"Which will wait, and I have people who can fill in for me. We pick a place, somewhere warm." He looked out at the leaden sky and the heavy coating of snow on the leaves. March had come in with the brutality of an avenging angel or demon and was dumping snow on them almost three times that week. "Spend some time with each other without the stress of IVF or the press following us around."
He rubbed her hands slowly. "I want to make love to my wife, spend days in bed, without having to worry about our schedules. What do you say?"
"Samuel..."
"When we spoke about reconnecting, we promised each other to talk, to communicate, and to be there for each other. Look at me." When she did, he released her hand to stroke her cheek. "Pick a place, darling. There is going to come a time when we won't have this opportunity. We will be too busy being parents."
He bent his head to kiss the tears that had welled and were spilling over. "Where would you like to go?"
"The cottage," she responded immediately, earning her a surprised look. He had expected her to say the Caribbean or even Africa or the Mediterranean.
"Why?"
"It's where we had our happiest moments," she recalled whimsically. "And it's remote. No cell service and no press following us around. It's in the middle of nowhere. And that's where you taught me to fish."
"And where you destroyed my ego by catching the biggest one," he grumbled.
"Precisely." She laughed.
His silvery eyes searched her face, relieved to see the tension lifting.
"All right. Pack our bags."
"What?" She gave him a startled look. "Now?"
His grin transformed his face into a boyish appeal that had her heart doing a slow dive.
"Why not? It's a five-hour drive from here, which will give me time to make some calls and put things in motion. While you're packing, as little as possible." He leered at her. "I intend to keep you naked most of the time."
"Pervert."
"Hmm." Leaning over, he brushed his lips against hers. "You have twenty minutes, so I suggest you get started."
She always knew her husband was a dynamo, a typhoon, sweeping up everything in his path, but he proved it once again. By the time she had packed the suitcase, he was rapping out orders on the phone to his assistant and not in the least bit concerned that he had gotten a few people out of bed.
"Jeffry." He nodded as she handed him his outer coat and shrugged into it while navigating his iPod. "I want the changes made to the script and no pussyfooting around. The ending is lousy; I want the female character in tears and ready to surrender. And I want those changes by the time I get back. Lucky for you, I'll be gone for seven days. Get your ass in gear."
He hung up without waiting for the man's response. "Ready?"
"You're scary." She shook her head as she shrugged into her own coat. "Yes."
"Then let's go."
She curled up on the heated seat of his very new Jeep and listened with half an ear as he continued to make phone calls while driving. Her lips curved slightly as she listened to his deep voice issuing orders and expecting them to be carried out to the letter. She knew his assistant, a dynamic man in his mid-forties, who had been with Samuel for more than ten years. Jeffry had to be the most patient and innovative person alive in order to keep up with his boss. Samuel was tireless and a perfectionist and expected those who worked with him to be the same. Eliza suspected that was why Jeffry had never married. He was on call twenty-four/seven and did not seem to mind it one bit.
She also suspected that he was worth every penny of the astronomical salary and benefit he received from her husband.
"Cancel my reservations with the Coolidges," Samuel was saying now. It was Friday night, and they were leaving the bulk of the traffic behind. The roadways were slick from the snow that had fallen earlier in the day. Content to just stare at the scenery, she did just that and within minutes was fast asleep.
"I'm sorry, darling. I just had to..." Samuel's voice petered off as he turned to glance at her. She was knocked out. A rueful smile touched his lips as he pulled up at the light and gave her his full attention. He had been so busy with the calls that he had not noticed when she nodded off. So much for her keeping him from falling asleep during the long drive. He could have called his pilot and had him take them to their destination, but he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible and he wanted alone time.
Reaching over the back seat, he pulled out a throw blanket and placed it over her.
*****
The cottage was inappropriately named. It was a two-story building made out of polished log and glass and sat on top of a slight incline. The beautiful, well-preserved building was surrounded by a lush, verdant landscape, the wooded area dotted with towering old oaks and redwood trees. A lake with its clear and icy water meandered over rocky stones and faced a large white gazebo with ferns and wisteria climbing its latticed walls.
It was completely isolated. The nearest neighbor was three miles away, giving them absolute privacy. The building had been in the family for over a hundred years and had gone through several renovations, not enough to change the charming quaintness of the place.
