THE DEPOSITION WENT ON for another half hour. By then, Mrs. Warren was coughing and wheezing more than speaking. But Gwen was determined to get everything she could from the woman, tying up every possible thread so that there would be no way for her boss to criticize her if she ended up agreeing that releasing Omar Kingston was the right thing to do.

Aaron didn’t speak as they drove back toward Baltimore. At least not until Gwen said, “Why would John push for Kingston’s conviction if he wasn’t the right criminal?”

“First, let’s assume for the moment that Omar isn’t a criminal at all, as opposed to just not being the right criminal. Second, let’s think for a moment about John’s ego, how devoted to a high conviction rate your boss is, and why you were hired.”

“Why I was hired?”

“To create the appearance that your office cares about justice.”

“How could you know that?”

“Quite honestly, I read your bio and looked into how things were going at the time you were brought in. I put two and two together. But you just confirmed my suspicion.”

She shot daggers from her eyes, then focused on the road again. After a moment, she said, “You make sure you come across as such a beta male, all caring and cuddly and kind. But you’re as calculating and cold as the rest of us lawyers. When you want to be.”

“Awesome alliteration!”

She had to laugh. “That’s all you got out of my observation?”

“No. I got that you think I’m cuddly. I am, you know.”

She did not want to think about Aaron’s cuddly side. Or what it would be like to go beyond cuddles. She turned her thoughts back to why John would have pursued conviction without pausing to consider justice in Kingston’s case. Answers eluded her. Her boss wasn’t a racist, at least not that she’d ever observed. Could it be that he was just so hell-bent on winning he couldn’t bother digging for the truth? To find out, she’d have to confront him, and she did not feel able to risk her continued employment with Clay gathering evidence against her parenting. Yet, how could she just look the other way?

“So are you going to help me get Omar out of prison now?” Aaron asked.

“I don’t know. I need to read the file again and then the transcripts of the deposition.”

“Gwen—”

“Don’t start. I know that every day an innocent person stays in prison is a very bad day. Got it. Seriously. But if I don’t make his release order ironclad slam-dunk solid, John isn’t going to go along. How far do you think I’ll get if I piss him off?”

Aaron sighed. “We can work on that this afternoon.”

“No, I can’t. I have to meet my attorney. I’m getting a restraining order against Clay. He threatened to kidnap Josh. I’m not just going to wait until he actually tries it. And I have a strategy to work out on the countersuit for custody.”

He nodded. “Okay. That’s important. But so is Omar.”

“I won’t forget that. Trust me.”

“I want to,” he said.

But she heard the worry in his voice. No matter how much time they spent together, no matter how attracted they might be, they were still on opposite sides of the legal system, not to mention their opposing ideology.

It would never work. Her fantasies about Aaron needed to be quashed completely, ruthlessly. To do that, she had to find someone else to think about. She’d have to start dating. Carefully and publicly, so as not to give Clayton anything to crow about in court regarding her suitability as a mother. And dating now and then would help mitigate any accusations Clay could make about her and Aaron. On top of that, she realized from her strange gravitation toward Aaron that she must be yearning for companionship without realizing it. Yes, she needed a date. But with whom?

HE HADN’T SEEN HER IN two weeks. But he’d been thinking of her even though he didn’t want to. He wondered if she’d be here tonight, in the gym where the karate class was held. She’d refused his offer to bring Josh home after his first class. So either she’d be here herself or Josh wouldn’t be here. Ben would be disappointed if his friend didn’t show.

But there she was. Standing to one side of the gym, she looked completely out of place in her gray pin-striped suit and heels. A briefcase stood on the floor beside her. Her BlackBerry was pressed to her ear, though she didn’t appear to be talking.

He lifted his hand to wave, but she turned to one side without seeing him. She put her palm over her free ear, blocking out the cacophony of excited boys and girls. Ben ran to greet Josh and he saw Gwen smile at his son as he went by. It warmed his heart that she could be kind to his offspring even though she wouldn’t take his calls.

