Scarlett Bride (The Scarletts

by Brenda Barrett

  Oliver frowned. "This changes things."

  "No, it doesn't." David got up."I am hungry, be back shortly."

  He didn't take long to pile his plate high. He was back before Oliver could work out how this turn of events could work to Ashaki's advantage.

  David sat down. "It changes nothing because I am not staying married to Miranda. I will pay child support. Hell, I'll even happily pay spousal support, but Miranda and I were never compatible. Oliver, you saw it in med school. Miranda is chalk and I am cheese. Very different personality wise, every wise. I still think I was on drugs when I tied the knot. I must have sniffed something and not realized it."

  "You do tend to get yourself mixed up in spur of the moment relationships. What's your child's name?" Oliver asked.

  "Tyler." David grimaced, "named after her brother who killed his wife and then committed suicide. What an auspicious start to the poor kid’s life."

  Oliver steepled his fingers under his chin. "Well, for what it's worth, congrats on being a father."

  David grunted. "I am not pleased. Congratulations are not welcomed. I feel so deceived and angry."

  Oliver raised a brow. "This doesn't sound like you, David. You are running away from a very crucial responsibility. You have a son. That's a blessing; you should cherish it."

  "No, no guilt trip," David snarled. "I am moving on with my life the way I planned to with Ashaki. I did not bank on getting kids. I didn't even want any! It has been two years. I don't need this!"

  "So what are you going to do in the meantime?" Oliver asked, "Surely you are not going to stick around here."

  "Oh yes. I have an interview at Mount Faith University. They have a medical center there. They advertised for two positions. I am already cleared for an interview. If I work there, I can be close to the woman I really want in my life."

  "Suppose she doesn't want you?" Oliver asked. "What then?"

  "She will want me," David said smugly. "It was a brilliant move you made allowing her to go to school up there. "

  He raised his glass and smiled. "My one bright moment right now is seeing Ashaki again and knowing that pretty soon she will be mine. Cheers!"

  Oliver looked into his empty glass. "Sorry, out of drinks."

  ****

  Oliver headed for his room, his steps heavy. He passed Ashaki's door and knocked lightly. He waited for her to answer and then knocked again.

  She opened the door cautiously and looked out. "Oh Oliver, it's you!"

  Oliver nodded. "You really need to come out and eat something."

  Ashaki opened the door wider. "Is he out there?"

  "No, he is not." Oliver shrugged. "He is on the other side of the hotel and he already had dinner."

  "I really am hungry," Ashaki said shakily. "I thought how crazy I was acting the minute I came into the room and my belly grumbled too loud for comfort."

  Oliver smiled. "Come on then, the food is good and there is quite a variety."

  Ashaki stepped out and sighed. "I feel so ungrateful hiding from David. I mean, I am not even happy to see David. When I was in the Congo and not knowing where to go, he was the one who was always looking for solutions for me; he cares about me."

  Oliver gave her a half smile. "Let's get you eating and then we'll talk, hmmm?"

  Ashaki's belly rumbled in response and they both laughed.

  At dinner, she was animated and back to her old self. Oliver sat and watched her as she talked about everything but David. She went for a second dessert plate and he smiled at her when she came back.

  "By casual observation, one would not know that you eat like a horse."

  Ashaki laughed out loud and made a strange honking sound that had him laughing too.

  When they left the dining room they strolled to the beach area in silence.

  Ashaki was the first one to break it. "You know, in Jamaica a marriage cannot be annuled because of non-consummation. I checked."

  Oliver turned to her in the half-lit walk way and stopped. "Is that so, you checked?"

  "Yes." Ashaki looked at him saucily. "You have to divorce me whether we have sex or not. And you have to live with me for two years before you can file for divorce."

  Oliver chuckled. "You don't say?"

  Ashaki nodded. "You have eighteen more months of being my husband, whether David likes it or not."

