Graham held Laney’s hand in the doorway of the office and checked both directions like he’d snuck a girl into his bedroom and wanted to get her out of the house before his parents found out.

“My room’s down there,” he said, indicating the door at the end of the hall. “Around the corner, there are two more bedrooms. I was thinking my mother should stay in one of them.”

“Do I get to see them?”

He didn’t want to show her his mess, but the other bedrooms held clean linens and scented candles, so he figured they were safe. He led her that way, bypassing his room and entering the one kitty-corner across the hall from his.

“This room is somewhat small. Maybe no one will stay here if we can help it.” The door settled open to reveal more of the cream-colored walls the rest of the main floor boasted, with white wainscoting along the lower third. His interior designer had done this room in cool colors, with peach and robin egg blue as the dominant palette.

The queen bed took most of the room, but a small dresser held a TV. Graham stared at it in distaste. Why was there a TV in this room, where not a single person had ever stayed?

“This is nice.” Laney beamed up at him, but Graham kept his attention on the bedroom.

“The other one is bigger.” He led her to it and stepped all the way inside. This one held a queen bed too, with two recliners flanking the window. “There’s a bathroom between them,” he said. “I guess sort of a family suite type of setup.”

“Your mother would like this one.” Laney ran her free fingertips along the surface of the bedside table and added, “I like the seashells. Did you pick those out?”

“Heavens, no.” He snorted and laughed. “Surely you know by now that I pay for things I don’t want to deal with or don’t know how to do.”

“So which is this one?” She gestured to the room. “Don’t want to deal with, or don’t know how to do?”

He surveyed the room, with the lighthouse artwork, the seaman’s rope on the wall beside it, and all the other nautical trimmings. “Both.”

Laney laughed, the sound delicious to his ears, and he smiled down at her. Their eyes locked, and the moment between them lengthened and lengthened. Graham’s thoughts turned to kissing, and his gaze dropped to her mouth.

Those full lips taunted him, especially when she licked them and swallowed as if nervous. He was just about to lean down and see how far she’d let him go when she said, “Should we go downstairs?”

He jerked back, her message loud and clear in his ears. “Yeah.” His voice sounded like it belonged to a grumpy bear, and he dropped her hand as he stepped out of the bedroom. He would’ve anyway, as soon as they’d approached the kitchen. This was just a couple of hallways and a turn earlier than he’d anticipated doing it.

The basement felt cold and lonely, though he’d been down here just last night. The four bedrooms down here should probably be the bachelor pad for Andrew, Eli, and his friends, and Laney agreed.

“The nanny can stay upstairs with the assistant,” Laney said.

“And we’ll give Eli and his son a room to themselves. The others can share.”

In addition to the four bedrooms and two bathrooms, the basement was home to a theater room, a second, much smaller kitchen, and a game room with a pool table, air hockey, and vintage video game console.

Graham had no use for any of it. The double-wide doors led out of the game room and into the backyard, but a mountain of snow pressed against the glass, and no one would be exiting that way during this holiday season.

“So that just leaves your brother’s assistant,” Laney said as they climbed the steps to the main floor. “What’s down there?” She pointed to the couple of doors past the kitchen.

“That one goes into the garage,” he said. “The other one is a utility room. Washer, dryer, that sort of thing.”

“How functional,” she said, and Graham wasn’t sure if she really didn’t want the lodge tour or not.

“And you’ve seen upstairs,” he said, deciding to end it here. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“We?” Laney faced him, a definite challenge in her eyes now. “You mean you’ll be fine.”

“You’re coming, aren’t you?”

“Coming for dinner isn’t the same as staying over.”

“It’s more than dinner,” he said. “I’ve already told Bailey about the tree lighting ceremony, and she seemed excited.” His heart shriveled with every second where she didn’t confirm she would bring Bailey to every event he’d planned for the holidays.

“We’ll have to see,” Laney said, as he’d suspected she would. “I have a ranch to run, and with the snow, it’ll be ten times as much work as it normally is.” A measure of exhaustion passed through her eyes, and Graham wanted to erase it for her.

