02

Trent was really looking forward to meeting an elementary school principal. He, the kind of man who wouldn't wait for the President if he had to, somehow found himself anticipating the appearance of someone named G. Stanton.

His public relations consultants had come up with the opportunity to partner with the school in an attempt to promote Trent's personal image. He had viewed the entire concept with skepticism, and yet here he was having a strange premonition.

Could it be the fact that the principal's initials looked very similar to those of his high school sweetheart?

And to think that just a few minutes ago, in the car, he'd been thinking about her and wondering what could have happened. After having disappeared without a trace for so many years, he hadn't heard or seen anything from her. Over the years, she would play in his mind and he would smile at the fond memory. In fact, those were his happiest moments.

It altered his mood for the meeting, and now he was filled with anticipation, thinking — what if?

He dismissed the possibility quickly. It would be a stretch to think that the director, probably in her early fifties, could be the person he expected her to be. These kinds of coincidences only happen in movies, don't they?

Trent was about to find out whether or not his speculation was correct, because at that moment the door to the conference room opened and the plump, bespectacled secretary let in a tall, smooth-skinned woman in a black suit.

She walked in and smiled, then her eyes met his. Trent froze in instant recognition as she seemed to falter, her smile slowly faltering. It took a few more moments for her to recognize him, and then she just stared, speechless.

Trent was equally perplexed, but he was the first to recover, and in an instant he was standing in front of her, holding her hand. "It's you, isn't it? Gwen

Stanton? It's you anyway."

Gwen could barely remember to breathe as the impossibly handsome stranger, dressed in a designer coat, wrapped his powerful arms around her. She caught the scent of his expensive perfume and his masculinity, and she gasped. That stranger, that man who looked like a god, was it Trent? Your Trent?

She came to when he took a step back, his eyes intent on her shocked face. He looked so intensely happy to see her, and for a moment, she was lost. Her entire body throbbed with that forgotten teenage love, and butterflies invaded her stomach. His lips parted in a wonderful smile and she just laughed along with him as they stared at each other in disbelief.

It seemed so odd for them to strike up a conversation while trying to catch up. In the midst of everything here, she offered him a chair beside her and simply couldn't take her eyes off him. It looked like a scene from a classic James Bond movie. The perfectly tailored Italian suit, immaculate appearance, sexy baritone and that aura of unapproachable masculinity had Gwen boiling inside.

It took all her trained poise to remain coherent and try to steer her cheerful speech towards the main subject of the meeting. She got more and more excited when they started sharing ideas for school. Trent seemed to have put a lot of thought into this and Gwen could see herself acting on most of her comments.

Wow! This is better than I thought, Gwen analyzed with growing positivity. Thinking about how worried she was because she thought meeting the donor would be difficult, it was a relief to see how cooperative Trent wanted to be.

"I won't worry about anything as long as public relations are great. I trust your judgment to distribute the money where it's needed," he said.

Gwen smiled. "Thank you. That means a lot."

They were having an easy conversation, and yet Gwen couldn't ignore the underlying physical tension.

Trent's deep green eyes on her had her on the verge of squirming, a strange pulsing heat building between her thighs. She couldn't understand why her brain and hormones seemed so out of control all of a sudden. The way her eyes kept being drawn to the impressive width of Trent's limbs, in his powerful suit jacket, and the angles and curves of his sexy mouth made her want to bring her hands to her face in embarrassment.

She was acting like she was hot, all flustered and shivering from being in such close proximity to a gorgeous man. It wasn't like he was a stranger. And yet, in a way it seemed to be. She had no idea what that Trent was like. She couldn't imagine what his life had been like during all those years since they'd been separated.

She had never forgotten, of course, who Trent Matthews was. He's always had money and access to the best of everything, thanks to his father, a transportation tycoon. Gwen's background was very different.

All those years ago, she had never planned on becoming a negative statistic. Gaining admission to the top private secondary school on a scholarship, she believed she would be the exception to the rule.

