The Bridal Candidate 1 (Heart Connections)

by Linda Verji

  He wasn't in love in her.

  No, he refused to believe that.

  But even he couldn’t deny that he was precariously close to stumbling into that snake pit again - close to being bitten again. His words to her last Sunday had been harsh and unfair, but in his defense they were an instinctual reaction to just finding out that he was once more on the edge of disaster.

  Now that he'd awakened to what was happening and accepted it, he could take steps to forestall it, deal with it more logically and systematically. Frankly, he didn't believe that love was an involuntary thing. He'd chosen to fall in love with Jeanine. And he could choose not to fall in love with Aiko. It was as simple as that.

  However, to make sure that he wasn't tempted into stepping into the fire, he needed to stop dancing at its edge. That's why from now he would work at pushing Aiko back to a safe arms-length distance; to a distance where she couldn't touch his heart with her soft smiles and comforting arms. There would be no more sweet lunches to get to know each other, no movies together, no cuddling, no racing to her whenever something in his life wasn't going as planned.

  From now on, he planned to keep their relationship strictly business.

  Yet, in spite of his resolution, he kept an attentive ear on the gate, waiting for her and the kids to come back from their Sunday excursion. It was lonely without them here. Heck, they'd even taken Queenie with them. How he wished they'd taken him too.

  Perhaps this was some kind of madness. Perhaps Aiko was some kind of witch who'd cast a spell on his senses and continued to haul him into temptation - whether he wanted to be tempted or not.

  The sudden beeping of the surveillance monitor, cut into his thoughts. His heart leapt in immediate excitement when he saw Aiko's Taurus cruise into the property.

  She was back.

  His every instinct urged him to go in search of her, begged him. But he stayed put behind his desk, pretending to work. Arm's length, Damián. Arm's length.

  "Daddy." "Uncle Dami." Zoe and Seraphina barged into his study a couple of minutes later, cutting his pretense short. From the excitement beaming bright in their faces and their enthusiastic renditions of their day, it seemed they'd had a great time.

  "You should see their church, Daddy," a wide-eyed Zoe said. "It's so big. And there were so many people. And it was so loud. And there was so much food. Then we went to Femi's house and there was even more food." She showed him with her hand."Like this much. And I met Jay, and Will, and Cara - she's so cool."

  Damián smiled wirily. "I take it you had fun?"

  Zoe nodded enthusiastically. "Can Shelley come with us next week?"

  Oh, they were already planning for next week? Damián should have been happy, instead he was envious. He wanted that. That kind of unfettered happiness that came with trusting other people's motives and the ability to let life be.

  Damián let out a weary sigh. What he would've done to be young again and not know what he did about love; that it was the most futile of emotions. To not know that behind the blissful emotions and heart-filling moments was a heart waiting to be broken. As good as love felt when it began when it was over the soul-crushing numbness that descended was far worse than anything he'd ever felt. And he intended to never feel it again.

  Not even with Aiko.

  However, that didn't mean that he couldn't be civil with her. She was going to be his wife after all and maintaining the current tension wasn't healthy for their relationship - business or otherwise. He would, nevertheless, make it clear that there would be no love between them. And it wouldn't grow. He didn't think she had any delusions about his falling for her, or that she had any affections for him, but just in case, he wanted to make it clear before anything disastrous happened.

  While the kids left to hang by the pool, he went in search of Aiko. He located his future wife on the other side of the house, in the rarely used living room. She was by the piano, her gaze lowered to it and her fingers running lightly on the keys.

  For a moment he just watched her. Taking in her flowered dress with its modestly cut neckline and low hemline, and wondered how it was possible for a woman to look so modest yet sexy. He started towards her just as her gaze rose from the piano to lock on him.

  A startled catch in her voice, Aiko said, "Damián."

  He edged closer into the room. "Do you play?"

  "A bit. But not well," she said distractedly as she hit another key lightly. "My dad and Kalila are the musicians in our family."

  He noticed that she smiled as she said the words. He loved that she smiled. There was just something about Aiko's smile that always seemed to lift his mood.