“I’ll come help,” he said.

She laughed, this sound only half as cheery as previously. “I’ve seen you do farm work,” she said. “I’m probably better off without you.”

“Ouch.” He grinned at her and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “What just happened there?”

“Where?”

“In the basement. Between the basement and here.”

Her eyes darted away, toward the garage, and then came back to his. “It’s just…I mean, I knew you had a lot of money.”

“Mm hm.” Graham didn’t want to talk about money, especially his.

“How much do you have, exactly?”

“Why does it matter?”

Laney’s features hardened, and she said, “It doesn’t. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

And suddenly Graham wanted to tell her. He checked the kitchen but couldn’t see or hear Bailey or Annie. “When my father died, his fortune largely went to my mother. Us boys each got a piece, and….”

Laney slipped her hand into Graham’s again and strolled toward the foyer. He waited until they were steadily climbing the steps before he said, “I run the company, so I got a bigger share. It’s…big.” Why couldn’t he say it out loud?

Laney didn’t ask, and he told himself that if she did, he’d tell her.

“Would you say we’re friends?” she asked.

He lifted their joined hands. “I’d say so.”

She gave a tight smile. “I’d say you’re my best friend.” Her voice could barely be heard, though the rest of the house sat in silence. “Just like in high school and all growing up.”

“Those were good times.”

“The best.”

Graham took a deep breath. “Laney, you’re my best friend too.” He tightened his grip on her fingers. “Which is why I wasn’t sure I should do this.”

“Have you thought about it long?”

“Long enough.” He’d gotten good at saying nothing over the course of the last year. Most people didn’t demand a straight answer, and Laney was one of them.

“So my ranch is barely staying afloat,” she said. “I’m doing the best I can, but sometimes it’s lean.”

Graham immediately wanted to help her, but he knew Laney would refuse. And probably stop holding his hand. And talking to him. She was beautiful and kind, but stubborn and hard-working too. She would not take his charity, even if he tried to give it to her anonymously.

“I have nine zeroes in my bank account,” he said as they reached the first door at the top of the steps, the room where Annie had been staying.

Laney chuckled. “Ah, so I have a cowboy billionaire best friend. Good to know.”

“Well, I wouldn’t really call myself a cowboy.”

“You have the hat.”

“Is that all it takes?”

“Around these parts?” Laney glanced at him, a playful expression on her face. “I’d say so.”

He gave a light laugh and tucked her into his side, realizing that was right where he wanted her to be.

Working together, he and Laney got his horses taken care of and went down to her ranch too. She had a lot more animals than he did, but they all seemed to have come through the worst of the storm all right.

They checked blankets and filled troughs. The barn dogs had a cozy room where they holed up, and she put three times as much food as they needed. Without the heaters, the chickens hadn’t fared so well.

“Oh, no.” Laney picked up one frozen bird. “Bailey will be so upset. She’s named them all. It’s her job to feed the chickens.”

“Let’s move the rest of them into the barn.” They did, the work hard through the snow and the gray sky and the cold. With everything taken care of, she checked the house and came out only a few minutes later.

“Still no power,” she called to him, a worried look on her face. “I’m going to pack another bag. Can we stay with you?”

“Of course.” He kept the broad smile off his face but felt the warmth spreading through his whole body.

“I’ll make Bailey come sleep with me,” she said. “We won’t take up two of your bedrooms.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “By my count, we only need one more room upstairs, and we have three.” He gazed at her, wondering how to help her. “Besides, they’re not coming in for another day anyway.”

“I’ll call about the power tomorrow,” she said, glancing back toward her house. “I don’t know why I didn’t call today.” She faced him again. “My pipes are all going to be frozen.”

“The power company wouldn’t have been able to come anyway.” Graham hadn’t thought of it either, and the fact was, he liked having Laney and Bailey upstairs, and he hoped they might be able to stay for several more days. He looked up into the sky. “It’s just starting to clear up.”

