Loving Him: A New Adult International Romance Serial (Angelique's Greek Book 5)
Read Loving Him: A New Adult International Romance Serial (Angelique's Greek Book 5) Online
Authors: Kay Brody
ANGELIQUE’S GREEK:
BOOK 5
Loving Him
A Standalone Spinoff of The Greek Tycoon
By Kay Brody
Rights & Disclaimer
This is entirely a work of fiction. All people, places and events contained have been completely fabricated by the author. Any similarities to real people, places, or events are completely coincidental.
Loving Him Copyright © 2016 Kay Brody
All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any manner or used in any way without advanced written permission by the author.
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Dedication
This book is for John.
You’re still the only one to make me swoon.
Chapter 1
Theo ran down the path as fast as he could in the dim moonlight, though he had to hold back in fear he’d trip on some vine and fall headlong onto the ground. The nighttime racket of crickets and grasshoppers buzzed all too loud in his ears.
“Angelique!” he cried out, but his voice disappeared into the darkness of the night. She did not answer.
Angelique’s father had sprinted ahead, and his calls for her sounded quite distant. Her mother and sisters had stuck together some way behind.
Theo cursed himself as he walked on, looking this way and that in hope of spotting a flash of her white dress among the trees of Mermaid Hole. Why had he gotten so far ahead of himself? He knew being impulsive, as well as having built him his fortune, had caused him a lot of trouble in the past. Theo was so easily swept up in the tides of passion, whether it was love or excitement or even vengeance, and allowed himself to be carried along in their waves without a fight.
But he should have known to be more careful with Angelique. As strong as she is, she was also tentative, and not quite sure of what she wanted out of life just yet. Not only that, she clearly wanted to solve things herself. She didn’t want some free ride, to be carried along by some man’s money and prestige and privileges, but instead to be supported enough to solve things herself.
It all became so embarrassingly clear to him in those moments in the dark, in the thick of the Bahamian bush. To ask Mr. and Mrs. Sands about purchasing the place had been a terrible idea. He had only been there a couple of days, and already he was putting himself at the heart of the action. Why could he not just relax, and take a passive role? It was Angelique’s home, and he was only a guest. He felt a burning sensation, something like shame, in his chest. He vowed that when they found Angelique he’d apologize and tell her he was going to fall back. Way back.
The search through the darkness was interminable. He heard new calls for Angelique from the other side of Mermaid Hole and realized that Mr. and Mrs. Sands must have joined the search, too. Theo went up to the sulfur baths, where he and Angelique’d had their first real disagreement, then to the winding paths between the tight, vibrant foliage, but caught no glimpse of her.
The longer she was missing, the more his mind tormented him. It conjured up horrible images of her lying at the bottom of the stream, and worse. He hoped she hadn’t done anything stupid, and a horrible urgency gripped him as he thrashed through the bush, sending up begging prayers that she was safe.
After a while he heard one of Angelique’s sisters call out, though she sounded a little way off in the distance. Josette, he thought. “Theo!”
“Yes?” he shouted back impatiently.
“She’s at home!”
Theo actually sank to the ground with relief, a sob catching in his throat, then sprang back onto his feet.
“I’m coming!” He didn’t know the way but he ran toward where Josette’s voice and soon he met the entrance gate to Mermaid Hole.
He leaned against it for a brief moment, catching his breath. Until he stopped he hadn’t realized how hard his heart thumped in his chest. It felt like it would burst through his ribs and skin at any moment.
Soon he was jogging down the path back to the beautiful wooden house Angelique’s parents had recently purchased. Another thought hit him then, making his stomach lurch. Maybe his proposal to buy Mermaid Hole had embarrassed them, too. After all, they had just purchased what most people the world over would classify as a dream home, a quaint Caribbean cottage nestled in vivid gardens blooming with fruits and flowers. Then he had come along and suggested they buy the whole three hundred acres. He probably looked like the most awful show off there ever was. He felt like such a fool.
When he reached the door, they were all sitting around the table. Angelique’s parents were at either end, while her sisters Claudine and Cherie and Josette huddled around her. They did not notice him for a moment.
“Still,” Angelique’s mother Anna said, somewhat fiercely, “you shouldn’t have run away like that and scared us all half to death. You just
shouldn’t
. No matter how you’re feeling.”
“I already told you I’m sorry, Ma,” Angelique said. Her voice was flat and monotone, and Theo felt an ache in his chest as she spoke. She sounded a million miles away from the passionate woman he’d lost his heart to.
“Didn’t you hear us?” he said softly.
They all looked up at him, surprised to see him there.
Theo expected a glare from Angelique, but as she gazed up at him, she just looked tired. “I put my headphones in and came back just a couple minutes after. I just wanted to clear my head.”
Mr. Felix stood and crossed over to the kitchen. “Well, next time, you’ll take your phone with you.”
“Yes, Dad.”
