She shivered, just a little.
“Cold?” he asked.
“A little.” He moved his hand, wrapping his arm around her. She couldn’t help but enjoy that feeling, too. After two weeks of having him ignore her, she welcomed his touch.
He’d left the car running, and it was still warm. She settled back against the seat. This was the best date she’d ever been on, and it wasn’t even a date.
That was a little alarming. Was she doomed to be alone forever? If Eli Bennett was her standard, then she was pretty sure no one else was ever going to live up to him.
They chatted about work on the ride over, and then they arrived at the Elysian Ballroom. She held onto his arm once again, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. They picked up glasses of champagne and began to mingle. Ava didn’t spend much time meeting new people in her current life, but all of her manners came back to her as Eli introduced her to his colleagues.
About twenty minutes in, they finally had a moment to themselves.
He glanced down at her. “You seem right at home here.”
“I grew up attending several of these balls each year.” She figured he’d want an explanation. “My father owns the largest law firm in Portland. Scott Carter.”
“Ah. I’m familiar with the firm, and I’ve actually met your father. And your grandfather.”
“And my aunt and uncle, too, more than likely,” she said.
“A family affair. How’d you end up in medicine?”
“My mom’s a doctor. I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”
He tilted his head. “Is her last name Carter, too?”
“Yes. She took my dad’s name when I was born. She’s not practicing medicine now. She’s into public health.”
He nodded a few times. “Jessica Carter. She’s the director at the Oregon Health Authority.”
Ava’s mother had dedicated her life to public service. Ava had always admired that. She didn’t want to work for the OHA like her mom did, but she wanted to make the world a better place by unlocking some of the secrets of human DNA. “Yep. That’s her.”
“You’ve never mentioned her.”
“You know why.” She’d had people fawn over her, try to cozy up to her, and be outright resentful of her because of who her parents were.
He didn’t comment on that, but he did smile. “Now I know why you have such a nice apartment.”
She couldn’t stop her grin. “So, you noticed. Usually, people just outright ask.”
“I didn’t want to be rude.”
“It’s not rude. It is surprising when someone my age has a spacious apartment that costs thousands of dollars per month. I’ve had quite a few friends exclaim as soon as they arrived, ‘How the hell do you afford this?’ One of them even asked if I was a stripper on the side.”
He pressed his lips together. “I didn’t know strippers made that kind of money.”
“Maybe they do. I should have asked her how she knew what a stripper made.”
Eli threw his head back and laughed. His smile was wide, and his eyes sparkled. She’d never seen him relaxed like this.
They made their way to the round tables and he held her seat out for her. She moved the skirt of her dress aside and sat down. The food was served, a rich and creamy pasta along with a seared halibut. Ava could tell that it was delicious, but everything around her seemed to fade away as she became hyper-aware of Eli next to her.
After the meal was finished, Eli leaned over very close to her. “Would you like to dance?”
“Yes, I would.” Ava pushed her chair back. “I’ll be right back.” She rushed to the bathroom. She never spent much time worrying about her appearance, but she did not want to dance with Eli if she had food stuck in her teeth. Thankfully, she also had a mint in her purse.
Back in the ballroom, Eli was waiting for her. Just as she returned, a classical waltz started up. He knew exactly where to put his hands and how to lead.
“You’re no stranger to this sort of thing either,” she said as they spun through the beginning steps. “Did you grow up attending galas?”
A wry smile crossed his face. “No. I spent all my time running wild, swimming, hunting, or fishing.”
Being so close to him was getting to her. Now, the fluttery feeling changed, moving toward arousal. Heat surged in her belly, shooting straight down to her thighs. “So, you’re outdoorsy?” she asked. Her voice sounded choked even to her own ears.
“You could say that.”
She squeezed her legs together, hoping to keep the ache at bay. Getting turned on like this, right then at a formal gala, was crazy. She could barely believe that she’d lost control over her own body. She had to continue acting normally and not let on. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”
“I don’t spend a lot of time outside, but I do it as often as I can. I always feel relaxed afterward.”
She had a flashback to the awful date with the guy who was obsessed with camping. Yuck. Eli was so much better than any other guy. Too bad he was off-limits. And there was one big difference—she wanted to know about Eli’s personal life. She knew very little about Eli because he never talked about himself. He only talked about their work.
“What’s your favorite thing to do outside?” she asked.
He adjusted his hand on her upper back, sending a tingle down her spine. “Swimming in the ocean is my favorite. Hiking is a close second.”
“I’m not much of a hiker,” she said. “And sometimes the ocean scares me.”
They twirled and spun, moving with the rhythm of the music. His eyes were half-lidded as he looked down at her. “The ocean is powerful, but it’s not scary.”
“It can be,” she said. “And sometimes it’s
