Free Winning Her Over by Alexa Rowan

still lingered on her lips from Sunday night.
    Cal, as expected, was incredible, even from her awkward, three-quarter profile angle most of the way across the room. Intelligent and persuasive, the man totally owned the courtroom. And he was wearing the hell out of his charcoal gray suit. She glanced at the jury now and then, and just like her, every single one of them—both the women and the men—seemed completely hooked.
    Enrapt, she didn’t even think to check the time until he’d finished. She was relieved it was only a few minutes after ten; she’d be fine, as long as she didn’t dawdle. As the judge started instructing the jury, she crept out of the courtroom.
    The subway gods were with her, and she arrived at Serenity Massage with plenty of time to freshen the suite. As she worked through her day, she kept expecting to get a text or e-mail from Cal with the verdict. But by mid-afternoon, when she was cleaning up after her last client, she still hadn’t heard from him. She guessed the jury must still be out.
    And now it was time to get ready for Mel’s “thing,” as Cissy had put it. Mel had turned thirty today, and the girls were all going out for supposedly authentic Mexican at Cantina Perla, the new tequila bar in the ultra-hip Seaport district, after Cissy got off work.
    Brenna had brought a change of clothes with her, and she put them on now. A spray of pink cherry blossoms swept across the front of her form-fitting white top. Her slightly flared black skirt hit a few inches above the knee, and black boots hugged her calves like a second skin. She applied a touch of makeup before brushing out her hair until it shone, long and sleek.
    Still no word from Cal by the time she arrived at the Cantina. And her phone was going to stay in her purse until she was on her way back home, so she resolved to enjoy this rare night out with her friends without thinking about him further.
    Nearly a dozen women were gathered around a pair of high-top tables, with Mel in the center of it all. At least one round of shots had already been downed by the look of it, but no one was sloppy. Yet.
    Over the next couple of hours they enjoyed a Mexican feast, capped by another round of shots to toast Mel’s milestone birthday. Brenna had moved on to strawberry margaritas with some of the other girls and was feeling halfway to bulletproof when Cissy, who was facing the door, leaned over and said in a low, excited voice, “Hey, Mr. Super-hottie just walked in.”
    Brenna shrugged. There was no super-hottie hotter than Cal. Not that she was going to think about him tonight. “Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Brenna reminded her.
    Cissy completely ignored her. “He’s looking right over here, you know.”
    Brenna rolled her eyes this time.
    “Wait, now he’s coming over here!”
    Cissy’s play-by-play was getting tiresome. Despite the feeling of well-being her tequila armor brought on, she wasn’t in the mood to check out the so-called eye candy.
    On her other side, Mel squealed drunkenly, “Oooh, you guys got me a preshent!” and Brenna finally decided she’d better see what was going on. She turned just as Cal reached her side.
    “Cal! What are you doing here?”
    Of all the tequila bars in the city of Boston, he had to show up here. After she’d had a few drinks. Too many emotions swirled through her, a strange mix of pleasure, surprise, and confusion rising to the top.
    “Celebrating.” His smile was radiant.
    Even with her head buzzing, she could still put two and two together. “You won the trial! Congratulations. Though I’m not surprised after what I saw this morning.” She returned his grin, noticing for the first time that he’d changed out of his suit into light gray dress pants with a subtle plaid pattern, and a white oxford shirt, the top button enticingly open.
    “So you did make it to the closing arguments! I wasn’t sure, and then I didn’t see you…”
    “I sat at the back, in case it ran long and I