On the fifth day into the trip, she and Gates woke early, had breakfast and headed out. Instead of using the driver, they decided to take the tube to Waterloo and take a day trip out to Stonehenge. It was amazing how the countryside seemed to go on forever around these huge stones and how they were so strategically placed in the middle of nowhere. The man was gorgeous in the expensive tailored suits he wore, but she secretly loved how relaxed Gates looked in a simple pair of jeans and a b.u.t.ton down. Everything he wore fit his body perfectly, but his carefree relaxed att.i.tude on the days they spent together made him the most attractive to her. By the end of the day, they were walking hand in hand. Arriving back at the flat, Gates surprised Sloane and once she emerged from her shower, he had dinner delivered and set up with a table full of candles and flowers.

"Gates, this is beautiful." She took in the sight of the calla lilies, which he'd discovered were her favorite; and the smell of the vanilla scented candles as she sat in the chair he pulled out for her.

"You deserve something special." She'd pulled her ma.s.s of curls up and away from her face and her eyes sparkled.

"This entire trip has been special. Thank you."

Once they finished dinner, they retired to the den area to sit and talk. Soft music played in the background and for a second, Sloane sat with her eyes closed and listened to the strains of the music wafting through the air. Sighing, she opened her eyes to find him staring at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong. Actually, everything is right. This is perfect. You've thought of everything. This night was, well, this whole day was magical. You have to understand something."

"What's that?"

"I'm not used to this. Most guys don't go this far to impress me. I think my last date's idea of a romantic evening was warming up leftover pizza and turning on an old George Michael CD." Sloane giggled as Gates laughed at her admission.

"I'm sorry. You're serious aren't you?" She watched him desperately trying to recover from laughing at her.

"I'm serious. It's bad when a man just knows he's being romantic by turning on a song about a guy cheating on his girlfriend." Her thoughts momentarily drifted back to her date wanting to dance in the middle of his living room to Careless Whisper.

"I'm sure he thought it was a nice song to dance to at the time." Gates continued, struggling to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

"Stop laughing at me. It was horrible."

"I promise, I'm not laughing at you. I can't believe that. Not that anything is wrong with George Michael, but I think you're worth a h.e.l.luva lot more than a night of leftovers and 80's music." He pushed a stray curl from her face and she watched the edges of his mouth curve upwards.

"Thanks. I appreciate that. By the way, did I thank you for everything?" She'd arrived in London with nothing but her carry on, but once she opened the closet in her room; she found a whole new wardrobe he'd bought for her.

"Yeah, I think you did a couple of times today." Before he could say anything else, she moved to snuggle into the crook of his arm. "What're you thinking about?"

"About how lucky of a girl I am to be here in your arms."

Peering down into her upturned face, he lowered his head and kissed her softly. As he was about to pull back from the kiss, Sloane moved to face him and snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She could tell he was a little taken aback by her sudden movement.

"Ah, Sloane, we should probably...I don't want you to do something you really don't want to do," Gates stammered once their lips parted.

A little stunned by his abrupt stop to their make out session, Sloane wondered if maybe Gates didn't have the same feelings for her as she was starting to have for him. "Is something wrong? I mean, we've been spending time together for months and for some reason it seems like you don't want me. Maybe I'm getting mixed signals, but I thought you were attracted to me?" Pulling back from his embrace, she stared into his captivating eyes.

"Sloane, of course I'm attracted to you. Believe me, I'm finding it harder and harder to resist you, but I never wanted this...this relationship to be about s.e.x. I truly enjoy spending time with you and I never wanted you to think you owed me anything or that I was expecting anything from you. You're too special for that."

"So you are attracted to me?" She bit her lower lip, relieved she hadn't been getting the wrong message.

"Highly. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but there have been many nights when I left you and headed straight for a cold shower. Not that they work, but it's worth a shot." She reveled in the sincerity reflecting in his gaze.

"Hmmm, somehow I don't think you'll have to worry about that tonight." Pressing herself against him, she leaned in to kiss him again.

