The Bridal Candidate 1 (Heart Connections)

by Linda Verji

  "Take care of yourself, Aiko."

  "You too."

  With that he walked out.

  BY THE FOLLOWING afternoon, Damián had a hangover. His head was pounding, his ears ringing and Josiah who had been surprised to discover him in such a state was talking far too loudly.

  Last night after seeing Aiko, he'd spent several sleepless hours in his study thinking and drinking. He didn't know how much he'd drunk or when he'd fallen asleep. At around five a.m. he'd awakened to find that he'd blacked out in front of his computer, and stumbled to his bed. Fortunately, it was a Saturday, so he didn't have to take Zoe to school.

  Said daughter had crept up to his room at around eleven a.m. to ask if she could invite Shelley to hang out, which he'd given his approval for. An hour later, Gertie had informed him that Josiah was downstairs. Right now, the girls were somewhere downstairs giggling and talking shrilly- or at least that's what it sounded like to his throbbing head- while Damián was on the patio with the suddenly chatty, Josiah.

  "So what did you do to chase Aiko off?" Josiah asked, setting his beer-bottle down on the table with a vicious thump.

  Damián didn't even need to ask to know who Josiah was talking about. He lifted his head just far enough to glare at his friend. "What makes you think I did something?"

  Lifting the bottle to his lips, Josiah smirked. "Because if it was her you'd be ranting, not in mourning."

  "Don't you have someone else to go bother?" Damián bit out as he tossed down a glass of water. After last night's excesses he couldn't bear to even smell alcohol.

  "No." Josiah set the bottle down on the table. Hard.

  If Damián had a pistol, he would've shot the bastard. Hang being friends.

  "So, what did you do?" Josiah asked.

  "I didn't do anything," Damián muttered.

  Josiah continued, "Whatever you did, just apologize for it. I'm sure Aiko will forgive you and-"

  "Apologizing won't fix it." Damián shook his head wearily. "This is more complicated than that."

  "It always is," Josiah said, sarcasm obvious in his tone.

  "When you fall in love with a woman who your daughter doesn't like," Damián snapped, "then you can presume to give me advice. Until then… shut the fuck up."

  Josiah quirked a brow. "You fell in love with her?"

  Ignoring the question, Damián spread his hand over his face and pressed hard against his temples with his thumb and middle finger.

  "I thought you said you weren't doing this love bullshit anymore?" Josiah asked, his voice surprisingly gentle.

  "You think I didn't try to stop it?" Damián sagged back against his seat with a long weary exhale. "You don't need to tell me, man. I know it was stupid to fall for her."

  Josiah was quiet for a long time then he murmured. "Damn."

  Damn was right. Damián had never thought that he would be this guy again - the one pining over a woman. Only this time it was different. It hurt more, mostly because he knew that he'd lost a good woman. In hindsight, he wasn't surprised that he'd fallen in love with her. How could he not? She was generous, nurturing, loyal, determined, passionate… everything a man would want in a woman.

  After last night, he was fairly certain that she had feelings for him too. Her tears, the way she'd held him when they'd made love, the emotion when they'd said goodbye. There was no faking that. And it only made letting her go hurt more.

  "Is that why you chased her off?" Josiah asked. "Because you were in too deep?"

  "No, I chased - I let her go because of Zoe…" Damián explained the events that had happened prior to his ending his contract with Aiko. When he was done, he shrugged. "It was either her or Zoe, so I chose Zoe."

  "I would've done the same thing for Keira. But-" Josiah shook his head. "- damn."

  Silence fell between them as they both sipped on their respective drinks.

  Josiah started, "You know what I think we should do tonight?"

  Damián stared at him with a quirked brow.

  "Go out and meet some ladies." Josiah grinned. "The best way to get over a woman is to get under another woman, or above her, or behi-"

  "Shut up," Damián cut him off. He wasn't surprised at his friend's suggestion. After all up until a few weeks ago they had the same philosophies on love and women. But somehow Aiko had snuck into his life and upended his thoughts and feelings. Just the thought of trying to replace her with another woman was enough to make bile rise in his throat.

  As for getting over her. Well, he hoped it happened soon. But he wasn't holding out hope.

