It was the three of swords. Nathan grimaced. “Hmm. That doesn’t look good.”
Marnie crooked her head to the side a little. “The three of swords signifies a crossing of swords and parting of ways; a feeling of betrayal and distrust between yourself and another.”
She could instantly tell on his face he thought of his divorce from Hilary. Rather than say anything to possibly rub him the wrong way, she instead went on to the next card to flip it over.
The second card was the ten of coins.
“It seems the struggle that brought about your heartache was prosperity,” she said. She paused and looked at Nathan woefully. As much as she prided herself on guiding her cards, to tell the truth, it was times like this that she regretted their blunt accuracy. Nathan did not look up at her, just looked at the cards. She went on.
The third and fourth cards addressed his pass: the hierophant and the ten of wands.
She issued him a warning. “You found yourself in a place where your well-being was threatened. You felt like you were taking on too much and became more than you could bear.”
Nathan sat back in his seat. “In some ways, yeah, it did. It was like…giving more of myself than I really had and that wasn’t what she was looking for,” he said. “At least not the way I was giving it.” He cleared his throat. Marnie flipped over the next card.
“Now here is a good card. The ace of hearts. It signifies virility, a new desire to create and feel more deeply again. Even a sense of youthfulness comes with this card,” she said gleefully, hoping to cheer him up. Nathan did indeed crack a little bit of a smile. This encouraged her to go through the next four cards.
The card at the utmost top of the spread was the two of cups. It depicted two people sitting across from each other having a drink and smiling.
Marnie giggled. “Look familiar?” Nathan definitely got her meaning.
“What about it?” he asked, giving her a sly smile.
“It signifies having an unexpected help, a dear friend or teammate in your corner.” She stared into Nathan’s eyes when she spoke, her head slightly tilted to the side flirtatiously.
“Indeed,” he said with a chuckle.
The next few cards highlighted what they already knew about him being in the spotlight and how others were currently viewing him. It was no surprise to Marnie that The Fool popped up as one of the cards, giving them both a good laugh. It was now time for the last card. Before turning it over Marnie explained the significance of this card aligning with the two of cups.
“It will give you some greater insight into what you may or may not want to do in the future. Nothing is set in stone, but if this card is similar to the other in theme or feel, you should definitely see where that road leads you.”
“Ok.” Nathan nodded. He looked anxious to get on with it, to see what was his possible fate. As Marnie turned over the card, she watched Nathan lean in a little closer. The card was revealed to be The Lovers. Marnie looked at the card and smiled serenely at the two people depicted wrapping their arms around each other.
Secretly, she was hoping that was the card that would eventually show itself, especially in this position of the spread. She looked up to Nathan to see him smiling slightly, then his eyes met hers.
“So, what does it mean? I mean, in relation to the rest of the spread,” he asked.
Marnie cleared her throat a bit nervously and sat up straight in her dining room chair. “Well,” she spoke. “It means there is someone in your future who you will become very close to.”
Her gaze went back and forth between Nathan and the card, but his eyes rested on her now as she continued speaking.
“It could signify a new romance or you finding someone who values you as much as you do them.”
Nathan's eyes went down to his hands folded in front of him on the table. “I find that hard to believe, but anything is possible, right?”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Anything is possible.”
Marnie stood, feeling a mixture of relief and bittersweet regret. She wanted to know what may lie ahead for her and Nathan, but never liked using divination for her own selfish reasons. She had no way of knowing if the female woman in the artwork of The Lovers represented herself or someone else and the feelings she had for Nathan felt regrettable the more she thought of how badly she hoped that card and the two of cups spoke of the two of them, together. She blew out the candle, smudged out the incense, and began putting everything away.
As she stood by the curio cabinet, lightning struck and lit up her whole dining and living room space. She nearly jumped out her skin and then realized Nathan was standing by her. He rested his hand on her shoulder, which at first she thought was merely for comfort after her scare, then she turned and saw him looking down at much like he did the night they met. She hoped finally this was the moment they would fulfill anything close to what the cards had read.
“Marnie,” he said rubbing her arm gently. “Thank you for letting me let that all out and just…giving me a chance to assess everything.”
She looked up into his dark eyes and felt her heartbeat pick up pace a little.
“Of course, Nathan.” Her voice was soft and low. She was fighting every urge to throw her arms around him and kiss him with all the passion she had left over from their dance the other night. “I’m here if you need anything.”
She wondered did he notice the emphasis on the word anything. He was still looking in her eyes but had stopped rubbing her arm and instead was holding her right hand in his own.
“I mean it,” he said. “I’ve been in an emotional rut a while since Hilary left and I didn’t really want to vent my feelings to another colleague or someone who might take as an opportunity to cash in my personal thoughts to the media.” He squeezed her hand tightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
It was so simple, so innocent. But that kiss sent cascades of flaming heat across Marnie’s skin. She was tempted to turn her face toward him, to go far beyond some high-school-dance peck on the cheek, but he stepped away and simply grinned at her. The moment was lost.
