Page 60 of Naughty Heart

The longer I held her hand, standing beside her and having her scent invade my nostrils, the more I wanted to kiss her again. Only this time, I wanted to touch my lips to hers.

After mingling for about thirty minutes or so, we got ourselves seated for dinner with my parents, my sister, and her boyfriend. And throughout our entire meal, I still felt the overwhelming urge to touch her. So, I shifted my seat closer to hers and leaned in frequently to answer a question she’d ask about another guest or the food, and when I did, I’d place my hand gently on her thigh.

The first time, I could see how it caught her off guard. But she never pushed my hand away. If anything, I started to think she was asking more and more questions just to get me to lean in close and rest my hand on her thigh again.

Once our meals were in front of us, though, we focused on the food, and Evelyn had pulled back on the questions she had for me. We enjoyed our dinner and the company at our table while we ate, but once we’d finished, I found I wasn’t interested in continuing to sit.

“Care to dance with me?” I asked her.

Surprise washed over her. “Already?”

I nodded. “Why not?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just didn’t think you like it so much you’d want to start so soon.”

I couldn’t say I was the kind of guy who went out dancing all the time, but I didn’t mind it on an occasion like this. And in this case, recognizing what I was going to get out of it, I wasn’t going to let the opportunity go to waste.

“I’m going to have the chance to hold you close in my arms, Evelyn. Even if I hated dancing, I’d find a way to like it for that.”

Her eyes sparkled, and for the first time all night, she reached out to touch me and placed her palm flat against my chest. “I’d love to dance with you again.”

Again.

She’d been thinking about the time we’d danced together in my office.

It was all the confirmation I needed to know I’d been right.

Tonight had the power to change everything. I couldn’t wait to see where it took us.

* * *

EVELYN

I wasn’t going to make it, and I didn’t care.

Over the last three weeks, I’d been through a whirlwind of emotions. I’d seen the lowest of lows, the highest of highs, and everything in between.

The last week alone had done a number on me in the very best way possible.

Yes, the best way.

No matter how much I’d tried to deny it, no matter how much I thought I needed and wanted to hold myself back, I couldn’t.

There was something there with Malcolm, and I didn’t want to ignore it any longer. I didn’t want to pretend he hadn’t grabbed hold of my heart and fascinated me in so many different ways.

Sure, there’d been that one small hiccup. But Malcolm didn’t let what happened fester into something horrible between us. He gave us a day or so to cool down, then he addressed it, apologizing for what he’d done. And ever since that day, he hadn’t stopped trying to make it up to me.

I wasn’t made of stone.

I had a heart, one that had longed for everything Malcolm had given me from the start. Why would I stop myself from having it all?

Because I believed I could truly have it all with him.

If the way Malcolm had been with me today was any indication of the way he felt for me, it was safe to say he felt something.

And now, out on the dancefloor at the Christmas party for his family’s company, Malcolm was holding me close to him.

For weeks, there hadn’t been much physical contact between us. Tonight had been the very opposite. From the way he looked at me on the staircase and the kiss he pressed to my cheek, to the way he held my hand as we mingled, and touched my thigh during dinner, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like.