It was worth a try. And with a heavy heart she said, “I believe you.”
“I’m sorry.” His deep voice sounded sincere.
She wasn’t giving up. She had a backup plan. “Fine. If I do this, if I plan you a grand holiday ball, I need you to find affordable housing for all of the residents of the Stirling.” Her gaze met his. “Can you do that?”
“I... I don’t know.”
She pointedly stared at him. She wasn’t going to back down. This party was going to be the biggest and most challenging of her career.
When he looked at her, she crossed her arms, pressed her lips into a firm line and narrowed her gaze. He had to know that she meant business. She wouldn’t budge from this demand.
After a moment of tense silence, Graham said, “Okay. I’ll get some people at the office started on it, first thing in the morning. But I can’t promise you’ll like what they come up with.”
“All I’m asking for are some legitimate options for people who didn’t ask to have their home demolished.”
“I understand. I’m just surprised you didn’t ask for something for yourself.”
She shook her head. “I don’t need anything special.”
There was a look in his eyes—was it respect? She wasn’t sure. But she hadn’t done anything more than someone else in her position would have done.
“Alina, you’re the most giving person I know, but sometimes you have to slow down and do what’s best for you.”
She waved off his concern. “I’m fine. Prince and I will land on our feet. We always do.”
This time there was concern in Graham’s eyes. “You can’t ignore your own needs forever.”
If he was talking about her lack of a boyfriend, she was too busy. She’d date again. Someday.
Her stepmother’s voice echoed in her mind. “You’re too chubby, Al.” She always called her Al because she knew it bothered Alina. “Men will never notice you. What kind of woman wears overalls and carries around a toolbox? Honestly, Al, you’re embarrassing.”
Right now, she didn’t want to examine what was missing from her life. “We better get started on the party,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t betray the way he unnerved her. “We have a lot of details to go over.”
And so they got to work. The more they dove into the details of the party, the more she was able to push away the disturbing memories of the past. It seemed Graham was a good distraction, in more ways than one.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THEY’D BEEN BURNING the candle at both ends.
Since assuming the CEO role, Graham was used to really long hours. It was nothing, though, compared to balancing his business and the needs of the Stirling residents. Even he was getting a bit burned out.
And then there was Alina’s nonstop schedule. To make matters worse, Christmas was her favorite time of the year and she was missing most of it. He blamed a lot of it on himself. In his rush to please a potential business partner, he hadn’t considered how much effort the party would take.
He promised himself that, going forward, he would make things easier for her—as much as he could. He’d start with a bit of fun and, after that, he’d make sure she had a warm meal waiting for her each evening when she got home from work—whatever hour that might be.
And he was going to put his plan into action today.
Alina might not believe it, but he did know how to have a good time. After all, he’d grown up in the country. He’d learned how to pass the time, even if it had been a lifetime ago. Somewhere along the way, he’d forgotten those good times. Somewhere along the way, it’d become all about proving himself to his father, which led to a distance between him and his mother.
His mind reached for those foggy memories that he’d pushed away many years ago. The faces of those childhood friends came back to him. In the winter, they were always outside when it snowed. Winter had been one of his favorite seasons. So when had it all changed? When did the fluttering snowflakes change from something exhilarating to something aggravating because it would tie up traffic even more than normal?
“Alina?” he called down the hallway. “Alina, hurry up.”
It was Thursday and she’d finished working early. She was now changing out of her work clothes, but it seemed like it was taking her forever. And now that he remembered how much fun winter could be, he was anxious to share some of that fun with Alina.
“Alina—”
“Okay. Okay.” She stepped into the hallway in jeans and a green sweater with a Christmas tree on the front with gold jingle bell ornaments. “What’s with the rush?”
“We have things to do. Come on.” Graham shrugged on his winter coat.
Alina moved toward him with a confused look on her face. “What has gotten into you? I thought you had a report to get to your board.”
“It can wait. This can’t.”
She arched a brow as her gaze studied him. “You are acting mighty strange.”
“Not strange. Mysterious. Yes, mysterious sounds a lot better.”
In no time, they were bundled up and headed out the door into lightly falling snow. Graham adjusted his black knit cap. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d set aside an important project to go play in the snow.
He glanced over at Alina, all bundled up in a red coat with a matching knit cap with the design of white snowflakes. There was just something about being around her that reminded him of the person he used to be many, many moons ago.
“Where are we going?” Alina asked.
“You’ll soon see.” He took her gloved hand in his as he led them through the maze of people crowding the sidewalk.
A quick subway ride and a short walk later they arrived at Central Park. The area was a bustle of activity. Young and old alike were out and about, enjoying the holidays.
As they made their way to the edge of the ice rink, Alina looked at him. “We’re going ice skating?”
He smiled and nodded. “You wanted to know what I used to do at Christmastime.”