  "I used to listen to your dad's records. I think I even have a few vinyls in my study," he said as he settled on the settee couch next to the piano

  "Mm." She glanced toward him and said, politely, "Were you looking for me?"

  There was that infernal politeness again. The one that reminded him of the awful things he'd said to her a week ago and her hurt response to it.

  Despite himself, he said, "I'm sorry." When her brow knotted in confusion, he explained, "For what I said last Sunday."

  She stared at him for a moment, then said quietly, "Don't say sorry when you don't mean it."

  Damián frowned. "What?"

  "You meant everything you said," she looked a bit sad as she said, "so there's no point in apologizing."

  Damián was struck speechless by the sadness in her eyes. He'd caused that. He didn't know when he'd started caring about her feelings, but his heart squeezed in pain at the thought that he'd caused that sadness.

  Her brown eyes focused on him as if searching his gaze. "I don't blame you for thinking of me as a gold-digger, or that I would trade you for your father so easily. So you don't need to fake an apology,"

  As if to punctuate her words, she hit a key on the piano. Its note throbbed in the suddenly thick air between them.

  "You're not-" Damián lifted to his feet to stride closer to her. "You're not a gold-digger."

  She didn't say anything, just shrugged and hit another key on the piano. When he set a hand on the small of her back, she stiffened but her gaze remained trained on the piano.

  "I'm not faking it. I'm really sorry about what I said." He squeezed her waist. "And I certainly don't think of you as a gold-digger. I know you're only doing this for your father. The only reason I said the things I said was because I was angry with my father. Instead of finishing it with him, I took it out on you."

  Even as he said the words he realized that he meant them. It was true that he and Aiko hadn't met under normal circumstance and that money was a key factor in their relationship. But she wasn't some parasite trying to drain his coffers. She was bringing as much - actually more into this relationship than he was giving her. Just look at the difference she'd made in his interactions with Zoe. Or how much happier his home was ever since she'd arrived.

  Even though it wasn't based on love, theirs was a give and take relationship. Isn't that what the best relationships were about? As for his offer to trade her to his father - over his dead body. He may not be willing to love her, but he wasn't willing to give her up either.

  "I'm sorry, okay," he tried again. When she didn't respond, he used his free hand to turn her chin toward him. "I'm sorry."

  Then before she had another chance to utter a word, he dipped his head and captured her mouth in a kiss. He kept the kiss soft and undemanding, etching his remorse against her lips. Tenderly, gently, he nipped at her lips and coaxed her into accepting his apology. Slowly the stiffness in her body dissipated and she relaxed in his arms. He swallowed her sigh of surrender.

  Inevitably that apologetic kiss turned into something more. The smoldering embers leapt into a full inferno and the kiss became more fervent. It'd been more than a week since they'd been in each other's arms. To finally have her lips against his was just too much temptation. He forgot everything he'd planned to say before he got here; forgot that he was supposed to keep he
r at arm's length, and sunk into her taste.

  Aiko turned fully into his arms, letting her body mold against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss turned hungry then, ravenous even. He released a low growl of need as his lips hardened against hers. He held her close as he plundered her lips, lost himself in her taste and her soft whimpers.

  A sharp gasp drew him from the blinding kiss.

  When he turned his head it was find Zoe standing by the archway, her face the picture of horror.

  "Zoe, wai-" Even before he finished calling out, she was running away.

  CHAPTER 24

  Damián tracked Zoe to her room.

  "Nooo," she yelled the moment she saw him, her tear-streaked face red with fury. "Go away."

  He winced at the pitch of her voice. "Okay, then I'll come back when you're calm."

  He started to walk away but before he even reached the door, Zoe drew him back with a high-pitched, "You were kissing her."

  Damián turned back to face her. "Yes, I was. If you'd like to talk about it-"

  "No, I don't want to talk about it," she wailed. Then contradicted herself by yelling, "Why were you kissing her? I hate her."

  "You know you don't hate her," he said quietly as he strode closer, then settled next to her on the bed.

