“I’m asking for a psychiatric evaluation, Your Honor, and I request that my client remain out on bail.”

“Granted! Court adjourned. Get me out of here.” Judge Channing got up and left without saying goodbye. I was pretty sure that he was getting close to retirement.

Braden turned to me with a smile. That smile always caused my tummy to flip flop and it probably would even if we were together until I was Ms. Franklin's age.

“I’m going to drop these files off and then I’m going back to my place to finish packing, and look forward to having carnal knowledge of you tonight.”

“I like a man with goals.” We packed up our files.

“I’ll finally know what it feels like to go au natural,” he said with a wicked smile.

“Come as you are,” I joked.

“Oh, that was really bad!” We grabbed our briefcases and headed out of the courtroom and toward the elevators.

We discussed some details about the day's cases on the elevator ride down and then said goodbye at the door to the criminal courts building as we headed off to our respective offices. I could swear I heard him whistling as he walked away. Even though I was a bit less obvious about it, I too was quite happy at the thought of once again entering the world of the sexually active. The fact that I would be making my re-entry with Braden was still pretty amazing to me. This man had starred in nearly all of the recent fantasies that accompanied those very special “private” moments alone in my room at night with my battery-operated friend.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I got back to my office and filed my paperwork. Jess wasn't back yet. My phone buzzed and I saw my dad’s number. I had spoken to my mom earlier in the week, so I knew that he had been briefed.

“So, honey, how’d you meet this guy? In court?”

“Yeah. We’re always in front of the same judge. I was interested in him for a while, and Jess kept saying that she thought he liked me too, so one night when I saw him out I flirted with him.”

“You flirted with him?” He sounded dubious.

“Yeah, I flirted. I can flirt. I may not do it a lot, but I'm capable.”

“Hey, I'm not complaining. I was starting to worry that you were going to become one of those ladies with all the cats. I'm glad you found somebody you like. I like his dad’s politics too by the way. He’s a smart guy. Of course I can’t tell anybody that after that piece in the paper or somebody might read too much into it and harass you or something.”

“What do you mean?”

“Thanks to my friends at the Times, the extremists think I’m trying to control the government and the conspiracy nuts think that I already control the government. Now my daughter’s dating a senator’s son. Who knows what they’ll come up with?”

“I don’t care what they say. I don't take dating advice from conspiracy nuts and extremists.”

“Just be careful, sweetheart and if anybody bothers you let me know. I'm not exactly strapped for cash. I could arrange for you to have some security, or at least a very good alarm system. If nothing else I'll buy you a nice dog.”

“I appreciate it, but I'm more worried about saying something stupid when I meet his family than I am about some guy who thinks he saw Jim Morrison working at Wendy’s.”

“Hey, don’t you be nervous. Anybody would be lucky to have you.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Your mom and I would be really happy if it worked out. At least we would know that this guy wasn’t after your money. He could probably even help you figure out what to do with it.”

“Good. Maybe you could worry a little less then. I love you. Tell Ma I said, “hi.”

“Okay sweetheart, I love you too. Have fun with the guy you picked up.”

* * *

At five-thirty on the dot I was stowing my overnight bag and a garment bag in the trunk of Braden's BMW. Even with rush-hour traffic it wouldn't be very long until we reached the Pierce home in the suburbs. Braden was still in a very good mood and I sensed that it wasn't just because he would be getting lucky later. I suspected that he was genuinely happy to see his family. Hopefully, that meant that he had very nice parents. He did say that his family was exceptionally close. I also hoped that he was right about them not minding if we shared a room.

“So, did your ex-girlfriends share a room with you?”

“I’ve never invited any of them to stay with my family. I should warn you that my parents are probably going to find it significant that I invited you, and they may throw out a few hints.”

“Believe me, you haven't experienced hinting until you've met Ben and Judy Ginsberg.”

“Oh yeah?” He glanced at me again with an amused look.

“Don’t be surprised if you go to shake my dad’s hand and he gives you a stack of college brochures for our future children.”

“He doesn’t own a shotgun or anything, does he?” Braden joked.

“Are you kidding me? My father considers spicy food to be a deadly weapon. He probably would have backed you in that burrito case. Besides, he’s a businessman. He just destroys people financially.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“To tell you the truth my father is my hero. I’ve always said that he’s like the most romantic guy in the universe because he comes from a pretty impressive family but he married my mom even though her family is completely nuts.”

“He must love her.”

“Yeah he does, and she loves him.” I smiled.

“I’d like to meet them.”

“I’ll introduce you to them. It’s just the rest of my relatives that I’ll have to hide from you.”

“I think that you’ll like my parents. They’re nice people and they love each other a lot too.”

“Thanks for introducing me to them. That’s nice.”

“I apologize in advance for everything that comes out of my brother’s mouth.”

“Ha! You should meet my bubbe! That’s my grandmother. She’s the most offensive person I know.”

* * *

It wasn't much longer before we left the highway and started driving along more country-like roads, peppered with gorgeous homes. Eventually we pulled into a long drive and approached a Georgian-style house with a gray stone facade and white trim. My family's brownstone on the Upper East Side was stylish, but this place was beautiful. It looked very spacious and I guessed that it had at least five or six bedrooms.

As we got out of the car a group of people came out to meet us. They all immediately headed straight for Braden and then there was a lot of hugging going on. Even though Braden wasn't far away from here, they were, obviously, a close family. There was certainly no question that they were related. This was one attractive group of tall blonde people. Braden's father was handsome and distinguished-looking, the gold streaks in his hair mixed with gray. He didn't have the aggressively friendly demeanor that a lot of politicians have, but rather, he seemed laid back and genuinely warm. Braden's mother was beautiful. She had dark blonde hair and the same blue eyes that Braden had. Eyes, which at the moment were fixed on me, and thankfully, looked friendly.

