by C. J. Anaya
“I think a good love story is always like that, though. Two people who care for one another must face obstacles and challenges to come together and remain inseparable. Sometimes the challenge lies in getting them to fall in love with one another or even admitting to that love in the first place.”
“Yes, I’m familiar with that particular challenge.” Brody raised his eyebrows suggestively and then gave her a wink.
“I doubt any woman has ever found it difficult to fall in love with you, Brody.”
“That sounds particularly ironic coming from the woman who turned tail and ran after I gave her the kind of kiss meant to make her feel like she was the only woman for me.”
Blast the man and his pointed remarks. How had the conversation been brought back to their potential relationship so quickly?
His words and expression had rendered her speechless. Her father probably wanted her to wax eloquent at this point and spout off romantic nonsense to please his viewers.
She kept her eyes glued to the scenery surrounding them and willed herself to breathe.
“Why did you run from me, Madelyn?”
She hesitated, wishing she could be anywhere but in a canoe with Brody.
“My response to you caught me by surprise. I honestly don’t remember entering the taxi or the long ride home. I just remember thinking about the time we spent together over and over in my mind. I didn’t believe I would ever see you again.”
“Yet here we are.”
“Yes. I imagine this is a bit confusing for you. You have fourteen women left, all of them here to date you, and you have to choose only one to spend the rest of your life with.”
“I’m not confused, Madelyn. I know what I want.”
There was an open invitation there to ask what that might be, but Midge didn’t think she could bear to listen to him utter the words she wanted to hear when she knew it would be a lie and little else.
“Do you feel like running from me now?”
With the intensity of his look disarming her defenses, she could do nothing but answer with complete and total honesty.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you too much.”
He stopped rowing and held her gaze. “Well, there’s no way I’ll let you run from me now.”
“We’re on an island. I probably wouldn’t get very far.”
He chuckled. “I’m an excellent runner, Madelyn. I’m not afraid to chase you, and there are no taxi’s to contend with now.”
His words both frightened and thrilled her. This date needed to end as soon as possible. She didn’t think she’d be able to take much more of his attention if she had to fight so hard against her own natural response to him.
The canoe soon brought them to an open area where a small dining table flanked by two chairs held a simple white candle. With the sun barely beginning to set, washing the dining area in golden light, Midge couldn’t help but feel like the very gods of Hawaii were determined to undermine her resolve. Brody alighted from the canoe and then reached for her hand, pulling her onto dry land, yet keeping her hand in his as he guided her toward the table.
Once they were seated she felt more at ease. At least she had a table blocking his carefully orchestrated advances.
A waiter suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing Midge to wonder if her father was some kind of magician. After he took down their orders, he offered them something to drink.
“Just water with lemon for me, thank you.” Midge thought she heard her father’s mild sigh of reproof somewhere beyond the line of cameras, but she ignored it as she ignored his employees.
“I’ll have a piña colada,” Brody said, handing the waiter their menus. “You didn’t want something more substantial to drink?”
“I’m not much of a drinker,” she stated. She figured she may as well bring this abnormality out in the open if they were really going to play at getting to know one another. “There’s alcoholism on both sides of the family, and I figure if I can’t eat chocolate responsibly then alcohol and I have no future together.”
Brody barked out a laugh that made it seem as if he were not only surprised, but highly entertained by her explanation. She thought she heard snickering from the crew which nearly made her smile. Her father’s frustration at her inability to blend in at social functions didn’t seem to bother his coworkers.
“So you’ve determined what your level of alcohol consumption will be due to your personal addiction to sweets.”
“Everybody has to draw a line somewhere.”
She noted the way Brody’s eyes took on a happy glint as if he wholeheartedly approved of her behavior. She wasn’t used to it, approval that is.
“Some might say that social drinking can hardly be labeled abuse.”
“That’s simply because they haven’t yet accidentally had too much to drink and then woken up in the morning with one awesome hangover only to find a stripper by the name of Roxy sleeping beside them. Walk of shame, Brody.”
He gave her a contemplative nod. “So you don’t think a glass of wine every so often is acceptable?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“How many marriages have ended because someone got drunk and cheated on their spouse? How many people label themselves as social drinkers, and then get wildly drunk whenever rough times hit? People claim they can drink if they can be moderate about it, but I’ve yet to meet a single social drinker who has never been hammered before. I’m not interested in losing control like that. For me, the answer to your question is simple. I won’t go there. Not even once.”
“That conviction must have brought you some serious flack from friends and peers.”
“You have no idea. Yet at the end of the day, I was heading home for a restful nights sleep while they were vomiting their guts out in their parents’ hydrangea bushes. I get that people like to drink. I’m not pushing my lifestyle choices on anyone. I’m just saying I’ve never seen the use of alcohol in social settings ever benefit anyone. It just begets more of the same problems that people try to hide from.” Midge took a sip of the water the waiter placed before her and leaned back in her seat. “I’m assuming your thoughts on the subject differ from mine.”
