Authors: Annalisa Simon
“What’s up Nathan,
are you all set for the sessions later? You look worried about something,” the man asked after taking a long swallow.
“
I’m fine Dave, and so are the plans for the intensive. I just need to meet with the events coordinator again this morning but for now it seems that the transition should be smooth. All of the delegates arrived last night safely despite the weather as well.” Nathan replied. “Look, I just need to find Candasee! We planned to meet this morning and I can’t seem to find her anywhere. I’ve tried calling her cell as well but she isn’t answering it,” he exclaimed anxiously.
“Hey you two
seem to be getting pretty close?” the man with bottle asked in a teasing tone while elbowing Nathan.
Nathan
paused and smiled before continuing, “Well yeah, we are! She’s finally agreed to marry me. We’re engaged”.
Darius felt as though someone knocked the air out of his lungs.
She was engaged to someone else?
“
That’s great, congratulations! Look, she’s probably just too tired from yesterday and decided to sleep in a bit later than usual,” replied the man with the water bottle.
“
Hmm! Well she was pretty exhausted when we arrived last night,” replied Nathan thoughtfully. “Maybe you are right! I’ll go down to the beach one more time to look for her there before going back to her room. I’ll see you at the meeting in about two hours and Dave, if you do see her tell her I’m looking for her,” said Nathan as he walked off in the direction of the beach.
Candasee was here with her
fiancé?
The thought of Candasee being involved with and marrying someone else was not something he’d been prepared to face. Ramon was right, he’d stalled far too long. He would rather choose to swim a marathon in the Arctic Sea than to see that happen. It was pure fantasy and pure arrogance on his part to assume that someone as beautiful as Candasee wouldn’t capture the attention of one hundred someone else’s by now. What was he thinking? After all they were divorced for two years now. It wasn’t as though he did not go out on a few dates himself since they’d separated, right?
That little pep talk
did nothing to calm him at all. From the time he’d heard the word,
‘engaged
’ leave that man’s mouth he knew another dimension of complexity had been added to his plans to woo Candasee over the next eight days.
From the looks of it her partner Nathan was about the same height as he was
, six foot two and was extremely fit, judging by his lithe and muscular frame. He was definitely handsome in his own right.
Darius frowned as he considered just what all of this could mean.
She’d given her heart to someone else.
Engaged didn’t mean married right
? There was still a chance. From the heated moment they shared briefly last night, he could tell there was still something between them. He was suddenly glad that he took this stroll downstairs because now he knew he would need to take a more direct route in capturing Candasee’s heart again.
Looking at his watch
, he noted that he’d given her about fifteen minutes already and decided to make his way back to his suite. He had an important meeting at nine-thirty with the set-up crew from the travel show and he needed to be ready by then to greet them downstairs with the planning committee.
Taking the main elevator this time,
he emerged eleventh floor anxious to see Candasee. For a second out of the corner of his eye he almost thought that he saw the main elevator doors closing to his right. As far as he knew the rest of the floor was currently unoccupied. Thinking that perhaps his imagination was running overtime he quickly made his way back to the suite and made a call to let housekeeping know he was back and they could bring up the breakfast. After hanging up the phone he knocked discreetly at the bedroom door.
“Candasee, are you ready?”
No answer came. He knocked again and after hearing no reply he opened the door to check what his suspicions had already informed him of. She was already gone and he had just missed her by a few seconds in the hallway. She had no intention of waiting to speak to him! She had only opted to change her clothes in case she ran into Nathan and she didn’t stick around because she needed to meet him. Refusing to be daunted, this was just the beginning and her resistance only served to awaken the hunter inside of him. He was up to the chase because he wanted the prize more than anything else. He’d spent many hours just watching her sleep in his bed last night and in his heart he knew that was where she belonged. He had to fix this rift he’d created between them no matter what!
Thinking quickly, he called back food service and requested them to meet him at room 746. He needed to have his say before sh
e got downstairs to meet Nathan or even before he made his way back upstairs to find her again.
Since when did he go running around behind women
? The answer was already clear to him as he saw his agitated expression mirrored on the glass wall of his office. This was no ordinary woman but his Candasee, his wife. He’d stopped calling her his ex-wife months ago because it fit what was in his heart. Who cared if was reality or not? It was his truth and nothing would change that!
He exited the room and took the elevator down to the seventh floor just as the food service emerged
from the adjoining one. He thanked his employee and took over pushing the trolley to 746. He knocked at the door and waited. He did not have to wait for long before Candasee pulled open the door hurriedly saying,
“Nathan, sorry about
this morning, oh it’s you!” she exclaimed with surprise. Her voice trailed off at the sight of Darius filling her doorway and the scent of the delicious breakfast beneath the tray-covered trolley he stood behind.
With some difficulty
, he forced himself not to wince visibly at her mistake and remained calm about the fact that she was expecting someone else to meet her at her room at that moment.
“Expecting someone else
?” he asked.
“Well, actually yes
,” she said straightening her neck and looking into his eyes with thinly veiled defiance.
“I thought I told you that
I need to talk to you!” he said in what he hoped was a steady voice.
“I know, but
there isn’t anything for us to talk about.”
“
Listen, I know you are hungry! You were always a breakfast eater. Even if you allow me ten minutes of your time, may I come in?” he asked speaking quickly before flashing her with a smile. “Please,” he added meaningfully.
She always had a low resistance to that boyish grin of his
and against her better judgement found herself standing aside to let him pass by before closing the door.
