It was easy to fall into the pattern of the place, albeit as crazy as it seemed. Not one to ever dislike her job, it was always very predictable, even in Judge Mathis's courtroom.

But, this assignment was anything put predictable. Before her first week was up, she saw a slew of people who believed they were aliens, a guy who crawled along the base boards because he thought he was a roach and enough hookers to fill a good-sized restaurant. There was cussing and bodily fluids and bomb threats, everything bad she had heard about New York City walking though the doorway each night.

And Eve liked it.

Sure, it took some getting used to. But, it was quite fascinating to watch Harry try to help some of these poor creatures. It was amazing what a kind word would do for some of these people who had not heard one in years. While unorthodox at best, it seemed to work, at least in Eve's point of view.

Plus, she really didn't have anything to worry about in the safety department. Although he scared the living crap out of her the first time she saw him, Bull had taken it upon himself to be her guardian.

When some drunk made a pass at her in the cafeteria, he personally hauled the guy out the door and threatened to toss him down the garbage shoot.

"Don't worry about that, Eve. He gets that way with every new woman around here. You should've seen him the first week Christine was here. Had a group of monks stand in the corner because he thought they were ogling her legs." Roz dipped a fry in ketchup and popped it in her mouth.

Eve craned her neck to see if Bull was actually going to chunk the poor fellow in the garbage. "It's not a bad thing, really. Kind of . . . comforting, I suppose."

Roz nodded once. "Good. Just don't let it scare you. Bull means well, but he gets carried away sometimes."

Dan had sidled up to their table. "Well, I think . . ."

"No one cares what you think, Dan," Roz interrupted.

The assistant DA hadn't had much to say to her since her first night, although she had caught him watching her on occasion. But, judging on what she had learned about him and what she saw nightly in the courtroom, leering was probably more like it.

But, Roz's comment didn't stop Dan. "I think Paul Bunyon's got a crush on you, Eviegirl. Better watch out."

"Leave her alone, Dan," Christine said, taking a sip of coffee. "Besides how do you know what a crush is anyway? All you do is go straight to bed with any woman you meet."

Dan tossed his briefcase on the table, inviting himself to join the three women. Reluctantly, they made room. "That's a lie, and you know it. I haven't slept with anyone at this table." He threw a suggestive glance in Christine's direction. "Yet."

"Dream on, Fielding." Christine gathered the remnants of her supper and put them on her tray. "See you guys later."

Roz rose, as well. "Gotta make sure Bull really didn't throw that guy 18 flights down the trash shoot."

Dan leaned back in the chair, stretching his long legs out underneath the table. "Boy, I sure know how to break up a party, don't I?" his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Once again, Eve's newfound bluntness reared its ugly head. "It seems to me that you chase everyone away from you all on your own."

Dan cut his eyes at her. "Oh, so have you been taking psych classes on the side, maybe? Aiming for an internship at Bellview?"

Eve resisted her first impulse to beat him over the head with her tray. "I've seen you hit on anything in a skirt and score with some of them . . ."

He raised an eyebrow. "Some of them? Try most of them."

"Whatever. But all I know is . . ."

"He's not bothering you, is he, Eve?" Bull towered over them both.

Dan looked annoyed for a moment and craned his neck. "Oh, look, it's Mr. Potato Head on steroids. No, I'm not bothering her, you nitwit. We're just having a pleasant conversation." He almost had to spit out the word 'pleasant.'

Bull looked at Eve for verification. "It's alright, Bull."

Dan propped his arm on the back of the chair. "Why do you feel the need to protect Eviegirl? She's got those big beautiful doe-eyes that practically beg a man to save her, but I think she's far from helpless."

Bull shrugged. "I dunno. She's a woman. All women need help."

"Tell that to Roz," Dan muttered, gathering up his briefcase. "It's been pleasant . . . not."

Eve watched him go.

"That man has more issues than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs," she muttered.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, Bull. Never mind."

Eve blew out a large breath. It was raining.

Great. Just great.

Her one and only vehicle was parked in the little parking area 20 blocks away at her apartment. She could barely afford the gas to drive it around town, let alone the parking fees so close to the courthouse, so she mostly walked.