“Actually, no. When I was sixteen my best friend Casey and I were in a terrible car accident due to a drunk driver who ran a red light.”
Midge immediately sat forward in her seat, hands clenched tightly in her lap.
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Were you both injured?”
Brody looked off to his right away from the cameras and toward the crashing sounds of the waves hitting the shore. She wondered if she should have changed the subject. It was such a personal thing to discuss, and every word was immortalized on camera. Their lives laid bare for all to see. She wanted to protect him from the public’s intrusive scrutiny, but she realized that this was exactly the kind of exposure he needed in order to repaint his image. It was his decision to allow this magnifying glass to scrutinize his character and personal history, after all.
His gaze returned to her, a deep sadness embedded within his expression.
“Casey didn’t make it.”
Midge’s hand shot forward across the table and grasped his, squeezing it to show support. It was an instinctive reaction to soothe away the ache of his loss rather than a desire to play to the cameras.
“That’s awful. I’m so very sorry, Brody.”
He rubbed his thumb along the curve of her hand and glanced to her, clearing his throat. “It was a long time ago, but there are certain lessons given in this life a person can’t afford to ignore. I learned that our choices will always bleed into other people’s lives whether we wish that to be true or not. I’m sure the man who killed Casey never imagined that his drinking that night would be the cause of another person’s death. He didn’t have a problem with alcohol abuse. He just made a bad decision when he was under the influence and now he’s in jail for man
slaughter. I just remembered thinking that it would never be me. I can’t ever be that person. I never wanted to be the one causing damage to another person’s life whether emotional, physical, or mental. So yeah, I can understand your take on alcohol. I’m not much of a drinker myself.”
For the first time in her life, Midge felt like a perfectly normal human being rather than the weirdo her parents and peers had always hinted at. If Brody really was the person he presented at the moment, she definitely wanted to get to know him more, purely for the sake of his image, of course.
“So what drew you to the world of online dating? I’m assuming there is a good story behind that.”
Brody released her hand as their food arrived. Once the waiter left them he answered her question.
“I was extremely tired of the losers my mother kept going on dates with. Most of them she met through friends and coworkers, but other guys she brought home for dinner were men she met on the internet. Wash outs, the whole lot of them. From a business stand point, my mother helped me discover a need that single women everywhere experience. How do you find decent men to date? How can you assure yourself that the men you meet aren’t psychopaths? I figured if women were experiencing this problem then men most likely were as well. So my purpose for developing the company was two-fold. I needed to protect my mother and assure myself that the men she dated were fully vetted before she ever brought them home, and I had a great market in which to start a flourishing business where people searching for a safe online dating community would have the opportunity to find legitimate dating opportunities. The idea grew from there.”
“Foolproof.”
“Well, there were several starts and stops along the way. It didn’t happen overnight, but now I can honestly say it’s become a huge success.”
This was good. She needed to make sure she focused on the positive aspects of Brody’s business and what it meant to him.
“So tell me about the people you’ve helped.”
Brody took on a delighted, almost boyish grin as he reached into his pocket.
“I can do better than that. I have a few pictures of friends and family members who tried the online dating program in its infancy.”
He opened up a small wallet and pointed to a few pictures held within. She flipped through four pictures of happy, smiling couples on their wedding days.
“That first picture is of Dan and Joan Williams. Dan was one of my old bosses who ran a landscaping business. He was divorced at the time my business got off the ground, and I asked him if we could use him as a sort of guinea pig. He hated the idea at first, but soon changed his tune when he got a look at all of the profiles of the pretty women on our website.”
Midge chuckled. She studied Dan’s red hair and twinkling blue eyes. His wife, Joan, was a tall, slender beauty with blond hair wrapped in an elegant up-do. Their shared happiness was unmistakable. Midge sensed the cameras closing in and tried to shift a little so that the crew could get a good view of the pictures. These precious insights brought Brody one step closer to a more favorable image. The sooner that was established the better.
“They must have been very much in love.”
“They still are. They’ve been married now for about nine years and have two kids. They send me a Christmas card every year with their family picture included. It wasn’t easy, though.”
Midge glanced up. “What do you mean it wasn’t easy?”
“They were both wonderful people when they met, but each of them had survived a messy divorce and that can cause a lot of heartache. They knew they liked one another. There was definite chemistry between them, but they had to decide to take the time to get to know and trust each other. They began as friends and eventually their friendship became the roots for the love that blossomed between them. Everyone is going to fall in love at their own pace. These two just needed time to let things simmer a little.”
Midge studied Brody’s features and found a refreshing amount of heartfelt sincerity as he discussed his business and the people who benefited from it. He was humble and unassuming in the way he discussed his thoughts and feelings. She quite liked this side of Brody Prescott.
“So you’ve kept a few pictures of the people you have helped?”
He gave her a soft smile and scratched the back of his head as if embarrassed to answer her question.
“These are just a few of the pictures I have. To be honest with you, I’ve kept every single picture a couple has ever sent to me and pinned them on my office walls. As you can imagine, the walls are quite cramped. I’ve had to place them on other walls in other offices. My secretary isn’t sure how she feels about the wall paper.”
