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Gael and Aunt Colette danced for two songs, the latter having so much fun because who wouldn\'t when the man she\'s dancing with was such a charmer?

Colette\'s husband came and pulled her to a dance after being briefly introduced to Gael. Just before Gael was about to go back to the table, Lyra\'s fiancée, Josh, caught up with him, and they talked for a while. 

Angela would meet his handsome pair of grey eyes across the room as he would often look at her whenever possible. Actually, it seemed as though he had never taken his eyes off of her.

She took a sip of the wine in her hand—her second glass of white wine; basically the third drink she had tonight—while keeping her gaze locked with his. Even with the dimmed lights, slow music, and the presence of her family and relatives around them, only Gael caught her attention.

The live band had taken a break a few minutes ago, and a DJ replaced them. Now, what was he thinking playing the song Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy at a Christmas party? Angela wanted to look for Aunt Linda to complain about it, but she stayed glued to her chair, soaking up the sad song that\'s causing her heart to twist some more.

\'Goodbye, my almost lover? Should have known you\'d bring me heartache...\' she scoffed, quickly averting her gaze and wiping a stray tear that decided to escape from the corner of her eye. She was probably just tipsy.

Damn, this song was really having a go at her. Angela thought someone out there must be watching her and playing these songs at the perfect times just to mock her. \'Where do I go from here?\' she wondered. Was there a manual out there that showed how to handle a heartbreak? Why wasn\'t it given for free?

Angling her body away from the dance floor, she leaned back and swirled the pale yellow liquid in her glass, thankful that her brother already left and didn\'t see her being draining and all that. \'I wouldn\'t want to be with me if I\'m so dispirited like this,\' she thought. Or perhaps that was why her brother left her alone in the first place?

"Your aunt is a wild one," Gael remarked as he approached the table and took a huge gulp of the wine he left near her.

Angela pulled a small smile on her face. "At least you\'re having fun."

"Colette isn\'t as bad as I thought she was. Just a little forward... She called me the handsome guy with a tight ass. I\'m not kidding—that\'s how she introduced me to one of your cousins whose name I already forgot. Sorry. "

"How flattering." She dragged her gaze down to stare at his backside. She didn\'t have to check what she already knew what\'s hiding underneath those tight pants. It was pretty obvious. "You do have a great ass," she complimented as she took another sip.

His hand stopped mid-air before lowering his glass back on the table. Then he narrowed his eyes at her, slightly unsure of how to respond to that. "Grazie. I guess I don\'t have to ask for a refund for the 30 days butt workout I signed up for," he joked.

Angela chortled, nearly spilling the drink on her dress. Just imagining him actually going through a 30-day challenge to lift his butt made her want to see it with her own eyes. Just a while ago, she was sulky and pensive, and now she\'s laughing with him. Her neck had whiplash from all the emotions she went through tonight. Maybe she should stop drinking now. And so she put the wine glass on the table, deciding not to drink the other half of it. 

"You can enroll at my gym."

"You\'re not afraid I\'ll surpass your progress?" He cocked a brow, a small smirk hinting at the corners of his lips.

Angela shrugged, looking nonchalant as she folded her arms under her chest, the tiny rhinestones from her top digging into her skin. "You can dream. I\'m pretty sure Alexander would love to have you in his class."

With his hands in his pockets, he tilted his head to the side, his brows furrowing when he questioned, "You have a male trainer helping you to shape your...behind?" He did not like that at all.

A warm hand patted her shoulder, and she looked up to find her brother, Oliver, saying, "Dad\'s tired. We\'re leaving early. You coming?"

She nodded without second thoughts. Angela had wanted to leave this party since it began a few hours ago. 

"All right. We\'ll wait for you outside," he told her before nodding at Gael and then turning on his heel.

Pushing her seat back, she got to her feet and swayed as soon as she stood upright. She became lightheaded, and her vision was a bit hazy. Thankfully, Gael caught her by the arm, preventing her from falling on her face. 

"Woah. Easy there. You okay?" he worried. 

"Yeah. I\'m fine." She cleared her throat and put some distance between them despite feeling really comfortable with his touch. She was fine. 

He didn\'t let go of her arm even though she moved back, afraid that she\'d trip over herself. "How much did you drink?" He glanced at the table and saw the glasses of wine—one was his, and the other two were hers; one was empty while the other had about half left. 

"Not much."

Letting out an inaudible sigh, he grabbed her purse, pulled her to his side, and walked her out of the hall. "Come on." She didn\'t protest, but she was tense next to him as they left.

Oliver and Charlie were waiting by the Town Car. Angela struggled to tie the belt around her waist while trying to walk straight, causing her to chuckle to herself because of the struggle she was in. She must look ridiculous right now. She felt ridiculous—it\'s like she\'d been smiling the whole time but not on purpose. The wine did that to her, she suspected. 

"I shouldn\'t have left you by yourself. What if you get hyperacidity again?" His hand tightened on her waist. And she didn\'t hate it.

"I\'m a big girl, Gael. I can take care of myself."

"A big girl who needs training wheels right now. I\'m pretty sure if I let you go, you\'d waddle your way out before you fall." He sighed.

\'That\'s the thing. I already fell. That\'s not the problem, though. I want to know… Did you catch me?\' Angela questioned in her head as she glanced at him. Then she unintentionally voiced out a thought when she muttered, "It seems like you didn\'t because I feel like I\'ve been hit by a truck."

"What?" He furrowed his brows and looked down at her, totally confused as to what she was talking about all of a sudden.

She straightened up and swallowed, realizing what she just did. Her thoughts were safe, but not when she was tipsy. How could she let that last thing slip out? Of course, he wouldn\'t understand. She didn\'t mean to speak that out loud.

Her father, Charlie, beamed as they approached. "Gael, thank you for coming tonight, son. I didn\'t expect you\'d come when Angela said you couldn\'t make it. It is, after all, almost Christmas. Have you decided if you were going back to New York?"

Angela was thankful that her father\'s questions saved her from clarifying Gael\'s confusion. She was sure he\'d think she was only drunk and started saying nonsense.

"She didn\'t know I was coming, actually. I just showed up. And yes… I have a flight tomorrow morning. My father and his brothers decided to fly down from Italy to celebrate the eve with everyone," he responded.

Charlie shot a subtle glance at Angela and smiled. "That\'s great. At least you won\'t be spending your Christmas alone. Have a safe trip back home." The two men shook hands and said their goodbyes.

She felt her heart drop to her stomach, feeling guilty because she should be happy that he\'d be spending it with his family but she was disappointed instead.

"I\'m going home with Dad. Are you coming with us?" Oliver asked her.

"You\'re going home to Oakwood?" she questioned. She and her brother were supposed to go home to the mansion tomorrow and not tonight, so she hadn\'t prepared and left many things that she needed back at her place. "I haven\'t packed my stuff yet."

"Yeah. Then do you mind giving her a ride? Oh, but you drank..." he asked Gael. 

"No. Of course, not," Gael readily answered. "Don\'t worry. Someone else is going to drive. I wouldn\'t put her in danger like that."

Angela\'s heart hammered in her chest. Drunk driving was dangerous, but she was more afraid to be sitting in the backseat with him on the way back to her apartment. For her, that\'s more dangerous. And yet she couldn\'t find it in her to refuse.