Hidden Love (Derrien Island Trilogy)

by Thorpe, Simmone

  Looking at his watch he noted that he’d given her about fifteen minutes already and decided to make his way back to his suite. He had an important meeting at nine-thirty with the set-up crew from the travel show and he needed to be ready by then to greet them downstairs with the planning committee.

  Taking the main elevator this time, he emerged eleventh floor looking forward to seeing Candasee. He thought for a second that he saw the other set of elevator doors closing to his right. As far as he knew the rest of the floor was currently unoccupied. Thinking that perhaps his imagination was running overtime he quickly made his way back to the suite and made a call to let housekeeping know he was back and they could bring up the breakfast. After hanging up the phone he knocked discreetly at the bedroom door.

  “Candasee, are you ready?”

  No answer came. He knocked again and after hearing no reply he opened the door to check what his suspicions had already informed him of. She was already gone and he had just missed her by a few seconds in the hallway. Obviously she had opted to change her clothes in case she ran into Nathan and she did not stick around because she needed to meet him.

  Thinking quickly, he called back the food service and requested them to meet him at room 746. He needed to have his say before she got downstairs to meet Nathan or even before he made his way back upstairs to find her again. Since when did he go running around behind women? The answer was already clear to him as he saw his agitated expression mirrored on the glass wall of his office. This was no ordinary woman but his Candasee, his wife. He’d stopped calling her his ex-wife a few months ago because it fit what was in his heart.

  He exited the room and took the elevator down to the seventh floor just as the food service emerged from the adjoining one. He thanked his employee and took over pushing the trolley to 746. He knocked at the door and waited. He did not have to wait for long before Candasee pulled open the door hurriedly saying,

  “Nathan, sorry about this morning, oh it’s you!” she exclaimed. Her voice trailed off at the sight of Darius filling her doorway and the scent of the delicious breakfast beneath the tray-covered trolley he stood behind.

  With some difficulty he forced himself not to wince visibly at her mistake and to remain calm about the fact that she was expecting someone else to meet her at her room at that moment.

  “Expecting someone else?” he asked.

  “Well, actually yes,” she said straightening her neck and looking into his eyes with thinly veiled defiance.

  “I thought we agreed to have breakfast together, I need to talk to you!” he urged in what he hoped was a steady voice.

  “I know, but...”

  “But what, I know you are hungry! You were always a breakfast eater. Even if you allow me ten minutes of your time, may I come in?” he asked speaking quickly before flashing her with a smile.

  She always had a low resistance to that boyish grin of his and against her better judgement found herself standing aside to let him pass by before closing the door.

  He wheeled the cart with the food toward the dining table and took off the plates and set up the meal quickly while she watched in silence. What on earth was he doing down here? She had hoped that he would have gotten the message when she left suddenly and his usually busy schedule would have taken care of the rest.

  “What do you want Darius?” asked Candasee planting her hands on her hips and leaning her head looking at him with a quizzical expression.

  “Please sit, I just wanted to talk with you, is that such a crime?”

  “No, it isn’t but it’s not as though we are still friends. I made a big mistake coming up to your room last night. I was really exhausted and I don’t think I was thinking clearly so I apologize for invading your privacy. Okay? There is no need for us to even interact at all while I am here.”

  “Sit! Please! Unfazed by her response Darius repeated the words softly, gesturing to the chair at the dining table.

  Candasee could see that she was losing the battle here with this man. Why was he acting so strangely? She sat down and he removed the stainless steel covering of her meal with a small flourish,

  “Your favourite Madame, and Chef Alexander sends his regards and welcome”, he said with a faux French accent.

  Candasee despite her resolve to hold on to her serious demeanour could not help but smile and then sighed softly as the aroma of the strawberry pancakes and bacon filled her nostrils. Her stomach rumbled and let her know that she was indeed hungry.

  “By the way, that’s mademoiselle to you! But I am not going to make a huge fuss about it right now because these pancakes look absolutely divine!” she said taking a fork and cutting off a piece before popping it in her mouth, closing her eyes and allowing the flavours to melt in her mouth. Thank goodness in addition to her active lifestyle she’d always had a pretty high metabolism and she could eat most things without the guilt or the weight gain! Chef Alexander always had a soft spot for her indulgences back then and he knew how to keep her coming back for more!

  Darius noted her witty comeback silently and they both began to eat without saying much to each other at first. The food was so delicious! He had even ordered a bowl of pink grapefruit and cream, as well as hot cappuccino to top it all off. Eating this much just before having to conduct a dance session might not have been wise but the melt-in your mouth quality of the pancakes made her sigh with each bite!

  “I take it that the food meets with your approval,” said Darius with his eyes fixed on some of syrup that remained at the corner of her mouth. The noises she was making were driving him to such distraction that it made it hard for him to concentrate on his own plate! She hadn’t changed one bit! Even the most mundane things took on new excitement if she ever got her hands on it. She was naturally adventurous, creative and very expressive and could never hold back her feelings for long no matter how hard she tried.

