I order a fruit salad with some turkey bacon, which causes all sorts of ruckus from my dad about living a little, and they both make good on ordering something covered in syrup and—much to my dismay—more mimosas.

“So.” Dad leans back in his chair, scratching at his thick, graying mustache. “What are you bringing to the party?”

I frown. “Party?”

“The Fourth of July party!” My mother waves a hand, clucking her tongue. “I told you that you were in charge of the apple pie.”

“I don’t have time to make a pie,” I argue.

“But your apple pie is famous! You know everyone will be asking about it.”

“Did we forget that I just took on the biggest case of my career?”

Dad shoots me a look. “If you think that’s getting you out of coming to the party, you can think again.”

“We all know your Fourth of July thing—”

“The ninth annual Pierce Fourth of July Bash,” Dad corrects.

I roll my eyes. “Your party is just an excuse for all of your old work friends to get tipsy and for you to almost burn your hand off shooting fireworks.”

“Haven’t lost anything yet.” Dad grins, wiggling his fingers at me. “You’re coming.”

“I’ll check my schedule,” I mumble.

Mom laughs. “You know our Danica can’t do anything without making sure we completely understand how begrudged she is about it.”

“It is one of her more adorable personality traits,” Dad chuckles. “No idea where she gets it from though.”

Mom taps her chin with one manicured nail. “Maybe from your dad? You know he was an old grouch.”

“He was also a raging alcoholic,” Dad says. “Which I hope our Dani isn’t.”

“That’s fine,” I huff. “Please continue to talk about me as if I’m not here.”

“We’re just teasing,” Mom tells me, reaching to pat my hand. “You’re just always so serious, honey. Makes me worry you’re going to keel over before us.”

“Lovely,” I deadpan.

“Feel free to bring a date to the party,” my mom adds, practically winking at me like a cartoon character.

I bristle. “I’m not bringing a date.”

“Honey…” My mom’s eyes turn sympathetic. “It’s been years. You can’t keep letting Grant hang over your head like some sort of—”

“Can we please not talk about this right now?” I say through gritted teeth.

Or never, I don’t say. Grant is a nonstarter for me. He always will be.

Dad shoots Mom a worried look, clearing his throat and blessedly changing the subject. “So, do you know who the opposing counsel is yet?”

“I do,” I grind out with a scowl. I definitely don’t want to remember Ezra fucking me silly over the back of his couch a few nights ago while I’m sitting with my parents and skirting conversation about my ex. “Unfortunately.”

Dad looks at me expectantly. “Well? Who is it?”

“I—”

My mouth continues to hang open, whatever I’d been about to say trailing off into open air and wafting away as my eyes catch sight of a familiar figure entering the dining room from the bar seating area in the room beyond. I don’t think my brain fully realizes that I’m just staring at him as he winds through the linen-covered tables effortlessly, his hands in his pockets and a sly smile on his mouth as if he’s taking a leisurely stroll through the park.

And that’s when I realize he’s headed right for our table.

My eyes dart around as I try to look for an escape; being within a ten-foot radius of Ezra Hart while my fucking parents are around is on the very bottom of my to-do list—right under Pap smears and custody hearings. I’m seconds away from shooting up from the table and breaking out into a run without any explanation, but when Ezra raises a hand in greeting, I realize there’s no getting out of this.

“Dani,” Ezra practically purrs. “What a nice coincidence seeing you here.”

My eye twitches. “It’s…a coincidence. That’s for sure.”

“Are these your parents?” Ezra looks between my mom and dad, completely disregarding the silent “go the fuck away” I’m signaling with my eyes as he offers his hand to my mother. “Or maybe this is your sister?”

“Oh, he’s a charmer,” Mom says with a flush, taking his hand to shake it.

Dad wags a finger in Ezra’s direction. “I know you. How do I know you?”

“Can’t say,” Ezra answers casually, still ignoring the silent waves of irritation rolling off me. “Dani and I are more ‘closed door’ sort of friends.” My mouth falls open, and my mother gives Ezra a strange look, but then he adds, “I work for another firm.”

Dad snaps his fingers. “Hart! You’re the Hart boy. I’ve followed your career. Hell of a win rate.”

“I appreciate that, sir,” Ezra preens.

“Never had you in my courtroom, unfortunately,” Dad goes on. “Been retired for a while now, but I still keep up with things in the court reports.”

Mom pats Dad’s arm. “Perry was a judge for thirty years.”

“Oh?” Ezra chances a glance at me, his jaw twitching with his tempered smile when he notices my narrowed eyes. “Dani never mentioned.”

“The Heartbreak Prince!” Mom makes a delighted sound before she slaps Dad’s shoulder. “That’s what they call Ezra. So clever.”

About as fucking clever as a Saturday-morning cartoon.

I clear my throat. “What are you doing here, Ezra?”

“Same as you, I imagine,” he drawls, shooting me a megawatt smile that makes me scowl even as my stomach swoops. “Having brunch.” He winks at my parents. “With lesser company, surely.”

“Well, we’re kind of busy,” I say tersely. “So…”

Ezra completely ignores me. “Did Dani tell you we’ll be going against each other on the Casiraghi case?”

“She hadn’t gotten around to it,” Dad says. “You’ve given her a run for her money in the past.”

“It’s because he’s fluent in bullshit,” I mutter.

Ezra remains unfazed. “I’ve definitely never come up against anyone like your daughter. She’s…very good.” He pauses, his mouth hitching in a slow smile. “When she wants to be.”

I feel my neck flush with heat, my nostrils flaring in what has to be a comical expression as I remember the other night.

You can be a good girl when you want to be, Dani.

“Nothing like a little friendly rivalry to make things interesting,” Dad pipes up, oblivious to the fact that Ezra is trying to engage me in some kind of odd mating dance that I refuse to be a part of. “I can’t wait to see how things play out.”

Ezra’s eyes are still fixed on me, giving a surreptitious glance down the front of me before his head snaps back to my parents to flash another practiced smile. “I’m always in for a surprise when it comes to Dani, but it’s never boring.” Ezra checks his watch. “I’d better go back to waiting on my client. It was really great to meet you both.”

“It was nice to meet you,” my mom offers.

Ezra’s eyes catch mine, an annoying twinkle there that lets me know how amusing he finds all of this. “Always good to see you, Dani.”

I can’t manage more than a stiff nod, the familiar knot forming in my belly, one that always seems to work in tandem with the warming of my blood, leaving me aggravated. Especially since I can never really pin down if it comes more from irritation or arousal.

“He seemed nice,” Dad notes as Ezra strides off.

I catch Mom nodding from the corner of my eye. “Handsome too. Dani, have you ever—?”

“I need to go to the bathroom,” I spit out, pushing up from my chair. “I’ll be right back.”

I don’t wait for them to reply as I make a beeline for the restrooms, turning sharply just before I reach the hallway to cut across the edge of the dining room toward the bar area. I find him there, slung casually in one of the oversized leather stools at the horseshoe-shaped bar, his fingers drumming lightly over the dark polished wood as he watches some sports game on the overhead television.

I shove his shoulder lightly. “What the hell was that?”

“Oh, hello, Dani. Miss me already? That has to be a new record.”