Free Saturday (Timeless Series #6) by E. L. Todd

someone?”
    “A girl.”
    He chuckled. “I’m waiting for my wife. She’s late to everything.”
    “Aren’t they all?”
    “You said it, man.” He glanced at his phone again. “But she’s so damn hot I don’t care. That woman can walk all over me and I won’t say shit about it.” He rubbed the side of his neck before he returned his phone to his pocket.
    I didn’t know what to say to that so I said nothing.
    “I’m Slade, by the way.” He shook my hand.
    “Kyle. Nice to meet you.”
    “Right back at ya.”
    The door opened and a blonde woman walked inside. She had a tiny frame but her stomach was distended past her hips. She was pregnant, probably six months along. A glittering ring was on her wedding finger, and when she looked at Slade her eyes lit up in the same flawless way.
    Slade leaned toward me. “That’s my lady. Hope yours shows up soon.”
    “Me too.”
    He patted my shoulder then walked toward her. When he reached her he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss that wasn’t appropriate for the public. “Missed you.”
    “Missed you too.”
    He kissed the corner of her mouth before he took her hand and got in line.
    Would I ever have that someday? I never felt so much jealousy for a stranger before. He had a woman who loved him the way he loved her. And they were starting their own family.
    The doors opened again and Rose walked inside, lighting up the room the second she appeared. Her hair was curled like last time and it trailed over one shoulder. She wore skin-tight jeans with a blue blouse.
    When she saw me standing off to the side she came to me. “Hey. Sorry I’m late.”
    “You’re fine.” My natural instinct was to examine her from head to toe but I kept myself under control. “Hungry?”
    “Very.”
    “Let’s get in line.” I walked up to the register just as Slade grabbed a tray of food. He glanced at Rose then turned his look back to me. He gave me a dramatic wink before he wiggled his eyebrows.
    I chuckled.
    He walked to the table where his wife was sitting.
    Rose didn’t notice the exchange. She ordered the food then grabbed her tray.
    I didn’t bother trying to pay for her things. She would get uncomfortable all over again. It was best just to do things her way until we reached a new level of closeness.
    We sat together in a booth in the corner. On the table was a folder of paperwork, probably full of designs she was about to show me. I took a few bites of my burger and kept my eyes down because I didn’t trust myself. I had a bad habit of staring at her.
    “How’s work?” she asked.
    “Good. But the office never sleeps.”
    “Do you work long hours a lot?”
    “Not really,” I said. “I oversee the office and take care of all the paperwork. I’m usually there in the morning.”
    “You don’t take cases?” She ate one fry at a time, eating slowly.
    “I do but rarely.”
    “That must be nice.”
    “I usually advise the other guys on their cases and take care of other things. And I golf too.”
    “How do you decide what cases to take?”
    “It’s the ones I’m particularly passionate about. When I’m emotionally invested I work a lot harder and I do my job to the best of my ability. I don’t even sleep most of the time.”
    “Are you a prosecutor or a defendant?”
    “Prosecutor—I put fuckers behind bars.” Whenever I thought about the cases I worked on it made my blood boil. The things the women had to go through were unforgivable. Sometimes I couldn’t even sleep because those stories haunted me. “I would never defend a criminal. I don’t care how much they pay me.”
    She held a fry in her hand but didn’t take a bite.
    I realized I let my emotion get to me and made the conversation awkward. “Sorry…I got carried away. I apologize for the language.”
    “It’s okay. It didn’t bother me.” She took a bite of her burger but kept her eyes glued to me the entire time. “You sound like a good lawyer. And we need more of