Chance looked confused. "Natalie?"
"Yes."
"You still haven"t said what it is," Bas pointed out, no doubt trying to follow Donovan but having a hard time.
"It"s a notepad filled with chemical equations."
"And your point?" Morgan asked.
Donovan was tempted to throw the notepad across the room and hit Morgan with it. "My point is that I found it very strange that she would have something like this in her possession. And with the letters GW written on every page."
Bas stared at him. "So let me get this right. Are you saying that you think your girlfriend-"
"She isn"t my girlfriend. At least not anymore," Donovan snapped.
Bas rolled his eyes. "Okay, then. Are you saying that the woman you brought to the hospital last week, and the same woman you brought to our game on Sat.u.r.day, could be a corporate spy?"
"Why else would she have something like this in her possession?" Donovan countered.
"Did you bother to ask her?" Chance asked.
Donovan shrugged. "I didn"t want to hear anything she had to say."
All the men in the room, including Juan, stared pitifully at Donovan for a moment before shaking their heads. Bas spoke for the group. "Donovan, you have a lot to learn about women, especially if it"s a woman you care deeply about. You never accuse her of anything unless you have concrete proof."
"But this is proof," Donovan said in a frustrated voice. He could tell by his brothers" and Juan"s expressions that they weren"t totally convinced.
"What does she do for living?" Juan spoke up for the first time to ask.
"Her aunt injured her ankle, and she"s been helping out for the past few weeks as a cleaning lady. We met when she came to clean my house," Donovan said, deciding they didn"t need to know he"d found her asleep in his bed.
"And when she"s not cleaning houses, what"s she doing?" Chance asked.
"She said she was in school," Donovan responded, folding his arms across his chest. "And before any of you ask, I did consider the possibility that this was homework, but she claimed she was out for the summer, so she had no reason to be scribbling down chemical equations."
No one said anything for a moment and then Juan spoke up. "May I see the notepad, Donovan? It won"t take me but a second to decipher the equations and tell if you"re right about her."
Donovan handed it to Juan, who browsed through the pages a few minutes in silence, then looked up at Donovan. "I hope she"s a forgiving woman."
Donovan swallowed. A funny feeling stirred in the pit of his stomach. "Why would you hope that?"
"Because these formulas have nothing to do with Gleeve-Ware."
"B-but the GW-"
"Stands for global warming." Juan browsed through the notepad again. "What"s the name of your used-to-be girlfriend again?"
"Natalie. Natalie Ford."
A surprised glint appeared in Juan"s eyes. "Natalie Ford? The The Dr. Natalie Ford? Renowned chemistry professor at Princeton University, who just last year received a special award from the federal government for her work with NASA? And," he added, reaching across his desk to retrieve a book from a nearby bookcase, " Dr. Natalie Ford? Renowned chemistry professor at Princeton University, who just last year received a special award from the federal government for her work with NASA? And," he added, reaching across his desk to retrieve a book from a nearby bookcase, "The New York Times bestselling author of this book?" bestselling author of this book?"
Juan flipped the book to the back where a color photo of a young, but professional-looking, Natalie was on the cover. "Nice photo of your ex-girlfriend, don"t you think?"
Donovan"s jaw dropped, clearly stunned. "She never told me."
"Um, probably because she wasn"t one-hundred percent sure about you just yet, Donovan," Chance said smartly. "Makes one wonder why."
Donovan was already headed for the door.
"If I was her, I wouldn"t take you back," Morgan called after him.
"I"d never give you the time of day again," Bas added.
"I"d definitely make you suffer a little bit," Chance threw in, chuckling.
"If she does forgive you and you get back in her good graces, I"d like her to autograph my book," Juan couldn"t resist saying.
Donovan didn"t bother making a comment. His mind was filled with a question of significant magnitude: How was he going to win back the woman he loved?
Natalie opened her mouth to argue a point made by one of the other panelists, only to snap it closed when she saw Donovan enter the auditorium and take a seat in the back. What was he doing here in Princeton?
Refusing to let his presence unnerve her, she turned her attention back to the discussion, rebuffing her desire to look out over the crowded audience and seek him out. Their eyes had met when he entered the room, so he was fully aware that she"d seen him.
Her mind sifted through all the global warming ideology her colleagues were presenting, and she was able to rejoin the discussion and provide some opinions of her own, as well as answer several questions that were presented to her. It didn"t bother her in the least that for the next hour Donovan saw just what a chemistry enthusiast she was.
After Dr. Stanley officially brought the workshop to a close and everyone began filing out of the auditorium, Dr. Lionel Walker turned in his chair and smiled at her. "Great job, Dr. Ford. You have some very interesting concepts. I would like to invite you out to dinner so we can discuss a few."
She smiled back, recognizing a hit when she heard one and inwardly wis.h.i.+ng that she could experience with this man the same sudden electricity she"d felt with Donovan. He was young and handsome but not as handsome as Donovan.
"Thank you for the invitation, Dr. Walker, but I"ll be catching a flight back to Charlotte in the morning to check on my sick aunt," she said, ignoring Donovan. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him walk up the aisle toward the stage.
"Perhaps another time? I plan to be back in Princeton in October."
She didn"t want to give the man false hope. Besides, she needed to leave the stage before Donovan reached it. She wasn"t ready to hear anything he had to say. His presence meant he"d discovered he had accused her falsely, but she didn"t want to discuss anything with him.
Quickly easing out of her chair, she kept the smile plastered to her face when told Dr. Walker, "Perhaps. Please excuse me for running off but I have an appointment."
She rushed down the side aisle but she wasn"t quick enough.
"Natalie, wait up."
