Page 81 of Nothing to the Wedding

“Then he has enemies.”

“Which come with the territory.Success often breeds contempt.”On a blink, her lips met with a startling truth.“Man, I sound all grown up.”

He breathed out a laugh and caught the back of her head to pull her against him.He held her there a second, pressing his mouth to the top of her head.

“You weren’t supposed to do that either, Talks-Alot.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Why?It’s true.”

“How would you know?You’ve been off radar for two years.”

Relaxing, he guided her head from his chest to read her gaze.“If that name didn’t still fit, hellfire would be raining down.And trust me, I’ve seen that shit, the LA pace isn’t it.”

She laughed.“You’d probably prefer hellfire.”

“Damn right I would.”

Time to try again.“Come meet him.”

“If he wants to meet me, he knows where I am.”

“He doesn’t actually.”She gestured behind and around without turning.“Did I mention there are several hundred people here?”

“Hangers-on.”

“Some, but most of them genuinely care about Zairn.Security was tight.You don’t have to worry about—”

“BKS,” he said, his gaze narrowing.“And Ryder Stone is here.”

“Yes.”

Was she surprised he knew security agencies?Kinda.Though if she’d thought about it for half a millisecond, she wouldn’t have been.

“Guest or working?”

“Both,” she said and inhaled.“Oh, hey, his wife will be here!He’s so neurotic about her safety.”

“Says the woman who’s supposed to be in love.”

“Hey, when my guy feared for my safety, Stone’s the guy he brought in to work with Ballard.”

“Sean Ballard.Heard about him.Never met him.”

Not far from Jane’s shadow, Ballard was all about security in the transfer of guests and probably up to his eyeballs with concerns and potential issues.The man usually took a while to trust, but if Sam knew Ryder Stone and the Breckenridges, he might even be welcome to help.Hmm, that could’ve been something to bring up in the planning stage, if, you know, Sam made his whereabouts known.

“You can meet Ballard now if—” Hold up.“You want to meet our security chief before you meet the groom?”

“Not got a lot in common with a playboy billionaire, Talks-Alot.”

“You assume,” she said, fists finding her hips.“How do you know that?And he’s not a playboy anymore, he’s reformed.”

“Just because I wasn’t here, doesn’t mean I wasn’t watching.”

“All you’ve seen is what the public see,” she said.“What we are doesn’t belong to them.”

“Name one thing we have in common.”