“And, see, this is why I haven’t quit this job yet. There is no perfect job, is there?”
“In law? Probably not.” But Penny smiled. It was clear from talking to her that she loved her job.
And so did Paige. Why that thought popped into Josh’s headnowwas a mystery. But Josh knew she loved working at the Cat Café. An easy solution to their relationship strife might have been to talk her into leaving her job so she didn’t work for Lauren anymore, but Josh hadn’t even offered it up because he knew Paige loved that job. Josh didn’t really love working for Provost and DCL, but he thought it was a stepping stone to a job he would love. Maybe the DA’s office wasn’t the right place for him either, but if he paid his dues and got enough experience, there was a potential future in which he started his own firm and had complete discretion over which cases he took.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” he said to Penny.
She smiled. “Can I confess something?”
“Please do.”
“I find you really attractive. Maybe it’s just proximity and the fact that you’re the first guy I’ve worked with in a while under the age of fifty.”
Josh met Penny’s gaze. She really was gorgeous. And Paige still hadn’t reached out, so that seemed to be over. There wasn’t any reason why he couldn’t…
He leaned forward and so did Penny. But just as their lips were about to touch, an image of Paige popped into his head. No, he wasn’t done with Paige yet. He still wanted her, was still willing to try to win her over.
He jerked back. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “You’re smart and beautiful and I really appreciate you talking to me about jobs, but my heart is tied up with someone else. I can’t do this to you or to her.”
Penny smiled ruefully. “Yeah. I figured you were too good to be true.”
“I mean, really, any other time…but I’ve got this ‘it’s complicated’ situation with a really wonderful woman, and well…”
“You don’t have to explain. I hate that your honesty makes you more likable, though.”
“I’ll try to lie more, if it makes you feel better.”
She laughed. “Nah, that’s fine. Let’s get back to the case.”
Chapter 23
Paige had a habit of looking around as she locked up the café, which is how she saw Josh coming. He was clearly lost in thought, a bulky pair of headphones covering his ears. She probably could have slipped into one of the stores on the block and avoided him entirely. Instead, she paused with her hand on the door handle for a long moment, and when she moved again, he was right there.
He said her name.
“Hi,” she said. “I was just locking up.”
“I’m having dinner with Lauren and Caleb.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m early for a change.”
For days, Paige had been wallowing in her regrets and wondering if a moment like this would ever come to pass and what she would say. It was inevitable they’d run into each other again, she just hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. Part of her wanted to plead with him to take her back, but she refrained. “How are you?”
“Fine. Busy. The same. You?” Josh’s body was stiff, his shoulders raised.
“I’m all right.”
Josh suddenly laughed and shook his head. “Can we, I don’t know, call a truce? Given that you and my sister are close friends, I think the odds of us running into each other remain high, and as much fun as this awkwardness is, I’d really rather we can talk to each other like people who aren’t creepy strangers.”
Paige felt some of the tension seep out of her body. “Yes, all right.”
“Cool. So, like, how are you, really?”
Not really sure what he wanted to hear, Paige said, “Iamfine. We did another edition of Crafts and Cats on Sunday that ended up being a big hit.”
“Cool, cool. I’m on a case at work that I actually find interesting. I’m helping the city go after an evil corporation instead of defending one this time.”
“That’s great.”
“And Caleb is making some Middle Eastern dish tonight with a name I can’t remember or likely pronounce, but that’s still pretty exciting.” Josh smiled.
