Soul Mates. The Beginning.

by Christine Wood

  Being in Germany, I was able to hide my pregnancy away. I lived alone and in one of Dad’s hotel there, and kept myself to myself, I was never a social butterfly like Rachel, that’s why my security detail was called the death watch crew, because I rarely made it out of my bedroom, even to eat. All I had in Germany was Julie Preston, who was by then fed up of my moody ungrateful arse. Dad would conference call and we would talk all the time. Luis came and said I looked better with more weight on my bones. I’d had anorexia and had slowly beaten it, having had it all throughout my awful teenage years. I spent all my teens trying to live up to my elegant and beautiful elder half-sister Rachel.

  Rachel, I hardly ever saw her growing up, but she was always so stunning and Dad loved her more than me, well I thought he did, but well he didn’t I was just jealous of the her and him time they shared. Turns out, she hated me as much, so set about sleeping with Chris, or so I bloody well thought at the time, argh I will kill her because of her, Ethan hasn’t got a father. Mum became ill, so instead of giving birth there, in Germany and away from my family. I had to return home to Spain, where three days later, I went into labour and all before I could tell them, I wasn’t fat, I was with child, but as I had complications, I was rushed into hospital unconscious, they were told by the midwife I was about to have the child. Dad was mad, as I’d kept the pregnancy hidden from him, he and Mum and were even angrier that I hadn’t told Chris that he was to be a father, they said he had a right to know, but they stuck by my decision.

  Never have I ever been more ashamed in all my life, than in that moment he asked me did I still love Chris? He cried a little and held my hand through my son’s early delivery. I screamed for Chris all the way through, of course I loved him the proof was there, had I hated him I would have not had this problem I would have had a termination, and I didn’t once ever consider that. After seven long hours my tiny miracle was passed to me and wow the love I had for him in that single earth shattering moment blew me away, there was no way he was ever leaving my side, no, I loved him too much. Dad did too, we all agreed he looked so like Chris, I thought he did too, after all he looked nothing like me or my brother and he had those dreamy blue eyes like his father, of that I was sure, Ethan was then fatherless, which was my choice and one I know Dad struggled to accept. Mum was in heaven, the cuddles were plentiful, and he didn’t need a father, because he had a grandfather and an uncle to have as good role models.

  I get to look at my son every day, and see Chris more and more but I do wonder would Chris even recognise him as his son? He had wispy dark blond hair, which was now naturally bleached nearly white blond, with the time spent in the sunshine he played in. Those radiant blue eyes and chubby cheeks that I kissed and squished daily, melted my heart, he had his father eyes and hair the rest was just Ethan, he was my wonderful little boy and I felt blessed and honoured to be his mum. I nearly brought him to this set of meetings too, but Dad needed his little grandson, to cheer him up through his treatment, and it was only at most two weeks. Damn I needed to tell him about Ethan, but how to do it without making him so angry that he may want to take him from me, and that’s not happening, shit no. I walked away from Chris and to the security offices, I went in to see Molly looking slightly pink and swearing, and boy, was she wound up.

  “I’m sorry for letting him get to the window, I was seeing to a guest and saw him march up to the window and it all happened in slow motion. You know, I knew it was happening, but couldn’t get the guest out of the way and tackle him too, so he threw the damned paint, good job it isn’t high shine, because that wouldn’t wash out as easily.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Umm, the police have him, and I think the paramedics are seeing to his pain, he will be nursing a pair for ruining my black dress.” I laughed at her.

  “Finish up in here and get back to the room you have here, get cleaned up and I will see you at nine in the morning, again call down for clothes and thank you Molly. I have business to see too. Thank you, Molly off to bed with you.” She thanked me and went to her room I had words with security and went to find Chris. He was, as promised waiting for me at the bar,

  “Hello, sorry for all that, today has been a day for many strange things happening. I will be glad to get out of the hotel business and back home, so will you please join me for supper in the dining room, we have things to talk over, and I for one have had as much drama as I can take today and I haven’t eaten.”

