Well, she might as well make the most of this while she was here. She smiled around at her tablemates. “Evening,” she said. “This is a great party, isn't it?”
A couple of them stared at her, clearly mystified. But the man sitting next to her returned her smile.
“Hell of a party,” he said. “But you’re not Oliver Norcross.”
Her stomach hollowed out.No way. Was that whose seat she was in?
She forced a laugh. “You got me,” she admitted, trying to make it seem as if the whole thing was funny. “How could you tell?”
“He’s taller than you are.” The guy smiled, though. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anybody. He’s over at table one, schmoozing. I think he pulled up a chair with them, actually, and I’m sure he’ll just tell the servers to bring him a plate there. They’ll do it, too. He gets whatever he wants.”
“You know him pretty well,” Stephanie realized.
“Well, sure. I should,” the guy said, and now his smile was almost a grimace. “He’s my father.” He held out a hand. “Elijah Norcross.”
“Oh, God.”
“Don’t worry,” Elijah Norcross grinned at her. “I’d rather sit next to a cute girl than my father anyway. Truth is, he kind of dragged me here tonight. But I wouldn’t have put up such a fuss if I had known I was going to meet you. I’m sorry, I haven’t gotten your name yet.”
“Stephanie,” she said. She thought about offering her last name, but then decided against it. On the off chance Oliver Norcross didn’t see her here, she didn’t want to bring to his attention that the woman he’d met with earlier today was now sneaking into parties she hadn’t been invited to.
She regarded Elijah Norcross instead. He was an attractive guy, in an old-money way—a muscular physique that he inhabited as naturally as if he had been born with it, well-conditioned hair that had obviously benefited from an expensive cut but hadn’t been tended to in a little while. If she hadn’t known who his father was, she probably would have been flirting.
Well, and why should that stop me? Oliver Norcross already turned me down for the loan I wanted. It’s not like he’s going to reconsider now, just because I held off on flirting with his son. I might as well loosen up and have a little fun while I’m here.
One thing she felt sure of was that Elijah Norcross wasn’t going to be able to help her progress in her ambitions. That much was clear just from the way he spoke. He wasn’t here because he was successful in his own right. He was here to support his father—and then only because his father had forced him to be here. He had no interest in business on his own, and no success to speak of.
But that was all right. Not every interaction needed to be all about how a person could help her. Some people could just be a good time. And Elijah Norcross was, bar none, the most attractive man at this party.
“Are you sure it’ll be all right if I sit here?” she asked. “I wasn’t trying to take your father’s seat. It looked empty, and I didn’t want to try to see everything from the very back of the room.”
“No, it’s fine,” Elijah said. “I appreciate the hustle, to be honest. Everyone else here takes everything so seriously. It’s nice to meet someone else who’s able to be a little relaxed about the formalities.”
Stephanie nodded and settled in.
“That dress is gorgeous, by the way,” he added, making a point to take it in.
Oh, very smooth.Now he was checking her out, just as Greg had done, but because he hadn’t led with that and because he had paid her a compliment about her dress, it seemed so muchclassier. Even though she understood what he was doing, she found that she didn’t mind. She actually enjoyed it a little.
Dinner was served. Elijah had a steak, and she herself had been given a fillet of salmon. “It’s what my father ordered,” Elijah explained. “It’s better for his heart. But did you want steak? We can share if you like.”
She looked at him. “Are you sure that’s all right? It’s an awfully nice offer, considering we don’t know each other.”
“It’s what I’d want someone to do if I was in your shoes,” he said. “Go on, I want to try the fish.”
So she cut it in half and slid a portion of it onto Elijah’s plate, then held her own plate out to receive the share of steak he was giving her. “There we go,” he said, flashing her a look at his perfect, even teeth. “Surf and turf.”
Stephanie laughed. “Not bad if you can get it.”
“No, it isn’t,” he agreed, and began to dig in.
She watched him for a moment, then turned her attention to her own food, reflecting that even if nothing at all came out of this stolen evening, at least she had gotten some good from it. At least she’d had the chance to eat a delicious meal and speak to a handsome, interesting man.
And that’s better than I would have gotten if I had just stayed home. So no matter what else happens from here, coming out tonight was the right choice.
CHAPTER 4
ELIJAH
