Her Unforgettable Royal Lover
Page 18
“Jill?”
She glanced up at her sister. “Yes?”
A teasing smile spread across Paige’s lips. “You aren’t keeping secrets, are you?”
Jill knew Paige had given her the perfect opportunity to come clean about her affair with Aidan, but she wasn’t ready. Even after a year, the pain was still raw. And the last thing Jillian needed was for Paige to start probing for more information.
“You know the reason I don’t have a man in my life is because of time. My focus has been on becoming a doctor and nothing else.” Paige didn’t have to know that a few years ago Aidan had wiggled his way past that focus without much effort. That had been a mistake that cost her.
“That’s why I think you should go on that cruise without me,” Paige said. “You’ve worked hard and need to rest and enjoy yourself for a change. Once you begin your residency you’ll have even less time for yourself—or anything else.”
“That’s true,” Jillian said. “But—”
“No buts, Jillian.”
Jillian knew that tone. She also knew that whenever Paige called her by her full name she meant business. “If I were to go on that cruise alone I’d be bored stiff. You’re talking about two weeks.”
Paige gave her a pointed look. “I’m talking about two weeks that I believe you need. And just think of all the fabulous places you’ll get to see—Barcelona, France, Rome, Greece and Turkey.” Now it was Paige who reached out to take hold of Jillian’s hand. “Look, Jill, there is something going on with you, I can feel it. Whatever it is, it’s tearing you apart. I picked up on it months ago, the last time I came to visit you.”
A wry smile touched Paige’s lips when she added, “Perhaps you are keeping secrets. Maybe there’s some doctor in medical school that caught your eye and you’re not ready to tell me about him. One who has blown your mind and you don’t know how to handle the intensity of such a relationship. If that’s the case, I understand. All of us at some time or another have issues we prefer to deal with alone. That’s why I believe two weeks on the open seas will be good for you.”
Jillian drew in a deep breath. Paige didn’t know how close she was to the truth. Her problem did center on some doctor, but not one attending medical school with her.
At that moment the waitress returned with their meal, and Jillian appreciated the interruption. She knew Paige would not be happy until Jillian agreed to go on the cruise. She’d heard what Paige had said—Paige knew something was bothering Jillian. It would only be a matter of time before Pam and Nadia knew as well, if they didn’t already. Besides, Jillian had already taken those two weeks off. If she didn’t go on the cruise, the family would expect her to come home and spend that time with them. She couldn’t do that. What if Aidan came home unexpectedly while she was there? He was the last person she wanted to see.
“Jill?”
Jillian drew in another deep breath and met Paige’s gaze. “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll go cruising alone. Hopefully, I’ll enjoy myself.”
Paige smiled. “You will. There will be plenty for you to do and on those days when you feel like doing nothing, you can do that, too. Everybody needs to give their mind a rest once in a while.”
Jillian nodded. Her mind definitely needed a rest. She would be the first to admit that she had missed Aidan—the steamy hot text messages, the emails that made her adrenaline surge and the late-night phone calls that sent heat sizzling through her entire body.
But that had been before she’d learned the truth. Now all she wanted to do was get over him.
She sighed deeply while thinking that Paige was right. Jillian needed that cruise and the time away it would give her. She would go on the cruise alone.
* * *
Dr. Aidan Westmoreland entered his apartment and removed his lab coat. After running a frustrated hand down his face, he glanced at his watch. He’d hoped he would have heard something by now. What if...
The ringing of his cell phone made him pause on his way to the kitchen. It was the call he’d been waiting for. “Paige?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Is she still going?” he asked, not wasting time with chitchat.
There was a slight pause on the other end and in that short space of time knots formed in his stomach. “Yes, she’s still going on the cruise, Aidan.”
He released the breath he’d been holding as Paige continued, “Jill still has no idea I’m aware that the two of you had an affair.”
Aidan hadn’t known Paige knew the truth, either, until she’d paid him a surprise visit last month. According to her, she’d figured things out the year Jillian had entered medical school. She’d become suspicious when he’d come home for his cousin Riley’s wedding and she’d overheard him call Jillian Jilly in an intimate tone. Paige had been concerned this past year when she’d noticed Jillian seemed troubled by something that she wouldn’t share with Paige.
Paige had talked to Ivy, Jillian’s best friend, who’d also been concerned about Jillian. Ivy had shared everything about the situation with Paige. That prompted Paige to fly to Charlotte and confront him. Until then, he’d been clueless as to the real reason behind his and Jillian’s breakup.
When Paige had told him of the cruise she and Jillian had planned and had suggested an idea for getting Jillian on the cruise alone, he’d readily embraced the plan.
I’ve done my part and the rest is up to you, Aidan. I hope you can convince Jill of the truth.
Moments later he ended the call and continued to the kitchen where he grabbed a beer. Popping the top, he leaned against the counter and took a huge gulp. Two weeks on the open seas with Jillian would be interesting. But he intended to make it more than just interesting. He aimed to make it productive.
A determined smile spread across his lips. By the time the cruise ended there would be no doubt in Jillian’s mind that he was the only man for her.
Moments later, he tossed the empty can in the recycle bin before heading for the shower. As he undressed, he couldn’t help but recall how his secret affair with Jillian had begun nearly four years ago....
Copyright © 2014 by Brenda Streater Jackson
ISBN-13: 9781460343623
Her Unforgettable Royal Lover
Copyright © 2014 by Merline Lovelace
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