She became a course-changing woman with a college education and elevated her destiny. But getting pregnant by her high school sweetheart had changed everything.

Gwen pushed back the shadows of those memories and gave Trent a genuine smile. She just had to stick to the plan and just focus on the project. Trent returned the warm smile, and he almost looked like the charming young man from his school days, with irresistible dimples and smoldering green eyes.

They were about to shake hands to seal the deal when the worst thing happened.

Gwen's son walked through the office door without warning. "Mom? Oh, are you busy?" the eight-year-old asked, looking at his mother and the man beside her.

The force of reality hit Gwen like a sledgehammer, her eyes widening, looking at her son and hiding her terror. Oh my! This is not happening right now!

If she thought she was panicking, Gwen only had to look at Trent's face, and see him look at Jonah and then at her - and then, quickly, Trent was looking at the boy again.

There was no mistaking the shade of green eyes, and the handsome face that was all angular at the jaw and cheekbones, well-defined even for an eight-year-old boy, looked a lot like the man standing there, still as a pole.

Gwen didn't know how to expect Trent to react.

She felt her skin go cold and pale, and she could see Jonah looking questioningly at them while everyone else was completely silent. In the next instant, Trent turned to face the window, and Gwen finally recovered enough to act as normally as possible.

She went to Jonah and said a few words to get him to leave quietly and come back later. Gwen wasn't sure she even took a breath until Jonah was safely out of the room. She then turned to Trent and the relief turned into an inner shivering sensation, which she resolutely forced to stop.

She needn't be afraid of him, she thought, even though she could feel that he was nervous, she could feel the chilling anger radiating from his rigid shoulders.

Clearing her throat, Gwen spoke, as Trent obviously had no intention of breaking the silence.

"Trent, about the donation project. Maybe we should reconsider," she said as firmly as possible.

She must be crazy to even think she could make it. She was in a tight spot, and of course, all her desperation to find a solution to the school's finance problem had completely blinded her. Having any kind of contact with Trent Williams was unacceptable. Considering what was between them, that would leave Gwen having to choose between her personal and professional life. There was no way she was letting Trent into her professional life now, not after what had just been revealed.

"He's mine, isn't he?" Trent asked without turning around.

"Don't try to deny it."

"We're not discussing that. Not here, not now... never, actually. Just forget what you think you saw," said Gwen.

How she had the nerve to speak that way, she couldn't say. She just knew she had a lot to protect and everything to lose.

"Now about the deal," she began, and just then Trent turned around. Gwen nearly shuddered as he approached with a leisurely step that belied the gleam in his eyes of a stalking predator. Gone was the easygoing, approachable Trent Matthews, replaced by that dangerous epitome of A-list masculinity, his lips stretched into a thin, straight line.

He now towered over her, making her aware of the fact that her height was much taller than she remembered. What was he, a giant? She worried with irritation and dismay. Staring at him defiantly, she showed none of the discomfort she felt.

She was no longer seventeen, nor was she helpless and confused anymore. She had come a long way and Trent would soon realize that, this time, she would not be intimidated.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, meeting his gaze unflinchingly with her chin lifted.

"Is he the little secret you've been hiding?" Trent asked softly. "Is he the reason you disappeared eight years ago?"

Gwen sighed. "I told you, I don't want to talk about

that."

"Ah, you will talk. But right now I'm not interested in talking either. This meeting is over."

His clipped words made Gwen want to slump in relief.

"But I'm going to get to the bottom of this story, even if I have to scratch the truth with my bare hands," growled Trent.

Gwen felt her body literally spin at the speed with which Trent walked past her and out of the room. How could someone so big and tall move so fast? He was gone with a loud slam of the door and Gwen shivered. She reached for the nearest handhold, which was the edge of her desk, and clung to it as she finally moved to sink into the chair. Stunned with the stress of experiencing one shock after another in rapid succession, she would have collapsed. But she still had the day to spend at school, despite everything else. She couldn't break down, not when something told her her worries were just beginning.