“I don’t believe it,” Midge said, awarding Brody a rare smile.
“I would be more than happy to show you someday.”
“I just might take you up on that, Brody Prescott.”
“I sincerely hope you do.”
Uh oh. He had that look in his eye. That hungry, smoldering look that shot hot fire to her cheeks and turned her knees to jelly. She felt fortunate to be in a seated position.
“I believe I just made you blush, Madelyn.”
“Don’t get too excited about it. Red-heads blush easily.”
“Do they? I suppose I’ll have to experiment with that.”
Midge allowed her mouth to quirk into a half smile. She shook her head in chagrin and then took another sip of her water. She was simply too keyed up to eat.
“Thank you for not running away from me this time.”
She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a playful smile. “It’s a small island. I’m sure you would have found me eventually.”
“Of that, there cannot be any doubt. I’m a bit persistent when chasing after what I want.”
“Then I suppose the best thing to do at this point is to stop running.”
“Does that mean I’ve caught you?”
“Of course not. It just means I need to get off this island.”
Brody stared at Midge for a moment, and she awarded him another teasing smile. He gave into the hilarity of her comment and let out a big chuckle.
While Midge loved the billionaire’s company and the warmth that stole over her with his quiet laughter, she couldn’t wait to return to the mansion and leave the prying eyes behind her.
Most of all, she couldn’t wait to leave the presence of the man she knew with certainty she was falling for.
Brody knew he was laying it on thick with Madelyn, stating his obvious interest with little preamble and even less tact, but if what her father stated about Madelyn’s trust issues was true then he felt it imperative that he dispense with the slow approach. Not that he’d utilized the slow approach even once since the moment he’d met Madelyn.
She awarded him with hints of interest and honest answers to his questions. At least, he hoped they were honest. He blamed that on the cameras and the fact that she’d basically been forced to behave, yet he hoped there might exist some slight truth behind the performance. Even the slightest kernel of sincerity would bring him hope, and if her excessive blushing was any indication of that then he felt bolstered in his pursuit.
She appeared at ease on camera, but the way she sometimes worried her bottom lip between her teeth and the tense set of her shoulders hinted at definite tension just under the surface.
And who could blame her?
This little set up had been entirely his doing. Placing her in a position she’d only entered into under certain stipulations—stipulations which had changed without any warning or consent.
“Madelyn, I know that the situation we find ourselves in is a little unorthodox, but I hope you know that with you, I will always be sincere, whether on or off camera.”
A flash of sorrow flitted across her face, but then her expression smoothed into a half smile as she acknowledged his comment.
“Thank you, Brody. Sincerity in this situation will definitely eliminate any misunderstandings or trampled feelings. I only hope that o
nce you’ve acquired what you came here for that you will be kind enough to release those contestants with whom you feel there can be no future. It would be hard to drag this out any longer than necessary. Most women are going to find themselves very attached to you.”
“I think you’re exaggerating my appeal with the ladies, but I promise I won’t trifle with anyone’s affections, especially yours.”
He understood her meaning, and almost sighed in frustration as he realized that she fully believed him to be performing for the cameras. Why she believed he had kept her here to begin with, he couldn’t fathom. He’d done everything short of declaring his undying love and proposing to her on the spot, but he was definitely going to find out what she believed his ulterior motives were…off camera.
Until then, there was another way to drive home his sincerity, and it was an idea that Madelyn was wholly responsible for.
“Would you like to take a little walk with me? There’s a nice path we can take toward the beach.”
Her eyes lit up with interest.
“I’d love to see more of the surrounding area.”
Brody stood quickly and offered his hand to her, helping her from her chair. He tucked her arm in his and marveled at her slight hands and slender fingers. His large frame dwarfed her own, yet he knew that despite her small build, Madelyn held the ferocity and strength of an Amazon warrior. He’d been on the receiving end of that fighting spirit more than once and looked forward to facing off with it again.
They meandered down a well laid path and came to the rise of a small bluff overlooking the sandy beach and crystal blue ocean below. Standing there with Madelyn and drinking in that moment with her arm in his gave him more clarity than he had ever before experienced. He knew he cared for her, wanted to be near her and continue getting to know her, but he’d never felt so much contentment with any other individual by his side. It was peaceful, simple, and one hundred percent right. He cleared his throat to take that next step in convincing her of his sincerity and hopefully winning her trust and her heart.
Chapter Fifteen
With the soothing sound of lazy waves lightly breaking against the shore beneath them, Midge could almost forget the camera crew and her own father positioning themselves for that perfect shot. That kind of attention made her insides curl with anxiety, but the enormous man beside her lent her some added strength and comfort without him even realizing it. She drew from that quiet strength he held, something she would never acknowledge vocally, though the irony of depending upon him to get through the rest of this date wasn’t lost on her. She became so relaxed with Brody by her side, she rested her head against his arm without thinking about it. His soft voice broke the peaceful silence of the moment.
