BOOK 1

He slowly smiled. “Dani.”

By the time she returned to the apartment, her friends had already crashed for the night. She threaded her way across a floor full of sleeping bodies and made it to the bathroom. There, she undressed, washed up, and finally, in a T-shirt and boxer shorts, sHpped into her own sleeping bag.

“Dani?” she heard her friend Marcia whisper.

She rolled over to face her. “Yeah?” she whispered back.

“How’d it go?”

“Somewhere between the Spanish Inquisition and a meat grinder.”

“Hey, at least you’re back in one piece.”

“I’m not so sure.”

“Why?”

“He wants me to fly back with him on his private jet tomorrow and attend a ball Saturday night.”

“Hey, way to go. Sounds like you caught yourself, Damaron.”

“I don’t think so. It’s more like he caught me.”

There was a subtle grace about Dani, even while she slept, Nathan reflected as he watched her. They hadn’t really talked since they’d boarded the jet in Paris. As was his custom, he’d pulled out his work even before the jet began to rumble down the runway. She had slipped out of her mules, folded her legs to her side, and buried herself in a book.

Several hours ago, she’d put down the book she’d been reading and began nodding off. He’d had Stan, the steward, rouse her enough to offer her the use of the bedroom at the back of the plane, but she’d politely turned him down. At Stan’s gentle insistence, though, she’d finally allowed him to lower one of the big lounge chairs so that she could lie down, and she’d accepted a pillow' and a blanket. Then, without any sign of self-consciousness that he was sitting where he could see her, she’d fallen asleep.

He’d turned back to his work, but every now and then his gaze had involuntarily wandered to her. Some time ago she’d turned on her side, facing him. The blanket stopped at her waist, but its line showed him the leng^ of her legs and the curve of her hips. Her lips were slightly parted and her hands were folded beneath her cheek as if she were a child. Even in sleep, it was as if she was incapable of looking awkward or less than lovely.

She stirred and quickly he averted his gaze to his work.

“Where are we?” she asked, her low, husky voice reflecting that she’d just come up out of a deep sleep.

He glanced at his watch. “We’re about an hour or so out of New York.”

She sat up and stretched, her hands reaching for the ceiling, her fingertips gracefully pointed. Then, once again without any sign of self-consciousness, she stood and stretched a second time, going up on her tiptoes. As she did, the fitted T-shirt that hugged her breasts pulled upward from the loose waistband of her jeans, giving him a tantaHzing glimpse of her navel. Then she bent from the waist, wrapped her arms around her legs, and pressed her face against her knees. Her long hair tumbled over her head, baring the nape of her neck, and her T-shirt climbed up her spine to reveal a strip of smooth, pale skin.

Warmth curled and twisted in his loins. She flattened her hands on the floor, then straightened and her hair flew over her head to settle aroimd her shoulders.

He cleared his throat and pressed a button. “Are you hungry?”

“I could eat a little something.”

Stan appeared. “Yes, sir?”

Nathan nodded toward Dani.

With a casual flip of her disheveled hair over her shoiflder, Dani graced Stan with a grateful smile. “A cup of tea would be great. I’ll make it.”

“That won’t be necessary. I can have that ready for you in a minute. But may I also offer you something else? I have some lovely steaks on hoard that I could broil.”

She shook her head. “Thank you anyway, but I don’t care for red meat.”

“We stocked up on some wonderful farm chicken while we were in Paris.”

She pressed her hand over her midriff. “I don’t want to be a problem, but I’d like something light— scrambled eggs, for instance.”

Stan looked perplexed. “I’d be happy to prepare scrambled eggs for you if that’s what you’d really prefer.”

“That would be wonderful.”

“And what would you like with those scrambled eggs?”

“Nothing, thank you.”

“Then perhaps a pastry afterward? I have a nice selection of fresh brioches, pains au chocolate and croissants. They warm beautifully.”

“Mmmm. A pain au chocolat, please.” She glanced at Nathan. “Will you be joining me?”

He’d had hours to watch her sleep, and now that she was awake, he decided to put away his work and take advantage of this last hour with her. “I’d be happy to. Except, Stan, I’ll have coffee, steak, and eggs.’’

“Yes, sir.”

Dani reached for a carpetbag she’d brought on board, spun on her toes, and made her way toward the back of the plane, her posture perfectly erect. He craned his neck to watch her until she passed through the doorway, then she closed behind her the panel that divided the cabin into rooms. She had to be a dancer, he thought. Only a trained dancer could carry herself so beautifully, yet be so unselfconscious about her body.

Minutes later she returned, her face moist and fresh from a wash, her hair gleaming from a thorough brushing. She’d also changed her top to another impossibly small T-shirt that hugged her body even more than the last, this one a grayed navy color.

