Thank God.
He looked relaxed and not at all overwhelmed by the throng of people. How I envied him. He grabbed a glass of champagne off a tray being passed around and spoke politely to a few people on his way toward me and Lincoln. When he finally reached us, I couldn’t help the impulse to grab hold of his sleeve. My fingers curled around the material of his jacket in a death grip. Now that he was here, he wasn’t going to shake me. No, siree.
He smiled at me and pressed his shoulder into mine. “Evening, gentlemen,” he drawled, nodding at Lincoln and then smiling down at me.
I did my best to look cool and collected, but my heart was racing. Royce’s presence instantly chased away the underlying buzz of anxiety I’d felt all evening. “I’m so glad to see you,” I mumbled, unable to keep that comment in.
“Yeah?” Royce’s lips twitched. “I thought you might be. Mrs. Numi texted me saying she’d dragged you here. She also said you looked miserable, and she deeply regretted it. I thought I’d come rescue you.”
Lincoln guffawed. “Dr. Thornton has been eyeing the exit since he arrived. I thought I might have to tackle him if he made a break for it.”
Royce laughed.
My face warmed. “Was I that obvious?”
Smirking, Lincoln said, “I taught high school for twenty years. I know the look of a person planning their escape when I see it.”
I grimaced.
Royce sighed. “Max isn’t much of a social butterfly.”
“No. But I’m still holding out hope that maybeyoucan convince him to join our little club, Sheriff.” Lincoln pushed his tongue into his cheek as if he was trying not to laugh.
Royce lifted his brows. “Making Max do something he doesn’t want to do isn’t easy.”
Lincoln smiled good-naturedly. “At least promise me you’lltryto recruit him.”
“I’ll do my best.” Royce patted my back reassuringly.
“Excellent.” Lincoln sighed. “And on that note, I suppose I should mingle and let you two have some time together.”
Lincoln moved away toward Mrs. Numi’s group, and I gave a sigh of relief.
Chuckling, Royce said, “You looked mighty unhappy when I got here, Max. Was it really that bad?”
“Torture,” I muttered. “Lincoln was nice, but I’m really glad to see you.”
“I can’t believe you let Mrs. Numi talk you into this.”
“We’d just looked over my new clinic, and I was riding high on dopamine. I’d never have agreed in my right mind.”
“At least she realized her mistake and texted me.”
“She won’t trick me again, I can tell you that.”
He sipped his bubbly and then said, “This group isn’t so bad.”
“You sure about that?” I frowned. “Did you see the Raidens and Liam James are here?”
“I noticed.”
“They seem to be everywhere lately.”
“It’s a small town, so it’s hard not to trip over each other.”
“True,” I murmured.
Royce surreptitiously studied the Raidens and Liam James. “Do you think they give a rat’s ass Kyle Segrott died?”
