Falling for the Lawyer - By Anna Clifton Page 0,24
career. “You’re what?”
“I’m engaged to be married.”
Without thinking about the utter inappropriateness of what he was doing JP reached for her left hand and took it in his. Caressing her long fingers he stared in particular at the one where the engagement ring should have been.
He knew he had no right to touch her or speak to her like that but in the short time he’d known her she’d gotten right under his skin. Her commitment to another man wasn’t resonating with the instant rapport, the chemistry, the frisson, whatever you wanted to call it, that had wrapped the two of them up in knots from the moment they’d met.
“Why aren’t you wearing an engagement ring?” Without looking up he let go of her hand. “They do serve a number of purposes you know, one of which is to stop men making complete fools of themselves around engaged women.”
“We haven’t gotten around to buying one because my fiance’s been living in New Zealand but he’s coming back here to live—very soon.”
“How long have you been engaged?”
“Three years.”
“Three years! Why on Earth would anyone become engaged for three years? Who is he?”
“His name’s Simon.”
“Simon. For three years. And you’ve never gotten around to getting an engagement ring, let alone getting married. What does he do, this Simon?”
JP watched on as Alex drew herself up in defensive response. “He manufactures clothing. And it’s not like that … the way you’re putting it … you’re twisting it around … making it sound like I don’t want to get married.”
“Do you want to get married?”
“Of course.”
JP paused before throwing caution to the wind. He needed to see her reaction to the next comment. “Forgive me if I say the signals you’ve put out to me are not consistent with a woman who’s head over heels in love with another man.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Alex threw at him wretchedly and tore both her hands through her hair. JP watched on as a look of sheer agony and despair moved across her face. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me and I feel sick about it!”
JP wondered whether he’d been with Caroline so long he’d lost his ability to read women but Alex’s reaction told him all he needed to know. She had feelings for him, just as he had for her, but unlike him she was worried about those feelings —very worried.
“When I pressed you about doing law you told me you’re engaged. They don’t bar married women from the law you know so are those two things connected?”
“No … yes … I don’t know,” Alex’s words scattered in the air around them like pinballs.
“Tell me what’s going on, Alex.” JP heard the imploring note in his own voice but was powerless to stop it. “I need to know what your future is.”
“Simon and I are getting married,” she explained, her eyes wide and dewy. “The plan has always been that when that happens we’ll have children and I’ll give up work. I would disappoint every single person I care about if I turned around now and locked myself into a law degree and a demanding career for years on end.”
“Who the hell are these people who want to keep you from doing the thing you love!” JP barked. Her explanation had hit a nerve. “It’s your life. It’s your decision. You’re not married yet.”
“But it’s not just about me. In my family, we don’t make decisions in isolation from everyone else because they don’t affect just one person. Everyone’s happiness is interwoven with everyone else’s. You probably think that’s silly and old-fashioned but it takes much more than one or two generations to forget centuries of tradition.”
“I know about tradition!” JP nearly spluttered as memories of his beloved mother, crushed by the regret of her own shattered dreams swamped him, making it hard to breathe. He was damned if he was going to sit back and watch Alex give up on her future before she’d even started it, just as his mother had. “And traditions have a place. But Alex, the one thing that’s universal is love and I’m sure your family loves you. So tell them what you want to do with your life. They’ll understand.”
“It’s not that easy,” Alex sighed. He could tell she was already emotionally wrung-out by the conversation and wondered how it was possible to be so young and yet already carry a lifetime of regret.
“Have you ever thought about enrolling in law, Alex? And I want