“Did you have a nice rest?” he asked, even though he knew the answer.

“Yes, thank you.” She setded herself on a couch across from him as Stan arranged a place setting on a table in front of her. “I had a lovely nap. How about yourself? Did you get any rest?”

“I worked most of the time.”

She tilted her head and leveled an interested gaze at him. “You don’t look tired.”

“I’ve never needed that much sleep.”

“So when we land in New York, you’ll go to work then?”

He nodded. “I have a meeting tonight.”

She stared at him. “What do you do? I mean, besides being a Damaron.” she chuckled at the way she’d phrased her question. “I work mainly in the financial end of our organization.”

“Ah, a banker.”

“I suppose you could say that, though no one ever has before.”

“Then you must be the chief financial officer.”

He shook his head. “None of us has a title.”

A smile played around her lips. “So we’ll just say that you work mainly in the financial end of your organization.”

His gaze went to her lips. “Good plan.”

She sat back while Stan set a small silver pot of hot water on a table in front of her, along with a fine porcelain cup and saucer. She chose a tea bag from a leather box that contained many different types of teas while Stan served Nathan coffee.

When the steward left, she looked over at Nathan. “There’s been something I’ve been wondering about.”

“What’s that?”

“Why would you want to take me to the ball?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You don’t give much away, do you?”

To him, his question had been an answer, but apparently it hadn’t satisfied her. He searched his mind for something that would. “I’ve been busy and I really hadn’t given much thought to the ball until this past week when I realized it was just a few days away.”

“Uh-huh, and so when you realized that, why didn’t you simply pick up the phone, call your favorite lady, and ask her to come with you?”

“Because I don’t have a favorite lady.”

“In between relationships, then?”

Her persistence amused him. “I’m usually too busy for relationships.”

“Relationships do require time.”

“Sounds as if you’re speaking from experience.”

She hesitated and he thought he caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes, but then it was gone. “Yes.”

“I didn’t even think to ask if you were involved.”

A wry smile lighted her face. “I noticed and decided that it would probably be out of character for you if you did.”

“Did you?” he asked, appreciating the curve of her bps and the glints of new humor in her eyes. “So are you involved?”

“No.”

“Good, then there’ll be no complications—although I’ve always found that complications usually aren’t that complicated.”

“Especially if you’re you, which brings me back to my original question as to why me. You—”

She broke off as Stan reappeared with her scrambled eggs, then disappeared again. She took a sip of her tea, then a bite of scrambled eggs. “You must have a little black book. Why didn’t you simply flip through it? There must be ladies lining up to get a date with you.”

He liked her. He liked her a lot. If the kiss on the quay hadn’t been enough, he was learning she was a warm and fortliright person.

It was more than enough for him to decide he wanted to spend more time with her. And there was more.

But it was the more that left: him confused.

Nebulous things that fascinated and drew him to her. Like the graceful, unconscious way she moved. Like the sweet, stunning way a smile lit up her face. Like the way her hair fell around her face and down her back.

In the end he doubted he could give her an answer that would satisfy her, because he didn’t have an answer that completely satisfied himself. Except he knew there wasn’t one other woman he could think of with whom he’d rather spend Saturday night. Nor could he imagine he’d be happier going alone as had been his original plan. He ran several answers through his head before he decided on one that might make sense to her.

“Which is often the problem.”

She looked up from her plate. “Excuse me?”

“The ladies who line up to get a date with me, as you said. They can be a problem, because they all want something from me, and believe me, they’ve got strings all over them.” He shrugged. “I’m solving that problem by taking you to the ball.”

“O-kay,” she said, her tone clearly indicating she was still puzzled.

“You see, by coming with me, you’re merely paying off a debt to me, so there’ll be no complications. You also come with credentials—your father’s—so no one will think it strange that you’re there with me.”

“As they would, no doubt, if they knew how we met.”

“Exactly,” he said, enjoying himself. He waved a careless hand toward her. “You’re presentable. You’ll know how to conduct yourself, and I’ll be left free to do what I’m there for, which is to get people to write big, fat checks for our charity.”

“You’re a real bottom-line kind of guy, aren’t you?”

“Always.”

“And goodness, all those compliments, they may just go straight to my head.”

He had thrown some of his best material at her and she’d caught it and thrown it right back, just as he’d hoped. “I’m glad we see things so much alike. I was sure you’d understand. Obviously, if you came to the ball with me and did nothing but have a fun date, it wouldn’t be paying off a debt to me.”

She nodded, then after a moment, she shook her head. “I may still be a wee bit shy of completely understanding the whole scope of this date.”

“It’s very simple. As I originally said, your presence at the ball will solve a lot of problems for me.

“And of course a man like you has so many problems.”

“Right,” he said with a nod, glad to see that humor still shone in her eyes.