with laughing playfulness, offering him saucily, ‘Want another...’
Laughter gurgled in her throat at the look that James was giving her. They had always gotten on well together but where she was all quicksilver reactions and emotions, James was far more laid back and calm which she found blissfully soothing.
‘People are watching,’ James warned her as his lips touched hers.
‘Who cares,’ Sam returned recklessly, but he still released her, Samantha noticed. Now Liam would not only have mocked her he would also have deliberately and arrogantly ignored everybody else.
Liam! Why on earth was she thinking about him now? It should be James she was concentrating on. Beneath her lashes she flicked him a considering look. It was easy to dismiss and overlook the attractiveness of James’s smile, the sheer niceness of him, in favour of the spectacularly smouldering sexuality of his cousin Saul, the austere, exciting sensuality of his brother Luke, the sledgehammer onslaught of the outrageous physical appeal of his other cousin Max, but James, in his own way was every bit as special and sexy as the other Crighton men, even if he came across as being rather more gentle, a little less macho and hormonally charged.
Personally she preferred James to the others. His presence was so relaxing and soothing. She loved the calming effect he had on her, so very different from the hostile aggression Liam so often aroused in her. James would make a wonderful father. She could see him now...
‘Bobbie said to apologise for not being able to meet you herself. Francesca’s had a bit of a chesty cough and she didn’t want to leave her.’
‘Oh, poor little girl,’ Samantha instantly sympathised. ‘How is she...? Is she...?’
‘It’s nothing too serious,’ James assured her. ‘It’s just that she’s been a bit fretful.’
‘Well, it’s very kind of you to make time to meet me,’ Samantha thanked him. ‘The last time I spoke to Bobbie she mentioned how busy both you and Luke are.’
‘Mmm... Well, thankfully, since Max joined the chambers the pressure has eased off a little, or at least it was doing but, well, I shouldn’t complain about the fact that we seem to be attracting more briefs than ever. Aarlston-Becker have been placing a considerable amount of work our way via Saul and increasingly I seem to be finding that I’m spending more and more of my time in the Hague involved in lengthy international cases.’
Aarlston-Becker was the multi-national concern with offices in Haslewich, and Saul Crighton, a member of the Haslewich side of the Crighton family through his father Hugh, her own grandmother Ruth’s half-brother, headed the legal team and so it was quite natural that when he needed the expert opinion of a barrister that he should apply to his own family for it.
‘Dad was complaining only the other day about how much the legal profession has changed,’ James continued. ‘Historically, of course, barristers did have specific and special areas of expertise, now these areas have become much more individually defined. We’ve even been talking about taking on a new member of Chambers due to the amount of medical compensation cases we’ve been getting.’
‘Pity I’m not qualified in that field myself,’ Samantha told him doe-eyed.
‘ You’re looking for a career move?’ James asked her interestedly.
‘Sort of,’ Samantha responded tongue-in-cheek, her eyes dancing with amusement as she wondered what he would say if she were to tell him in just exactly what direction she was envisaging her career moving and why.
‘Would you mind if we called on my parents on the way back?’ James was asking her as he guided her towards his waiting car.
‘No, not at all,’ Samantha responded promptly.
She had already met James’s parents and the rest of his family on several occasions and had got on well with them.
She knew from Bobbie that they had just moved to a ground-floor apartment in a recently
Laughter gurgled in her throat at the look that James was giving her. They had always gotten on well together but where she was all quicksilver reactions and emotions, James was far more laid back and calm which she found blissfully soothing.
‘People are watching,’ James warned her as his lips touched hers.
‘Who cares,’ Sam returned recklessly, but he still released her, Samantha noticed. Now Liam would not only have mocked her he would also have deliberately and arrogantly ignored everybody else.
Liam! Why on earth was she thinking about him now? It should be James she was concentrating on. Beneath her lashes she flicked him a considering look. It was easy to dismiss and overlook the attractiveness of James’s smile, the sheer niceness of him, in favour of the spectacularly smouldering sexuality of his cousin Saul, the austere, exciting sensuality of his brother Luke, the sledgehammer onslaught of the outrageous physical appeal of his other cousin Max, but James, in his own way was every bit as special and sexy as the other Crighton men, even if he came across as being rather more gentle, a little less macho and hormonally charged.
Personally she preferred James to the others. His presence was so relaxing and soothing. She loved the calming effect he had on her, so very different from the hostile aggression Liam so often aroused in her. James would make a wonderful father. She could see him now...
‘Bobbie said to apologise for not being able to meet you herself. Francesca’s had a bit of a chesty cough and she didn’t want to leave her.’
‘Oh, poor little girl,’ Samantha instantly sympathised. ‘How is she...? Is she...?’
‘It’s nothing too serious,’ James assured her. ‘It’s just that she’s been a bit fretful.’
‘Well, it’s very kind of you to make time to meet me,’ Samantha thanked him. ‘The last time I spoke to Bobbie she mentioned how busy both you and Luke are.’
‘Mmm... Well, thankfully, since Max joined the chambers the pressure has eased off a little, or at least it was doing but, well, I shouldn’t complain about the fact that we seem to be attracting more briefs than ever. Aarlston-Becker have been placing a considerable amount of work our way via Saul and increasingly I seem to be finding that I’m spending more and more of my time in the Hague involved in lengthy international cases.’
Aarlston-Becker was the multi-national concern with offices in Haslewich, and Saul Crighton, a member of the Haslewich side of the Crighton family through his father Hugh, her own grandmother Ruth’s half-brother, headed the legal team and so it was quite natural that when he needed the expert opinion of a barrister that he should apply to his own family for it.
‘Dad was complaining only the other day about how much the legal profession has changed,’ James continued. ‘Historically, of course, barristers did have specific and special areas of expertise, now these areas have become much more individually defined. We’ve even been talking about taking on a new member of Chambers due to the amount of medical compensation cases we’ve been getting.’
‘Pity I’m not qualified in that field myself,’ Samantha told him doe-eyed.
‘ You’re looking for a career move?’ James asked her interestedly.
‘Sort of,’ Samantha responded tongue-in-cheek, her eyes dancing with amusement as she wondered what he would say if she were to tell him in just exactly what direction she was envisaging her career moving and why.
‘Would you mind if we called on my parents on the way back?’ James was asking her as he guided her towards his waiting car.
‘No, not at all,’ Samantha responded promptly.
She had already met James’s parents and the rest of his family on several occasions and had got on well with them.
She knew from Bobbie that they had just moved to a ground-floor apartment in a recently
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