Unbreakable Bond by Gemma Halliday Page A

mind I ordered just before you arrived," Aiden explained.
    "You remembered what I was drinking the other night." His attention to detail was, once again, annoyingly endearing.
    And a bad sign of the thoroughness with which he did his job.
    "Of course." He flashed a brilliant smile that probably made other women weak at the knees. Good thing I was seated.
    The waiter asked, "Are you ready to order?"
    "Give us a few, please." Aiden lifted his glass. He waited for the young man to walk off before saying, "Here’s to getting to know one another."
    I wrapped my hand around the stem of my glass, allowing the cone-shaped bowl to rest against the side of my palm. A slightly awkward grip, but it was better than leaving my prints on the glass.
    His gaze traveled to my glass, aware of my avoidance.  Or maybe I was reading too much into his gaze.
    "So tell me about being a criminal attorney," I asked. "It must be immensely satisfying to lock away the bad guys."
    He chuckled warmly. I had to admit, it was kind of a nice sound. "Yes, very."
    "But it can’t be easy. The burden of proof lies with the ADA, right?"
    When he raised his brows, I added, "I watched a lot of Law & Order ."
    "Hollywood is fiction."
    "True. So clue me in on the way it actually works." I sipped my drink. The vodka hit my belly and spread throughout my limbs. Now this was a drink.
    He leaned back in his chair, never looking away. His posture conveyed confidence. His slicked-back hair conveyed confidence. His smirk conveyed confidence.
    God, I wish I had some of that right now.
    "What do you want to know?" he asked.
    I gently set down the glass and eased into a similar position. "What about the case you mentioned? That judge."
    "The one from the Hilton, where we met."
    I kept my expression steady as we stared one another down, as if whoever blinked first would qualify as the loser. Luckily this was my favorite sport as a child. I’d never met a person I couldn’t outstare, especially boys.
    "Judge Waterston’s killer shouldn’t be too difficult to apprehend," he said slowly, blinking first.
    "Oh, why’s that? Did he leave behind a big clue?"
    "You can say that."
    I almost laughed out loud. Did he think his cockiness was going to make me confess?
    "Be careful, James," Danny whispered into my ear.
    My friend knew me too well, knew I wanted to prove how very wrong the ADA’s assumptions were, but I continued with my stoic-slash-come-hither game face.
    "I'd love to hear about it," I goaded.
    "I'm sorry, I can't comment on an open investigation." He punctuated the statement with a wink, as if chalking up one point on his side of the scoreboard.
    Fine. I had all night to dance around the judge. And the more sips of his chardonnay he took in the meantime, the easier it would be for me to lead.
    "So, what brought you to the benefit the other night?" I asked, smiling sweetly his way.
    "It's a cause I believe in strongly."
    "Oh?"
    He nodded, and for a half a second the confidence in his eyes gave way to something else. "Yes. Someone close to me died of breast cancer last year."
    Oh hell. Had the benefit been a cancer awareness thing? I'd honestly never even paid attention.
    "I’m sorry," I said, meaning it as I remembered what Maya had told me about his wife. Bringing up a personal death was a dirty trick. One I almost wanted him to know I hadn't played on purpose.
    He looked down into his glass, swirling the few remaining inches in a circle to avoid looking at me. "It’s fine. You didn’t know."
    I cringed.
    "It's always hard to lose someone," I said. Which sounded like a hollow Hallmark sentiment even to my ears.
    "It was my wife," he said, still not looking up.
    Why he was telling me, I didn't know. Maybe some irrational need to open up. Maybe a ploy to get me to open up to him?  
    I feigned surprise and laid a hand on my chest, careful to avoid the camera. "That’s horrible."
    "It was, but we move on," he said, pasting a smile on his face that said he was doing