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So much more.

Suddenly the idea of waiting was an agony.

“You look beautiful,” he said softly, his eyes running over Claudia’s simple black knit dress. It fell to her ankles and she’d teamed it with a pair of soft leather boots.

“Thank you.”

He looked at her as though there was more he wanted to say, but after a moment, he continued upstairs. She watched him disappear, her mind struggling to comprehend this turn of events.

The last time she’d seen him, Claudia had been certain it would be the last time. Their fight had been awful. She’d lied to him to make him angry, to push him away, and yet he’d come back.

Because he’d worked out the truth.

Was this just guilt? Sympathy?

She was frowning when he reappeared, and he caught her hand, lifting it to his lips.

“Shall we?”

She nodded, but the seed of doubt was working its way deeper into her mind. She wanted, so badly, to believe that he loved her. Why was it so hard?

“I organized the snow. Just for you,” he teased, as they stepped out of her house.

She blinked up at him, and then to the inky evening sky which was speckled with little dots of white.

“Oh.” A shivering acknowledgement. “It’s so…”

“Beautiful,” he agreed.

A bright light greeted them and Claudia froze, then immediately put some distance between them.

“New lover boy, eh, Claudia?” It was only one photographer, leaning against a tree, huddled inside a leather jacket.

It was on the tip of her tongue to deny it when Stavros put his arm around Claudia and pulled her tighter to his side. He even dredged a smile to his lips as they passed the photographer, and the ligh

t flashed once more.

At the corner of the block, Claudia risked a look at him. “I’m sorry.”

He pulled a face. “Why?”

“I know how much you hate the thought of being in the papers.”

He arched a brow. “I suspect I’ll have to get used to it.”

“Why?”

“Because you are photographed and I intend to be with you often.” He shrugged. “It’s a small price to pay.”

It was a joke, but Claudia’s heart dropped lower. “Another sacrifice.”

“No.” They crossed the street together, his arm still around her shoulders, holding her to him, warming her with his body’s heat. “A privilege.”

He kissed the top of her head and her stomach lurched. Hope flared.

Carols reached their ears when they were still a block away from the church.

“How long have you been coming here?”

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