The Bridal Candidate 1 (Heart Connections)

by Linda Verji

  Rapping her knuckles on the closed door, Aiko called out, "Zoe?"

  No response.

  Aiko knocked again. "Zoe, are you awake?"

  Only silence met her question.

  "Zoe?" Aiko turned the doorknob and opened the door. The drapes were still closed but the room was bright enough for Aiko's gaze to take a slow tour around it.

  The room was the same size as Seraphina's and it had the same layout. But the décor gave it a stark difference. Purple, silver and white blended together to give the space an elegant atmosphere. Silver framed, signed pictures of popular teen celebrities lined the white walls.

  A white, wooden cradle-chair sat on one corner of the room facing the flat screen TV high on the wall. Several snack packets littered the floor in front of the cradle-chair and the TV itself was still on and playing some reality show, albeit on mute. Beside the TV area was a vanity table piled high with, possibly, every brand of makeup known to woman.

  The other corner of the room held a desk whose top was empty, as if the desk was never used. Beside the desk was bookshelf lined with books that looked like their spines had never been cracked.

  Zoe was a huddled mass lying smack in the middle of the huge canopy bed, the white comforter pulled up to her neck. Aiko trod softly closer to the bed. In her sleep and with her face free of makeup, Zoe looked younger than her age. Soft tendrils of platinum hair wisped over her olive skin and chubby cheeks. She was really quite pretty - like a younger Selena Gomez but blonde.

  Her lips tilted in a smile, Aiko bent to stroke the girl's arm over the covers. "Zoe, wake up."

  Zoe sighed, and her eyelashes fluttered but she didn’t wake up.

  Aiko shook her slightly. "Zoe."

  "Mm." Her brow furrowing but eyes still closed, Zoe shifted on the bed and turned to face the other side.

  "Zoe, wake up."

  Harrumphing in annoyance, the girl pulled the covers over her head.

  Still smiling, Aiko urged, "Come on, wake up. I need to talk to you."

  If Aiko wasn't listening so carefully, she would've missed the girl's muffled. "Fuck off."

  Excuse me? Aiko's smile dropped like a ton of bricks. Had this twelve year-old hooligan just cussed at her? Her voice was sharper as she called out, "Zoe, wake up."

  Zoe's hand emerged from underneath the covers to flip Aiko the bird.

  Hold up. If it wasn't for her self control, Aiko would've snatched the covers off the crude little monster. Zoe was lucky that they hadn't established the rules of behavior between them, otherwise she would've been on the receiving end of a rough awakening.

  Internally fuming, Aiko left the room. Even as she drove out of the property an hour later with Seraphina strapped in the back seat, she mulled over what she'd do to reel Zoe in. Aiko mentally listed the rules she'd give the girl - with Damián's approval of course. Yes, he'd said that Zoe was all hers but she refused to take him seriously. What kind of father didn't want to know what was going on with his daughter?

  By the time Aiko cruised into the church compound her temper had cooled. Her mood changed into happiness when she saw that her family had already arrived. After quick hugs and hellos, Seraphina ran off with Michael for Sunday school, Will and Jayceon headed off to teen school, Cara left to join the choir, while Aiko. Samuel, Femi and Lewis entered the main sanctuary for the service.

  Aiko didn't consider herself super-religious, but her parents had brought her up in the church. Out of respect for them and desiring to instill the same moral code church had given her in Seraphina, she attended church faithfully.

  Between the church choir's lively praise and worship session, and Pastor Yu's enthusiastic sermon, the two and a half hour-long service practically sailed by. By midday they were on their way home.

  "Can I come and visit you?" Jayceon asked as they cruised the delightfully traffic-free highway. "I wanna see how you're living it up."

  "Auntie, don't let him," Cara who was seated up front with Aiko advised. "He'll just embarrass you and make those rich people think you're ratchet like him."

  "I'm not ratchet," Jayceon protested.

  "Yes, you are."

  "No, I'm not."

  "Yes, you are."

  "Big head."

  "Punk."

  "Okay. Okay. Settle down people," Aiko cut in with a laugh. Her eyes on the road, she offered, "I'll ask my boss then let you know."

