Diamonds Are Forever - Brooke St. James Page 0,18

of wisdom for that."

He chuckled again. "Yes, you're right, I will."

"Do judges actually decide if you're guilty or not? And tell you how long you have to go to jail?"

"In small cases, maybe. But, no, in bigger cases the sentence is established and the jury would take care of the verdict. It's more about managing the courtroom, making sure the trial is orderly and fair—that the jury gets to hear the right stuff."

"Oh, that's so cool," I said nodding. "That would actually be a pretty cool job," I said, thoughtfully. " I don't know anyone in the legal system, so I never even consider what goes on there."

"I guess that's a benefit of having a dad who's a lawyer."

"You could help a lot of people by being a judge—just by making sure things were fair in your court."

"Yeah," he said, pulling back and smiling at me like he couldn’t quite figure me out. "You look good," he said, nodding casually and changing the subject as we walked. "Thanks again. This'll help me a lot."

"It's really no problem," I said. We were getting close to the action, and I glanced around, trying to catch a glimpse of the festivities. It was quiet until we reached the area overlooking the beach. That was where the party was set up, and I could hear the noise of music playing and people talking. It grew louder as we approached.

Somehow, miraculously, I was able to be myself and not be self-conscious at all. Confidence came easily to me. I didn't know any of them, and I was pretending to be someone else, but I was able to be myself—the same relaxed Lucy my family encountered.

We sat at a table with Drew's parents, which basically meant we sat with a bunch of important people. Our table had a lot of visitors. I knew Jocelyn would've been one of them if I hadn't been there with Drew. Drew pointed her out to me, and I couldn't help but notice that she stared at us the entire time. Every time I looked at her she was staring our way. She got especially perturbed when she saw me talking to Drew's family. We were having a conversation, and I looked happy and natural around them because I was happy and natural. Jocelyn got more and more agitated throughout dinner.

Chapter 7

Drew said he thought there would be a hundred people at the party, but it sure felt like more than that to me. The atmosphere was noisy and lively, even when we ate dinner. The lead singer of the band was good at keeping us all entertained. There was a small dance floor near the stage that would definitely fill up after we ate. The band was good and they played danceable classics from the sixties and seventies—the songs I had grown up listening to. I wasn't necessarily planning on getting up and dancing, but I loved hearing all of the familiar music playing while we ate and talked. We shared constant, cordial conversation all throughout dinner.

Drew was a natural politician. He could have easily run for office with his looks and personality. He might have to after a few years since some judges were elected officials. Drew was handsome, and he had impeccable manners and social skills. He shook hands and looked people in the eyes. It came out, during our evening, that he was twenty-four, but he carried himself with the confidence and poise of someone older.

He rarely, if ever, made physical contact with me. But he included me in the conversation, and he did things like holding my chair when we sat down. His family asked me a few questions, and I answered candidly, trying not to give them too much personal information. I told them I was a children's book author, which made me feel really dignified. They asked me questions about it, and I told them about the series I had been working on and the illustrator I just hired. It sounded much more glamorous than it was, which was great for both Drew and me.

I was fine and answering all of their questions honestly, but then they started asking me things about my family. They asked about my parents, and they were just starting to figure out that we were the owners of the local hardware store when Brian, Drew's brother-in-law, walked up and saved the day.

Drew had an older sister named Michelle. She and her husband, Brian, had been sitting at our table