Predestined Hearts

by Kelly Elliott

  Gael: Good things come to those who wait. Night, Ashlin. I’ll be counting down the seconds until I see you.

  Typing a response, I looked at the message for a few seconds, wondering if I should admit I felt the same way. Closing my eyes, I went with it and hit Send.

  Me: Night. Same here. Turning in for the night.

  Turning my phone to silent, I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling, unable to get Gael out of my mind. He was easy going, funny, and normal. Finally, I closed my eyes and focused on the exhaustion my body felt to aid me in falling asleep.

  It was fifteen till one and I was a frazzled mess. Outfits were strewn across my bed in an attempt to find something to wear. I wanted to look pretty, but not over the top. I chose leggings, a teal sweater, and tall boots. My hair was in a messy pony tail. A few golden locks escaped to frame my face. I kept my makeup natural and neutral looking. Stepping back, my turquoise eyes popped with the outfit. This would have to do. My body was consumed with nervous jitters again as I glanced at the clock. It changed to one and the doorbell rang.

  I bounded down the stairs and remembered myself about ten feet from the door. Stopping momentarily to pick up my purse, I took a deep breath, then calmly continued.

  Opening the door, Gael stood on the other side. He had on jeans and a black long-sleeve shirt, looking sinful as his tousled hair blew in the breeze.

  I will not make a fool out of myself. Nope. I will not stay fixated on the slight stubble on his face. Nope. And I will definitely not think about what he would look like without a shirt on. Nope.

  “Hey, there. Are you ready for your adventure?”

  I nodded enthusiastically. Calm down, Ashlin. “I am. I’ve been trying to think of where it could be. Let me lock up.”

  “You’ll never guess.” His voice was confident as I twisted the key and heard the lock click into place.

  We walked toward his black Land Rover. I nudged him. “You do know I grew up here. There is a high probability that I’ve been there.”

  Gael opened my car door. “Shall we wager?”

  I started to get in the vehicle, but stopped and turned. Gael was within inches of me. His manly scent invaded my senses causing me to lose focus—again. Maintaining my outer calm decorum, I asked, “What would the stakes be?”

  “Dinner with me.”

  “Okay.” Oh, I wanted to slap myself for agreeing as quickly as I did. I sounded desperate. All of my mental prep talks were not working. Gael slipped through all of my well-built facades I’d spent months perfecting.

  Gael’s responding expression of delight helped smooth my embarrassment. “Good. I know the perfect place.”

  I sat in the car. “You may not win.”

  “Oh, I’m going to win.” The door closed and Gael strode in front of his car and got in. In a fluid motion, he cranked the car and we took off.

  Savannah was alive this afternoon with people milling about. We made small talk as we drove. Gael was involved with the community. At Christmas, he dressed up as Santa for the kids at the hospital. His ability to downplay his generosity was attractive. I knew we were heading to Tybee Island as we hit the bridge. I had traipsed all over this island as a kid. Grinning to myself, I knew me winning was in the bag.

  “What are you grinning about?”

  Biting my lip, I tried to suppress my excitement. “Oh, nothing.”

  He chuckled as we kept driving. About fifteen minutes later, we drove down a street that was lined with houses. It was one of the nicer neighborhoods on the island. As a child, I’d played with a friend who lived one street over.

  He turned right down a private drive at the end of the road. The beach was visible. A two-story white siding house sat nestled between trees. Black shutters framed the windows. The large front porch had two rocking chairs to the left and a porch swing to the right. It was picturesque and I couldn’t take my eyes away.

  The door opened and Gael came to my side of the car. “I want to show you something.”

  I intertwined my hand with his. “I can’t wait to see.”

  We strode toward a large magnolia tree. I was at a loss as to what we were doing here. Surely he didn’t think he would win because he brought me to a tree. He stopped on the left side of the Magnolia that was closest to the house.

  “Yesterday in the park, I know I should have said something. But I thought this would be better. It’s worn, but you can still see it.”