She would have kept walking, but a number of people who were still hanging around had heard Donovan call her name and were glancing in their direction.
Inhaling deeply, she turned the moment he came to a stop in front of her. She plastered another smile on her face and said in a demure tone, "Donovan, what are you doing here?"
"I owe you an apology."
"Apology accepted. Now goodbye." She turned to walk off.
"Wait," he said, reaching out and touching her arm.
She turned back to him and wished he hadn"t touched her. His touch sent sensuous chills through her body, making her remember how things used to be with them. "Wait for what?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm.
"Can we go somewhere and talk?"
She chuckled lightly. "Why would you want to do that? You"ve apologized and I"ve accepted, so you can return to Charlotte now since we have nothing further to talk about."
"Natalie, I-"
"No, Donovan. Please leave. Go back to Charlotte."
"I won"t go back without you. I have the company jet to take you home in the morning."
She shook her head. "No, I won"t be returning to Charlotte with you. I have my own airline ticket."
He frowned. "Why are you acting this way? I thought you said you accepted my apology."
"I do, but that doesn"t mean things will resume as they were between us," she pointed out. "In fact I think it"s best if they didn"t. It was nothing but a mistake."
"Don"t say that."
"Why not when it"s true?" she countered.
"Will you at least let me explain? Please."
She couldn"t help but remember the tears she"d cried over him, the pain she"d endured over his rejection, his accusations. All of this could have been avoided if he had let her explain. But he hadn"t, and now he wanted her to grant him the same courtesy he"d denied her Wednesday night.
"There"s nothing to explain," she said, feeling her heart harden. "In fact I think it would be in both our interests not to see each other again like you you suggested Wednesday night." suggested Wednesday night."
And before he could say anything to that, she quickly walked off and darted into the ladies" room.
Donovan watched her go, feeling a heavy blow to his heart. He was never supposed to fall in love. But he had. And regardless of what Natalie thought, they did need to talk. There was a lot he needed to understand, like why she hadn"t been completely honest with him about what she did for a living. And he needed to explain why he had been so quick to think the worst about her. No excuse. Just the reason.
There was something different about her, something he had immediately picked up on. The Natalie he had gotten to know had never lacked fire. The Natalie he had just spoken to didn"t display any emotion. His lack of trust and faith in her had hurt, and he had expected her anger. That he could deal with. But this unreceptive, unemotional Natalie was someone he could not.
If she truly expected him to walk away and leave her this way, then there was a lot she had to learn about him, about a Steele in general.
He turned to walk out of the auditorium. More than anything he was determined to bring her fire back.
Natalie glanced around her house-the first time she"d been back in almost a month. There was no use getting too comfortable since she would be leaving again in the morning. At least she didn"t have any plants to worry about watering while she was away.
Princeton was a college town, bucolic yet intellectual. She had purchased the house three years ago and never regretted doing so. It was close to campus and located in a really nice neighborhood. And it was just the right size for her.
She hadn"t bothered bringing more than a garment bag since she"d only planned to stay last night and tonight. She had already showered and was in her nightgown ready for bed. She had called earlier to check on her aunt, and since Aunt Earline hadn"t mentioned anything about Donovan, that had her wondering how he"d known where to find her since she hadn"t told him anything Wednesday night about leaving town. He hadn"t given her the chance to do so. More than likely he had gotten information out of Farrah, which wouldn"t be hard to believe since her best friend was convinced Donovan was the man for her. Farrah didn"t know just how wrong she was.
Natalie"s thoughts s.h.i.+fted back to that afternoon. When she"d come out of the ladies" room, Donovan was gone. She could only a.s.sume he had taken his company jet and returned home, like she"d told him. It was for the best.
She was about to head up the stairs when her doorbell rang. She felt a sudden fluttering in her stomach at the possibility it was Donovan. How would she handle it if it was? Trying to keep her cool, she crossed the room and looked out the peephole. Instead of a face, all she saw was a bunch of balloons.
"Who is it?" she called out.
"Donovan."
It was was him. Her fingers on the doork.n.o.b began to shake. She leaned into the closed door. "What do you want?" him. Her fingers on the doork.n.o.b began to shake. She leaned into the closed door. "What do you want?"
She wanted to kick herself for asking that question. Doing so had gotten her into trouble with him before-several times.
"Please open the door. I have a delivery for you."
She should tell him what to do with his delivery, but she wasn"t that kind of person. Instead, she slowly opened the door and took a step back. He entered carrying a bunch of balloons and a bouquet of red roses.
"These are for you," he said, handing her both.
She set the flowers on the hall table and then glanced around for a place to put a dozen colorful balloons. "What are these for?"
"No special reason," he said, glancing around. "I had a hard time getting them. It seems most businesses in this town close at dinnertime."
After placing the balloons down she folded her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here, Donovan?"
He inserted his hands into the pockets of his slacks. She thought that he looked good, as usual. "You said you accepted my apology, but you didn"t say it with pa.s.sion."
"Excuse me?"
"Pa.s.sion, Natalie. That"s the one common denominator we"ve had from the beginning. I have a feeling it"s slipping away."
She had news for him: it was already gone. She lifted her chin. "I don"t want to talk about it."
"That"s good because I don"t want to talk about it, either," he said, walking into her living room. He dropped down on her sofa and began to remove his shoes and socks.
"What do you think you"re doing?"
He glanced up at her. "Bringing the pa.s.sion back."
His lips curved into a smile, the kind that always gave her goose b.u.mps. Made her wet. It was the smile that made her want to do naughty things with him. She stiffened at the thought. "I"m going to have to ask you to leave, Donovan."
"You can ask, Natalie, but that doesn"t mean I"ll do it. In fact, I can guarantee you that I won"t."