Hard Edge - Tess Oliver Page 0,1

in the computer monitor, but this one was sad. “Yes, I knew exactly who it would be.”

Jeremy waited, but I said nothing more. I stood and walked past him to the bathroom.

“We need to leave in an hour. We’re going to breakfast at Juniper’s with my new boss and her husband,” he reminded me.

“Ugh.” I turned on the sink water.

Jeremy popped his head into the bathroom. “Did you say something?”

“I said ugh. Your new boss is an ugh, and the food at Juniper’s is so ostentatious it’s almost comical. I mean, who the hell wants caviar on their freaking blintzes? Or blood sausage deep fried in Belgian waffle batter.” I squeezed the toothpaste onto my brush. “That’s a triple bypass in the making if there ever was one. Their whole damn, pretentious menu should just list the disease that comes with the meal. Diabetes will cost you fifty dollars. And if you want a nice case of atherosclerosis with that, then add fifteen bucks.” I shoved the toothbrush into my mouth, deciding it was probably time to silence my rant.

Jeremy circled behind me. I should have seen anger and frustration in his face, but instead, I saw hurt. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pressed his chest against my back. “I know these meals are dull and hard to sit through, but I need you by my side. You’re beautiful and charming and smart, and everyone is more impressed with me when I have you on my arm.”

I spit into the sink. “So, what you’re saying is, I’m your Rolex watch.”

He dropped his arm with an audible sigh. “Some mornings there is just no getting through that tough shell of yours, Kenna.” It seemed he was going to give up on his quest to sweet talk me, but then he stopped and turned back to me. “I don’t mind a beach wedding or macaroni and cheese.” He reached up to my hair and brushed it behind my ear. “And this gold hair would look amazing with a shell wreath. Once you graduate and take the bar exam, we can move on with our lives and start planning that dream wedding.”

Guilt was replacing my earlier irritation. Jeremy was trying again, and it seemed the more he tried, the farther he pushed me away.

I looked out toward my cluttered desk, nearly lopsided from the stack of books on it. “I don’t know if I want to finish law school. I’m starting to regret the whole thing.” I pulled my eyes from the books and looked at him. For the first time, there was a flicker of something that wasn’t just the pain of a failing relationship. It was disappointment.

“What do you mean? You’ve only got two trimesters left, and I’ve already got you an interview lined up at the firm. You’ll be great.” He laughed dryly. “Probably be passing me up on the way to the top.”

“That’s just it, Jeremy. I’m not interested in the top. I’m not even sure I’m interested in law.”

His next comment was stopped by my phone ringing. It was the bell save I’d needed. I’d blurted out my doubts about law school without much warning, and Jeremy was obviously going to need some time to absorb it.

I slipped past him to the desk. It was my mom, which meant a long conversation. Even better.

I looked toward the bathroom and caught Jeremy’s eye roll as I spoke. “Hey, Mom.”

“Kenny, baby, how are you? You didn’t call me last week, so I took a chance that I’d catch you not hunched over your textbooks. Are you free to gab for a second?”

“Sure, Mom, I’ve got time.”

I startled as Jeremy snapped the bathroom door shut harshly. The shower turned on.

“Oliver finally helped me put up an online store for my candy. And he did a beautiful job, of course.” My oldest brother, Oliver, had been born a tech genius, or at least that’s what my parents liked to say. Oliver was seven years older than me, and Peter was just a year under him. The big age gap had always made me just a ‘little turd’ to my big brothers, a pesky little sister who rarely got any attention from her big brothers. But when they did take the time, even if it was a teasing noogie on my head, I was thrilled. They’d both gone off to college and then jobs and marriages, while I was still just a teenager. I was now engaged, a