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“Must run in the family.”
As if she hadn’t spoken, Nathan picked up his story where he’d left off. “My dad was nothing like his father. He was supposed to marry my mother, but he fell in love with a woman named Stormy.”
“After he was married?”
“No.” Nathan shook his head. “He was at the Running Wind, learning about the ranch. She was a riding instructor, if I remember. She’d been hired by the ranch as a wrangler. Once he met her, Dad lost sight of the woman back home. To be fair, they weren’t officially married or engaged. But the families had arranged for it, and he went along with it. He knew her and liked her. And since he hadn’t dated much, she seemed like a logical choice.”
“So it was an arranged marriage.”
“Of sorts. More like an agreed-upon marriage.”
Intrigued, she leaned forward.
“But Stormy got pregnant and ran away. She didn’t want to be part of the Donovan family, and she refused to let them take her son away. Even though my dad went on to marry my mom, I think they both knew he was still attached to Stormy. All that passion versus the responsibility he had back in town and at Donovan Worldwide. He was expected to run it, when his heart was at the ranch.”
“Are your parents still together?”
His eyes seemed to cloud over momentarily.
The glimpse of emotion got to her, softened her, made her understand him a bit better. She wasn’t sure that was a good thing.
“No.” His voice was flat. “My dad died in a car wreck.”
Her heart twisted for him. She resisted the impulse to touch his hand. “That kind of loss is never easy.”
“Rebuilding Donovan Worldwide has taken a lot of time and attention. I never take the responsibility lightly.”
“Is that part of why you’re—?”
“A penny-pinching miser?” he supplied helpfully.
She winced.
“We’re all a product of our experience,” he said, sounding somewhat fatalistic.
“But we get to choose what we do with that, how we use it, how it shapes us,” she replied. “Do we grow? Become more determined? Get angry?”
“And you chose to become determined.”
His statement cut through her defenses. Startled, she met his gaze.
He was regarding her, his green eyes deep, interested.
“How much research have you done on me?” Kelsey asked. “Do I have any secrets from you?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Only the ones you choose to keep. But those are the ones I’m especially interested in.”
She waited for him to go on.
“Your reaction gave you away,” he explained. “When you used the word determined, you frowned as if you were remembering something, then you brought your chin up a little bit. There’s nothing in your personnel record except for your work history, so you don’t have to worry that I know a lot about you. But you were in a fairly powerful position with Newman. You weren’t just his assistant, you were fulfilling the role of an advisor, more like a VP. The question is, what drives you?”
The man made her squirm. By nature she was a private person, so the fact that he so clearly saw things that others missed made her uncomfortable. Rather than answer him, she countered with, “Are you nosy with everyone who works for you?”
“No. But I don’t share an office with anyone but you.”
Fortunately, Marvin arrived, interrupting further conversation. “Decaf for the lady,” he said. He slid her drink in front of her. As always, he’d put a sugar cane swizzle stick on the saucer next to the cup. “And a regular.” He placed the second cappuccino in front of Nathan.
Marvin also put a plate of chicken tenders between them.
“What are they?” she asked suspiciously.
“We need protein.” Nathan shrugged.
“I wanted cake.”
“You get that, too,” he reassured her.
“Let the battle begin,” Marvin said. His grin was ridiculously broad as he lowered the gigantic slice toward the middle of the table.
She glared at the shop owner. He’d cut the piece significantly bigger than any she’d ever seen. Not only that, but he’d put a big fat dollop of fresh whipped cream on the side and garnished it with a mint leaf. Adding insult, he’d drizzled chocolate syrup everywhere. It would take her three days to finish something like that, and Marvin knew it.
“Can I get you anything else?” Marvin deposited a few napkins next to the plate then placed two forks on top of them.
“I’m fine,” Nathan replied. “And you, employee?”
Marvin chuckled.
She scowled at both of them.
The man continued laughing as he walked away.