  Gael pointed to the tree and I saw a carving.

  My breath caught as my fingers traced the indention. Could it be? Could it really be Daniel and Sophia? I turned to Gael.

  “Ashlin, my name is Gael Stowe.”

  “WHAT?”

  I backed up to the tree and faced Gael as I waited for him to explain. That was the last thing I had expected him to say.

  “Daniel Stowe was my great-great-great-grandfather. When you first said Daniel’s name yesterday, I thought it was the same one. But, I didn’t recognize the name Sophia. I called my mom and she said my great-great-great-grandmother’s name was Colett. When you read the part about the tree carvings, it answered a question none of us had known the answer to. This house has been in the family for generations.”

  I swallowed hard, trying to process it all. “You’re Daniel’s grandson. And I’m Sophia’s granddaughter. My great-great-great-grandfather was Devlin and your great-great-great-grandmother was Colett. We aren’t related.” I’m not sure if it was a question or a self-assured statement. My heart felt heavy at the thought of being forbidden from Gael.

  Gael leaned and put his arm on the tree trunk, bringing his body closer to mine. “No, sweetheart, we aren’t related. And I’m thanking my lucky stars we’re not.”

  “You are?” My voice came out breathy.

  His face inched closer and I could smell the wintergreen of his breath. “I am. Since I saw in you in the bar two days ago, I’ve wanted to kiss you.”

  “You have?”

  Instead of answering, his lips came closer and our eyes searched each other’s. Gael gave me an opportunity to stop this. I didn’t want to. Licking my lips, I waited for Gael to come to me versus attacking him with my mouth. Patience, Ashlin. This is happening. His free hand came to my left hip.

  I made a tiny noise of impatience as his lips touched mine. They were firm yet soft, melding to me, commanding me to open up to him. The real thing was better than I’d imagined. I didn’t hesitate as his tongue swept inside. My arms wrapped around his neck and the kiss intensified. I moaned and he pressed into me. I could feel the bark against my back.

  Our tastes mingled and it was heady. Gael’s hand moved up my side and stopped short of the underside of my breast. This was better than anything my imagination had conjured up as I spent more time than I would admit thinking about kissing Gael.

  The kiss slowed and Gael broke contact. His lips were still touching mine. “Yes, I have.”

  I smiled against his lips. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt that way.”

  “Do you want to see the house where Daniel took Sophia for their first time? Through the years, the house has been added on to, but this is the house Sophia wrote about.” His voice was warm.

  I liked that Gael let things happen, but kept it low key. He calmed me when normally I’d be dissecting every part of what had just happened.

  My body wanted more of Gael, but it would be good to have a distraction. I had met him less than three days ago. “I’d love to.”

  He grabbed my hand and we walked toward the house. Seeing that tree, knowing what Sophia had been feeling as Daniel carved their initials helped me connect with her in a way I never thought imaginable. This journey was taking me down a path I knew was right.

  As we climbed the front porch stairs, I spoke, “As you know, my aunt specialized in historical research. I found a note on our genealogy chart that put Daniel and Sophia together like they were married. It was in the part for other spouses.”

  He wagged his eyebrows. “So
unds like we could have a scandal on our hands. You know, I believe I won the wager.”

  We made it to the door. “What was the wager if I had won?”

  “Dinner. It was a win-win situation for me.”

  I snickered as he squeezed my hand. He opened the door and we stepped inside. I put my purse on a chair near the front door. Remembering the journal entry, I felt connected to Sophia. A special moment of love had been shared in this house. A love I dreamed about having … one day.

  Gael proceeded to give me a tour of the bottom level of his home. The entire time he kept contact with our bodies. The kiss had only stoked my libido. I was attracted to Gael before, but after the kiss, the thoughts were all-consuming. To the left was a living room with a fireplace. The couch was a warm chocolate-brown. A lazy afternoon nap would be perfect on it.

  Accents were done in a masculine blue. A stair case was in front of us that would have led to the upstairs where Sophia had left off in the journal. The brazenness of her had me wanting to throw caution to the wind and let my heart lead me.