Theo looked around at each of them, and noticed how his proposition had changed the mood of the room so drastically. They had all been so happy, chattering away and enjoying their curry chicken. Now there was a heaviness lingering in the air.
“I just wanted to say—” Theo began, about to apologize and tell them he would retract his offer on Mermaid Hole.
“Let’s talk outside,” Angelique interrupted. She got to her feet and came over to the door, not meeting his eyes.
Once outside on the veranda, they walked into a swarm of mosquitoes. Angelique tutted, flapping her hands in front of her face to try and get rid of them. She then clicked a switch and the porch was flooded with light. The garden, which had been softly illuminated by the moon’s weak shine, was cast into darkness.
Angelique flopped down on a chair. Theo followed suit.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said. “At all. In fact, quite the opposite.”
Angelique let out a deep, long breath. “I know.” She reached out for his face and pushed her dark fingers through his light hair at the temple. It was comforting, and her voice took on a softer tone. “I know, Theo. You were just trying to do something nice for me.”
“It didn’t turn out so well,” he said.
“Not exactly,” she agreed, but there was no condemnation in her voice. “Theo, I love you. It still scares me to say that but I do, even though it’s early. I love your passion. Your personality. You’re so … go-getting. But this is all moving too fast for me.”
“I know,” he said. “I agree. You’re right.”
“And I’m not saying that because I don’t love you. I’m saying it because I
do
love you. Because I really want things to go right. I don’t want us to rush and mess it up, you know?”
He took her black hands in his white ones. The contrast was beautiful.
“Me neither.”
“It was a really nice thought, my boy,” she said.
He smiled at that. That Caribbean term of affection he so loved to hear pass her lips. It all but disappeared whenever she was angry.
“It was a really nice thought,” she said again. “And maybe one day in the future I would like to run Mermaid Hole. But not just now. Right now, I don’t want any responsibilities. I want to think long and hard before I get myself into anything.”
Theo nodded. “I understand. And I’m just going to work on my book and do my thing and stop interfering. I’m a guest here. And when I’m getting annoying you just tell me and I’ll go get a hotel or whatever. No pressure.”
She giggled and slapped him on the arm. “Oh yeah, you’re so annoying, my boy. Go get a hotel, right now. Get out of my sight.” She giggled again and snuggled into his arm, then breathed a satisfied sigh. “You’re so silly. You’re great.”
Theo wrapped his strong arm around her thin waist. “Thanks. You’re pretty spectacular yourself.”
They settled into silence, but after a moment or two she stood up and held her hand out to him. “Come, let’s walk a little.”
He grinned. “You promised your dad you’d take your phone.”
She stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes to the sky, then opened the door. “We’re going to walk for a while.”
Theo took her hand as they walked down the veranda steps and into the darkness of the garden.
“It’s so peaceful at night,” she said.
“And no streetlights.” Theo had wished there had been when they’d been searching for her, but when there was no urgency it was much nicer to have the place thrown into a silvery sheen by the moon and stars, instead of an orange synthetic glow.
“Just got to be careful you don’t step on a frog or something,” she laughed. “Claudine barely comes out at night for that. She says frogs are too scary, ‘cause they sit there for the longest while, so still you think they’re a rock, then they just spring like mad out of nowhere. And she’s screaming and clinging to me and running back in the house! Silly girl.”
She looked so gorgeous when she laughed. Theo couldn’t help but stare at her chocolate skin. He loved to touch and feel it. He loved the way it opposed his own. He had never thought he would fall in love with a Bahamian woman, but he had—madly.
As he listened to her laugh, he had no doubt that that alone could change his life. He felt for a moment like the world had stopped turning and that every bad thing had faded away into nothingness.
“I’ve been thinking, though,” she said, “about what we were saying before. You know, about purpose, and what I want to do next. I think … like, I know I like to help people, and that’s why I did massage in the first place, to make people feel better. So I might want to continue that, or maybe to learn more things like acupuncture, or reflexology, that kind of thing. Or, like, I could do counseling for people. Relationships counseling, or just women on their own. I don’t know what I’m best suited to, but I’ll work it out in time.” She looked at him with a mock sternness. “
I’ll
work it out.” She then giggled and leaned in to kiss him as they walked along. “Sorry, that was kind of mean.”
Theo gave her plump lips an extra kiss. “
You’ll
work it out,” he said. “It’s your life, so no one else can but you.”
She stopped then, holding his hands in hers and looking into his eyes. She had a totally new appreciation and affection in her face. “You’re the best, Theo.”
“You’re the best,” he countered quickly. “You forgave me pretty quick!”
“Well, you were only trying to do a good thing,” she said. “Other people would have really liked that, I think.”
“I think so,” he said. “I would have. But I have to realize you’re not me and I’m not you. We’re different, even though we’re similar. We have different likes and dislikes, and that’s totally normal.”
She smiled. “Yep. Wouldn’t life be boring if we were all the same?”