  "What if I told you that he is going to be working at Mount Faith so that he can be closer to you?" Oliver ran his fingers through his hair. "You have to give the man props: he follows you from Africa, he has a new baby with his wife and that is not enough to break his resolve. It's either love or some weird form of obsession."

  Ashaki gasped. "What?"

  "I know." Oliver stopped at the sea wall and sat down, straddling it with his legs. He watched the water as it splashed against some rocks on the shore.

  "Now I feel guilty," Ashaki whispered.

  "You haven't done anything to be guilty about." Oliver sighed. "You only wanted a better life. This was a convenient arrangement."

  Ashaki sat in front of him, copying his pose.

  "He intends to win your love." Oliver smirked. "This is feeling very much like a Victorian play."

  Ashaki chuckled and then touched his cheek gently, swiping a finger across it. "First semester starts in two weeks."

  "So?" Oliver whispered as she drew closer to him on the wall, until their knees were touching.

  "You could kiss me," Ashaki said, placing her lips on his. "Teach me."

  "I would like that..." Oliver cupped her chin and lowered his head to taste her full lips.

  She kissed him back with all her heart and soul, scooting up even closer to him on the wall, and pulled him as close as she could, the two of them straining together as if they were magnets or two opposite parts of a complete whole.

  Oliver didn't know who pulled away first; maybe it was the need for air. Maybe it was the fact that he heard a faint giggle in the background from people farther down the walk.

  There was a rush of blood in his ears and his lips and most of his body was twanging with sensitivity. He wanted to say, “To hell with propriety and holding off; you are my wife. Let’s go to my room. Let’s love each other.”

  What held him back?

  He looked at Ashaki, who was regarding him through half-closed, dreamy eyes. She deserved to choose: him, David, school or nobody at all. He wasn't going to unfairly tip the scales in his favor.

  If they ever got together he wanted it to be him without one piece of doubt.

  Chapter Fourteen

  David called her at the crack of dawn. Her phone rang twice before Ashaki picked it up.

  "Rise and shine," David said before she could answer.

  "Can we have breakfast together at eight?" His voice was husky. “I want to see you.”

  Ashaki blinked the sleep out of her eyes and swiped her hand across her face.

  "Ashaki, are you there?" David asked, his voice sounding agitated at her prolonged silence.

  "Yes." Ashaki inhaled shakily. "Barely."

  He chuckled. "Sorry to wake you up so early. But Oliver said that you guys were leaving to go back home today and I wanted you all to myself at least for the morning."

  Ashaki glanced at her watch. It was six-thirty. The room felt overly cold from the prolonged low temperature from the AC and the constant cool air had dried out her throat.

  "I'll be there," she croaked.

  David hung up the phone and she did as well. All vestiges of sleep were gone from her eyes. All thoughts of spending the morning replaying her first real kiss, completely shattered.

  Oliver had silently walked her to her room last night, kissed her chastely on her forehead and told her goodnight. She had thought that she wouldn't be able to sleep but she had.

  And now here she was, all vestiges of sleep wiped from her eyes. She had a breakfast engagement with the man who basically saved her butt. And she didn't want to go.

  She hopped out of bed, heading to
the bathroom first where she could make sure that her high puff wasn't squashed beyond redemption and her face and teeth were clean.

  She had to ask Oliver to go with her to breakfast. She needed his presence with her. Which was ridiculous because Oliver would passively sit by and watch as David declared his plans for them as a couple.

  The whole thing did not sit well with her. She didn't want him to leave his marriage and his child because of his infatuation with her. She didn't want David. She wanted Oliver. Her present husband.

  What Oliver wanted was another story. He was so stubborn about her age and maturity and choosing him without coercion. It was becoming annoying. She tried to see it from his point of view but she couldn't. Maybe it was a culture thing.

  She knocked on the connecting door harder than needed and put her ear to it awaiting his response. He didn't say anything so she tried the handle.

  He wasn't in bed. She heard music playing and the shower running.

