The Bridal Candidate 1 (Heart Connections)

by Linda Verji

  "I love you too," Damián said. Kissing her forehead, he ordered, "Now go to class."

  Zoe started for the door, but she suddenly turned and darted toward Aiko. Surprise flared in Aiko's eyes when his daughter threw her arms around her waist. But she immediately wrapped her own arms around the child and bent to bury her nose in Zoe's hair.

  The happiness that flooded through Damián at the touching picture they made was indescribable - it gave him hope. When his daughter eventually left the room, he was still smiling. But when his gaze meandered back to Aiko, the smile faded. The nervousness in her eyes as she watched him mirrored the disquiet running rampant in his blood.

  Gripping the edge of the bed hard, he started, "I-"

  Just as she also said, "Is it-"

  They both kept silent and stared at each other.

  He broke the silence. "You first."

  "Is-" She paused and swallowed, yet her voice still sounded choked when she asked, "Is it true?"

  "Is what true?" Damián asked, even though he knew exactly what she was asking. If his pulse had been jogging before, it was now racing - like a plane with no brakes plummeting to the ground.

  Her eyes seemed to burn as they held his. "Is it true that you love me?"

  He wanted to deny it. He wasn't ready for this. In fact he didn't think he'd ever be ready. Yet he found himself nodding. "Yes." He'd never dreamed that the day would come when he'd say these words to another woman, but they were begging to be let out, threatening to suffocate him if he didn't release them. "I love you, Aiko."

  He waited for her reaction with bated breath. Waited for her to say something. It was a long time coming but when her response came it was more than he’d hoped for.

  She drew in a breath and her lips wobbled into a shaky smile. "I love you too."

  Damián's reaction was as swift as it was instinctual. One minute he was sitting on the bed, the next he was on his feet and striding towards her. She came readily in his arms; reaching up and framing his face with her hands. Undisguised love lit her face, infused in her gaze as she looked into his eyes and repeated, "I love you too."

  Then she kissed him.

  Deeply, freely, openly, expressing her feelings in the touch of her lips against his.

  The relief and elation that soared through Damián would've been enough to fill several jars. She loved him too. He gathered her in, fitted her against him, where she belonged, and kissed her back.

  SHE'D NEVER DREAMED that she'd hear those words from his lips.

  I love you, Aiko.

  His declaration was everything she'd dreamed of and more. It speared straight into her heart and injected joy into every last nerve in her body. He loved her.

  Wild, passionate, intense - from the first meeting of their tongues, the kiss and the emotions behind her swept her away. Her wits twirled in a storm of delight and relief, as Damián dragged her with him into passion, into desire and into the searing wonder of love.

  The kiss was lingering, enticing, almost worshipful. It ignited a fire that was familiar yet more intense - too intense - and almost frightening in its strength. Yet, Aiko didn't back away. How could she? He loved her. So, she plunged in head first.

  Her fingers clung to his jacket, dragged him closer and held him to her every bit as much as the steel bands of his arms held her to him. She savored how his hard frame cradled her softer curves as they kissed, eager to keep him with her - forever.

  She felt him pull back even before he did, tried to keep their lips sealed even as he ended the kiss with several small pecks. Whimpering a protest, she dug her fingers into his upper arms and opened her eyes to look up at him.

  He was breathing rapidly, as was she.

  He was watching her too, desire and tenderness intermingling in his gaze. That sight shook her, drew her back upwards but before she could seal their lips again, he whispered, "You should have told me."

  Setting her palms on his shoulders, she looked up at him questioningly. "Told you what?"

  His arms tightened around her. "That you loved me."

  His words sucked the air right out of her lungs. Somehow, she found the voice to choke out, "Would that have changed anything?"

  His response was slow to come, but when it did it was an unequivocal, "No." Still holding her gaze, he drew in a deep breath. "But I wouldn't have ended us so unceremoniously. I wouldn't have-"

  "Damián, don't." Squeezing his shoulders, she said, "I told you I understand. It was either me or Zoe, and you made the right choice. To be honest I would have done the same thing if it was Seraphina. That's what parents do. They put their children first."

  He shook his head. "Still-"

  "Still nothing." She lifted up on tip toes and touched her lips to his. "You-" Kiss. " - did-" Another kiss. "- the right - " One more kiss " - thing."

  On her last word, he took control of the kisses and melding them into something longer, more passionate, and tangled with gratefulness. Tracing the lines of her face with his fingertips, he teased his lips over hers in a lingering kiss.

  He pulled back again, to murmur against her lips. "So where do we go from here?"

  Her eyes flitted to his. "You tell me."

  They stared at each other for a long moment, his eyes locked on hers, until she felt that they might be one person. His voice, when he spoke, was dark yet filled with tenderness. "I want you."

