Ten
“She’s in love with you.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Aidan said, although the words caused a tug in his chest. With a sigh, he muted the basketball game he was watching. “Why are you even here? You should be having dinner with Ellie right now.”
Logan grimaced. “Dude, she knew it was me the minute she opened the door. There wasn’t much to say after that, so I made my excuses and left.”
“You left her alone?” Somehow that bothered Aidan, knowing Ellie was all alone.
“Not the point,” Logan snapped. “But yes, I left her alone. She wasn’t in much of a mood for entertaining once she realized I wasn’t you—and you weren’t coming. She was hurt, and I don’t feel real good about that. But my point is that she knew I wasn’t you within seconds. The only other woman who’s ever been able to tell us apart that quickly was Grace.”
“I don’t like where this is heading,” Aidan groused. “You’re descending into Married Guy Hell again, aren’t you?”
Frustrated, Logan paced back and forth in front of the television. He stopped abruptly and wagged his finger at Aidan. “Do you remember pulling the Switch on Grace? It wasn’t that long ago.”
“Sure,” Aidan said casually, but began to frown as he remembered exactly what had happened. It had been his idea to pull the Switch on Grace because he had believed she was using Logan to further her career. And within seconds of the moment they met on the beach, Grace had recognized that he was Aidan and not Logan.
That was the first time Aidan had ever met a woman who could distinguish so easily between the two of them. And Aidan had realized after talking to her for those few minutes, that Grace was in love with his brother.
Funny how the world had now turned upside down and Logan and he had changed places.
It didn’t matter. Logan might believe it, but it couldn’t be true. Ellie didn’t love him. She only wanted a baby, not a long-term relationship. Right? Nothing had changed, had it?
He cast a glance at Logan, who was still blocking the basketball game with his pacing. Aidan decided to strike a reasonable tone. “Ellie’s known us a lot longer than Grace had, so it’s natural that she would be able to differentiate between us.”
“Not that fast. Besides, she said she’s been able to tell us apart since the first day we all met in New York. We have different ways of smiling or something.”
Aidan frowned thoughtfully. She’d always been able to tell them apart? “Get off it.”
“Seriously, she described your smile. And your eyes.” Logan accompanied his words with a gagging sound.
“Shut up,” Aidan said mildly.
Logan held his hands up. “It’s all true, bro. I was frankly sickened by the whole conversation, but this is what I do for you.”
Aidan snorted a laugh, but he quickly sobered. “So you left her alone.”
“Yeah, and now I’m gonna leave you alone and go home to my wife.”
*
Ellie latched the front door and turned off the porch light. While she was disappointed and hurt that Aidan hadn’t shown up for dinner, she also felt an odd surge of hope after talking to Logan. Maybe he was right and all Aidan needed was another push or two—or three—and he would fall neatly into her arms.
Ellie knew life couldn’t be that simple, but after spending the last few days talking with Sally Duke, she had begun to realize that telling the truth was the most important thing she could do for herself.
And tonight, after talking to Logan and then, once he left, musing over their conversation and tying it in with Sally’s words, Ellie experienced an amazing moment of insight. It had to do with her mother, of all things.
Ellie realized that it wasn’t her mother’s obsession that had destroyed her; it was the lies she’d told herself. Her mom had repeated the same lies over and over again, so often that she began to believe them. Her mother had spent her life lying to herself and that was her ultimate downfall.
As Ellie brushed her hair and removed her makeup, she was more determined than ever that if she wanted to be free of her mother’s legacy once and for all, she had to tell Aidan the truth. Whether he wanted to hear it or not.
*
He’d hurt her. He didn’t need his brother to tell him that. He knew Ellie. Now he stood at her door and wondered if she would even let him into her house. Would she listen to him? Hell, he didn’t even know what to say to her besides begging her forgiveness.
Logan had said that Ellie loved him. That she’d always been able to tell them apart. So was Aidan coming to see her to hear her say those words?
Aidan shoved the panicky feelings to the back of his mind and knocked on her door. And waited.
When Ellie didn’t come to the door immediately, he began to fear that she really wouldn’t let him in. Well, she was going to have to let him inside because she loved him, damn it.