  She turned back to go to her room, when she heard what he was singing: "Any day now, I will hear you say, goodbye my love and you'll be gone away..."

  She paused for a minute. Those words...were they meant for her? A girl could only hope. She had to find the song lyrics sometime today.

  She heard when the shower stopped and she tiptoed back to her room. She'd visit him in fifteen minutes. Maybe she would get ready for the day too.

  ****

  Oliver whistled as soon as she saw him thirty minutes later. She definitely understood why. She had gone heavy with the makeup and she had worn one of the fairy hair silky long wigs that Faith had said she just had to try, along with her neon pink summer dress and matching wedge heels. She knew she looked outstanding.

  "You are dressed to impress." He was sitting on one of the couches in the room, and he was texting on his phone.

  She noted that he didn't look back down at his screen when she entered the room though.

  "David invited me to breakfast."

  He frowned. "Okay."

  "And now I am inviting you."

  Oliver grinned. "I like the idea of showing up with you and thwarting his romantic plans."

  Ashaki sat beside him. "Sleep well last night?"

  "No." Oliver raised a brow and looked at her. "I realized quite forcefully that I am a mere man. I was hot and bothered and I kept staring at the door that separated our rooms and thinking, what if..."

  Ashaki flushed, glad that the hair could cover her expression.

  "We can't be repeating last night’s kiss," Oliver said stoically. "No way."

  "But why not?" Ashaki protested. "Oliver..."

  "Let's get out of this room," Oliver stood up, "and take a leisurely stroll to breakfast with David."

  Oliver had a neutral expression on his face as they walked to the dining room. They didn't talk much after his declaration about not being able to sleep. The knowledge made her giddy.

  Oliver could be passionate when he wanted to and he wanted her. She could get under his skin, ruffle his feathers.

  She liked that knowledge.

  Maybe...Probably...Hopefully...He loved her. But that was jumping from one thing to another. Him wanting her physically was a far cry from him needing her emotionally.

  The thought was almost enough to wipe the wide smile from her face.

  If he didn't love her he would not fight for her to stay with him. If he handed her over to David with his blessings, what would she do?

  ****

  David was not happy that Oliver joined them for breakfast. And Oliver, knowing that David was fuming at his intrusion on what was supposed to be private time with him and Ashaki, manipulated the conversation. Which almost drove David nuts. It freed her from answering specific questions from David or even participating much.

  She watched the two men while they talked. She had never really gotten the opportunity to openly stare at them before. David was light; Oliver was darker. Both of them had their good points, their outstanding features.

  Only one of them she loved.

  She gave Oliver a grateful smile when David went for a second helping of pancakes.

  "Thank you for handling this for me."

  Oliver shrugged. "No problem. He is pretty determined to pursue a relationship with you. You'll have to handle this yourself at some point.

  "On to other news: Noah is expecting us at ten, so we are going to have to cut this breakfast reunion short."

  Ashaki grinned. "I have no problems with that."

  ****

  They left the hotel at nine-fifty. David walked them to the car, still trying to get Ashaki alone but Oliver stuck close to her.

  "I'll see you soon, Ashaki," David said when they got in the car. He looked at Oliver with retribution in his gaze. "I have my interview tomorrow and then I will have two weeks of down time. I'll be staying at Treasure Beach, at a place called Villa Ingles. You know it?"

  "Yes." Ashaki nodded. "It's a lovely place."

  "Good." He smiled. "I am sure there we will have no company." He looked at Oliver. "Unless you want to take some time off from work to hold her hand?"

  "Not unless she wants me to." Oliver started the car. "I like the idea of Ashaki making up her own mind about what goes on in her life. Don't you?"

  David frowned at him and stood back from the car. "See you tomorrow, Ashaki."

  Oliver drove off before she could respond. He drove a little bit too fast on the way to Noah's and he didn't say a word to her, not until they reached where Noah lived and he had calmed down. He seemed as if he was fuming. She wasn't sure if it was at her, David or himself.

