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This time there was concern in Graham’s eyes. “You can’t ignore your own needs forever.”
If he was talking about her lack of a boyfriend, she was too busy. She’d date again. Someday.
Her stepmother’s voice echoed in her mind. “You’re too chubby, Al.” She always called her Al because she knew it bothered Alina. “Men will never notice you. What kind of woman wears overalls and carries around a toolbox? Honestly, Al, you’re embarrassing.”
Right now, she didn’t want to examine what was missing from her life. “We better get started on the party,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t betray the way he unnerved her. “We have a lot of details to go over.”
And so they got to work. The more they dove into the details of the party, the more she was able to push away the disturbing memories of the past. It seemed Graham was a good distraction, in more ways than one.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THEY’D BEEN BURNING the candle at both ends.
Since assuming the CEO role, Graham was used to really long hours. It was nothing, though, compared to balancing his business and the needs of the Stirling residents. Even he was getting a bit burned out.
And then there was Alina’s nonstop schedule. To make matters worse, Christmas was her favorite time of the year and she was missing most of it. He blamed a lot of it on himself. In his rush to please a potential business partner, he hadn’t considered how much effort the party would take.
He promised himself that, going forward, he would make things easier for her—as much as he could. He’d start with a bit of fun and, after that, he’d make sure she had a warm meal waiting for her each evening when she got home from work—whatever hour that might be.
And he was going to put his plan into action today.
Alina might not believe it, but he did know how to have a good time. After all, he’d grown up in the country. He’d learned how to pass the time, even if it had been a lifetime ago. Somewhere along the way, he’d forgotten those good times. Somewhere along the way, it’d become all about proving himself to his father, which led to a distance between him and his mother.
His mind reached for those foggy memories that he’d pushed away many years ago. The faces of those childhood friends came back to him. In the winter, they were always outside when it snowed. Winter had been one of his favorite seasons. So when had it all changed? When did the fluttering snowflakes change from something exhilarating to something aggravating because it would tie up traffic even more than normal?
“Alina?” he called down the hallway. “Alina, hurry up.”
It was Thursday and she’d finished working early. She was now changing out of her work clothes, but it seemed like it was taking her forever. And now that he remembered how much fun winter could be, he was anxious to share some of that fun with Alina.
“Alina—”
“Okay. Okay.” She stepped into the hallway in jeans and a green sweater with a Christmas tree on the front with gold jingle bell ornaments. “What’s with the rush?”
“We have things to do. Come on.” Graham shrugged on his winter coat.
Alina moved toward him with a confused look on her face. “What has gotten into you? I thought you had a report to get to your board.”
“It can wait. This can’t.”
She arched a brow as her gaze studied him. “You are acting mighty strange.”
“Not strange. Mysterious. Yes, mysterious sounds a lot better.”
In no time, they were bundled up and headed out the door into lightly falling snow. Graham adjusted his black knit cap. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d set aside an important project to go play in the snow.
He glanced over at Alina, all bundled up in a red coat with a matching knit cap with the design of white snowflakes. There was just something about being around her that reminded him of the person he used to be many, many moons ago.
“Where are we going?” Alina asked.
“You’ll soon see.” He took her gloved hand in his as he led them through the maze of people crowding the sidewalk.
A quick subway ride and a short walk later they arrived at Central Park. The area was a bustle of activity. Young and old alike were out and about, enjoying the holidays.
As they made their way to the edge of the ice rink, Alina looked at him. “We’re going ice skating?”
He smiled and nodded. “You wanted to know what I used to do at Christmastime.”
Her gaze moved to the ice with people of all ages gliding along the ice and then her attention returned to him. “You can skate?”