Finally she showed up, opening the door in her pajamas and bathrobe.
“Aidan, what are you doing here?”
“You invited me for dinner,” he said in a rush.
“I did,” she said calmly. “But when you didn’t show up, I packaged it up and stuck it in the freezer.” She seemed to debate whether to let him inside or not, but after a moment she opened the door wide. “Come in, Aidan.”
Once inside, he pulled her into his arms and held her, stroking her hair and mumbling apologies. “I’m sorry. God, I’m an idiot.”
She rubbed his back in reassuring strokes, comforting him more than he deserved.
Finally, he held her by the shoulders to meet her gaze. “My brother and I sometimes forget that we’re not twelve years old. I apologize for playing that trick on you and for ruining the meal you prepared. I’d like to make it up to you by taking you to dinner tomorrow night.”
She took a deep breath and said, “Dinner would be nice, thank you.”
“What else can I do to prove how sorry I am?”
“Oh, Aidan, I know you’re sorry,” she said softly.
He kissed her tenderly. “I’d like to stay with you tonight.”
“Why, Aidan?”
“Why?” He stared at her, stunned. “Because, you know, we’re together. You like me. And I like you. And we…you know.”
“You like me?”
“Of course I do, damn it.” He scraped his hands through his hair in frustration because he knew he wasn’t getting his point across. “You know that.”
She took a deep, slow breath, then reached up and framed his face with her hands. “What I know is that I love you, Aidan. I know those words aren’t what you want to hear, but it’s how I feel. And after talking to Logan earlier, I realized that it was time for me to be completely honest with you. So if you still want to be with me after hearing that, then you’re welcome to stay.”
His gaze didn’t quite meet hers as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. “I’d like to stay.”
*
He hadn’t returned the words and Ellie didn’t expect him to. He’d apologized again for switching places with Logan and she had forgiven him again with a smile.
But she couldn’t deny that her heart ached. She would live with the pain for now because she had no choice. But she had told him the truth and that helped. The simple fact was that she wanted to be with Aidan for as long as it lasted.
Logan had advised her to keep pushing Aidan, but she was hesitant to follow his counsel. After all, she could only push the man for so long with no results before her self-confidence crumbled. If that happened, she would lose everything.
So over the next two weeks, Ellie buried herself in her work. Call it self-preservation, but she avoided all but the most cursory business conversations with Aidan, even at night. They continued to spend their nights together and it was wonderful as always, but where they used to chat about anything under the sun, now Ellie did everything she could to keep the subjects centered on business, on the office, on work in general. Nothing personal. She had to do that. To protect herself more than anything else.
Ellie had already confessed her love. Aidan knew how she felt so there was really no point in saying so over and over again. Besides, if she did, if she allowed herself to indulge in loving him openly, she would get caught up in pretending that they might actually have a life together and forget that the only thing they had between them was a thin, legal document. They didn’t have love. Didn’t have a future. All they had was a rather elusive goal to get her pregnant. Once they achieved that, Ellie had no doubt that Aidan would begin to make excuses to stay away from her. Eventually she wouldn’t see him at all except at work or when he and his family wanted to visit with their baby.
And if that wasn’t the most depressing thing in the world, she had also begun to notice that Aidan seemed perfectly willing to give her all the space she wanted, thus confirming in her mind that she was indeed losing him. But that was impossible, she chided herself. How could she lose him when she’d never really had him to begin with?
*
Aidan brought the small fishing boat to a stop in a secluded bay on the other side of the island from the resort. As he set up the deck chairs and grabbed the fishing poles, Logan pulled two bottles of beer from the ice chest, popped them open and handed one to his brother.
Aidan took a long slug, then set the beer bottle into the built-in drink holder on the arm of his chair. He baited his hook, then cast it into the water.
“Perfect day,” he said, relaxing in his deck chair.
“Yeah, beautiful.” Logan joined him and readied his fishing rod. “I love this spot.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Best decision we ever made was to buy this island.”
“I’m with you there.”
They continued to fish in blessed silence for three and a half minutes or so, until Aidan blurted, “She’s driving me crazy.”
