Reed’s expression shifted for a second. “I think your friends are right about keeping your guard up.”

“Oh? Why do you think that?”

“Because I looked up your dear friend Mr. Petrov, remember?”

“Ah, you do care.”

He leaned back, the line in his jaw hardened. “Did you think I didn’t?”

Oh, wow . . . she’d hurt him. “I was just teasing.”

“Of course I care, Lori.”

She reached over and clasped his palm in hers. “I kinda like you a little bit, too.”

He squeezed her hand, the expression on his face softened.

Chapter Twenty-One

Humidity hit them as soon as they exited the airport. “I could never live here,” Lori muttered as Reed placed their luggage in the back of the rental car.

“I spent a summer here when I was a kid, swore I’d never do it again,” he said, keeping small talk going while he kept an eye on the people walking around.

Sasha had walked right through first class before sneaking just out of the first cabin and settling two rows back in coach. The back of Reed’s head burned the entire flight.

Lori slid into the passenger seat, and he took one more look around before taking the wheel.

“If it wasn’t so hot, I wouldn’t mind traveling here more often. The people seem to take life a little easier.”

“Nothing slows down in LA.”

She pulled her shirt away from her chest a few times, and he twisted the fan on high. “Okay, copilot. Where am I going?” Reed asked.

“The hotel. I’ll touch base with Trina, and then we have dinner with Alice’s sisters. Tomorrow we face the board.”

Reed removed his phone and looked up the address of the hotel. “Might as well relax, it’s going to take us close to an hour to get there.”

Lori placed her purse in the back seat and relaxed. “Gotta love Texas.”

He pulled out of the rental parking lot and onto a frontage road to the highway. Sunglasses became his cloak as his eyes worked overtime, scanning the traffic around them.

Would Sasha follow them, or did she already know the destination of the hotel? “How long have Trina and Avery been here?”

“They flew in last night.”

And if Sasha managed a plane ticket, on the same plane as Lori’s, chances were she knew where they were headed.

Reed picked up speed on the highway, kept an eye on the rearview mirror.

“Have I said thank you for being here?” Lori asked.

“You did, and you don’t have to thank me. I’m glad you asked.”

She reached over, ran her hand along his arm. “I’m glad I asked, too. Even though I need a bodyguard about as much as you do.”

A tiny bit of his soul was buying a round in hell right at that moment. Not only did she need a bodyguard, she needed a new boyfriend. Right now, he sucked at being both.

“You got awfully quiet over there,” Lori said.

He grasped her hand in his free one. “Just enjoying the drive without traffic.”

She squeezed his fingers and laid her head back. “You do that. I’m going to try and nap. I haven’t been sleeping all that well since the monitors went in.”

“Are they making noise at night?” He hadn’t noticed the night he spent sleeping in her bed.

“Nothing like that. I’m just wondering who is listening to hear if I snore.”

Reed kissed the back of her hand. “You don’t snore.”

“You wouldn’t tell me if I did,” she said with her eyes closed. “Those kinds of things only come out when couples argue.”

Couples? Had they become that?

He looked over to see her staring. “Not that I’m suggesting we’re a couple.”

“I suppose it’s a little early to use that definition, but I understood what you meant.”

She still looked as if she’d said something wrong.

“It’s all good, Lori. Close your eyes and snore away. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

She closed her eyes and said, “I don’t snore.”

Lori met Trina and Avery in their adjoining room to chat privately before dinner.

“We have a few things to go over before we meet with Alice’s sisters. Are you okay with Avery being here?” she asked Trina.

“Oh, please. I trust Avery as much as I trust you and Sam. So hurry up with the legal garbage so we can get all the details about your new bodyguard.”

Lori felt the heat in her cheeks growing. “The legal garbage, as you call it, is why I’m here.”

“Yes, I know . . . and we will be knee-deep in all that tomorrow. So skim it for tonight.”

“Okay, here is the gist. You know how politicians say a lot without saying anything?”

Trina and Avery both nodded.

“That’s you tonight. You can talk about your struggles surrounding Fedor’s death, your genuine shock when you learned of Alice’s will. But keep everything on the surface. If I interrupt you, it’s not because I’m rude, it’s because you’re probably saying too much.”

“When I spoke with Alice’s sisters on the phone, I didn’t think they were out to find me inept.”

“You don’t know what they want. And since we’re talking about so much money, it’s safe to assume there are people that we’re going to meet either tonight or tomorrow that aren’t happy it’s going to you. If they ask you a question you’re not sure you should answer, look at me. I’ll nod if I think you’re safe, or chime in if I don’t.”

“Okay, got it.”

“And no overdrinking tonight.”

Avery glanced at Trina. “Is it me, or does she sound like a mom?”

“She does, but I have to agree.”

Lori smiled. “That goes for you, too, Avery.”

“But I’m not inheriting anything.”

“No, but you know more about the personal stuff than anyone. Gotta keep a lid on a few things. Remember, people will look right at you and pretend they’re your friends while they are plotting behind your back. This is business.”

Trina frowned. “I hate that people can’t be trusted.”

“We’ll figure out who are the ones you can, but chances are we won’t do this in one visit. This meeting will help me get the right person on your legal team to help cover this end for you.”

“Why can’t that be you?” Trina asked.

“My specialty is divorce. I can advise you now because of the circumstances.”

“But I trust you.”

“You can trust those I send your way, too. But remember, the one thing you should never speak of to your new representation was the intention of your marriage.”

“Aren’t they legally obligated to keep that secret?”

“They are and probably would. But those aren’t chances Sam and I like to take. Consider the what-ifs of your current situation if something leaked about you and Fedor.”

Trina shook her head. “I don’t even like the current situation, let alone the what-ifs of something different.

“Good. We’re all on the same page.”

“So do we do the pinky First Wives handshake, or what?” Avery teased.

Lori rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling.

“So Reed is your stand-in bodyguard, eh?”

“He just needed an excuse to sit next to me on an airplane and sleep in my bed,” she told them.

“I don’t know, he was very professional looking when you both walked into the lobby. He’s big enough and has a perfect resting bitch face for the job.”

“Can guys have a resting bitch face?” she asked Avery. “I thought that was only women.”

“Not sure, but he had one. Don’t you think?”

Lori sat back and listened to the debate about men and their facial expressions until the conversation wavered.

“Okay, so we’re meeting Alice’s sisters, Diane and Andrea, at the restaurant in an hour. I’ve been instructed that we need to take two cars for security reasons.”

“How very Secret Service of us,” Avery said. “Security for Trina I totally get. For me, not so much.”

Trina’s playful grin fell. “Petrov didn’t threaten me.”

“Yes, he did. Remember he shook his fist at you? I wouldn’t put it past him to threaten you again.”

“Aren’t you just a ball of positive,” Avery prodded.

“Realistic. Even if it’s negative. You can’t ever accuse me of bullshitting you just to make the circumstances look better than they are. Even before you both signed contracts for your marriages, it was me who sat you down and talked about the pitfalls.”

“Which totally didn’t apply for me,” Avery said.

“They didn’t apply for me either,” Trina added.

Lori pointed to Avery. “You haven’t gotten out of the honeymoon stage of your divorce. Give it a few months.” Then again, Avery didn’t seem to let anything in, so having the reputation of a gold digging woman might not faze her at all. “And as for you . . .” She pointed to Trina. “No one foresaw Fedor taking himself out. Still bugs the garbage out of me that we didn’t pick up on that in our research on the man.”