Tori smiled. She could hardly imagine a room of powerful CEOs watching cartoons. “It sounds sweet. Are there footie pajamas involved?”
“No, thankfully they don’t make them in my size. When we were kids, yeah, it was cute. Now it’s just getting old and sad, but we haven’t provided the requisite grandchildren to pass on the tradition.”
“Mmm…” she murmured, taking the last sip of her cider as the final notes of Julianne’s song rang out. “I’d better go, then.”
“I’ll walk you out. My mom is loading you down with leftovers, so I’ll carry your tree.”
Tori arched an eyebrow at Wade but didn’t argue. As she rose, Molly got up as well, and the two women headed into the kitchen where Tori disposed of her mug in the sink. Wade was right: Molly had packed a bag full of containers to feed her for a few days. Molly gave Tori a big hug, thanked her for coming and walked her to the door.
Tori was careful to avoid the mistletoe this time as she grabbed her coat and flung it over her arm. She waved good-night to everyone, then headed out the door with Wade behind her.
They crunched through the snow to where she’d parked her truck without saying a word. She unlocked the passenger door and set the leftovers on the floorboard. Wade put the tree on the bench, and Tori fastened it into place with the seat belt. “That should hold it steady,” she said, tossing her bulky jacket inside and slamming the heavy door closed.
Wade was standing beside her, leaning casually against the truck. She expected him to go back into the house—he didn’t even have his coat on—but he stayed firmly in place. His green eyes were black in the dark night, fixed on her face. The intensity of his gaze made her skin flush and a tingle run down the length of her spine.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she teased, unsure what else to say with him watching her so closely.
“No, it wasn’t. I rather enjoyed it. I hope you had a good time. My family seems to like you.”
“I did have a good time. They seem like really great people.”
“They are. I would do anything to protect them.”
Tori felt the mood shift. He wasn’t just talking about Christmas dinner anymore. She’d hoped they could shelve this argument for at least one night.
“I know there’s a part of you that thinks I’m the big bad wolf out to steal your property. The fact of the matter is that without getting lawyers involved and doing some fairly ugly things that would hurt my parents and their reputation, I can’t take this land from you. And I can’t force you to sell it. But I hope that meeting my family tonight helps you understand where I’m coming from and how important this is to me. So you know that I’ve been telling you the truth the whole time.”
Wade took a step forward, invading her space. If he was deliberately trying to use his size to intimidate her, his plan was backfiring. She was anything but intimidated. When he was that close, she was thoroughly turned on and extremely distracted from the conversation.
“I need you…” he began, wrapping a gentle hand around her upper arm. Tori couldn’t help leaning in to him, her brain short-circuiting with his touch and his words. “…to believe me, Tori.”
Tori sighed, an expression of disappointment wrinkling her delicate nose. “Wade, what difference does it make if I believe you or not? You want my land. I don’t want to sell it to you. It’s a fairly cut-and-dried scenario.”
Wade shrugged. “Nothing is that simple. Years of experience have taught me that there is always room to negotiate. Everyone has a pressure point. For some people, it’s a dollar amount. That’s obviously not the case with you or we would’ve resolved this the first day. I didn’t plan for you to be here tonight, but maybe some good can come of it. Perhaps you have a soft spot for family that would help you understand. I don’t want to be the bad guy. I like you, Tori. You’re spunky. And beautiful when you aren’t pointing a gun at me.”
He watched Tori’s eyes widen and her mouth softly part at his compliment. “You’re just flattering me to get your way,” she accused, shrugging off his hand.
“I won’t lie to you. I do want the land. But I also want to get to know you better. And for you to like me. I’d like to ask you out to dinner sometime. A nice romantic dinner without my family’s prying eyes watching our every move. The perfect scenario ends with both of us achieving everything we want.”
“How do you know anything about what I want?”