Free Snowbound with the CEO by Shannon Stacey

wanted was for her coworkers to be asking her what was wrong while they were within earshot of Adrian and Diane. It would be too embarrassing.
    Grabbing herself a plate and filling it with the appetizers that looked the most satisfying, if calorie-laden, Rachel set about mingling again. With some strategic socializing and moving through the crowd, she was able to avoid Adrian for a while. She knew it wouldn’t last long, but for now she was spared giving him the same fake smile she was giving everybody else.
    Unlike them, he’d see right through it.
    * * *
    Adrian sipped his drink and made all the right small talk with his employees and their plus-ones, but in his mind he was thinking about Rachel. Again. Or maybe it was still. Either way, thinking about her constantly had become a habit he couldn’t break.
    “I can’t believe you finally worked up the nerve to do it, and now you’re blowing it.”
    Adrian looked at Diane over the rim of his glass, his brows drawn together. “The nerve to do what?”
    “The nerve to do Rachel.” His expression must have given away his surprise, because she laughed at him. “I’m not blind or stupid, Adrian. The chemistry between you is so insane, I’m surprised your staff hasn’t picked up on it. Or they have and they’re smart enough to keep their mouths shut.”
    “So how am I blowing it?”
    “Well, bringing a date to the party wasn’t your smoothest move, Casanova.”
    “You’re not a date. You’re...” The words petered out as what she’d said really sank in. “Dammit.”
    When Diane gave him a sympathetic smile and shrugged, Adrian sighed. He’d assumed Rachel knew things between him and Diane were strictly platonic, but now he wondered if that’s why she’d disappeared for a while shortly after he arrived.
    After the first Christmas party he’d thrown for his staff, he’d made it a point to bring Diane. When he was alone, his employees seemed to have a hard time relaxing around him. But when he had a woman with him, he seemed less like a boss and more like another guy having a good time. Sometimes he did the same for Diane. It was convenient when a plus-one was expected for an event.
    “You could have called me and asked me not to come, Adrian. I not only would have understood, but I would have been happy for you.”
    “It’s complicated.”
    “Which is why you don’t have sex with people who work for you.”
    When he glared at her, she shrugged. “It’s true and you know it. Especially when that person’s as indispensable to you as Rachel.”
    “I have a plan. The offices are closed for two weeks, so we can talk away from everybody else and spend some time together here in Boston. Sort things out before we go into work again.”
    “You should talk to her about me tonight. Don’t let that fester until you decide it’s time to act out that plan, okay?”
    He knew she was right, but considering how cagey Rachel had been when it came to talking, he didn’t think it would be easy to get her alone here, surrounded by all the people whose opinions she valued.
    “In the meantime,” Diane continued, “I’m going to go grab a fresh cocktail and visit with Del for a while.”
    That got his attention. “Del?”
    She shrugged. “I think it’s the glasses. He’s kind of cute, don’t you think?”
    Adrian assumed that was a rhetorical question not requiring any kind of confirmation from him. He watched her walk away before scanning the crowd, looking for Rachel.
    He spotted her standing near a long table of desserts, talking to Michelle and Dana. Though he could barely hear the sound over the music and chatter, he could see she was laughing and it made him ache.
    He had to make everything okay with Rachel. He was too far gone to lose her now.
    * * *
    While watching Adrian in the corner with Diane, their heads close as they had a private conversation, Rachel couldn’t stem the sadness that washed over her.
    There was no doubt in her mind—or in her