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Her gaze moved to the glass door that led straight to the party. Anyone could see them standing out here. “Graham, don’t you think we put on enough of a show for one night?”
The smile fell from his face. “I suppose you’re right.” He released her. “You wouldn’t want to skip the party, would you?”
“Graham, you can’t leave early after all of the hard work everyone put into this event.”
“You’re right, again.” He sighed and turned back to gaze out over the city.
“Your business associates are having a good time, aren’t they?” She’d yet to meet the people, but she hoped they approved of all the hard work to put together the party.
“They were at the office most of the day. I gave them a preview of the Snow Ball. They loved it. And we closed the deal. It was more than I ever could have hoped for—in fact, it’s the biggest deal in the history of Toliver.”
“Graham, that’s wonderful!” This time she was the one who moved in close. When she went to place a kiss on his cheek, he turned his head. Her kiss landed smack-dab on his mouth.
It was with the greatest regret and effort that she quickly withdrew. She arched a brow at him. “You cheat.”
“I like to think of it as not wasting a precious moment.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Anyway, after the papers were signed, they said they had to leave early. There’s a snowstorm moving in and they didn’t want to get stuck here for the holidays. So you have nothing to worry about. Everything worked out. And I thank you for all of your hard work.”
“It’s a shame they missed the ball,” Alina said. “It really is special.” It wasn’t the dance she was thinking of as she stared deep into his eyes. This whole evening was like something straight out of a fairytale.
Graham reached out swiping a flyaway strand of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. She instinctively leaned into his touch.
He lowered his head, pressing his lips to hers. This time his kiss was full of raw desire. She met his touch with a roaring need of her own.
She never wanted this night to end, but sadly she only had until midnight. So she best make the most of the time she had left—
Someone cleared their throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Toliver.”
Graham pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry for the interruption. It’s my assistant. It’ll only take a moment.”
“It’s okay.” Disappointment assailed her. “Do what you need to do.”
Graham straightened. He drew in a deep breath and blew it out, as though subduing his irritation at the ill-timed interruption. He moved toward the doorway where a woman was waiting for him. “Yes. What is it?”
“The members of the board have arrived.”
Alina watched Graham’s facial expression change from one of utter irritation to one of curiosity. She could only surmise the board’s appearance was a surprise for him—hopefully a good one.
He turned back to her. Regret was in his eyes. “I’m sorry. This is important. Would you mind if we picked this up later?”
“Not at all. I have some people I need to speak to.” She thought of all the Stirling residents that helped make this evening possible.
“Make sure you save me a dance. Make that a few dances.”
Heat warmed her cheeks. “You’ve got it.”
He hesitated as though he were thinking of kissing her goodbye, but then he thought better of it. He turned to leave with his assistant. And with him went any answers to her unspoken question about what was happening between them. Because there was something happening, right?
And did that mean he’d changed his mind about tearing down the Stirling? Hope took flight in her heart. Before tonight, she would have said it was too much to hope for. However, this evening had shown her that magic could happen, even in the most dire circumstances.
There had to be a way for Graham to have his impressive tower and her to keep her home and family. She was more certain now than ever before.
* * *
The evening was flying by.