But, precipitation had not been in the forecast before she left to go to work, so she was not prepared. If she didn't break her ankle trying not to slip in high heels on the slick sidewalks, she would die of pneumonia from the wind kicking up the sensible knee-length skirt.

Cursing under her breath, she gathered her coat around herself as best as possible and trudged on.

She was so busy trying not to feel miserable that she didn't notice the car merge out of traffic next to the curb.

"Want a ride?" Dan asked, his well-tended Mercedes gleaming under the lights of New York.

For a moment, Eve was relieved.

But, it didn't last long.

Good Lord, what are you thinking?

She narrowed her eyes, tossing a strand of wet hair out of her face. "Not the kind of ride you have in mind."

For a moment, he ground his teeth in frustration, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "I meant do you want a lift home? In the car? Where it's dry and warm?"

She hesitated. He really hadn't made a pass at her, and she'd been there several weeks. She had studied the parade of women, most of them flashy to the point of tackiness, who'd came in and out of the courtroom on Dan Fielding's arm and knew he was way out of her league. Once, she even managed to catch him just this side of in flagrante delicto with a woman in a leopard print leotard in the jury box after session.

Not that she was jealous.

Dan looked annoyed. "Look, I can't sit here all night. I got a date."

"Sure you do," Eve muttered. She thought about the 20 long blocks to her apartment, the real possibility of broken bones or illness staring her in the face. Sighing in resignation, she scurried around to the passenger side, slamming the door against the cold drizzle.

The heat was turned up high, and it was toasty inside as she settled into the sumptuous leather. It looked new, and knowing Dan, it probably was. It had every new gizmo and gadget on the market and even smelt . . . like Dan.

Eve's eyes widened.

How the hell do you even know what he smells like?

He stands two feet from you in the courtroom for hours everyday. That's it. There's nothing to it.

"So, where're we headed?"

For a moment, Eve froze, thinking he sensed her thoughts.

But, that's ridiculous. He means, where you live. Dummy.

"Um . . . corner of 5th and Rochester."

Dan expertly maneuvered back into traffic, then broke the silence. "You know, you're a hard person to be nice to."

"Well, it's a little unexpected, considering the source." God bless her newfound frankness.

"Boy, you have this mouth on you that just won't quit, don't you?"

"I . . . uh . . . guess I do need to be nice. After all, you did rescue me from a sodden walk home."

He glanced sideways at her. "Rescue you, huh? You strike me as the last person who needs rescuing."

Eve threw up her hands. "Why do you keep saying that?"

Dan's eyes were back on traffic. "I don't know, Eviegirl. You just don't seem to be the helpless type, I guess."

That nickname he branded her with only made her angrier. It sounded so . . . so . . . childish. And she was not a child!

"And why do you insist on calling me that? What if I start calling you Reinhold?"

"Or how about ass? That one seems to be really popular since your first day." He had to slam on brakes when traffic came to a sudden stop.

Eve taped her foot impatiently. Back home, if she were to accept a ride home from an acquaintance on a chilly, blustery night, there would be polite conversation about families and weather and probably horses. But, nooo! Not here in New York City. Not only was politeness no where to be found, but the constant bickering back and forth was all they managed.

That's right. Fill the void with smart remarks.

Her brain automatically wanted to say something about his latest conquest – a woman with the largest surgically-enhanced breasts she had ever seen, but she clamped her lips shut. She didn't know if it was the city or the company, but it seemed to make her more snarky than she had ever been in her life.

Traffic had not resumed its normal stop and go rhythm, and Eve could see emergency lights several blocks ahead, their red and blue lights making patterns in the raindrops on the windshield. She sighed and adjusted her coat, settling back in the seat, enjoying the warmth. While she might have gotten home faster on foot, at least she was getting home dry.

Dan's voice startled her. "Where're you from?"

The question, so un-Danlike, threw her off-guard, so she didn't have time to come up with a smart-ass answer. "Kentucky."

He glanced over at her. "You have an accent."

Eve wondered for a moment about his sudden change from flippant to . . . to truly interested in a normal conversation. "Well, you don't exactly have that clipped nasal twang, either. I bet you're not from around here. Midwest, maybe?"

