Campaigning for Love by K.D. Fleming Read Free Book Online Page B

you plan to make?”
    When she spotted carrots, onion, and broccoli in the crisper drawer, she knew what the judge wanted for dinner. She set the vegetables in the sink and put Nick to washing them. “We’re having stir-fry with white rice. That okay with you?”
    He raised his shoulders and let them drop in an exaggerated shrug. “Sure, what do you need me to do?”
    After she explained how she wanted the vegetables sliced, she put a pot of water on to boil for the rice. She lined up the soy sauce and some other seasonings she knew the judge liked. They worked for several minutes in silence.
    “What are you willing to share about yourself so I can contribute to our little ‘show and tell’ game at dinner?” His tone revealed his dislike of being at her mercy.
    She measured seasoning into a cup, taking her time to answer. “I don’t know yet.”
    “I have to share something about myself with you so it’s not like it’s a one-sided deal here, Katherine.”
    “I already know all I need to know about you.” She met his mutinous glare with a satisfied smirk.
    “How? We haven’t said more than five words to each other before today and none of those were about me personally.” He wiped his hands on a towel.
    Her heart was beating double-time with the pleasure of revealing how she’d bested him. “I had Gina do some research for me. I know where you went to college, what your GPA was, and what you minored in. I know how long you’ve worked for Dear Ol’ Dad, and when he made you a partner in the firm.” She added the vegetables he’d chopped to the chicken she’d sliced and sautéed them in the pan with her back to him.
    “So you’re really going to hang me out to dry? That was your plan all along,” he accused. He tossed the towel on the counter beside the stove. “Thanks. Thanks a lot.”
    She ignored the twinge of guilt his words stirred and met his glare over her shoulder. “I don’t think of it as setting you up. I told you I didn’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to get to know you either. Nothing’s changed.”
    She set the table while Nick called the judge to dinner. The judge said grace before they started. They passed the dishes around and filled their plates. But after a few minutes of fork to mouth, back to plate, it was evident neither she nor Nick planned to say anything.
    Judge Pierce took the initiative. “So, who wants to go first?”
    She looked up and smiled at Nick before she told the judge where he went to law school and what fraternity he’d joined.
    Judge Pierce looked to Nick for confirmation. At Nick’s nod, the judge smiled. “Good, now tell me, Nick, do you know where Katherine when to college?”
    Katherine dropped her head and moved the food on her plate around in circles.
    “We didn’t get that far tonight. She spent all her time showing me what to do in the kitchen.”
    When she raised her head, she found his eyes trained on her. Was that a look of hurt on his face? He didn’t have a reason to feel hurt. He’d betrayed her —tossed her out like yesterday’s trash.
    “That’s no problem,” the judge said. “I can fill you in on her schooling. She went to Stetson. She graduated summa cum laude with a double major in family law and child psychology, all while volunteering at several halfway houses and homeless shelters in the area. I tell you, this girl never stops.” He slapped a hand on the table and Katherine jumped. “Alice worried she’d let herself get so run-down, she’d end up sick in the hospital. That’s about the only way to make her slow down.”
    Her cheeks heated. Uncle Charles didn’t have to get that personal in his recounting of her past. Nick, she noticed, was taking it all in.
    “Katherine, dear, when we finish dinner, would you mind making some hot chocolate and joining me in my study for a cup?”
    “I’d planned on doing the dishes right after we finished in here.”
    “Oh, don’t worry about the dishes, Kat.” Nick cut