“No,” she said. “We really shouldn’t. I don’t have a problem going to an out of town conference with you. I’m just worried about how to take care of my son when I’m out of town. How long is the conference?”
“Two days,” he said. “I don’t usually attend this particular conference, but since it coincides with the roll- out of this new generation of Dover products, it seemed like a good idea to show up. Drum up a little extra press.”
She bit her lip. “I’ll go to the conference with you. But only if you swear not to tell anyone what we did.”
“I won’t tell the board.”
“Not just the board,” she said. “No one can know. Not your friends. Not your family. Not even your therapist.”
Simon arched an eyebrow. “I have no friends. My family has practically disowned me. And I’ve got no use for therapists.”
She blinked, and the expression on her face softened. “Your family disowned you?”
His stomach tightened. The drama with his parents was the last thing he wanted to talk about. He had buried that pain so long ago that he refused to talk about it with anyone. Even Heather.
Simon surged to his feet and walked over to his desk. “We don’t have time to get into that.”
“I guess I’m not the only one with secrets,” she said softly.
He paused to look down at her. Really look at her. Drink her in. Heather was staring back at him, a light burning in her hazel eyes. There was something between concern and suspicion in her gaze. Concern for him. Suspicion over what he might do with their secret. Simon had never seen anything like it, and it unnerved him.
It was like she was looking right into his soul, which wasn’t the kind of thing that happened often. Women didn’t get close enough to even know he had a family. But Heather knew.
It was strange to have been proven right. To have his suspicions that she was the girl from his childhood confirmed. Yet, now that he knew the truth, he didn’t feel vindicated at all. All he felt was that he was getting dangerously close to the razor’s edge. As if pushing just a little would mean scandal and destruction for them both. That thought shouldn’t have thrilled him, but it did.
Heather might have been prim and proper, but every moment he spent with her excited him like nothing else ever had. His pulse was racing, and he was finding it very hard to breathe. Because, in this moment, he had the sinking feeling that he hadn’t scratched the surface with Heather. Hadn’t come close to prying all her secrets out of her.
“I won’t tell anyone what we did,” he murmured. “But I don’t regret it.”
“I find that very hard to believe,” she said.
“Why?” he asked, taken aback.
She shrugged. “You don’t let anyone get close to you anymore. I remember you were a loner before high school, but when you got to high school you started to bloom. Especially toward all the girls who threw themselves at you.”
“I never wanted that attention,” he insisted.
“When you become the school’s star athlete and end up being the valedictorian, it’s impossible for people not to notice,” she said with a faint smile. “And all the girls certainly noticed you.”
“Is that why you don’t want to see where this could go?” he asked gently. “Because you think you’ll have to compete with other women?”
“You’re one of the richest men in the world—”
“I’ve never been unfaithful to a woman,” he said firmly. “When I’m with a woman I give my complete attention to her.”
“And how often do you end up with a woman anyway?” She titled her head to study him. “The media doesn’t get much information about you, but that doesn’t stop the rumors entirely. Word is you have your trysts here and there, but nothing permanent. Nothing that lasts very long at all.”
“My work keeps me occupied.”
“I can’t compete with a job,” she said.
“I’m not asking you to,” he said. “But aren’t you curious about what we could be? After all these years, Heather, you’re the one girl I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.”