in her life knew they’d had any contact whatsoever after the crash.
Yeah, save that complicated conversation for another day. After all, he’d basically gotten her fired and then she’d almost died on his plane. They’d all think she was nuts for taking him on as a client.
“Well, if I’m not mistaken,” Sarah said, “his company’s headquarters is here in San Francisco. If it will make you happy, I can have him arrested. Seems like the only thing I’m good for these days, since men don’t want to interact with me any other way.”
Poor Sarah. Like Taylor, her dry spell was going on two years, only Taylor’s excuse was never meeting the right kind of men. Men like…
Uh-uh. You’re not even going there. You will not think of Ben—dammit! I just thought of him.
Anyway, lucky Sarah met men all the time. Her looks—wavy brown hair, blue eyes, and curvy frame—drew them right in. But her looks were never the problem. Men simply felt intimidated by her job. Even Taylor’s brothers were afraid to mess with Sarah now, which was such a disappointment because it used to be hysterical when it was her turn for after dinner noogies.
“Have you ever considered just not telling guys you’re a judge?” Taylor asked.
Sarah nibbled on her sandwich, mulling it over. “I tried that with the last one. It was great until I had to come clean.” She shook her head at the sandwich. “I’ve never seen a man get dressed so fast. I should’ve waited until after we had sex. Ten or twenty times.”
Taylor laughed. “Well, I’d set you up, but all of the men I know are rich assholes.”
“Ah, but are they good in bed?”
Taylor dropped her mouth. “How would I know?”
“What? Don’t tell me you never at least thought about sleeping with one of your clients?”
An image of Bennett Wade flashed into her head. Him. Naked. On top of her and hammering away with his hard cock. Dammit! No! She reached for the collar of her blouse, trying to let in a little air. “I…uhh…I would never sleep with a client. It’s unprofessional.”
Sarah lifted a dark brow. “Maybe you just haven’t met one who’s tempting enough.”
“There isn’t a man alive who could convince me to cross that line.” But as she said those words, she already doubted them. “How about you? Ever think of dating one of those hot lawyers or someone else from work?”
Sarah shot her a look. “All of the male judges are my dad’s age, lawyers are too uptight, and that leaves the criminals.”
“Oh, come on now,” Taylor joked, “don’t be so judgy. There’s got to be a few hot bad boy bikers coming into your court, in need of a little spanking.”
Sarah couldn’t stand bad boys. She’d sworn them off after college for a very good reason: They were nothing but trouble. In fact, just looking at pair of leather pants made Sarah break out in hives.
“I’d rather become a nun,” Sarah said, coughing out her words, trying not to laugh. “Maybe you’re the one who needs a bad boy—you look like you could use a little hot man trouble in your life.”
And, of course, another stupid image of Bennett Wade just had to pop into her stupid head. She sighed. “I think I already found one.”
Sarah’s smile dropped off. “Really? Who is he?”
Taylor was shocked that the thought had entered her head, let alone leaked out of her lips. “Oh. Would you look at the time? You’re late for your next session.” She pointed to the clock on the wall above the door.
Sarah’s big blue eyes widened. “Oh crap. I am late.” She grabbed her pursed and headed for the door. “You and I are not done with the conversation, Taylor!”
Taylor shook her head at herself. Yes, we are so done with this topic. Bennett Wade was trouble and she knew it. And there was no way in hell she’d ever get involved with a man like that.
—
After that really great lunch with Sarah, Taylor was starting to feel very optimistic about the way things had panned out. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with her friends and family, something she’d not gotten a lot of these past few years while living in Phoenix and constantly traveling. Being home, where the weather didn’t cook you alive, was also heaven.
All right, maybe her emotional lift wasn’t completely attributable to the weather or being back on her old stomping grounds. Accepting Bennett’s offer had renewed her hope