The Tycoon's Proposition

“Quite a few.”

“Are there any singles?”

“Some.”

“If she could stay in one of them until she goes into labor, I’ll pay for her room and board. One of the restaurants can send her meals. It may be that after she’s released from the hospital, she won’t be able to work on board and will have to be flown back to Guayaquil, but I’ll worry about that later.”

“Sure. I don’t have a problem with that.”

“Please don’t say yes because I’m married to Mr. Herrick.”

“If we needed the space, I’d have to tell you no. But so far, so good. Seeing as she’s about to have a baby and won’t need the room very long, it’s fine with me.”

“Thank you, Mr. Reagan.”

“John.”

“Thanks, John. The thing is, I don’t know if she’ll even show up, but I thought I’d better check with you ahead of time just in case.”

“No problem.”

“Wonderful. Now could you do one more thing for me? I need you to write down what I’m going to say to her in Spanish so I’ll be able to communicate with her if she calls me first. Do you mind?”

“Not at all.”

In a few minutes she felt prepared. “Thanks. I’ll see you again soon.”

She left the room on a run and headed for the supermarket on the first floor. No matter the hour, she wanted a homemade dinner waiting for Ben when he came in. Meat loaf, baked potatoes, fresh shelled peas and fruit salad were easy. An hour later she’d set the round table in the dinette area. Everything was ready.

“Terri?”

At the sound of his familiar male voice, her heart turned over. “In the kitchen!” she called out as she took the food from the oven.

There were footsteps. “Hmm. Something smells good. I didn’t expect this.”

She wheeled around to face him. “I hope you’ve got time to eat before you have to put out another fire.”

His eyes searched hers. “I’ll make time. I’m starving.”

“Sit down and I’ll serve you.”

Within minutes he was practically wolfing down his dinner. She’d made enough meat loaf for leftovers, but it had all disappeared by the time they’d finished their meal.

He finally looked up at her a little sheepishly. “I was even hungrier than I thought.”

Terri couldn’t help smiling. “It tells me you’ve had a very busy day, and it’s not over yet. Go on. Whenever you come home, I’ll have another video waiting which is guaranteed to put you to sleep. You need one for your big day tomorrow.”

“What movie is that?”

“Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.”

“The what?” He broke into laughter. “I’m afraid I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s everyone’s favorite in South Dakota.”

He reached for her hand across the table and squeezed it. “I can’t wait.” After letting her go, he got up from the table. “The dinner was fabulous.”

“Thank you.”