And when the CEO finally wraps up his talk, he surprises me by introducing Drew, who strides briskly to the podium.
“The best advice I’ve ever received about making a speech is to keep it short,” he says, with an amused glance in my direction. “And I promise to try to do that tonight.”
The irony is, Drew looks so good up there that I’m sure a lot of people are hoping for a long speech.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight,” he says. “I know you’ve got a lot of demands on your time and your money, and we’re grateful you’ve chosen to support the hospital. Most of the money we raise tonight will be used for a new, state of the art MRI scanner. This is great news for our patients, because it will mean shorter wait times. And it’s also great news for me, because I’ll get to look at better pictures.”
There’s a smattering of laughter from the audience.
“The improved technology will allow us to make more accurate diagnoses,” Drew continues. “Your money will make a real difference. So thank you all again, and I hope you enjoy the evening.”
With that, he walks back to the table and sits back down next to me.
“I didn’t know you were making a speech,” I tell him.
“I didn’t either, until yesterday,” he says, rolling his eyes a little. “The head of the fundraising committee thought it was a good idea. She thought I’d resonate with the donors, whatever that means.”
All of a sudden, the music changes from muted classical to Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in Love.’Apparently it’s time for the dance portion of the evening, and I notice a DJ set up in the corner of the dance floor. He optimistically starts with fast tempo stuff, but when the dance floor fails to fill, he transitions to slow songs.
A few couples take the floor for‘Always on My Mind,’ including Peter and Danielle Tate. And as soon as her parents leave the table, Nina inches her chair closer to Drew.
“I’ve always loved this song,” she says, putting her hand on his upper arm. “Dance with me, Drew.”
“I’m not much of a dancer, Nina.” Drew glances at Everett, hoping he’ll jump in and offer to dance with his date, but Everett keeps staring at his phone.
“Oh, come on, Drew,” Nina says. “You just have to stand there.”
So Drew lets her lead him onto the dance floor and puts his arms around her waist. The other couple at our table gets up as well, and I’m left sitting with Everett and his phone.
The DJ segues into Stephen Sanchez’s ‘Until I Found You,’ which is one of my favorite songs. Nina’s makes no move to release Drew, and I can tell she plans to dance this song with him too.
I try to convince myself it’s not a big deal. It’s just a dance, and Drew’s doing a pretty good job of keeping Nina at arm’s length. The important thing is that Drew will be going home with me at the end of the night. Or, more accurately, I’ll be going home with him, but the end result will be the same.
But the sight of him on the dance floor with Nina still ignites a spark of jealousy low in my belly. Drew Malone is my date. One dance is fine, but it feels like Nina’s staking a claim with her second.
I take a sip of wine and gather my nerve, then thread my way through the dancers and tap Nina on the shoulder.
“Excuse me,” I say politely. “This is our song. Drew and I always dance it together.”
“Oh,” Nina says, and at first, I think she’s not going to give Drew up. “I thought?—”
“And I think Everett’s looking for you,” I interrupt, because I don’t really care what she thought.
Nina reluctantly steps away, and I take her place. Drew’s hands go to my waist, sending a jolt of excitement down to my toes.
“Our song, huh?” he asks softly. “I didn’t know we had one.”
“We do now.” I take a step closer and twine my hands behind his neck. I expect him to step back, to try to keep me at arm’s length like he did with Nina, but he doesn’t.
He smells so good, like cedar and sandalwood, and it’s intoxicating. I take another step closer, closing the space between us. Again, I expect him to try to retreat, but he doesn’t.
So I turn my head and rest my cheek against his collar. His chest is warm and solid, and I let myself melt into him.
Something stirs against my lower belly, and I realize he’s hard. He relaxes his hold on my waist, giving me the freedom to step away if I want. I meet his eyes and see the unspoken question there. Do I want him to step back?
In response, I take a step closer, so I’m firmly pressed against his erection. Drew huffs out a ragged breath, and his hands tighten on my waist.
The song changes to ‘Moon River,’ slow and dreamy, and I let myself indulge in a fantasy. A dream in which Drew and I go back to his condo and tear the clothes off each other. A dream that ends in his bed.
