About That Night

But beyond that, there was a small part of her that was curious. Did he miss her? As practical minded as she liked to think she was, the idea that there might be a man somewhere out there who was pining for her, potentially wracked with guilt and angst over the demise of their relationship, a man who’d spent hours pouring his heart and soul into this sentimental missive sitting unopened in her inbox between an e-mail from a DEA agent she worked with—subject: “Need a subpoena ASAP”—and an e-mail from Rae—subject: “OMG—DID YOU WATCH THE GOODWIFE LAST NIGHT???”—was heady indeed.

So she clicked on the message.

Ryla

After three years of dating, a year of living together, and six months of being apart, he’d written one word to her.

HI.

Thirteen

“HI ? THAT’S IT?”

Ryla

“It means he’s a jackass.”

Rae had always possessed a talent for getting to the heart of the matter.

“Is this his way of testing the waters or something?” Ryla

“Well, for one thing, it’s a sign that he’s thinking about you,” Rae said.

The bartender returned with their martinis—between the interview with Kyle and Jon’s stupid Hi, Ryla

She chewed her carrot stick, musing over Rae’s comment. Then she shook her head. “You know what? I’m not going down this road again. I’ve already spent plenty of time analyzing and second-guessing every word of my last few conversations with Jon.” That had been stage one of her six-month plan to get over the breakup—a stage that had gone nowhere.

“Cheers to that.” Rae clinked her glass to Ryla

“Sure. How about ‘Bye’?”

Rae laughed. “Probably not the response he was hoping for. But over the last six months, Jon has displayed a shockingly poor ability to read you. I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised by this.”

“More than six months, since we obviously hadn’t been on the same page about our relationship leading up to the Italy thing,” Ryla

Rae snorted in agreement. “How he ever thought you were going to go for that idea, I have no clue.”

Ryla

Rae set down her glass. “Absolutely. But even beyond that, he should’ve known you would’ve never gone with him.”

Ryla

Rae gave her a get-real look. “Please. You go to Italy? You have your plans, remember?” She held up her hands i

“True. But when you say it, it makes me sound so…lame.” Suddenly concerned, she leaned in, lowering her voice. “I’m not lame, am I?”

“Sweetie, you’re not lame.”

Ryla

Rae smiled. “You know I love you, right?”

Ryla

“Okay, then let’s start with the part you do want to hear: you are a brilliant trial lawyer, Ry. And part of that comes from your ability to plan ahead—you’re always three steps ahead of the other guy, and have figured out the solution to the problem before he even realizes there is one.”

Ryla

“But let’s be honest: did any part of you, even for one second, think about chucking it all and getting on that plane with Jon?”

“No,” Ryla

“You didn’t do it then, either.”

“So I’m ahead of the curve.” Ryla

Rae thought this over. “Probably not. I don’t do crazy, either.”

Ryla

“I don’t know. Maybe because we’re both thirty-two and single. It used to be bridal showers and bachelorette parties. Now a week doesn’t go by without the mailman bringing me some sort of a

The words hung in the air between them.

“Well, thanks, Mendoza—now I’m just depressed. Actually, no. The hell with that.” Ryla

Rae smiled, just as Ryla

“Have I told you how glad I am that you moved here?” Rae asked.

“Me, too.” And as she said the words, Ryla

Rae took a sip of her martini. “It’s something good, isn’t it? I can tell by the look on your face. Let me guess: work hottie.”

“No.” Ryla

“Get out of here.” Rae’s expression changed from one of surprise to curiosity. “What kind of case is it? Computer hacking or something?”

“It’s an investigation related to the prison,” Ryla

“Did you two manage to exchange more than three words this time?” Rae asked teasingly.

“We did.”

Rae waited expectantly. “And…?”

“Andwe talked and had coffee.” Ryla

Rae considered that. “Technically, it’s not an ethics violation to be involved with a witness, you know.” She held out her hands at the look Ryla

“I think we’re way ahead of the game here. And regardless, technical violation or not, it would be a really bad idea.”

“Yes, it would,” Rae said, without hesitation.