briefcase, and now she crossed over to her bar area and poured two solid Obans into her good crystal glasses.
Dimming the lights to an intimate level, she took a last look around. Everything was perfect; she was ready. And still the soft knock on her door nearly made her jump. Crossing over to the window, she looked out and recognized Jedd's car again parked on the sidewalk across the street. She let out a long breath of relief.
Okay, he was here. She could stop thinking about what could go wrong and just be in the moment now. It would be all right.
She went to open the door.
"Why, Gina Roake, the scotch in your glass is shaking. I do believe you're nervous."
"Why would I be nervous?"
"I don't know why. You really shouldn't be." Conley was sitting back, smiling, his hand with the drink in it resting on the couch's arm, one ankle crossed onto the opposite knee. "We're pretty much the way we were, a couple of old friends, just doing what comes naturally…"
"After a gap of over twenty years, Jedd. I'm not exactly the same as I was back then. In fact, I'm not even close."
"Well," he said, "anybody tells you that you're still not beautiful, they need their eyes examined. I hope you're not telling me that you've spent any time alone that you didn't want to be. That would be criminal."
Gina sighed with a bit of theater. "It may be a little harder than you think it is out there. Of course, you, with all your power and charisma…"
"And a wife whose daddy controls the purse strings, and I mean all of them. My darling Lexi gets any idea that this kind of harmless fun is any part of my life, I can kiss the so-called power and my promising career good-bye. And I'm not kidding." He took a good pull at his drink. "By the way, the other night when I told you I'd be discreet? I know you already realize it, but just to be upfront about things, that's got to be part of the rules."
Gina put on a little artificial pout, a twinkle of humor in her eye. "Rules already? And here I thought we were wild spirits, running free."
"That too. But I find it's better to get the ground rules settled up front. It avoids a whole lot of unpleasantness down the line."
"Actually," Gina said, "I'm with you on that." At the other end of the couch from him, she lifted her glass. "Here's to that dying breed, the consenting adult."
"Hear, hear." Conley clinked his glass against hers, had another sip.
Gina did likewise, then said, "Okay, I'm officially not nervous anymore."
"Good. Me, neither."
"But you weren't to begin with."
"I was, a little. After the last time, I thought I'd get here and you might change your mind."
"Well, Jedd, I don't think that's happening, not tonight." She hesitated for a calculated time. "But I do have kind of an idea, if you don't mind. Though it may be a little kinky."
"Kinky's not the worst thing in the world." He flashed a look across at her. "What is it?"
"No, never mind."
"Gina. Come on. What?"
She sighed dramatically. "The main thing is I don't want to scare you off. I mean, what I said earlier is true. I've grown up a little bit since… since we were together. I'm not exactly the same in what… what works, I guess is the best way to say it."
"Well, we want things to work."
"Yes, we do."
Jedd nodded and continued to stare at Gina with open approval- surprised, perhaps delighted, and certainly no less interested. He tipped up his drink. Then, putting the empty glass down, he spoke deliberately and confidently, a smile starting to form at the corners of this mouth. "I very much doubt if anything you suggest is going to be so kinky it scares me off. What do you have in mind?"
"I'll just tell you, and if you don't want, it won't matter. We can just stay here."
"Okay. As opposed to where?" "Well, that's my idea. Stuart's house."
For the briefest of seconds, he couldn't keep the shock from showing in his face. But he recovered quickly, back in the game. "Stuart Gorman's house?"
She came forward, brought her knee up onto the couch under her, clearly excited. "Nobody's there, Jedd. And I've got the key. So we sneak in and go up to Stuart and Caryn's old bedroom and do it on their bed. I don't think the place is even a mile from here."
"Well, sure, I know where it is. It's just-"
"No. It's okay. Never mind. You're right. Dumb idea."
"I didn't say that."
"No, really, it's okay. We can just stay here." But in the guise of an explanation, she kept up the pitch. "I've just kind of got this… tradition, you might say. Do you know about the Mile High Club?"
Jedd grinned. "Sure. I'm a member, as a matter of fact."
"Why am I not surprised?" She put on another fetching pout. "Not me. Not yet at least. Anyway, my own private little club is kind of like that. When my clients are in jail, if the opportunity's there, I go to their houses."
"You have got to be kidding me." Conley stared at her in pure admiration. "You're a fucking dangerous woman, Roake."
She nodded. "I like to think so."
"How many times so far?"
"How many times what?"
"Have you done this?"
"This would make lucky thirteen. If you go, that is. I've been waiting for number thirteen. It had to be special."
Getting into the idea, Conley asked, "Who were the other guys? I've got to know some of them, don't I?"
"I'm sure you do."
"So?"
She wagged a finger at him. "Uh-uh-uh, discretion. Remember? Nobody knows, nobody tells." She threw in another chip. "And it doesn't have to be on the bed, if you don't want."
"And you've got Stuart's keys?"
"Yep."
"Where are they now?" "My purse, in the bedroom."
He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her, and finally, he nodded. "Maybe you're going to want to go get them."
As he drove, Jedd put a hand on her thigh and gave it an affectionate squeeze. She put her own hand over his and held it where it was.
"If I guess the right guy," he was saying, "you could just nod. That way you wouldn't actually be telling me."
"No," she said.
"Anybody more than once?"
She squeezed to hold his hand in position. "Two. Twice," she said, riffing effortlessly. "But that's all I'm going to say." "Any sports figures or movie stars?"
"Oh, that's right. Yes, several of those. Each. And one potentate of a small Arab country." She looked across at him. Inane though the conversation was, she was thankful that they were talking, apparently relaxed. "I'm just a poor country lawyer girl, Jedd. I'm afraid I don't hang out much with celebrities and potentates."
"No celebrities at all? All right, how about this? Potentates aside, let's go for rank. Nationally known politicians?"
A laughed escaped her. "No."
"Any other legislators?"
"Other legislators?"
"I mean, besides me."
"Well, technically you're not quite on the list yet. And I don't know any other legislators."
"Okay, then, we can rule them out. See? I'm narrowing it down. How about judges?"
"Jedd."
"Higher up than judges? Federal judges?"
"I can't say. You wouldn't want me to tell anybody else about you, would you?"
"I don't know. As long as you kept it from Lexi and her dad, it might be cool if it got out in the right crowd." He hesitated. "I'm guessing all men, though, right? No women."
She took the opportunity to remove his hand entirely. "I would think that would have been obvious to you by now."