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Before she could get any further in her often tried, and often failed, begging-for-her-job presentation (she really needed PowerPoint slides at this point), the ding-dong-ding of a xylophone sounded

“Everyone, if I could have your attention” Helene Carlyle stood on a sreith old money always seemed to have “My son, Sawyer Carlyle, would like to say a feords in appreciation of Harbor City General’s aood people are helping to fund by being here tonight Sawyer…?” She looked around as if she didn’t already knohere her son was Clover didn’t buy it for a e and afterward, I know Cecilia Dowers of the Chicago Doould like ten minutes with you, dear”

Everyone in their vicinity turned to look at the at Clover

He dipped his head down so his lips nearly brushed her ear “We’ll finish this later”

Then, he lifted her hand, flipped it over, and placed a searing kiss in the center of her pal to the front of the ballrooht tooth and nail not to melt into a puddle in front of Harbor City’s elite

…

Walking through the crowd to the raised platform at the other end of the ballroom, Sawyer tried to remember the last time he’d had his ass handed to him on a silver platter that matched the spoon he’d been born with and came up blank He definitely couldn’t remember a time when he’d enjoyed it quite that much

Seeing Clover with righteous fury turning her cheeks pink andslip of a top had been a clarion call to his cock—so much so that this walk across the rooed than normal

She was pissed and she didn’t back down froed manipulation, over direct attack It wasn’t their way to face things with so much open emotion or derision Good or bad, they all danced around the topic He could have a giant glob ofa river down onto his tie and no one would have said anything beyond that he ht want to excuse hihtforward to help hi like an ass

But Clover? There were bulldozers that would have a harder ti so the woht’s candidate, Cecilia Dowers—that hisat him were not

The idea sht between the eyes and by the time he climbed the three steps to the top of the dais, he knew exactly what he was going to do next The anticipation of Clover’s reaction was al as his mother’s

He squeezed past the band leader and took thein her eyes Oh yes, she’d been watching him with Clover and had timed this little announcement to perfection

“Thank you

, Mother, and thank you to everyone here I don’t need to tell anyone about the aest hope is that, with the addition of the Michael Carlyle Cardiac Wing, they will be able to continue to do what they do best—save lives” He paused as the crowd clapped on cue,with half an ear “But that’s not the only announce the opening of the new cardiac wing, I have news of another kind of matter of the heart” The silence after that line had a different feel to it Everyone here ossip alne—and they’d been watching his n like they monitored their stock dividend results “I’d like to introduce you all to my fiancée, Miss Clover Lee”

As if controlled by an unseeing hand, the crowd turned to look at Clover still standing in theat once Clover stretched a wide smile across her face, clearly as excited as he to everyone in the roo hi to pay for this later Why did that bring an answering smile to his face? Out of the corner of his eye he spotted hisat Clover She was looking straight at hi in her eyes for atook precedence and a placid look took its place