The Bridal Candidate 2 (Heart Connections)

by Linda Verji

  “So what am I supposed to do?” Damián retorted. “Just let her do what she wants?”

  “I don’t know what you’re supposed to do, but whatever you’re doing right now isn’t working. The way you spoke to her on the phone, the snapping…” Josiah shook his head. “Man, I thought you knew women better than that.”

  “You thought wrong.” And Damián meant the words. These days it seemed like he and Aiko were foreigners speaking different language, aliens from different planets.

  He hadn’t meant to be so testy on the phone. All he wanted to do was check up on her and the girls. But the moment he’d heard that exasperated tone she’d greeted him with all his good intentions had flown out the window. He wasn’t proud of himself for implying that she was at her dad’s because Lincoln was back, but what was he supposed to think when lately that was her number one reason for being there?

  “I’m no Dr. Phil and I know exactly zero about love,” Josiah said as he stood up then strode to the mini-bar. “But I see how you and your lady look at each other and it’s obvious you’ve got a good thing going. You’d be a fool to let it go.”

  Didn’t he think that Damián knew that? Despite everything going on between them, he knew the kind of woman Aiko was. A good woman. But he could feel her pulling away from him. It was in the way she received his calls, the way she spoke to him, the distance she kept between them when they were in bed…

  He didn’t want to lose her but a relationship was made of two people.. “I can’t hold on to her if she doesn’t want to stay.”

  Josiah held up a decanter in silent query if Damián wanted him to top him up. When Damián shook his head, Josiah filled his own glass, took a gulp before asking, “What would make you think she doesn’t want to stay?”

  “She’s obsessed with her ex. I think that’s a big enough clue.”

  “Obsessed?” Josiah’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s a strong word.”

  “No, it’s an accurate one,” Damián returned. “A day can’t end without her mentioning him. You’d think that he’s not being around would mean a drop in Lincoln-mentions, but oh no, it’s only gotten worse.”

  “Is that really strange? The guy is missing, isn’t he?”

  Damián didn’t answer either question. Maybe he was overreacting, maybe even being a bit irrational, but he couldn’t help it. Every time he thought of Aiko and Lincoln together his belly tied itself in knots and a strange hollowness seemed to engulf the space where his common sense was supposed to be. Hiring a private investigator to find Lincoln had been like getting his teeth pulled without anesthesia because all he wanted to do was purge the man from their lives.

  Sighing, Damian said, “I just feel like she’s putting too much effort into him.”

  Returning to his seat opposite Damián, Josiah said, “Then you need to talk to her.”

  Damián guffawed. “And tell her what? I think I’ve said everything I need to say.”

  “In that tone?” His friend shook his head. “And you wonder why she’s not listening to you. Maybe you’re right that she needs to cut back on her involvement with Lincoln, but he’s obviously important to her. You need to accept that he’s always going to be in her life. If you want her in yours, then you’ll have to learn to live with that fact.”

  “I don’t expect her to cut him off completely,” Damián defended himself. “I just want her to stop giving him all the attention. He’s not her man.”

  “Then tell her that. Not me,” Josiah countered. “And for God’s sake try to be calm this time. No throwing around accusations in your whinny girl-scout voice.”

  “I don’t have a whinny girl-scout voice,” Damián protested.

  Josiah ignored the protest to order, “Get your shit together and stop all the damn fighting. And if you can’t, just let her go.”

  It wasn’t the most elegant way of breaking down Damián’s situation but nonetheless it was accurate. The two friend spent a couple more moments talking before Josiah finally left. But even after his departure, his words still played a subtle tune in Damián’s mind.

  Now that he thought about it, he realized that every time he’d expressed his concerns about Lincoln it’d either been in a passive aggressive way or in the middle of an argument. Maybe Josiah was right and what he and Aiko needed was a calm heart-to-heart. Simple, right?

  Nope. Damián knew it wouldn’t be that simple. If their history was anything to go by, then simple was not even on the menu. In fact, there was every likelihood that the discussion would go south. Again. No wonder his insides were knotted in dread.

  It was a few minutes past six when he heard the sound of the main gates opening. His heart jumped, already anticipating his family’s entrance, but instantly sunk when he checked the monitor and instead saw his father’s Mercedes cruising into the estate. Sighing, Damián sat back in his seat and waited for his father arrival.

  It didn’t take long. Archie strode into his office with all the force of a whirlwind and even before he’d closed the door or greeted Damián asked, “Is Lincoln back?”

  “No.” Noting the frown lines marring his father’s face, Damián asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Damn!” Archie headed straight for the mini-bar. In quick efficient movements, he tipped some bourbon into a glass then tossed it all down in one gulp. “Damn!”

  His behavior was enough to awaken Damián’s alarms. “Dad, what’s wrong?”

