“How could Jacob do this?” a new bout of annoyance surfaced for her brother.
She knew that Mike was a deliberate set up on his part under the pretext of a business deal. The deductions were clear. First, he told her that all she needed was a few days in Fiji, then the meeting was delayed, then he told her she would be there for three weeks. Now, all of a sudden, Mike shows up and takes her to dinner, and not only that, he sets another dinner date while postponing viewing his factory.
With a disgusted sigh, she picked up the phone and dialed her brother’s number. He picked up after three rings. “Hello?”
“Jacob, my loving, considerate brother,” she said in her sweetest voice.
“Goldie!” he exclaimed happily.
“Don’t Goldie me, you turd!”
“Ooo, you’re mad, why?”
Caroline gritted her teeth, “This…this so called business trip was all a set up, wasn’t it? How long have you been planning it? Is Mike a real business associate? Is that even his real name?”
“Calm down, Sis,” Jacob urged over the phone. “Yes, Mike is a real associate and we’re going to be partners, but he’s also a friend… a single friend.”
‘So, you just set me up with a guy I don’t know?”
“It’s not like that, Goldie, we thought…,” he said.
“We? Who else is in on it? Mom? Adam?”
“Well, they asked if there was a way to get you away for a while to heal,” he told her.
“And you all thought that another man would heal me?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think you wouldn’t like Mike, he’s a good guy,” Jacob sounded apologetic.
“Who says I don’t like him? I like him, but only as a friend. Anyway, don’t’ set me up ever again, got that? Or I won’t forgive you.”
“Got it!” he agreed with relief in his voice.
Mike was indeed a nice guy, but she felt that her heart would never really belong to anyone but Demetri. She knew it was unhealthy to continue to daydream about him, and thought that perhaps that was the reason she was seeing him. The ocean also held significance for her because he was lost at sea. Mike, however, made her feel secure enough to enjoy a stroll with him after thinking that she saw her dead lover.
“Goldie,” her brother’s sober voice came through the line.
“Hmm.”
“Please take care of my favorite sister,” he said.
“You mean your only sister, right?”
“Whether or not you’re my only sister, you’re still my favorite. I wouldn’t trade you for anything. I love you,” his voice was strained as he said those words.
She also found herself choking up. “I love you too.”
By the time the conversation ended, she felt better. If her family were that concerned for her, then perhaps she really needed to do something about the slump she was in. She decided that when she returned home, she would have a memorial service for Demetri and say goodbye to him. His belongings that were given to her were still untouched because she hadn’t fully accepted that he was gone.
When she hung up the phone after talking with her brother, it was close to midday. Caroline had a light lunch of grilled fish and salad. She stayed away from the wine, lest she should start hallucinating again, because that’s what she thought was happening to her.
In an effort to have some closure, she took a walk by the ocean. It wasn’t as daunting as she thought it would be, thanks to Mike. A smile came to her face at the thought of the man. He was a handsome man, and had it been under different circumstances, she perhaps would have fallen for him, but it was too soon for her.
There were people sunbathing on the white sands while others swam in the crystal waters. Briefly, she wished she’d brought a swimsuit with her. The water looked inviting and not as dangerous as it did the day before. Slowly, she was making peace with the ocean. She walked for a while until the people on the resort beach looked like small specks.
Some way down the beach, she saw a track that led into a band of trees. There were men fishing nearby and some kids playing in a nearby field. Having not had the chance to see the island, she was curious about their lifestyle. She watched the children at play for a while, but the path beckoned to her most of all. Giving in to the urge, Caroline followed the track between the palm trees. As she moved forward, the trees thickened, then suddenly opened up to a clearing like a yard. There was to one side what appeared to be a hut made of palm branches.
As she made to move closer, she sensed someone behind her and her heart picked up speed. With a start, she turned and came face to face with her past. Her face went white as she stared into the hazel eyes of her fiancé. Caroline staggered back and stumbled, but strong arms caught and steadied her.
“Can I help you? Are you lost?”
Her brain was foggy, but she knew Demetri’s voice well. His deep, rich tone washing over her. Why was he asking her if she was lost? What the hell? She stared unbelieving into his eyes. He stared back, not seeming to recognize her. Her knees felt weak and she almost sagged to the ground but the man was still gripping her by the shoulders.
“De…dem…,” she swallowed, her breathing becoming sharp. “Demetri?”
His hands dropped. “There’s no one here by that name ma’am, but you can ask in the village,” he smiled and moved towards the shack.
Her legs felt like lead as she followed him. “Demetri!” she shrieked.
He stopped and turned, confused. “Is…is that my name?” his face lightened up and he rushed over to her. “Do you know me? Who are you?”
“Stop fooling around Demetri,” she felt light headed.
“Look lady, this is no joke. I can’t remember anything before a month ago…nothing nada, zilch. You’re the first person who showed any signs of knowing me.”
“You don’t remember anything?” she saw what appeared to be hope written on his face, and she gained strength from it. “You don’t remember?”
