LITMIR.BIZ

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when there were a hundred present.

      It was an invitation. And a question. Where did she want this evening to lead?

      Where did he want this evening to lead?

      Were they on the same page about what their association might look like afterward? They were working together, after all. Not everyone could do that and become personally involved. That was where the romantics messed it all up. Relationships were black-and-white and easy to navigate as long as you didn’t let yourself get bogged down in unquantifiable emotions. Her parents’ divorce had been nasty enough to prove that love was one of the worst illusions ever invented.

      She should probably feel him out about their future interaction before letting him do bad things to her. Also, he’d thrown this party for a reason, which would not be accomplished by allowing him to throw everyone out. It would be terrible of her to force him to end it early because she was a giant chicken about dancing in public.

      More bravery needed, stat. “Let’s dance.”

      “This way, Ms. Meer.”

      He led her to the dance floor and pulled her into his arms.

      The crowd dynamic shifted instantly as people checked out the woman dancing with the senator. Alex’s back heated with the scrutiny. The only friendly faces in the crowd were her boss, Cassandra, and Cass’s fiancé, Gage, who was Phillip’s cousin.

      Self-consciousness turned Alex’s feet into lead.

      “Right here, Alex.” Phillip tapped his temple and let his hand drift back to her waist. “Keep your eyes on me. Don’t worry about them. They don’t exist.”

      Ha. If only that were true. Of course, she’d had her chance to make that a reality when he’d offered to kick everyone out. She had no doubt that if she’d taken him up on his invitation, the crowd would already be in their chauffeured limousines heading for home.

      Why hadn’t she taken him up on it, again?

      She did as instructed, locking her gaze to his molten-blue eyes. He swirled her around the hardwood floor to the tempo of the classical music piping through his expensive, invisible sound system. The crowd faded away and she became so very aware of his hands on her body, exactly as she’d envisioned them. Well, not exactly. In the majority of her fantasies, they were both naked.

      Heat flushed her skin, arrowing straight to her core as he watched her closely.

      “See?” he murmured. “Better.”

      Yes. This night, this man holding her in his arms. All better. It wasn’t the dress, but Phillip who held the magical powers. She was someone else when she was with him, someone who didn’t have to fade into the woodwork to avoid making a fool of herself. Someone who could be with a man like Phillip and it made sense, even though they were social opposites.

      And she very much wanted to take advantage of the magic while it lasted. Maybe she could, just for tonight.

       Two

      Phillip didn’t leave Alex’s side all night.

      It was both sweet and intoxicating. She lost all track of time and place, forgetting about the judgmental audience as Phillip had entreated her to do. He was an amazing man who made her feel special. Her starving soul ate up the attention and begged for more.

      She could get used to being the center of Phillip’s world. Used to how the focused glint in his blue eyes pulled on strings deep inside. Used to how her heart seemed lighter when he—

      A tap on her shoulder startled her. She glanced backward. Cass. Alex had nearly forgotten her friend was at the party.

      “Ms. Claremont.” Phillip nodded to Cass without missing a beat. “My apologies for failing to tell you how stunning you look this evening. Gage is a lucky man.”

      “Yeah, you’ve been way too busy to notice me,” Cass said, tongue in cheek. “I’ll be sure to let Gage make it up to me later.”

      Alex thought about smacking her but that would mean removing her hands from Phillip’s shoulders.

      “I need to borrow Alex for a minute,” Cass explained, and Alex nearly sobbed as Phillip’s arms dropped from around her.

      Cass dragged Alex to the powder room, nodding and making nice to a couple of Hollywood types who were leaving as they walked up. The glitterati lived in a world she wasn’t a part of and Alex had no idea who the glamorous women were. Cass not only knew them by name, she belonged in a roomful of beautiful people who never said the wrong thing.

      Not that Alex was jealous. It was just fact. She loved the CEO of Fyra like a sister. After all, Cass had insisted on Alex taking over the financial joystick of Fyra despite full knowledge of the teenage rebellion that had landed Alex in a courtroom, staring down the barrel of jail time.

      That ledger in her head would never balance. She owed Cass for taking a chance on her and she’d gladly bury herself in Fyra’s numbers until the day she died, if necessary.

      But that didn’t mean Alex forgave the interruption.

      “What was so important?” she muttered as soon as the door to the powder room closed, affording them a measure of privacy. “I was dancing.”

      Cass raised her perfectly penciled eyebrows. “Yes, you were. But Gage and I are ready to go.”

      “Already?” Alex had caught a ride with them since Gage had insisted there was plenty of room in his chauffeured town car. On the drive over, she’d been contemplating how she would get home when she sneaked out early from the party. She’d been sure attending Phillip’s shindig would go down as the worst idea she’d ever had. Funny how that had turned out.

      “It’s midnight.” Cassandra pointed at the ornate wall clock for emphasis. “We have a son who can’t tell time and will be up at 6:00 a.m.”

      Dismayed, Alex stared at the clock, willing it to be a few hours earlier. The hands didn’t change position. Why did it have to be midnight? This night should never end because in the morning, she’d go back to being invisible.

      “You just hired a nanny,” Alex reminded Cass with a touch of desperate logic. “Can’t she get up with Robbie?”

      This was a bizarre conversation. Robbie was Gage Branson’s son from a previous relationship and never would Alex have taken Cass for the type to willingly enter a relationship with a single father. But she and Gage were deliriously happy. It was so optimistic of them to fall in love despite all the complications. Alex hoped they’d defy the odds and have a long, happy life together.

      Cass shook her head with a laugh. “I like to get up with him when I can, since Gage and I still live in different cities for the time being. If you want to stay, just say so and catch a cab later.”

      That was Cassandra. A problem solver. “I can’t stay.”

      Fyra’s newest shade of lipstick appeared from the depths of Cass’s sparkly bag. She slicked it over her lips and puckered before asking, “Why not?”

      Because the thought of staying without the safety net of her friend induced a swirly feeling in Alex’s stomach that could easily turn into full-blown panic. This was a party. The place where Alex was the least comfortable.

      And while she’d danced with Phillip, she still had no idea how he intended the evening to end. What if she’d misread his signals? It wasn’t like she had a lot of practice.

      Then there was the soft gush inside every time he laughed at one of her jokes or did something gallant. Those were things she could never get enough of. The fact that she liked them so much was probably the best reason of all to disentangle herself before things progressed. When a man got that far under her skin so quickly, it could only lead to trouble.

      “Phillip and I have no business getting involved,” Alex explained lamely.

      “Honey,

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