Logan laughed out loud. “I should’ve taken bets on how long you could last without bringing up the subject of Ellie.”
“It’s not funny,” Aidan grumbled. “She won’t stop working.”
“I’ll just mention this in case it hasn’t crossed your mind,” Logan said. “But Ellie is our partner now. When she works hard, we make money. See how that works out? It’s a good thing. A win-win.”
“I’m clear on the concept,” Aidan said drily. “I’m just a little worried about her, that’s all. Lately she’s completely obsessed with work. Eats, sleeps and breathes it. It’s all she talks about. Even when I try to change the subject to something else she’s interested in, like books or movies, she winds the conversation right back to the office.”
“Must make for some stimulating pillow talk.”
“Shut up.”
“Wait. Are you two still…you know?” Logan made a tangled gesture with his fingers.
“Shut up,” Aidan repeated more forcefully.
“Is that a no?”
“No, it’s not,” Aidan said. “We’re doing just fine in that department, thank you for your interest.”
“Just trying to get the full picture.”
Aidan scowled. “But even at night lately, Ellie doesn’t say much unless it’s work related.”
“Might be a defense mechanism,” Logan said as he adjusted the rim of his ball cap to better shield his eyes from the sun.
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
Logan’s line tugged and he moved quickly to test it. “False alarm,” he muttered, sitting back in his chair. “Okay, so you’ve got to look at this whole situation from her point of view. It’s not like you’ve vowed eternal love to her, so she’s starting to face facts. You’re only sticking around to get her pregnant. Once that happens, you’re gone. So even though she’s in love with you, she doesn’t see a future with you.” He shrugged. “And so she’s starting to pull back emotionally.”
Aidan scowled at him. “Thank you, Dr. Freud.”
“Hey, you asked. And please, you don’t have to be a psychiatrist to see it. Just not blind…like some people.”
“I’m not blind. I’m…focused.”
“On all the wrong things.”
“This is your fault,” Aidan blurted.
“How do you figure that?” Logan sounded outraged.
Aidan eyed him suspiciously. “Now that I think about it, she started changing right after you pulled the Switch.”
“Don’t go blaming this on me,” Logan said, laughing as he took another sip of beer. “If you’ll recall, you began pulling away from her at Dad’s wedding. That’s when you started getting paranoid because of Sally.”
“No, I didn’t.” But as he thought back, Aidan realized he’d forgotten how much he’d mistrusted his new mom. He would have to call her one of these days and tell her he was sorry about that.
He reeled in his line and re-baited his hook, then tossed it back into the water. And thought about Ellie.
She loved him.
She’d told him right to his face and he hadn’t said a word back. But what could he say? He was crazy about her, but that was hardly love. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t even sure what love was. He just knew he wanted to be with Ellie all the time. Was that love? Hell, he was going to go crazy over that stupid question, and his brother wasn’t helping.
“You’re not helping,” Aidan muttered aloud.
“You talking to me?”
“Never mind.”
“I’m worried about you, bro,” Logan said, but he was grinning like an idiot and didn’t look worried at all.
Aidan shook his head in disgust. He grabbed his beer bottle and downed the rest of it. He would never truly understand women or love or anything related to those two subjects and it was useless to start trying now.
Suddenly a hefty fish yanked at his line and he pulled back and began to reel it in. He and his brother grinned at each other.
Fishing, he thought as he fought with the line. He understood fishing. Trying to figure anything else out only led to madness.
*
Two days later, Ellie stared in astonishment as a little pink cross appeared in the screen of the testing stick.
“Oh, my,” she whispered. No wonder she’d been so ridiculously emotional lately. Was it any surprise that she’d been behaving like a nutcase, drowning herself in work until she couldn’t see straight? She’d been a maniac for weeks now. And no wonder.
“I’m pregnant!” she exclaimed. She rose from the chair and twirled around her kitchen. She could feel her heart thumping wildly in her chest. “Wait ’til I tell Aidan. He’s going to be so…”
She stopped, inhaled and exhaled a few times to catch her breath, and wondered. Aidan was going to be…what? Thrilled? Blissful? Indifferent?
