Natasha shrieked in surprise and Marcus assured her that he was not going to drop her. As she looked over his shoulder all she saw was Ashley’s fanning herself, rolling her eyes and mouthing the words, “He is so hot!” before following them. Natasha narrowed her eyes at her friend and gave her the “I’ll deal with you later” look that they both recognized.
Marcus was driving a silver Toyota jeep, and as he set Natasha down, she inadvertently slid against the full length of his body. A penetrating heat gripped her core as a thousand butterflies were set loose in her stomach, or so it seemed. When she reached the ground Marcus did not release her immediately and she could see that he was just as affected as she was by this nearness to each other. Never in her life had she ever experienced emotions and sensations that threatened her common sense like this. Feelings which made her want to be a little reckless and definitely spontaneous in the moment.
Finally after a few moments of gazing into her eyes, Marcus helped Natasha into the front passenger seat while Ashley climbed into the back. The short ride to the clinic was filled with a pensive silence punctuated by excited chatter from Ashley. Both Marcus and Natasha answered her in short responses still deeply aware of the effect each was having on the other.
When they arrived at the nearby clinic, the doctor confirmed that she had suffered a mild haematoma and prescribed pain medication to reduce the inflammation. He also instructed her to rest and elevate her leg for at least the next two days while using alternating warm and cool towels to treat the area.
Following the doctor’s advice, Natasha sat in the backseat to keep her legs stretched out and elevated while Marcus took Ashley home first. For some unknown reason which Natasha would interrogate her friend about later, Ashley concocted some story about having to get home immediately because of a family emergency. She knew Ashley was up to something because she lived alone in her own apartment and her family members were miles away at the other end of the island. Clearly, Ashley was up to some mischievous matchmaking and for some reason she wasn’t complaining. After they dropped her off, Marcus turned around to look at her with a smile.
“I know that you have to keep your leg elevated, but I want to apologize to you properly. Can I buy you lunch?” he asked.
“No I don’t think so, I wouldn’t want to impose on you like that,” she said hoping desperately that he would not take her refusal seriously and offer her lunch again. She didn’t want to seem as though she had been eagerly waiting for him to suggest that they spent more time together, although that was exactly the case.
“You are not imposing, I would love to buy you lunch so please say yes,” persisted Marcus flashing her with his magnetic grin. She had already discovered that when he did that, a small dimple appeared on his chin that she just wanted to reach out and touch. So, after pretending to think about his invitation for a few seconds longer Natasha finally said yes.
“Is there anything in particular that you love to eat?” he asked.
“Well, I haven’t been home to Derrien in months so I miss the taste of our local food,” she replied honestly. “But I am hungry enough to eat a horse so anything would be great right now!”
“Okay I know the perfect place, but wait, don’t you live on Derrien Island?” he asked surprised.
“Yes, Derrien is my home, but I am studying for a degree in Art and Advertising Design at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia. I am only here for three more weeks before I return to the US,” she replied.
Marcus felt his heart sink just a little knowing that she would be leaving in three short weeks. Shaking his head a little he wondered where all these emotions were coming from. After all, he had decided since his last serious relationship had ended two years earlier, that he would take a break from the dating scene to focus on building up his career. As far as his ex-girlfriend was concerned, he was not making enough money for her liking and she dumped him when she found someone with a higher net worth. That too inspired him to make his move to Derrien to escape the harsh and bitter realities in his former home. Here he had a simpler life, one where he had a great job and he could focus on his passion for writing. He had decided that any relationships he got into since then would be casual and definitely the no-strings attached kind. But Natasha was messing up that perspective big time! Since when was he, Marcus Nicholls, already anticipating how he could spend time with a woman weeks in advance?
“Only three weeks?” he blurted unable to hide his dismay. “Wow you are not giving me a lot of time to make this up to you, are you?” he exclaimed barely recognizing the slight alarm he heard in his own voice.
Natasha laughed and wondered if he realized what he had just said, after all three weeks were a long time to spend apologizing.
“Yes, three short weeks,” echoed Natasha sweetly.
“Well in that case I have my work cut out for me to make all these moments count then. As I said, I know the perfect place that sells local food but it is in the north. Are you up for a scenic drive?”
Natasha knew that she should refuse him and show a little more common sense but somehow she just wanted to have lunch with Marcus, haematoma or no haematoma!
“Yes I am. It sounds like fun!”
“Great!” he replied as he started the jeep and pulled out of Ashley’s driveway.
“Where are you staying while you are here?” asked Marcus.
“I am at my parent’s home in Wiltshire Heights.” She replied.
Marcus whistled aloud as he recalled that Wiltshire Heights was one of the most affluent areas on the island and it was even reported that a few well-known movie celebrities owned homes in that neighbourhood.
“I hope you don’t have a bad opinion of the rich and famous”, she said noting how he reacted to her parents’ address.
“No, I don’t but I believe that every decent man has dreams of being that successful and I am working toward achieving mine!” he replied.
“So, what is it that you do?”
