She glanced away from her book to look over at him. “Yes.” She remembered the pancakes and syrup she’d enjoyed. “It was tasty.”
“Um, bet it wasn’t tasty as you. Want to go back to my cabin and be my breakfast?”
His question caused a spark of heat to settle between her thighs. Something she definitely didn’t need after all those erotic dreams she’d had. “You shouldn’t say something like that to me.”
“You prefer I say it to someone else?”
She narrowed her gaze. “Do whatever you want. At breakfast I happened to notice a group of women on the cruise. All appeared single. I think I overheard one say they’re part of some book club.”
“You want me to go check out other women?”
“Won’t matter to me. Need I remind you that we aren’t together?”
“And need I remind you that I’m working on that? And by the way, I have a proposition for you.”
“Whatever it is, the answer is no.”
He chuckled. “You haven’t heard it.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“You certain?”
“Positive.”
He smiled over at her. “Okay then. I’m glad. In fact, you’ve made my day by not accepting it. I’m happy that you turned it down.”
She stared over at him and frowned. “Really? And just what was this proposition?”
In a warm, teasing tone, he said. “I thought you didn’t want to hear it.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
He nodded. “I guess I can allow you to do that.” He shifted and sat up. She tried not to notice the khaki shorts he wore and how well they fit the lower half of his body. Or how his muscle shirt covered perfect abs.
He took her hand, easing her into the same sitting position he was in, as if what he had to say was something he didn’t want others around them to overhear.
“Well?” she asked, trying to ignore the tingling sensation in the hand he touched.
“You’re aware the only reason I came on this cruise was to get you back, right?”
She shrugged. “So you say.”
A smile touched the corners of his lips. “Well, I thought about a few of the things you said last night and I wanted to offer you a chance to make some decisions.”
She lifted a brow. “Like what?”
“Like whether or not I should even pursue you at all. I don’t want to be that nuisance you insinuated I could be. So my proposition was that I just leave you alone and wait patiently for you to come to me. I hope you know what that means since you just turned it down.”
She would not have turned it down had she heard him out, and he knew it. Unfortunately, she could guess what the consequences would be and she had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it. “What does that mean, Aidan?”