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SAN DIEGO
Antonio and Heather chatted comfortably all the way to San Diego. Conversation with her came so naturally and Antonio found himself more relaxed than he had anticipated. She was so intriguing, the way she laughed, the way she moved. Antonio couldn’t take his eyes off her. When he wasn’t looking at her, Heather was watching him. The seriousness with which he poured over the reports one last time, the way he ran his hands through his hair when he was trying to figure something out. Heather had never been so attracted to a man before in her life. She couldn’t help but think what a lucky woman Gabi was. Antonio and Heather rode silently in the cab to the meeting. Antonio checked his watch. Only a few more hours, and he would be back home with Gabi. He smiled as he thought of her seeing their baby on the ultrasound. "Thinking happy thoughts," Heather said quietly noticing his smile. "Yes, actually, I was." Antonio glanced at Heather to find her staring directly at him. His eyes met hers and held for an instant before the cab screeched to a halt in front of the office building. Antonio jumped from the cab and held the door for Heather. Her skirt hiked up as she climbed from the car, Antonio’s eyes following her legs. Heather stepped away from the curb as Antonio closed the door to the cab and followed her inside. DOCTOR’S OFFICE "Here, Gabi, this is the baby’s heart." The doctor pointed to the small blur thumping wildly. Gabi smiled through her tears. She had passed the point in her pregnancy where she lost Michael and she felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment for it. She had been taking better care of herself now than ever before in her life. Nothing would jeopardize the health of this baby. "This is the baby’s spine...everything looks great." The doctor moved the wand around on Gabi’s belly. "If you look very closely, you can see the baby is sucking it’s thumb." Gabi let out a laugh as the tears spilled down her cheeks. The doctor focused on the monitor and turned to Gabi with a smile. "Do you want to know if it’s a boy or a girl, Gabi?" Gabi’s mouth broke in a wide smile as she thought of how surprised and happy Antonio would be if she found out. She took a deep breath. "Yes." She closed her eyes and waited for the doctor’s response. SAN DIEGO The meeting was a success. The Deep passed the audit with flying colors. Antonio shook hands with the audit board before he and Heather left the conference room. Heather turned to Antonio when they were outside the door and smiled. "Congratulations, Antonio," she said warmly. "Thanks, Heather. Ben and I are very grateful for all your hard work," he returned her smile. "You did a great job." Heather dipped her head shyly. "Thank you. It was easy working with you." She raised her eyes to meet his. "What time does your plane leave?" Antonio checked his watch. "Not for a couple of hours." "Do you want to have a drink? We could go back to my hotel?" Antonio wanted to spend just a little more time with her before he returned to Sunset Beach and would never see her again. Heather dropped her eyes when he didn’t respond. "Sure," he said quickly. "That sounds great." Heather raised her eyes and smiled. They headed out to catch a cab. Antonio and Heather sat at a small table in the back of the lounge. Their conversation was easygoing and nonstop. They laughed about different stories they told. They were talking about the sports each of them had played in school. Antonio was impressed that Heather was so athletic. "The great thing was that I also got good grades, so I was able to get a scholarship to Loyola." Heather sipped her wine as Antonio watched her intently. This woman was so intoxicating he was becoming more drawn to her every minute. Heather could see it in his eyes and she decided it was now or never. "Will you walk me to my room, Antonio?" she asked softly. "Sure," he answered without hesitation. THE TOWNHOUSE Gabi sat down with the videotape of her ultrasound. She couldn’t wait to see Antonio in the morning and show him the tape. She was trying to come up with the best way to tell him they were going to have a little…she was interrupted by the phone. "Hello?" "Gabi, it’s Maria. How did it go?" Maria was as excited as Gabi about the baby. "It was great Maria," Gabi gushed. "I saw the heart and the fingers and toes. It was even sucking it’s thumb!" Gabi felt tears just remembering it. "I had the doctor make a tape so Antonio could see it when he gets home." "Oh, Gabi. That’s