  Her gaze immediately dropped to his lower body. He was wearing denim, but they were close enough that she could feel the evidence of his desire pressed to her stomach. Her eyes flew to his. "Damián, No. We're in Zoe's school."

  "What?" Confusion creased his brow for about a second before understanding crowded it out. Amusement followed immediately, and he chuckled. "No. What kind of pervert do you think I am?"

  "You said you wanted me then-" She glanced downwards pointedly.

  "Yes, I want you that way too but it can wait until we get home." His expression sobered up and his gaze turned inscrutable. "But when I said I want you, what I meant was that I want you in my life - forever."

  Oh? Her eyes widened with his declaration as her heart renewed its happy jig.

  "How would you feel about renewing our contract?" His gaze intent, he cupped her cheek. "How would you feel about becoming my bride? This time for real. For love."

  Her lungs seized. Was he really asking what she thought he was asking or was she just dreaming? If this was a dream then she never wanted to wake up from it. Afraid that if she waited too long he might take back his words but unable to make a sound because of the lump at the back of her throat, she nodded.

  His eyes lit up. "Is that a yes?"

  She nodded again.

  "You'll marry me?" There was wonder in his eyes as if he didn't quite believe this was happening either.

  Her heart swelling and sudden tears clouding her vision, she nodded again.

  For a long moment he looked down at her, then he drew closer and lowered his head, stopping just short of kissing her. His breath whispered against her lips as he murmured, "I need the word, baby."

  He held her close, waiting patiently… his patience was her strength. She drew a shuddering breath then pushed the word between her lips. "Yes."

  And he captured it with his own lips. Yes.

  His hands clamped about her head, angled it and he sealed their new contract with a searing kiss. This time they were each promising to exchange hearts. His was her. And hers was his. This time they were both promising love.

  Her heart swelling, she fell into the kiss and in love with him all over again. She breathed against his lips. "I love you."

  "I love you too," he whispered before sinking back into the kiss.

  As flames licked about them, crackling and hungry, she felt the strangest sensation, almost as if her entire future was laid out in front of her. A future that was full, rich and full of love. It was a future that was much more than she'd expected when she'd accepted to be his bride the first time.

  She'd ac
cepted Damián's offer so she could get financial security for her family. Instead he'd given her a treasure that was worth far more. Himself.

  And she intended to show him how much she valued him.

  Every single day of their future life.

  CHAPTER 32

  ~ Three Months Later ~

  Aiko stretched luxuriously and rolled against her fiancé. "That was amazing," she whispered.

  "It was," Damián's voice was lazy with a hint of exhaustion.

  She hid a smile against his shoulder. He'd nearly worn himself this morning, running then coming back to make sweet, slow love to her. He was making up for the fact that up until two weeks ago they weren't living in the same house.

  After their reconciliation they'd both decided that it was still a good idea to give Zoe and Seraphina time to get used to their changed status. It wasn't easy being apart, but it'd given them the time to date and get to know each other as lovers and friends, rather than business partners.

  "You guys need to hurry up," Zoe called out with a knock on the door. "We're going to be late for school."

  "Come out. We're late," Seraphina added to the clamor.

  "We're coming," Aiko called out.

  "Good," Zoe yelled out. "Hurry up."

  "Dear God, such a ruckus just to get to school?" Damián muttered. "I miss the good old days when kids hated school."

  Aiko suppressed a laugh as she poked him in the ribs. "They're just excited because it's Sports Day."

  "I know." He made a face. "But didn't the school say that the program starts at eleven? Besides, it's not like there'll be any decent sports there. Golf and polo! Who organizes a sports day that is made exclusively of golf and polo?"

  "You're the one who took them to Lowell School," Aiko said, her voice tinged with a smile. "What did you expect?"

  "Umm. I don't know. How about sports that aren't so lazy and require the kids to move their bodies? Track. Soccer. Tennis. Hockey. Football," he suggested. "These people are making our kids fat."

  "You can put that in the suggestion box, today," Aiko said, as she sat up in bed. She patted his chest. "Now come on let's go shower before our daughters come and carry us in there themselves."

  "I don't want to." He sighed, but he rose from the bed and padded ahead of her into the bathroom.

  Even though Damián was complaining, she was sure that there was no possible way he was going to miss this event. In the last few months, his family had become his top priority. His days of working every day of the week and late were long gone. If a project was urgent, he carried it home with him - but even that he kept to a minimum.

  The time he was devoting to his family was paying off. Not only had he and Zoe formed a much closer bond, but these days it was quite clear who was the parent and who was the child in their relationship. Sure, Zoe tested the boundaries sometimes, but he remained consistent and determined. Even the principal had commented on Zoe's remarkable change during the parent-teacher conference.

