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“I need some food—I just realized I’m starving.”
“Right this way.” Evan guided her to the buffet table.
“Where can I put this?” She held out her empty glass.
“You’ve already finished it?” He chuckled as he handed the glass to a passing waiter.
“It was light and tasty—good choice. I don’t usually like alcohol,” she said, piling some carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cheese cubes on her plate.
“The good stuff is over here,” said Evan, indicating a table with various meats, including boiled shrimp and roast beef.
“Ughh! I don’t think I can eat anything that heavy.” She popped a piece of cheese into her mouth.
Evan ate a few boiled shrimps while Anne munched on her veggies. But her appetite was quickly assuaged, and she found a waiter to take the plate from her hands.
“I think my stomach’s shrunken. I haven’t eaten much this week. Oh… I can feel that drink already.”
“We should dance again. Some exercise to clear your head. Besides, Stevie’s in the buffet line now.”
She was a little wobbly walking back to the dance floor. But he held her close as they danced, and she felt pretty stable. Feeling drowsy, she laid her head on Evan’s shoulder and relaxed in his arms. She thought Johanna had mentioned something about dance with your head on his shoulder, but she couldn’t remember for sure. His hands traveled slowly up and down her back, and they swayed gently to the music. When it changed to an upbeat song, they ignored the new tempo and continued to rock in a slow circle. Soon she was floating in a tranquil Zen state.
She could almost imagine she was in Steven's arms again. She remembered how it had felt to dance with him at the gala. But he’d held her lightly, not tight and close like this. She would’ve liked Steven to hold her more closely. And his hands were not on her back like this. Wait! Evan’s hands were not on her back—they were back under her arms, toying with the beading on the sheer side panels. His thumbs were… Anne pushed out of Evan’s arms abruptly.
“Stop it!” she cried, looking at him with a horrified expression. The room began to spin and she stumbled a little. He reached out to steady her, but she stepped back, out of his reach.
“I think the lady doesn’t want you to touch her again,” said Steven, somehow appearing at her side, his expression dark and threatening.
Anne was grateful for the reprieve, but fairly certain this hadn’t been in
Johanna’s instructions. Fortunately, she spied Katie and Gary and headed in their direction. She’d just reached them when Steven caught up with her.
“Anne, could you spare me a second? I’d like to discuss something concerning work.”
She panicked—Johanna hadn’t told her what to do if Steven asked to talk to her alone. “I don’t know…”
“Please. Just for a moment. It’s important.” His pleading expression was too hard to resist.
“Just for a moment.”
She followed him to a relatively empty area near the doorway. “Why are you here with Evan? Do you purposely date men I detest simply to irritate me?”
“Gram introduced me to Evan and… wait, you said you wanted to talk about work.”
“I wanted to straighten out some misunderstandings. I’d argue that these affect our work relationship.”
“Are you going to explain what happened on the elevator today?” She remembered what Johanna had said. Make him explain why he kissed you when he’s supposedly dating Ellen.
“Yes. Yes, that’s part of it. Anne, I—”
“Because I really want to know why you kissed me when you’re dating Ellen.”
“But Ellen doesn’t mind. She’s—”
“Give me a break! I’m not that naïve! Did you tell her? Does she know you kissed me?” She was starting to get really angry. Perhaps the alcohol had made her lose her inhibitions.
“No, but—”
“Obviously you kissed me because you thought I was still dating Henri. So… News flash! We’ve broken up, okay?”