He wheeled the cart with the food toward the
dining table and took off the plates and set up the meal quickly while she watched in silence. What on earth was he doing down here? She had hoped that he would have gotten the message when she left earlier than planned and his usually busy schedule should have taken care of the rest.
“What do you want Darius?
You can’t stay long,” demanded Candasee planting her hands on her hips, leaning her head while looking at him with an annoyed expression. The last thing she needed was for Nathan to find him here.
“Please sit, I just wanted to talk with you, is that such a crime?”
“No, it isn’t but it’s not as though we are still even remotely friends. I made a big mistake coming up to your room last night. I was really exhausted and I don’t think I was thinking clearly so I apologize for invading your privacy. Okay? There is no need for us to even interact at all while I am here.”
Wow, he had a lot of work to do to break through the armour she was wearing.
“Sit! Please!” Unfazed by her response Darius repeated the words softly, gesturing to the chair at the dining table.
Candasee could see that she was losing the battle here with this man. Why was he acting so strangely? She sat down and he removed the stainless st
eel covering of her meal,
“Your favourite
breakfast Madame, and Chef Alexander sends his regards and welcome”, he said with a faux French accent and a small flourish.
Candasee despite her resolve to hold on to her serious demeanour could not help but smile and then
sighed softly as the aroma of the strawberry pancakes and candied bacon filled her nostrils. Her stomach rumbled and let her know that she was indeed hungry.
“By the way, that’s mademoiselle to you! But I am not going to make a huge fuss
about it right now because these pancakes look absolutely divine!” she said taking a fork and cutting off a piece before popping it in her mouth, closing her eyes and allowing the flavours to melt in her mouth. Thank goodness, in addition to her active lifestyle she’d always had a pretty high metabolism and she could eat most things without the guilt or the weight gain! Chef Alexander always had a soft spot for her indulgences back then and he knew how to keep her coming back for more!
Darius
noted her witty comeback silently and they both began to eat without saying much to each other at first. The food was so delicious! He had even ordered a bowl of pink grapefruit and sweet cream, as well as hot cappuccino to top it all off. Eating this much just before having to conduct a dance session might not have been wise but the melt-in your mouth quality of the pancakes made her sigh with each bite!
“I take it that the food meets with your approval,” said Darius with his eyes fixed on some syrup
drizzled at the corner of her mouth. Her moans of pleasure were driving him to such distraction that it made it hard for him to concentrate on his own plate! She hadn’t changed one bit! Even the most mundane things took on new excitement with her. Her naturally upbeat and infectious nature always made him smile even at his lowest moments. She was creative and very expressive and could never hold back her feelings for long no matter how hard she tried.
“
Tell Chef Alexander thank you for me. I’ve missed his cooking,” she replied with a smile before sipping her coffee.
“Candasee, I’ve missed you so much!” admitted Darius softly.
At hearing those words, Candasee almost spewed her coffee across the table but she struggled to swallow instead.
“You what?” she managed to sp
lutter finally grabbing her napkin and pressing it to her lips.
Darius stood to his feet and came over to where she was sitting and squatted down on the floor beside her so that he was looking up at her face.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about us these past two years, and I have been wondering how to tell you all that is on my mind and in my heart. I was going to fly out to Barbados to surprise you for your birthday to ask you for your forgiveness. I know that I hurt you a lot and if I could go back in time I would take back everything I ever said and did to you then. I don’t even think I am doing a great job of apologizing to you now but I need to start somewhere,” he said.
Candasee observed Darius practically kneeling before her apologizing and literally could not believe her eyes. Who was this man? Surely this wasn’t the proud and ruthless Darius Brogan apologizing? He was a man who took and conquered without apology to anyone. He’d let her suffer for two years without a single word! She didn’t even know where to begin to respond to him.
Candasee’s eyes were wide with shock as she stared down at him seemingly frozen to her seat.
“You don’t have to respond to me now, and I can tell from last night that I am still very low on your listed of trusted people, but I am hoping that while you are here that I can show you that I’ve changed. I’m not the same man you left behind two years ago Candee.”
Darius never got to finish his sentence because at that moment there was a sharp knock at the door and both Darius and Candasee could hear Nathan calling out to
her in the hallway with a concerned tone!
“Candee are you in there?” he called.
Darius experienced a flash of anger at hearing Nathan call Candasee by the same shortened form of her name that he was accustomed using.
She let him do that?
Had he been so thoroughly replaced?
Candasee leapt up to her feet and slid past Darius to open the door.
The rush of emotions surging through her body and her wild-eyed expression as she faced Nathan must have caused him some alarm because as soon as he saw her face, he began to question her. She stepped back and allowed him into the room.
“
What’s wrong love? I’ve been trying to find you all morning! Did you forget...?” he asked, his voice trailing off as he noticed movement over her shoulder and saw Darius stand to his feet.
“Oh! I see
, how cosy!” was all he said as a dry laugh escaped his lips.
A moment of silence followed as Nathan and Darius sized each other up and Candasee stood between them again thinking back to the omen of the yesterday’s thunderstorm.
This was worse than she could have ever dreamed. She knew that she needed to break the tension which was mounting quickly in the room.
“Nathan, this is my husband, I mean my ex-husband Darius Brogan
and Darius this is my boss, Nathan Carthswright!” Darn! That quick explanation made her feel like a guilty child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. In her nervous haste, she’d made two huge errors in her introductions and only one important correction. A quick glance to Nathan’s facial expression confirmed it all!