"Are you sure about this?" he whispered, pulling back briefly and she could feel his appreciative stare sweep across her face and seductively stop on her lips.

"Yes." Garnering his full attention, she could see her same wanton longing reflecting in his gaze and her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

Pressing his lips back to hers, he deepened the kiss and their tongues moved and twirled around each other's in a well-ch.o.r.eographed dance. Slipping his hands into her hair, Gates found the clasp on her barrette and loosened her hair so the curls could fall where they wanted.

"Beautiful." He breathed gently across her skin as he left a trail of soft hot kisses from her mouth to below her ear and down her neck. Standing up, he reached for her hands and pulled her to him, and as he continued to kiss her neck he guided her through the hallway to his bedroom.

She could feel his arms around her and she felt tiny in his strong embrace as they made their way further into the room. The moonlight streamed in through the arc of the window casting an eerily seductive cerulean hue over the wide expanse of the room. She exhaled slowly feeling his hands slip through the spaghetti straps of her dress, gently coaxing them off of her shoulders. The top of the dress slipped down and exposed her perky, yet ample b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His strong hands roamed over her body and her breath caught in her throat as she felt the palms of his hands softly graze her nipples.

She moaned his name, closing her eyes; thankful he was taking his time with her, but aching for him to touch her entire body. Watching her intently, Gates pushed her dress, that had gathered at her waist, over her hips and it pooled around her ankles. She stood in front of him in nothing but a black lace thong and stilettos. Her eyes popped open as his hot mouth closed over her nipple and she threw her head back in sheer delight, basking in the pleasure of his tongue swirling around the hardened bud. She fought the urge to dissolve onto the bed and gathered herself enough to push him away to unb.u.t.ton his shirt. Tugging it from his waistband, she pushed the material over his broad shoulders and leaned in to kiss his smooth chest.

"Sloane, you don't know how long I've wanted you." She could hear his deep voice rumble above her head. She made quick work of unzipping his slacks and pulled them, along with his boxer briefs, down his legs. He quickly finished undressing and she smiled when he sat on the bed and pulled her onto his lap to straddle him. "You are beautiful."

She purred in sheer satisfaction as the heat generating between their bodies intensified and she leaned in and kissed him. He gently rolled her over to lie on her back.

Her eyes stayed trained on him as he sweetly and smoothly looped his fingers through the thin material of her underwear, pulling it leisurely down her legs then kissed a hot trail up her thighs to her waist. He lingered for a moment at the crux of her pelvis, inciting a delirious giggle from her before moving up her body.

She was feverishly excited and very turned on from the tingling sensation his soft, warm lips left on her over exposed skin.

"I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you right now." He lapped at her ear and nuzzled her neck.

She could do nothing but moan at the intense pleasure she experienced as he ma.s.saged her legs. She felt him reach down to remove the stilettos she still wore and then he settled between her legs. "I want you, too."

Leering into her eyes, Gates pushed himself into her soft center, eliciting a low unrestrained moan from her.

Holding onto him for dear life, she dug her fingers into his broad shoulders as he continued to rock into her. She could feel every nerve ending in her body come alive as if switched on like a light. He was so gentle with her and she felt giddy from the feel of his soft lips on her neck. He continued his slow rhythmic motion and she begged for mercy feeling she wouldn't be able to take much more of his erotic torture. The smoldering heat produced between the two had become a full-fledged fire and she could feel her body shake underneath his as she reached her release. He soon followed suit.

"You okay?" Desperately trying to steady his breathing, he rolled over and pulled her into his arms, pushing her sweat-laced hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.

"I'm perfect." She nuzzled into the crook of his arm, closing her eyes.

"Perfect. You definitely are." Pulling her closer, they fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms. The following morning, Sloane awoke still snuggled into Gates' side. Her cheek rested on his smooth chest below his chin. She lazily ran her fingers across his skin as she thought of how wonderful it would be to possibly wake up every morning like this. After a few minutes, she lifted her head to meet his smoldering stare.

"Good morning, gorgeous." Gates said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Mmm, good morning." She continued to splay her fingers across his broad torso and admired the way her skin looked against his. "Can we stay like this forever?"