  “Sure, here or somewhere else, I’m easy and starving?”

  “Here I still have things to do and I need to put a call into Dad, see how he and… My Mum are doing.” Shit, I nearly said son.

  “Come on then, please take my arm. I have had a really bad day and it always makes me feel better to see a pretty girl smile. So, would you smile for me? How is Hugh doing, and Maria, I missed our Friday chats. She stopped calling me and I didn’t have her number to ring her back, and for some reason I pissed off your Dad and he wouldn’t take my calls either, Luis has avoided me like the plague and I now I know why, because he thought I’d screwed you over, we really did drift apart didn’t we? I lost you and your family as friends and I, sorry we know it was Rachel’s doing, but neither of us did anything to verify her story, we simply took it to be the truth, I knew you weren’t as she said, and I hope you know deep down, when we made love, you know it was that and more? Oh, and you’re far from frigid and I liked what we did, I loved what we did in fact I’m sorry for hurting you Bella and not finding you sooner, Bella can we start all over again?”

  “Chris, in what way do you mean, as friends?” My fingers are crossed that he means in the same way as I’m hoping…

  “Hello I’m Christopher Holland. I am here to get me a great deal on some hotels, and whilst here I’d love it if perhaps, you would do me the honour of coming to dinner with me. Oh and I don’t like being called Christopher, as you well know, I prefer to be called just Chris. Christopher reminds me of the gangly little kid in blue shorts and stripy tee shirt in the books my nanny read to me, Pooh Bear and his mighty adventures in Hundred Acre woods.” He is joking and not answering my question, why? I play along.

  “My mum read me Pooh Bear in Spanish and Dad in German or English, Luis in French or Greek and my bitchy half-sister read them me in Hebrew, so yeah I too loved Pooh and my bedtime stories read in a plethora of languages, my poor head. You read them to me too as I recall, but you did the voices and jumped around like Tigger too.” He laughed as I talked. “Did you not have a person to read to you and what’s happening with your father, is he still an arse?”

  “As you know my mum died having me, and that’s why my father is such a douche, it turns out he caused Mum to stress out having me, and that’s why she died, I found out three years ago that he hated me because she loved me more than him. He spiralled out of control when she died and I took the flack because like Hugh said he caused her to die, it wasn’t just having me it was the stress he put her under, so I have spent three years getting even with him, he goes for a hotel chain I buy it, revenge my way is killing him.

  So tell me about you, there’s not a lot on the web about Isabella Maria Humphries, I know I looked. What do you do other than draw houses and buildings? Breeding horses was something you had plans to do, or have you stopped doing that? You haven’t got a stable set up now, have you sold your beverage named friends? I do know you know hotels, and you’re not into running them, why when you’re very good at it.”

  “I have, like you, grown up in hotels as you know, and though I like meeting people and the hotels, I want to carve a niche for myself and not just to be Hugh Humphries daughter, so what you want to know is what have we been doing since we stupidly fell for Rachel’s deceptions right?” He nods. “Until the Gina debacle we lived in Zaragoza, on a smaller ranch, that’s where Mum got ill, so between my sixteenth and eighteenth birthday we lived there and it was where I went to college, the place was a nightmare for security. It was a beautiful place and is funnily e
nough a dude ranch.” He laughed.

  “I know I own it, sorry but I’m picking hotels up all over the place and quickly too, there’s a hell of a lot more I need too and the more quirky the better. I bought that because of the land and those cute stables, I had an architect draw up plans for the hotel there to match those and it does, it’s very much like the Lego castle we once built, well almost it’s not in multi-coloured blocks.” I stammered.

  “You own Villa Maria?” He smiled.

  “I do, another reason to buy it, the name drew me in. It’s named after the sexiest woman bar one I know, my first crush was called Maria, if you remember, she’s one hell of a woman.” I thumped his arm playfully.

