’d been considering deconstructing my life even before I’d touched Ryan. She’d just helped accelerate things.
“When you say you need a vacation, you’re not kidding around.” I went into my office and eased a hip on the edge of my desk as I fingered the tie in my pocket. I wouldn’t mind not wearing those annoying things every minute of my day, that was for sure.
Besides, who said I had to? Of course I would when I went into court, but there was nothing wrong with trousers and a button-down shirt. My clients would probably expire if they saw me in anything but a full suit, but hey, maybe they needed to be shook up too.
“Nope, I’m tired of the grind, man. It wears at you. Especially in our line of work.” Bishop released a long sigh. “My last client before I hopped on the plane cried on my shoulder, thanking me for saving her family’s compound on Maui from her evil ex. I might’ve felt like Superman, if I didn’t suspect she was just as sketchy as her awful husband.”
I laughed. That was a scenario I knew too well. “I hear you. How long have you been there?”
“Just a few days. Not long enough. Especially since I’ve found an especially interesting distraction to occupy my time.” I could practically hear him waggling his brows.
I chuckled. “You sound like you’re on the prowl.”
“No need. I met her my first night here. Damn, Shaw, I think I’m in love.”
My laughter sounded more than a little crazed. “You too?”
Immediately, I sobered. What the hell was I saying? It was one thing to acknowledge I could want love, and that the possibility of love was more likely than it had been, say, three weeks ago. But to think I was actually in love already?
Nah.
Not possible.
I went to work on the top few buttons of my shirt. For fuck’s sake, I couldn’t be.
Bishop coughed. “Okay, now I think I’ve entered into another dimension. Never mind my own crazy situation, but you? The Preston Michael Shaw, king of all he touches and with no concern for any human emotion ever? I mean, dude, how long has it been since you’ve even hooked up?”
Though I wasn’t one to kiss and tell, considering my recent past I couldn’t help feeling smug. “About an hour ago.”
