Page 32 of Love Without Demands

“I will.” My voice sounded defeated, and I was tempted to tell him I was too busy in November, but that would beimmature.

“Love you, Lehra.”

“Love you too,” I mumbled before hanging up.

Needing wine, I got up and poured myself a glass of pinot grigio, leaning against the marble-top counter and taking a long gulp of the crisp white. I heard my phone ping from the living room and smiled over the top of my glass. That was probably Dwight messaging to apologize for insulting me.

I crossed the light hardwood floor and picked up my phone, seeing a message from Cruz.

Cruz: Thanks for the cookies!

A picture accompanied the text, one of Cruz holding up one of the cookies with a goofy grin on his face. It made me smile.

I honestly didn’t like those almond-cherry cookies. They were dry and brittle to me. But Cruz seemed to love them, so I’d keep making them for him.

Christmas came around fast this year. I was at the annual Bouvier office holiday party wearing an adorable strapless red dress with beading at the top and a flirty hemline. I’d pulled my hair up on top of my head, allowing the springy curls to drape down around my ears.

“You look ah-maziiiing!” Gianna sang as she approached me at one of the many food tables. The lobby of theBouvierbuilding was decked out in bright reds and snowy whites, with sparkly snowflakes draped from the thirty-foot ceilings.

“You do too,” I gushed. Auburn Bouvier’s new fiancée was decked out in a fitted red cocktail dress and sky-high heels that showed off her long legs. “We’re rocking the red dresses tonight.”

“We are. Let’s take a selfie.” She held up her phone at the perfect angle, and we smiled. Our smiles turned into laughter when Auburn Bouvier himself photobombed us with a cheesy grin on his handsome face.

I was so damned happy for these two. Gianna Moschella had swept into the billionaire’s world and turned it upside down. After dating in secret for a while, they’d finally told Gianna’s dad, Tony, about their relationship. I’m sure that was awkward at first, but he seemed to be coming around.

“You two look gorgeous tonight,” Auburn said. It was nice of him to include me, but he only had eyes for Gia.

“Thanks, boss. You’re looking mighty suave as well.” He was wearing a charcoal-gray suit, no tie, and a red pocket square that precisely matched his fiancée’s dress. No doubt coordinated by Devereaux, the head designer here.

“He is,” Gianna said, looking adoringly up at him.

He pressed a kiss against her neck and whispered something in her ear that caused her to giggle and smack at his hip. I was still getting used to seeing my boss acting playfully. He’d been so stoic for years.

“How are the kids?” Gia asked, and Auburn's face melted into softness like a popsicle in Arizona.

“I just checked on them. They’re with Abby. Jane is eating every sweet she can find, and Jaxon is flirting with all the models.”

We laughed. Jaxon and Jane were the twins the couple planned to adopt, and they were freaking precious.

“Where are they? I need to go say hi to my little buddies,” I said, glancing around the crowd of people for the five-year-olds.

“That means you’re going to give them candy, right?” Gia asked flatly.

I waved a dismissive hand. “They know they can always count on Auntie Lehra to come through with the goods.”

“They’re over there with Abby. She’s one of the teens from the children’s home,” Auburn explained, gesturing to his left. “We hired her to come help us with the twins for the evening.”

“We wanted them to be able to come and have fun, but my fiancé needs to do his duty andmingle with everyone, right?” she asked pointedly, lifting her eyebrows at him.

Auburn Bouvier put on a grimace of a smile. “Yay. Mingling is my favorite.” Then he stroked a hand down Gianna’s arm and gave her a look that said he’d be doing some horizontal mingling with her later tonight.

Jealousy spiked through me, and I wished Dwight looked at me like that. With the kind of desire that radiated heat and wanting with every glance. Shoving that feeling away, I said goodbye to the couple and detoured to the reception desk, which was covered with a red cloth and dotted with elegant flower arrangements in white vases. Carefully lifting the back edge of it, I located the drawer that held my stash of candy I kept for when the twins visited.

Assuming the kids would be dressed up, I took a hard pass on the chocolate, instead opting for a couple Blow Pops, red for Jane and purple for Jaxon. Then I went to find them.

Jaxon was wearing a suit that perfectly matched his soon-to-be dad’s, except his pocket square was white to match his sister’s dress. He had both hands in his pockets and was speaking with a leggy brunette, obviously one of the models.

“You are the most beautiful woman in this room,” he told her, and I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud.The boy’s a little player. The woman, whose name was Angie, I think, laughed and ruffled his hair before heading to the drink table.

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