Two packed suitcases sat near the front door – one large, the other small. The bags contained a week's worth of clothing for the upcoming trip. Mentally Jessica reviewed the items she had packed in the two bags. Anything lacking could easily be obtained once they arrived. But it went against her ordered nature to adopt such a casual attitude.

The beautiful attorney did not leave things to chance. She tended to analyze every situation and then make decisions rooted firmly in fact. Those decisions, once made, were rarely second-guessed. Which made her current state of mind all the more remarkable.

Jessica wondered anew just what impulse drove her to accept Stefan Cassadine's offer to fly along with him in his private jet. She had made her travel arrangements several months ago, so she could not use the excuse that other transportation was not available. Even his ‘selling point' about the trip being more enjoyable for Bonnie wasn't really enough of a reason to accept his offer.

So why had she accepted? If last night's dinner was any indication, Jessica mused, then she had accepted because there existed in Stefan Cassadine something special. Something gentle. Something wonderful.

It didn't hurt, she smiled, that whatever it was was wrapped up in such an attractive package. Sandy hair and piercing green eyes accentuated a trim but muscular physique. Jessica wasn't normally attracted to such physical characteristics. Duncan, Thornton, Tom…they'd all been dark of hair and eye.

Still, she'd never been one to base her feelings on outward appearances. Despite her family's disapproval where her romantic entanglements were involved, Jessica had looked beyond color and reputation. She would do the same with Stefan.

Jessica paused in the act of folding Bonnie's sweater. That last thought almost sounded as though she had made up her mind to become involved with Stefan Cassadine. ‘You have,' her inner voice piped up.

~flashback~

Generously, Bonnie speared a broccoli floret from her plate and extended it toward Stefan's mouth. “For me?” he smiled. “How kind of you to share.”

Jessica watched in silence as Stefan delicately lipped the broccoli off the fork and chewed appreciatively. It would be more kind, she thought, if Bonnie wasn't attempting to use Stefan to rid her plate of her least favorite food.

“Thank you! Not many people know this,” Stefan's voice became a conspiratorial whisper, “but broccoli is good for the muscles you need for riding horses.” He nodded reassuringly at the frown which creased Bonnie's face. “That is how my legs grew so strong.”

A quicksilver mental image of Stefan's strong thighs moving relentlessly between her own made Jessica catch her breath. Her eyes were drawn to his and she shivered at the promise they held.
~end flashback~

Jessica shook herself from her reverie. She did not know what would come of all this, but when this week was over, she intended to find out.

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