“As Sheldon told you I am now an assistant manager at the Shores restaurant in Cedarville. My degree is in management but what I really want to do is to own a chain of restaurants and to write novels.”
“Write? You don’t seem the type!” exclaimed Natasha.
“What type am I to you then?” he replied looking at Natasha in his rear view mirror.
“Well, I got the impression that you were more athletic than artsy. I guess we have a little in common then.”
“I am athletic but my parents always told me that it was important to have varied interests and a balanced personality so, although I could bring it on the volleyball court, I was also often in the library reading and studying.”
“What kind of books do you want to write?” asked Natasha with interest.
“I am interested in writing mystery and crime fiction novels. Growing up I could not get my hands on enough spy novels and even now you can always find several on my bookshelf at home.”
“You are really surprising me Marcus.”
“Good surprises or bad surprises?”
“When it gets bad I’ll let you know, she laughed. I’m a bit of a bookworm myself but I am more into reading romance novels. I usually hide my stash over at Ashley’s or sell them to the used book store when I am done.”
“Why?”
“With parents like mine, you just have to. You may have heard or seen my father on television, The Rev. Dr. Carlos Mitchell of Greater Faith Tabernacle?”
“Rev. Mitchell is your father?” exclaimed Marcus as his eyes widened.
“Yes, he is and my mother is a paediatrician and also the director of the Save Our Teens Foundation.”
“So, what is it that makes you to want to hide from them?”
“My father is a Reverend and my mother is always on T.V. talking about the dangers of teenage sex and I have gotten those lectures many times. I am supposed to their perfect little spiritual, robot of a daughter.”
“Okay I see, so neither of them would appreciate you
r romance hobby, but do you think that reading about love and romance is wrong?”
Natasha paused before answering,
“No, actually I don’t but as a PK, pastor’s kid, everyone expects me to be this unrealistic, perfect person and I don’t like that. It is as though I am supposed to be some kind of person who can do no wrong! ”
“It must be pretty hard to be you sometimes then?”
“You have no idea! It is one of the reasons I really pressured my parents to let me attend an overseas university. I just needed the space to be me!”
“How old are you Natasha?”
“I am twenty years old, she replied, but I will be twenty-one in a few months!”
“Yikes, you are young!” said Marcus with a fake frown.
At his response, Natasha twisted her lips and from his view in the rear-view mirror she could not have been more beautiful with the sun shining in on her flowing, wavy, jet-black hair as it framed the sides of her face. She had changed her outfit while at the doctor’s office and now wore a lime green cotton sundress that had no straps and a long skirt which flowed around her ankles. When she came out of the bathroom at the office it was all he could do to stop his jaw from dropping and hitting the floor. Being fitted from the top to the waist it accentuated her full breasts, narrow waist and flat stomach. When she saw his blatant expression of admiration and desire, instead of revelling in her obvious power, her gaze fell to the floor for a few seconds but she couldn’t hide the slight smile that raised her cheeks. And now again in the backseat of his jeep he could tell that his comment had ruffled her just a little.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked with narrowed eyes.
“I did not mean it like you think Natasha. It is just that you carry such an air of maturity and grace around you that I thought you were a little older.”
“Okay, I’ll buy that answer for now. So what about you, how old are you?” asked Natasha in return.
“I recently turned twenty-seven”.
“Yikes, you are old!” said Natasha purposefully exaggerating the sound of the O in old, and as she did they both erupted into laughter.
“Hey, so you are trying to get back at me, huh?” he teased.
“Well, you are already down two strikes today in my books!”
With a look of mock horror, Marcus exclaimed, “Two strikes already? You are a tough lady; I am going to have to stay on my best behaviour for the rest of the day then.”
“Rest of the day?” inquired Natasha with a raised eyebrow revelling secretly at the thought of being with him for that long.
Marcus hadn’t even noticed his error and when Natasha repeated his words he knew he should have felt alarmed at his bold statement, but instead he was filled only with a blatant desire to take every chance to find out who Natasha Mitchell really was and seeing that it was his day off from work, there was nothing else he would rather do more.
“If that meets the lady’s approval?” Marcus said in low tone that hinted at a touch of chivalry.
“I’ll let you know after lunch. If this restaurant is all you say it is and you are the perfect gentleman, I might consider it.”
Natasha felt so bold, so fun and free at that moment teasing and flirting with Marcus. She knew based on her upbringing that her parents would never approve, being as conservative as they were, but sometimes she just wanted to be herself. She was a free spirit, an artist and an aspiring recording artist at that. She had just been offered the chance at a recording contract but she hadn’t spoken a word of it to anyone as yet. It was so draining to be always confined to a limiting set of do’s and don’ts, right and wrong, good and evil. All her life she suffered the disapproving glare of her parents and always chose to do things their way just so she could keep out of trouble and keep them happy. It wasn’t that she did not love them, in fact she loved her parents very much because despite how conservative they both were she never lacked for their time, attention or for anything that she really needed.
But being here with Marcus, was so out of the norm for her and it felt so much more like her true personality. She was a spontaneous and lively person, trapped in the body of someone trying to please everyone else.