He’d have stormed her office, insisting on seeing her, except she’d signed Omar’s documents and the judge had promptly ordered him released. He and Opal had picked up Omar together. It was good to see the young man in the bright sunlight instead of under the glare of unshaded fluorescents in a windowless concrete room. The big man had limped toward him and hadn’t stopped until he had Aaron in a bear hug.

“I knew you’d get me outta there,” he’d said. Aaron didn’t tell him how close he’d come to failure. But he gave him a lecture about not gravitating back to the company of thugs, the very same crowd that had made him a target for prosecution by John Fry.

Now, Aaron walked directly to Gwen, knowing she couldn’t avoid him here without looking extremely ungracious. She produced a smile, then returned to her phone call. He wondered if there was actually anyone on the other end. Was she using the phone as a prop to avoid talking to him—or anyone else, for that matter? Looking around at the other parents, mostly women in jeans or sweats, he realized how out of place Gwen might feel. This wasn’t an environment where she would be comfortable.

At last, he heard her speak into her cell. “I’ll be there first thing in the morning to go over the documents.” Then she turned off the BlackBerry.

“Hello,” he said, before she could find another excuse to avoid him. “How are you?”

“I’ve been better.”

“Anything I can do?”

She eyed him warily. She shifted from foot to foot, her gaze drifting away. She tossed her phone from one hand to the other. Agitated. Maybe even frightened.

“Has Clayton done something? Maybe renewed his threats?”

She took in a deep breath and held it a second before letting it out. “You guessed it.”

“You know we could have Josh stay at my house for a while until things settle down. I’m still willing to do that.” When she hesitated, another thought crossed his mind that made him want to go out and make Clayton sorry he was alive. “Did he threaten to hurt you in some other way?”

“Plotting to steal my son hurts me enough to satisfy even Clayton. He’s been out of town and my parents are visiting, so I haven’t been worried. But they have some things they need to take care of over the next few days and won’t be at the house after school. I don’t want Josh going home alone. So I think I need to take you up on your offer to keep him. Just for a couple of days. Clay has been rattling his saber a lot lately through his attorney and…I’m afraid I…”

Her voice had dropped to nearly a whisper. She didn’t want to have to admit she was afraid or that she needed help. Aaron didn’t want to make it harder for her.

“I understand. We’ll take Josh home with us tonight, if you want.”

Gwen looked into his eyes. There was gratitude in her gaze, maybe more than that. Or was he fooling himself? Wishful thinking? Sometimes, when he was able to persuade himself that Beth would want him to fall in love again, he found himself hoping she’d realize the spark between them was mutual and undeniable. So far, he’d seen little to indicate she felt that way at all. Until this moment.

To his delight, she placed her hand gently against his upper arm. “Thank you,” she said. “I don’t really deserve your kindness. I’ve done nothing but push you away. Yet here you still are, offering me help just because I need it. You’re a good friend.”

Those last words froze him solid. A good friend? That was not what he’d wanted to hear. This confirmed that he’d been imagining the desire he thought he’d seen in her eyes. What a fool he’d been. Pretending there could be someone with whom he could connect the way he had with Beth. Waiting, hoping, longing.

If he could be honest, he’d say I want to be more than friends. But he was too conflicted to get those words out of his mouth. He still couldn’t shake the sense that a full-on pursuit of Gwen was some kind of betrayal of Beth. But he couldn’t deny that he thought about Gwen all the time. He had begun to tell himself that Beth would want him to find another woman. Beth had never been the least bit selfish and he’d considered the idea that his late wife would expect him to find love with someone else.

“I know you’ve kept your distance for good reasons, Gwen,” he said, realizing the words solidified his position as her “good friend.”

“You need to look out for your job and for your son. I understand that.”

“They’re starting,” she said, nodding toward the instructor and the group of boys and girls who’d gathered to begin their lesson. “I had to be very devious at work to be here for this. But Josh wanted me to see the first class, so I made it happen.”