“No…nothing since I came here,” he said, searching her face. “Who are you?” he asked once more.
“Caroline…your fiancé,” she said, her voice growing husky. How could he not recognize me, she inwardly screamed.
Demetri’s eyes narrowed and furrows formed in his brows. “Fiancé,” he repeated, as if to himself. “Fiancé.”
“Yes, we would have been getting married this weekend,” she said.
He shook his head, “I’m sorry,” he gripped the sides of his head and closed his eyes. “I can’t remember anything!”
Caroline looked around, her eyes absorbing the small hut. A blackened pot sat upon three stones where it was apparent he cooked his meals. A few items of clothing hung from a tree branch and a grass bed was in one corner of the hut.
“Is this where you’ve been living?” she asked, slowly moving forward.
He snatched the clothes from the tree branch, walked over to the hut and dropped them on the bed. Demetri nodded. He went behind the shack and brought around a tree stump which he offered her to sit on.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
It was weird. She spent the last month mourning him, thinking about him every single day, hoping he would come back to her. Now that he has, he was a complete stranger. Caroline wanted to touch him, hold him, and tell him that all would be well. However, she placed her hands in her lap and wrung them together nervously.
What was she to do now? She found her man, but he didn’t know her. Should she call her brother? Can she convince him to go back to the States? Many questions passed through her mind. She wondered how he survived. What he ate. What he did for money.
“I’m sorry…Caroline…it’s Caroline, isn’t it?”
She felt the tears sting the back of her eyes but she fought against letting them slip. She didn’t want to break down in front of Demetri like this. He must be having a hard enough time without her getting all weak and flustered because he could not remember her. He was alive, and that was good enough. She needed some tim
e to think about her next move and it was getting late in the afternoon anyway.
“Can I come see you tomorrow, so we can talk?” she asked hopefully. “I’ll tell you everything then.”
“If you want to,” he grunted.
“Okay,” she got up from the stool and headed onto the path back to the beach.
It’s been hours since she left the hotel. Hours that sped by very quickly. It was almost five and the sun had begun to sink on the horizon. She had only about forty minutes of light left, and she was miles away from the resort. She’d never walked alone at night on the island before, and though the crime rate was extremely low, she was still a little afraid.
She moved as rapidly as possible along the white sands. As she moved, she got the feeling that she was being followed, but each time she stopped and looked back, she saw no one. With the speed which she was going, Carline made it back to the hotel before dark. She was about to step on the veranda of her suite when she backtracked a few feet and looked down the beach. There, walking slowly along the sand, was Demetri. He’d followed her, perhaps to make sure she was safe.
Jacob was already on his flight to Fiji when she called the house. She’d called his cell phone and it was unreachable. Rosa answered the house phone and Caroline almost went crazy not being able to tell anyone that her fiancé was alive.
Mike was supposed to have dinner with her, should she tell him? No, she thought. She’d never talked about Demetri to Mike before. It might seem weird suddenly bringing it up. She’d have to wait until Jacob arrived the following morning to help her sort things out. In the meantime, she needed to make sure Demetri was checked by a doctor and that he was eating properly.
* * * *
“You seem distracted,” Mike observed.
They were seated at a private table in a small gazebo on the lawn of the resort. She wanted to tell Mike but didn’t know how. All she could think about was her fiancé. What if he never remembers her? What could she do to help him remember? Would he be willing to come stay in the resort? Should she have left him in that shack?
“I’m sorry Mike. I have to go somewhere,” she stood.
Mike grabbed her hand as she moved away from their table. “You can tell me what’s bothering you, Caroline,” he said. “I can see something is troubling you.”
“I have to go to someone,” she said. The tears she’d been holding back breaking free, flowing down her cheeks.
“I’m coming with you,” Mike said.
“I have to go alone,” she wasn’t sure showing up with a man was the right thing to do.
Mike gripped both her shoulders, “I can’t let you go anywhere on this island by yourself, let alone at night, in this condition. Now, tell me what happened so I can help you.”
“He’s alive!” the words choked from her.
Mike’s face twisted in confusion and then his eyes widened. “Your fiancé?” he asked. Caroline looked up at him questioningly. “Jacob mentioned it.”
“Yes, he’s alive,” she mumbled.
“Are you sure?”
Caroline took a deep breath and looked into the baby blue eyes of the man before her. “I saw him and spoke to him today.”
“What? He’s here, in Viti Levu?” Mike’s voice sounded incredulous. She nodded her assent. “Then, where is he?”
“That’s where I’m going now,” she replied. Suddenly, she felt weak and her knees almost gave way. Mike pulled her against him and hugged her. She rested her head on his shoulder and let the tears run free.
“Shhh, it’s going to be alright,” he murmured against her hair. “Everything is going to be alright.”
Caroline didn’t want him to let her go. She felt safe and comfortable with him. What did that mean? She wondered. Was he just a friend? Was she liking him more than she realized? All she knew was that she was grateful that he was there because she could not handle this alone. Slowly, she pushed away from him and wiped her face.