“Thrilled, definitely,” she said firmly, and danced around again. But her steps faltered immediately. She was going to be a mother, so now wasn’t the time to dwell on foolish dreams of a family that included Aidan. Yes, he had insisted on supporting her and the baby. He’d written it into the contract. But that didn’t mean he would be falling in love, moving in and starting a life together.
But that wasn’t fair, she told herself. Of course Aidan would be thrilled about the baby. He was a good man and he cared about her a lot, she knew he did. He just didn’t love her.
Or maybe he did love her, as Logan seemed to have indicated the night he came to her house. He seemed to believe that Aidan simply wasn’t willing or able to say the words or act on his feelings. And that was fine, she thought resolutely, trying to convince herself of the lie.
“So much for telling the truth,” she muttered, then quickly shook away the words. This wasn’t the time to be thinking unhappy thoughts. She was pregnant and happy about it. This is what she’d wanted for so long; a man had never been a part of the equation.
But oh, now she wanted a man to be a part of her life. One man in particular. She couldn’t imagine living without Aidan’s warm arms around her and his ruggedly beautiful body snuggled up to hers. The thought of his skin rubbing up against hers, his amazing hands, and mouth and… Hmm.
There was a time when Ellie would’ve been embarrassed by her sexy thoughts, but not anymore. She had discovered the sensual side of herself, thanks to Aidan. And she wasn’t ready to deny that part of her life, even with a child on the way. In fact, she was anxious to explore that side of herself even more now, and she wanted to do it with Aidan.
She wrapped her arms around her stomach and said a little prayer of thanks and hope that she and the little life growing inside her would be healthy and together they would make a happy little family some day soon.
But more than anything else, she hoped that Aidan would open his eyes and realize that this was right where he belonged.
With resolve, she left her house and crossed the coco palm grove to find Aidan and share the news. As she rounded the terrace, she saw Aidan walking toward a table of guests. Her heart gave a little jolt at the sight of him looking so handsome in a crisp white shirt tucked into beige linen trousers. So simple, yet so swoon-worthy, she thought with a smile.
She raised her arm to wave at him, but just then, one of the women jumped up from the table and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her curvaceous bikini-clad bottom barely covered her butt as she wiggled against him.
Ellie could hear the woman’s shrieks of excitement all the way across the expansive terrace.
“Squeee! Aidan! Squeee!”
Those probably weren’t her exact words, but it was something along those lines. The three women seated at the table chattered loud enough for Ellie to hear that the woman hugging Aidan had been here before and had been telling them about the hot guy who owned the resort.
Well, she was right about that. He was hot.
Ellie’s vision blurred. Had Squeee Woman been with Aidan before? Had she been one of his bikini babes?
Without another clear thought, Ellie spun around and headed back to her cottage.
She felt faintly nauseated and it had nothing to do with being pregnant. No, this feeling had everything to do with her being dumb enough to fall in love with a man who had only been trying to finagle a way to keep her working on the island and give her child two caring parents instead of just one. To accomplish that, he had offered her a baby and the partnership she had always wanted.
As she walked through the palm grove, she conceded that she should be grateful. After all, Aidan had lived up to his part of their bargain. She couldn’t fault him for that. Ellie had the partnership she had always wanted, and more importantly, she would soon have the baby she’d always dreamed of. Their bargain had been met. Now Aidan could return to his carefree, commitment-free lifestyle.
The only question in Ellie’s mind now was, how could she continue to live here and work with Aidan, knowing she was in love with him and knowing he didn’t love her back?
She had really thought she could do it, but just now, seeing that woman throw herself at Aidan, had changed her mind in an instant. She simply couldn’t imagine herself caring for a newborn baby while Aidan went back to flirting with the bikini babes. That woman snuggling up to him just now had brought that painful fact into clear focus.
But that didn’t mean she would run off like a coward with her tail between her legs. Ellie wasn’t that person. There was no way she would quit her beloved job. She had signed a partnership contract. She was a full junior partner in Sutherland Corporation. She was a damned fine businesswoman and she would never walk away from that. And she refused to give up her wonderful life and all her good friends on the island. She loved it here. So no, leaving was absolutely not an option.