  “Definitely, you are definitely in my good books for now,” she replied with a smile before sipping her coffee.

  “Candasee, I’ve missed you so much!” admitted Darius softly.

  At hearing those words Candasee almost spewed the coffee across the table at her dining partner, but she struggled to swallow instead.

  “You what?” she managed to splutter finally.

  Darius stood to his feet and came over to where she was sitting and squatted down on the floor beside her so that he was looking up at her face.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and I have been debating how to tell you all that is on my mind and in my heart. I was going to fly out to Barbados to surprise you for your birthday and to talk to you when I managed to figure out how to ask you for your forgiveness. I know that I hurt you a lot and if I could go back in time I would take back everything I ever said to you then. I don’t even think I am doing a great job of apologizing to you now but I need to start somewhere,” he said.

  Candasee observed Darius practically kneeling before her apologizing and literally could not believe her eyes. Who was this man? Surely this was not the proud and ruthless Darius Brogan apologizing? He was a man who took and conquered without apology to anyone. She did not even know where to begin to respond to him.

  “You don’t have to respond to me now, and I can tell from last night that I am still very low on your listed of trusted people, but I am hoping that while you are here that I can show you that I’ve changed.”

  Darius never got to finish his sentence because at that moment there was a sharp knock at the door and both Darius and Candasee could hear Nathan calling out to her in the hallway with a concerned tone!

  “Candee are you in there?” he called.

  Darius experienced a flash of anger at hearing this man call Candasee by the same shortened form of her name that he was accustomed using. Had he been so thoroughly replaced?

  Candasee leapt up to her feet and slid past Darius to open the door. The rush of emotions surging through her body and her wild-eyed expression as she faced Nathan must have caused him so
me alarm because as soon as he saw her face he began to question her. She stepped back and allowed him into the room.

  “What’s wrong love? I’ve been trying to find you all morning! Did you forget...?” he asked, his voice trailing off as he noticed movement over her shoulder and saw Darius stand to his feet.

  “Oh! I see, how cosy!” was all he said.

  A moment of silence followed as Nathan and Darius sized each other up and Candasee stood between them again thinking back to the omen of the yesterday’s thunderstorm. This was worse than she could have ever dreamed. She knew that she needed to break the tension that was mounting quickly in the room.

  “Nathan, this is my husband, I mean my ex-husband Darius Brogan and Darius this is my boss, Nathan Carthswright!” This quick explanation made her feel as though she was a guilty child who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. In her nervous haste, she noted she’d made two huge errors in her introductions and only one important correction. A quick glance to Nathan’s facial expression confirmed it all!

  Although he did not manage to complete what he wanted to say to her, Darius could see that the moment for doing so was gone for now. What was interesting though about this unfolding scene was Candasee’s error in introducing him to Nathan. That little slip was all he needed for now to explode a ray of hope within his heart that somehow she could be his again. She’d called him her husband and she had called Nathan her boss and not her lover! They couldn’t be that close then.

  From the way Nathan bit down on his lower lip when she made the slip, it was obvious that he too was bothered by her botched introductions and it gave him a better idea of just what he was facing in his opponent. The most interesting bit of information of all was that this man was her boss! He would reserve the time to think more about that later but someone needed to get the introductions underway.

  Finally, Darius made the move to walk forward and extend his hand to Nathan who looked at it briefly before returning the handshake.

  “It is a pleasure meeting you Mr. Carthswright. Ms. Hassell spoke quite highly of you and your arts company!” said Darius formally.”

  “Likewise the pleasure is mine to meet you Mr. Brogan!” replied Nathan with forced civility.

  “I hope that so far our arrangements for the intensive have met your approval?” asked Darius.

  “Yes, actually I need to thank you for being so generous to our students and allowing us to participate in the travel show, we are truly honoured!” Nathan replied politely.

  “It was no problem actually. By your coming here, your arts academy solved a problem we were trying to fix. I am sure that Solange and the events manager would have filled you in by now.”

  “Yes, they both did and I think it is wonderful that we can have such a profitable exchange. I will make myself available for any details you or your event management team wish to discuss while we are here,” Nathan replied.

  Even though the talk was all business, the undercurrent passing between the men was unmistakable. This was a certain nightmare unfolding before her eyes and before things could get out of hand Candasee knew she had to do something, but Darius spoke first.

  “Good I am glad that we see eye to eye on the matter. Candasee, I really enjoyed having breakfast with you! I will have the room service come to clear everything away. I will also have your bag sent back down to your room. Oh, I see you brought it down yourself already,” he said noting it near the door to the bedroom.

  Darius leaned in a kissed her briefly on the cheek before making his exit from the room. He knew the display was a little over the top considering her boss slash boyfriend was standing right there but he decided to pretend he only knew him as what Candasee introduced him as. He only had eight days to communicate a very strong message to this man and to Candasee. He wanted his wife back and the sooner Nathan got the message the better!