She could tell by the set of his jaw that he didn't want to tell her. He got that same look on his face when something came up in session that he really did not want to divulge, but knew he had to.

It startled her for a moment that she even realized that much about him.

"Louisiana."

"No kidding?" She looked out the windshield, traffic starting to crawl again, trying to hide her discomfort. "I never would have guessed. So, how did you wind up here?"

He gave a short laugh, sounding more like the Dan she was accustomed to. "Anything was better than there. I think I was stolen at birth by gypsies who hauled me to the swamp."

"Mmmm."

He looked at her. "What does that mean? 'Mmmm'?"

She shook her head. "For some reason, I just cannot see you growing up in a bayou fishing and wrestling alligators and whatever else it is people do down there."

"Well, maybe not wrestling alligators. Only on special occasions."

She had to giggle at that.

It made him smile. And, surprisingly enough, he continued his story.

"I worked at a local attorney's office in town and read everything I could get my little hands on. My parents were . . . they wouldn't have enough money to send me to school, so the law office paid my way. With the stipulation I work for them for three years after I graduated. Which I did."

"But when the three years was up . . ."

"I hightailed it out of there so quickly, it would've made your pretty little head spin."

"But, why New York? Why not Boston or Philly or even Atlanta?"

He made a face at Atlanta. "I preferred leaving the South. Plus, this is where I belong. I love it here. There's good food, fine entertainment . . ."

"And even finer women," Eve pointed out emphatically.

"Right-o." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, but not impatiently. Traffic was flowing well now, and she'd soon be back at her apartment.

"You're good at what you do, I'll give you that." She had no idea where that came from. But, it was true.

"But, not the best?" he pouted.

Eve smirked. "I'll let you know when you fall in that category. Deal?"

"Deal."

"So, how did a Kentucky lass such as yourself wind up in mean 'ol New York City?"

Eve looked at the window at the wet streets. "I just wanted a change of scenery, I guess."

"Well, you got it, sweetheart. What did your family think?"

Eve was too preoccupied in her thoughts to realize he was fishing for information. "It's just me and my grandmother. I've lived with her, since I was two. My parents died in an automobile accident." She paused. People always felt the need to offer their condolences although it was many years ago, and she didn't remember her parents, anyway.

But, Dan didn't. He went up another notch in her book.

"It's just me and Gran. She raises horses for a living."

Dan's eyes lit up.

"Not those kind of horses," she added quickly. Most folks equaled horses in Kentucky to race horses. "These are the kind people buy for their children for Christmas or companies buy to pull carriages in Central Park. Just normal horses."

"Is there even a market for that?"

"Some years are better than others."

"I bet your grandmother misses you."

Eve smiled. Dan apparently wasn't as unfeeling towards others as he wanted people to think. "Gran stays too busy to miss anybody. She's either in the stables with the farm hands or at a church social or a rally of some sort. I'm sure she misses me, but she's got plenty other activities to fill the void."

"Sounds like a good woman. I bet she didn't like New York as your new home."

"Nope, not a bit. She and my best friend said I would get attacked before I'd been here a week."

"Mathis about took care of that, didn't he?" She would have sworn Dan muttered "creep" under his breath.

She stared at him for a moment. "But, isn't that what you do? Throw yourself at all those women?"

Hello, boldness. Goodbye, tact.

He glanced at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. "If they're up for some fun, who am I to deny it?"

She'd already pulled full steam ahead into this territory, so why not keep going? "What about Christine? She's obviously not interested, and yet . . ."
"Oh, that's just in fun. I'd think she'd be disappointed if I didn't make a pass at her."

There was no time to comment. He expertly maneuvered the car out of traffic, miraculously finding an opening outside the door of her non-descript apartment complex.

She had her hand on the door handle, ready to say thanks, and get out of this awkward situation she found herself in.

But, he put the car into park and sat there for a moment, both hands on the steering wheel, the engine's idle barely audible.

So, she waited. Curiosity was always her downfall.

Dan cleared his throat. "I really offered to take you home because I wanted to ask you something."

Eve steeled herself. "What?" she asked cautiously.

