Page 16 of Risk Assessment
She swallowed. “Um, well, if it works for you.”
He watched the pulse at the base of her throat. It was thumping hard. “Maybe I could show you some exercises that might be more interesting.” She blinked rapidly. He enjoyed teasing her. “What do you like to do to relax?”
“I like to watch TV and read in bed.”
He chuckled, and her cheeks turned pink.
“What do you like to read in bed?” he murmured. When she licked her lips, he followed her tongue with his eyes. Her lips looked full and very kissable.
“I like to r-r-read all kinds of different things,” she stammered as she fiddled with the silverware on the table.
He was having a hard time focusing on the conversation with all the visions of Raleigh in bed flashing in his head.
She must have been feeling the same because suddenly she leaned further away from him and said, “Uh, sorry… I have to do some work.”
“Pardon?” he asked.
“I have to check in with Donna, Lydia’s assistant, and Phil, our photographer. I also have to get some quotes and stuff. I want to do that before it gets too late. People will start drinking too much, and then I won’t get anything usable.”
“OK. Do you want me to keep you company?”
“No. Better if you don’t.” She immediately bit her lip. “I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you mean. No problem. I can keep an eye on you from here. I think you’ll be fine in this crowd.”
Raleigh stood up and smoothed out her dress. “What about dinner? I’m not sure if I’ll be back here in time to eat and I have no idea who else will sit at this table.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m a big boy.” He shifted in his chair, deliberately lifting his hips, which drew her gaze. “I’ll be fine. I’ll either eat here and chat with people or, more likely, go to the bar in corner and stay there. You don’t have to worry about me. Do you want me to get them to hold a plate for you?”
“No, I’d rather just get the work done. There are plenty of waitstaff walking around. I’ll grab one of them and ask for something if I need to eat.” She looked around the room and frowned.
He stood up next to her. “You going to be alright?”
“Yes. I’m just a bit wired I guess.” She gave him a faint smile.
“I’ll be in the room and keeping a close eye on you. You run into any trouble or just feel like you need some help, send up the bat signal, and I’ll be there.”
Her smile grew and lit her whole face. “Thanks.” She squared her shoulders. “I’m off to face the social elite. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” he said, and she walked off into the crowd.
Dylan worked his way over to the bar. The room had filled up in the last half hour. Everyone who was anyone was here. A room full of suits. A lot of the faces were familiar, but not many of them were people he admired. It was going to be a long night.
Catching the bartender’s attention, he ordered another beer and studied the crowd. This could have been his wedding. He would have been miserable in a crowd like this. It had come into his mind more than once when he and Jenn were dating thatshe had just been slumming it with him. Then again, maybe he’d been trying to prove something by dating her. Either way, he was not of this world and never would be.
Andrew crossed Dylan’s field of vision. He looked cool and comfortable, shaking hands and smiling like this was his favorite thing to do. Maybe it was. But, did Andrew fit into Jenn’s world? He’d gotten the impression that Lydia and Bill actually liked their daughter’s husband-to-be. Being a sergeant was better than an officer, but not by much. Had to be something to do with the tech side of things because they’d never thought Dylan was good enough for their daughter. Maybe everything really did work out for the best. He couldn’t decide. He just knew his gut was tight with knots, and he wanted more than anything to just walk out that door.
The bartender put the beer on the bar in front of Dylan. Someone hit his shoulder, and he turned to see who it was.
Matt Web stood next to him. “Hey, Dylan.”
Dylan’s shoulders straightened, and he clenched his teeth. His former best friend looked good. His dark hair was newly cut, and he was filling out his suit better than he had a few months ago. Must have been spending more time at the gym. Matt was the same height, but he’d always been narrower before now.
When the incident happened, Dylan had pushed Matt and the rest of the team away. He’d avoided them as much as possible since then. His boss held grudges. If it came down that Dylan had screwed up, he didn’t want to be responsible for bringing the rest of his team down with him.
“Hey, Matt, how’s it going?” Dylan shifted away from the bar slightly as he straightened up and offered Matt his hand.
Matt hesitated for a moment but then finally shook it. “Going well. How are you doing?”