  To the right, the dining room led to the kitchen. The kitchen had been updated with top-of-the-line appliances which made sense, considering Gael was a chef.

  Gael left me and moseyed around the bar to take down two wineglasses.

  “Do you live here by yourself? I mean, you are single, right? You must think I’m a complete floozy. I know nothing about you. This is embarrassing. I’m rambling.” I was ashamed of myself for not getting more information about Gael. I’d been caught up in something magical and all logic completely left me.

  Quickly, Gael came back around and put his hands on each side of my face. “I’m single, live here by myself. There is no way in hell I think you’re a floozy. Don’t even think that. I kissed you. How about we get to know more about each other over a glass of wine and some food? I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable.”

  “It’s not you. I’m normally more cautious when it comes to this sort of thing. Well, what am I saying? I haven’t done this sort of thing in a long time.”

  Gael dropped his hands and scooted out a bar stool. “Here. You sit while I whip us up something. We’ll talk.”

  I took the chair and ran my hands over the silvery-black granite. “I love your house. The kitchen seems newly renovated.”

  Gael looked in a wine fridge that was to the right of the refrigerator. “My parents now live in Hilton Head. I inherited the house since I’m an only child. The first thing I did was gut the kitchen. This part of the house is newer. Originally, the house ended right where the table is. Through the years, different family members added on. There are three bedrooms upstairs and an office.”

  Gael poured some white wine and set it in front of me. I took a tentative refreshing sip. “This is delicious. I love the crispness of it.”

  “It’ll work well with the fruit.” Gael got to work. He was a master in his domain and I loved watching him. “Okay, so here’s a little about me. I’m twenty-nine and single and have been for about six months. Hopefully, that’s going to change soon, though. My last relationship lasted about eight months. I knew she wasn’t the one and I ended it. I couldn’t string someone along when I knew it wasn’t meant to be. I got the love of cooking from my father. We have many family recipes that have been passed down through the generations, like the stew you had in the restaurant. Overall, I’m your average hardworking guy who wants to be happy.”

  Hopefully, that’s going to change soon, though. Those words made my insides jump with excitement. I still needed to remind Gael that I was fresh off a long-term relationship.

  While he spoke, his muscles flexed under his shirt as he cut up the fruit with ease. I’d never seen a strawberry destemmed and cut into quarter with such proficiency. “I don’t know if I’d use the word average to describe you. Did your previous girlfriend want more?”

  He let out a breath. “She did. I’m not the kind of guy who leads people on. I had hoped it would develop into more, but it never did. How about you?”

  “Well, I’m twenty-seven. From the bar you know that I’m recently out of a relationship. We had been together for five years. I thought we were happy and were going to get married. About a year ago, Harris inherited a large amount of money. Basically, an empire. His father had groomed him his entire life to take over even though Harris had said he didn’t want the life. However, he changed. Money, power, and control became Harris’ new obsession.”

  I gave a tired sigh. “I hoped it was a phase. I became an asset. For the last few months I was ready to leave, but held out hope things would go back to the way they’d been. Because of his position in the company, I’m waiting to see how they want to announce the breakup publicly. Harris is Page Six news in the New York Post. If you Google me, you’ll see what I mean. I don’t pay attention, so I couldn’t tell you what’s all out there. As you know, I love history because of my late aunt. I’m a web designer and love the freeness my job provides me.” I ran my fingers along my glass stem. My past relationship came with baggage.

  Gael stopped cutting and I looked at him. “Is he still bothering you?”

  “Umm—not really. I think he believes I’m going to come back, but I’m not. Anything we had is gone. He’s Harris and not used to being told no. I think he’ll find a trophy wife and forget about me. Someone who doesn’t mind having Harris as their identity and wanting the things he wants.”

  I didn’t know what else to say. The description of my past relationship was dismal.

  Gael raised an eyebrow to me. “He’s an idiot for throwing you away like he did. But his loss is my gain.”