Besides, Ellie would never deny her child a fulfilling relationship with its father, even if Aidan refused to have anything to do with the baby—which he wouldn’t do, she hastened to add. He wasn’t that kind of man. Even though he had vowed never to get married, he was too good a person to turn his back on any child he’d fathered.
So she was in a quandary. There was no question about whether she would stay on the island or not. She was staying. But she could no longer live here at the resort, not with Aidan so close yet so unavailable. And that was another painful realization, because she loved her little cottage on the resort grounds. She wondered absently if she would be able to find a small house on the south shore. Or maybe something closer to town. It was only a short drive away.
“Oh, God.” It was all too confusing to sort out right away. And it was downright heartbreaking, if she was being honest.
What she needed to do right now was go somewhere, get away and think. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere off the island so she wouldn’t be tempted to run to Aidan and beg him to take her in his arms, touch her, love her. Which she would never do, for goodness sake.
Don’t even think about doing something so beyond idiotic, she scolded herself. She would never try and cling to a man who didn’t love her. That was exactly what her mother had done and look where it had gotten her. Ellie would never do to her own child what her mother had done to Ellie and Brenna.
With resolve, she ran into her house and pulled her overnight bag down from the closet. She tossed several casual outfits into it, added some underwear and toiletries, a few books and a pair of pajamas. She zipped the bag shut and went out to the kitchen to make four quick phone calls.
After that, she sent Aidan a quick text message to let him know she had to leave the island for a few days. An emergency, she said. But this time, she would be gone before he could do anything about it.
She grabbed her bag and locked up her house, then headed for the hotel. She detoured through the kitchen to avoid seeing Aidan with his guests on the terrace. Serena stood at a counter writing notes, but looked up from her clipboard to greet her. “Hey, you. Don’t forget girls’ night next Thursday.”
“I won’t,” Ellie assured her. As she crossed the lobby, the assistant concierge said hello and two of the bartenders shouted her name. She smiled and waved to all of them but kept walking toward the hotel entry to meet the limo driver she’d called.
She called out a greeting to Marianne as they passed each other. That’s when Ellie slowed her pace a little as she realized that here was one more thing to cheer about. Ellie was no longer the overachieving, anchorless girl she’d been as a teenager. She had a home here on Alleria, and she had a life, and friends, and she was a normal, healthy woman with a heart filled to the brim with love to share with the right man. And she deserved that man to love her back equally. And soon she would have a baby, and her child deserved all of those things, too.
And she was no longer willing to settle for less.
“Ellie!”
Ellie turned and saw Grace jogging toward her, just as her limousine pulled up.
“Hi, I saw you from the lobby and I…” Grace noticed her suitcase. “Are you going somewhere?”
The driver stepped out of the car and took her bag.
“I’m going to visit my sister for a couple of days.”
Grace gave her a hug. “I’ll miss you.”
Ellie felt her throat close up.
Grace frowned. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes. No. Yes. Oh, God.” Ellie burst into tears.
“Oh, honey.” Grace pulled her into her arms and hugged her. “What did Aidan do to hurt you?”
“Aidan? No. Nothing. He’s happy. I’m fine.” Ellie hiccupped and quickly dried her tears. “This is silly,” she muttered and straightened her shoulders in an attempt to be an adult about things. “Good heavens, I’ll only be gone for a few days, but saying goodbye always chokes me up a little. Like weddings. Pay no attention to me.”
“They do that to me, too,” Grace said, nodding in sympathy.
Ellie knew she hadn’t tricked Grace, but her friend was sweet to give her a pass.
“Please call me if you want to talk,” Grace added. “And hurry back. You know everyone here loves you, Ellie.”
“I do.” She sniffed, in danger of spilling more tears but determined not to. “Thank you, Grace. I’m so lucky to have you for my friend.”
“I’m the lucky one, Ellie. I need all the friends I can get.” She squeezed Ellie’s arm. “And so does Aidan. Believe me, he needs you more than you’ll ever know.”
“We’ll see,” she said, and pasted a cheery smile on her face. She had a feeling she looked demented, but smiling was the only thing she could think to do to stop the onslaught of more wretched tears. “I’d better go now. I have to make my plane.”