“I’m okay,” she croaked. “I have to go see him.”
“Let’s go,” Mike took her elbow and allowed her to lead him down the beach.
There were fires from the resort, other buildings, and people on the beach which allowed them to see clearly. When they reached the shack, there were two people sitting around a fire in the yard, Demetri and a woman. Demetri looked up and saw her. There was a glint in his hazel eyes as they traveled over her. Then, he looked over at Mike and back at her.
“You came back,” he growled.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Caroline said, looking at the woman.
She had long black hair and it was obvious she was a native by the deep honey complexion and dark eyes. Only, she was beautiful. She sat with her legs crossed and looked up at Caroline questioningly.
“Why?” Demetri’s voice made her look back at him. “As you can see, I’m fine.”
“Why are you being like this?” she moved towards him, but he held his hand up to stop her.
“I’ve been here a month and then suddenly some strange woman walks up to me and says I’m her fiancé. Don’t you find that a little strange? Where’s the proof of who you say you are? How do you prove I am who you say I am?”
“You want proof? Let me help you remember,” she moved towards him again but he didn’t stop her. “You want proof? Here,” her voice raised a decibel. She took his hand and before he could stop her she placed it over her racing heart. “This heart only beats for you,” she said in a softer tone. She placed her other hand over his heart, “And there was a time, your heart only beat for me.”
A flicker of something crossed Demetri’s face, but it disappeared quickly. He then pulled his hand away and stepped back. “You’d better go,” he grunted.
“Come back to the resort with me,” she suggested.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he told her. “Now, go back to your resort with your friend over there and leave me alone.”
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” she said.
“Suit yourself, lady,” his voice had softened a bit.
Mike took her elbow and led her back down the path. As she walked away, she felt like all the grief of the past month resurfaced. Her legs could hold her no more and she fell to the ground and let out a piercing cry. Her heart was breaking all over again and she didn’t know how to stop it. She didn’t know how to help her fiancé.
Chapter Six
“Demetri…Demetri,” he repeated several times, trying to see if the name fit. Demetri raked his hand through his long dark hair and stared into the ebbing fire. The cry of the pretty blond woman still echoed through his mind. He was mean to her, he knew that, but something happened to him when she was around that scared the shit out of him. He couldn’t quite explain what scared him, but it was as if she knew him more than he knew himself. Like she knew secrets about him that even he didn’t want to know. Her green eyes bore into his soul and that made him wary.
He could still feel where she laid her hand on his heart and it started racing at the memory. He could tell she was in pain, but he could not remember her. What made him angry was that he was just beginning to accept his life and then she came along to upset things. He was just getting things started with Selai, the native girl, and he didn’t want to hurt her. He had to admit that she liked him more than he liked her, but she was a good girl and he was fond of her.
“Caroline,” he muttered and her face flashed before him.
It was weird, the picture of her face which briefly crossed his mind. In it, she was smiling brightly and her emerald eyes sparkling. It was then that he realized it was a memory and not his imagination. He tried to recall when he saw her like that, but it could not have been yesterday or tonight.
He couldn’t sit still, so he took a walk beside the ocean, willing himself to remember. He stopped and looked out over the expanse of the pacific and wondered what secrets lied there. This was the very beach where Selai and her brother found him. Was he on a cruise? How did he get there? Was he shipw
recked? All they told him was that he had drifted in on a piece of wood, unconscious.
Without thinking, he found himself walking towards the resort. There were people taking walks or sitting on the sand. He was about to return to his little hut when he saw her. She was alone. He was sure it was her because her long golden hair lifted in the wind and her profile was already etched in his mind. Why was he so scared to let her get close? He wondered. Then, someone walked up behind her. It was the guy she was with earlier. The fellow placed a hand around her shoulder and she rested her head against him.
An emotion Demetri hadn’t felt since coming to the island surfaced. Anger flared like gas to flames as he watched them. He glared at them for what seemed like minutes, his blood pumping fiercely in his veins. Frustrated at his reaction, he stomped away and pushed her from his mind.
“What the hell?” he asked himself as he walked away. “She said she was my fiancée, right? Then what the fuck is she doing with another man? Did we have a fight? Did we breakup?”
The questions haunted him all night, even after he went back to his hut. Many questions ran through his mind, but the most prominent question was, “Why was I so angry?”
* * * *
“Don’t worry too much,” Mike said, placing his arm around her shoulder.
She rested her head on him and sighed. The pain inside her chest hadn’t subsided, but she had stopped crying. He’d insisted that she not go back to her empty room, that the night air would do her good.
“Why was he so cold?” she asked into the wind.
“He’s just confused and shocked, maybe,” Mike replied. “He’s been here a month now with no contact from his past, and suddenly, you show up telling him you were getting married. Anyone in his situation would be shocked, especially since he can’t remember.”
“You think so? It seems he hates me. That girl, he may have fallen in love with her and resents me for interrupting his life.”
Reminding The SEAL (Navy SEAL Military Romance) Page 4