  Damián closed his eyes and let out a long breath - unaware that on the other side of the sliding doors someone was listening.

  CHAPTER 30

  The mixer was in full swing.

  A crash of men of varying ages milled around the room, each of them watching the three eligible women in the room. They jostled for the women's attention, preening and showing off how they were the best candidate. Aiko's clients - Heather, Skylar and Maria - were enjoying the show, their interest darting from one man to the other as they tried to evaluate who to go on a date with.

  Aiko was reasonably confident that each of the ladies would find a match. She'd carefully evaluated every man before inviting them to make sure that they weren't undercover psychos and that their interests matched one or more of her ladies. Nevertheless, she fluttered between the crowd and in the peripheries of the room ready to intervene in case one of her ladies needed help.

  She snuck a glance then moaned internally when she realized that they still had more than an hour on this shindig. Argh! Usually Aiko enjoyed these parties, but ever since her own love life had gone to the toilet, anything love-related left her feeling slightly nauseous. Frankly, she hated love right now.

  She hated the tears that stung at the back of her eyes whenever she thought of Damián. She'd had enough of the stupid dreams that plagued her nights; dreams of happily ever afters that could never happen. And she was sick of waking up at night cold and wishing he was there to hold her.

  Screw love!

  Nonetheless, she managed to keep her expression friendly, welcoming, and smiling - as if there was no other place she'd rather be. Playing the perfect hostess, Aiko threw fifty-year old, Maria, a reassuring smile. Martha grinned before turning her attention to her gaggle of admirers.

  Aiko was still observing the event with hawk-eyes when Cara stopped beside her then whispered into her ear, "Auntie, you have a phone call."

  "You know I don't take calls during events," Aiko murmured through the side of her mouth.

  "I know. But this one is important," Cara murmured as she held out the phone. "It's Zoe."

  Aiko's heart immediately skipped a beat, and she instinctively reached for the phone. "Watch them for me for a minute."

  Once Cara nodded, Aiko started for the exit of the room. Outside, she pressed the phone to her ear. "Zoe?"

  "Yes." Zoe's voice sounded weak.

  "What's wrong, Honey?"

  "I'm sick." The child whimpered. "And they can't find my dad."

  Immediate concern stabbed at Aiko's heart. "Where are you?"

  "I'm at school." Zoe's breath caught in her throat, sounding like she was about to cry. "At the sick bay."

  "Okay, I'm on my way." It was only when Aiko hung up the phone that she realized her dilemma. They still had an hour to go on a mixer, and someone needed to be here to make sure that it ran smoothly. Yet, Zoe was stranded - and sick.

  The choice of what to do was easy.

  "Cara." Aiko stopped next to her niece. "I have an emergency. Zoe is sick and I need to go check on her."

  "No problem," Cara said. "I'll hold the fort down."

  "Are you sure?" Concern colored Aiko's tone. It wasn't that she didn't trust her niece. Cara had taken after Femi and was quite mature and responsible for her age. But a mixer was a big responsibility. "I was going to cut it short and offer them a refund."

  "No, no. You don't need do that," her niece dism
issed. "I've watched you throw a million of these things. I can handle this."

  "You're sure?" Aiko bit her bottom lip, doubt still making her hesitant,

  "Yes." Cara waved off her concern. "You don't need to worry. All I have to do is to keep watch and nudge the ladies if they're not interacting. Plus I've been in every one of your meetings with them so they're used to me." She convinced, "It will be as if you never even left. I can do this, Auntie. Please."

  Well, when she begged like that…

  "Thank you so much." Aiko briefly hugged her niece, relief coursing through her at the knowledge that she wouldn't have to cut the mixer short, and thus lose money. "I doubt I'll be back by the time you're done, so help the ladies select their three favorites. If they choose the same ones-"

  "I know. I know," Cara interrupted with a smile. "It's up to the man to decide who he'd like to go on a date with."

  "Good." Aiko added, "Don't forget to set up appointments with them for Friday for the post-dates analysis."

  "Will do." Cara nodded as she pushed Aiko toward the door. "Go. I can handle this."