  She didn't know how receptive Damián would be to her family members popping into his house, but if they were getting married then he'd have to get used to the fact that her family were an important part of her life. A part she was unwilling to let go of.

  As soon as they got home, Femi organized the troops assigning each member with a duty for Sunday lunch. Aiko was charged with making sure the chicken got on the table safe and sound.

  Where are you? Aiko received Damián's text while she was coating the chicken in spices.

  She washed her hands, wiped them on her apron then texted back, At home.

  No, you're not. I'm here.

  Not your home, she clarified. My home. Sunday dinner.

  She waited for him to text back or call but he didn't. Shrugging, she turned her attention back to the chicken. At least he was home now. Maybe he'd take advantage of Aiko's absence to talk Zoe into making her job easier.

  Two hours later, the Vaughn family crowded around the table for lunch. The meal was a feast for the senses. Fresh off the cob, creamed corn, tender yet crusty fried chicken, moist sweet buns, roasted pork that could make a priest switch religions, and collard greens that melted in the mouth… Delicious!

  By the time her plate was empty, Aiko was sure that she would tear the seams of her dress if she even ate one more bite. Yet, Femi managed to convince her to have a slice of mud cake. All she wanted to do afterwards was take a long nap, not clear the table. Fortunately, Femi rounded up Will and Jayceon to do the dishes leaving Aiko to watch Samuel. Aiko watched how the boys obeyed their mother without even a squeak of protest. She tried to imagine giving the same order to Zoe and actually laughed aloud.

  Over the little hellion's dead body.

  Her amusement faded as she realized that that was actually sad; to be so spoilt and so selfish at twelve. She could only imagine what kind of woman Zoe would turn out to be in the future; a woman no one wanted to be around unless they were being paid good money. Which was really sad. As irritating as Zoe could be, Aiko didn't want her to have that kind of future. The child deserved more.

  Suddenly, this was more than a job to Aiko. This was a matter of trying to help Zoe. Aiko was tempted to ask Femi for advice on how to do that, then she changed her mind. As good a mother and manager as Femi was, she also thought that no one could do a better job than her at anything. She reveled in micro-managing people and had no problems throwing, 'I told you so,' when people didn't follow her instructions to a t. Aiko didn't feel like being called by her sister every night for a progress report on whether she was following her advice.

  She'd figure out how to deal with Zoe on her own.

  BY THE TIME Aiko drove back into Colter estate it was past five in the afternoon. There were two cars parked in the forecourt, a black Bugatti and a silver Mercedes. Aiko assumed one of those cars was Damián's. The other? A guest? Her guess was confirmed when the front door opened just as she and Seraphina were walking towards it.

  "Thank you for the lovely lunch, Damián." A twenty-something red-head stepped out of the house. Though she stood at least six feet tall, the woman was so slender she looked like she hardly weighed one hundred pounds - ten of which were plastic boobs. She was wearing a top that dipped deep into her cleavage and clung so tightly to her that her nipples were evident. Her denim, short shorts stopped high above her thighs. Combined with the stilettos, the woman's outfit made her look like she was a walking ad for porn.

  "You're welcome, Nicole." Damián leveled a smile the redhead's way as he and an older man followed behind her.

  The older man was def
initely Damián's father. Those gray eyes, the mane of hair and the height were undeniably identical. The only difference between them was age and skin-shade. If genetics were to be trusted, Damián was going to age into a very distinguished and still handsome man.

  Giving his father a pointed look, Damián added, "Maybe next time you'll give me a heads-up before you come so we can prepare an even better meal."

  "Nonsense." The older man slapped Damián's back. "If I gave you a heads-up we both know you'd just make an excu-" His words came to an abrupt stop as their company finally noticed Aiko and Seraphina coming up the steps. "Well, well, well."

  The intensive once-overs all three people gave Aiko and her daughter would've made a shyer woman trip over her feet. Aiko schooled her expression into a smile as she closed the distance between them. "Hello."

  "You're back." Damián turned his wrist and glanced pointedly at his watch then gave Aiko a raised eyebrow. "Late."

  "Don’t be rude, Damián. A lady is never late. Everyone else is just too early." His father stepped up in front of Aiko, grinning, and stuck out his hand. "Colter. Archie Colter."

