When they stepped out of the hotel room, he kept a protective hand on her spine. Boone gave her a long, slow perusal, from her simple black heels to her hair, which she’d brushed until shiny waves fell down her spine.
“Nice to see you, Pippa.”
She smiled at him. “You too.”
His stare went on. Ross cleared his throat, shifting Boone’s attention from her. Whatever he saw on his brother’s face made Boone grin, waving a hand toward the short corridor leading to the elevators.
“We’ve secured the elevator for you. It won’t stop at other floors, so nobody else can get in.” Boone fell into step behind her and Ross as they started down the corridor.
She felt like the filling of a hot cowboy bodyguard sandwich. Both men rocked jeans and boots like nobody else could. Ross had on a white button-down dress shirt, which she’d watched him iron himself on the setup he found in the hotel closet, and she still felt the effects of watching a gorgeous, half-naked, muscled man ironing his own shirt.
Boone wore chambray with pearl buttons that she’d forever associate with Wynton men. And both of their white Stetsons topped off their appearance.
They stepped into the elevator, and Boone hit the button for the ground floor and bar. She backed up against the wall, bubbles of fear hitting her stomach for the first time since she heard they were going public.
What if someone attacked her? She didn’t want bystanders being shot. Meredith. Other friends and colleagues. The Wyntons. Ross.
He caught her gaze and held it. She grew aware of Boone watching them.
“Never thought I’d play the role of elevator man,” Boone said to break the strain rising between them all.
She turned to him. “What did you think you’d be when you grew up, Boone?”
“An astronaut.”
For some reason, that struck them all as funny, and when they walked out of the elevator, they were all laughing.
Ross sobered first, and his arm vibrated with tension as he guided her a few steps to the bar. Through the smoky glass windows, she saw people seated around tables, talking and laughing. Others stood in clusters. She couldn’t make out any faces until they stepped through the door.
Immediately, she picked out several other white hats and knew Ross’s team had a stronghold on the place. She relaxed a fraction, following Ross. Halfway to the bar, she spotted Meredith’s blonde hair and broke free of Ross.
He caught her wrist and swung her to him.
“I’m going to talk to my friend.”
“Not without me.”
“Fine. I’ll introduce you.” She hurried forward.
Meredith turned and stopped mid-conversation with a man Pippa knew, from other industry events, worked for a pharmaceutical company. Meredith’s eyes widened as her gaze fell on Pippa.
At Pippa’s back, she felt Ross’s familiar body heat vanish. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him slow his steps. Then in one long stride, he was with her again, leading her up to Meredith.
“Oh my God! Pippa! I hardly recognize you out of your lab coat and ponytail. You look stunning—and healthy! That flu medicine must have really done the trick!” Meredith embraced her.
Being much taller than Meredith always made for an awkward hug, but she wouldn’t miss the chance to connect for the world. She squeezed Meredith.
“Thank you for checking in on me. And for the email. It really brightened my day and helped me feel better.”
Meredith smiled but got distracted by Ross standing behind Pippa. Who wouldn’t? The man’s presence was as imposing as a monument.
Twisting to include Ross, she caught his guarded expression…but something more. His brows were pinched and he didn’t seem eager to interact with her friend. What did Pippa expect? He was just being overly protective and suspicious.
“Meredith, this is Ross.” She was looking at Meredith when she introduced them, so her friend’s gaze skittering away from the big man definitely drew Pippa’s notice.
Feeling odder by the second, she watched Ross when she said, “This is my friend Meredith.”
“Nice to meet you.” He spoke with no feeling or warmth at all. He didn’t offer a hand to shake.
Meredith drew up her shoulders and thrust them straighter, head held high. “Nice to meet you too.”
Was it Pippa’s imagination that her friend’s voice sounded just as dull and lifeless as Ross’s? Maybe they were both being protective of her. Meredith never did tend to like Pippa’s boyfriends and didn’t hold back about letting her know either.
“Ross is an old family friend. We ran into each other and I invited him to join us for a drink. I hope you don’t mind, Meredith.”
“Of course not. And look at that—my glass is empty. Follow me to the bar, Pippa, and I’ll buy you a glass of wine.”
“I’m right behind you.” She started after Meredith. Someone touched her arm, and she looked up to see Ryan Letters with another lab assistant.
“Pippa. Wow. You look…” Ryan lifted a hand to scratch at his hair. “Amazing.”
She wished everyone wasn’t so shocked that she could clean up and look nice. Was she really that much of an ugly duckling?
Also, she couldn’t think of anything worse than Ross meeting Ryan Letters. She waved toward Meredith, who’d already reached the bar. “I’m just going to…catch up.”
He started to nod, when Ross thrust a hand at him. “Ryan Letters. My name’s Wynton.”
She expected and I’m your worst nightmare to follow, but Ross only glared down at Ryan until he shrank away without ever shaking Ross’s hand.
She grabbed Ross’s forearm and towed him away, but not before she saw Josiah move in from some corner of the room to keep an eye on Ryan.
“Tell me you didn’t come down here to terrorize all my coworkers,” she muttered at Ross from the corner of her mouth.
“Of course I did. What did you expect? One of them has it out for you, Pippa.”
As they reached the bar, Meredith shot Ross a side-eyed glance. “Your friend can’t get his own drink?”
“No, he can’t.” Ross’s voice gritted out with enough force to cause several people on the stools around them to halt their conversations. He jerked his jaw toward the bartender. “Jameson for me and a white wine for the lady.”
She arched a brow at him highhandedly ordering her a drink without knowing her preference, but she wasn’t about to argue with the stubborn man here. No matter that she actually did prefer white wine to red. Her mother always drank it too, and he might have ordered it because he remembered.
Smiling in thanks at the bartender, she turned to Meredith. “It’s sooo good to see you. What a long few days I had out of the lab. Anything new?”
Ross hovered over her and would make anyone nervous. No wonder Meredith wiggled on the barstool. Then she nearly tipped over her own drink. A bit sloshed onto the paper napkin it rested on.
Pippa brought the wine to her lips. From the corner of her eye, she saw Ross knock down his whiskey in one swallow. He stood behind her like the bodyguard he was, but she wasn’t a Kardashian and his presence was drawing more attention to her. She knew these people—worked with many of them—and they would be asking why he was glued to her.