All the Way (Romancing Manhattan 1)

“She’ll be fine,” London says with a confident nod, as if she’s trying to convince both of us. “You look nice.”

I smile over at her and let my eyes travel leisurely over her body. “You’re fucking stunning.”

Her eyes widen before I look back at the road and I hear her clear her throat. That’s right, the attraction is there.

“Thank you,” she says quietly as I park in front of the restaurant. It’s on the beach, and serves seafood, as the name suggests. The decor is fishing nets and life preservers, boat oars, stuffed fish. It’s as casual as you can get.

We’re shown to a table, and the hostess gives us each a plastic bib along with our menus.

“This is sexy,” London says when we’re alone. “I should wear this daily.”

“You’d look amazing in anything,” I reply as I tie my bib around my neck. “I wonder how this would look in a courtroom.”

She snorts out a laugh and covers her mouth with her hand. “I think you should try it. It could be a new fashion sensation.”

We order the famous bucket of food and a beer and I check my phone for the fourth time since we got here eight minutes ago.

“She’s fine,” London says patiently. “I promise.”

“If she runs off—”

“She won’t.” She reaches across the table to take my hand in hers and squeezes tightly. “She’s not stupid. Stubborn and moody, but not stupid. She ran away because she knew you’d find her. And now she wants you to trust her.”

“You’re an intelligent woman,” I reply, and guide her hand to my mouth. I plant a kiss on her knuckles before she pulls it away and rests her chin in her hands, watching me.

“I was once a girl her age,” she says with a shrug. “Just wait until she’s sixteen.”

I cringe. “Her dad can handle that.”

“You’re still close with her dad?” London asks as she takes a sip of her beer.

“Very. He’s a partner at our firm. It’s me; Gabby’s dad, Carter; and my brother, Quinn.”

“All three of you are lawyers?”

“Yes.”

“Do you handle a lot of estate law?”

I smile and shake my head no. “I did that for your dad because I admired and liked him. I’m a corporate attorney.”

“Ah,” she says with a nod. “So was Dad. No wonder you got along well. You’re awfully young to own a firm, aren’t you?”

“How old do you think I am?”

She cocks a brow, and then laughs. “I don’t know, thirty-five?”

“I’m almost forty.” I take a sip of my beer, waiting for her response, but there isn’t one. “Does the age difference bother you?”

“It’s eight years,” she replies. “I’m not a minor. I think we’re good.”

I tilt my head to the side, watching her.

“So tell me more,” she says. “How did you come to own a successful corporate law firm with your brothers before you’re forty?”

“It is unusual,” I concede. “About five years ago I was an associate attorney at a firm and got the case of my career. I won’t bore you with all of the legal terms, but needless to say it made me a lot of money. More than I thought I’d make in my career. So I left that firm and asked my brothers to join me in our own. We’ve managed to build a reputation and an impressive caseload.”

“Your offices are beautiful,” she says as the food is delivered. Rather than setting plates in front of us, they dump the food on the table, pass us a mallet, a knife, and a fork, and leave us to our own devices.

“I wonder if they have a bib dress,” she says with a smile. “I think this is going to get messy.”

“Messy food tastes the best,” I reply, and reach for a crab leg, which I smash with the mallet, and immediately spatter us both. “But a bib dress might be a good idea.”

She’s laughing as she reaches for a small piece of corn on the cob and takes a bite. She squirts juice from the corn across the table and it hits me in the face.

“Who knew dinner would turn into a battlefield?” I ask, laughing so hard my stomach muscles start to hurt.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry,” she says, also laughing. She reaches across with her napkin and wipes the juice away. “I’m going to need a shower after this.”

And, just like that, my cock is at full attention.

“How did you get into theater?” I ask, ignoring my dick and willing it to calm the fuck down.

“I don’t even remember,” she says, hammering the hell out of a crab leg. “I’ve always taken dance and music lessons. I’m quite sure my mom put me in them when I was a toddler. I was like a fish in water.” She takes a bite and then gets serious about destroying another leg. “I’ve never had stage fright. In fact, it’s a rush for me. It’s like—” She stops to think about it and then shrugs her slender shoulder. “I don’t know what it’s like. Really good sex, maybe? That euphoric feeling that rushes through you. But rather than just a few seconds, it lasts for a couple of hours when I’m onstage.”