ELEMENTAL LOVE: A Second Chance Single Dad Romance
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“And just how treasured will these memories be, I wonder?”
“Oh, he’ll probably go to his grave with it judging by that wicked little grin on her face.” Kim had looked up from her book and now pushed her glasses to the bottom of her nose. “She looks like the cat that got the cream or maybe it’s the other way around.”
I made Alice turn around to face me. “Is that true?” I asked. “Have you really gone all the way with him?”
Alice grabbed the sunblock from me and went back to sit on her towel. “Honestly, Rach,” she said. “Are you still calling it that? It’s so nineteen-nineties.”
“Well, what would you call it?” I asked. “And more importantly, is it true?”
She nodded. “Prom night,” she said. “Clichéd, right? But it was amazing and, well, none of your business.”
But we were having none of that. Alice, Kim and I had been friends for the past five years, and while we’d never been in the popular crowd, we weren’t part of the nerdy group, either. Instead, we tended to coast along somewhere in the center, navigating that awkward road through life that is high school. So, as her best friends, we had the right to quiz Alice on every little detail.
She told us, a little bashfully, about her time with Frankie and how strange it had felt, but that it felt right, too. They’d been dating for five months although they’d liked each other for much longer. We wanted all the smutty details, but she was too shy. I noticed a glow radiating from her that I now realized came from something more than a summer tan.
Kim and I were quiet, pondering our own love lives after our friend’s revelation, but Alice was only too happy to shift the focus onto us once she stopped talking. Well, more specifically, onto me.
“Come on, Rach,” she said. “There must be someone you like. What about Lee?”
I looked at her with a withering stare. “He spent the whole night stepping on my toes and trying to hold my hand in his sweaty palms; hardly a recipe for the ideal date.”
She shook her head. “Nobody’s ever going to be good enough, right? Because he’s not the hot guy your dad works for?”
I blushed and tried to divert the conversation to Kim, but neither girl was having any of it. What had been a relaxing day on the beach during the second week of our summer vacation, had now suddenly turned into the Spanish Inquisition.
Of course, over the years, my friends had known about my crush on Thomas Maitland. After all, there are only so many times you can deny it when you’re writing Mrs. Rachel Maitland in the margins of your exercise book when you’re daydreaming in math class. But, as time had gone by and everyone in school went on dates, I felt like the odd one out.
Don’t get me wrong. There were a few boys that showed interest, but nobody could ever come close to Thomas, at least as far as I was concerned. And having let the girls in on my crush, I had to endure the gentle teasing from time to time, that comes from best friends.
“Is he home for the summer?” Kim asked.
I nodded. “I haven’t seen him, though. He’s never home. I just caught glimpses of him, driving off in his new flashy blue sports car. He’s barely been around.”
Keeping the glum tone out of my voice was impossible. I let my guard down a little and revealed just how different things were this year. Every summer, part of the thrill of working on the estate with Dad was that there was always the chance that I was going to see Thomas, whether it was helping him get the horses ready for a polo match, or just walking past the pool-house when he and his friends were splashing around in the water.
It was another sign we were no longer kids, though. I realized just how different this year was. By September, I could be on the other side of the country, being accepted into the California College of the Arts.
I wanted to do nothing else in life than to create something beautiful. Even when I was younger, I’d tried so often to explain it to my father.
“What do you want to create?” he’d ask, and I’d always find it difficult to explain.
“I want to create pretty things,” I’d said. “You know, with colors.”
“Painting?”
“No, not exactly painting. I want to make beautiful houses.”
“Like an architect?”
“No, not quite.”
It had always felt so very vague, until one day, when I read in a magazine about interior designers, the penny dropped.
Interior design. It was my calling.
The sheer artistry of transforming the drabbest of rooms into a space where people want to spend their time, using only a splash of color and a few well-placed pieces of furniture, made my blood fizz. That’s what I wanted to do.
At the time I was so excited to have found a name for my dream that I’d thrown the magazine I was reading back onto the table and ran out of the dentist’s waiting-room where I’d been sitting waiting for my yearly checkup, to call my father.
“Well, if that’s the dream, my love, then that’s what you’ll do,” was his answer, and I later learned that he’d taken the call while up a thirty-foot ladder, trimming the tops of the huge trees at the border of the estate. God knows what I would have done if my call had ended up causing him to topple from the ladder.
Dad only ever wanted the best for me, and I knew that he was going to ensure that I went to none other than the best schools in the country. However, the highest-rated school for design, I found, was nearby in Rhode Island, a mere one hundred miles away. Hardly spreading my wings and embracing the freedom of college life.
Instead, I’d found a BFA in Interior Design degree program, offered at CCA, which included a course in Ecological Art and Design that appealed greatly. So, it was with both fear and excitement, that I applied. It was a day of great celebration in the Evan household the day I received my acceptance letter; it also being the first time I was allowed my very own glass of French champagne. At first, I was a bit apprehensive at the thought of having to leave Dad behind, but the more I thought about moving that far away, the more I liked the idea.
