“Pretty damn close,” she smiled at him.

He left her in the lounge with her briefcase, and half an hour later she boarded the plane. And shortly after takeoff, she took out her laptop. But she only worked for an hour, and then she finally put it away, and lay back against the seat and closed her eyes. She was thinking of Cal. She couldn't imagine the kind of woman he was drawn to. She wondered if they were just pretty faces, or great minds, bimbos, or soul mates. With his aversion to marriage and long-term relationships, it was hard to envision who he went out with. But she also realized, as she thought of it, that it was none of her business.

It had been a long week, and she was tired. And she could hardly wait to see Steven. As she thought of him, she drifted off to sleep, and the flight attendant woke her when they landed. She was one of the first to disembark, pick up her bags, and hail a taxi. And at ten minutes to seven on Saturday morning, she was letting herself into their apartment.

She set her bags down in the front hall, took off her shoes, and walked on tiptoe into their bedroom, so as not to wake him. He was sound asleep in their bed, naked as usual, and she peeled off her clothes, and slipped under the covers beside him. He stirred slightly and pulled her close to him, as though she had been there all night, next to him, and then he opened an eye and realized what had happened.

“You're back,” he whispered, and she smiled as she nodded and then kissed him. “I missed you,” he said, pulling her even closer, and she could feel the warmth of his flesh next to hers, as he kissed her.

“I missed you, too,” she said, and meant it. He ran a hand slowly along the gentle curves of her body, and she realized with longing how long it had been since she'd last seen him. It had been more than a week, nearly eight days, much too long, and they were both starving for each other.

There were no words between them after that, only the passion that had burned between them like an eternal flame since the day they met. It was something they both cherished, and wanted, and desperately needed. And however little time they spent together, it made every moment more precious between them. It was a long time before they spoke again, and when they did, her blond hair lay tousled and silky on his pillow, and he looked down at her with a familiar smile, and she put her arms around him again, and kissed him.





Chapter 6

THEY SPENT AN easy, quiet weekend. They stayed in bed until noon on Saturday, and slept off and on, and when they got up, it was raining, and they decided to go to the movies.

They saw a film they'd both wanted to see for a long time, and then they walked home slowly in the rain, and stopped on the way for an ice cream. They talked about going out for a hamburger, but in the end, they opted to stay home, watch a video, and have Chinese food delivered. The hospital left them alone for once. He wasn't on call, and there were no fresh disasters that required calling him when he was off duty. And for the first time in months, she didn't even touch her briefcase.

By eleven o'clock that night, they were back in bed, curled up in each other's arms, and it made him hate the fact that he had to go back to work the next day, and she was leaving. She was coming back to New York on Monday night, with Cal, and they would be in town for two days, and leave Wednesday night for Europe. But he was going to be at the hospital until that morning, and she doubted if she'd even see him. She was going to be spending Thursday in Edinburgh, Friday in London, and she and Cal would be there over the weekend. Monday in Geneva after that. Tuesday in Paris, and then back to New York on Wednesday. So all in all, it meant she wouldn't see Steve for eleven days. They were used to it. But it suddenly seemed like an eternity to them.

“I'm not going anywhere after that for a while, I promise,” she said, as she lay next to him, cuddled up against his back, with her arms around him.

“I'm going to hold you to that. I don't care how much money you make, you work too damn hard, and we're missing too much like this. Maybe it's time for you to slow down a little.” But Meredith knew that her partners didn't think so. Steve wanted to talk to her about having a baby again, but there was no point until this deal was done and they had some time together to discuss it. He figured it was time now, before either of them got much older. He had always wanted to have three or four kids, but he would have been happy with one now. And he figured Meredith would at least concede that much. And they could afford a nurse or an au pair if she wanted to go back to work after she had the baby. He was thinking about it as he lay next to her, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to get into a serious discussion with her, or worse yet, an argument, he just wanted to enjoy her. He thought she was scared of having kids, and once she took the leap, and actually decided to give in, he was sure she'd love it.

They slept soundly in each other's arms that night, and he hated to pull away from her when his alarm went off at six o'clock the next morning. He had to be at the hospital by seven. She was still dozing when he left, and he shook her a little bit so he could say goodbye to her, and she opened her eyes with a look of surprise. She couldn't figure out where the night went. It all went by so quickly.

“I'll see you when you get back, Merrie…. I love you.”

“I love you too…. I'll call you tonight from Boston.”

He nodded, kissed her again, and a minute later he was gone, in his scrubs and his clogs, off to save the lives that others would attempt to destroy, tilting at windmills.

Meredith slept until eight o'clock, and then got up, made coffee, read the paper, and went to pack her suitcase. She packed for Europe as well, knowing she probably wouldn't have time when she came back to New York with Cal for his road show. They were going to be incredibly busy with all of the New York presentations. This was the most important city for them, and the last one before they headed for Europe. She wanted to have their book completely sold before they left for Europe, and she thought there was a good chance that would happen.

She was finished and packed shortly after noon, and after that she wasn't sure what to do. There wasn't anything she wanted to do alone. And she didn't really feel like going to a museum. In the end, she decided she might as well get to Boston. She could always have dinner with Cal once she got there. It was better than sitting alone in her empty apartment.

