giving you the thrill of your life."
Satoshi bit his bottom lip, intrigued by what she'd confessed. "What stopped you?"
Shaundra settled back in her seat. "I have no idea. Now it's not an option."
Drat, what is this? She liked me too. Satoshi sat back in his seat. Did that mean he still had a chance? Hmm, now that he knew this, what was he going to do? "Tell me honestly. Do you regret marrying Ich?"
Shaundra looked him directly in the eyes. "Yes," she replied. "But not for the reasons you think. I did a lot of soul searching before I accepted his proposal. Ich is so young, and he deserves someone who is going to be around when he get old. And he needs children...something I can no longer produce."
"But there are other ways."
"I know, but to tell you the truth I don't know if I can physically or mentally raise a baby at my age. It wasn't easy raising my brood...the sleepless nights, the arguments, not knowing if I could financially support them and keep a roof over their heads."
"They seem to have turned out all right," Satoshi said.
Shaundra smiled weakly. "That's because you didn't have to live with them. Don't get me wrong, I love all four of them dearly, but they can work a nerve."
Satoshi smiled. Shaundra was really something special, but he could tell that she still had a lot of emotional baggage about the decisions she had recently made. "Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe Ichiro doesn't want kids? Not everyone is cut out to be a parent."
"What about you? Do you want kids?"
Satoshi sighed. "To tell you the truth, I never gave it much thought. You might not be aware of this, but I'm a very selfish person. When I find the woman I want to share my life with, I expect to dedicate my every waking moment to loving her and trying to make her feel like a queen. Kids would only complicate things."
Shaundra fanned herself with her hand. "I don't think that's selfish. Darn. Who would have thought you were such a romantic?"
"I would have cherished you," Satoshi confessed.
Shaundra stopped fanning and gazed at him with those smoky brown eyes that created a warm feeling in his heart and a slow rise in his trousers. "Don't," she replied.
"Don't what?" he asked, noticing the sudden curiosity in her eyes.
"Don't tempt me."
Chapter Ten
The jet landed at the Incheon airport and Cristal removed her seat belt and casually peeped out of the window, expecting to find Masaaki standing on the airfield waiting for her to turn over her interview to him.
"Are you glad to be back?" Yi-jun asked her as he stepped out into the aisle.
"Yes," Cristal replied. "Not that I didn't have the time of my life in Paris."
"I'm glad," he said, loaning a hand to assist her out of the tight area. "I had the time of my life too."
Cristal pretended not to see the lusty look in his eyes.
Maybe he meant what he said, but as far as she was concerned it was over. She walked down the aisle and then exited the plane with Yi-jun close on her heels. The next thing she knew they were back in the limousine, headed off the airstrip.
Yi-jun pulled out his laptop and began typing. "I know Satoshi can't wait to see you. He misses you."
Cristal frowned. Why was he bringing up Satoshi? "Yeah, I miss him too. I'm glad we made it back in time to see their interview."
Yi-jun suddenly went silent and powered down his laptop.
"About that. I might not be able to make it. Something has come up. I have to get back to work."
"Aw, can't you just put it off for one or two more days?"
Yi-jun shook his head. "I'm afraid not. A lot of people are depending on me. It's bad enough that I've shirked those responsibilities for a week to fly to Paris on a whim."
Cristal frowned. It wasn't like she'd dragged him there.
Stupid, infuriating man. If he was busy he should have just said something. "When will I see you again?"
"I don't know," he replied. "I'll be very busy for a while. I'll call you."
Their conversation ended at that very moment. "I'll call you" was the ultimate kiss-off. A few minutes later, Beatrice turned onto the roadway leading to the mansion rented by Mr. Niigata, and then she waited at the gates until the guards allowed her to continue down the main path that led to the