Page 17 of Her Captivated Hero

A man’s voice came over the speaker, “Hello.”

“Hey Griff, you got Miranda settled?” Gray asked.

“Affirmative.”

“Can you come out front and escort Riya in, while I park?” Gray asked.

“I’ll be there in a moment,” Griff answered.

Gray disconnected.

“Isn’t this taking the Southern gentlemen etiquette a little too far?” Riya asked.

“Not really,” Gray said looking over at her. “Griff would have asked me to do the same thing for Miranda if the situation were reversed, and he was born and raised in Los Angeles. So this isn’t a Southern gentleman thing, this is a Navy thing.”

Suddenly her door opened, surprising her. Riya hadn’t even noticed that Griff had come out of the church.

“Hi Riya,” Griff grinned. He held out his hand for her. “You look gorgeous.”

She looked over her shoulder at Gray in surprise. That’s exactly what he had said. She wasn’t used to all the praise.

I should get out of the lab more often.

Gray reached over and unhooked her seatbelt, then he brushed the side of her cheek. “I’ll be there in a minute, after I park the car.” Then he looked over her shoulder. “Make sure she doesn’t slip in those shoes. It’s beginning to drizzle.”

“Sure thing,” Griff said.

She could practically smell the testosterone in the air.

“Uhm, gentlemen, I have made it almost twenty-six years without falling on my butt, thank you very much.”

Griff took her hand and she stepped out of the vehicle. The pointed heel slipped out from beneath her, and if it hadn’t been for Griff’s quick reflexes she would be sitting in a puddle in the church parking lot.

Perfect, just perfect.

Her purse had fallen and everything was scattered to the four winds. She’d just bought that lipstick.

By the time she looked up from the security of Griff’s arms, Gray’s SUV was no longer idling. Instead it was in park, and Gray was pulling her out of his team member’s arms.

“I’ve got you. Are you okay?” Gray demanded. She looked up into his face. His voice had come out all angry, but his eyes were the soft blue of concern and worry, not the mad blue. Which was it? Angry or concern? God, she hated not being able to read people.

Suck it up buttercup.

She gave a fake smile.

“How did you move that fast?” She looked over at his vehicle, then back at Griff who was crouched at her feet gathering up all of the things that had fallen out of her purse and putting them back in.

Really? A tampon? Kill me now. Where’s a hole I can crawl into?

She looked up at Gray to see if he noticed, but he was staring down at her face. “You’re looking flushed. Let’s get you inside.”

“Here you go,” Griff handed her the purse.

“Here’re my keys, can you park the SUV while I get Riya situated?” Gray asked.

“Sure thing,” Griff smiled.

“I’m really capable of walking by myself.” But as she looked at the wet steps leading up to the church, and considered her brand new high heels, having someone to hold onto sounded like a great idea. Darn it, she really needed to have gone for girly classes or shorter, thicker heels. But as soon as she’d seen these shoes at Nordstrom, it was a done deal. By golly, she’d intended to look tall and sleek walking down the aisle with the groomsman. What was his name again?

“Honey, you’re daydreaming. Are you ready to go?”

She looked up and saw that she and Gray were standing under an umbrella. How had she not noticed that happening? She relaxed, this was definitely nice and concerned Gray.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” She nodded.

Gray put a bracing arm around her shoulder and the other under her elbow. Riya felt surrounded as they walked up the stairs. She took her time considering the sensation, and by the time they reached the top she decided it made her feel safe.

“That’s quite the smile,” Gray said as he closed the umbrella underneath the eves of the church.

“I’ve decided I like how your aunts raised you,” she murmured.

His eyes brightened, and when they did little laugh lines fanned out from the corner of his eyes. “Let’s get you in with the rest of the beautiful women, shall we?”

She shivered at the compliment. Oh yes, she definitely liked how he’d been raised.