“Not much time for Thomas to finally declare his love for you, then,” Kim said, and I nodded soberly.
“No, not a lot of time at all,” I said.
“I’m sad that we won’t be able to come over to your place to study anymore,” said Alice. “I used to love seeing the horses and looking out over those beautiful gardens. And what was the other guy called?”
“What other guy?” I asked.
“You know. The tall one. Thomas’s older brother. The dark, brooding one with eyes that would make your panties melt.”
“Alexander?” I asked. “When did you see him?”
“A little while ago. He nearly crashed into me as I came out of the gates,” Alice giggled. “It was my fault. I came out the wrong way. So, he put down his window and asked me who the hell I was and what I was doing.”
“You never told me this!” I cried. “When did it happen?”
“Um, just before finals,” Alice said. She looked up at the sky, thinking carefully, as though the clouds were going to jog her memory. “Yes, it was in March, because I left the house that day and went into town for my prom fitting. And then Frankie called me and we went to a drive-in movie that night.”
“And what happened?” I asked.
“Er, the movie was boring and we made out on the back seat of his car,” she said.
“No, I mean with Alexander.”
“Oh. Nothing. But my God, is he gorgeous. All the pent-up rage…”
I snorted. “You wouldn’t think that if you knew him,” I said. “But if tall, dark and completely self-absorbed is what blows your hair back, then yes, he would definitely appeal. I know my father seems to think he’s a really intelligent guy and that he’s going to be even more successful than his father, but I don’t know how he can get anywhere in life when he thinks he’s so much better than everyone else.”
“Broody and unavailable,” Kim sighed. “He sounds dreamy.”
I looked at
her scornfully. “Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “He’s nothing of the sort. Whatever he’s missing, Thomas has. Thomas is happy and fun and he loves to laugh. He looks like he enjoys life. Alexander’s like a Dementor, sucking the life out of everything, probably telling Thomas to keep the noise down because it’s nine at night and he’s trying to sleep.”
The girls laughed. “We know,” Kim said. “We get it. You’re in love with Thomas.”
“Not in love,” I said. “How can you be in love with someone who doesn’t even know you exist?”
And at that, I knew we had to change the subject. I’d already told them far too much. And if I thought about it for too long, then it would only make me sad. After all, I was right. Thomas didn’t know I existed at all. And why would he?
I looked down at myself in my blue bikini. According to Dad, I’d inherited my mom’s long legs, but they’d become chubby when I was thirteen and I still hadn’t grown out of it. My belly was a little soft, and my boobs had grown quicker than I’d realized. Coupled with my wild, curly hair and having to now wear glasses as well, I couldn’t be surprised that Thomas would look right through me.
But my friends wouldn’t let me feel sorry for myself for too long. They dragged me to my feet and we raced to the edge of the surf, and then dove in under a wave just as it crashed onto the shore. We swam idly in the cool water for few minutes, before coming back out to sunbathe. We then spent most of the afternoon talking about college and our plans for the future.
Much later, I drove back home only to find the house empty. I decided to start dinner and began by chopping up some vegetables. Just as I finished, I heard the roar of an engine and I quickly peeked out of the window.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Thomas leaped out of the sports car and then hurried around to the passenger side. A stunning, leggy redhead emerged, grabbing hold of his extended hand. They giggled and laughed as they made their way towards the pool-house. Her legs were golden brown and slender, and she wore a tiny white dress that made her look like she just stepped down from a Gucci billboard.
I knew that neither of them could see me, but all the same, I felt myself ducking down out of the way. Then things became blurry, and I realized I was crying. It was so silly, to be upset over seeing Thomas, a guy I’d hardly ever said more than two words to, with a beautiful girl on his arm. But it felt as if it was the last nail in the coffin of my dreams. I knew he’d never notice me, let alone want me.
Still, I couldn’t stop myself thinking about the two of them, over at the pool. I knew Thomas would have taken her there, as that was where he’d usually tend to spend most of his time when bringing someone over.
And, although I knew it was foolish, I left the food cooking on a low heat in the oven, before I slipped out the front door.
The sun had now disappeared, and the night-sky was already freckled with stars, the pulsing sound of crickets chirping and the occasional neighing of a horse in its stall being the only sounds. Quietly, I moved from behind the stables toward the pool, ducking behind trees and bushes as I went.
A cool breeze touched the back of my neck and I shivered. I was only wearing my shorts and t-shirt I’d worn to the beach, my bikini still slightly damp beneath my clothes.
I heard a giggle, and even though I knew I was torturing myself, I just had to go and investigate.
Chapter 4
________
ALEX
The papers were finally signed, and Dad and I sat in his study, the Cuban cigar now out of the box and jammed firmly in his mouth. He’d offered me one, but I’d declined. I’d never liked smoking, but I certainly accepted the thirty-year-old scotch he poured out for me, along with a single cube of ice. I sipped it and sat back in my chair.