“You don’t have to get a hotel,” she suggested. “You could just stay the night here.”
Nathan appreciated the gesture but declined. “Nah. I can call a cab to get me back to my car across from Townsend’s, then look up a place to stay from there.”
Marnie couldn’t hide her disappointment. She lowered her eyes. “Oh, well, whatever works best.”
She couldn’t tell if Nathan was just dense or purposefully avoiding her passive invitation. He must of noted something in her response because he placed his hand gently under her chin to lift her eyes back up where he could see them.
“This won’t be the last time we get to spend time together and talk. Not by a long shot,” he chuckled. He gave her a warm hug, and Marnie savored every bit of it, inhaling the smell of his cologne on his blazer. She hated to see him go but what could she say.
Thirty minutes later, Nathan had arrived back at his car and was on his way to the Spanish Court Hotel. He was actually riding high on his reading from Marnie. It was sad at first, then turned optimistic. A new partnership could signify new business prospects or even a new romance. Either way, it was good to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Not to mention in just less than twenty-four hours of receiving his divorce papers, he had met a totally fascinating woman who was beautiful, carefree, and made him feel a little bit better about his self-esteem.
He didn’t want to pretend that he didn’t find Marnie attractive, but he was still very much on his guard. He was more than a little aware of her flirting. It excited him, but also made him a little afraid. This was nothing he’d ever admit to anyone, but he really had lost a lot of his confidence since he and Hilary split. And his dating experiences had been so bad, he started to truly wonder were women attracted to him or just his wealth.
From what he could tell, Marnie was more interested in him. Not just who he was but also his well-being. He was more grateful
for that than she knew. However, he did set out to let her know more and more when the opportunities presented themselves that he appreciated her company and her advice.
He took a shower, climbed into his hotel bed, and his thoughts wandered on all the things his tarot reading revealed until he drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 3
More than a week had come and gone, but it seemed like years to Marnie and Nathan. They had gotten into a steady routine of calling one another as soon as they got home in the evening. They would text regularly, and he even made a trip back to Kingston for the weekend.
Of course, the media was eating up their rendezvous like hot cakes. More and more coverage of the two was being featured in tabloids but also entertainment news coverage. A commerce magazine even used some public domain photos of the two shopping in a local marketplace, suggesting Nathan was “redefining millionaire bachelorhood.”
Cosmopolitan had also gotten some juicy pictures of the two playing and lounging in the beach, commenting, “Check out the curves on Nathan’s Caribbean cutie.”
They even captured pictures of Dominique and the dynamic duo on Marnie’s balcony having drinks and one entertainment website hinted at a possible hot and juicy Jamaican love fest.
It was this headline on an ad in Dominique’s social media newsfeed that made her finally have another talk with her friend. She went over to Marnie’s home one afternoon and pulled up the article. Marnie, of course, laughed it off, and Dominique had to agree the sheer silliness of it was enough to make even her shake her head and laugh. But then, Dominique went straight the point of her visit.
“My point in even showing you this is I feel like people look at you two as some sort of fling. I mean if that’s what’s going on, more power to you,” she insisted. “But, I know you have more feelings than that going on.”
Marnie was busy in the kitchen cooking up something for the two of them but listening to her friend’s concerns. She wiped her hands on a towel and then looked over to the couch where Dominique sat.
“Yes, I do feel like I have feelings for Nathan, but he’s…” She paused.
“He’s what?”
“I can still tell he’s really hesitant to get into anything serious.”
Dominique pulled up several photos of Nathan and Marnie in some compromising public displays of affection in her Google images search engine. She spun her phone around so Marnie could see.
“He doesn’t look to hesitant to me,” she said sarcastically, waving the phone from left to right.”
Marnie couldn’t help but laugh, but she understood all too well what Dominique was trying to say.
She walked around her kitchen island to the couch and plopped down on the opposite end, letting out a sigh.
“I just feel like maybe he’s not so much interested in a relationship than just having a good friend.”
Marnie’s voice was sheepish and small. Part of it was the shame of having to really admit she might be letting her feelings for Nathan get out of control, and that she knew he had not shown any real indication that he felt the same. She knew she had a horrible habit of having too much fun too fast, then finding herself head over heels. It was something she couldn’t avoid in relationships. Which begged the question were her and Nathan even in a relationship? Suddenly, she understood exactly what Dominique was getting at.
She reached over and took Dominique’s cell phone from her hand and looked at the many pictures of her and Nathan everyone had so much to say about. They looked like they were happy, just enjoying each other’s company. But there were some photos that would easily be mistaken for a couple’s honeymoon montage in a photo album. She let out another deep sigh, then looked at her friend who was now giving her a knowing look. Marnie began dialing the number to Nathan’s phone she now had memorized, but suddenly stopped just as it was ringing.
“I don’t want to do this now, Niecey,” she exclaimed. She ended the phone call before any voice could be heard on the other end and sat Dominique’s phone on the couch in a huff. “If I’m going to talk to him about it, I’d rather do it face-to-face”.
