“Thanks,” she said, “but I’ve got it. I’ll see you at the hotel.”

“I’ll be waiting for you in the lobby.”

*   *   *

Worried, Adrian paced the hotel lobby. The temperature outside was steadily falling, and the news had been calling for a bad snowstorm later that evening. He’d tried to call Sam a dozen times to warn her not to come out this far, but she’d turned her cell phone off.

The door opened.

Adrian looked up and felt his jaw drop as Sam swept in.

She was wearing a Renaissance-style dress with a high waist, long flowing sleeves, and ballerina slippers. Her hair was down around her face and she had a light ribbon braided across the top of her hair with flowers. She looked just like Guinevere.

And he loved it.

No, he corrected himself, he loved her.

Sam paused as she caught sight of Adrian staring at her. He looked gorgeous in his black jeans and sweater. He’d even gone to the trouble of fixing his hair and she knew how much he hated doing that.

Better still, his entire face lit up as his gaze met hers.

“My lady, you are beautiful,” he said as she drew near him. He took her hand in his and kissed the back of her knuckles.

The warmth of his hand startled her. He took her coat from her hands and offered her his arm.

Feeling like a heroine in a romance novel, Sam took his arm and allowed him to lead her into the party.

“Wow, Sam,” Randir said as he saw them. “You clean up good.”

She laughed. “Thanks, I think.”

While Adrian went to get her something to drink, she took a seat at the large, round table with the guys from her department.

“Oh, Adrian,” Scott teased as soon as he returned. “You’re just so thoughtful. Want to go get me a Coke?”

“No,” Adrian said as he sat down beside her.

Sam did her best to appear nonchalant and distanced from Adrian, but it wasn’t easy when all she wanted to do was lean back into his arms and have him hold her like he did in the early morning hours.

How she loved curling up with him in his favorite recliner, watching TV or listening to music while they fed each other popcorn. Naked.

She’d never been overly comfortable with her body, but Adrian seemed to love it and she loved him for it.

He gave her a meaningful look, then slid his gaze toward the lobby. “I need to go make a call.”

Sam waited until he was out of sight before she excused herself to go to the bathroom.

She met Adrian in the lobby where he pulled her into a hidden, dark corner. “Why are we here?” he asked as he pressed her back against the wall.