  Before Aiko knew it she was dashing out of the hotel and toward her car. She drove as fast as she could safely manage without running any red lights. Thirty minutes she was at Lowell School, exiting her car.

  "Where's the sick bay?" Aiko asked a student, her voice curt and panicked.

  "It's next to the gym." The student pointed to a building a distance away from the quad and past the various sports fields.

  "Thank you." Aiko hurried in the direction of the gym. By the time she got there, she was slightly out of breath from walking so fast. At the gym's reception, she was directed her to go back outside the building and circle it as the nurse's office had its door on the other side. Sure enough, Aiko found the door clearly marked Sick Bay.

  "I'm looking for Zoe," Aiko told the nurse behind the counter.

  "Are you a family member?"

  "Yes," Aiko started then corrected. "No."

  The nurse quirked her eyebrows then repeated. "Are you a family member?"

  "No. I'm a friend." Aiko explained, trying to sound calm. "She's sick?"

  "Yes." the nurse said. "She's sleeping in the ward while we wait for her father to come for her."

  "Can I see her?"

  The nurse directed Aiko to the ward. The moment Aiko pushed the door open, she spotted Zoe lying on her back on the bed, her eyes on her phone.

  Zoe gave a startled start when she saw Aiko and quickly hid the phone under the covers. "Aiko, you're here."

  "Hey, Zoe." Ignoring the girl's suspicious actions for a moment, Aiko strode close to the bed and sat on the edge. Stroking Zoe's covered leg, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

  "Mm." Zoe closed her eyes, let out a little cough and clasped her stomach. "It hurts. It hurts so bad."

  The effect of her words were, however, spoilt when her phone beeped under the covers. Aiko's eyebrows shot upwards. Hmm. Zoe's gaze darted to the place where the phone was hidden, then back to Aiko. Guilt flashed in her eyes, then as if to reiterate that it really hurt, she moaned. "Mm."

  Oh. Hell. No. She'd almost gotten a ticket for this? Aiko opened her mouth, her intent to ask Zoe what she was playing at. Lucky for the girl, the doctor chose to make his entrance right then.

  Well into his fifties and sporting a bit of a paunch, the doctor was nevertheless quite a handsome man. He greeted Aiko with a smile. "Hello. I'm Dr. Treanor. And you're-"

  "Aiko, a friend of the family." She glanced at the 'patient'. "How is she?"

  The doctor's face creased with concern. "We haven't really pinpointed what's wrong. But from the pain in her stomach, I suspect it’s something she ate."

  "Ow." Zoe gave a pained moan and clasped her stomach.

  Aiko mentally rolled her eyes. The girl was doing too much.

  This doctor had to have gotten his degree from an online 'university' if he hadn't already figured out was going on. Proving that he was as about as perceptive as a doorknob, he said, "We're hoping that when her father takes her to the hospital they can figure out what's going on."

  "Her father isn't coming," Aiko said just as the door opened.

  And Damián walked in.

  The moment his eyes fixed on Aiko, he came to an abrupt stop. Aiko's own eyes widened and her heart started an excited pitter patter as she raked him with her gaze. It had only been three days since she'd seen him, touched him, kissed him, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

  "Daddy," Zoe called out, breaking the enchantment that had swept in with Damián's arrival.

  "Sweetheart, are you okay?" Damián rushed to his daughter's side and took her hand.

  Zoe sniffed. "Daddy, my stomach hurts."

  "I'm sorry," Damián said.

  Aiko rose from the bed to stand in the corner, partly to give him space to fawn over Zoe - but mostly so she could put some space between them. Seeing him was already enough of a tease, she didn't need him crowding her senses with his masculine scent too. What she still couldn't figure out was what Miss Drama Queen over there had dragged her here for.

  Taking Aiko's former position on Zoe's bed, Damián turned worried eyes to the doctor."What's wrong with her?"

  "We think it's something she ate…" the doctor explained Zoe's condition. His explanation was accompanied by helpful groans and whimpers from his 'patient'.

  Damián ate it all up. Worry clouding his features, he turned to his daughter. "Do you think you can walk? We need to go see Dr. Hansen so we can find out what's going on."

  "I don't think so," Zoe whined. Damián immediately scooted forward, rubbing her arm.

