Even if my family was crazy and unstable. They were still my family. And I wanted them to meet him.
Greer?
I groaned. This was why texting wasn’t the best option. But it might be hard to get off the phone with my mom. I didn’t want to spend my lunch break detailing my relationship.
No. My boyfriend. I’ll call you tonight when I’m not at work.
Boyfriend? Who? What’s his name?
I typed out my last reply.
His name is Vaughn. I’ll call you later.
I shoved my phone in my purse so I could ignore more messages. To be fair, my mother didn’t meddle in my relationships. She was too engrossed in Garret’s problems to focus on mine.
That should be a compliment. I was the kid who had everything together. The one she didn’t have to worry about. She trusted me not to date an alcoholic or an unemployed tattoo artist. But it didn’t mean I didn’t want her approval.
And for the first time in a long time I had someone in my life I was proud of. I wanted to take him home and show him off. There wasn’t anyone like him in New Bern. Polished and sophisticated, yet rough and masculine. No one had come close to capturing my senses like he did. He had managed to crumble all of the walls I had. Broken through my resistance. And there was a reason for it—he was incredible.
“This a bad time?” Jessie joked.
I looked up from my fork. I hadn’t taken a single bite.
“No. Just thinking,” I answered. I had intended to read through notes on Lana’s case.
“It looked serious.”
“Trying to figure out the holidays with my family. That’s all,” I explained.
“Ahh. I think I’m staying here.”
“Really? Do you have family in D.C.?” I asked.
“Nah.” She shrugged. “It’s just not worth going home for a few days when I’m going to be back at Christmas. A lot of the students are getting together for a Friendsgiving thing.”
“Oh. I hadn’t heard.”
“I don’t think it’s a big deal. But some people want to study.”
Sometimes I forgot how much work Jessie had. On top of her clinic hours with me she had classes and exams. The holidays were a miserable time when I was in law school.
“How are classes going?”
“Fine. Or terrible. Depends on which day you ask me.” She smirked.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No. I like being in the clinic. It’s a nice break.” Her smile was pretty. Underneath sometimes I thought I saw something sad.
“What about a break today?” I suggested. “Take the rest of the afternoon off and study. Or just sleep. I remember how awful law school was. Time is precious.”
“Are you serious? Don’t you have to sign off on my hours.”
“It’s fine. Really. I can handle the rest of the afternoon.”
“What about Addie?” She looked at the empty desk next to us.
“She doesn’t know if you’re researching something for a case or not.” I grinned. “I’ll see you in the morning.”