  "Yes, I do. Yes, I do." Zoe shrugged his arm away when he tried to put it around her shoulders. She glared at him. "I want you to fire her."

  "I can't." He hadn't wanted to tell her about his and Aiko's real relationship so soon, but it seemed that time was about to force his hand. "Zoe, I'm sorry I didn't tell you this earlier, but I'd like to add Aiko and Seraphina to our family."

  "What do you mean add them to our family?" She glared at him.

  He paused for a long moment then explained, "I'd like Aiko to be your new mom and-"

  "No." Zoe cut in before he'd even finished the sentence. "I already have a mom."

  "Zoe, you know that-"

  "No, I don't want Aiko. I don't want her."

  "Zoe." Damián's voice was firm. "This isn't really your choice. I'm bringing Aiko into our lives because we need her."

  "Why? Why? We were fine without her. She spoilt everything." Zoe slapped her palm on the bed. "I don't want her. Kick her out."

  "That's not going to happen."

  "I hate you." She stood up and stomped out of the room, throwing an, "and I hate her," over her shoulder as she went.

  Taking a deep calming breath, Damián wiped his palm over his face. It didn't take genius to know that it'd been way too early for his daughter to find out about Aiko - especially like that. Their relationship was still too tumultuous. Any hope of the transition from nanny to mother being smooth was now shattered.

  But there was no point in crying over spilled milk. What had happened, had happened. His only option now was to do some damage control and make sure his daughter didn't go off the deep end.

  He thought of following her, but decided not to. Zoe needed time to calm down, and he needed to come up with a strategy to coerce her into accepting Aiko. He set his elbows on his knees, lowered his head and tried to think of a way to get Zoe to like Aiko… and got nothing.

  He was just too tired. Tired of his daughter's tantrums, tired of hers and Aiko's conflict, tired of being the man in between, tired of his confusing feelings for Aiko. He closed his eyes and sucked in a gulp of breath. This was supposed to be so simple. Aiko would come in, tame his daughter, be his wife-in-bed only and he'd finally get the peace he craved. But everything was turning out to be harder, more complicated than he expected. And peace? Well, he might as well give up on that. It seemed his home - and his emotions - were destined for chaos as long as Aiko was here.

  Aiko found him still in Zoe's room several minutes later. The moment Damián saw her, his heart lurched. Stop it, he gave himself a mental slap. This was what had gotten them here in the first place; his inability to control his physiological and emotional reactions to her.

  She stood at the door watching him for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry."

  "You don't have anything to be sorry for," Damián said, his voice sounding strangely emotionless even to his own ears. "I'm the one who kissed you."

  His words drew only silence from Aiko. He wasn't surprised. There was really nothing to say. He was the one who'd fucked up.

  Feeling increasingly dejected, he asked, "Where is Zoe?"

  "She's locked herself in the theater room." Aiko crossed the room to sit beside him on Zoe's bed. "It didn't go as badly as I expected."

  "Didn't it?" he asked, even as his eyes remained trained on the wall.

  "No." Aiko shook her head. "She hasn't broken anything yet."

  Despite himself, Damián gave a reluctant guffaw. "I suppose that's something to be thankful for."

  "And she didn't cuss at you," Aiko added, bumping him on the shoulder.

  "I suppose that's a silver lining," he mumbled as he stared at his linked fingers.

  "It is. And she'll be okay once she calms down and you talk to her." Aiko's voice was insistent and confident.

  He wished he could be that confident of his daughter's reactions or in his ability to convince her that he was marrying Aiko for her own good.

  Aiko stared at his bowed head awhile before asking, "Are you okay?"

  He shrugged. "Yes."

  "Are you sure?" Her concern vibrated between them like a rope pulling him to confide in her, tell her how he really felt. But his father's word tugged at him from the other side. You're in too deep. They reminded him of the consequences of getting too comfortable with Aiko.

  And they won.

  Damián lifted to his feet and said icily, "I should go look for Zoe."