  They visited Noah for a few hours and he was looking much better than the day before. He was at his piano when the housekeeper let them in.

  He was playing a song and singing..."Say you, say me; say it together, naturally."

  "I don't even like the song." He looked up at them with a half smile. "I mean, I didn't think about it before, and now here I am playing it. Oliver, do you think I should find out who my donor is? Find out if I have acquired new tastes from him..."

  "Or her?" Oliver said and grinned. "No, I don't think it’s a good idea. Just forget about it."

  Noah frowned. "That's the thing, I am having great difficulty fending off some new impulses." He widened his eyes. "Do you think I have a girl's heart?"

  Oliver laughed. "It doesn't matter. A heart is a pump. Gender or age really doesn't matter. Just that it is functioning the way it should and it is compatible with your body."

  Noah sighed. "I know, I know... but I tell you, when I obsess, I really do obsess and my current obsession is whose heart do I have and why is it that I am feeling some sensations that are alien to me? I am going to get to the bottom of this."

  He wagged his finger jokingly. "Of course, if I find out that I have a girl's heart, I would have preferred if I hadn't gone investigating."

  He changed the subject.

  "So did Peter Scarlett show up yesterday?"

  "No." Oliver shook his head. "Got a text from the detective saying he didn't."

  "As expected." Noah shrugged. "He really had this thing about commitment. He ran far away from it at whatever cost."

  Oliver nodded. "I hear you."

  "Next time you come by, you'll meet my mom," Noah said. "She went to visit my stepsister, who had a baby a week ago. They are close. The daughter she never had."

  Oliver smiled. "That's nice. Your stepfather is not around, is he?"

  "No." Noah shook his head. "He passed several years ago."

  "Sorry to hear," Oliver said.

  Noah nodded. "Thanks. He was a good father. He had three girls from a previous marriage and then me. I guess I lucked out having him for a father.

  "There he is." He pointed to a picture of a large man with a stern face posing beside a red chair. His left hand was covered with rings.

  "Dad loved his jewelry," Noah said wryly, "especially diamonds. He owned a diamond mine in South Africa back in the early days. Hence,
all this..."

  He waved around the richly decorated room. "Of course he branched out after that but all his personal jewelry was mined on his property."

  Ashaki heard the word diamonds and instantly thought about her father's phantom diamonds. Maybe one day, years from now, someone would find it in some obscure place in the hut.

  They eventually left Noah's place. He had them promising to come back soon.

  Oliver glanced at her when they were on the road. "You are in deep thought. Do I want to know what you are thinking about?"

  Ashaki laughed. "I was thinking of diamonds."

  "What about them?"

  "That whoever finds them in my hut will have a windfall. I hope they use the wealth wisely."

  Oliver glanced at her. "You are convinced about the diamond story, aren't you?"

  "Yep," Ashaki nodded, "because my father said it. He was one who kept his word."

  Oliver nodded. "Think about it—if you found your diamonds I wouldn't have met you. You wouldn't be here now with me, would you?"

  "No." Ashaki grinned. "I would have gone to Kinshasa, lived in the city, gone to university, carved out a life for myself there."

  "There would be no need to be here." Oliver touched her leg and then put his hand back on the steering wheel. "I am happy you are here."

  Ashaki smiled. Did that mean that he loved her? She was going to ask but stopped herself in time.

  ****

  The journey back to Mount Faith was mostly filled with laughter. Oliver told her stories about his childhood and she told him stories about hers.

  "My father was not really called Joseph Azanga," Ashaki found herself saying before they reached the Mount Faith township.

  "He wasn't?" Oliver looked at her. "Explain."

  "My father told me to only tell one person I trust. I kept my promise to him. I don't know his real name; he changed it for our safety." Ashaki shrugged. "That's a secret I should never disclose. I have never told anyone that before. You are the one person I trust."