“Bye, Ellie,” Grace said softly. “See you soon.”
*
“What do you mean, she’s gone? Where the hell is she?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Sutherland,” Ellie’s efficient secretary said. “All she said was that she had to leave the island for a few days.”
Aidan stormed out of Ellie’s office suite and returned to his own. Where the hell had she disappeared to? What “emergency” did she have to run off to?
He’d seen her dashing away from the terrace over an hour ago and would’ve gone after her, but he’d been waylaid by some returning guests who’d insisted on talking his ear off.
Not that he would ever complain about the resort’s guests since they provided a portion of the hefty income that kept Sutherland Corporation in business. But frankly, he’d had his fill of all those overly made-up, bikini-clad socialites whose only job was to spend money jetting from one destination point to the next, according to the season.
And another thing. He didn’t understand any woman who piled on makeup and perfume just to sit and sweat by a pool in the tropics, but that was a question for another day.
He knew Ellie had seen him on the terrace, but she hadn’t stopped and waited for him. He’d figured she was in a hurry to get somewhere and he would find her later. The minute he’d seen her on the terrace, he’d concocted a plan to whisk her away to the rain forest for a sultry afternoon of lovemaking under the waterfall. He missed having her in his arms.
But when he’d gotten back to his office, he’d found her text message saying she was leaving the island. That’s what he got for forgetting his phone in the office. That was another thing he blamed entirely on Ellie. He’d been so discombobulated by her behavior lately that he was forgetting to tie his own shoelaces. Yesterday, he’d almost missed their weekly conference call with the New York investors. Logan had been forced to send out a search party for him.
“Not important right now,” he muttered. He needed to figure out where Ellie had gone and go after her. He tried calling her cell phone, but she didn’t answer. Where in hell had she gone?
“I hope you’re happy.”
He turned and saw Grace standing at his doorway. “Why? What do you know?”
“I just know that Ellie is the best thing that ever happened to you and you’re going to lose her.”
“No, I’m not,” he said a bit desperately. “You know where she’s gone. Tell me so I can go after her.”
“Why?”
Aidan stared at her, wondering if Grace was losing her grip on reality.
“What do you mean, why? Because I need her here, that’s why.”
“Yes, but why do you need her?” Grace folded her arms over her chest, tipped her head to one side and narrowed her gaze on him. “Did she forget to sign an important contract? Did she neglect to make a phone call to a new client?”
Logan walked up and stood behind Grace. Aidan glared at his brother, but Logan just smiled and wrapped his arm around Grace.
“I don’t have time for this,” Aidan said. He checked his phone for the tenth time in two minutes, but there were no new messages from Ellie.
With an abrupt huff of frustration, Grace stomped her foot. “Aidan, why do you want to go after Ellie?”
“Yeah, bro,” Logan drawled. “There’s nothing too pressing going on right now. Let her take a few days off.”
“No. I need her here.”
“Why?” Logan asked.
He needed her. Wasn’t that enough? “Okay, both of you, get out.”
Grace shook her head. “You’re such a knucklehead.”
Aidan raised an eyebrow at that, then glanced at his brother. “Does she call you names like that?”
“Not so much anymore,” he said.
“Great. So it’s just me.”
Logan walked over to the bar and poured two shots of scotch. He handed one to Aidan, who scowled, but took the glass and downed it.
“Thanks, I needed that,” Aidan said. “Now you can go.”
“I don’t think so,” Grace said.
“Nope, we’re just getting started.” Logan sat down in the visitor’s chair and pulled Grace onto his lap.
“This should be good,” Aidan muttered, and had no choice but to sit back down at his desk.
“I don’t care if you’re too stupid to admit you’re in love with the woman,” Logan said. “What I do care about is that we might’ve just lost the best business partner we’ll ever have because you’re too boneheaded to admit it.”
“Something happened to make Ellie leave,” Grace said. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. I was on my way to take her up to the lagoon for the day.”
“Oh, that’s so romantic,” Grace said, and smiled at Logan. But then she turned and frowned at Aidan. “So why did she run off?”
Aidan thought about seeing Ellie across the terrace. She’d looked right at him, then turned and left. Why? Then it hit him.
