“Move over big guy,” Ashley Ritter said as she walked up to the sofa.
Zane stood. “I’ll grab us some food,” he said, then leaned toward Ashley and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re radiant as always.”
“If you think that shamelessly flattering your partner’s wife is going to influence how I talk about you, you’re right,” she said as she settled on the sofa. “Bring me back anything salty please.”
He nodded and headed for the buffet. Nicki frowned at her friend. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching sodium? Didn’t you swell up like a balloon when you were pregnant with Michael?”
Jeff’s wife wrinkled her nose, then brushed back her dark hair. “Thanks so much for reminding me.”
“I’m your friend. I worry.”
Ashley sighed. “I know I have to watch my diet but in the past couple of days I’ve been like a cow without a salt lick. Desperate.” Her hazel eyes danced with amusement. “But enough about the oddities of my pregnant self. What’s going on with you? Since when did Zane start escorting you to parties and hanging on your every word and why didn’t you call and tell me he’d finally seen the light?”
Nicki instinctively turned to make sure Zane was safely across the room and not within hearing distance. “It’s not like that,” she said, her voice low. “Boyd couldn’t make it tonight and Zane offered to bring me. Nothing more.”
“That’s not what it looks like to me, young lady.”
Nicki sighed. “He’s on date patrol or something, but it doesn’t mean anything.”
Ashley’s expression turned sympathetic. She leaned close. “I know you’re convinced he couldn’t possibly be interested in you because he only dates bubbleheads, but I think you should tell him the truth about your feelings and give this whole thing a chance. Zane is a lot like Jeff—there’s plenty concealed beneath the surface. The difference is Jeff hid himself behind the walls of being a warrior while Zane chooses a more charming facade. But that doesn’t change the reality. They’re both hiding the real man.”
“Who is the real Zane?” Nicki asked. “Sometimes I think I catch glimpses of him when we’re hanging out together. He lets his guard down, which I appreciate. But there’s no telling that the inner Zane will be any more interested in me than the outer one.”
“You could try to find out.”
A good plan, Nicki thought, except she wasn’t sure she really wanted to know. Not if the answer was negative.
Ashley read her expression. “So go another route,” her friend suggested. “Find out about the secrets he hides. Why does he pursue young women with minimal IQs?”
“Because they’re easy.”
Ashley chuckled. “Tell him you could be, too. And if you do see him naked, I want a full report.”
Nicki grinned. “You always say that but if I ever try to give you details, you can’t stand to hear them.”
“I know. I get shy.”
Nicki thought about the affectionate glances she’d seen between Ashley and Jeff, and the very hot kiss she’d accidentally interrupted one afternoon at the office.
“Not with Jeff,” she said.
Ashley sighed. Her expression softened and her gaze sought out her husband. “No, not with Jeff,” she agreed.
Zane grabbed a fresh glass of champagne from the server’s tray and handed it to Nicki. She took the offered drink.
“Hmm, why do I know this puts me over my limit?” she asked.
He winked.
“You’re trying to get me drunk.”
“I’ll admit the thought crossed my mind,” he told her.
“I wouldn’t have thought you would have to resort to cheap tricks with your dates.”
“I don’t,” he said smugly. “The women I go out with fall at my feet.”
“Easier for me to do that than most, but don’t hold your breath.”
She grinned as she spoke, then sipped her drink. Zane tucked a loose curl behind her ear.
Laughter brightened her eyes. He’d always found her attractive, but dressed to kill she was stunning.
He’d seen her legs countless times—in the gym, when she wore shorts in the summer. He was used to the long, lean length of thigh and calf. He barely noticed the faint crisscrossing of scars that patterned her right leg. She kept herself in shape and he’d always been man enough to appreciate the curves.
But tonight something was different. Maybe it was the length of her skirt—the way the filmy fabric barely covered the tops of her thighs. Maybe it was the faint glow of her skin, or the fact that when he’d lifted her into the SUV his hand had cupped bare, warm flesh. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t stop looking at her legs…or wanting to touch them.
He knew she could feel everything. Her being in a wheelchair wasn’t about being paralyzed. So if he stroked his fingers from ankle to knee, then knee to thigh, she would feel every millimeter of contact. And then what? Would she lean toward him, her mouth parting in welcome? Would her breathing quicken as she—
“Zane?”
Nicki’s voice called him back to the party.
He blinked and forced his mind away from her body. “What?”
“You had the oddest expression on your face. What on earth were you thinking about?”
He was saved from coming up with a lie by the arrival of their host. Al Morgan pulled a chair up next to Nicki and sat down.
“How are you doing?” the gray-haired man said as he took Nicki’s free hand in his.
She smiled. “I’m great.”
Al studied her. “We’ve been doing some work with various metal alloys. It’s all hush-hush stuff for the government, but it will have industrial applications. I was wondering—”
Nicki cut him off with a quick shake of her head. “You’re a sweetie for thinking of me, Al, but no.”
“Hear me out,” he told her. “We’re talking very strong but extremely lightweight. You’d barely know they were there.”
“Braces are still braces.”
“But you’d be walking.”
Her smile was patient. “The two-legged thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Believe me, I’ve tried it.” She released his hand and tapped his knee. “Walking is what you know and I appreciate that you want that kind of freedom for me. But shuffling along in braces is slow and awkward.”
Al didn’t look convinced. “There are medical advances every day.”
“I agree and I have a doctor who keeps on top of that sort of thing. I trust her completely, but despite miracles, some things can’t be healed. I learned that when I broke my legs.” She smiled ruefully. “The left one was so bad, even one of the ski patrol rescue guys passed out when he saw the bones sticking out. There was no way the bones could heal correctly. Walking was still a possibility because my right leg would be okay.”
She paused. Zane knew the story, knew how she’d struggled all those years ago. She’d been fourteen when her world had crashed in on her.
“Then I got a bone infection,” she continued. “It took months to heal and when it did, the bones in my right leg had been weakened to the point where they