“Why would I do that?”
“Because you want to know.”
“You mean you want to know,” Natalie corrected, cycling as fast as she could on the elliptical.
“Protest all you want, Natalie, but this guy gets to you.”
“Not in a good way.”
Both her friends had the audacity to laugh.
CHAPTER EIGHT
NATALIE STARED AT the quiet little girl playing on a tablet computer in Matthew’s office.
His daughter? Had to be.
Natalie wanted to turn and run, because she didn’t want to be confronted with the child. She wasn’t sure of all the reasons why, just that a self-defensive part of her warned to run. But the girl looked up from her game and met Natalie’s gaze with big brown eyes, stopping any unnoticed retreat.
Although she was beautiful, Natalie couldn’t help but think it was a shame the girl hadn’t inherited Matthew’s unusual pale blue eye color or his dark features. Still, with her sagging ponytail, dimpled cheeks and big eyes, the girl was undeniably adorable.
“Hi! Uncle Matthew isn’t here.”
Uncle Matthew? Why had the girl called him “Uncle”, and what was Matthew doing leaving the girl unattended in his office? Natalie knew next to nothing about parenting, but she knew enough to know that one didn’t leave a small child by herself.
“He’s in an important meeting. Stephanie,” the name came out with a cute hesitation of each syllable as the girl made sure she said the name correctly, “is watching me.”
Only Stephanie was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Stephanie?”
“The bathroom. She wasn’t feeling good and keeps going to the bathroom.” The child wrinkled her nose. “She has diarrhea.” Again, she put emphasis on each syllable to make sure she properly enunciated.
“Poor Stephanie,” Natalie commiserated, not sure whether to walk away or to stay. The kid was too young to be by herself. “I’m Natalie. What’s your name?”
Why did this conversation feel so weird? She was a pediatric heart surgeon. She dealt with children on an almost daily basis. Why were her palms clammy?
“Carrie. I’m four. Do you want to see my game?”
No, Natalie didn’t. She wanted far, far away from the evidence of Matthew’s deceit—but the hopeful look on the child’s face left her unable to do anything more than cross to where the little girl sat. She stooped down.
“What kind of game is it?”
“A fashion game.” Carrie’s eyes lit up as if it was the most fabulous game ever. “See all the pretty clothes?”
Natalie had never been a girly girl and fashion wasn’t her forte, but she nodded her agreement as she studied each item the child clicked on.
Big brown eyes regarded her. “Which one is your favorite?”
“They’re all great,” she assured, studying the colored images. “Which makes it difficult to choose, but I like the blue dress best.”
She nodded as if she’d expected Natalie to say as much. “That’s Uncle Matthew’s favorite, too. It’s the color of his eyes and makes me th
ink of a robin’s egg.”
There went the “Uncle Matthew” again. And there went Natalie’s cheeks, bursting into flames. “That’s not why I liked it best.”
“It’s the mermaid tail, isn’t it?” Carrie said with a knowing tone.