Chapter Nine
Not thirty minutes later,someone knocked on the bathroom door I’d been hiding in for way too long. “I’ll be rightout.”
“It’s me,Kevin.”
I froze, relieved it wasn’t Dr. Westbound but shocked to hear Kevin’s deep voice through thedoor.
“You okay inthere?”
My mouth went dry, so dry it was hard to speak. “Yes. Just a second.” I checked my face in the mirror. My eyes were red from trying not to cry, and my skin was pale. With no makeup to touch up my face, it was a lost cause, so I opened the door acrack.
“Hey, beautiful.” He titled his head and offered the friendliestsmile.
“You’re not supposed to call me that anymore,remember?”
“Right.” Kevin’s gaze softened with a brow furrowing look ofconcern.
“What are you doing here?” Iasked.
“You called. I’m here,” Kevin stated in a matter-of-fact tone, like it was his onlyoption.
“You were supposed to send anUber.”
“To bring you all the way back to Magnolia Corners? No way. Besides, I was downtown for a meeting anyway. It didn’t take long to get here.” He placed his palm on the door, nudging it a little wider. “You okay? I didn’t like how you sounded on thephone.”
My legs and hands and emotions still shook, but I couldn’t admit that. “I only needed to get back to Decatur to mycar.”
“The one that your key for is probably in your purse. The purse you don’thave?”
I studied my black stilettos. “Um, right.” With that I opened the door the rest of the way, but Kevin didn’t step back. His mouth fell open and his eyes ran the length ofme.
“Now I know why you’re hiding in the bathroom. Every man in this place must be after you.” Kevin took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. “And you’reshivering.”
I’d never been so happy to put something around my body than I was at that moment. I suppressed a laugh. “Only one, and he’s not taking no for ananswer.”
His jaw tightened, but after a moment he relaxed and placed a protective arm around me. “Then let’s get you out ofhere.”
We walked in silence down the hall. Kevin stood out in his jeans and flannel shirt, work boots. Yet he looked more dashing than any other man at theparty.
The butler retrieved my coat, so I reached to remove Kevin’s, but he placed a hand over it. “No, mine will keep you warmer.” He took my coat from the butler and draped it over his arm then escorted me out thedoor.
Dr. Westbound stepped into the entryway with two glasses in his hand, but then he spottedKevin.
I slid my arm around Kevin’s waist so that we walked snuggled into each other. “I hope you don’t mind. There were a few little white lies I might have said tonight. One of them being that my linebacker boyfriend was on his way to pick meup.”
Kevin followed my gaze to the older gentleman with a sour look on his face. “I’m not sure he believes you. We should probably play thepart.”
Kevin turned me into his arms, pulling me close against him. He pressed his lips to mine. It was only a second, but my entire life flashed. My skin heated and tingled. My vision went fuzzy. My heart pounded against mychest.
My skin still seared when he released me. It still burned when we reached Kevin’s big 4X4 truck parked among the Mercedes and BMWs. It still simmered when he took my hand and helped me up into histruck.
He held out the seat belt to me. “Buckle up. I don’t think you want to face any more dangerous situations this evening. I’m guessing you’ve been throughenough.”
Kevin started the engine, which rumbled through the uppity neighborhood like a lion in a pig pen. For several miles we drove in silence. He didn’t ask any questions or accuse my real boyfriend of anything. He onlydrove.
“Kevin?”
He glanced over atme.