  “So we bought, or rather Dad bought a smallish castle and equestrian centre, in a village near León, called Villablino, it was easy to fly between the European branches, I returned home every weekend from studying at the Goethe-Institute, in Germany. We love it there and when and if you visit your new hotels in Spain, you have to come out and visit us now you know where we have been hiding out, it seems you knew that though, or am I wrong?”

  “Is it called Hills, Bells and Horses?”

  “You knew where I was?”

  “No, honestly I didn’t, but I had and enquiry about buying a breeding pair of Aztecs from a Hilary Rosewood, about a year ago? It wasn’t until you said Villablino, I knew where you were, I didn’t hear back from her either. Did you see my name and tell her not to?”

  “No I didn’t, I swear I have very little time for the horses now, what with other things going on, she deals with it, she’s my partner, Hill’s has been great and took over when I had to become CEO of the company. Do you own a lot of European hotels?”

  “I have or will have four on the coast of Spain and four in France, and three in Germany, one in Switzerland and two I believe in Portugal, so yes I will be in Europe a lot, thanks for the invite. Good job my nanny was Spanish. I spoke Spanish before English.”

  “Oh you speak languages too, how come you never spoke Spanish with me?”

  “I never spoke it, because you always spoke to me in English, besides I find that being in the world of mergers and acquisitions, the ability to hear and understand what your competitors need from a deal is a usually a pre requisite to a counter strike. If they jabber on thinking I’m dumb to their language, I learn a lot, like when you wished I was your big brother all the time, and Maria said you had one, perhaps he can be your Prince instead?” I grin again.

  “So you heard me tell her I loved you, when I was four then and one day I would marry my Prince, Parlez-vous Français?” He smiled.

  “Je vous ai entendu, et je pensais que c'était doux, mais j'ai toujours été votre prince, parfois un prince sombre, mais toujours la vôtre.” I laughed.

  “Chris, you were never my dark Prince, sometimes a drunken idiot.” I liked it when he said I was always just his, Chris. “Really you speak French very well, how come we never spoke properly before?” I ask, stupidly.

  “We very rarely spoke, you were really shy, until the very grown up sixteen year old re-entered my life, we never had whole conversations, you would just go all shy and hideaway in your room. So what languages do you speak Bella, so I know how to curse at you in a different language in future? I did always consider you mine too by the way, just in case you were too afraid to ask?” I smiled and I know my cheeks are red.

  “Spanish and French very well, German and a few more for good measure as I said we travelled a lot and I was home schooled for most of my formative years as you know. Dad insisted his baby girl was with him everywhere and so I travelled a lot, I hated it not having friends, the only one I ever saw was you and that wasn’t a lot, I had them when we left for England of course, when I went to a proper school. I don’t want that for my child… Should I have one in the future.” He smiled, and I realised I had to tell him about Ethan’s existance.

  “I swore I’d never have a family, but the twins and their brother have made me change my mind, we discussed having children Bella remember?” I did, so do I tell him now all about Ethan?

  “Chris where’s this going, we’re talking yes, but what more do you want, you and I are skirting around the obvious question here, what’s next?”

  “I want to be happy again Bella, I was for the briefest of days, but I want to know you first, like we are doing now. We need to know things about each other that make us who we are, not just have the mind blowing sex, which it was, just to reiterate what I said earlier, there is nothing wrong with how we were together, nothing, it was perfect. I love you Bella and rehashing the why we split up and went our different ways and what Rachel did and said, isn’t helping. We can’t change the past, can we? So we change the future, should you want this to go further we will, should you want just to be friends we will, begrudgingly because I want the other things too, the home the children and us.” I oh-ed again, that answered that then.

  “Chris, can I sleep on all this? I’m not going anywhere, because I am too busy schmoozing a hunky fella into paying billions for a hotel chain, at the moment. I love you like you wouldn’t believe, but I have other people to consider. I have loved taking to you again and seeing you, but it’s been a long day and I need my beauty sleep.”