“And the forecast says it’s supposed to snow overnight.” Laney heaved a big sigh and spread her arms wide to the sky. She turned in a circle and said, “Remember when we used to shout what we wanted into the sky?”

Graham remembered, but he didn’t want to play that game right now. Because he was looking at what he wanted, and he wasn’t sure he could censor himself if she insisted he bellow to the clouds the way they had as eighth graders.

“What are you gonna yell?” He watched her, her presence so strong as she twirled in the snow, her boots crunching it down.

She came to a stop and faced him, a giant grin on her face. He returned the smile, her happiness almost infectious, and the electric charges in his pulse testified that his feelings for her weren’t because Bonnie had put the idea in his head to ask her out.

“Why did we ever go out before?” he asked, cocking his head.

Her smile slipped, and Graham did some major backpedaling. “I mean, I was dating…someone. What was her name?” And why couldn’t he remember it?

“Emma Darrow,” Laney said immediately. “She married Flynn Mason, you know.”

“I think I heard that.” A long, long time ago. She probably had children the same age he was last time he’d thought about Emma.

“And we never dated because we weren’t that kind of friends.” Laney folded her arms as if hugging herself to keep warm.

Graham took a step toward her and then another one. “Are we that kind of friends now?” He ran his gloved hands from her elbows to her shoulders and back down, really hoping she’d say yes.

“I think we should probably define what kind of friends we are,” she said, a shaky note in her voice on the last few words. “What with your family coming into town and all.”

Graham nodded, but he didn’t open his mouth to make any such definitions.

“Oh, you want me to start?” Her eyes crinkled as she smiled and shook her head. “Always making me do the heavy lifting.”

“Hey, I got down all the hay to feed the horses over here.” He grinned at her.

“Yes, well.” She put her hands on his biceps and squeezed, though she surely couldn’t feel anything through his thick, winter coat. “These muscles should be good for so much more than that.”

“Different kind of lifting,” he said, still wanting her to begin. She seemed interested in him, and he wondered how long she’d thought of him as a man she’d like to go to dinner with. Hold hands with. Maybe even kiss….

“I had a crush on you in high school,” she said with a swallow. “Did you know?”

Graham blinked, sure he’d heard her wrong. “I had no idea.” Foolishness raced through him at the speed of light. “You never acted like it.”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug and Graham dropped his hands to her waist. The desire to kiss her soared toward the heavens as she laid her cheek against his chest and exhaled. “You always had Emma, and I always knew you’d leave Coral Canyon. I’m actually surprised you’re back.” She leaned away from him and searched his face. “You’re planning to stay, right?”

If he wanted to keep those nine zeroes. “Yes,” he said. “I’m planning to stay.”

Laney looked like she didn’t quite believe him, but she nodded.

“So,” he said.

A flirtatious twinkle entered her light eyes, making them sparkle like gems. “So what?”

“So you tell me what kind of friends we are so I can decide what to do next.”

“What do you want to do next?”

He swallowed, finding his throat very, very dry. “Do I have to yell it into the sky?”

She shook her head slowly as if she knew exactly what he wanted, the ends of her hair brushing the backs of his gloves.

“No,” she said slowly. “You can whisper it to me if you want.”

He bent down, taking a careful breath of the scent of her hair, her skin. He got something soft mixed with something fruity, and the combination of smells nearly drove him to madness.

“I want to kiss you,” he whispered, his lips dangerously close to her earlobe.

She shivered in his arms, and he hoped it wasn’t all because of the cold temperatures. “All right.”

He pulled back slightly so he could see her face. “All right?”

She nodded, and Graham switched his gaze to those lips that had tormented him for a full twenty-four hours. He lowered his head toward her, thrilled when she stretched up on her toes. Inch by inch, he closed the distance between them, sure he was about to kiss her.

“Wait,” she said, planting one hand on his chest.

He froze, waiting, but she said nothing.