“You’re a good mom.” He liked that his comment brought a tiny smile to her face. But as he stood beside her watching their sons, frustration built inside him. He couldn’t stop thinking about being in the friend zone with Gwen.

Fortunately, he was acquainted with the instructor of the karate class, and when the kids divided into groups, Mike asked if he would help with demonstrations for the various levels. Aaron quickly shucked off his shoes and headed out toward the center of the gym, grateful to be able to do something physical.

GWEN HAD TO STAND THROUGH the entire karate class. Other moms sat on the floor along the walls and took care of younger children, or chatted together, or read books. But she couldn’t very well sit down on the floor in her suit. Even if she did manage to get down there in her snug skirt, getting up would have been impossible. So she stayed standing, all the while trying not to stare too much as Aaron helped the instructor with demonstrations.

Besides beginners like Josh and Ben, there were kids who had been taking karate for a long time. The newbies wore gym clothes and had been given information sheets about where to buy white gis and white belts. The more seasoned had come in their uniforms and wore belts of various colors. At the moment, Aaron and the instructor were with a group of older kids wearing dark blue and brown belts. And the demonstration the men gave was far more involved than the ones she’d just seen. It was quite a sight to behold the ever gentle Aaron Zimmerman duking it out with the black belt instructor. Though Aaron hadn’t come in a gi of his own and wore no belt to show his level, he was clearly as skilled as his opponent. The two of them punched, kicked and blocked each other with impressive speed and seemingly choreographed precision. Aaron’s style was smoother, more flowing, more bob-and-weave like a dance. The class instructor was more about linear form—or perhaps that’s what he wanted to demonstrate to his students.

She wondered how a peacenik like Aaron learned karate, or jujitsu, she remembered he’d called it. But mostly, she watched the bulge and flex of his muscles, the washboard abs visible under his sweat-dampened T-shirt, the unwavering focus of his attention on his opponent. That was his most attractive feature, she decided. His ability to pay attention to the person in front of him with such complete absorption. When she talked to him, she never, ever felt that she had to compete with other things that might be on his mind. He gave his whole mind over to her when they spoke.

Still, she’d managed to do what she’d planned—she had made it clear to him that they were only friends. She’d seen his understanding register on his face. He hadn’t been overly surprised or even disappointed. Which had disappointed her. Deep down, she’d hoped he’d say he wanted more than just friendship between them. But he’d made appropriate comments, watched the kids in the class for a while, then gone over to help when the instructor had beckoned. Watching him now, feeling his sex appeal to her very core, she wished she could take back her words, wished she could…

Never mind. It was done. There could be no taking anything back without paying a high price. And all for the best. Even though she knew she needed to date, a romance was the last thing she needed to mix into the chaos of her life—the custody issue, her parents staying at her house, her boss’s anger about Kingston’s prison release, and the usual worries as the mother of a preteen boy. She would not think about Aaron Zimmerman.

But thinking about him became unavoidable. Just before class ended for the boys, he bowed to the class instructor and walked back over to her. His shirt was damp now, clinging in all the right places. Somehow he appeared even more attractive than before. And the eyes of all the moms followed him as he made his way across the room. She heard some distinctly appreciative sighs, which resulted in an almost overpowering protectiveness in Gwen. Or was that jealousy? Hard to tell the difference sometimes.

“I should have brought a towel and a fresh shirt,” he said apologetically when he drew close enough.

Gwen made a dismissive gesture. Ben and Josh came running to them, both in bare feet. They immediately sat on the floor to put on their socks and shoes.

“Did you see me, Mom?” Josh asked. “I got pretty good at those blocks, right?”

“Yup, I saw you. And you were very good at the blocks. Pretty good kicks, too.” She waited until the boys were upright and then broached the subject of Josh staying at Ben’s for a few days. The kids whooped with pleasure at the idea.

“You want me to follow you home,” Aaron asked, “so Josh can get his school gear and some extra clothes?”

“That’s a good idea,” she agreed.

“I want to ride with them,” Josh said.

This stung a little, but Gwen knew he didn’t mean to be thoughtless. “Okay,” she said.