She made her way back to the kitchen and began stirring in a big stew pot of curried chicken. Her back was to Dominique now. She didn’t want to see her friend’s accusing face or be pushed into facing what may be true. She didn’t want to face she might just be in over her head.
The sound of her friend’s footsteps in the kitchen still didn’t make her turn around. It wasn’t until Dominique was standing by her at the stove that she looked over at her. The two women looked at each other for a moment, and Dominique could tell she had pushed Marnie a bit too far. She rubbed her back for comfort and to apologize.
“Look, I just don’t want you getting hurt,” she said assuredly to Marnie.
“I know,” she said as she looked back down into the pot of spices and broth. “I don’t want to get hurt either, but it is what is. I guess only fate knows for sure if I will this time.”
******
Nathan was ashamed to admit that for a change he was enjoying the media hype from his escapades on the island. It wasn’t because he was glowing in the midst of some supposed midlife crisis, or because he was showing the world he still “had it” after having his wife leave him. It was because he had a beautiful woman by his side in every photo who wasn’t just some kind of arm candy or some gold digger looking to get a name for herself.
He laid in his bed back at his villa, scrolling through photo after photo of the two of them, some that were private ones he had taken, ones she had messaged him, and others he had downloaded from this website or that one. He truly enjoyed Marnie’s company and the more they got to talk or see each other, the more he couldn’t imagine how he ever passed up the opportunity to enjoy the company of anyone for so long.
He had to admit to himself that even when he met Hilary, it was about prestige. They had connections in some of the same circles and even several of the same business connections via her father. Since meeting Marnie, he had to ask had he and his wife every truly had a connection to begin with? Marnie made him reassess even his relationships with colleagues he now considered friends. Had they have met under different circumstances that didn’t revolve around golf courses and stock market jargon, would they still be associated with each other at all?
Just as he was fixed on this one photo of him and Marnie on the beach admiring her black sarong playfully wrapped around their shoulders as they sat side by side, his phone rang. It was a number he didn’t recognize. Normally, he wouldn’t answer it, but he hadn’t heard from Marnie by that evening and was wondering if it was her just calling from a different phone.
“Hello?”
“Is this Nathan?” It was Dominique. Nathan was surprised to hear from her. They had gotten to know more about each other in the past week (only because Marnie insisted), but they didn’t ever exchange numbers.
“Dominique,” he said. “How’d you get my number? Is Marnie alright?” His thoughts immediately went to concern over whether or not his friend was ok. Was that the reason Dominique was calling? Was Marnie not able to call because something had happened?
She quickly put his mind at ease. “Marnie is fine. As far as how I got your number, she was about to call you on my phone and decided not to, but the number was still on my call list.”
“Alright, so what’s going on that she didn’t call?”
Nathan braced himself for the worst. He had only been here a few times, especially since his divorce. There was always some reason a friend of a friend or someone he was seeing was calling on that person’s behalf and it was always personal.
“Look, she and I were having a talk,” Dominique said timidly. “I just…” Her voice trailed off. “I’m just concerned as a close friend. Marnie and I are like sisters. I know Marnie. She gets all wrapped in her fun, then in her feelings.”
Nathan had a feeling he knew where this was going but decided to tread lightly.
“Are you saying
she feels like I’m getting too involved, that we’re spending too much time together?” He grimaced. He was concerned now. This wouldn’t be the first time that he was brushed off via a best friend for being too “pushy.”
“No, nothing like that,” Dominique explained. “Sadly, it’s the other way around.”
Those words made Nathan take a long pause. He wanted to choose his words carefully. He knew Marnie was flirting heavy and often times she teased him about the two of them getting a little bit more up close and personal, but he always considered it playful teasing and nothing more. He had no clue she actually may be interested in him.
“Dominique, are you saying Marnie has feelings for me?” Even hearing the words come out his own mouth sounded foreign and absurd.
“Well, yes!” Dominique sounded a little more than frustrated. “How have you not noticed?”
“I—I’m not going to say I didn’t notice but…” He was fishing for an excuse, any excuse to explain why he never pursued any of Marnie’s advances. He cleared his throat.
“She’s been crazy about you since the two of you met. All I have had to hear about for almost two weeks is ‘Nathan this’ and ‘Nathan that,’” Dominique demonstrated in her best Marnie impression.
Nathan had to laugh at it all. He had always looked at Marnie as just a newfound friend, but a special one. He felt maybe her flirting was just how she was with every guy. Now, he felt like a cad. He wasn’t sure what to say to Dominique next, but he found the best words he could to explain.
“Dominique,” he said. “You and I both know Marnie can be a bit…seductive. I mean, call me skeptical, but I figured she’s like that with every guy that comes along.”
At this, Nathan felt bad to talk about her as if she were some wild loose woman, but he remembered them talking about her relationship troubles. He never really delved too deeply why she was quick to jump in and out of love, but in his mind, he wondered if he went down that road would he just end up another lover she had to let go or that finally cut loose from her. He went on talking.
Have My Child: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 14) Page 16