She took a cab to LaGuardia at three, caught the four o'clock shuttle, and at six o'clock she walked into the lobby of the Ritz Carlton. She was there even before Cal was. She left a note for him at the desk telling him she'd arrived, and the phone rang in her room promptly at seven.

“You beat me to it! How long have you been here?”

“For about an hour.” She smiled when she heard his voice. He sounded so pleased to hear her. “How was your flight?’’

“Boring. How was your weekend?”

“Relaxing. We just took it easy, and went to the movies.”

“Did you do your laundry?”

“No, Steve did.” She laughed. “He spoils me.”

“I think you're making it all up. No guy in the world is this good … cooking … laundry … saving lives … the rest of us look like total slobs compared to him, Meredith. I think I'm beginning to hate him.”

“I'm pretty lucky,” she smiled. ‘‘ How was your weekend with the kids?”

“Fun. We played tennis on Saturday, and after that, Andy and I played golf.”

“I have the perfect husband, but you are the perfect father.” Although she knew Steve would probably have been perfect at that, too, if she'd ever wanted to let him try it, which she still didn't.

“And you are the perfect woman,” he said in a tone that made her blush, but she knew he was just kidding. Even on their travels, he had never attempted to be more than a friend to her, and she respected him for it.

“No. Just the perfect investment banker, I hope.”

“Super Woman. How about having dinner with me?”

“That sounds good.” It was actually why she had come up early. And they agreed to meet half an hour later in the lobby and find a place where they could eat pasta or pizza. Neither of them wanted to get dressed, or have an elaborate dinner.

“Do you mind if I wear jeans?” he asked, and she sounded relieved when she answered.

“I'd love that.” She had traveled in a little cotton dress and sandals, and she figured that was good enough if they were just going out for pizza.

But when she met him in the lobby, he still looked like an ad in GQ. He was wearing jeans, and a clean white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, his well-polished loafers, and he was carrying a blazer over his shoulder.

“That's cheating,” she scolded him, as he looked her over admiringly. She looked fresh and young and pretty.

“What is?”

“You look much too good to just go out for pizza. Do you ever just wear a T-shirt or look a mess?” She couldn't imagine it, but he couldn't imagine her that way either.

“When was the last time you looked a mess, Meredith? In first grade maybe … or before that?” She laughed at the backhanded compliment, and they walked out of the hotel, laughing and talking, like the friends they were rapidly becoming.

They found a little Italian restaurant a few blocks away, and they spent the rest of the evening deeply engrossed in conversation about the investment banking business. He was fascinated by what she did, and intrigued to discover how much she liked it. But at the same time, she seemed to have a considerable grasp of the intricacies of his business. And they batted information and opinions back and forth all night like tennis pros at Wimbledon. They were the last people to leave the restaurant, and they hated to end their conversation, but they both needed to get some sleep before their presentation the next morning.

Meredith knew that Charlie McIntosh, Callan's CFO, had flown in from San Francisco that night too, but his flight hadn't been due in until midnight. They both hoped he would warm up in Boston and New York, and for the last leg of the trip in Europe.

“I had a long talk with him on the phone last night,” Cal told her as they rode up in the elevator. “I told him he really has to put more life into his presentations. I hope he got it, and realizes that I mean it,” Cal said, sounding unconvinced. He was beginning to see just how intractable Charlie was, and how unlikely to improve his attitude in the near future. Even on the phone the night before, he had criticized Callan for taking the company public. He was like a dog with a bone, and he just wasn't letting go of it, no matter how ardently Callan urged him to drop it. Callan was beginning to fear that his attitude was going to cause a permanent rift between them. And he said as much to Meredith as he walked her down the hall to her room, and she nodded as she listened.

“These things are hard to predict sometimes. Maybe once it's done, he'll do an about-face and surprise you. Maybe he'll finally see that you've done a great thing for your company, and not a bad one. You can use your stock to acquire other companies eventually. I think that might be something that could appeal to him.”

“I think too much growth too rapidly is part of what scares him,” Cal said thoughtfully, and Meredith looked pensive. Charlie was definitely a knotty problem.

They continued to talk about it, and a few minutes later, he left her and promised to meet her for breakfast with Charlie McIntosh the next morning. Meredith had promised to do everything but seduce him to win him over.

She had two messages from Steve when she got back to the room, and when she called him back, for once the nurse who answered the phone was able to find him. He said it had been a quiet night, it was still raining in New York, and everyone seemed to be staying home and out of trouble.

“Maybe you can get some sleep for a change,” she said with a smile, still thinking of the night they had spent together the night before, and their lovemaking when she got back on Saturday morning. It already felt like an eternity since she had seen him. Their days and nights were so full that it seemed to create too much time and space between them.

“You try and get some sleep too. These people keep you out till all hours, and then expect you to be Dinah Shore and sing your heart out for them the next morning.”

“That's what I get paid for. I'll be home tomorrow night, sweetheart.” At least she could sleep in her own bed for once, but unfortunately Steve wouldn't be there. He'd be sleeping on a rollaway bed in his office until they called him.