She drove home alone with the car full of males behind her. Whenever they came to a stoplight, she could see them laughing and talking together in her rearview mirror. Gwen resisted the urge to sulk about being left out of the fun. She told herself it was normal for a boy Josh’s age to want to be with a friend instead of his mother. But by the time she pulled into her driveway, she was feeling sorry for herself.

The minute she was inside the house with Aaron and the boys, she realized things were not going to get any better. Her mother and father had returned home from dinner with friends. Before Gwen had finished telling Josh to go pack some clothes, her mother was hovering inches away, waiting not very patiently to be introduced to Aaron and Ben.

Ben escaped by running upstairs with Josh. Aaron wasn’t so lucky.

“This must be the nice man you went out on the date with the other night,” Judy declared as she approached Aaron with a big welcoming smile. She clasped his hand with both of hers as if he might be the answer to all her prayers.

“Aaron Zimmerman, this is my mother Judy Masoner. And my father Edward,” she added as her dad ambled over to see what the fuss was about.

“Nice to meet you both,” Aaron said, exuding all his usual charm. He wore a T-shirt, sweatpants and beat-up sneakers, but somehow all anyone would notice was his smile.

Gwen wished he’d stayed in the car. Now she’d never hear the end of her mother’s encouragement to “go out with that nice man.” Her mom would have a face to put with her other notions about Gwen finding a soul mate. “You have to get out onto the water to catch the right fish,” she’d say. Or “you’ve got to put the wares on exhibit if you want to bring in the right buyer.” Gwen couldn’t seem to make her mother realize that she had no time for dating, unless she gave up sleeping altogether.

“And what do you and your wife do for a living, Aaron?” her mother asked, clearly fishing for his marital status.

“My wife was a nurse before she died,” he said. “I’m a lawyer, like Gwen.”

“Not at all like me,” Gwen muttered, even as her mother said, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It was a long time ago,” Aaron said.

“Are you a prosecutor with Gwen?” Judy asked casually as she picked up Joshua’s discarded jacket and hung it in the coat closet.

“No, not a prosecutor. But I know Gwen is an excellent attorney and much admired in the legal community. You can be proud of your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Masoner.”

Gwen noted how he’d skillfully given her mother as little information as possible. She’d have to remember to thank him later.

With a great rumble of feet, Josh and Ben came back down the stairs. Josh carried a gym bag, presumably packed with clothes. Ben carried Josh’s school backpack.

“Where are you going, Josh?” Judy asked her grandson.

“Staying with Ben for a while.”

“On a school night?” Judy looked at Gwen for an explanation.

“I don’t like Josh coming home to an empty house, and you and Dad have things to do. Misha is off on her college trip. I thought this would be a good solution.”

“We could have rearranged—”

Gwen held up her hand. “This will work out fine, Mom. We can talk more about it later. Let me get Aaron and the kids on their way, okay?” She followed man and boys out to the car, then hugged and kissed her son before he got into the backseat with his friend.

She turned to Aaron. “Sorry I forgot to warn you about my parents. I was hoping they’d still be out and you’d be spared the inquisition.”

“They seem like lovely people,” he said with a smile. “I hope I get to see them again sometime.” He seemed to wince slightly after he said that.

Somehow, she felt she had to explain to Aaron, even as she told herself he didn’t need to know the details behind her decisions. “The thing is, my parents have always liked Clayton. And I’ve never wanted to try to change their opinion. He’s Joshua’s father, after all.

“And not really such a bad person, except when it comes to his relationship with you,” Aaron put in.

Gwen looked at him, stunned silent for a moment. “Not such a bad person? He’s a—” She kept the epithet from spilling out of her mouth, remembering that Josh was in the car and might overhear. “Friends aren’t supposed to defend the other side,” she said.

“Maybe you two don’t have to be on opposite sides. You have Josh together. Why can’t you try to get along?”