  Oh, my god. Were all men so gullible? Impatience in her tone, Aiko interrupted Zoe's Oscar-worthy performance. "She's not sick."

  Both Damián and the doctor turned confused looks to her. "Sorry?"

  "She's not sick," Aiko repeated. Narrowing her eyes, she focused on the culprit. "Zoe, tell them the truth."

  Zoe's gaze shifted from Aiko to Damián to the doctor, then back to Aiko. She swallowed convulsively and her voice barely rose to a whisper as she confessed, "I'm not sick." Then before anyone could react to her admission, she burst into tears.

  "Hey. Hey. Hey." Damián drew her into his arms.

  "I just - I just." Zoe hiccupped into his chest. "I thought - thought that if you saw her you - you'd let her come back. I- I want her to come back. Everyone - everyone's sad without her. And without Seraphina."

  Damián caught Aiko's eyes before turning back to his daughter and murmuring. "Zoe, I told you they couldn't come back."

  "Why?" Zoe turned tear-streaked upwards. "Because of me?"

  "No, sweetheart, not because of you-"

  "You're lying," Zoe interrupted. "I heard you telling Uncle Josiah that you loved her but you had to choose me."

  What? Aiko's heart staggered to a stop and her eyes shot to Damián. He loved her?

  CHAPTER 31

  I heard you tell Uncle Josiah that you loved her.

  Damián's blood skidded to a halt and his whole being stiffened into a taut knot of tension as it protested that unceremonious revelation of his deepest darkest secret to the whole world - to the woman he loved. His gaze flew to Aiko, clashed with hers and saw the shock there.

  This was not how he'd seen himself revealing his feelings to her.

  Hell, he hadn't even planned on revealing them.

  What was she thinking? What thoughts and emotions were flirting beneath those wide doe eyes? That she didn't feel the same way or as strongly as he did? That he was a fool for falling for her? That it was too little too late?

  "I don't want you to choose me." Zoe's whimper drew his attention from Aiko. "Daddy, please let her come back. Please."

  Her words only racked up the strain in the room. Even though Damián avoided Aiko's gaze he could feel the tension between them, like a wire stretched taut and quivering. And he wasn't the only one who could feel it.

  Clearing his throat, the doctor edged towards the
door. "This sounds like a family matter. I'll just leave…"

  His exit did nothing to relieve the tension in the room. A moment of stunned silence ensued between the remaining three occupants of the room.

  "I should leave too," Aiko said, her voice sounding slightly choked.

  Even though every instinct in him wanted him to let her run so he wouldn't be forced to confront his feelings, Damián said curtly, "Don't go."

  And she didn't.

  Hauling in a deep breath, he turned to his daughter. "Zoe, put on your sweater. You're going back to class."

  "Will you let her come back?" Zoe insisted, her earnest eyes on him.

  Damián mentally shook his head. What a fickle daughter he had. Wasn't this the same girl who two weeks ago had been screaming about how much she didn't want Aiko in her life? To now have her be the one interceding for Aiko's return into their life was mind-blowing. But even more shocking was that Zoe had now reached a point where someone else's happiness was more important to her than her comfort.

  It made him want to hug her, and tell her how proud he was of her.

  His voice was much gentler when he said, "That's between Aiko and I." Supremely aware of Aiko watching him, he grabbed the sweater from the end of the bed and handed it to Zoe. "Put on your sweater."

  Zoe looked like she wanted to argue, but a glance at Damián's grave face and she quickly shut up. She slipped the black, half-sweater over her white shirt before standing quickly to put on her leather ballerina flats.

  "I'm sorry, Daddy," Zoe played with her fingers as she stared downwards.

  "It's okay," Damián said. "Go to class. We'll talk about this when we get home."

  That brought Zoe's startled gaze upwards to him. "You're going to punish me, aren't you?"

  Damián quirked his brows in a way that gave Zoe all the answer she needed.

  "That is so unfair." Zoe gasped. "Oh my God, I hate you."

  Her declaration drew a chuckle from both Damián and Aiko.

  A reluctant smile creased Zoe's face and she ended up hugging her Dad with a sheepish, "I love you."