  "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Colter. I'm Aiko, Zoe's new nanny." Aiko shook his hand then turned to Nicole with her hand out and a read smile. "Hello."

  "Hi." Nicole gave Aiko a limp handshake, then turned to Archie. "I'll wait for you in the car."

  "Sure. I'll be there in a minute." Archie leaned forward and gave the much younger woman a full-on-the-lips kiss that had Aiko raising her eyebrows and Seraphina pressing her palms to her eyes. Stifling a chuckle, Aiko lifted her daughter onto her hip.

  Archie watched Nicole descend the steps for a couple of seconds before turning back to Aiko with a smile. "Aiko. Beautiful name. Almost as beautiful as the owner."

  "Thank you." Aiko offered him a tight-lipped smile in response. Every morning she woke up to her face and the scar that marred it. No, she wasn't beautiful. And she hated when people gave her the fake compliment.

  "And who is this young lady?" Archie turned his smiling gaze to Seraphina. The little girl quickly buried her face in the crook of her mother's neck.

  "My daughter, Seraphina." Aiko stroked her palm over Seraphina's arm, noticing the studied look Damián gave the child. Oh, right! He and Seraphina hadn't met yet.

  Now, Aiko wished that she'd carried an extra set of clothes for her daughter when leaving the house. After spending the day, running around with her cousins and other children, Seraphina was a bit dusty. Her frilly dress, legs and kitten heels were marred by several dirt stains. Call it ego but Aiko wanted Damián to meet her child when she was at her best.

  She thought he might say something to, or about, Seraphina. Instead, he said curtly, "Great. Now that you know each other - Aiko, Zoe has been waiting for you since morning."

  "Really?" Aiko seriously doubted it. But the man was paying her bills, so she smiled at Archie and said, "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Colter."

  With that she and Seraphina squeezed past them to enter the house.

  CHAPTER 8

  "Stop staring at my nanny," Damián reprimanded his father.

  Archie kept watching the retreating Aiko. "Your nanny or Zoe's nanny?"

  "Zoe's nanny," Damián clarified, even though he really wanted to say 'my' nanny. He knew why his father was watching Aiko. Even though her green short-sleeved, knee-length dress was perfectly decent, it was snug in all the right places and emphasized her sexy figure. Plus, there was something about a classy lady like Aiko that kept men watching long after she'd left. Even jaded reprobates like his father.

  His stomach muscles tightening in possessive irritation, Damián snapped, "Nicole is waiting for you in your car. Bye, Dad."

  This time Archie turned, but there was a speculative gleam in his eyes as he studied Damián. "Why didn't you tell me you hired a new nanny?"

  Many reasons; the primary one being because he'd been afraid Archie would realize that Aiko was the matchmaker Josiah had sent him to, and put two and two together. But judging from Archie's questions, he was still clueless. Damián didn't even know why he was keeping Aiko's identity or her real role in his life a secret from his father - after all, Archie already knew he was searching for a wife. But a part of him just wanted to keep Aiko all to himself for a while longer.

  He told his father, "Because I didn't want you hitting on her."

  Archie feigned horror. "I would never."

  Damián merely raised his eyebrows.

  "Fine. I would." His father shrugged with an unapologetic grin. "But why would you care? It's not like you're after her yourself."

  Oh, Archie had no idea! An image of last night's interlude flashed through Damián's thoughts, immediately heating him. Fortunately, he managed to keep a straight face as he said, "Because I don't want to be sued for sexual harassment."

  "It's only sexual harassment if they don't like it."

  "Do you even hear yourself?" Damián shook his head."Mimo just rolled in her grave."

  "Please, your grandmother was all about sexual liberation." Archie scoffed. "I was there when she burnt all her bras."

  "She burnt her bras because-" Damián started then stopped. He wasn't interested in arguing gender politics with his father. It would only lead to a stalemate then veer off into governance politics.. The last thing he wanted was to remind his father of his political ambitions for him. So Damián diverted the conversation, "Stop sniffing around my staff members. Now, could you please leave? Your nurse looks like she might come and get you if you don't."

  "With sons like these…" Archie shook his head and headed for his car.