Whatever it was, it wasn't easy for him to spit it out, that she could tell. He absently rubbed his hands back and forth on the leather of the steering wheel. "You said before tonight's session that I pushed everyone away, that everyone rejected me from my own choosing, not theirs."

Eve blinked. She remembered that, but didn't think self-centered Dan Fielding would have ever given her comment a second thought.

But, she'd been known to be wrong before.

Dan took a deep breath before he continued. "Well, I really was interested in hearing the rest of what you had to say. You know, before Bull the Barbarian interrupted us."

Eve took a large breath and held it for a moment.

"I think you were getting ready to give it to me with both barrels." He looked at her frankly.

She returned his gaze evenly. Full steam ahead. "I think you act the way you do to keep people from getting close to you. For some strange reason, you don't want them to see the real you, maybe someone hurt you in the past or it's just easier to pretend, so you cover it up with snide remarks and a disinterested attitude." She held out her hand, palm up. "You hide your true self from others," she held out her other hand, "and you don't get hurt. Easy." She put her hands down. "Except that no one gets to know you, and you waltz through life essentially alone."

Surprisingly, he didn't look angry or accusatory. But, he did look at her thoughtfully, the headlights from passing cars throwing patterns across his face. For a moment, Eve believed he was going to give her his honest assessment of her comments. For once, his eyes almost looked . . . defenseless.

But, the moment passed, and what vulnerability she thought she saw vanished under the practiced gaze of Daniel Fielding. "Eviegirl, I would call myself many things, but alone is not one of them," he smirked.

Eve didn't know what she was expecting, but honesty wasn't high on the list. She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure tonight's not any different, judging from the big ta-tas on the woman I saw you with yesterday."

His eyes didn't light up like they usually did when anyone mentioned his conquests. But, he still managed a snide comment. "The twins are always good for some company."

Eve shook her head and opened the door, the rain slowing to a drizzle. Before she slammed it shut, she turned around and stuck her head in the door. "By the way, I like the real Dan Fielding better. Thanks for the lift."

She didn't wait for a reaction. She shut the door and scurried around the front of the car and to the door of her building. Without turning around, she gave him a half-hearted wave as she struggled with the entry code.

Dan sat outside her building for awhile after she dashed inside, her words echoing inside his head.

It's not that no one had ever told him those exact words before. He had heard them time and time again from some of the people he considered his closest friends. But never from a stranger.

And that's all Eviegirl was. A stranger. A rather cute stranger with her straight brown hair and sensible clothing, but a stranger nonetheless.

Normally, he would have made pass after pass at any new woman within 20 feet of his work space, but she was different. He tried to tell himself it was Bull giving anyone dirty looks who even dared to approach her, but for some reason, he couldn't even convince himself of that.

With a shrug, he put the car into gear and zoomed into traffic, all thoughts of her straightforward brown eyes shoved aside in anticipation of the night's "activities."

Eve felt out-of-sorts. Sure, she was most definitely out-of-place in New York, but this was a different out-of-sorts, the kind that makes you wonder what exactly the world has in store. How many decisions had she made in life to wind up here? What about tomorrow, or next week or next month?

She was sprawled across her bed, reading a book she had picked up from the library. Usually, when she felt like this, talking to Gran helped. But, even her short, well-spirited conversation with her grandmother left her feeling not herself.

It had to have been her conversation with Dan.

She struggled to her feet and walked to the bedroom window, sweeping back the curtains. She had to buy black-out curtains because she was not accustomed to all of the light this city had to offer. Those lights shone brightly on the raindrops on the windowpane, giving the city a soft glow even this late at night.

Eve wasn't one to compare herself to other women, to wish for things that never would happen and to wonder what it would be like to be someone else.

And, she wouldn't start now.

How he had that affect on her, she didn't know. While courteous on a good day, he rarely gave her more than a perfunctory greeting. Offering to take her home was a blow out of leftfield. And allowing her to see a side of him that he obviously didn't reveal very often was downright shocking, to say the least.

The city was so large, so bustling, so full of life and people. Usually, she enjoyed her solitude, but tonight, the first vestiges of loneliness tried to creep up on her.

I wonder if he's having fun with Miss Big Boobs?

Disgusted with herself for even thinking such a thing, she let the curtains fall back and got ready for bed.