anyone to be killed, had always said he wouldn’t. Right now, though, he was reconsidering that promise he’d made to himself.
“There’s a first time for everything,” he promised just as two security men in black suits came to show Shane the door.
They didn’t put their hands on him, as that would’ve caused even more of a scene, but they did flank either side of the nuisance and walk him toward the closest exit. People around him stared for only a moment before going back to their conversations. Nearly everyone knew to mind their business if they wanted to remain in the O’Sheas’ tight circle.
As soon as Shane was gone, Braden went back in with Zara.
“You okay here?” Mac whispered behind him.
With a nod, Braden wrapped his arm around Zara’s waist. “We’re fine. Cover for me.” He silently led her to the small sitting room off the ballroom and closed the door behind him before turning to face Zara. She rubbed her arm, and it took all of Braden’s willpower not to rush back out and follow through on his need to punch Shane.
Braden gently took Zara’s other arm, trying to ignore the brush of his knuckles against the side of her breast, and guided her toward one of the leather club chairs.
Flicking on the light on the accent table by the chair, Braden squatted down in front of her.
“Braden—”
He held up his hand, cutting her off. “Let me see your arm.”
“I’m fine. I really need to get back to work. I’m sorry I caused a scene.”
“Either pull your sleeve up or pull the shoulder down so I can see.”
Zara hesitated a moment, then pulled the material off her shoulder, exposing creamy white skin and a royal blue strap from her bra. She shrugged enough to pull her arm up a bit.
Rage bubbled within Braden at the sight of blue fingerprint-shaped bruises already forming on her flawless skin. “I should’ve knocked him out.”
Slowly, Braden eased the material back over her arm and shoulder. Her eyes held his and her body trembled as she placed her hand over his, halting his movement.
“I’m fine,” she assured him again. “I really need to get back to work. I appreciate what you did, though.”
He hadn’t realized how close he’d gotten until he felt her soft breath on his cheek. He glanced up to her, his eyes darting down to her lips.
“My motives aren’t always so selfless.”
The corner of her mouth quirked. “Whatever your motives are, they were effective.”
He leaned in closer, close enough that barely a breath could pass between their lips. “I’m always effective.”
Effective. Thorough. Protective. So many adjectives could be used to describe Braden O’Shea. Yet he’d come to her defense without question earlier when Shane had snapped.
Zara nestled deeper into her coat as the heat from Braden’s SUV hit her. This dress had been such a good idea when she’d been inside. Now that the snow was near blizzard-like conditions, not so much. She’d had to swap her sexy heels for snow boots, which she’d packed with her once she’d seen the forecast. So now the allure of her favorite LBD was lost thanks to the thick, rubber-soled, sensible shoes.
“When you said you’d have your driver bring me home, I didn’t know you were the driver.” She glanced over, taking in his profile illuminated from the glowing dash lights. In the dark, Braden seemed even more mysterious, more enigmatic.
“After the incident with Shane, I’m not placing your safety in anyone else’s hands.” He gripped the wheel as the tires slid, then gained traction again. “I wouldn’t want you driving in this mess anyway. I heard a couple at the party say the forecasters mentioned feet instead of inches.”
Zara’s breath caught in her throat as Braden carefully maneuvered around a slick corner with skill. The back end fishtailed before he righted the vehicle. They’d only passed two other cars since leaving his historic Beacon Hill mansion.
“I’m so sorry about this,” she told him, once the car was on a straight path and she could focus on breathing normally. “I should’ve left when you suggested it earlier because of the bad weather. Then Shane wouldn’t have been a problem, and you wouldn’t be out in this mess.”
“Shane will be a problem until he meets his match.” Braden flashed her a wicked grin that looked even more ominous due to the minimal lighting. There was also the veiled implication that Braden was the perfect match for Shane. “As for the weather, don’t worry about it. This storm came on faster than I thought, and I have nothing else to do tonight.”
“Hopefully the guests all made it home okay,” she said, voicing her thoughts. The caterers had left around the same time she did, so hopefully they were safe, too. “They left over an hour ago, so maybe it wasn’t too bad then.”
She’d stayed behind to clean up and make sure the place was just as it had been before she’d entered—as she did with every event. All part of the party-planning business. Still, there would be a few people left from the cleaning service. She hoped they all got home okay, as well.
“You live alone?”
Braden’s question sliced through the quiet. As if she could actually forget she was this close to the world’s sexiest man. Then again, she didn’t know every man in the world, but she’d still put Braden O’Shea and his sultry eyes and broad frame against anyone.
“Yes. I actually just moved into my grandmother’s home three months ago. She’d just passed away, and I’m the only relative she had left.”
“Sorry about your loss.” In a move that surprised her, Braden reached across the console and squeezed her hand in a gesture of comfort before easing back. She didn’t take him for the comforting type, but she knew in her heart his words and his touch were sincere.
“My father has been gone six months,” he went on, his tone understanding. “On one hand, it seems like yesterday. On the other, I feel like I’m going to wake up from a nightmare and he’ll be fine. None of us had a clue his heart was so bad.”
Zara swallowed. She knew that nightmare-versus-reality feeling all too well. In the midst of her fantasizing over Braden, she’d not figured in the fact this man was still vulnerable, still suffering from a loss just as big as her own. Great, she’d not only been unprofessional tonight, she’d also been heartless.
“It’s rough.” For the first time since her grandmother’s passing, Zara felt comfortable opening up to someone. Shane certainly hadn’t been consoling in the few times they’d dated...another red flag where he’d been concerned. “Living in her home feels strange. I remember sleeping over there when I was little, but now it just seems so much larger, so empty.”
Zara had never been afraid to live alone, but in a house this size, she was a little creeped out at night—the old ghost rumors didn’t help, either. Perhaps once she rid the house of some of the antiques and actually unpacked her own things, that