Marcus could see that Natasha was deep in thought and he wondered if she really knew how beautiful she was. He had to keep reminding himself to pay attention to the road but the temptation to simply watch Natasha in the mirror was incredibly overpowering. At first, he was simply struck by her eyes, but her pert nose and full lips were well combined into what he was convinced was now the perfect face.
Marcus arriving at their location, pulled over to what looked at first like a wooden house by the side of the road with a temporary gravel parking lot.
“We’re here, I hope you are hungry because this place serves the best local food on Derrien Island,” exclaimed Marcus.
Natasha looked out the window in great surprise and wondered for a minute if Marcus had lost his mind, or for that matter if she had lost hers. In her mind’s eye she had envisioned an elegant restaurant perhaps overlooking the sea where they could have enjoyed a delicious lunch while enjoying the salty sea air. Instead what she saw looked like a log cabin sitting at the base of the mountains in the Northern range surrounded by trees with a wide patio at the front. At least it looked clean and there were also several other cars parked outside.
“I wasn’t quite expecting something this local!” she exclaimed feeling a little apprehensive.
“I kind of got that impression when you said you grew up in Wiltshire Heights, but let me assure you as one who has eaten at nearly every establishment on this island that you won’t be disappointed,” said Marcus with a smile.
Marcus also having changed clothes at the doctor’s office now wore with his white T-shirt a pair of slightly faded blue jeans that moulded beautifully to his strong, lean legs. He came around and helped her down and together they strolled toward the door. As he reached for the handle it suddenly opened and a thick, heavy set woman in her fifties, wearing a blue flowered dress and a matching chequered apron shouted,
“Marcus, I thought you said you would have been back last week to try out my new souse dish?” said the woman with obvious mock anger. The twitching at the corners of her mouth gave away the fact that she was trying to suppress a smile.
“Lucinda, I was all set to come but I had to work all of last week, but I hope you saved it for me in the freezer,” replied Marcus with a wink.
Lucinda stared him down a few seconds longer before they both burst out into laughter and he stepped inside to give her a warm hug.
“Who is this lovely girl with you? Are you finally taking my advice to settle down?” she asked.
“Uh, this is Natasha Mitchell,” he replied side-stepping her insinuation that Natasha was his girlfriend.
“Well come inside girl, I won’t bite you. Any friend of Marcus’ is a friend of mine,” said Lucinda.
“Thank you for your welcome”, said Natasha as she entered the restaurant.
The interior of the restaurant was strangely elegant despite the bland exterior. The walls were made from a deeply Purple Heart wood, finished with a high gloss and were decoratively covered in gold-framed photographs of persons who had their pictures taken with Lucinda. The corners of the room were decorated with potted palms and the light fixtures on the walls looked like curled seashells that glowed in tones of peach white and orange creating a soft sensual mood indoors. Inside was also quite large and from a quick estimate there appeared to be about ten tables draped with white tablecloths and set with fine dining china. The patio that she saw outside was now visible from the inside leading from the main dining room outdoors. The entire wall was open to let in the cool breezes and she could see a stunning view of the countryside below the hill.
Quite frankly, Natasha was absolutely amazed. Not only was she unaware that this place actually existed but she wished that she had her paints at that moment to just capture everything that she was seeing.
Already, at least six other tables were occupied with persons eating and who looked very relaxed and pleased with their meals. It was a light and welcoming atmosphere.
“Lucinda, this is such a beautiful restaurant,” exclaimed Natasha finally after her eyes has swept the room drinking in every detail.
“Thank you dear, my late husband built it for me years ago and I never took him up on his idea to transform it into a restaurant. But when he died four years ago and I realized that all of my children were grown and had moved on I decided that it was not too late to follow my dreams, so I enlisted some help and here you have “Lucinda’s”.
“I think that this is really great, wow and look at that view,” breathed Natasha.
“Let me get you two a seat, so you can really enjoy it.”
Despite her heavyset body Lucinda moved fluidly between the tables to seat them near to the view. Marcus graciously allowed Natasha to have the seat facing the view while he took the one that was facing inside, and facing her. He pulled out her chair for her and then sat down himself.
“Marcus, I am beginning to think that I like you just a little more now,” said Natasha teasingly.
“Hmm, if it only took bringing you to Lucinda’s to get you to like me just a little then I will work on some more ideas to get you to like me a lot.”
With that statement, they looked at one another both wondering what on earth was happening to them. Five hours ago, they did not even know each other but here they were now sitting in a restaurant flirting shamelessly with each other. As their eyes held across the short distance of the table both knew that something was undeniably drawing them together and neither wanted to stop it. This intense, gut-gnawing attraction was sending literal electric shockwaves throughout their bodies every time they just touched or even looked at each other. Marcus knew that this was a new experience for him even though he had other girlfriends before and it was something he definitely wanted to explore.
“Let’s order something,” they suddenly said in unison and once again broke out in laughter.
Forgotten Love (Derrien Island Trilogy) Page 3
