"No way," Kenny replied contentedly. "He's talking to the bank president at First Mortgage. He'll need that man's support on a project he's considering. Contacts like that are precisely what parties like this are for. He won't leave his side until he gets a commitment." He jabbed her with an elbow. "Hey, try some of this thin-sliced ham. You'll love it."
"I don't want any thin-sliced ham." She felt like a little girl pouting and stamping her foot, but she was beyond caring. She wanted Ross, and that was all she wanted.
As though he'd read her mind, Ross looked up at that moment, caught her gaze, and nodded. "Excuse me," she heard him say to the bank president. "I've got something important I have to do."
She stood very still and then he was there beside her, his arm slipped through hers, his breath stirring her hair.
"Hi there," he whispered. "It's getting harder and harder to find you around here."
She looked up at his face and began to tremble. He looked so handsome with a day's growth of beard darkening his aspect. "Can't we run away?"
"You bet," he told her, his arm tightening against hers.
"Oh, Ross!" His mother's voice chimed from the pa tio. "Don't forget! You promised you'd make the toast at sundown. That's a little over an hour away."
Ross swore softly. "I can't cut out on that," he murmured. "So we'll fall back to plan B."
"Plan B?"
He nodded. "See that mulberry tree at the edge of the yard? Meet me there in exactly..." He looked at his watch. "Ten minutes. Don't be late." His smile warmed her as he touched her face with the flat of his hand. "I promise you I'll be there."
The next ten minutes seemed to drag. Kenny talked to her constantly but she hardly heard a word he said. He didn't seem to notice. The time to meet Ross finally came.
"I'm going to have to visit the ladies' room," she told Kenny firmly. "See you later."
"I'll wait right here," he called after her.
"You just do that," she muttered to herself, pretending to go toward the house and doubling back. And she was off, darting around the hedge, past the fountain, and into Ross's arms.
"I can't stand this," she cried.
"I know. Neither can I. We can't leave yet." His kiss seared her lips. "But we can grab fifteen minutes for our selves," he said urgently.
She didn't have time to answer before he had her racing along behind another hedge along a cinder path, dodging in and out until they came to a catalpa tree.