Love at First Flight (17 page)

“What about Michael?”

“What about him?”

“I have feelings for him, but I don't
want to be one of those girls who goes from guy to guy like they don't know how
to function on their own.”

Mrs. R laughed. “You've been with the
same guy for
ten years
, Juliana.
You're hardly setting a pattern by exploring your feelings for
one
other guy. Besides, the way you've
taken care of your mother all these years proves you don't need a man to take
care of you. There's no doubt in my mind that you're capable of standing on
your own two feet in any situation.”

Juliana reached over to hug her. “Thank
you,” she whispered.

“Any time.” Mrs. R tilted Juliana's chin
up, wise old eyes zeroing in. “You do know if you let yourself become involved
with Michael that eventually it's going to come down to a choice, right? You'll
have to choose between them. Are you prepared to do that?”

“I'm already involved with Michael,”
Juliana admitted.

She hugged Juliana close to her. “Then
be true to your own heart, Juliana. Only your own.”

Juliana nodded and rested for another
moment in the warm comfort of Mrs. Romanello's embrace.

CHAPTER 15

IT
 
TOOK
 
EIGHT
 
TEDIOUS,
  
PAINFUL,
  
ENDLESS
  
DAYS TO empanel the jury. In the end,
Michael got exactly what he expected—six jurors perfectly suited to the
prosecution, six perfectly suited to the defense, and two alternates who could
go either way. He worried about the Italian grandmother the defense managed to
secure. If she saw one of her own precious grandsons in either of the
Benedettis, she could be enough to hang the jury.

But whenever he felt the need to worry,
Michael reminded himself of how strong their case was. Regard-less of their
ages, races, occupations, or built-in biases, the jurors were most likely
rational people who, when presented with the facts of the case and Rachelle's
eyewitness testimony, would have no choice but to convict. At least he hoped
so.

He always experienced these jitters on
the eve of a trial, but this one was different and had been from the beginning.
It wasn't just that it had received national media attention. No, it was that
the hopes of a lot of people were resting on his shoulders. Three devastated
families and the larger community were looking to him for closure. He wanted
that for the families and for Rachelle, who lost her childhood on that fateful
night. But Michael wanted it for himself, too. He wanted to win every case he
tried and for the most part he had, but he wanted this one badly. At times, he
felt like everything in his life had led him to this moment, and he hoped he
was up to the awesome task.

The Sunday afternoon before he was due
to deliver his opening, Michael and Juliana went to meet with Rachelle and her
mother. Rachelle had been moved to a hotel in Annapolis to put her in closer
proximity to the courthouse. This visit was business, and Juliana had been
uncomfortable about joining him until he told her Rachelle had asked for her.

“Guess who called me today?” Michael
said as they traveled south on Interstate 97 to Annapolis. The fall foliage was
at its peak in the late afternoon sunlight.

“Larry King? Nancy Grace?”

“Yes to both, but that's not who I mean.
Derek Gantley, the Florida attorney general.”

“Oh, he's the one who offered you the
job, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“What did he want?”

“Just to wish me luck with the trial and
to remind me of his offer. Imagine his surprise when I mentioned I'm no longer
engaged to Paige.”

“He didn't know?”

“Nope. He surprised
me
, though, when he said the offer's still on the table.”

“That must've made you feel good.”

Michael shrugged. “I guess. I told him
I'm hardly thinking about my career right now, but thanks for calling, blah,
blah, blah.” As he took the Annapolis exit, Michael was hit with a slew of
memories of all the time he spent there with Paige. It must have shown on his
face.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing.”

She reached for his hand. “Tell me.”

“I spent a lot of time here with Paige
when her father was at the Naval Academy.”

Juliana put her other hand on top of
his.

He appreciated that she knew when to say
nothing.

“You know, I've been thinking,” Michael
said, wanting to change the subject. “I don't have court next Friday because
Judge Stein has to deal with some proce-dural stuff in the trial he has after
this one. Barring any unforeseen crises, I may have three whole days off. I was
thinking about a quick trip home to Rhode Island.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Will you come with me?”

Startled, Juliana looked over at him. “I
don't know, Michael...”

“Please? I won't go if you don't come
with me.”

“That's crazy! Why not?”

“I'm not leaving you alone at my house
for three days during this trial. No way.”

“I thought you weren't worried about any
trouble.”

“I'm not leaving you there, Juliana.
Come with me. Come on.”

She smiled at the face he made as he
pleaded with her. “I am not saying yes, but I will tell you I'm off next Friday
and Saturday because Jeremy was supposed to be home.”

“Yes! You're coming.”

“I didn't say yes!” she said, laughing.

He pulled the car off the road.

“What are you doing?”

“This.” He reached for her and kissed
her with the frustration that came from ten days of doing his best to keep his
distance from her. Weaving his fingers into her hair to keep her still, he sent
his tongue to find hers.

Her arms closed around him.

“I tried, Juliana,” he whispered. “But I
can't resist you. I think about you all the time. I
dream
about you.”

“
Michael
.”
This time she reached for him.

After several long, hot minutes, he
pulled away from her with great regret. “I've never wished for a backseat in
this car as much as I do right at this moment.”

“And what do you think would be
happening by the side of the road in broad daylight if you had a backseat?”

