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I’ll just have to wait along with everybody else.”
    “In the meantime”—Noah’s ears were red, but his voice was unruffled—“if you ladies will excuse us, I promised to introduce Dev to an old friend.”
    “Sure.” Winnie smiled and waved us away. “We’ll catch you later.”
    With a hand on my elbow, Noah steered me toward a short, rotund man with his arm around a tall, beautiful woman.
    As we neared the couple, Noah said, “Oakley, it’s great to see you.”
    “Thanks for sending me the tickets.” Oakley clasped Noah’s shoulder, then said, “This is Faith Nelson. Faith, my old college roommate, Noah Underwood.”
    Noah shook the brunette’s hand, then turned to me and said to the couple, “This is Devereaux Sinclair. Dev, this is Oakley Panigrahi and Faith Nelson. Dev runs the basket business I told you about.”
    “It is very nice to meet you at last,” Oakley said. “Noah has told me a great deal about you, and I’ve been wanting to discuss a proposition with you ever since he mentioned your company.”
    “Terrific.” I wondered what else Noah had said about me and when he had said it.
    “Why don’t you two go tango while Ms. Sinclair and I have a little talk,” Oakley said, pushing Faith toward Noah.
    “I’d love to.” I mentally rubbed my hands together, thinking of the money this meeting could add to my bottom line.
    Noah dipped his head toward Oakley and me before taking the stunning brunette’s hand.
    I kept a smile pasted on my face as Noah murmured in Faith’s ear while leading her onto the dance floor, but a part of me was not happy to see such a gorgeous woman in his arms. They made a striking pair, moving together in perfect harmony to the beat.
    After a moment, I forced myself to focus and, raising my voice, asked Oakley, “Would you like to sit in the lobby? The music in here makes it a little difficult to have a meaningful conversation.”
    Oakley agreed, and within half an hour, he outlined the type of gift baskets he required for his real estate clients. He explained that he handled high-end luxury properties and he wanted unique items customized to the tastes of his buyers. He was willing to pay top dollar to provide a memorable thank-you gift for his customers.
    I assured him that I was the woman for the job, and he promised to send an e-mail with the particulars for the first twenty orders. He then wrote me a large check for the down payment—the rest would be paid on delivery—and we returned to the ballroom, where we found Noah and Faith seated at a side table, chatting.
    Oakley took the chair next to Faith, but when I started to slip into the one beside Noah, he stopped me, stood up, and said, “Let’s waltz.”
    For the next hour, we rarely left the floor. I had forgotten what a great dancer Noah was; he was even able to make someone like me, with two left feet, feel graceful. I had also forgotten, or more likely blocked from my mind, how much I enjoyed being in his arms.
    Finally we both needed a rest. Once we claimed a vacant table, Noah fetched us two more martinis. Sipping our drinks, we chatted about the event and the people, but eventually we ran out of small talk.
    As I toyed with the stem of my glass, Noah cleared his throat. “Dev, I—”
    Before he could finish his sentence, Winnie rushed up to us and announced, “It’s time to start the auction. I’ve noticed a few couples have already left.”
    “Okay.” Noah sighed, then asked me, “How would you like to be Vanna White?”
    “Huh?”
    “You know, point to the item and look beautiful,” Noah teased.
    “Okay.” I smiled. “I can handle at least one of those two assignments.”
    “I know you’re not just a pretty face. I’m sure you can point, too.”
    Winnie chuckled, then hurried off to whip the bidders into a frenzy.
    Noah stood and, taking my hand, escorted me toward the door that led to the room holding the auction items. He gave me an inventory of the objects up for bid and