Page 18 of Ask for Moore
“Sorry.” She heaved a shaky sigh. “I’m more accustomed to questioning witnesses than making small talk.”
“I was just teasing,” I reassured her.
“Good, then I’ll ask something else since talking to you is helping to keep me from totally losing it.” She paused long enough for me to wonder if she was going to bring up the chemistry between us. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and she went in a totally different direction. “Did Mike have wonderful things to say about me?”
If we hadn't been in complete darkness, the heat in my cheeks would have given my embarrassment away. I hadn’t blushed since I was a teenager, but my reactions to Waverly weren’t normal. And after getting to know her a little, I was uncomfortable about the turn my conversation with Mike had taken when we’d discussed her. “He didn't seem thrilled to have been replaced by someone from a Chicago firm.”
“I'm sure he wasn't. Burkhart accounts for a lot of billable hours for their firm.”
“That he does,” I agreed.
“So how bitter was your friend?” she asked.
“I wouldn't call him a friend.” I paused to consider how to describe my connection with my former colleague. “Mike is more of a casual acquaintance. I haven’t spoken to him much since I left Indianapolis.”
“You're avoiding the question, counselor.”
Unable to disagree since I’d been hoping to shift the conversation away from what Mike had said about her, I heaved a deep sigh. “He filled me in on the gossip about his replacement.”
“Such a polite way to say that he let you know about my nickname.” Her bare foot bumped my ankle. “The ice queen.”
An awkward laugh spilled from my lips as I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yes, but I have to admit, you aren’t quite what I was expecting based on that moniker.”
This time, she was the one who sighed. “You’d think that people with as many years of education as we all have would be less childish and retaliatory.”
My head tilted to the side. “Retaliatory?”
“I know I can come across as stand-offish, but that’s not how my nickname came about.”
I didn’t like how small her voice sounded. Rolling to my knees, I crawled to her side of the elevator and plopped down at her side. “What happened?”
“I turned down one too many lawyers. Eventually, they got to talking, and my ice queen reputation was born.”
“I’m sorry.” I patted the floor until I felt her hand, and then I interlaced our fingers. “Men fucking suck.”
She giggled. “They really do.”
I searched for something else that I could say to lighten her mood. “You can bet that the next time I talk to Mike, I’ll be sure to rub in his face that a fourth-year associate did a better job than he could have.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the stamp of approval.”
Now that the ice—no pun intended—had been broken, I finally gave into my curiosity. “Can I ask why you seemed anxious about our situation?”
The silence between us stretched long enough for me to begin to regret asking, but then she said, “I had a bad experience with an enclosed space when I was younger. I haven’t been good with them ever since.”
“You’re holding up pretty well today.”
“And I have you to thank for that.”
My heart raced at her reply, and I could have sworn that it sounded as though her breaths quickened. The possibility that she was imagining the things we could do to each other in the darkness had my cock hardening. A groan rumbled up my chest, and I murmured her name, “Waverly.”
Her hand squeezed mine. “Ryland.”
The air between us thickened, and I was just starting to lean toward her when I heard a male voice call, “Herbert County EMS. You guys okay down there?”
After clearing my throat, I croaked, “Yes.”
“Good. Please remain calm. We’ll have you out of there in a jiffy.”