  Chapter 5

  When Darius left the room, Candasee felt a chill creep up her arms and she shuddered as she finally raised her eyes to meet Nathan’s. He was very hurt and she could see that really clearly in the way he was looking at her. It was not even twenty-four hours yet since she’d agreed to be his girlfriend and here she was, already having to explain why her bags were in Darius’ room and why they were having such an intimate breakfast. This kind of uncomfortable position was one of the reasons why she had reservations about even coming here in the first place.

  “Candasee, I know that you probably think that I have no right to ask you this, but am I being played the fool here?” Nathan asked bitterly.

  “Nathan, it’s not like you think! Nothing happened between us!” responded Candasee defensively.

  “So why did he mention your bags were in his room? It surely did not take you very long to reacquaint yourselves with each other!” he accused walking away from her.

  “Nathan, nothing happened between us. I only went up there to talk to him after he sent me flowers last night and I was so angry and tired that I ended up falling asleep. I guess I was more exhausted than I realized.”

  Spying a card on the floor near her feet and the spectacular spray of roses on the entertainment centre he picked it up and read the note and laughed. This story was becoming more and more unbelievable and it was reminding him of a similar betrayal his youngest brother Lawrence suffered at the actions of Asania Hewitt, his former classical ballet instructor. She’d led on Lawrence for over eight months and then suddenly got married to someone else. His brother was heartbroken and almost suicidal and he’d blamed himself for not seeing that his own employee was so untrustworthy. Ever since then Lawrence had deep issues with trust that he was seeing a therapist to resolve.

  “Candasee, ‘Welcome Home’ is written on this card and you expect me to really believe that nothing is going on between you two. I mean, you spend one night on Derrien Island and he’s already sending you red roses, you’re sleeping over and having an intimate morning breakfast together? Did you forget that we had plans this morning? And is that all I am to you, your boss?” he exclaimed incredulously as his voice rose to a hoarse shout.

  “Nathan, I apologize but this is exactly why I didn’t want us to date. How else was I to introduce you seeing that we are here professionally?”

  “I don’t know about you Candasee, but when we agreed to be exclusive, the word professional went through the window. You are my partner now, my girlfriend!”

  Candasee squeezed her eyes tight and exhaled forcefully. “I know all of this looks really bad, I know but I swear nothing happened between us,” said Candasee now frustrated with Darius and herself for even being put in this position. Nathan was the last person she wanted to hurt right now and all it took was one night for her to make this relationship look as though it meant absolutely nothing to her.

  She stepped closer to him and threaded her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his chest. “Am I forgiven?” she asked softly. Darius was her past no matter what he said earlier. Okay, so he was calling a truce between them, perhaps a chance to be friends again eventually but Nathan was offering her compatibility and his love and she had no right to trample all over that.

  Nathan breathed a sigh of relief as Candasee stepped into his arms and he did not hesitate to hold her to him tightly.

  “Yes I can forgive you, but on one condition, you let me move in here with you!” he said against her hair. “We need to be together Candee. This relationship means too much for us to throw it away with misunderstandings, especially while we are here. I can see that happening too easily.”

  He held her away from him and studied the look in her eyes as she once again considered his request.

  “Nathan, we don’t need to go to such lengths, you can trust me!” Candasee protested.

  “It’s not you I don’t trust Candasee. I’m a man and I know when I have received a direct challenge. You may choose not to see it but Darius has basically told me that you are off-limits and I refuse to just stand around while he thinks he can have h
is way with you again! Especially now that he thinks that all I am to you is your boss!”

  Candasee cringed inwardly again as she recalled how she introduced him. Maybe this was what she needed to do to make sure she gave this relationship the chance it deserved and perhaps it would also send Darius the message to stay away from her! She had been here for less than twenty-four hours and already her emotions were in turmoil and her heart and body were in danger of betraying all she tried to hide inside for that past two years. She couldn’t risk having him hurt her again like before. She had to keep it together and she would, after all it was only eight days before she and Nathan would return to Barbados.

  “Okay, you can move in here with me!” replied Candasee warily as her emotions tossed within her like a whirlwind. She knew partly that she was doing this to keep Darius away and knowing his brute determination; he’d never let anything get in the way of what he wanted but she had to try something. By being on a different floor it also would not be as obvious to the other delegates that she and Nathan were sharing a room.

  Nathan could see the conflict in Candasee’s eyes as she struggled to choose. He knew her agreement meant that she would be making a powerful statement to Darius about her relationship with him and that meant more to him than anything.

  “Candee honey, do you know how much I love you?” Nathan asked not waiting for a reply before kissing her lips. Just the contact with the softness of her body pressed against him was intoxicating to say the least. Reluctantly and remembering the time he pulled away slightly.