It was an appealing thought. New York had been gray and cool all spring, and the thought of lying in a chaise lounge and taking a twelve-hour nap sounded like paradise.

“You didn’t really need me to come on the trip, did you?” Mandy was curious why he had chosen to take his superfluous secretary when he could have taken a girlfriend or a buddy. Or his mother, though she had a hard time picturing a maternal influence on Damien.

He shrugged. “Maybe not. But think of it as a reward for going two whole months working for me and never once shedding a tear.”

Mandy laughed. “I can’t picture you making anyone cry. That girl must have been overly sensitive.”

“I don’t scare you?” he asked, his lip curving up at the corner.

“Not at all.” You intrigue me. You stimulate me. You turn me on. “I’ve enjoyed this position.”

His eyes locked with hers, and suddenly her words sounded vaguely suggestive. She was acutely aware of how close they were, surrounded on three sides by seats and the window, and of how her breath caught. Her already tender and swollen breasts ached painfully, and that tight pit of longing swirled in her belly and rolled down between her legs until she wanted to twitch.

“I’m pleased with my decision as well.”

Then his finger slid up to his mouth, and he bit his fingernail, before yanking it out and looking at it in disgust. “I haven’t done that in…”

Damien shifted on the seat, whatever comfort and intimacy that had been brewing between them gone in an instant. His shoulders were stiff, expression guarded, words polite. “I suppose I should have asked you if there was a reason you didn’t want to take this trip. Like maybe a husband or a boyfriend that doesn’t want you gone.”

Mandy didn’t even try to stifle the snort that flew out of her mouth. “No, don’t have either one of those.”

And she was grateful for it. If Ben had stuck around and given his half-hearted support to their relationship and their child, it would have been nothing but a burden. The clean break was better, and this baby was hers and hers alone.

“Good.” Then he frowned. “I mean, that it wasn’t a problem for you to travel.”

She smiled and adjusted her blanket, so the whole front of her was covered. “Not a problem at all.”

“I didn’t think about what it would look like, though. There are rumors running around the office now, and I’m sorry.”

“Rumors?” She touched the swelling bubble of her stomach, panic rising up into her throat. “What kind of rumors?”

“Some people seem to think I invited you because we’re having an affair.”

Damien hadn’t meant to bring that up. Ever.