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Rae would drop over for a piece of honey-soaked baklava, or one of the sugar-coated kourabiedes Effie baked for Christmas, and Effie would talk. Effie always had something to say, usually anecdotes about her childhood in Greece, and Rae would sit and listen, feeling wonderfully safe and warm.
Yes, those afternoons she had felt happy.
But when Rae was sixteen, Effie had decided to move back to Greece. Her house was sold to a family with three young children; a couple of times the mother asked Rae to babysit, but she always claimed to have too much homework.
“Ready to head home?” Aidan asked.
She nodded, then sighed and untangled her bulk from the picnic bench. Once she was standing, she held out a hand to Jennifer’s aunt.
“It was really interesting talking to you, Annie.”
Annie took hold of her hand as if she didn’t intend to let go. “I have more stories to tell you. And cream for your belly. You come back and see me soon.”
“I will,” Rae promised. To her surprise, she really wanted to.
AT TWO IN THE MORNING, Rae woke up. She needed to pee. This was getting old, not sleeping through the night.
And the floor was cold. Where were her slippers? Her housecoat was on the chair where she’d left it, but the slippers were missing in action.
Rae opened her door and headed down the hall. A night-light had been plugged into one of the wall sockets, probably for Autumn’s benefit, but Rae was grateful for it, too.
From the far end of the hall, a line of light glowed beneath the door to Aidan’s room.
Why was he up at this hour?
Probably he couldn’t fall asleep. Rae could understand. When she’d found out she was pregnant, she hadn’t slept at all for several nights. It wasn’t her fault that Aidan had discovered the news so late, and Rae refused to feel guilty about it. If Aidan hadn’t deliberately isolated himself from her, he would have known.
She slipped into the bathroom, took care of business, then headed back to her room. She’d almost made it, too, when Aidan’s door opened.
He was still wearing the jeans and shirt he’d had on earlier in the evening.
“Having trouble sleeping?” he asked her.
“That last glass of water was a big mistake.” She tightened the sash on her bathrobe. Which was another mistake, since she only ended up emphasizing the roundness of her stomach. She saw Aidan’s gaze go there. Linger there.
Hey, buddy. I have a face.
“What about you?” she asked, grudgingly. “Need a sleeping pill?” She couldn’t use them in her condition, but she had them in the travel bag she always took on business trips.
“I’ll pass. One sleepless night won’t kill me.”
Despite her determination to stay tough, she felt a twinge of sympathy for him. “You’ve had a bit of a shock.”
“I’ll say.”
She waited for him to upbraid her again, for not sharing the news sooner. And if he even tried, she was more than prepared to fight back.
But in his eyes she saw more resignation than outrage.
“So,” she said. “Will you be leaving in the morning?” On the drive home he’d made it clear that he wouldn’t be staying any longer than necessary.
“That’s what I’ve been thinking about.”
He leaned a hand on the door frame and she tried not to notice how good he looked. He skied to stay in shape—skied and mountain biked. Clearly his regimen worked, because he had not gained an ounce since their night together in Philadelphia.
It wasn’t fair. If babies couldn’t be produced simply with test tubes and incubators, couldn’t the process at least require the man to gain weight, too?
“So,” she prodded. “The results of all this thinking are…?”
“For eight months you’ve been dealing with this—” he cleared his throat “—this pregnancy, on your own.”
“True.”
“It’s time I did my share.”
“Great.” She cupped her hands around her belly. “I’ll just slip this off and hand it over.”
His grin was the first sign she’d been given that he still had a sense of humor.
“I’ll bet you wish you could.”
“You have no idea.”
He realized she’d been leaning against the wall. “I’m sorry. I’m keeping you up, and you’re obviously exhausted.”
But she wanted to hear what he had to say. How he was planning to start shouldering his share of the load. “It’s okay. I’m going to have to pee in another hour, anyway. It’s hardly worth going back to bed.”
He didn’t buy it. “Come on, Rae.” He opened her bedroom door and waited at the doorway until she’d settled back into bed.
“Can I get you anything?”
“Yeah, a pedicure and a box of bonbons.”
He didn’t laugh as she’d expected him to.
“Maybe tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow you’ll be gone.”
“Is that what you want?”
The man was infuriating. It was too late for mind games. “I told you there was plenty of room in this house for two. You’re the one who decided you didn’t want to stay.”
There’d been a split second when she’d first seen him in the kitchen, when she’d had a crazy thought. He’s come for me, her foolish self had cheered. He’s finally realized how much he loves me, and he’s come to get me and take me home.
It hurt to admit to herself just how pathetic she could be. Her only consolation was that Aidan didn’t know about this weakness of hers. Her weakness for him.
And that was what really made her crazy. Even now that she knew he was the sort of man who would sleep with an employee, then move her like a pawn to a different city, she was still deeply affected by him.
