Unfortunately, Roman couldn’t figure out how to take that much-needed step back as the guy said, “I hope you’ll save me a dance tomorrow.”
She cocked her head in surprise, as if she’d only just realized she was being flirted with. “You want to dance with me?”
God, she really didn’t have a clue, did she? She still saw herself as a nerd girl, rather than an exceptionally lovely, intriguing, enticing woman who had the eye of every unattached man in the room.
“Of course I want to dance with the most exquisite woman here,” Buck replied.
Her laughter rang out, attracting even more male attention. Despite the fact that Roman didn’t want anyone to guess that his feelings ran deeper than merely a bodyguard’s looking out for his client, he couldn’t keep himself from scowling at them all.
“That’s nice of you to say,” she said, as if she didn’t believe a word out of Buck’s mouth. “I’m sure I’ll have plenty of open dance slots tomorrow if you want one, and it’s been really nice talking with you. I should go check with Christie, who runs the Inn, to see if she needs help with anything.”
Though the movie star looked a little flummoxed at Suzanne not falling all over herself to spend more time with him, he played it smooth. “The pleasure’s been all mine.”
A woman with long, golden-brown hair waved at Suzanne from the door to what looked like the kitchen. “There’s Christie,” Suzanne said. “Roman, did you mean it when you offered to help earlier? I’m sure there are a million last-second details to take care of.”
“Of course I did,” he said, working not to feel too smug at the way Suzanne had already forgotten Buck was there.
The smile she gave him could have lit up the darkening sky outside. They left the main room and headed into the Inn’s kitchen, where the two women hugged. “Christie, it’s so good to see you again. This is Roman. Roman, Christie runs the Inn along with her fiancé, Wes.” After they shook hands, Suzanne said, “I haven’t seen Wes yet. Is he busy setting up for tomorrow?”
“Unfortunately, he had out-of-town plans he wasn’t able to change. He’s really sorry to miss this wedding. He’d be here if he could.”
“Which is where I come in to save the day,” a man with dark hair and broad shoulders joked as he walked into the kitchen from the door on the other side of the room.
Suzanne went in for another hug, one that twisted Roman’s gut up even tighter than it had been out in the main room when the movie star had been trying to make his moves on her. Because she was clearly close to this guy. And he wasn’t wearing a ring, which meant he could very well have his eye on Suzanne.
“Roman, this is Calvin, Summer Lake’s esteemed mayor. Saving people in town is what he does.”
Suzanne grinned at Calvin as she made the introduction, treating him like nothing more than a buddy. By now, however, Roman knew better than to think any of the guys she spent time with felt the same way. Just because she was blind to her own irresistible beauty didn’t mean anyone else was. Roman silently told himself to prepare for Buck Elroy, part two.
Strangely, though, the smile Calvin gave her didn’t have any more heat in it, any more longing, any more sparks than hers did for him. And he definitely wasn’t looking at Roman as if he were a potential rival.
“It’s great to meet you, Roman. I always wondered when Suzanne would find a guy who could keep up with her.”
“Oh no,” Suzanne said, her flushed face only making her prettier. “We’re not dating.” When both Christie and Calvin looked confused, she clarified, “He’s my bodyguard.”
All night long they’d been having this conversation, one that was always awkward for Suzanne, while also being extremely worrying for the people who loved her. Smith had grilled her for a good thirty minutes before accepting that Suzanne and Roman had things taken care of.
“Tell us what we can do,” Christie said.
“How can we help?” Calvin asked at the same time.
“Please, don’t worry.” Suzanne held out her hands to touch each of theirs. “Everything’s fine.”
“We’ve got everything under control.” Roman put in to further reassure her friends. “Suzanne is perfectly safe.” He wanted to reach for her, wanted to put his arm around her and pull her closer. Instead, he stuffed his hands into his pockets while working to divert any further discussion of Suzanne’s problems. “We’d like to help with the wedding preparations. Please tell us what we can do.”