“I love what you’re wearing.” He urged her down the hall with his hand on the small of her back. “I’m looking at your muscles, not staring at your scars.”
“Right. But you’re kind of used to them by now. These other folks—”
“They won’t care. I’m sure of it. Especially after what Cole told me about his partners.”
Her brow creased. “I thought Cole Miller was the owner.”
“He’s kind of the public face of Phantom, but there are three others. You’d probably recognize their names if you were in the computer field.”
“Which I’m not. I so shouldn’t have come.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Logan stopped and turned to face her. “You know how Cole has a prosthetic arm? It turns out that’s how he got hooked up with the other three. They met as teenagers at a computer camp… a camp for kids with disabilities.”
Logan let the idea sink in. Ellery had nothing to worry about. No one would give her a hard time, and she was the kind of person everyone liked as soon as they met her. He, on the other hand, was socially awkward all the time. Though he hoped he’d improved a little over the last two months with Ellery frequently pulling him out of hiding. For now, concentrating on Ellery was calming his nerves.
“So all four of them have some sort of disability?”
“Yep. I’ve met Branson Knight. He’s completely blind, and he’s incredible! I haven’t met Finn or Jarrett, and I didn’t ask what their disabilities are.” Logan led them forward to the elevator and pushed the button. “They also have a huge non-profit arm called Limitless that does all kinds of stuff for kids with disabilities. Phantom profits get rolled over into their Limitless division. For once in my life, I could be a part of something really amazing. Something unselfish.”
“Okay, I admit that’s pretty awesome, but I think I’m even more nervous about meeting them now.”
“The point is these people won’t be like the ones at the wedding. I don’t think they’ll judge you or anyone else by their looks.” Logan prayed his words were true. He would be up-in-arms if anyone made her feel bad. “And if they do—”
“I know, I know. If they do, we won’t waste a single brain cell thinking about them.” Ellery’s eyes crinkled in the corners as she recited one of Logan’s favorite lines. She seemed to be fine. Maybe she’d reached the point where her scars no longer bothered her.
“And one more thing,” Logan said. “I want to work with Phantom Enterprises. But it’s not like I need it. I’m just excited about this new project. I hate being bored.”
“Yes, we don’t want you to get bored and turn into a computer hacker.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that what happens when computer guys get bored? They turn into hackers and make malware?”
He stifled a grin. “I promise I won’t turn into a computer hacker.”
The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Logan caught her gaze in the mirrored walls and waggled his brows, speaking in a gravelly tone. “Looks like we get a private ride down. We probably shouldn’t waste this opportunity.”
On cue, roses bloomed in her cheeks, but she didn’t object when he lowered his lips to hers. Savoring the moment, he closed the gap with agonizing deliberateness.
“What are you waiting for?” she mumbled in a grumpy voice. “A written invitation?”
She surged upward, pressing her lips to his, her hand resting on his chest, where his heart thumped a crazy rhythm she could probably feel through his shirt. Mere seconds later she tore away, ending it almost before it started. She dropped her gaze to the floor and cleared her throat. “That was very nice.”
“Nice? Sounds like something you’d say if I handed you a potted plant,” he teased, maintaining a serious expression. It was one of their favorite games, one he had yet to win. No matter what he’d tried he hadn’t been able to pierce her solemn façade when they were competing. She was impermeable, even to goofy expressions, awful puns, and tickling.
“Only a really good potted plant.” She twisted her mouth to one side, as if she were pondering. “Like an aloe vera, maybe. Something that’s pretty and also useful.”
The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival on level one. Moving quickly before the doors opened, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, breathing in the clean, sweet scent of her hair. “I’m so glad to know you hold me in the same high esteem as an aloe vera.”
The doors opened and the clamor of voices assaulted his ears. Concentrating on Ellery, he’d managed to put the reality of the situation out of his mind. Now it hit him. He was going to be in a room full of strangers. His heart raced, throbbing in his ears. He shouldn’t have come. He was going to panic and make a fool of himself.
Something tapped his shoulder, and Ellery’s whisper broke into his consciousness. “If you tell me we don’t have to go to this dinner, I’ll elevate you to a rose bush!”
She regarded him with a perfectly sober expression for a few seconds, then dissolved into laughter.
“You broke! Finally!” Logan waved a finger in the air, his anxiety forgotten in light of such a rare victory. “One point for me!”
“Excuse me,” said a man in a suit, waiting outside the elevator. “Are you getting off here?”
“Yes, we are.” With a firm grip on Ellery’s hand, he towed her through the doors and turned down the shiny granite hallway toward the banquet room.
“I know this stuff makes you nervous,” Ellery said, tugging against his hand. “Why don’t we claim one of us got sick? We could go back upstairs and play two-handed spades.”
It was so sweet how much she worried about him. Just one more thing he’d never experienced in his relationship with Allegra.
“It’s okay. Right now, I’m good,” he explained, hastening his steps before he lost his courage.
He dragged her along. Muttering under her breath, only two words were discernible—skunk cabbage.
CHAPTER 15
Why had she agreed to go to New York with Logan? He would’ve been perfectly fine without her. He barely showed any signs of his earlier phobia about being around groups of people. Hadn’t they gone out to eat several times with no problems? And he didn’t need her help to fit in. What did it matter if he talked like a computer nerd in a room full of computer nerds? She was the one who was going to feel out of place.
As they walked through the banquet doorway, goosebumps rose in response to the dozens of eyes that peered her direction. Although, they might’ve been eyeing Logan instead. She was probably overreacting.
A familiar figure strode toward them, sporting jeans and custom cowboy boots.