“Damn it,” he muttered. “There were some guests flirting with me. It didn’t mean anything, but that’s the moment Ellie…”
“But Ellie’s not the jealous type,” Logan said. “It must’ve been something you said.”
“She’s not the jealous type, but she does have a gentle heart,” Grace said. “And she’s pretty certain you’re not willing to give her yours. Seeing you with those women might’ve brought that hard lesson home to her.”
Aidan brushed his hand through his hair in frustration. Grace’s words made sense, even if he hated hearing them.
“Why are you keeping Ellie at arm’s length?” Logan asked quietly. “Why won’t you just admit that you love her as much as she loves you? You can trust her, Aidan. She won’t hurt you.”
Aidan sneered at his brother. “Look who’s Mr. Relationship Expert.”
Logan laughed. “Turnabout is fair play, dude. Remember a while back when you played the expert?”
Aidan nodded. “Yeah, back when you played the idiot.”
Logan chuckled. Gazing at his wife, he stroked her hair. “Yeah. That was me.”
Unable to watch the two lovebirds any longer, Aidan got up and poured himself another shot of scotch. He stared at the glass, then glanced out the window at the incredible view of palm trees swaying along the white sand beach with the azure waters of Alleria Bay in the distance. It was one more symbol of what they’d strived to accomplish throughout their lives. This piece of land should’ve meant everything to him. But right now, it didn’t mean much because Ellie wasn’t here with him. Was that the real reason why he’d tried to keep her on the island in the first place? Damn. It had nothing to do with keeping the business going. It had to do with keeping Ellie near him. Everything was better when she was by his side. In business, in pleasure, on the island, flying off to New York. Everything worked when Ellie was with him.
God, she’d only been gone an hour or so and he missed her. Where was she? He needed her here. On the island. With him. This island, this symbol of accomplishment, meant nothing if he couldn’t share it with the one person he’d grown to love more than anything else in the world.
“So what’s your plan, man?” Logan asked him.
Aidan gritted his teeth, knowing there was only one thing to do. He drained the shot glass and slammed it down on the counter, then turned and faced his brother and Grace. “My plan is to grovel as much as it takes to get her back.”
“But why, Aidan?” Grace asked softly.
Aidan smiled as he realized that Ellie had asked him the same question that night he and Logan had pulled the Switch. He had rushed to her house to see her and had wanted to spend the night with her and all she had said was, Why?
He turned to his brother and Grace. “Because I love her.”
“Good answer,” Logan said. “Just might work.”
*
Ellie had just settled on the couch and was about ready to doze off when the doorbell rang. For a moment, her shoulders tightened at the thought of Aidan coming for her. But he didn’t even know where she was! It was just one more example of her crazy obsession with the man.
Besides, it was mid-morning in Atlanta, not Alleria. Aidan was a thousand miles away. Brenna had rushed out to the market while the kids were in preschool. Her husband, Brian, was at work. And Ellie was already tired, so she decided to ignore the doorbell.
When the doorbell rang again, Ellie grumbled. It was probably someone Brenna knew, so she really should answer the door. When it rang yet again, it was clear that the person wasn’t going to go away.
“Hold your horses,” she muttered as she stood and walked to the door. She pulled it open and blinked, not quite trusting her eyesight. Had she conjured him up by magic? Did he have to look so wonderful that he made her mouth water? She wanted him so badly, she could feel her knees weakening.
“Aidan.”
Without waiting for an invitation, he walked right into the house, shoved the door closed, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
She savored his presence, the brush of his clothing against hers, his scent, the taste of him on her lips, and wished the moment would last forever. But it couldn’t, of course.
“I know you’re in love with me, Ellie,” he said immediately after the kiss ended. “I’m taking you home.”
“I’m in love with you?” she said. “Is that all you came here to tell me? Go home, Aidan.”
“Don’t deny it,” he said. “You love me.”
She stomped away from him, then whipped around. “Why would I deny it? I’ve already told you I’m in love with you. It’s no big revelation. But if you think I’m going to drop everything and go back with you to Alleria, you’re wrong.”
“We need you, Ellie.”