Laughing, he traced her jaw line with his finger. "Maybe not forever, but I think we can for at least a day."

"You mean it? You don't have anywhere to go today?"

"That's the beauty of being me. I can cancel or move meetings around my schedule rather than other people's schedules. Plus, I had already designated today as 'our day', so we can spend all our time right here in this bed if that's what you want to do."

"That, Mr. McCall, sounds like a wickedly wonderful idea." She laughed when his roaming hands discovered her ticklish sides. His tickle attack soon initiated the need for both of them to give in to indulging in round two of the previous night's activities.

"I guess Liyah is right, baby." Sloane pulled Brayden into her lap and kissed the top of his head. "I am afraid. But you do need to know your daddy. And he needs to know you." Managing to place the photos back in the box and maneuver the top from Brayden's plump little hands, she pushed it underneath the bed. Shaking her head, she got up, picked up Brayden and grabbed her car keys, the baby bag and Brayden's stroller deciding they both needed some fresh air and to figure out what their future held.

"Hey, could I talk to you?" Even after she and Brayden had finished their walk, Sloane still couldn't shake the things Liyah said to her. She'd thought of nothing else the rest of the weekend and now she found herself searching out her best friend for advice.

"Sure." Liyah replied, continuing to look at her computer screen. She finished typing the last sentence of her email before turning to look at Sloane who was now seated across from her. "What's up?"

"As much as it pains me to say this, maybe you weren't so off with what you said the other day. I don't want to fight with you about this, nor do I want us to keep going back and forth about it. But, maybe I do still have feelings for Gates." She mumbled, picking at the fabric on the arm of the chair.

"Um hmm, so you're admitting I was right?"

"Stop it, okay? It's hard enough for me to admit I have a problem." Sloane looked at Liyah's wily grin and laughed.

"Sloane, look, it's not that I want to be right. It would be so much easier for you not to be in love with Gates and to go on raising Brayden alone. But I gotta call a spade a spade. Gates McCall is it for you. He always has been and he always will be."

"I didn't say all of that, Liyah." Sloane propped her elbow on the arm of the chair and dropped her head into her hand.

"You didn't, but I did. You don't want to admit I know what I'm talking about, but hey, you'll come around. You'll see Gates has better intentions than you think and he'll be that knight in shining armor you want him to be."

"I don't need a knight in shining armor."

"Puhlease, you need someone to save you from yourself and Lord knows I can't always do it," Liyah laughed along with her friend.

"Seriously though, Liyah, what do I do? I can't keep denying I don't care about Gates. I do care. I just don't know what to do." She knew she'd been pushing her feelings for him down and they'd never really gone away.

"I know I kid around a lot with you about this and I've given you a hard time, but I truly do think you should tell him about Brayden. It's only fair."

"Why does this have to be so hard?" Sloane sank down in the chair and threw her head back to stare at the ceiling. She wanted to tell him, but she was too chicken to see what his reaction was going to be. Would her heart be able to stand his reaction?

"It wouldn't be worth it if it was easy."

"At least I have a little time to think about this."

Chapter 10.

Sloane and Liyah continued to work on the hospital project and slowly things seemed to get back to normal. She hadn't heard from Gates at all. At first she was a little disappointed, but then quickly realized there was no sense in being disappointed since it was what she wanted. At least, it's what she thought she wanted.

"Sloane?" Isabella called from behind her as she walked through the hallway of the Foundation. "I'm so glad I caught you before you left today. Can I see you in my office?"

"Sure, Isabella, is everything okay?" Sloane followed her boss into the expansive office and smiled at the pictures of Mariana, the inspiration for the Foundation and the hospital, littering the walls.

"Oh, yes, things are fine. I wanted to touch base with you and let you know how much we appreciate all of your work on this project. It's been a dream come true for us and you and Aliyah have done an excellent job."

"Thank you. Mari was a special little girl."