She hated that.
Thank God he was leaving.
“So where are you going?” she asked again.
“I’ve decided I’d like to stay. If that’s still okay with you.”
Why the about-face? She tried to read the answer in his eyes, but it was too late and she was too tired. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s not that complicated. I’d like to stay here with you until the baby’s born.”
Rae’s stomach dropped at the word baby. “Aidan, I’ve already told you that you don’t have to worry about that. It’s nothing to do with you.”
“You’re wrong. This baby definitely has something to do with me. And for the next few weeks, so do you.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“GO TO HELL, AIDAN. I didn’t need you for the first eight months of this pregnancy and I don’t need you now.”
Aidan took Rae’s insult without comment.
“If I were you,” she continued, “I’d catch a flight to Hawaii and enjoy myself. Have yourself a real vacation.”
“Oh, really. You want me to sit on a beach and drink mai tais while you stay here and have our baby?”
“Don’t call it ‘ours.’ It isn’t ours, Aidan. It belongs to Julia and Neil Thompson. They’re the ones who’ll get to call this baby ‘ours.’”
Aidan reeled. “Julia and Neil Thompson?”
She nodded. “I arranged the adoption through an agency. I handpicked the parents myself, and they’re perfect. Julia’s a kindergarten teacher. She’s got to love kids, right? And Neil’s a social worker, so he’ll be one of those warm, sensitive types, too.”
“Warm and sensitive.”
Every time Rae stopped talking it seemed all Aidan could do was repeat the last few words she’d said.
“Snap out of it, Aidan. What’s the problem? I told you I was putting the baby up for adoption.”
“But…” Aidan blinked his eyes several times. “Do you have more information on these people?”
“Sure. The agency sent me reams of background information.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “You’re tired. You should get some sleep. But in the morning I’m going to want to read everything you’ve got.”
“But…”
He shut the door and she heard his footsteps as he walked away down the hall.
Oddly enough, Rae did fall asleep after that, and when she woke up the next morning, Aidan’s words were still in her head. This baby definitely has something to do to me. And for the next few weeks, so do you.
He’d made his decision out of guilt and responsibility. Rae was certain this was the case. And yet, she had to admit that she was glad, really, really glad, he’d decided to stay.
She wasn’t happy about feeling this way. In fact, she hated to think that the man still held this much power over her.
But there it was. When it came to Aidan Wythe, she was an absolute fool.
Of course, there was always the possibility that he’d rethought his position over the past couple of hours. For all she knew, he could have tossed his suitcase back in his car and taken the first ferry off the island this morning.
Rae dressed for her morning walk in shorts and T-shirt, then headed to the kitchen for breakfast. In the past, this was a meal she had always skipped, but since she’d found out she was pregnant, she’d become more disciplined.
The sight of Aidan standing by the stove stopped her short. “You’re still here?”
“I told you last night I was staying.”
“Yes. But before you slept with me, you promised I was going to be the head of the acquisitions department. Then, instead, you made me head of operations in Pittsburgh.” She perched on a bar stool. “I just thought you might have changed your mind again.”
Aidan gave her a dirty look, but instead of defending himself, he pointed at a frying pan on top of the gas range. Now she noticed a pitcher of beaten eggs, and bowls of diced peppers, mushrooms and ham on the side.
“Would you like an omelet?”
How could she say no?
When they were done eating, Aidan asked to see the information on the adoptive parents. Rae brought down the envelope from her bedroom, but Aidan didn’t even glance inside.
“What are you going to do now?” he asked.
“Walk to the beach.”
“Sounds good.”
“It does?”
“Yeah.” He shot her a challenging look. “Do you mind if I come with you?”
What was with him? He couldn’t want to be spending all this time with her. Yet, he seemed perfectly content as he donned his sunglasses and locked the front door on the way out.
There were no sidewalks, so they kept to the left-hand side of the road.
“Why did your mother choose this island for a vacation spot? Why not someplace in the U.S.?”
“She and Harrison’s mother were best friends. And the Kincaids have had a place here since the eighteen hundreds.”
“Is the house that old?”
“It’s been renovated several times, but I believe the Kincaids have always been faithful to the original architecture.”
Aidan filled her in on bits and pieces of Summer Island’s history. As they neared the beach, he shielded his eyes from the sun and focused on someone ahead of them. “That looks like Harrison’s sister. She has Autumn with her.”
It was early in the day and there weren’t many people on the beach, just a few mothers with young children. Rae had no trouble spotting the woman Aidan was talking about. Nessa was a petite, pretty woman with dark hair. She was tossing a Frisbee to a little girl who appeared to be around seven years old. The little girl had dark hair, too, but she was more than just pretty. Even at her young age, Rae could tell she was going to grow up to be exceptionally beautiful.
