Astrid was exactly the sort of woman to cry at happy moments, and the tears were streaming down her cheeks as she watched Clay leave the stage and accept congratulations from the people he passed on his way back to their table.
When he reached her, he was shaking his head. “I should have thanked you specifically from the stage. I’m so sorry. My mind was a blur up there.”
“But you did thank me. I’m part of the team.” She waved it off, not wanting to admit that she was slightly disappointed to not have her name mentioned. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just happy for you.”
“But you are an important part of my work life and I’ve been a jerk. I guess it took spending this time with you to see that we can work well together.”
Astrid was flushed with warmth from head to toe. She was not only immensely proud of him for his award, she was glad they’d finally broken through a barrier together. Was this a taste of things to come? Could he ever let her in? “I’m so happy to hear that.”
“Not half as happy as I am, knowing that you and I have a bottle of champagne waiting for us upstairs.”
Six
“You’re sure you don’t want to go to the reception?” Astrid had been struggling to get a word in. A constant stream of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers kept stopping to congratulate Clay as they filed out of the ballroom. “I’m sure the other winners will all be there.”
“Going to a party is the last thing I want to do.” It wasn’t the celebration of the award that he’d been seeking. It was the recognition. As far as he was concerned, that could have been a quiet exercise. It didn’t have to be a big show. But there was more to his disinterest in the party than that. Here in a different town, away from the office, his family and outside influences, Astrid was the center of his orbit right now. She had made this night amazing. She’d forced him out of his own head and out of his comfort zone. If he’d been left to his own devices, he would have been his usual one-man island. And he didn’t have to imagine the empty feeling he would’ve been stuck with if he’d been here all alone. He knew that feeling all too well.
“So we’ll go upstairs and toast your big win?”
“As long as you’re okay with it. I don’t want you to miss out on any fun. You look so beautiful in that dress. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to make the rounds at the party.”
“Are you flirting with me, Clay?”
It was no longer an easy task to breathe. One kiss. That’s all I need. But he would not kiss her. He wasn’t even sure she was attracted to him. Still, he was prepared to be honest with her about his reasons for having struggled to work with her. She deserved the truth. She’d earned it. He was prepared to live with the consequences.
“It’s not flirtation. It’s the truth.” The ballroom had largely emptied out. “You are easily the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I’m sure hundreds of men have told you that.”
Her eyes bore no judgment for what he’d admitted. Only curiosity. “You really think that?”
“Isn’t it a bit obvious?”
“Hundreds of men have not told me that. Not the way you did just now, with sincerity.”
“You must have left a long string of broken hearts behind you.”
She shook her head slowly, never breaking eye contact with him. “No. I haven’t. Men will admire me, but they don’t have the nerve to be honest with me in any real way.”
“That’s important to you? Honesty?”
“Immensely.”
This was as good a time as any to come clean. “If we’re being honest, Astrid, I need to tell you that I have struggled with being very attracted to you.” He watched as her eyes flickered with a mix of surprise and delight. He wasn’t about to wait for her response. “But I want you to know that it’s not just because you’re stunning. You’re so open and generous. You’re so sweet. I don’t really know what to make of it. I only know that I’m drawn to you.”
She cracked half a smile and shied away for a split second. “You wouldn’t say I’m so sweet if you knew what I was thinking about you in that suit.”
Clay’s sights narrowed on her, but he caught the corners of his mouth trying to twitch into a smile. “What?”
“You’re not the only one who’s struggled with attraction, Clay. My jaw dropped the first time I met you.”
Ripples of heat began moving through him, like a tide that rolled in but never receded. “Wow. I was not expecting you to say that.”
“Did I manage to surprise the unflappable Clay Morgan?” Her eyes glinted with flirtation, sending his brain off in a very specific direction, the one that led them upstairs.
“You did. And the only thing that will help me shake off my surprise is a glass of champagne. In our room.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.” Astrid hooked her arm in his and they beelined for the door.
Outside the ballroom, there were dozens of people still milling about and talking. Clay ducked through the crowd, pulling Astrid behind him in his wake. When they broke free, it was her turn to tug on him as she took extra long strides across the lobby—so long that Clay noticed something he hadn’t before. Her gown had a high slit. That flash of her bare skin spiked his body temperature so much he nearly broke out in a sweat.
Luckily, the elevator had
