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He blinked the man into focus. “I’m sorry?”
“Orylin Daniels is a friend. I heard that you married his daughter. We play golf regularly, and he was bragging about you.”
Lucas kept his embarrassment and appreciation tucked away. As far as he could recall, the last person who’d bragged about him was his mother. It was also possible that Ozzie did during the times he was most lucid.
“You married Delilah?” Weston Mills asked.
John, chuckling, shook his head. “No, although she’s plenty cute enough. He married Delilah’s sister, and let me tell you…she is a beauty. If I had been twenty-five years younger, I would have given Saraci here a run for his money.”
Lucas, laughing, bent near John’s ear and lowered his voice. “Stop while you’re ahead, or I willkillyou.”
John, choking, coughed into a fist.
“Do you golf, Saraci?” Rich asked.
As he went to respond, his eyes landed on the most gorgeous creature he was sure anyone in the room had ever seen. She stood with her sister, draped in a red dress that made her look like she was part of the elegant decor. She was so vibrant, he wasn’t sure whether it was the dress’ fabric or her aura that resulted in her glow.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” he said.
She searched the room, and when their gazes connected, she started for him, but he shook his head. He needed her to stay right where she was; he wanted to go to her.
Their bodies collided.
He wrapped his arms around her, inhaling her scent and lifting her off her feet. Most days, he was amazed that he was here and was free to love her. Considering how they’d met, he’d assumed a life with her would have remained just out of his reach.
Getting the girl wasn’t unusual for him, but Raina would have always been worth the effort. She was the one who he would have never dazzled into falling for him. To get the woman of his dreams, he’d had to become something he hadn’t been for far too long—the real version of himself.
“Hi, baby.” She gave him a squeeze. “I felt a little better, and I didn’t want to stand you up on a night this important.”
He set her down on her feet.
She sounded nasal, and her eyes looked tired. Flawless makeup covered what he was sure would have been more visible symptoms, but he’d assumed she was being coy when she’d told him she wasn’t feeling well.
“Sweetheart,” he pressed the back of his hand against her forehead, “you’re really not feeling well. Feels like you’re running a fever.”
“I wasn’t when I left the house.”
“Lilah, take her h—”
“No, Lucas. I’ll stay. Delilah told me this is an important night for you. I assume that means you’re getting an award of some sort.”
He already had one.
She was every award, gift, surprise, and piece of goodness he would ever need. Had he known she honestly wasn’t feeling well, he would have canceled the entire thing and stayed with her, endless mugs of mint and lemon tea at the ready, his mother’s cure-all for every ailment.
“Let’s go sit, then,” he suggested.
He scooped her up into his arms, and she laughed, pressing a kiss against his neck. People watched them, but that was what he wanted. This woman made him happier than happy, and he wanted as many people as possible to know how much. The only aspect of his relationship with Raina he wanted behind closed doors were the aspects that could get them arrested if they were to do them in a public place.
He set her down at their table, which they shared with Adam, Cheryl, Bill, John, two other physicians, and a dour-looking Emmaline.
Raina leaned against him, and he pulled her chair closer, feeling like shit, knowing she was only there for him. Once his segment for the night was over, they would go home.
“You look beautiful, Rai,” he whispered.
She wrapped both of her arms around one of his. “Oh, I know. The look on your face told me I made a good choice with this dress.”
“Everything looks good on you.”
