Alex Kava Bundle - Alex Kava [251]
Shit, he was fucked up!
As he turned the corner, heading to Records he ran into Nick Morrelli. The contents of Will’s folder spilled across the floor, and he was on his knees before Nick had a chance to know what hit him.
“Hey, what’s the hurry?” Nick said, joining Will on the floor.
Others stepped around them, not paying any attention as their heels smashed and crumpled the scattered papers.
Nick handed him the papers he had gathered while they stood up. But Will’s eyes darted across the floor, making sure he had everything. That was all he needed—to lose some piece of paper that would give the defense an edge in whatever this trial was.
“So what’s the rush?” Nick asked again, hands in his pockets, waiting.
“No rush.” Will straightened the stack and raked his fingers through his hair. He wondered if Nick could see the slight tremor in his hand. Although the two men were new to the D.A.’s office, Nick had been one of Will’s professors in law school back at the University of Nebraska. He still looked up to Nick as a mentor instead of a colleague. And he knew Nick had sort of taken him under his wing, helping a fellow Midwesterner adjust to the rush of big-city life in Boston.
“You look like shit.” Nick looked concerned. “You feeling okay?”
“Yeah. Sure. I’m fine.”
Nick didn’t look convinced. He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost lunchtime. How ’bout we get burgers down the street? I’m buying.”
“Okay. Yeah, sure. If you’re buying.” Geez! Even his speech was jerky. “Let me drop this stuff at Records.”
It was warm enough for shirtsleeves, but both men wore their jackets. Will realized he’d need to wear his jacket for the rest of the day if the pools under his arms were as obvious as they felt. Maybe all these physical reactions were simply cold feet. After all, the wedding was, what, three or four weeks away? Holy crap! How could it be that close?
Will filled the conversation with boring stuff about the trials Nick had missed while in Kansas City. It was the only way to ignore the concerned look in his ex-professor’s eyes. Nick politely listened, then seemed to wait until Will’s mouth was full of fries before he asked.
“So you ready to tell me what the hell’s bugging you?”
Will wiped away the ketchup on the corner of his mouth and swallowed. He grabbed his Pepsi and washed down what threatened to stick in his throat.
“What makes you think something’s wrong?”
“I didn’t say wrong. I said what’s bugging you?”
“Oh.” He wiped his mouth again, buying time. Leave it to a lawyer to fuss over the wording.
“So what’s wrong?”
Will shoved his plate aside. He had managed to wolf down half his burger and almost all his fries before Nick had taken a second bite of his burger. He could feel the heartburn tightening into a fist and settling in the middle of his chest. As if he needed one more physical discomfort.
“I think I fucked up big time.”
Nick continued eating, waiting, examining him over the burger that he held with both hands. Finally he said, “It wasn’t the Prucello case, was it?”
“No. No, it wasn’t anything to do with work.”
Nick looked relieved. Then his brow furrowed again. “You getting cold feet about the wedding?”
Will gulped his Pepsi. He waved at the waiter and pointed to his glass for another, wishing he could trade it for something stronger.
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Then he pulled in his chair and leaned across the table so he could keep his voice down despite the noisy lunch-hour crowd. Two of the tables next to them were filled with people he knew from the courthouse.
“Sunday night I met this woman. Christ, Nick! She was…incredible. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her.”
Nick chewed and watched him