“Get in here. It’s horrible out there.”
The door closed, sending a burst of air through and pushing her right into Christian’s chest. She looked up, ringlets hanging in her face, blown free from her ponytail holder. He didn’t move. She didn’t either. He raised his hand and brushed the hair away from her face. She felt every part of her being come alive. He let his hand slide to the back of her neck, and as he leaned his head down, he raised hers to his own. His mouth covered hers and she let it. Everything inside of her screamed to life. Her body relaxed beneath his touch, and he wrapped his other hand around her waist, pulling her even closer. She wrapped her hands around him and let every ounce of his presence engulf her. When he finally lifted his head from hers, he saw the tears that brimmed at the corners of her eyes.
“So I can make you cry too?” he chided.
She laughed and pushed at his chest playfully. But he wouldn’t let her go. “You knew, didn’t you?” she whispered, settling her palms against the linen of his white shirt.
“I knew that wasn’t you last night. And something about Mia just didn’t compute. I was, in fact, headed here to confront her when Max called me to come over. It was then I put it all together.”
“I saw it in your face this morning. I saw that you didn’t believe the worst about me.”
“I knew what happened to you the other night at the church was real. It was like nothing I had ever seen. And I knew from the moment I met you that you were a woman who was strong and not the woman that I saw last night.”
She dropped her head and let her forehead rest against his chest. His hands slid up her back and she could feel his lips kiss the top of her head.
“We’ve got to make sure these people are safe,” he whispered.
She nodded. “I know.”
“Let’s round them up and get them to the ballroom, and we’ll spend the night together,” he said. She didn’t miss his innuendo.
She laughed. “Yes, it looks like we will. Boy, I’m an easy date. One date and you get me for the night.”
“I think I might want Riley Sinclair for longer than any night.”
She tilted her head up, and his black eyes bored into her own. She’d take care of her guests in a minute. Right now she was going to kiss this man in front of her one more time.
22
Friday evening . . .
Winnie pulled her luggage down the hall. The hospital had sent her and Laine back to the hotel. Tamyra was in ICU, so they could only visit a few minutes every other hour. The staff told them they would be safer riding out the hurricane at the Atlantis than at the hospital. Riley had sent all the guests to get their luggage and come down to the meeting rooms at The Cove. Winnie’s Mesa Red Vera Bradley luggage looked like a cowboy’s bandanna. That’s why she had bought it in the first place. It matched the red bandanna she wore around her neck to complement her studded denim skirt and white T-shirt emblazoned with a red-sequined heart that took over most of her bosom. She had risked a shower and changed her clothes even if it meant being reprimanded by Riley.
The elevator deposited her at the entrance to the ballroom. Gerard was waiting for her in the hall. He nodded toward the doorway. “He will walk you the rest of the way, Miss Winnie.”
Winnie looked across the hall and saw the man. It was Albert. She couldn’t believe it. “What in the world are you doing here? You should be home. You should have gotten out of here when you could,” she scolded like a mother talking to a four-year-old.
“I called home and my children said yours were beside themselves when they found out you weren’t taking that flight home. So I told them I would stay here with you. Now we need to get a move on,” he said with a firmness in his voice that bade her to comply.
“Well, you should have gone home. I am more than capable of taking care of myself,” she huffed slightly.
“You know what, Winnie Harris? You need a man who will straighten you out. You’re set in your ways, and it’s time you open up and let someone inside.” His hand held her by the arm.
Her rigidness softened beneath his grasp. She looked at him with slight dismay.
“Yeah, that’s right. You tell kids what to do all the time, but I’m not a kid. I’m a grown man. And I think you’re an incredibly beautiful woman, albeit a pain in the butt. But I’ve handled worse than you. And we’re going to the ballroom and I’m going to make sure you get home safe. And, well, dang it, I’m going to—” And with that, Albert’s lips came down on Winnie’s and sucked every last word from her. Her heart beat beneath the sequined one like a schoolkid’s at recess. He lifted his mouth from hers.
“Now do you understand me?” he asked.
She just stood there. Head tilted back. Eyes still closed. Mouth partially open. And all she could do was nod. She heard him chuckle.
“I should have done that a long time ago, huh?”
She nodded again.
He laughed harder. He pulled her arm softly and took her large bag from her. She opened her eyes and released it to him. And for the entire walk to the conference room, she didn’t say a word. Winnie Harris had been rendered speechless.
* * *
Laine paced the length of the ballroom.
“He’ll call,” Riley assured her.
“I told him not to come. I told him it was a hurricane, for