great. I’m so happy for you. Now you get some sleep tonight, we have to go pick out the crib tomorrow." "Can we put it off for a day, Maria? Since Antonio is gone today, I want to spend all day with him tomorrow," Gabi said with a smile. "I want to go on a picnic to the beach and just be alone with him. He’s been working so much lately, we haven’t had a lot of time together." "Sure, Gabi. Give me a call tomorrow night and we’ll set it all up." Maria had wanted to take Benjy to the zoo anyway. "Goodnight." "Goodnight, Maria." Gabi hung up the phone and headed into the kitchen to make some popcorn. SAN DIEGO Antonio and Heather stepped off the elevator and headed down the hall. Heather stopped in front of her door turning to put the keycard in the slot. Antonio’s eyes ran down her body as she leaned over to unlock the door. He felt his heartbeat quicken as his eyes took her in. Heather opened the door and turned with a small smile. "Will you come in?" She held her breath waiting for him to answer. Antonio walked past her into the room. Heather closed the door behind them as she felt her own heart quicken. She set down her briefcase and walked to the bar. "Would you like another drink?" "No, thanks." Antonio checked his watch. "I have to head back to the airport soon." "Would you like to sit down?" she walked over to the couch as she pulled off her jacket. She tossed it casually on the chair as she shook her hair softly. Antonio was completely taken in by her. He walked over and sat next to her on the couch. He didn’t know what he was doing in this hotel room alone with a gorgeous woman who wasn’t his wife. But at this particular moment, none of that mattered. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Heather’s knee was dangerously close to his. Her legs were crossed and her skirt was hugging her tightly. The top buttons of her blouse were open, as usual. Antonio was racking his brain for something to say when Heather reached over and touched his leg. He felt an amazing charge of electricity shoot through him. "I’m attracted to you, Antonio," Heather said seductively. Antonio looked away from her quickly but felt her eyes all over him and glanced back up. "Heather, I..." he felt like he couldn’t breathe. "You’re an amazing man, Antonio," Heather said softly. Antonio felt his heart racing as Heather stared deeply into his eyes. The sexual tension between then was growing at an alarming rate. Antonio started to stand up. "I...I have to..." he stammered as he stepped away from the couch. Heather stood up knocking some papers from the desk onto the floor. Antonio and Heather bent down together to retrieve the papers, their heads bent together, their hands meeting accidentally. As Heather leaned forward, her blouse billowed open and Antonio’s eyes fell to her breasts resting softly in her bra. Antonio raised his eyes from her chest as their eyes locked. Antonio could feel Heather’s soft breath against his cheek. They stood simultaneously their hands still touching. Antonio leaned hesitantly toward her as she slowly reached her hand to his face. Their lips met softly. Antonio’s strong hands were on her waist in a second as he pulled her to him. Heather’s fingers raced up his muscular back. Their kiss deepened as desire took over. Antonio’s hands caressed her through her blouse as her fingers slipped the buttons of his shirt open. Antonio kissed her neck hungrily as Heather pulled his shirt off his shoulders. He ripped open her blouse and ran his thumbs underneath her bra straps releasing her shoulders. Heather led him to the bed and pulled him down on top of her. THE TOWNHOUSE Gabi lay in bed gazing at the ultrasound picture. She was sorry that Antonio had missed it, but she knew he would be excited to see the picture and the videotape. She ran her finger over the fuzzy image in the photograph. Her heart was full of love for the little baby that was thriving inside her and for her husband whom she adored. Gabi closed her eyes and wished Antonio love then rolled over and drifted off to sleep with a smile. THE PLANE Antonio’s hand trembled as he raised the crystal glass to his lips. He stared out the window into the darkness as he took a long sip of the whiskey. His head pounded, his heart ached. In a moment of weakness, he had done the unthinkable. He had betrayed his wife. His closed his eyes tightly as his tears burned like fire. Antonio looked back out the window, tears slipping from his eyes as the plane carried him back home to Gabi.
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