her wanted to shout, Yes! Yes! But she was pretty sure those were her hormones talking. She needed to step back and think this through very carefully. Without Aidan around to tempt her.
She mentally collected herself and said, “I need a few days to think about everything you’ve offered me.”
“Everything?” he repeated.
She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes, everything.”
He nodded. “All right. I’m leaving for California tomorrow. Why don’t you let me know your decision when I get back on Monday.”
She gazed at him solemnly. “I’ll have an answer for you then.”
Three
“We’re cleared for takeoff, Mr. Sutherland.”
“Thanks, Leslie,” Aidan said, and buckled his seat belt.
The flight attendant walked toward the front of the plane to take her own seat behind the partition that separated the passenger compartment from the crew’s quarters. Checking his wristwatch, Aidan realized he had six long hours to kill before they would land in California. He made himself comfortable in the sleek leather chair and stretched his long legs out.
As the powerful Gulfstream engines began to roar and the jet took its place in the middle of the runway, it occurred to Aidan that he should’ve asked Ellie to come along on the trip. At least he’d have someone to talk to during the long flight. It didn’t hurt that she was beautiful to look at, too.
She was also smart. And funny. They always laughed a lot when they traveled together. And if she were here, Aidan wouldn’t have to wait four days to make love with her.
But since he was forced to wait, he had nothing but time to consider all the potential problems involved with walking into fatherhood. There were plenty. He had never planned on taking this path, but the bottom line was, this was for Ellie and the child who would know both of his parents.
And it meant he could finally have Ellie naked in his bed.
Since she wasn’t there, he opened his briefcase and got to work on several of the projects he’d neglected lately. By the time they were flying over California hours later, he was almost caught up on everything.
He looked up as the flight attendant walked into the passenger area. “Guess it’s time to buckle up. I can feel the plane starting to descend.”
“Yes,” Leslie said. “We should be landing in about fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks.”
*
Ellie always spent a few hours each weekend in her office, catching up on business journals and studying the stock market. She enjoyed learning new things. Reading articles about business trends and developments helped expand her mind and broaden her horizons and made her better at her job.
Her girlfriends thought she was crazy. Serena urged her not to read the whole weekend away and told her that if she changed her mind, a few of them were meeting in the bar for cocktails and dinner tonight. Ellie wasn’t sure she wanted to go out. She had too much to think about.
But that was the problem. With Aidan’s proposition still fresh in her mind, she couldn’t concentrate on anything else, especially business. Her brain kept bouncing from one idea to the next to…Aidan.
She finally gave up, pushed the books aside and left the office. As she strolled through the lush coco palm grove to the cozy cottage she called home, located on the edge of the resort grounds, she decided the only way she was going to be able to truly relax was to go swimming.
She slipped on her bathing suit, threw on a short cover-up, grabbed a towel and walked down to the beach. The numerous pools scattered around the resort were beautiful, but they were much too lively for relaxation. Ellie preferred to swim in the calm waters of the bay.
The sun was nearing the horizon, but the air was still warm. She touched the clear water with her toe and found it was the perfect temperature, refreshing without giving her a chill. Dropping the towel on the sand, she walked straight into the bay until the water reached her shoulders. Then she plunged her entire body under the water and swam underwater for as long as her breath lasted. Surfacing, she began to swim with slow, easy strokes that stretched her muscles in all the right places.
Ellie had always loved the water. Once upon a time, she had been an excellent swimmer and had even daydreamed of swimming in the Olympic Games. But then her mother died and swimming became a luxury she couldn’t afford.
Ellie and Brenna were the only people besides the