  As for her and Zoe's relationship; she couldn't have hoped for better. Zoe's part in bringing Aiko and Damián back together had marked a major turning point in their relationship. They still had their hiccups now and then; but now those hiccups were more about a mother and a teenage daughter, rather than opposing forces.

  Sighing happily, she gathered up her hair beneath a shower cap before joining Damián in the shower. The moment the hot water sprayed against her skin, she hissed, "Eish, too hot."

  "No, you're too hot," he said, pulling her closer to him. The naughty smirk on his face was a dead giveaway of what he wanted.

  "No." She shook her head and pushed at his bare chest. "We're already late."

  "I promise I'll be real quick," he cajoled as he circled his arms around her waist.

  "Uh uh," she refused, but giggled when he nuzzled his nose into her neck. "Stop it."

  "How am I supposed to stop when you're looking this gorgeous?" His eyes were on her nipples. He bit his bottom lip. "A little taste."

  She wanted to say No, after all they had people waiting for them downstairs. She should've said No. Instead, she cupped her hand over the back of his neck and drew him downwards. "Just a little taste."

  It was the last complete sentence she said for the next twenty-eight minutes. Damián had her calling his name, clawing at the glass wall, throwing her ass back into his strong strokes. By the time, he carried her out of the shower she was exhausted but at the same time sated, and he practically had to help her dry off.

  Their relationship had turned out far better than Aiko expected, far better than she'd hoped. Free from his fear of heartbreak, Damián had proved that he had lots of love to give and their relationship had taken a new dimension. The passion and hot sex was still there, but it had merged with love and devotion so deep that sometimes Aiko thought she was dreaming. He'd provided her with a feeling of completeness and fulfillment that had made her realize how much she'd missed having a man in her life.

  However, theirs was an imperfect fairytale. She and Damián were still grappling with the teething problems that all new couples undergo - jealousy, family interference, sorting out finances et al. But the issue that ate up Aiko most was people's inability to accept their relationship.

  Not everyone was accepting of a blended families. Aiko remembered one incident last week when she and Seraphina attended one of Zoe's practices. There were a few other moms there, but they'd made an effort to avoid Aiko, even as they gossiped about her. Their stares and whispers had been obvious enough that even Seraphina had noticed.

  Later, Shelly had told Zoe, that the moms were talking about how much of a shame it was that Damián had to marry 'one of those people'. Aiko wasn't dumb, she knew what they meant. Being singled out for her race or her scar was nothing new to Aiko, but she worried that it might affect Seraphina. Nevertheless, Aiko hoped that given time their community would get used to, and accept them.

  "All dry," Damián said as he patted her dry with the towel after their shower.

  "Thank you." She lifted up for a brief kiss before leading the way out of the bathroom. "Now come on. They've probably already started the car."

  They'd just walked into their bedroom when her phone rang. Aiko rushed to pick it. The moment she saw Femi's name on the screen, she answered with a, "Femi, hi, I promise I'll pass by the house in the evening. And yes, I'll bring the-"

  "I'm not calling about that," Femi interrupted. "You need to get to the house. Right now."

  There was a desperation in her voice that made Aiko's heart rate instantly spike. "Femi, what's going on?"

  "I can't tell you over the phone," Femi said. "Just get to church."

  "No, tell me now." Aiko insisted as Damián came to stand next to her, a concerned expression on his face. She asked, "Is it Dad?"

  "It's not Dad." There was a long pause on the other end of the line and then Femi said, "It's Lincoln."

  Aiko's blood came to a stuttering halt. She breathed. "What about Lincoln?"

  "He's here, Aiko." Her sister repeated, "He's here."

  The phone dropped from Aiko's suddenly limp fingers.

  │ THE END │

  Thank you for reading the first part of Aiko and Damián's story.

  If you enjoyed it, please don’t forget to recommend The Bridal Candidate to your friends, as well as leave a review at your store of choice (just click on your preferred link below). It will be much appreciated.

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  What's Next?

  Of course I wouldn’t leave you hanging like that. The second and final part of The Bridal Candidate now available for your reading pleasure.

  Damián Colter never expected to fall in love again, but he did. Aiko Vaughn isn’t the perfect fiancée, but she’s certainly close. She is devoted, nurturing and extremely loyal. He couldn’t have asked for a better woman to be his life-partner, and the last thing he wants to do is lose her. But that seems like an all too real possibility when her past comes crashing in
to their present.

  Five years ago, Aiko was a soldier. During this time she met and fell in love with fellow soldier, Lincoln Ware. He not only saved her life, but he also taught her that love can bloom even in the worst of circumstances. Then he died.

  Or didn’t!

  Yup! Lincoln is back.

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