03

It looked perfect. You just don't forget that kind of feeling. It was like a thousand tons of cotton candy in all the colors of the rainbow that dampened you, making your heart flutter like the most fragile butterfly wings…that was the innocence of teenage love.

Gwen always remembered... although it had been a while since she'd allowed her mind to wander back to the past. Becoming a mother as a teenager had given her more purpose and determination than usual. She could have given up on life, crawled under the bed or locked herself forever in a closet in shame, but somehow she had rebuilt the self-confidence she always had, even as a child.

It reminded her that her future was worth fighting for.

It was a slow climb, but she had come out of the ashes and found the conviction that the only person who could stop her was herself. She had her baby and took the necessary steps that gradually brought her to the current stage in her life where she felt as if she had achieved a lot as a mother and in her career.

Why had she suddenly been gripped by worry that someone might take everything from her in the blink of an eye? Perhaps it was because she knew the power of the Matthewses—their billions, their influence and fame. She had closed her eyes and ears to anything about that last name for a long time, and now she realized how silly it was. If only she'd been more careful, the events of that morning, weeks ago, wouldn't have taken her by surprise.

Trent Matthews showing up in her office made Gwen try to pretend everything was normal and think she could take things professionally... But Jonah just showed up and everything got out of hand.

Even though Trent hadn't screamed or broken anything when he left, it looked like the entire office had been hit with a wrecking ball that broke the walls. Gwen knew she would never be the same again.

The effects of seeing him again had her shivering at night and sleeping with the covers over her head, trying to push the images from her mind. The smile, the touch, the warmth of his love, or what she felt like love when they were seventeen. Trent hadn't done anything wrong, had he? They'd both made the mistake and she'd gotten pregnant, but he'd never even known about it.

He was a good person, wasn't he?

But he had a crazy family. Gwen definitely didn't want her or her son to mix with them at all.

Too bad Trent Matthews turned out to be at the head of the donor organization Gwen was supposed to work with. She could refuse to see him and risk losing government funding—or face his task. Gwen just wasn't sure how confident she was to be around Trent. Even if she had to do it for her career.

Why did it need to be him of all people? The one man she thought she'd never see again?

Gwen shook her head and tried to get back to work.

She looked up when her secretary knocked and entered, holding a few sheets of printouts.

"I did the research you asked for, but I couldn't find any alternative prospects for our donor's collaboration," Amy said apologetically and dropped the report in front of Gwen.

"I haven't been able to come up with any solutions either," was Gwen's rueful reply.

"Is there any particular reason we can't work with the Matthews Foundation? Trent Matthews seemed nice enough. In fact, he's far more approachable than I'd expect from a billionaire heir to such a fortune. And he sounds like a walking sex god ." Amy joked adding, "Now don't look at me like you don't expect me to know what a sex god he is."

"It's not that, believe me," Gwen said, though she could understand Amy's position. What was it about Trent that made women's panties, even the most sensible ones, squirm? He was hot and sexy and rich, but there was something else about him, a mysterious aura that made her want to run and hide, even as she felt mesmerized by him.

Gwen exhaled a weary sigh. "I just want what's best for the school. If it's someone I don't think fits the whole concept we're looking for, I'm not going to feel comfortable moving forward with it." Gwen really thought so, or so she also told herself. Working with Trent would mean all sorts of complications, and that didn't bode well for the outcome. And in that way, the school would suffer from it.

But... what if she had no other choice?

***

Gwen felt a strange acceptance when she opened the door that night and found Trent standing there. She should have known he would find her sooner or later. Dodging calls and his office had merely been a short-term option. Now she had to figure out how to deal with the unpleasant situation that was about to unfold.

Gwen looked at him now standing in the living room, almost like a ghost. A very virile, beautiful, and remote ghost, to be exact.

"Where is he?" he asked simply, with

the harsh voice.

"Who?" Gwen tilted her head and sighed.

when she arched a brow in warning. "If you're talking about my son, he's sleeping over at a friend's house."

Fortunately, Gwen mentally added with a sigh of relief.

Trent's response was to shove his hands into the pockets of his smart coat and slowly turn on his heel as he surveyed his surroundings. Gwen blushed slightly, wondering what tall and powerful Trent Matthews would think of her house. Would he consider her contemptible compared to his huge mansions and country houses with vast, perfectly manicured lawns?

"Why are you here, Trent? What do you want?"

"What do you think I want? Take a guess," she muttered, turning to face her.

"I'm not into any of your games," he said.

Gwen with a furrowed brow.

"Games? I should have thought that would be your specialty. You hid my son from me his whole life. What kind of joke did you think you were making?"

"Don't yell at me!" Gwen snapped, losing her temper just as he seemed to. "And don't come here with your interrogations. If I'm guilty, then so are your parents. They knew all along and they paid me for it."

She tried to catch her breath, her chest heaving as if it had been a great effort, as she glared at Trent. He didn't show any emotion, and Gwen wondered how much he'd discovered and why he didn't seem too surprised by her revelation.

"They made it clear that I would get nothing if I contacted you, and that they would forbid a relationship. What was I supposed to do?" Gwen asked more calmly. "I was raised by a single mother, Trent. I knew enough to understand that money was worth more than a tentative relationship between two seventeen year olds."

"I can understand the situation based on a year or two, maybe three. But in all that time you could have hinted to me that I had a son. Did it give you any kind of satisfaction knowing that I had no idea about Jonah? "

"Nothing has given me satisfaction," Gwen blurted, then nibbled on her lower lip thinking about how that must have sounded. She saw Trent's eyes glinting darkly, and just like that, something began to vibrate in her most intimate spot. She gasped and took a step away.

Trent's mouth tipped up in a smile. "That rings true for me, too, in a way. The time with you feels like the only time in my history where I remember having real emotion—trust, love, passion."

He took a step forward, and that just sent Gwen back. She kept walking away until she felt the wall behind her, and she stiffened. How did the air become so thick and humid? It was impossible to take a decent breath.

Trent closed the space between them. He easily enclosed her in that spot, lifting his arms to brace her on either side of her head as he braced his hands against the wall. He stared into her face with an intensity that made her knees weak.

Gwen hadn't foreseen that. The look in Trent's eyes, the dominance and heat he exuded so easily seemed to dominate everything, making her shiver with mystical excitement. She didn't understand, nor did she know where it came from. She didn't want to want him, but she couldn't help it. And she could tell, with her deep-rooted female intuition, that Trent wanted her too.

"Why are you doing this?", She whispered, as she saw him lean his head close to hers, and brush his firm, silky lips over her earlobe.

"It's time you stopped questioning anything that happens between us from now on," he said into her ear. "You owe me that, Gwen, after keeping your secret, and making a fool of me, depriving me of my own flesh and blood."

His words sounded harsh in the final sentence as he clapped a palm against the wall for emphasis. Gwen's gaze shot up to meet his, and she saw that beneath the anger was a burning desire. It was almost as if he was furious with himself for having any feelings of lust towards her.

"We had something real. But you screwed it up."

"None of that matters now," she said desperately, pressing against the wall as if she wanted to distance herself another inch from his moving lips.

"Oh, it matters, Gwen. Because I never forgot and I bet you don't either. I can see it in your face."

"Please, do not do that."

"Do what? Make you admit I'm right?"

Gwen wasn't planning on admitting anything. Not even if every inch of her was about to betray the truth. That she was still affected by him, and he couldn't hide the way her body reacted to her closeness, and the promise of his kiss, her touch.

"Now to clarify my intentions," Trent said, his lips whispering close to her quivering mouth. "I want you. I want him. I want everything I've been denied these last eight years and I'm not going to take no for an answer."