  Remembering the kiss, I absentmindedly touched my lips, lost in the memory. They still tingled. I didn’t remember ever being affected like that from one of Harris’ kisses. I knew it was wrong to compare, but it reassured me I was done. The last thing I wanted was to treat Gael as a rebound.

  Pulling my gaze away from his lips, I saw the man who had rocked my world staring at me. His breathing a tad harder. He shook his head as if he tried to shake some sense into him and walked to the fridge to grab a bowl of white dip. Pushing the dish to me, he said, “Try this.”

  Taking a strawberry off the plate, I dipped it into the creamy dip. Flavors burst across my tongue. It was an understated sweet that mingled with the fresh fruit. “Wow, you are a good cook. I wish I could boil water.”

  Gael made a stabbing motion to his heart. “Those are blasphemous words to a chef. I’ve now made it my mission to teach you to cook.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t wish that on you. I’m afraid I would make you seriously question your abilities as a chef. I cannot do that to you. I can’t even make coffee unless it’s in a coffee pod machine. Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.”

  Gael walked toward me and I popped another strawberry in my mouth. He spun me around. “I may have to get creative, but I’ll figure something out. Do you want to see the rest of the house? Afterward, we can take the food into the living room.”

  “I’d love to.” I got off the stool. Gael grabbed my hand. I loved the contact. The butterflies in my stomach, the need to be closer to him, the desire to have all of him, it was an exquisite torture. We walked toward the front door and turned for the second level.

  The stairs let out soft creaks as we climbed. Sophia had climbed these stairs with Daniel. In her love for a man she barely knew, she had disregarded the antiquated rules of society. I admired Sophia for following her heart versus her head when it seemed irrational and impossible to have the love-at-first-sight feeling. For those who didn’t believe that falling in love quickly could happen, I felt sorry them. Love doesn’t work on a timeline. Love happens and we have no control over it. My head and heart constantly battled each other.

  “You seem lost in thought.” Gael looked back at me as we rounded the landing.

  He stopped and looked at me. “I was thinking about how Daniel and Sophia climbed these stairs together—how their love was palpable on the pages of the jo
urnal. I admire them that they gave in to their desires, even though it could cost them everything.”

  “Me, too.” He squeezed my hand. “This first door is my bedroom.”

  I peaked in and noticed a dark, wooded bed with a black comforter. It was stunning against the slate-blue walls.

  “These next two rooms are more bedrooms.”

  Glancing in as we walked by, the rooms were simply done with their cream bedspreads and nautical-themed décor. Those rooms had a different feel to them than the rest of the house and I wondered if Gael had actually been the one to decorate them.

  We made it to the last door and Gael walked us in. “This is my office and I think the room Daniel and Sophia were in.”

  A small desk sat against the opposite wall. A brown leather couch was to my right. Gael let go of my hand and I walked around the room. I could picture Sophia asking Daniel to make her his. I wanted to be someone’s everything—to consume their thoughts. I turned and ran into Gael, not realizing how close he was to me. His hands came out to my sides to steady me.

  The sparks flew around us again. “I want to kiss you again, Ashlin.”

  “Then, do.”

  At my words, his lips came to mine. The feel of him was better than I remembered. His hands slid into my hair and fisted it. My head tilted giving him better access to my mouth as he walked us backward toward the couch.

  We tumbled on the cushions as Gael’s body pressed into mine. My insides ignited as I pulled him to me. Our hips ground together and his hard length provided friction through my leggings. Gael’s strong mouth owned me. My brain was unable to form any coherent thoughts as his hands slipped underneath my shirt—slowly trailing their way upward. The tips of my nipples hardened in anticipation.

  He pushed slightly back and we were gasping for air. Fingers from Gael’s right hand came up and grazed my cheek. “I know we want each other. Trust me, I want you—badly. But not like this. Not on my couch in my office. I don’t want there to be any doubt of my feelings for you when we make love to each other.”