“After she was attacked outside her apartment. When she came to, she started saying shit like flippin’ flapjacks and spitsnacks. I had her halfway out the door headed for the hospital when she told me that was how she cursed. That was the start of it. Right then.”
“I haven’t dated anyone since Lucy. There isn’t one single reason Evianna should want to be with me.” Fuck. Saying the words makes it real, and suddenly, I’m back in the hospital, my therapist trying to teach me how to eat without being able to see the plate in front of me.
“Bullshit.”
“Ry—”
“I mean it, Dax. You remember what I looked like the last time you saw me? What those fuckers did to my face? Hell, my entire body?”
“I didn’t fare a whole lot better, you know,” I spit back.
“Yeah. I do. I carried your ass out of there. But that’s not my point. The scars…I get someone being able to look past them. Took me a while to realize Wren didn’t care a bit what I looked like, but that was a hell of a lot easier to accept than the rest of it. This conversation we’re having? Before her, it never would have happened. Even with you. I’ve worked with Inara for more than three years. And before that shit with Coop, we’d never said more than a couple of sentences to one another outside of a mission. I didn’t know a damn thing about her other than her abilities. And Sampson…shit. The man found me half dead and buried in the snow and I couldn’t have told you if he had any family. Or how old he was. Or anything beyond his Krav Maga skills and what SEAL team he was on. That was the wall Wren saw right through. Hell, she did more than that. She knocked it down with a battering ram. The right person…you let them in because if you don’t, you can’t breathe. Can’t even think about existing without them. So, answer me one question. Is that how you feel about Evianna?”
I don’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“Then tell her.” Ry lowers his voice even further. “Do it pretty damn quick, too. Because if things go according to plan, around New Year’s, I need you out in Seattle. And if you’re still pining over this woman, you’re going to be a pretty fucking grumpy best man.”
16
Evianna
My hopes of making it from the elevator to my office without anyone seeing me are foiled when the doors slide open and Noah’s standing at the desk chatting up our receptionist.
“Evianna? I didn’t think you were coming in—oh shit.” He takes me by the shoulders and looks me up and down, finally brushing my hair away from my cheek and sucking in a sharp breath. “Are you sure you should be here?”
Extricating myself from his overly solicitous hold, I force a smile. “I’m fine, Noah. Just a home improvement project gone wrong.”
“What happened?” Before I can take another step back, he wraps an arm around my shoulders and starts to lead me to my office.
Jerk.
“I was trying to fix a shelf in my kitchen. And I couldn’t see the can in the back corner. Next time I’ll get out the step stool.”
Ulysses gives me the side-eye, and I shoot him a pleading look, but Noah has me in my office and shuts the door before my poor assistant can even get up. He doesn’t release me until I’m sitting in my chair and he’s taken my briefcase off my shoulder and dumped it unceremoniously on the floor.
“You should go home. Relax. Everything’s under control here.”
I stand, throwing my shoulders back to try to look taller than I am. Noah has a couple of inches on me, but when confronted, he usually backs down. “I can hold my own against a can of chicken noodle soup, Noah. And your little overprotective gesture out there was both condescending and undermining.”
He frowns, the move highlighting his pale, flabby cheeks. “I just wanted—”
“Stop.” Holding up my hand, I put some space between us as I head for my little tea kettle. “I know you mean well. But it’s hard enough being a woman in this industry, let alone the CIO. And when you put your arm around me and treat me like a wounded bird, the rest of the team sees that.”
“This again?” He rolls his eyes. “You’re respected here, Evianna. By me, by the devs…by everyone. Accepting a little help isn’t going to change how people see you. Being a bitch will.”
He’s halfway to my door when I finally form a comeback, but before I can get the words out, he turns. “Barry tells me we’ll hit zero bug count by Friday morning. I spoke to the building manager. The floor above us is empty until next month. We can use it Friday night for a three hundred dollar cleaning fee. If you don’t need Ulysses today, I’d like him to work with Cyndi to pull together a ship party. All of Beacon Hill’s employees and their plus ones.”
“Fine. Take him.” Too tired to continue to fight with Noah, I flip the switch on the little electric kettle as he slams the door. “Prick.”
Before the tea kettle dings, a knock breaks the silence, and I try to pull my hair back over my cheek. “Yes?”
Ulysses comes in with a box tucked under his arm. “You okay? That was way out of line.”
“Fine. He means well, he’s just a relic from when the world was a different place, and sometimes…he forgets things have changed.” Pouring the hot water over a bag of jasmine tea, I sigh. “You’re on party planning duty today. Go talk to Cyndi.”
“My favorite.” There’s enough sarcasm in his tone to make me laugh when he plasters a fake smile on his lips. “But first, this was just delivered for you. Want me to open it?”
“Who’s it from?” I eye the plain brown box, suddenly worried. What if it’s…dangerous?