  “You must have been asleep for a hell of a long time, Bella. You don’t need any more sleep, your beautiful enough.” He smiled as he said it too.

  “Smooth chat up lines Mr Holland, do not work on me, but nice try. That’s nearly as good as ‘did it hurt when you fell from heaven,’ or ‘do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?’ Or an equally tried and tested few more for you. ‘Hi, I just wanted to give you the satisfaction of turning me down go ahead say no,’ but the best one and most said to me. ‘I have had a really bad day and it always makes me feel better to see a pretty girl smile. So, would you smile for me?’” He laughed so loudly people stared at us.

  “Normally it works that and ‘there must be something wrong with my eyes, I can’t take them off you.’ Or Luis tried and tested, ‘No really you are stunning and I have the funniest feeling we have met before, that’s not a chat up line, there’s just something about you that’s familiar.”

  “Funny Chris, you know me all too well you’re the only one who does, so are we alright to talk in the morning?” I need sleep and to talk to my two favourite men.

  “Let me take you to your room, I wouldn’t be much of a gentleman if I didn’t.” I pointed to my security. “Oh they can come too I’m just walking you to your room.”

  “We’re next door to each other and to my other side is my security room.” My security detail follow us into the lift. “Hold on a minute, I’m in no danger with Mr Holland. Please take the next lift and don’t give me the look I sign your pay cheques.”

  “Ouch that was harsh.”

  “Umm, not really but don’t mess with the fiery Spanish woman then.”

  “I’ve no intentions of doing so Miss Humphries, unless you want me to, if not I know when to beat the retreat.” He laughed as the lift came and I used the pass key for the penthouse suits.”

  “So tonight has been good, thank you.” Why do I feel like the lift walls are closing in on me and the air is being sucked out? The heat and the feelings of lust and sexual tension between us is so obvious, he smiles at me and I smile back, but we each stay on our own side of the lift and look at each other, neither of us willing to take the first step towards the other.

  “It was different Bella, just think about things and I’d like to talk to Hugh can you get him to take my calls, he’s refused before and I miss him, he’s been a better father to me than my own, and I need to talk to Maria, she must still hate me?”

  “No, funnily enough they don’t hate you, they just love me more. Sorry you know why I hated you and that the reason is now old news. I just need to get my head around where you want this to go. These past three years have been fraught, what with Dad’s illness and Mum worrying, then add in our thing. So
yeah, I have a few issues I need to talk to you about tomorrow. I will get Mum to ring you, give me your phone please.” I put in their numbers and Luis’s, he would be glad to have his friend back.

  “Let me tell them first, that we are at least talking again, as to the other things…”

  “...We can wait, I can wait Bella, but remember had she not interfered we would be married, hopefully had children and been still madly in love with each other with our two or more kids by now. Nothing has changed for me, now I know the reasons why. Have things changed so much for you Bella?”

  “No, but I have something’s to explain first, and I’m too messed up to do it now, but tomorrow we talk about this romance and other stuff yes?”

  “We will do more than talk Bella, sleep well if you can and say hello to Mum and Dad for me. I love you Bella, get some sleep and meet me for breakfast.” I ummed as I willed him to kiss me. He smiled and placed a chased kiss on my cheek, wow, his butter soft lips touched my skin and I felt faint, damn it, could we do this?

  “Yes, until tomorrow, it was a very pleasant evening thank you.” He entered his room at the same time as I entered mine our eyes looking into each other’s. Please tell me I’m not as red faced as I feel, I looked in the hall mirror and no, there’s just a rosy hue on my cheek, but as I placed my hand to the place he had kissed I shivered. I phoned Dad for an update, Ethan would be up and having breakfast…

  “Hello, my little angel, how are things going there?”

  “Fine Dad, really fine, did Luis tell you about the news?”

  “Yes, yes, I sent you an email and the price is fine, more than fine, why the hell does Holland want more hotels?”