“I promise to have you out in fifteen minutes.”
“Take your time.”
He would say that, she thought. Their waiter had cleared the table and filled their cups.
“The first thing we need to decide on is a theme for that night. These are the ones I came up with while trying to stay away from holiday themes. Because of diversity in the workplace, the last thing you want to do is offend anyone.”
“So what do you suggest?” he asked her.
“A winter theme always works. These are a few that I’ve come up with,” she said, clicking the remote in her hand to bring the screen alive. “As you can see, I have Winter Wonderland, Winter Delight, One Winter’s Night and Winter Around the World.”
She watched him study each suggestion. He shifted his eyes back to her, and she felt her stomach stir from the intensity of his gaze. “What’s your favorite?”
“It’s really your decision.”
He nodded. “I know, but which one do you like the best?”
She glanced up at the screen. “Based on the fact that this year there will be a nighttime party in the ballroom of the Pavilion Hotel, instead of the daytime party you usually hold at the office, I like One Winter’s Night. There’s a sort of magical ring. I like it.”
A smile curved his lips. “So do I. Let’s go with it.”
Alpha nodded, excited that he’d liked the same theme that she did. “All right. And as far as the ballroom at the Pavilion Hotel, I took a tour a few days ago. It will hold up to two thousand people,” she said, showing an aerial view of the huge hotel, which was located midway between downtown and the airport.
“And it’s a definite we have it for that night?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “They were happy to accommodate us. The Westmoreland name carries a lot of weight.”
Deciding to move on to the next point, she said, “I thought it would be nice to set the mood by having it be a dressy affair.”
He lifted a brow. “How dressy?”
“Black tie.” At the grimace on his face, she smiled and quickly said, “Not as bad as all that, Riley. I think your employees will appreciate it. It will make them feel special. Other than your family’s annual charity ball, your employees probably never have anyplace to go where they can dress up and feel as if they’re stepping out on the town.”
He nodded slowly, and she knew he was thinking about the idea. She just wished she didn’t feel that sexual chemistry between them even while discussing business. “Let’s table that for at least a week,” he suggested.
“All right,” she said. “But I’ll need a decision on the attire in order to determine what sort of decorations will be appropriate.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Last but not least,” she said, switching off the screen, “is the discussion of the budget. That handout I’ve given you breaks everything down. I inflated the expenses to allow for decorations. I’d rather operate on the high end versus a low one.”
She paused a moment and then said, “Those are all of my ideas and suggestions. Is there anything you want to add or change?”
He shook his head. “No, I think you did a thorough job explaining things.”
“Thank you,” she said, crossing the room to place the remote near the television screen. That’s when she dropped her ink pen and leaned down to pick it up.
For the second time that day Riley was slapped with a case of lust so thick he wondered how in the hell he was going to stand without giving away his body’s reaction. She had leaned down to pick up her pen, and the way the material of her dress stretched snug across that gorgeous backside, he’d almost swallowed his tongue. Drawing in a deep breath, he used his hand to wipe away the perspiration forming on his forehead.
“Need help with anything?”
“No, thanks,” she said, flicking a quick glance in his direction before returning to what she was doing. He continued to sit there, almost willing her to glance back at him, hold his gaze, feel his heat and not deny the potent chemistry flowing between them.
At that moment, he made a decision. “We’ll need to meet again next week, after I’ve reached a decision about the attire for the event.”
He knew she was probably wondering why they needed to meet to discuss that when it was something they could cover over the phone. Instead of questioning him about anything, though, she simply said, “That’s fine. Do you know when and where?”
“I’ll call you.”
She met his gaze and held it. He knew at that moment that if she hadn’t felt the strong undercurrents flowing between them before, she did now. “All right.”
Now that was where he disagreed with her. It wasn’t all right, but he didn’t know a way to change the path he seemed determined to take where she was concerned.
He watched as she re-dressed in her two heavy sweaters, scarf, huge overcoat and gloves. Was all that necessary? Evidently to her they were. If she wanted to stay warm the best thing she needed was body heat. Namely, his.
“I’m ready to go.”
Glad he had gotten his body under control and that there was no sign of the lust that had overtaken it earlier, he stood. “Do I need to carry you out?” he teased.
Her eyes rounded and it amused him that she’d assumed he was serious. “No, and I’m sorry you felt the need to do so before. I’m usually not clumsy,” she said apologetically.
“You weren’t clumsy, Alpha. You aren’t used to walking on icy, slippery surfaces and that’s understandable. Will you do me a favor?”
She tilted up her head to look at him. “What?”
“Stop apologizing. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Thanks.”
“Doing that must drive your boyfriend crazy,” he said, deliberately fishing for information.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Oh.” He placed his hand in the center of her back as he led her out of the room. So she didn’t have a boyfriend. Hmm.
An hour or so later Alpha entered her home and immediately shrugged off her heavy coat and began peeling off her sweaters and gloves. It was then that she missed her scarf and figured she must have left it in Riley’s truck.
During their ride back to her car she’d noticed he no longer seemed to be on guard with her, the way he had been at the restaurant earlier, and she took advantage by keeping the conversation going about the holiday party—One Winter’s Night. The more she talked about it the more excited she got.
Once they reached her car, she saw her tire was fixed and her car keys were back where she’d left them. He wouldn’t accept any money for having her tire taken care of, so she thanked him for lunch. After assuring him she would follow up with him in a week to discuss the attire for the party, she hurried off to her car. He had sat in his truck, watching her drive off.
Now she was home, inside the house she’d fallen in love with the first time she’d seen it. The last house in the cul-de-sac of a street where all the backyards faced the mountains, it was smaller than her place in Daytona but she’d always thought her condo on the beach had been too large for her anyway. Now she didn’t have any wasted space, and the windows facing her backyard provided a gorgeous view of the mountains. However, there were days she missed the beach, until she remembered she had given up the beach for a reason.
Sitting down on the sofa, she began removing her boots. The first thing she’d done after buying the house was carpet the majority of the