Intimate Seduction - Brenda Jackson [68]
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 wishing 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 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,