“That’s my business and not yours, Aaron,” she said, feeling the heat of anger in her cheeks. Then she remembered she’d been telling him her business before he’d made his comment about Clay. She waved her hand, as if to erase the words. “I was just trying to explain that I don’t want to put my parents at odds with Clay if I can help it. So that’s why I accepted your offer to take Josh to your house.”

“I understand,” he said. But Gwen didn’t believe him and had to resist the urge to explain further.

“I’ll call with updates on Josh,” he added. Then he got into his car. “G’night, Gwen.”

She watched as they backed out and drove away. Standing in the driveway under the dark sky renewed that lonely, left-out-of-the-fun feeling she’d had earlier. Dispirited, she went back into the house to deal with her parents and then read some case files before bed.

AARON GOT THE BOYS SETTLED in the kitchen to work on homework before bed. They’d eaten a fast-food dinner on the way home, so he offered them some cookies Phyllis had made. As Josh reached for one from the plate Aaron held out, he said, “My mom is worried my dad is going to kidnap me.”

Aaron and Ben both looked at Josh with wide eyes. “Dude, then we couldn’t hang out,” said Ben.

“Are you worried your father might do something like that?” Aaron asked gently.

“Yeah. I guess. Last time I saw him, he told me he would come get me soon. He said living with my mom was turning me into a mama’s boy. I told him I was going to karate, but he didn’t think much of that. He said being a real man was all up here.” Josh tapped his finger on his forehead.

“Your dad is right that most of who we are is in our brains and not about whether we can deck someone with karate skills,” Aaron said after searching for a way to explain.

“So what should I do if he wants to take me away?” Josh asked. “I mean, it would be cool to hang out with him for a while. I love my dad. But if he didn’t let me see my mom—well, that would make her sad.”

“And you’re man enough to not want to make her sad,” Aaron said approvingly.

Josh nodded, worry and eager attention in his eyes. He bit into the cookie without taking his focus away from Aaron’s face. Both he and Ben waited for an answer.

Aaron didn’t want to blow it. This boy needed guidance, but Josh didn’t need another adult mixed into the chaos that his parents had created around him. “Well, what would you want to do?” he tried.

“I want to make him see that I should live mostly with my mom. But I know I can’t make him do anything. Even my mom can’t make him understand.”

“You could do karate on him,” Ben offered.

Josh laughed. “My dad’s a good guy. He just wants what’s best for me. Same with Mom. They just can’t seem to agree on what’s best.”

“And besides, Ben,” Aaron said pointedly, “we need to use our words, not karate, when we have disputes. Josh, talk to your dad and tell him how you feel. Maybe it would help if he knew you like your school and your friends here. Promise you’ll do better with your grades. Tell him it wouldn’t be good for you to change schools in the middle of the year.”

Josh looked skeptical. “Maybe.”

“Okay, well, let’s think about this some more later. Right now, finish up your homework and get upstairs to brush teeth and go to bed.” Aaron doubted the boys would fall asleep any time soon. They were too excited to be together. But he had to at least try in the hope they’d get enough rest before school in the morning.

Much later, Aaron lay in his own bed and thought about what Josh had asked him. He couldn’t begin to imagine how hard it must be for the boy to worry that his own father would disrupt his life—and his mother’s—so profoundly and without his consent. He thought about Gwen and how hard she worked at avoiding any activity that would give Clay ammunition or provocation. He doubted Clay would actually be as underhanded as Gwen feared. Aaron’s gentle inquiries within their legal circles had revealed Clay to be a decent attorney who tried to give back to the community. The man loved his son, even if he hadn’t been able to remain faithful to his wife. But Aaron couldn’t know for sure about Clay. Regardless, it was unfair Gwen had to live under the tyranny of a man she’d divorced. As he drifted to sleep, he knew that he’d dream about her again, even though she’d made it clear they were just friends. His dreams didn’t seem to care.

In the middle of the night, a few hours before dawn, his phone began to ring. He ignored it at first and it stopped. But then it started up again, happily singing “Puff the Magic Dragon” over and over, and finally he turned on the bedside light and picked up the BlackBerry.