Several weeks passed and there had been no sign of LaCroix. Natalie was beginning to think he had lied to her. A voice in the back of her head told her that she should have taken her chances with Nick.
Nick... Nat sighed in frustration as she recalled the changes in Nick since she'd turned down his proposal. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to work with him now. Oh, some nights it was as if nothing had happened. Nick would act like a perfect gentleman and no one asked questions. Others, however, Nick vacillated between open displays of anger and simply ignoring her outright. This behavior shocked and dismayed Natalie. However, it showed her that she could not expect things to ever be as they once were. No... she could never go back to Nick. Not now.
Nat wiped away the tear that flowed down her cheek. Had she been crying all this time? She hadn't even realized it. Oh, what does it matter? She thought bitterly as more tears came to her eyes. He's not going to come for me. He lied to me. She sat down on the couch, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Don't cry, my dear," came a soothingly smooth voice form behind her. Natalie lifted her head from her hands to see LaCroix approaching her from the doorway. He was dressed as elegantly as ever in an Armani suit-- black, of course. She thought briefly about how good he looked before wondering how he had gotten there. But then... hadn't Nick made a habit of sneaking up on her?
"You were crying, my dear," LaCroix said, coming to sit beside her, "and I fear you didn't hear me knocking. So, I let myself in. I hope you aren't offended?"
Nat shook her head, indicating that it didn't bother her that he was there. "Why are you here?" she asked, both fearing and anticipating the answer.
LaCroix smiled enigmatically. "I was enjoying my evening promenade when my thoughts strayed to you. I thought it would be delightful if you would join me." He smiled down at her, eliciting a smile from her despite the tears that still ran down her cheeks. "Instead, I find you drowning in tears of salt. Tell me, Natalie, why do you cry?"
"I ... I thought.... I was never going to see you again," she blurted out, regretting it instantaneously.
LaCroix's eyebrows raised slightly
at her admission. "*Never*?" he inquired. When she nodded her head, LaCroix
took her into his arms, holding her gently. "I'm terribly sorry, my dear.
I shouldn't have waited so long. I see that now." He kissed her forehead
tenderly.
Natalie had just snuggled into his arms and didn't want to move, when she remembered work. Sitting up and pulling away from him abruptly, she exclaimed, "Oh no! Work! I'm late!"
She jumped up, rushing to pull on a light jacket and grabbed the files she'd brought home the night before. LaCroix watched her with a bemused look on his face.
"Do you have time to drive to work, my dear?" he asked when she could not find her car keys.
Nat looked at him with the most helpless look on her face. "I don't even know where my keys are!" she nearly whined.
Before she could say more, LaCroix
swooped her into his arms. They were in the air before Natalie could protest.
And even sooner, they were in Natalie's office.
Nat turned to look at him only after she dropped the files onto her desk and removed her jacket. She didn't quite know what to say. Her legs were wobbly with excitement and she half thought they were going to give way beneath her at any second. Leaning on the desk for support if she needed it, she tried to come up with something to say to LaCroix. She'd never been flying before, and it had all happened so fast that she hadn't actually had time to enjoy it. "Th-thank you," she said at last, hesitantly. "But how will I get home?"
For the second time that night, LaCroix gave her his most enigmatic smile. He pulled her to him slowly. Gazing down into her eyes, he bent his head to hers. Natalie closed her eyes, waiting breathlessly for the kiss to come.
It came... a gentle caress, nothing more. "I will be back for you later, my dear," he whispered before disappearing into the night.