Innocent 'til Proven Otherwise. Amy Andrews

He looked as if he’d had his soul sucked out.

      And didn’t she know how that felt?

      ‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured.

      Max looked directly at her. For a moment he felt a bizarre connection with her, a recognition of a fellow human being in misery. Ali had obviously had it rough too.

      He shrugged. ‘C’est la vie.’

      Silence fell between the four of them for a moment or two before Pete dived back in. ‘So, Ali, what do you do?’

      Ali dragged her gaze from Max to Pete. Not that Pete was even looking at her. She fought the urge to smile. She had to give the man his due—Pete was doing his damnedest to play the charming host. But she didn’t for one moment think Pete gave a rat’s arse what she did.

      She slid a sidelong glance at Kat who had tensed. ‘I’m a b—

      ‘Barista,’ Kat finished.

      Ali blinked, not comfortable with her promotion from humble coffee-shop girl to barista. And certainly still not comfortable with the chain of events that had led to her current state of employment.

      Even though she loved the simplicity, the freedom of it. Even though it appealed immensely as an alternate career path.

      ‘Oh, whereabouts? Max and I are often looking for good coffee.’

      Ali cleared the emotion from her throat. ‘The River Breeze, at Southbank. It’s Kat’s place.’

      A five-minute conversation followed on the merits of different coffees. It required very little input from Ali and Max.

      ‘That’s excellent,’ Pete murmured. ‘We’ll have to drop by, won’t we, Max?’

      Max slid his friend a patient look. ‘Why yes, Pete, we will.’

      Ali suppressed a smile. It was obvious Max wanted to be a party to this as much as she did. He looked as if he’d come straight from work, his teal and grey striped tie loosened, his top button undone.

      Well, why didn’t they just speed it up? Pete and Kat could barely keep their eyes off each other—why drag it out? Get the regulation chit chat out of the way so she and Max could both leave and tomorrow their friends could justify jumping into bed together at such short acquaintance.

      ‘And what do you do, Max?’ she asked politely.

      Pete, Who was smiling at Kat, jumped in quickly. Too quickly. ‘He’s an accountant.’

      Ali looked from Max to Pete and back to Max again. ‘You’re not an accountant, are you?’

      Max felt himself smile. It wasn’t something he’d done a lot of lately. It felt foreign so he stopped. ‘No,’ he said dryly, ignoring Pete’s eye roll.

      Ali felt the full impact of that brief smile. His dimples became defined and deepened. His grey eyes seemed less bleak. She had to wonder how he’d look in full blown belly laughter. ‘So, what do you really do?’

      ‘I’m a lawyer.’

      Ali’s first instinct was to flee. After all, Tom was a lawyer. Not to mention she was going to spend the next who knew how long—months probably—with a lawyer. A very, very good one apparently.

       The best.

      Still …

      The desire to flee was overwhelming and she pushed up off her chair reflexively. Kat caught her wrist and held tight before Ali even had the chance to lift her backside.

      Max ran the back of his knuckles along his jaw, taking time to process Ali’s surprising reaction. ‘You either don’t like lawyers or you’re a fugitive.’

      Kat laughed. ‘And they say I’m dramatic. Ratfink ex is a lawyer,’ she explained.

      It was an explanation that seemed to satisfy Pete, Max noted. But then Pete had ceased thinking with his head the second he’d laid eyes on Kat.

      Max, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure.

      ‘I’ll get us some more drinks,’ Pete said.

      Kat jumped up. ‘I’ll come with you.’

      Before either Max or Ali could say no to another the lovebirds were halfway to the bar, Pete’s arm firmly wrapped around Kat’s waist.

      And then they were two.

      CHAPTER TWO

      MAX returned his gaze to Ali, who was looking ready to bolt again. ‘You’re not really a barista, are you?’

      Ali huffed out a breath. ‘No. I just work in Kat’s coffee shop.’

      Which was the truth. Or a semblance of it anyway. She did work at the River Breeze.

      Now.

      Come Monday she was going to spend an awful lot of time talking to her very, very good lawyer about what she’d done before that and she had no desire for a preview.

      And besides, that part of her life was over.

      Max watched Ali fiddle with her straw. She seemed tense and drawn. There was obviously more of a story there. But even more obviously she didn’t want to talk about it.

      Which suited him just fine.

      He glanced over at the bar where Pete was charming Kat. He looked back at Ali. ‘So,’ he said, trying to lighten the mood. ‘I’m a little out of practice with this. Should I be asking you your star sign or something?’ He even forced a smile to his lips.

      Ali glanced at him, startled to think he might actually be serious. His self-deprecating grin allayed that fear immediately even as it did funny things to her pulse. She gave a half-laugh. It was a relief to talk to him without Kat hovering. Without expectations. Knowing that he was also no longer trying to appease his friend.

      ‘Something like that, I suppose. I think if you really wanted to impress me, though, you’d try and guess.’

      Max liked the sound of her voice. It was evenly modulated. A voice for radio. Or for soothing frightened animals. He smiled and played along. ‘Hmm, let me see,’ he said, rubbing at his jaw. ‘Virgo.’

      Ali raised an eyebrow. She knew zip about the zodiac but she could play along. ‘Interesting,’ she murmured. ‘And what makes you think that?’

      Now he was stuck. Max didn’t have the faintest idea. He’d obviously been out of the game too long. He shrugged and then grinned. Hadn’t he seen the Virgo symbol often depicted as a curly-haired chick? With large breasts?

      ‘Because you’re a woman?’

      Ali held her breath as his dimples lit up. It didn’t hurt that he’d noticed she was a woman either. ‘Is that an answer or a question?’

      Max frowned. ‘I’m sorry?’

      ‘You don’t seem too sure about me being a woman.’

      ‘Oh no, sorry.’ Max let his gaze drop briefly to the barest hint of cleavage he’d been ignoring since she’d sat opposite. She had some kind of a silky blouse on, which glided interestingly across her chest with the slightest movement.

      He returned his eyes to her face. ‘I’m very sure about that.’

      Ali blushed. Actually blushed. She could feel her nipples tighten in blatant response to his appraisal and she blushed some more.

      Max laughed as her cheeks grew a very cute shade of pink. ‘So did I guess right?’

      Ali struggled to clear her head and act cool, as if good-looking men bantered with her every day. She shook her head. ‘Libran, I’m afraid.’

      Max snapped his fingers. ‘That was my next guess.’

      Ali laughed. ‘Right.’