“You must be Gabrielle,” she said in a soft voice. “Oh my! You're gorgeous.” She gave me a warm smile. “I'm Claire and we're so happy you're here.” She came over and pulled me into a friendly hug. These were very huggy people.

“I guess you figured out that that's my mom and that's my dad. This is my brother, Drew and my sister, Beth.” Beth looked like a younger version of Claire and Drew looked like a younger version of Braden, who looked like a younger version of his dad.

“Wow,” Drew said. “She's hot.” Braden turned and glared at him. “What? Mom said she was gorgeous!”

“It's great to meet you,” Beth broke in, and came over to hug me too.

“We're very pleased to have you, Gabrielle,” Braden's dad said, hugging me of course. “I'm Tyler.” Wow. I got to call Senator Pierce Tyler.

“Thanks for inviting me. It was very thoughtful of you.”

“They were thrilled to hear you were coming!” Drew offered. “They’re hoping Braden will finally settle down.”

“Drew,” Tyler said in a warning tone.

“What did I say now?” Drew asked, sounding exasperated. He started walking toward me when Braden stopped him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Everybody else got to hug her.”

“You already said hello.”

“Actually, if you’ll recall, I said that she was hot and you got all huffy.”

“Drew, please help me with their bags,” Tyler said, intervening. “Braden, why don't you help us while Mom and Beth make Gabrielle comfortable and get to know her better?”

“You need both of us for that? Maybe I want to get to know her better too.” His father and Braden both gave him a stern look. I was definitely starting to understand what Braden had said about Drew.

I followed Claire and Beth into the marble-floored entry and off to one of the dark paneled doors down a hallway to the side of a large staircase. It turned out to be a parlor with wide windows overlooking the rear lawn. The room was done in a combination of burgundy and cream, and although it was very tasteful, it also looked warm and inviting. There was a fireplace and above it hung a picture of a blonde man dressed in colonial garb. Yep, the Pierces had been here for a while.

“Please sit down and make yourself comfortable,” Claire said with a smile.

I sat down on a love-seat while Claire and Beth took the one across from me. We chatted for a bit and I filled them in on more details about my family and my life. I learned that Beth was twenty-five and working in the education department of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and that Drew was a law student at Georgetown, just like Braden had been. Being in the middle, Beth was close to both of her brothers. She assured me that even though Braden and Drew bickered, they were close despite the four year age difference. Claire shared that she spent most of her time involved in charity work, and in running their family foundation. I had a feeling that being a senator’s wife also came with its share of responsibilities.

“So did you and Braden meet in court?” Claire asked.

“Yes, he and I have been assigned cases in front of the same judge frequently.”

“Is he a good lawyer?” Beth asked.

“Yes, he's a very good lawyer.” Beth and Claire smiled at each other and I realized that they were proud, which I found very cute.

“Is he as good a boyfriend as he is a lawyer?” Beth asked.

“We just started dating but so far he’s been really thoughtful and easy-going. He’s said some really sweet things too.”

“Braden?!” Beth laughed and glanced at her mom who was smiling happily.

Just then we heard the men returning from upstairs and Claire let everyone know that it was time to head in for dinner. We entered a formal dining room with a table beautifully prepared. We had all settled in and a housekeeper had come out with a soup course when Drew spoke up.

“So you two are sleeping together?” Beth dropped her spoon and Claire nearly choked on the water she was sipping.

“Drew!” All of the Pierces said in unison.

“What? I just meant are they sharing a room. Is it a secret or something?”

“What it is, is none of your business,” Braden said testily.

“I was just asking!” He ate a spoonful of his soup. “I was wondering…”

“The answer is no,” Tyler added.

“Why not?”

“Because your brother is twenty-seven and an attorney and you're twenty-three and a law student,” his father replied.

“And what? I have to make you worry that I'll never get married before you'll let me bring a girl home with me?”

“You can bring a girl home,” Braden answered. “You just can't sleep with her.”

“Okay Braden!” Tyler warned. “Please remember that you are twenty-seven.”

“Seriously, guys, this is not even close to polite conversation,” Beth chimed in. I actually found the conversation rather amusing, truthfully. Drew kind of cracked me up. Talk turned to the fundraiser, though, and we continued with that as the soup was cleared and dinner was served.

The conversation then turned to what everyone's plans were for the evening. Drew and Beth had planned to go out to a club with a group of mutual friends and Tyler and Claire were planning to go out and catch a movie. Braden and I were invited along with both groups but he politely declined on our behalf, citing a stressful week and our desire to rest up before the fundraiser the next day. Drew snorted derisively and Beth kicked him under the table none too subtly.

By dessert I was starting to nervously anticipate the evening ahead. The fact that Braden had been running his fingers along my inner thigh for several minutes didn't exactly help me to calm down. It was already past seven-thirty. It couldn't be long before the others left. When we were finished with our dessert and coffee Drew and Beth went off to get ready and Claire and Tyler retired to the family room, where Braden and I joined them. I was being quieter than usual, but so far during this visit, I hadn't done anything awkward and the Pierces were so nice that I had started to relax with them.

“You know, Braden, there will likely be a lot of familiar faces there tomorrow and I'm not sure you'll be thrilled to see all of them,” Claire said. “Marla might possibly be there for example.”