The Secret Affair

                                      One

                Four years earlier

                “So, how does it feel to be twenty-one?”

                Jillian’s breath caught in her throat when Aidan Westmoreland’s tall frame slid into the seat across from her. It was only then that she noticed everyone had gone inside. She and Aidan were the only ones on the patio that overlooked a beautiful lake.

                This birthday party had been a huge surprise and Aidan’s attendance even more so since he rarely came home from medical school. She couldn’t imagine he’d come home just for her birthday. With her away at college most of the time as well, their paths rarely crossed. She couldn’t recall them ever holding what she considered a real conversation during the four years she’d known him.

                “It feels the same as yesterday,” she said. “Age is just a number. No big deal.”

                A smile touched the corners of his lips and her stomach clenched. He had a gorgeous smile, one that complemented the rest of him. If there was such a thing as eye candy he was certainly it. She had the hots for him big-time.

                Who wouldn’t have the hots while sitting across from this hunk of sexiness? If his lips didn’t grab you then his eyes certainly would. They were deep, dark and penetrating. Jillian’s heart missed beats just looking into them.

                “Just a number?” He chuckled, leaning back in his chair, stretching long legs in front of him. “Women might think that way but men think differently.”

                He smelled good. When did she start noticing the scent of a man?

                “And why is that, Aidan?” she asked, picking up her glass of lemonade to take a sip. It suddenly felt hotter than usual. It had nothing to do with the temperature and everything to do with her body’s heated reaction to him.

                She watched him lift a brow over those striking dark eyes. A feral smile edged his lips as he leaned forward. “Are you sure I’m Aidan and not Adrian?”

                Oh, yes she was sure he was Aidan. She’d heard about the games he and his identical twin would play on unsuspecting souls, those who couldn’t tell them apart. “I’m sure.”

                It was Aidan and not Adrian who stirred her in places she’d rather not think about at the moment.

                He leaned in even closer. So close she could see the pupils in his dark eyes. “And how are you so certain?” he asked.

                Was she imagining things or had the tone of his voice dropped to a husky murmur? It was rumored that he was a big flirt. She had seen him in action at several Westmoreland weddings. It was also a fact that he and his twin were womanizers and had developed quite a reputation at Harvard. She could certainly see why women were at their beck and call.

                “Because I am,” she replied. And that’s all she intended to say on the matter.

                There was no way she would tell him the real reason, that from the moment her brother-in-law Dillon had introduced her to Aidan, before he’d married Pam, she had developed a full-blown crush. She’d been seventeen at the time, a senior in high school. The only problem was the crush hadn’t lessened much since.

                “Why?”

                She glanced back up at Aidan. “Why what?”

                “Why are you so certain? You still haven’t said.”