Page 61 of Her Captivated Hero

“Gray are you hiding Riya?” Miranda called out.

“Stay here and eat. I’m going to keep out the riff-raff.” Gray got up and walked to the screen door to waylay Miranda.

Riya took small bites of her food, secure in the knowledge that she would have privacy.

* * *

“She’s as tiny as Evie,”Aiden said as he flipped one of the many steaks on the grill.

Gray looked up and saw Riya joining the ladies where they were seated underneath the umbrellas. Well, they weren’t all ladies, there was also Dalton. He tended to hover around Aurora and their son, James.

“Is she settling in okay, or did my idiot brother-in-law scare the shit out of her?” Aiden turned down the flame on the grill.

“I thought she was going to hide under the kitchen table. But she seems to be settling in with Dalton.”

Riya had taken the empty seat next to Dalton, and she was currently leaning in to listen intently to something he was saying. Aurora, Dalton’s wife, leaned over him to say something to Riya, which had her smiling.

Good. Riya hadn’t met Dalton before, so it was good to see her feeling so relaxed with him.

“Do you have any news on the women?” Aiden asked.

Gray knew immediately who he was talking about. “Chantelle is now home with her sister in Montreal. Chantelle sent a ‘To Whom It May Concern’ letter thanking us for saving her.”

Aiden smiled. “She’s good people.” He flipped four more steaks and put some hamburger patties on the grill.

“Are we going to see the letter?”

“It’s already scanned and in your e-mails. I’m surprised Dex didn’t bring a printed copy to the party.”

Aiden shrugged. “What about Emily, the ambassador’s daughter?”

“No word from any official channels. Wyatt did some digging. She’s refusing therapy, and isn’t talking.”

“That’s not good. Where are they? Did Ambassador Hoag ever come back to the states?”

Gray could hear Aiden’s wheels turning.

“They’re in Temecula. I think we should leave it for a while.”

Aiden didn’t say anything.

“Seriously, we need to take it easy,” Gray counselled. “We don’t own this.”

“Remember what happened with Evie’s sister, Chloe. This isn’t something that you let fester.”

Gray rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll think about it.” He looked over at Riya. Now she was holding Dalton’s son. It did his heart good to see her so comfortable.

“Oh my God, you have it bad,” Aiden gloated.

“Huh?” Gray turned to look at his friend.

Aiden pointed his barbeque tongs at Riya. “You’re looking at her exactly like I looked at Evie.”

“At least I know I’ve got a good thing, and I don’t have my head up my ass.”

Aiden scowled at him. “Jesus, a man makes one mistake, and he never hears the end of it.”

Gray raised an eyebrow, but he was smiling. It had taken a hell of a long time for his friend to actually laugh about this, considering Evie almost lost her life because of that mistake. Aiden saved her, but the cost had been high.