“That’s a good deal,” Dad said, more to himself than to me, and he leaned back, too, savoring the flavor of the cigar. “I’ve learned a lot over the years, Son, and one of the most important lessons is that the best things in life are the things worth waiting for. It was one of the first things your grandmother taught me. She waited a long time to have a child and finally, I arrived.”
I’d heard the story many times over the years, first from my grandmother and then later from my father. Of course, it was an important story to tell. After all, had it never happened, I would never have been born. So, I didn’t mind as Dad related it once again. And, as always, he tied his mother’s story of patience into a lesson in how to conduct a good deal.
“Never take the first deal on the table,” he always said. “You might be blinded by how great it seems, but it’s never what you think.”
He didn’t need to worry, though. From my education and from seeing how he himself conducted business, I’d learned plenty in my time and I was ready to put it to good use. While we were on the subject, I brought up the idea of my overseeing the project.
“You’ve always said I have a good head on my shoulders,” I said. “So why don’t I fly to Washington this week and meet with the guys, go over everything and take a look at how to proceed?”
Dad closed one eye, considering the proposal. “Now I’m not saying you wouldn’t do a great job,” he said, “but maybe it’s a little too soon to be thinking about taking on a brand new project right out of college? Why don’t you take the summer to relax and join us in the fall, when we’ll have already put plenty into action and I can put you in charge of a department? Marketing perhaps? It wouldn’t hurt to look at a rebrand for the first time in seven years.”
“I don’t have plans for the summer,” I said. “I can’t sit on the beach or entertain girls, sitting poolside for weeks on end. It’d bore me senseless.”
“I wish you might have a word with your brother about that,” Dad said, meaningfully.
“Tom’s going to be fine,” I said. “I think he’ll do well in the business when he gets his head down and figures out what it is he wants to do.”
“He wants to spend money and never make a penny of his own,” Dad grumbled. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with that boy.”
I could understand his frustration. Earlier that day, Tom had announced he was going backpacking in the Far East, and he wasn’t sure when he’d be back. When I asked him about college, he told me that life was too short to spend it studying and that he was going to have to attend the university of life for a few years. No amount of attempting to reason with him would change his mind.
My little brother was a lot of fun, there was no doubt about it. He’d had the family in stitches since he was old enough to smile and had cracked jokes the second he knew how to speak. Occasionally, I’d look at him and wonder how on earth we could have been born from the same parents.
He liked to tease me for being rigid and too serious. What I had always tried to instill in him was the importance of hard work and the satisfaction that could be had from a job well done. But while I knew that he’d tried, at times, to follow in my footsteps, he became restless too easily and was very quickly distracted, not least by a beautiful pair of legs and a mop of red hair.
Such a woman was with him now, I knew, and I also knew that he’d sneaked her in without my parents’ knowledge. I was sure that they wouldn’t have been too thrilled to know that Miss Long Island was currently in our pool house, no doubt wearing very little indeed.
Tom had been the one to ensure our folks would be distracted when she arrived. “Bring them up to show them your trophies,” he’d joked. “Tell them to come take a picture of you holding your degree. Anything. Blind them with the light of thousand perfect firstborns, but just make sure they don’t see me bringing Cecilia back with me.”
I’d rolled my eyes and looked at him, shaking my head. “And why don’t you just go over to her place?” I’d asked.
“What? They don’t even have a pool,” he said. “How can I get her in a bikini when there’s no pool?”
“You make a good point,” I said, dryly. “How silly of me not to have thought of it.”
“Mom’s at the fundraiser for Camille Bennett’s latest African Orphans project,” I said. “And Dad’s got a brand new deal on the table. I don’t think either of them is going to notice if you bring anyone home.”
“Great. Music to my ears.”
“Aren’t you interested in the new deal we’ve made?”
“We?”
“Yes,” I said. I folded my arms and leaned against the door-frame of Toms room while he opened the closet and proceeded to try on one shirt after another, pulling them down from the hangers and slipping into them, only to look at himself in the mirror, decide against that particular one, and fling it onto the bed and then to try another.
“The new deal that Maitland Development has made. The one that’s going to bring in some of the highest revenues we’ve ever seen.”
“Sounds good,” Tom said. “Congratulations.”
“You’re part of it too, you know,” I said, treading carefully, not wanting him to feel that, once again, I was breathing down his neck. “If traveling is what you want to do, then that’s great. But come home and start thinking seriously about your future.”
“I do think about it,” he said. “But it all seems so boring, you know? Look, I know that eventually, I’m going to have to make a choice. I just don’t want to find myself stuck, working behind a desk and crunching numbers to make even more numbers. I wish I could find it exciting like you do. But I don’t.”
“So, play to your strengths,” I said. “Think about what you’re good at, and do something with that.”
He grinned at me and winked. “You don’t want to know what I’m good at,” he said.
I couldn’t help but laugh. As much as he was infuriatingly childish at times, there was something about him that made him fun to be around, and I knew that when he went traveling, which he seemed certain to want to do, then I’d miss him not being in the house.