Explaining to my family how I threw everything away in order to be with Zach is not going to go over well. They take careers pretty seriously, especially my father.

I stare into my father’s gray eyes. “That’s actually what I came home to talk to you about. There was a complication with my job, and well, I got fired. I need your legal advice on getting my job back.”

“Fired? When?” My father asks.

“Last week, right around the time of Lanie’s wedding.”

Mom’s mouth pulls into a tight line. “Aubrey Jenson, why didn’t you tell us about this right away?”

I shrug. “Because I was embarrassed and didn’t know how to. The reason I was fired has nothing to do with my work performance, but rather whom I’m dating, and well, I didn’t want to exactly tell you about all this over the phone.”

My father narrows his eyes at Zach. “How did dating this boy cause you to lose your job?”

Zach’s hand squeezes mine and I swallow hard as the thought about revealing my truth. “I…uh…I was sort of dating my boss.”

“Aubrey!” I can hear the gasp in my mother’s voice.

My father leans back in his chair and begins poking around at his salad—no doubt pondering how to approach the subject. “Honey, I do believe you have legal grounds upon which to seek reinstatement, or in the very least, a case for wrongful dismissal.”

I sit up a little straighter in my seat and smile. “Really? That’s great. Do you think if you called them—”

He holds his hand up, effectively cutting me off mid-sentence. “As much as I would like to help you, I can’t get involved.”

My eyebrows pull in. “Why not?”

“Because I’m your father and I’m a judge now. It wouldn’t be in the best interest of the case for me to represent you since the nature of the case is…complicated.”

My shoulders slump. “Oh.”

“But,” he continues, “There is a new attorney that I know that would be great at assisting you. He’s hungry to take on cases like this. I’ll give him a call right after dinner.”

I finally dig in to my salad, feeling at ease that my father seems somewhat understanding. “So is the guy someone from your old firm?”

My father chews his food and nods thoughtfully. “He is, and you actually know him.”

My mind flits back to the few times I’d met his colleagues. All of them are qualified to help me figure this thing out, but none of them are new. I have faith Dad wouldn’t steer me in the wrong direction. “Which one is it? Larry or Steve?”

“Brady Larson.”

The smile instantly drops off my face and my eyes grow wide. Is he kidding me? He’s recommending my high school boyfriend?

“What, darlin’? You look like a deer caught in the headlights.”

I glance over at Zach. His head tilts towards me as he studies my face and panic hits me. I don’t want to have secrets between him and I, so I might as well get everything out on the table. “Brady is my old boyfriend from high school.”

A light of recognition sparkles in Zach’s eyes. “It’s okay, Kitten. I don’t see anything wrong with him taking your case.”

“Y—you don’t?” I stumble over my words, completely shocked that he’s taking all this so calmly. “You’re okay with that?”

He takes my hand and kisses my fingertips right in front of my family. “Me and you against the world, right? I don’t have anything to worry about, do I?”

I shake my head as I stare into his eyes. The transition he’s undergone since the first time I met him is amazing. The womanizer who handed out golden tickets to groupies to avoid any type of real relationship is a world away from the man sitting beside me now, but we’re still working on trusting one another. I want to reassure him he has nothing to worry about. “Of course not.”

The Judge clears his throat. “Now, then, since that’s settled, let’s talk about what else you’ve been up to.”

We finish the evening chatting about different aspects of our lives, and Zach even manages to make my mother smile every now and again with his witty charm. My father doesn’t fool me, though. I know he’s watching my man for the slightest crack of weakness to exploit. He didn’t get to be where he is today without going to any length needed to get his way, and in this case I know he despises the fact that I’m dating a man like Zach. It was obvious the moment he mentioned Brady taking my case. But no matter if he does, I’m not leaving Zach. That much I’m sure of.

“So, Zach, do most of your friends call you Zach or Riff?” Gabe asks as he works on the apple pie Anna set in front of him moments ago.

Zach’s eyes slide to me and he smiles. “Aubrey is the only person who really calls me by my given name. Everyone else is happy to call me Riff.”

I bite my bottom lip and think about that first night together when he insisted I not call him Riff. I should’ve known I was special to him at that point, but with a reputation like his, it was easy to believe I meant nothing to him. Boy, how wrong was I?

“Is it cool I call you Riff then? I think the name is pretty bad-ass.”

Zach smiles. “Sure.”

“Sweet. Promise me you’ll come to the club with me sometime. Having you as a wing man will increase my pull with the ladies.” Gabe glances down at his watch. “Speaking of which, I got to go.”