Two and a half hours later, as they stepped onto the moving walkway that led through the acrylic tunnel at the aquarium in Gatlinburg, they were immediately surrounded by thousands of species of aquatic creatures. “This is wonderful, Luke,” Haley declared, marveling at the activity surrounding them. “It’s like being underwater.”
“You find this interesting, do you?”
“Absolutely.” She smiled at a couple of orange and white striped fish gliding effortlessly through the water. “Aren’t they sweet?”
Luke snorted. “I’ve never associated that word with fish.” He smiled suddenly. “Let me guess, you’re thinking of the cartoon movie that came out several years ago about a lost clown fish.”
“You know about that?” she asked, somewhat surprised. She wouldn’t have thought he’d have known anything about a children’s movie.
Nodding, he shrugged. “Arielle insisted that Jake and I had to take her to see it when it first came out. It was part of her birthday present and we couldn’t get out of it.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“I suppose it was a good kid movie,” he commented, gazing at a shark lazily gliding toward them. “But I normally prefer psychological thrillers or action/adven-ture movies.”
“Not the best for a growing child.” She paused, then glancing at him from the corner of her eye to make sure she had his attention, she went on. “You do realize that you’ll be taking in a lot of cartoon films once the baby gets old enough to enjoy them.”
He frowned and it was obvious that he hadn’t thought past grooming his heir to take over his business holdings once the child was old enough. “Why don’t I leave that part of the parenting to you?” he finally suggested.
“Why don’t we do that part together?” she shot back. “Don’t you think a child would like to go a few places and do a few things with both parents at the same time? It would be nice for our child to know her parents are on good terms. And you do want the baby to grow up to be happy and well-adjusted, don’t you?”
“Of course, but I hadn’t really given activities and the like a lot of thought.” He was silent for a moment as if digesting what she’d said. “But it probably would be a good idea for us to do things together with him.”
Satisfied that she had Luke contemplating the emotional needs of a growing child, she decided to give him one more thing to think about. “You know that the baby could turn out to be a girl.”
He looked thoughtful. “Something else I hadn’t considered. I just assumed my heir would be a son.”
“Would it make a difference if we had a daughter?” she asked, needing to know how he would react if she had a girl.
“No. I’ve met several women with excellent business instincts. You included.” As they stepped off the moving walkway, he turned to face her and the expression on his face caused heat to shimmer over every inch of her. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother, Haley, and not just for the traits I want passed on to our child.”
“You really think so?”
He nodded. “Now, what do you say we head back to the lodge? I think it’s time we stopped talking about the baby and get started making one.”
Several hours later, standing on the balcony staring out at the night sky, Luke watched a shooting star disappear behind Mount LeConte as he thought about the day’s events. He’d had one of the most fascinating, and at the same time, frustrating afternoons of his life. And Haley was completely responsible.
On one hand, he’d been intrigued by the things he’d learned about her. He now knew that her favorite color was lavender, that she couldn’t resist anything chocolate and that she had a weakness for babies, whether they were human, animal or fish.
He smiled at the thought of her reaction to the mother black bear and two chubby little cubs they’d observed when they stopped at Chimney Rock. Her excitement and joy at seeing the baby animals at play had sparkled in her turquoise eyes and been reflected in her soft laughter. And he couldn’t get over how happy he’d been to share the moment with her. She was going to be a wonderful mother and he was convinced now more than ever that he’d made the right choice for the mother of his heir.
But on the other hand, the day had been sheer hell. He’d noticed things about her that he’d never paid attention to before—how sweet and feminine her voice sounded, how pretty she was when she smiled and how graceful and sensual every move of her body was when they got out of the car at the scenic overlook and when they’d strolled through the aquarium.
He’d spent every minute they were together in a perpetual state of arousal. All he’d been able to think about was getting back to the lodge, taking their clothes off and making love to her the entire night.
And that was what really had him perplexed. After making love to her, he’d started thinking less about having sex for the purpose of making her pregnant and more about giving her immeasurable pleasure. In fact, she’d been the one to remind him about having the baby and how they should share the responsibility of raising the child.
“Mrs. Beck and I finished cleaning up the kitchen,” Haley said, walking out onto the deck. “She said to tell you she’s leaving and will be back tomorrow morning in time to prepare breakfast.”
At the sound of her voice, Luke glanced over his shoulder. She looked amazingly beautiful in her yellow blouse and khaki slacks, but he liked the way she’d looked in his shirt a hell of a lot better. Or better yet, out of it.
The thought caused his body to tighten predictably and he forced himself to remember what she’d just said. “You didn’t have to help Mrs. Beck. That’s what I pay the woman for.”
“I’m used to it,” she advised, walking over to stand next to him. “Even before I moved out on my own, I sometimes helped my father’s housekeeper with the cooking and cleaning.”
It was her first mention of anything about her family. “I take it your folks are fairly well off?”
Earlier in the day, he wondered why she deflected the sibling talk. She had at least met his siblings the few times they’d stopped by his office and knew that after their mother’s death, he and Jake had raised their younger sister. But he knew absolutely nothing about her family, beyond her telling him that she was an only child.
“My father wasn’t overly wealthy, but he did all right,” she finally stated, shrugging.
“And your mother?”
“Was completely out of the picture.” He watched her cross her arms beneath her breasts and fix her gaze on the mountains.
Haley’s defensive body language and the sadness he detected in her voice surprised him. “We don’t have to talk about it, sweetheart,” he ventured, reaching for her.
When he took her into his arms and held her close, Luke wondered what had happened to her mother. But remembering the look on her pretty face when she’d asked him at the aquarium if it would matter if his heir was a girl made him wonder about the relationship she shared with her father, as well. But his curiosity could wait. She clearly didn’t want to discuss any of that now.
He could respect that. The anger and resentment caused by an absentee parent was certainly familiar ground for him. Besides, he had no intention of spoiling what had, up until that moment, been a damned good day.
“Why don’t we get in the hot tub and relax for a while before we go to bed for the night?” he asked, nuzzling her soft curls.
“I can’t.” She sounded less than certain as she brought her arms up to his shoulders. “I didn’t bring my swimsuit.”
Nibbling on her earlobe, he smiled when he felt a tremor course through her. “We don’t have to wear suits. In fact, I think it would be a lot more fun to