Page 60 of Her Captivated Hero

The big man turned to her and gave her a bright smile. “My name’s Drake Avery. Only believe half of what people tell you about me. Unless it’s my wife. Then you can believe everything. She loves me. She’ll say good things.”

Riya watched as Evie stepped out of the house with the little boy. Drake walked over to the counter and grabbed one of the brownies off the tray. She watched in amazement as he ate it in three big bites. “Heaven,” he sighed.

Gray seemed to know how overwhelming Drake was because he stayed at her side. “Eat,” he whispered. She picked up the piece of cheese and took a tiny bite.

“I hear you took a man out in one fell swoop with your stun-gun. Good going. You could be one of my sisters,” Drake grinned at her. He poured himself a glass of milk. “Gray, you want one?”

“I’m going to grab a beer when dinner’s up.”

Drake came over and sat in the seat Evie had vacated, then he frowned at her plate. “Why do you have a plate of food? Dinner should be up in a half-hour.”

“She didn’t eat breakfast or lunch,” Gray explained.

Drake scowled. “Well, that’s stupid. Aren’t you a doctor? You should know better. Eat.”

Riya’s stomach clenched and she set down the cheese. The man was overwhelming.

“Avery, back off,” Gray commanded. He sounded pissed.

Drake looked over her shoulder at Gray, clearly confused. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Your kind of help, we don’t need.”

“I need to go to the bathroom,” Riya said, pushing away from the table. It was a lie, but she needed to get out of there…now.

“Let me show you where it is,” Drake stood up.

“You’ve done enough. I’ll show her.” Gray touched her elbow and gave her an encouraging smile.

“You can just point, I really don’t need a guide.”

He pointed to a hallway. “First door on the right.”

Riya made a quick escape. She sighed as soon as she made it inside.

Talk about testosterone poisoning. She ran cold water over her wrists, then used the toilet. She took a few more moments to calm herself. When she left the bathroom, it was just Gray waiting at the table. That she could deal with.

He stood up as she got to the table, and pulled out her chair. There were those manners again. He stroked his hand down her back. “I threw Drake out of the house.”

“What?!” He couldn’t be serious.

“I’m kind of teasing, and kind of not. He’s an ox. He means well, but he’s an acquired taste. Let’s get some food in you.”

“I’m really not hungry.”

“Tell you what. Take a bite of everything on your plate, sips of milk in between. I even put the brownie on your plate.”

She felt her lip twitch. Brownie. She really was hungry, who was she kidding? She needed protein. She’d been smelling those damn brownies in her car for over forty-five minutes.

“You’re smiling. The potato salad is killer. Please, for me?”

He stroked the end of her nose. She loved that. It made her heart lurch every time he did it. She grinned and picked up her fork and scooped up some potato salad. “You’re right. This is wonderful.”

She watched as his blue eyes sparkled. “Now the turkey.”

“I heard you the first time, Lieutenant. I’ll eat a little, and then save room for barbeque, okay?”

“Okay.”