He had the strongest urge to drag her out of the ballroom and find a quiet,privateplace to be alone with her, but he knew they were already going to get a lot of grief for this public...whatever this was. Not that he cared, but she might. “Okay,” he murmured.
“Okay.” She swallowed and blinked and took a deep, unsteady breath.
Somehow he managed to guide them to the others. Somehow he managed to ignore the awkward, loaded silence that greeted their arrival. Beyond that, he was on uneven ground.
“What did Dr. Voigt want?” Astrid asked, effectively breaking the silence and steering the conversation into a safer direction.
“Nothing.” Rosebud’s voice was high and tight.
He knew better than to look at her—but did it anyway. The pink flush on her cheeks and dazed look on her face had nothing to do with her run-in with James Voigt. And damn, but it felt good.
“Nothing? That was an awful long nothing.” Tansy’s not-so-subtle glare was still fixed on the back of the room. “I can’t believe he dared to talk to you. I mean, what could he possibly have to say?”
“He’s panicking she’ll rat him out, is all.” Everett glanced at the man in question. “Rosebud handled it like a real champ. Kept her cool. Told it like it was. And she’ll be on the panel with him tomorrow—to keep his facts straight.” And he was proud of her for agreeing to do it. She’d worked too hard to let some self-inflated wannabe bee guru misrepresent her efforts.
“You are?” Astrid was all smiles. “Oh, Rose, that’s amazing.”
Everett wholeheartedly agreed.
“Can we come and throw things at him?” Tansy asked. “You know like those old-fashioned movies and plays? Where they boo and throw stuff at the villain?”
Everett also wholeheartedly agreed with this.
Dane pretended to be outraged. “What are you talking about? How old are you?” He laughed at Tansy’s livid expression. “Fine. I’ll buy some fruit. Stale bread. Whatever. Something hard.”
“Excellent.” Tansy smiled up at him. “My hero.”
“Where are the kids?” Rosebud glanced around, seemingly distracted. “I should get them checked in for their exams.”
“No worries, Nicole’s on it.” Astrid patted her arm. “Benji could barely sit still, fidgeting and stuff.”
“Poor Benji. Test-taking anxiety can be crippling.” Rosebud shrugged. “It almost got me a handful of times. There’s nothing worse than feeling confident one minute then second-guessing yourself when it matters.” She glanced his way. “I think I’ll go wait with them and catch up with you all later?” She didn’t wait for an answer.
Everett watched her leave, replaying the last five minutes. He wasn’t suffering from test-taking anxiety, but he was second-guessing everything that had just taken place.
“So.” Dane pushed him in the shoulder. “What the hell was that?”
He had no idea. Something good, he hoped. Something he wasn’t ready to get teased over, that’s for sure. “Don’t.” Everett held up a hand. “What’s the plan now?” Standing around enduring teasing and long questioning looks from the four adults watching him wasn’t high on his list of things to do.
“I want to go check on the booth.” Astrid wrinkled her nose. “Make sure it’s...right.”
“I know, I know. You’re very particular about the way the booth is set up and need to make sure it meets your standards. I’ll come with you—in case you need an extra hand.” Tansy winked at her sister. “I wouldn’t have expected anything else. I was proud of you for letting Nicole do so much.”
“She was very dictatorial about it. I didn’t feel like I had a choice.” Astrid shrugged. “I think Charlie and Nova are planning on walking around the expo hall before lunch?”
“You’re welcome to join us,” Charlie offered.
With Charlie, Everett wouldn’t have to worry about being plied with questions or teased about Rosebud.
“Come with us, Everett. Later, I can read you the ABC’s book.” Nova bounced on the balls of her feet, all enthusiasm. “I can read it to Daddy, too.”
“I’d like that,” Charlie agreed, smiling down at his daughter.
“Or you can come with me, check us into the hotel, and scope out the lunch situation?” Dane held up his hands. “I’ll behave.”
Everett didn’t bother to hide his skepticism.
“Scout’s honor.” Dane held up his hand.
