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She wrapped a blanket around her from the makeshift bed on the living room floor and jumped to her feet. She’d requested the day off from working at the Christmas Café. Everyone was meeting at the Diamond Building at nine a.m. to make the final touches on the conference room.
She still couldn’t believe she’d forgotten to set her alarm, but then again she’d been utterly distracted the night before. A smile pulled at her lips. But it soon disappeared when she realized Graham had left without saying a word to her.
What did his silent departure mean? Did he regret their night together? Her heart tumbled clear down to her frosted pink shimmery painted toes.
Unshed tears pricked the backs of her eyes. She blinked them away. Whatever his reason for disappearing, she’d have to deal with it later. Right now, she had people waiting for her. And Alina wouldn’t let them down.
She rushed to the kitchen and found the coffeemaker was filled with water and ready to go with a fresh pod already loaded. She hadn’t left it like that. It had to have been Graham being thoughtful. A smile lifted her lips. All she had to do was close the top and press the power button. And then she saw the note from Graham.
Sorry I had to go. You were so tired I didn’t want to wake you. I had an important meeting at the office with the Cortinas.
I’ll see you later, G.
She smiled. Maybe it wasn’t a love note, but he hadn’t pulled a disappearing act. For that she was grateful.
Then realizing the lateness of the hour, she ran down the hallway and hopped straight into the shower. It was the fastest shower she’d ever taken.
After she dressed and threw her damp hair up in a messy bun, she realized Prince wasn’t yelling at her for his breakfast. In fact, he wasn’t anywhere in sight. That was strange.
“Prince? Prince?” She rushed into her bedroom, looking for him.
There was no Prince in her bed or under it. She was on her way to the kitchen when she spotted Prince in the living room stretched out on the couch. Not far away was Prince’s licked-clean blue bowl with white fish ringed around it. She never fed him on the couch.
She smiled and ruffled Prince’s fur. “Seems like you and Graham have made up. Huh, boy?”
Prince squeaked as he stretched. Then he settled on his other side.
It looked like she wasn’t needed here. It was a strange feeling, sharing her cat. She’d never done it before. But she liked that the two males in her life were getting along.
She leaned over and kissed the top of Prince’s head. “Love you. I’ll be home later.”
But not for long. Tonight was the Snow Ball and she had every intention of dancing with Graham. In fact, her heart was set on it.
The pep was back in her step as she gathered her thank-you gifts and then headed for the door. She’d been worried about nothing. Things between her and Graham were the best they’d ever been.
* * *
This room was amazing.
It no longer resembled a conference room.
Graham stood in the doorway, admiring the fake snow settled around a snow people family. There was even a small snow hut made out of white foam balls. He smiled. Why had he ever worried about letting Alina run with this plan? She did amazing work. She needed to start up her own party-planning service and do it full-time.
He strolled around the room, taking in all of the artwork on the walls, from snowy mountains to quaint snowy storefronts as well as some abstract pieces. It was very impressive. He needed to thank Alina. In this case, words wouldn’t be enough. It needed to be more than helping the residents of the Stirling find appropriate housing. It needed to be something special just for her.
He thought of the prior night and a smile pulled at the corners of this mouth. No matter how long he lived, he’d never forget this time with Alina. The night had been more than he dared to imagine it would be—she had been more special than he deserved.
But with their agreement about to come to an end, he knew their paths in life would lead them in opposite directions. The thought immediately deflated his mood. Even though the company was headed in the right direction, he had other things that needed his immediate attention. He finally acknowledged running a company this size would always be demanding of his time, and there was no way he wanted to end up in an unhappy marriage like his parents had endured.
And no matter what had happened between them, Alina was going to look at him differently after the Stirling was gone. The thought caused an uneasiness in his chest.
But before all of that happened, they had tonight. And he wanted to show her how much their time together meant to him. He rushed to the bank of elevators. He had a meeting with the Cortinas and then he was slipping out to find Alina a memento to remember tonight—to remember him.
* * *
Things like this just didn’t happen to her.
And yet Alina stood in front of her bathroom mirror in a white evening gown that she’d picked up at a secondhand shop. She didn’t have the money for a fancy, new dress. It had needed a few adjustments, the torn lace mended and a stain removed. But she’d done it.