"Yes. Mija was my life." Sloane watched as a flash of pain crossed Isabella's usually bright smiling face and couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose her own child. Brayden was the world to her and losing him was something she couldn't fathom. "That's the reason I called you in here. We've gotten such a great response from this and it's been extraordinary for this project to be tied to someone like Gates McCall."

"Oh? That's great news." Sloane wondered where all of this was going and she wondered if somehow Isabella and Antony had found out exactly how well she knew Gates.

"Yes. It's amazing the amount of people who've donated or want to give to our cause and see the hospital built. I'm so thankful for all of it and that brings me to my favor that I need to ask of you." It was no secret that once it was publicized McCall International would move forward with their project, the Foundation had received an enormous amount of publicity and an abundant amount of donations.

"A favor? From me?"

"Yes. You see, Antony and I have been invited to attend a gala in Buenos Aires honoring his uncle. It's on the same weekend we were to go to New York to accept an award for our work with the Foundation." Isabella reached over and handed Sloane the gold embossed invitation. Sloane could feel her heart beating a mile a minute as she looked over the invitation and the itinerary that was tucked inside. "And of course, we can't attend both. I want you to go to New York and accept the award on our behalf." Sloane looked at Isabella in sheer disbelief.

"Me? Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course. Why not you?" Isabella laughed at Sloane's reaction.

"Well, I...I'm a little shocked. I didn't expect this." Sloane turned the invitation over in her hands and rubbed the raised lettering.

"Sloane, you've worked very hard, and not just on this project, but on everything we've asked you to do. Your dedication to this Foundation and to Mari's memory means so much to us. Antony and I would be so happy to have you represent us there. So, you will do it?"

"I-".

"Of course, I know you'll have to find someone to keep Brayden for you, but that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Ah, no, of course not. I can do this for you. It would be an honor."

"Great. I'll let them know you will be accepting on our behalf and I'll have Christina get the flight and hotel arrangements taken care of for you. Thank you so very much." Isabella stood and walked around the desk to stand in front of Sloane.

"Thank you for the opportunity." Sloane stood from her chair to accept Isabella's hug and walked out of the office.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something." Sloane looked at her carry-on bag on the bed and paced back and forth. She was leaving in a matter of hours for New York and it was all going a little too fast for her. Her stomach had been tied in knots for the past week getting ready for the big event and she was very nervous about accepting the award.

"What could you possibly be forgetting?" Liyah sat in the middle of the bed with Brayden in her lap. He was happily chewing on one of his wooden blocks and trying out the new tooth that had pushed out of his bottom gum. "You've packed everything but the kitchen sink."

"I still feel like I'm missing something." Walking into the bathroom, she looked around for anything she may have missed before walking out and sitting on the edge of the bed. She smiled as Brayden looked up and gurgled.

"I think you're full of nervous energy," Liyah interjected, watching the little boy lose interest in the block and crawl to his mother, pulling himself up on her arm before she picked him up and placed him in her lap. "It's going to be fine. You have everything, and you're only going to be gone for a few days. No biggie."

"It's been a while since I've been in New York. I can only imagine who'll be there." Sloane cringed, thinking of heading into the lion's den of socialites she was surrounded by when she'd been a part of Gates' world.

"Look, you're only there to accept the award and look pretty. Flirt a little with 'the money' in the room and see if you can't pull in donations. Think of how well that would go over if you got some big donations for the Foundation while you're there. Isabella and Antony would love you for life." Sloane nodded, watching Liyah playing peek-a-boo with Brayden. He had decided the block was more interesting than his mom and left her lap to crawl to Liyah to retrieve it.

"That would be nice to get even more money for our cause."

"So what time is Avery getting here?"

"Actually, she should be here any minute." Just then, the doorbell rang and Sloane walked out of the room and down the hallway to answer the door.

"Hi Auntie. Thank you for coming to watch Brayden for me." Sloane hugged Avery and ushered her in the house. She'd definitely learned her lesson from infringing on Chase and Hannah.

"Are you kidding? This is a great opportunity for you and you know I love spending time with my nephew." Avery gushed, watching Liyah carry Brayden down the hallway.