LITMIR.BIZ

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weeks.”

      “Right. But there’s a holdup with the cement mixer company.”

      “Yes, I spoke to them,” Ellie said. “I think we’ve worked it out. I’ll keep you posted.”

      “Thanks, I appreciate you taking on that issue. Next agenda item?” Aidan asked.

      “Right. This one’s a little tricky.” She shook her hair back and took a deep breath. “I’m overdue for some time off and I’m sorry for the short notice, but I have to take three weeks off next month, from the second to the twenty-third.” She checked her tablet. “I’ve arranged coverage for all of my assignments so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

      Before Aidan could say a word, Ellie rushed on to the next item on her list. “Now this is good news, but I’ll need you to approve it. The hotel’s limousine service will upgrade their entire fleet six weeks from now. I’ve worked out a deal with a company over on St. Bart’s to buy the old cars, but we’ll need to ship them there by freighter. They’re willing to split the freight cost, but I’d rather we be the ones to arrange everything. There’s a new Danish shipping company based in Nassau that can do it, but I’ll have to let them know fairly soon if we’re interested in using them.”

      “Send me their info and I’ll get back to you.” He held up his finger to stop her from continuing. “But…let’s go back to that last item you mentioned.”

      “The cement mixer?” she asked, her eyes wide and curious.

      He didn’t believe that wide-eyed innocent act for a second. “No, Ellie. Your vacation. Three weeks?”

      “Yes, but don’t worry. I don’t leave until next month.”

      He grabbed his calendar and calculated the dates. “We’re practically at the end of this month. So next month starts next week. You want to leave a week from tomorrow?”

      “Yes. Something important just came up. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more notice, but it’s urgent that I go.”

      He frowned at the calendar. “A week from tomorrow?”

      “Yes, a week from tomorrow.” She said the words slowly, as though she was speaking to a recalcitrant kindergartner.

      “That’s really short notice.”

      “I know, Aidan. But I have an important appointment scheduled and the timing is crucial. I have to leave a week from tomorrow.”

      His eyes widened. “Is something wrong, Ellie? Are you sick?”

      “No!” she said at once. “No, I’m fine. But this can’t be put off.”

      “I’m glad it’s nothing health-related.” He flipped through the week-at-a-glance calendar. “But can’t we talk about this? I really need you on the job over the next month or so. You know I’m about to leave for a long weekend. And Logan won’t be back for two more weeks. The Erickson deal needs immediate attention, the Duke project needs supervision, and I’ve got a dozen new secretary applicants I was hoping you’d help me interview. I hate to be hard-nosed about this, but it’s really a bad time for you to be gone.”

      “No, it’s not. I’ve worked out the—”

      “Wait,” he said, ignoring her as he tapped the calendar page. “The cardboard-box convention is right in the middle of that time period. That’s your client. Those guys love you. You can’t desert them.”

      “I’m not. I’m leaving them in good hands. They love our sales staff.”

      “It’s not the same,” he said, grasping at excuses. Damn it, he was already without his secretary. How the hell could he keep this place running without Ellie, as well? “You know you have a knack with the conventioneers.” He peered at her. What was this sudden vacation all about? Was she planning to meet up with some man? Aidan wasn’t sure he liked the idea, not that he had any say in the matter. Of course, that had never stopped him from issuing an opinion. “What’s so important that you need to go next week?”

      She gazed back at him steadily. “It’s personal.”

      “You can tell me. We’re friends.”

      “You’re my boss.”

      “And your friend.”

      She smiled. “Trust me, Aidan. You don’t want to know.”

      He folded his hands together on his desk and smiled patiently. “Now that’s where you’re wrong. What can possibly be so important that you can only give one week’s notice and then go off and leave us for three long weeks? We need you here.”

      “I appreciate that, but I’m entitled to a vacation.”

      “Of course you are,” he said, wondering why he was being so inflexible about this. She was their best employee. Employee? Hell, she was practically a partner in the business. Of course she was entitled to take time off. He just didn’t want her to leave right now while things were in flux. It was bad enough he didn’t have a secretary. But to lose his right-hand man—er, woman—for three weeks? He didn’t want to think of the many things that could go wrong. “We have two major construction projects going, there are union issues, my brother is out of the country, I’m going to have to travel, as well. You know we depend on you to keep everything running smoothly.”

      “But—”

      “It’s not about whether you deserve the time off,” he rushed to add. “It’s just that, hell, you’re always so organized. You plan your vacation time a year in advance. What happened?”

      “Something came up,” she said primly.

      “Damn it, Ellie. What in the world is so important that you’d leave five hundred convention attendees in the lurch?” Not to mention me, he didn’t say aloud.

      She let go an exasperated sigh, then said, “Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She bounded out of her chair and paced back and forth in front of his desk. Suddenly she stopped and said in a rush, “I have an appointment with a fertility clinic in Atlanta. The timing is critical because everything depends on my ovulation cycle. Once I arrive in Atlanta, the clinic advised that I’ll need two days of complete rest to get over any jet lag my ovaries might suffer. Then it’ll take a week to go through their process, and that’s followed up with two weeks of, well, rest and waiting.”

      Aidan’s eyes widened. He shook his head. Had his ears plugged up suddenly? He couldn’t have heard what he thought he’d just heard. Ovaries? Good grief. Fertility?

      He glared at her. “What in the world are you talking about?”

      Wearing a serene smile now, Ellie sat back down in her chair. “I’m going to have a baby.”

      There. She had finally said it out loud.

      Ellie tried to appear calm, tried not to squirm in her chair as Aidan stared sharply at her. Well, it was his own darn fault for pushing the point, she thought. Honestly, she had tried to soft-peddle her vacation plans, tried to avoid explaining all the gory details, but she should’ve known Aidan Sutherland wouldn’t let things slide. He never let things slide.

      Yes, she usually planned her vacations a year ahead of time. Yes, she was highly organized, detail oriented, never impulsive, always in control. She didn’t do anything without preparing a spreadsheet first. But come on, once in a while a girl had to be spontaneous. That’s what she’d heard, anyway. Ellie was pretty sure she’d never been spontaneous in her life. Until now.

      She watched Aidan’s gaze narrow in on her. He turned his head slightly and leaned forward, almost as though he’d experienced a hearing loss. “Say that again?”

      Ellie sighed. She and Aidan had a fabulous working relationship. She thought of him as her best friend at work, even though he was her boss. And even though he was rugged and gregarious, athletic and tanned. And

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