“Oh no. I was just in the café.”
“You’ll probably see her again if you go. She practically lives at that theater.” Not teasing at all. Kind. Tender, as if this was a part of Leah’s personality that Kelly loved. Maybe it was.
“Only when they’re showing a rom-com,” Leah corrected.
Kelly leaned over the table toward Teddi and said, lowering her voice, “She’s a little bit addicted. She’ll watch nothing but the Hallmark Channel until after Christmas.”
“Really?” This was news. Leah liked rom-coms.
“She’s got the Hallmark Christmas movie schedule on her fridge,” Kelly said, then bumped Leah with a shoulder. Being playful.
“Stop,” Leah said, but she was smiling. “We’re not here to discuss my television habits.”
For the next hour, they discussed wedding details. Luckily, Teddi had been wedding planning long enough that she could listen to her client and think about other things at the same time. And right then, she was thinking about the dichotomy that was Leah Scott.
What kind of a divorce attorney watched silly, cheesy rom-coms? How did that make any sense? Leah had to have seen what happened to love, how destructive it was, how it could break somebody, shatter them like glass, leave them flattened, hollowed out, hopeless. How could she come home from seeing that all day long and then shift gears to happy, joyful, romantic?
Teddi liked things to make sense. Leah Scott? Didn’t. She made zero sense. From the divorce lawyer who watched romances to Teddi wanting to hate her but also finding her physically magnetic, it was all wrong. It didn’t fit.
“Teddi?” Leah’s voice. Concerned. “You okay?”
Several blinks and Teddi pulled herself back. “Yes. Sorry. Yes, I’m fine. Good.”
Leah’s green eyes fixed on her. Intense, a little worried. “You’re sure?”
A nod. A smile. “Yes. I’m good.”
They finished up. Leah’s eyes were on her. She could feel it. Didn’t mind it. What is happening?
Being simultaneously relieved to say good-bye to the Scott sisters and also sad to watch Leah walk out the door was beyond confusing. She tried to shake it away as Preston came in.
“I’m back. Miss me?”
“Desperately,” she said, grateful to have somebody else take her focus.
“I figured.” He went behind the counter, shed his coat, opened his bag. “My meetings went well. I think we can add these two caterers to our list.”
Something practical. Something businessy. Thank God. That’s what she needed. She’d been standing next to the table but sat back down.
“Show me.”
* * *
“Do you have time to grab a drink?” Kelly asked once they were on the sidewalk in front of Hopeless Romantic. “Or do you have to go back to work?”
Kelly had that look. Leah was familiar with it. Soft eyes, somewhat hesitant smile. It wasn’t begging or pleading. It wasn’t to guilt her. It was genuine. Hopeful. It said that Kelly really wanted to spend time with her, but she’d completely understand if Leah had to bow out to work. And also, that she expected the latter.
Disappointing Kelly was not something Leah enjoyed doing, though she did it more than she cared to admit. For that reason, she smiled and nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do have time.”
A Christmas tree. An airport runway at night. The way Kelly’s face lit up was total joy, and Leah loved it.
“Great. There’s a cute little wine bar around the corner toward the lake. How about there?”
“Perfect.”
They hopped in their respective cars and within ten minutes were seated at a cozy table for two in an adorable little place called Vineyard.
“Hi, ladies.” The waitress was blond and smiled warmly as she set two glasses of water on the table, then handed them wine lists. “My name is Lindsay. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions you might have.” She gave them some time as she left to take care of a group of three women that had just walked in.
A few minutes later, they had wine—Malbec for Leah and a Riesling for Kelly. “So,” Kelly said, sipped her wine, looked at her sister, “do you plan on bedding my wedding planner?”
Leah spluttered on the wine in her mouth. Dabbing her face with a napkin, she asked, “What?”
“You heard me.”
Leah stared. Slight concern. A lot of amusement. She saw both on Kelly’s face. Leah scoffed, did her best to sound like that was a ridiculous notion, but not to overplay it. There was a balance here. It had to be perfect. “Of course not.”
“I mean, you did share your cheesecake with her. That’s big. You don’t even share your cheesecake with me.”
“That’s because I don’t really like you.” Leah went with a joke. Tried to steer her away. Didn’t work.
“But you like her…” Kelly sipped, let the sentence dangle.
“Kelly. I represented her ex. Remember?”
“Yes, but she let you sit at her table, and she ate your cheesecake, and she knew then that you repped her ex.”
It was a valid point. Leah could admit that. She took a sip of her wine and scanned the wine bar, not really focusing on anything. “It’s not something I’d apologize for, though. You know?”
“Who says you’d have to?” Elbows on the table, Kelly leaned in. “Look, you have a job, a calling that came from your childhood. I get that. You get that. And you know what? I think she’d get that if you wanted her to.”
“Who says I want her to?” A little snarkier than intended. Why was she so defensive all of a sudden?
“I’m just saying.” Kelly usually knew when to back off, but she pressed a little more first. “It’s been a while since you dated, and that first time we met with Teddi? Before the whole divorce attorney thing came up? She was into you. I could see it. And you were into her, too. That’s all. I’m shutting up now.”
Leah snorted to demonstrate how much she believed that last statement. A half shrug, a sip of wine. “What can I bring to Thanksgiving? Have you decided yet?”
Kelly made a tiny groaning sound. “No, I’m still menu planning. And I’m so nervous.”
Subject successfully changed. Satisfaction hidden behind the rim of her wineglass, she said for what was probably the twelfth time, “You have nothing to be nervous about.” Kelly and Dylan had been living together for over a year, much to the dismay of Dylan’s parents. This year, they were having Thanksgiving at their place with both Dylan’s parents and Kelly’s mother as guests, along with Leah.
“It’s the first time Mom will meet Dylan’s parents. What if she hates them? What if they hate her?” Kelly’s eyes were wide. It was real, her worry.
“Nobody’s going to hate anybody.” Realistically, Leah couldn’t be sure of that. Dylan’s parents, from what she’d heard, were ultra-religious. That was totally fine with Leah, except Kelly said they could also be judgmental. They frowned upon divorce. And other things. “All that matters is that you and Dylan are happy. That’s all any parent wants for their child. It’s all any big sister wants for her little sister.”