He gave her a meaningful look as he
kissed her hand and then her mouth. “You make my heart
pound
,” he said against her lips. “And you've succeeded in changing
my memories of Annapolis.”

With a chuckle, she pushed him back into
the driver's seat. “You have a meeting. Drive.”

He exhaled a long, frustrated deep
breath and eased the car onto the highway.

***

Juliana sat next to Rachelle as Michael
spelled out a change in their trial strategy. “We're putting the victims'
friends who saw the fight in the arcade on first, followed by the detectives,
and then the ballistics guy. We've decided to put you on last, Rachelle.”

“I thought you said she'd be first,”
said Rachelle's mother, Monique, her stunning black face tight with
aggravation.

“We've given this a lot of thought,”
Michael explained. “We think the case is stronger if Rachelle's testimony is
the last thing the jurors hear before the prosecution rests.”

Knowing Monique's histrionics got on his
nerves, Juliana gave him credit for being so patient with her. When Monique
stood up to pace the room, Juliana squeezed Rachelle's hand. She had noticed in
previous visits that Rachelle lost some of her sparkle when her overwrought
mother was around.

“I haven't seen my husband and sons in
seven weeks,” Monique complained. “It's been even longer for Rachelle. You're
sure we have to do it this way? You could call her first and we'd be out of
here tomorrow.”

Michael stood up to face her. “I
wouldn't ask it of you—either of you—if I wasn't sure it was the best way to
proceed.” He moved over to squat down in front of Rachelle, taking both of her
hands in his. “Sweetheart, I know this has been so hard, and you've been
incredibly brave. I'm asking for just a little while longer—one more week,
maybe two. Can you do that for me?”

Watching him handle the teenager with
such infinite gentleness, Juliana felt all her defenses slip away and the door
to her heart open to him. She loved him. It was suddenly as clear to her as
anything she had ever known in her life.

Rachelle's big brown eyes were bright
with tears, but she nodded. “I can do it for you.”

“That's my girl.”

They visited with Rachelle for another
half hour before Michael said they had to go. He hugged Rachelle and told her
the next time he saw her would be in court. “Just remember what we've talked
about. Answer only the questions you're asked, don't offer anything extra, and
don't look at them except for when I ask you to identify them, okay?” She
nodded.

He kissed her cheek. “You're going to be
just fine. You're my slam dunk, and don't you forget it.”

“I won't,” she said with a smile. “Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“Get 'em,” she said softly. “Just make
sure you get 'em.”

“I will.”

Juliana hugged the girl. “I'm so glad I
got to know you, Rachelle.”

“Thank you,” Rachelle said. “Thank you
so much for being my friend.”

“I'm proud to call you my friend.”
Juliana folded the girl into one more hug before Michael took her hand to lead
her from the room.

Monique followed them into the hallway,
closing the door to Rachelle's room behind her. “Michael?”

He dropped Juliana's hand and turned to
Monique.

“Promise me nothing's going to happen to
my baby,” Monique said, blinking back tears.

Michael put his hand on her arm. “The Baltimore
Police chief has made the full resources of the department available to us
during the trial. You have my word that nothing's going to happen to her.”

Monique squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”

“I'm sorry for what your family's been
through. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure it was worth it.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“It'll be over soon. Stay strong for
her, Monique.”

“I'm doing my best.”

***

When they got back to his car, Michael
surprised Juliana when he said, “Let's go out to dinner.”

“Do you have time?”

“I need to get my mind off it for a
while. Help me?”

“Of course. But before we change the
subject, I have to tell you that you handled them beautifully. Both of them.”

“Do you think so?”

The insecurity on his face touched her. “I
do.”

“Thanks.”

“No trial talk for...” she checked her
watch, “three hours. Deal?”

He leaned over to kiss her. “Deal.”

They went to the Chart House on the
Annapolis waterfront and talked about everything but the trial and even managed
to avoid talking about Jeremy and Paige. Michael was putting his credit card
back in his wallet when an elderly couple approached their table.

“Mr. Maguire?” the woman asked.

“Yes.” He stood up to shake their
outstretched hands.

“We just wanted to wish you well with
the trial,” the man said. “All of Maryland is pulling for you, young man.”

“I appreciate that.”

“Enjoy your dinner and your pretty young
lady,” the woman added.

Michael smiled. “I will, thank you.”
After they walked away, he extended his hand to Juliana to help her up.

“I'm dining with a celebrity,” Juliana
teased. He put his arm around her. “Shut up.” They were still laughing as they
walked the dock that led to the parking lot. “Juliana?”

She looked away from Michael and came
face-to-face with Pam and David Newman, close friends of hers and Jeremy's who
were stunned to see her with another man's arm around her.

“Pam, David.” She tried to hide her
shock.
Oh God. They’ll tell Jeremy they
saw me with Michael.

They both kissed her cheek while trying
not to stare at Michael.

“This is my friend, Michael.” She made a
huge effort to keep her voice normal as she introduced them. “This is Pam and
David Newman, friends from high school.”

With what appeared to be great
reluctance, David shook Michael's hand.

“What brings you guys to Annapolis?”
Juliana asked a little too brightly.

“It's our anniversary,” Pam said,
looking Michael over with interest. “Three years.”

“Already? That seems hard to believe.”

“How's Jeremy?” David made no attempt to
hide his annoyance at seeing her with Michael.