“We?” she said, a little too loudly.
He sighed heavily. “All right. I need you. Okay? I can’t seem to do anything without you.”
“Oh, right, you need me,” she said in a withering tone. “You don’t look too happy about it.”
“I’m happy,” he said loudly.
“Just admit it, Aidan. You’ll say any outlandish thing you can think of to get me to come back to work.”
“I don’t care if you come back to work,” he retorted. “You can quit your job for all I care. I just want you to come back to me. I need you in my life.”
“But you have so many other women who want you.” Oh, no, she thought. Why did she say that? She sounded like a jealous harpy.
And he knew it. Which was why he was grinning broadly now. “I knew you saw me on the terrace. Why didn’t you rescue me from that horrible woman? She ambushed me.”
“Oh, please,” she muttered. “You poor baby.”
“It’s true,” he said, biting back a smile. “Besides, I was on my way to find you so we could sneak off to the waterfall and make love all afternoon.”
She almost sighed at the thought of them lazing away the day in the rain forest. She wanted him so much, it was killing her.
“But you ran away,” he said, brooding. “I couldn’t find you anywhere. Why?”
She wanted to tell him why, wanted to throw herself into his arms and beg him to love her. Instead, she asked, “What are you doing here, Aidan?”
He gazed at her musingly. “I was an idiot not to realize years ago how amazing you are. I’ve wanted you all this time.”
She blinked. “What? Why didn’t you say something?”
“Did you hear the part about my being an idiot?”
She blurted out a laugh. “It’s my favorite thing you’ve said so far.”
“It’s true, Ellie. I’ve been so stupid. It took your leaving to make me realize how much time I’ve lost, but I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He held her shoulders and gazed into her eyes. “I love you, Ellie. I love everything about you.”
“Y-you love me?”
“I do. I even love your slide presentations and your sensible pantsuits and the way you shove your pencil behind your ear when you’re concentrating on your notes.”
“Oh, good grief, Aidan,” she said, covering her face with both hands. “I sound like a schoolmarm.”
“I love schoolmarms,” he said, pulling her hands away and kissing them, one finger at a time. “And pantsuits.” After a moment, he met her gaze again. “But if it’s not too sexist, can I admit I prefer your little bikini most of all?”
“Of course you do,” she said drily.
“I cannot tell a lie.” He smiled, and one corner of his mouth curved even higher than the other, just as Ellie had explained to Logan. His grin widened and his eyes twinkled and she fell in love with him all over again.
“Oh, Aidan,” she whispered.
He smoothed her hair back from her face. “Please come home. I promise you’re the only bikini babe I’ve ever loved. Please, Ellie. I miss you in my bed, but most of all, I miss you in my life.”
She took a breath and let it out. “I miss you, too.”
“Come home, then,” he said, squeezing her hands in a sensual plea. “Come home and start a family with me. We can tear up the custody agreement because I want a big family with lots of babies. I promise they’ll always know how much I love them and their beautiful mother. Please come back to the island, back to our home. Marry me and love me always, Ellie.”
How could she say anything but yes? “I love you so much, Aidan. Of course I’ll come home with you and marry you.”
“Thank you,” he whispered. He kissed her again and she could feel the promise in his touch.
When he opened his eyes and gazed at her again, she smiled shyly. “I’m glad to hear you say you want babies, because I’m pregnant, Aidan.”
His eyes widened and he gazed down at her. “Oh, my God. Is it true?”
She took his hand and pressed it lightly against her stomach. “Do you mind?”
“Mind?” he said, and then laughed. “No. I think I’m speechless. But very, very happy.” And he kissed her again.
Ellie couldn’t believe her heart could be so filled with love without bursting.
When she opened her eyes, Aidan was staring intently at her. “I can’t wait to get home,” he murmured. “I want to make love with you all night long. And I still intend to take a day very soon and go up to the waterfall where I plan to explore every beautiful inch of you.”
Ellie shivered with need. That tingling feeling she always felt around him was back and she couldn’t wait to show him how much she loved him. Every day for the rest of their lives together. With a smile, she took hold of his hand. “Take me home, Aidan. Take me back to Alleria where we both belong.”