too. She was all he had left. He’d fight to the end to keep her with him, whether Kate Alexander was his wife or not.
***
Simone pulled up in front of Chaser’s, the sports bar where she’d agree to meet Mitch Mathews. Nerves bounced around in her stomach as she checked her lipstick in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t unethical for her to meet with the man. After all, she’d known his sister. They had a mutual acquaintance. And until they knew for sure that Kate really was Annie, Simone wasn’t crossing any attorney-client lines.
Her nerves told her otherwise. They all thought she was Annie. Meeting with him was only going to cause trouble down the line. But for some reason, when he’d called and asked, she’d found herself saying yes. Maybe because she’d heard the desperation in his words and knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. Maybe because she was hopeful this family could find a happiness she’d never get. Maybe because for years, she’d been wondering about Annie’s single, geologist brother, and when he’d called, his sexy voice had overridden mere common sense.
Yeah, it was the last. Simone frowned as she climbed out of her BMW and locked the door. She’d gone too long without a man in her life if one sexy voice and a little mystery had lured her here.
One drink. She’d have one drink, make small talk, then be on her way. Tomorrow, they’d hopefully have the test results. If things went as Simone expected, she’d be representing Kate in legal proceedings, which would make any contact with Mitch Mathews and his brother-in-law, Ryan Harrison, unethical outside of work.
She moved into the dimly lit establishment, scanned the area. A long wooden bar ran the length of the back walls. Huge, flat-screen TVs seemed to occupy every inch of wall space. Baseball games flickered on screens, but luckily the sound was muted so she heard only the normal rustle of any bar—glasses clinking on tables, patrons chatting, the sizzle and pop from the kitchen.
She looked across the tables and booths for Mitch. Spotted him instantly. In the back corner, a man with curly, sandy brown hair and an athlete’s body pushed out of a booth. A man with a face that could only be related to Annie Harrison.
Those nerves jumped a notch, but she straightened her shoulders and pushed them down as she wove between tables toward him. When she reached him, he held out a hand. “Simone Conners?”
“Mitch Mathews?” Damn, but his hand was warm, the palm rough from physical work, so unlike Steve’s smooth attorney hands had been.
“The one and only,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you.” She slid into the circular booth, set her purse between them. Before she could ask why he’d called her and requested this meeting, a server approached.
“What’ll you have?” Mitch asked her. A dent creased his face as his lip curled in a half smile.
Dimples. The man had dimples in addition to the sexiest voice she’d ever heard. Oh, hell, she was in trouble.
“Um…” She glanced at her menu as words jumbled in her brain. Vodka, straight up, with a twist. Make it a double. “The house chardonnay is fine.”
Mitch tapped his near-empty beer. “I’ll have another.”
The waiter left, and silence settled over them. Simone watched a pretty blonde get up and move toward the bathroom. Wondered if Mitch noticed. But when she glanced his direction, he was staring only at her.
Her stomach tightened. She cleared her throat. “So…”
“So,” he said, still looking at her, those green eyes of his throwing her completely for a loop. “Ryan tells me you were a friend of Annie’s. Before.”
Small talk. She could do small talk. “Yes, I was.”
“How well did you know her?”
“Really well, actually, probably better than a lot of her local friends. We met through a mutual friend when Annie was in DC for a conference one time, hit it off. My daughter, Shannon, is the same age as Julia.”
“How long have you lived in San Francisco?”
“Only about two years. I moved here from Baltimore after my husband passed away.”
“I’m sorry.”
She didn’t want to talk about Steve. Not tonight. “Thank you.”
The waiter arrived just in time, set her wine in front of her. She took a big drink.
“Why did you call Ryan recently?”
She thought about how to answer as she fingered her wineglass. It was always hard for her when someone wanted to talk about Steve, but it hurt more when people