  AIKO WATCHED HIM walk away with a frown. Was it just her or was Damián pulling away from her? After the nasty things he'd said to her last weekend and the way he'd been standoffish the whole weekend, she'd had a niggling feeling that was all was not well in Damián Land. For a moment when he'd apologized then kissed her today, she'd thought that things were better and he was over whatever bug he had up his ass.

  But the coldness he'd displayed before walking out on her had her wondering if perhaps she'd taken a relieved breath too early. Or maybe this new hostility was just a byproduct of being in Zoe's line of fire. He was feeling hurt.

  Yes, Aiko assured herself that was it.

  Maybe she should go and speak to Zoe and convince her that her father was only doing this for her? No. That would only make things worse especially because she was likely the last person Zoe wanted to talk to. The best person to resolve this issue was Damián.

  The house was deathly quiet the rest of the evening. Zoe was still sulking, now in her room. Damián had locked himself in his study, and now that the staff knew about hers and Damián's relationship they were treating her differently- with more caution. Even Seraphina noticed the difference enough to ask her mother why Zoe was angry again. Aiko dismissed her question with a vague answer about Zoe not feeling well.

  Aiko put her daughter to sleep at eight p.m. then waited to see if Damián would come. She didn't expect him to after the drama the kiss had brought but hoped he would. At around nine p.m., she heard Damián knocking and calling out Zoe's name. Seconds later he entered the room and closed the door behind him. All Aiko heard after that was Zoe's yells that she didn't want Aiko in the house. Moments later, Zoe's door opened and footsteps sounded in the hallway. They stopped in front of Aiko's room.

  Come in, she pleaded internally. He didn't. His footsteps faded down the hallway.

  In the morning when Aiko set out for her run he didn't appear, even though she knew from Gertie that he hadn't gone for his run yet. Without him, her run seemed like a chore. Her body felt almost as heavy as her heart. It took major pushing for her to get to the roundabout that marked the turning point for her runs. On the way back home, she oscillated between running and fast-walking.

  By the time she got back to the house, Damián's car was gone.
r />   "Miss Aiko?" Gertie stopped her when she entered the house.

  "Miss?" Aiko turned surprised eyes at the housekeeper. "You don't have to call me Miss."

  "I thought - since, you and Mr. Damián -" Gertie stuttered.

  "You don't have to call me Miss," Aiko said firmly. "You wanted to ask me something?"

  "Mr. Colter asked that you drive Zoe to school," Gertie said. "He had an early morning meeting."

  "Okay." Aiko nodded. "Is she awake?"

  "I'm not sure."

  Aiko took the stairs two by two, crossed the hallway to knock on Zoe's door.

  "Yes," Zoe called out. Aiko pushed the door open to find the girl making her bed. The moment Zoe saw her, she sniffed and turned back to the bed without even acknowledging her.

  "Morning," Aiko called out. Zoe roughly yanked the comforter up to cover her sheets, acting like she hadn't even been spoken to. Aiko continued, "You dad asked me to take you to school. We'll leave in an hour, okay?"

  No response from Zoe, expect for an angry plumping of the pillows.

  "Did you hear me?" Aiko asked.

  "Fine," Zoe finally huffed, before making her way to her bathroom. The door slammed loudly behind her.

  Shaking her head, Aiko made her way to her own room to shower, then to Seraphina's room to wake and dress her up. Forty-five minutes later, she and Seraphina exited the room. Zoe's door was open, and a quick peek in revealed that she wasn't there. Assuming that she was having her breakfast, Aiko led her daughter downstairs for their own breakfast.

  "Morning," she greeted Major as she settled Seraphina on one of the barstools in the kitchen.

  "Good morning, Miss Aiko," Major greeted, his tone more subdued than it usually was.

  Him too? Aiko internally sighed. "Where's Zoe? Has she taken breakfast?"

  "She just drank some juice." Major pointed outside the window. "She's actually by your car, waiting for you."

  Indeed, the subject of their discussion was outside leaning against Aiko's sedan with her attention on her phone.