They walked down a long passage until finally they came to another oak door. Liz gave a gentle tap then pushed it open and stood aside, indicating with a nod that Meg should go in. She nodded and stepped past the woman and onto the plush cream carpet of Drake Duncan’s private office.

And there he was, sitting in the high-backed leather chair, the phone receiver to his left ear, a gold pen in his right hand as he scribbled on a yellow notepad. He looked worldly, powerful, and even more handsome than she remembered. Gone were the hooded sweatshirt and jeans of his campus days. Those had been replaced with a charcoal-gray suit, white button down shirt and wine-colored tie. His hair was different, too. Instead of the crew cut of his youth his dark blond hair now coiled at the nape of his neck, giving him the look of a sexy male model rather than a billionaire businessman. All this Meg saw in a split second. And yet he was not looking at her.

And then suddenly he was. As he reached over to hang up the phone he lifted his head and a smile softened his firm lips. “I’m sorry. Just had to finish a quick call.” He got up from behind his desk and she was reminded of how tall he was. At well over six feet he towered over both of the women in the office. He walked over, his hand outstretched.

“Thank you for coming, Miss Gracey,” he said as he took her hand in a strong grip. “Glad you accepted my offer.”

“Mrs. Gracey,” she corrected, and lifted her head to look straight into his striking gray eyes.

Drake Duncan froze. His grip on her hand tightened and his brows furrowed. “Meg…Donovan?”

Her heart leaped and, to her chagrin, she felt a slight trembling in her lip. She bit down on it. He had remembered. After all these years he still recognized the pathetic little junior who had thrown herself at him. She didn’t know whether to feel elated or dismayed. What she felt was nervous. Would he reject her because of their past encounter?

For the moment Meg could not speak. All she could do was nod.

Shock registered on his face. His brows raised and he sucked in a quick breath. There was an expression on his face that she could not read.

Oh, Lord. What had she done? In coming here had she just made the second biggest mistake of her life?

*****



Drake Duncan could not tear his eyes away. Meg Donovan. She was here, standing right in front of him, looking even more beautiful than when he had last held her in his arms. And his body had remembered her. Even before she’d lifted her face to his, before he’d had a good look at her, he’d known. The moment his hand touched hers an electric charge ran through him, so strong that he’d held her tight. It was either that or whip his hand away from the shock.

Meg, in living color, all five foot five inches of her. Where she used to have wild chestnut curls framing her pixie face, her hair was now swept up in a sleek ponytail that flowed, long and straight, down her back. Her hazel eyes were huge in her face and her lips, those full, soft lips he remembered, now trembled under his gaze. Everything around him disappeared and all he could see was that sweet, innocent girl he had fallen for so many years ago.

Get a grip, Drake. That was another lifetime. And she walked away, remember? In the microsecond it took for Drake to take things in he realized he was still holding her hand. He released her and shoved the offending hand deep in his pocket. But still, he did not look away.

Liz cleared her throat. “May I get you anything, Ms. Gracey? Coffee? Tea?”

It took that interruption for the spell to be broken. Drake stepped away and went to pull out the chair in front of his desk. He pasted a smile on his face and nodded to Meg. “Please, have a seat.”