confidence and familiarity with traveling,
including the process of going through security, calmed her. With the calm
came fatigue. After they left New York and the plane climbed to a cruising
altitude, Gillian reclined her seat. She fell asleep almost immediately.
A murmur of voices drifted into her
dream. Nathan was holding her, kissing her, touching her. She felt a hand on
her hair, a gentle caress along the back of her neck, and knew reality from the
dream. A blanket slid from her shoulders as she turned away from the window
where she'd propped. She hadn't requested the cover and in her mind's eye saw
Nathan tucking it around her neck. Pushing the button to straighten her seat,
she tried to blink the sleep from her eyes.
Nathan smiled. "You looked
cold all curled up in a ball."
"Thank you for
noticing." The morning light in the cabin, the silence of sleeping
passengers, charged the atmosphere with intimacy. "Will we be landing
soon?"
"About a half hour. I hated
to wake you, but I thought you'd want to get your bearings before we
arrived."
She brushed her bangs from her
eyes. As she settled in her seat, her elbow brushed his. Neither of them
moved away. "Did you sleep?"
"No. I'm too wired. I can't
believe I actually know where Dana and Maddie are. I'm afraid Arthur will wave
a wand and they'll disappear again."
Now was the time to tell Nathan
what she knew. "There's a reason Mr. Carrero feels the way he does about
you."
Nathan sighed. "I know. I
wanted to build a company and my reputation on my own without him."
"That's not all of it."
Her heart pounded. "Leona told him you were unfaithful...that you had an
affair with your secretary."
Nathan's brows drew together and
his blue eyes shot silver sparks of anger. "I think your intuition is
working overtime."
"This has nothing to do with
my abilities, Nathan. Mr. Carrero told me."
Nathan's eyes narrowed and his arm
went rigid on the armrest. "Why would he tell you that?"
"I was trying to convince him
you had the girls' welfare at heart."
"And he was trying to prove to
you what a bastard I am. Did he succeed?"
Her heart hurt, but she knew she
had to ask the question for her own peace of mind. "Were you unfaithful
when you were married to Leona?"
Nathan's cheeks flushed and his
hand balled into a fist. "Arthur has planted the doubt. I doubt if my
denial will do any good since you had to ask the question."
She'd hurt him. She'd only met
Nathan two-and-a-half weeks ago, yet in the time she'd known him, she'd come to
trust him, to know he was an honorable man. So why had she needed to ask the
question? Because Brian had been seeing his ex-wife behind her back?
Probably. Obviously Nathan wasn't the only one having a problem with trust.
#
When they arrived at Orly at seven-thirty a.m. French time, Nathan rented a car to drive to Chinon. After
studying a map, he calculated that they should get there around the lunch
hour. There was a tension between him and Gillian that had nothing to do with
the long trip and everything to do with the question she had asked him.
As they drove through the French
countryside, Gillian laid her head against the back of the seat. Although
she'd slept on the plane, she felt as if she hadn't slept for a week. But she
couldn't nap now. She did wish she and Nathan could talk casually as they had
so often before. But he wasn't in the mood for talking.
At one of the villages, Nathan
asked her if she'd like to stretch her legs. She knew he was anxious to get to
their destination and appreciated his consideration. They stopped at a bakery,
buying rolls and coffee.
Sitting in the car with the windows
open, Gillian finished a roll and decided to deal with the tension.
"Nathan, about Arthur's accusation. I..."
He'd tossed his suitcoat in the
back seat and rolled up his shirt sleeves. "Let's forget it. I only have
one thing on my mind now. Nothing else
including the process of going through security, calmed her. With the calm
came fatigue. After they left New York and the plane climbed to a cruising
altitude, Gillian reclined her seat. She fell asleep almost immediately.
A murmur of voices drifted into her
dream. Nathan was holding her, kissing her, touching her. She felt a hand on
her hair, a gentle caress along the back of her neck, and knew reality from the
dream. A blanket slid from her shoulders as she turned away from the window
where she'd propped. She hadn't requested the cover and in her mind's eye saw
Nathan tucking it around her neck. Pushing the button to straighten her seat,
she tried to blink the sleep from her eyes.
Nathan smiled. "You looked
cold all curled up in a ball."
"Thank you for
noticing." The morning light in the cabin, the silence of sleeping
passengers, charged the atmosphere with intimacy. "Will we be landing
soon?"
"About a half hour. I hated
to wake you, but I thought you'd want to get your bearings before we
arrived."
She brushed her bangs from her
eyes. As she settled in her seat, her elbow brushed his. Neither of them
moved away. "Did you sleep?"
"No. I'm too wired. I can't
believe I actually know where Dana and Maddie are. I'm afraid Arthur will wave
a wand and they'll disappear again."
Now was the time to tell Nathan
what she knew. "There's a reason Mr. Carrero feels the way he does about
you."
Nathan sighed. "I know. I
wanted to build a company and my reputation on my own without him."
"That's not all of it."
Her heart pounded. "Leona told him you were unfaithful...that you had an
affair with your secretary."
Nathan's brows drew together and
his blue eyes shot silver sparks of anger. "I think your intuition is
working overtime."
"This has nothing to do with
my abilities, Nathan. Mr. Carrero told me."
Nathan's eyes narrowed and his arm
went rigid on the armrest. "Why would he tell you that?"
"I was trying to convince him
you had the girls' welfare at heart."
"And he was trying to prove to
you what a bastard I am. Did he succeed?"
Her heart hurt, but she knew she
had to ask the question for her own peace of mind. "Were you unfaithful
when you were married to Leona?"
Nathan's cheeks flushed and his
hand balled into a fist. "Arthur has planted the doubt. I doubt if my
denial will do any good since you had to ask the question."
She'd hurt him. She'd only met
Nathan two-and-a-half weeks ago, yet in the time she'd known him, she'd come to
trust him, to know he was an honorable man. So why had she needed to ask the
question? Because Brian had been seeing his ex-wife behind her back?
Probably. Obviously Nathan wasn't the only one having a problem with trust.
#
When they arrived at Orly at seven-thirty a.m. French time, Nathan rented a car to drive to Chinon. After
studying a map, he calculated that they should get there around the lunch
hour. There was a tension between him and Gillian that had nothing to do with
the long trip and everything to do with the question she had asked him.
As they drove through the French
countryside, Gillian laid her head against the back of the seat. Although
she'd slept on the plane, she felt as if she hadn't slept for a week. But she
couldn't nap now. She did wish she and Nathan could talk casually as they had
so often before. But he wasn't in the mood for talking.
At one of the villages, Nathan
asked her if she'd like to stretch her legs. She knew he was anxious to get to
their destination and appreciated his consideration. They stopped at a bakery,
buying rolls and coffee.
Sitting in the car with the windows
open, Gillian finished a roll and decided to deal with the tension.
"Nathan, about Arthur's accusation. I..."
He'd tossed his suitcoat in the
back seat and rolled up his shirt sleeves. "Let's forget it. I only have
one thing on my mind now. Nothing else
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