“Why the red dress?”
Kent’s smirk deepened. “Because you look incredible in red. And because it’ll drive me crazy all evening knowing how good you look under it.”
Heat flooded my cheeks, but I felt a thrill of feminine power at the hunger in his voice. “In that case,” I said, dropping my towel with deliberate casualness, “definitely the red dress.”
I heard Kent’s sharp intake of breath and felt his eyes on me as I moved around the room, taking my time getting dressed. I pulled on my panties, slowly sliding them up my legs before putting on my bra. The way he watched me intoxicated me, like I was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
I’d never felt beautiful like this before. Not just pretty or attractive but genuinely, powerfully beautiful.
When I finally turned to face him, fully dressed and ready for dinner, Kent was looking at me like I’d just stepped out of his most elaborate fantasy.
“Perfect,” he said.
“For dinner with my family?” I asked, smoothing the dress over my hips.
“For everything,” he said, sitting up and reaching for me.
“Absolutely perfect.”
I let him pull me down for one more kiss before I had to leave. I marveled at how much my life had changed in just twenty-four hours. Yesterday morning I’d been resigned to losing everything I loved.
Maybe Christmas miracles were real after all.
CHAPTER 60
KENT
Iwanted to keep Sylvie all to myself tonight, but I knew this dinner was a special tradition for her and her family. She’d invited me to join multiple times throughout the day, each invitation more earnest than the last, but I’d said no every time.
This was their night. Their family Christmas dinner, with decades of history and traditions I couldn’t fully understand. I didn’t want to intrude on something so personal, so sacred to them.
Maybe next year. I didn’t want the conversation to come back to business. Their night was about celebrating. I didn’t want it to be bogged down by numbers and logistics.
I walked Sylvie to the door, then pulled her close and kissed her softly.
“Have a good night,” I murmured against her lips. “I’ll see you back at your place. Take your time.”
She looked up at me with those green eyes that had the power to undo me completely. “Are you sure? You’re really welcome, Kent. My family?—”
“Is your family,” I finished gently. “Tonight is about all of you being together. I’ll be here when you get back.”
She lingered for a moment, clearly torn. I could see her longing to stay with me warring with her excitement about the family dinner. A warm possessive feeling bloomed in my chest to know she didn’t want to leave me, even for a few hours.
I kissed her again. “Go.”
Finally, she headed toward the door, casting one last longing look back at me over her shoulder.
I winked and smiled, memorizing the picture she made in that red dress. “I’ll be waiting for you, baby.”
Back at Sylvie’s apartment, I settled onto her couch with a beer from her refrigerator and tried to process everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Two days ago, I’d been in my Manhattan penthouse, staring out at a city that felt cold and empty. Now I was in a cozy apartment that smelled like pine and vanilla and planning a future I never imagined wanting.
The transformation felt both gradual and sudden, like I’d been walking toward this moment without realizing it since the day I first arrived in Northwood.
That’s when I remembered to check my phone.
Eight missed calls from my father. The notification made my stomach clench with familiar dread, though this time it was mixed with resignation. I knew this conversation was coming. Had known it since the moment I decided to leave the city and make Sylvie an offer that had nothing to do with Bancroft Industries and everything to do with my heart.
Dad would think it was foolish. I was pretty sure he was going to rage and then kick me out of the family.