  As soon as Archie and Nicole left the property, Damián went in search of Aiko. Why? To remind her that she was his wife - his future wife now, thus she needed to let him know where she was going and who she'd be with. He found out from Gertie that Aiko was upstairs. However, he didn't find her in her room. He was sure she wasn't in Zoe's room because Zoe wasn't even in the house. His daughter had strong-armed him into letting her go to Shelley's house an hour ago. On last resort, he knocked on Seraphina's door.

  "Come in." Aiko's voice echoed behind the door.

  Opening the door, he stepped into the room to find Aiko seated on the bed, helping Seraphina into fresh clothes. The mother and daughter pair glanced up at him, and Aiko said, "Oh, Damián. It's you."

  Couldn't she sound more excited? He greeted, "Hey."

  Tugging a t-shirt over Seraphina's head, Aiko said, "You lied to me."

  Oh, okay! They were getting right into it, weren't they? Fitting one hand into the pocket of his tan pants, Damián leaned against the wall next to the door. "Lied about what?"

  "About Zoe." She threw him a jaundiced glance. "I know she's not around. And I'm guessing she wasn't waiting for me."

  Yeah! He'd lied. He'd wanted Aiko away from his father and couldn't think of any other excuse that wouldn't make him look like a punk. So sue him! His gaze skittered from Aiko's to take in the room. Gertie had done an amazing job with its decor.

  Once upon a time, Damián had enthusiastically looked forward to having big family. It was that expectation that had led him to build this huge mansion. Those dreams were charred ashes now, but he was sure that had he and that duplicitous shrew, Jeanine, had another daughter he would've wanted their child's room to look exactly like this.

  Pushing thoughts of Jeanine aside, he turned his attention to Seraphina. Smiling, he greeted, "Hi, Seraphina."

  Inserting two fingers into her mouth, the child stepped closer to Aiko and stared at him.

  "Uh uh, Phia."Aiko tugged Seraphina's hand away from her mouth and reprimanded, "Don't be rude. Say hi to-" She lifted her gaze to Damián. "I don't know what you want her to call you."

  He shrugged. "Damián is fine."

  "Say hi to Uncle Damián," Aiko urged her daughter.

  Eyes wide as that of a doe and her voice barely above a whisper, Seraphina said, "Hi, Uncle Dam- Dam - Daman."

  Both adults chuckled befor
e Aiko corrected, "Uncle Damián."

  Ducking her chin into her chest, Seraphina mumbled shyly, "Uncle Damián."

  "I like your t-shirt," he complimented. "It's very pretty."

  The child glanced downwards at her Minnie-Mouse embossed top, then looked back at him with a bashful smile. "Thank you."

  "Baby, go get your sneakers from the closet." Aiko sent off her daughter with a light tap on her backside. "The pink and white ones." When the child left her side, she turned curious eyes to Damián. "Did you want to talk to me about something?"

  "Actually…" Damián crossed one foot over the other. "… you didn't tell me you were going home-" He corrected himself, " - to your father's house today."

  Yes, that other house was her father's home. This was now her home - with him - and the sooner she got used to it, the better.

  "Was I supposed to tell you?" she asked, just as Seraphina came back with her shoes.

  "Yes. Since we're getting marri-" He stopped speaking when Aiko shot him a sharp look then glanced at her daughter pointedly.

  Oh, of course! He gave himself a mental slap. He'd forgotten that they were pretending that she was just Zoe's nanny for the next three months.

  He backpedaled, "Since you work for me now, I think it's important that I know where you are." Even to his ears that sounded suspiciously controlling, so he quickly added, "You know - in case something happens."

  Aiko offered him a long indecipherable look then she shrugged. "Fair enough."

  She turned her attention back to Seraphina and wordlessly ordered the child to put on the sneakers. When Seraphina stuck out her sneaker-clad foot with the untied laces hanging on either side of it, Aiko shook her head. "Why don't you try tying them yourself?"

  Seraphina's face immediately fell. "But it's so hard."

  "It won't be if I help you," her mother returned.

  The shoe-tying was just as hard as Seraphina predicted it would be. A couple of times it looked like the child might give up. But Aiko was calm, efficient and patient as she encouraged her daughter to try one more time.