Her gaze moved to the ice with people of all ages gliding along the ice and then her attention returned to him. “You can skate?”
“Don’t look so shocked. I used to do a lot of things before I became a busy executive. When I was young, my mother would take me to a local ice rink. And when I got older, I would go skate with a friend on their pond.” When he saw Alina staring at him with surprise in her eyes, he said, “You surely didn’t think I was born in a three-piece suit, did you?”
“No. It’s just that you’re all about business 24/7. It’s surprising seeing you in a different light.”
With her hand still in his, he said, “Let’s go rent skates.” When he turned to start walking, she didn’t follow. He turned back to her. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t skate.” When a smile lifted his lips, she said, “It’s not funny.”
“I’m not laughing. It’s my turn to be surprised. Who’d have thought there’s something you don’t know how to do.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That you, my darling, are a jack-of-all-trades.” It wasn’t until he finished speaking that he realized he’d called her “my darling.” Where in the world had that come from?
“When you lose a parent, you learn to help out. When you lose the other parent, you learn really fast how to provide for yourself—even if it means slinging a toolbox.”
He gave her hand squeeze. “I’m sorry you lost both of your parents.”
“I am, too.” Her voice was so soft it was more like a whisper that floated away in the breeze.
As they stood in line to get skates, Graham said, “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you to skate.”
“You might regret making the offer. I can just see me falling face-first and taking you down with me.”
“It won’t happen.”<
br />
She arched a fine brow. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because I’ll be there to make sure it doesn’t.”
Once they had their skates laced up, Graham helped Alina out onto the ice. This time she was the one reaching for his hand. She wrapped her fingers around his and squeezed like a steel vice. His fingertips started to lose sensation.
“Relax,” he said.
“I can’t.”
“Listen to the music. It’s a Christmas song. And we all know how you love the holiday classics. Maybe you could sing it.”
She frowned. “What does a song have to do with me skating?”
“Because if you don’t relax a little, my hand is going to lose all blood flow.”
Her mouth formed an O as she eased up her hold. “Sorry.”
He stretched his fingers. “All I’m saying is that you can’t skate when your muscles are tense. I promise this isn’t that hard.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You keep saying this is easy, but I still haven’t seen you skate.”
“Is that a challenge?”
She eagerly nodded. “It is.”
“Are you fine staying there against the wall?”
She nodded again.
“I’ll be right back.” He took off around the rink. Luckily it wasn’t too crowded.
It’d been a while since he’d been on skates, but for him it was just like riding a bike. He took a couple of warm-up passes. Then he moved to the center of the rink where there were fewer people. He attempted a jump. He didn’t have much height and his landing was a little off, but he was still impressed he was able to do that good considering how long it’d been since he’d been on skates. Next, he tried a spin and did marginally better. Hopefully it’d be good enough to convince Alina to trust him.
He skated up to her, noticing her death grip on the wall. He smiled at her, hoping to ease her anxiety. “So what did you think?”
“I think you must have been a professional skater in another life.”
His smile broadened. “Not even close. But do you now trust me to guide you around the rink?”
Her eyes held doubt, but she placed her hand in his. “Let’s try it.”
He moved behind her, placing his hands around her waist. “I’ve got you.” When she let go of the wall, he said, “Keep your skates shoulder-width apart.” She adjusted. “Good. Now bend your knees just a bit.” When she did, he said, “Not so much. There you go. And now push off with your right leg.”
When she pushed off, he let her go—let her glide on the ice by herself. But when she slowed to a stop, he was right there to lend aid. They worked together on her skating as they made their way around the ice.
He let go of her hand, picked up speed and then turned so he was skating backward. Alina smiled at him. She looked adorable with her cheeks pink from the cold.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked.
“I love this. I never knew what I was missing.”
“Good. We’ll have to come back.”
It wasn’t until he’d spoken the words that he realized he’d implied they had a future. And he knew that wasn’t the case. When he bulldozed her home, any thought of them doing anything together would also be demolished. The thought saddened him because he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had this much fun and it was all thanks to Alina.
“I’d like that,” she said, making him feel even worse.
He shoved aside the troubling thoughts of the future. Instead he focused on the here and now. He slowed to a stop, but Alina wasn’t so good with stopping. She ran into him. He absorbed the impact, keeping them standing. Her soft curves leaned into him and instantly there was a chemical reaction.
When he looked down at her, he couldn’t remember what he was about to say. His gaze lowered. Her rosy lips beckoned to him.
His heart lodged in his throat. He was about to live in the moment and deal with the consequences later. He lowered his head and claimed her mouth. He wasn’t sure what sort of reaction his hasty action would receive, but Alina didn’t push him away. Her lips moved beneath his. And in that moment, he realized he’d never had a kiss like this one, where it warmed him from the inside out.
He knew all of the reasons this shouldn’t be happening, but the pounding of his heart drowned out those reservations. There was just something so special about Alina, from her determination to her thoughtfulness. How could any man resist her charms?
As her smooth lips moved over his, he wished their circumstances were different. He wanted to follow this kiss up with another and another. Because as sure as he was standing there, he would never get enough of Alina. That was a complete and utter impossibility.
The laughter of kids nearby had him pulling back. Even though it felt as though time had stopped, their kiss had been brief—much too brief.
His gaze met hers but he couldn’t read her thoughts. This had been a moment of weakness. He knew to consider it anything else would be a big mistake. In the end, he would hurt Alina when inevitably her home was replaced with Toliver Tower.
“I think we should call it quits for today,” he said.
She averted her gaze. “I agree. It’s been a long day.”
The ramifications of his spontaneous action were already sinking in. They skated over to the other side of the rink, where they’d left their belongings in a locker. This time he didn’t hold her hand.
There had been a distinct shift in their relationship. He hadn’t just tiptoed over the line of common sense, he’d barged right over it with both feet. There was no taking it back. No changing history.
And as much as he’d like to see where this relationship would lead them, he couldn’t do that. To follow that kiss up with more would lead Alina to believe this was the beginning of something and that wasn’t the case. As it was, their time together was quickly drawing to a close.
* * *
His phone buzzed.
The following day, Graham was in no mood to speak to anyone. All he could think about was how Alina had gone out of her way to avoid him since that kiss. And he missed her—missed their friendship.
His fingers pounded harder than necessary on his laptop keyboard. He’d been on a roll and actually making a dent in his email. Maybe if he ignored the call, they’d give up and not call back. He knew he wouldn’t be that lucky. Still, he continued typing.
Graham had forwarded the calls and texts from the Stirling to his phone. By doing this, he freed himself from having to sit in the manager’s office at the apartment building. It had come in handy the day before when there had been important meetings at the office about the new building.
He checked his phone, finding whoever had rung had left him a voice mail. He listened to it and found it was from the tenant in apartment 104—Alina’s stepmother. If he didn’t take care of it now, he knew she’d come knocking on his door. It was best to just get it over with.
He finished an email to his assistant, closed his laptop and then grabbed his toolbox—er, Alina’s toolbox—and headed out the door. The one thing he’d learned since taking on this arrangement was that he wasn’t so bad at multitasking. He used to like to work on one project until it was completed, but he was finding periodic breaks gave his subconscious a chance to work out problems. When he returned to his project, he had a fresh perspective.
He stepped into the deserted hallway. It was the middle of the afternoon and most people were still at work. He made his way to 104. The door was still plain, whereas most of the doors in the building had holiday wreaths or bows affixed to them. Maybe Alina’s stepmother hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
He raised his hand and rapped his knuckles on the door. “Maintenance.”
The door immediately swung open. A tall woman with short platinum blond hair frowned at him as though she’d been standing there waiting on his arrival. It
must be something serious. He inwardly groaned because he had notes about an important contract to finish typing.
“It’s about time,” she snapped.
Wait. What? He’d just gotten the message a few minutes ago. “I got here as fast as I could. What’s the problem?”
The woman glanced past him, into the hallway. “Where’s Al... Alina?”
If she thought she was going to rattle him, she had another thought coming. “She’s not available. But if you’ll just show me the problem—”
“It’s Alina’s job!” The woman’s eyes darkened with anger. “I told you this the last time you came. It’s what she gets paid for. I’m not going to have one of her boyfriends—”
“I’m not her boyfriend.”
The woman’s eyes widened. Either the news that he wasn’t Alina’s boyfriend was a surprise or the woman wasn’t used to anyone interrupting her when she was yelling. Either way, he didn’t like the woman at all.
Suddenly her demeanor changed. A smile plumped up her drawn cheeks. “My daughters aren’t here at the moment, but I know they’d love to meet you.”
He didn’t know where this conversation was headed, but he had an uncomfortable feeling.
“Come inside.” She stepped back. “I just put on some coffee.”
So much for there being an emergency. It was time to make a quick exit.
He held up a finger for the woman to wait and then he pressed on his earpiece, pretending he had an important phone call.
“Yes, Mary.” He paused for a moment. “Yes, I have those numbers on my laptop. I’ll get them for you. Hang on.” He turned back to the woman. “Sorry, its important business.”
The woman’s mouth gaped as her brows gathered and her eyes revealed her utter disapproval at being dismissed.
He immediately turned and strode away. His dislike for Alina’s stepmother was intense. Behind him a door slammed shut.
The funny thing was that most of the people in the building were super friendly. Others weren’t as talkative, preferring to keep to themselves. But that woman was the meanest person in the building. He felt sorry for Alina—not only because she had to deal with that woman on a regular basis, but also because it was the closest Alina had to family.
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