  “When you told me Lincoln was missing I set some of my people to find him.” Archie paused before adding, “And they did. In San Diego.”

  “Oh, good.” The relief that soared through Damián was unexpected. Despite being irritated with Lincoln, he was actually relieved that the man was fine. Damián’s relief was short-lived. A glance at his father’s worried face however sparked concern. “What’s wrong?”

  Archie ran his hand through his graying hair ruffling the always meticulously patted down strands. “We found Lincoln at some motel down there, but he’s disappeared again.”

  “I don’t see why that’s a problem.” Damián eyed his father. “He’ll turn up again. Maybe even here.”

  “You don’t understand.” Archie’s words were rushed and there was a panicked glimmer in his eyes. “He could be dangerous.”

  “Why would he be any more dangerous than when he left?”

  “I- I-” Archie started then paused. “Look, just let me know if he turns up.”

  And before Damián could question him further, he exited the study leaving Damián confused and rattled.

  LINCOLN WAS CLOSER than anyone knew. While in San Diego he’d realized that Spencer would probably have people watching him, so he’d deployed every tactic he’d ever learned to lose them. After days of ducking into alleyways, traveling incognito, changing vehicles randomly, avoiding cameras and wearing disguises, he was finally back in Montgomery. But even then he still didn’t feel safe. He was sure that they were watching him.

  He was watching him.

  Lincoln stared down at the piece of paper in his hand – the one with the name of the person who’d orchestrated his release. Who would’ve imagined it? That the person who’d pulled him from the jaws of death actually lived in the same city as Aiko? Lincoln had spent the previous night watching the man’s mansion from a distance. Though he now knew who his enemy was, he needed to study him. Find out his habits, his weaknesses, his friends… so that if ever there came a time when Lincoln needed to protect himself he’d have a bargaining chip.

  At some point during the night, the enemy had left the comfort of his house to swim a couple of laps in his Olympic-size pool, and Lincoln had finally gotten his first glimpse of him. But there was a problem. Every time Lincoln looked at the enemy, his sight blurred and Ryang’s face merged with that man’s until it almost seemed as if they were one. That the man he was watching was Ryang.

  Lincoln had spent the whole night watching Ryang’s house from atop a tree. In the morning, he’d followed him around town. Keeping a
low profile, he’d stalked his enemy to the golf course, watched him as he ate lunch with his cronies then followed him back home. Lincoln had thought they were settled in for the night but some minutes past six, Ryang had exited his house. He’d hurried to his car in an obvious rush and swept out of the estate. Somehow, Lincoln managed to keep up with him to end up at their current location, an estate almost as large as Ryang’s. Ryang had left a couple of minutes ago but Lincoln had stayed back because he wanted to know who lived in this estate. Who had Ryang been so eager to see? Maybe he was the key to besting Ryang.

  Lincoln sat in his rental car, a couple of feet away from the estate, watching the gate. He was waiting for the mansion’s owner to leave so he could get a glimpse of him. It was a good thing he was patient because it took a while for him to see any movement. It was closing in on seven p.m. when he saw the lights of an oncoming car flashing. Immediately he ducked lower into his seat to keep from being seen. The car turned into Ryang’s friend’s house just as the gates slid open to admit it.

  Lincoln lifted slightly to see who was in the car. It was too dark for him to see the occupants of the vehicle, but he caught the make and plates of the car before it was swallowed into the estate. That car seemed so familiar. Where had he seen it? While following Ryang? Where, where….

  His blood froze in its tracks when the answer struck him.

  That was Aiko’s BMW.

  Why was Aiko driving into the estate of a friend of Ryang’s? Didn’t she know these people were dangerous? Was Seraphina in there with her? Oh God. His worst fears were coming true. Ryang had gotten to his family.

  Heart thumping madly, Lincoln thrust open the car door and jumped out. He even started running toward the gates but he stopped when he realized that he wouldn’t be able to get into the estate. It was too heavily secured. He’d only cause a commotion that would alert Ryang and his cronies that he was around and knew who they were.

  No. No. No. He had to be more strategic. He had to find a safer way to get Aiko and Seraphina out of that house and away from Ryang.

  CHAPTER 21

  When Aiko got home, she expected to find Damián in a bad mood but was pleasantly surprised to find him unusually upbeat. He greeted her with a kiss, kept touching her and whenever their eyes met smiled at her. Or maybe he was just pretending for the girls. She certainly hoped not because it would make it so much easier to talk to him if he was in a good mood.

  While Damián checked the girls’ homework to make sure they’d actually completed it at her dad’s, Aiko supervised the preparation of dinner. By seven thirty, everyone was at the dinner table and eating. Dinner was a jovial affair with the girls delighting them with their school exploits. After dinner the rest of the family moved to the living room to watch their favorite show while Aiko lingered in the kitchen to help Major plan the meals for the rest of the week. They were just making up a shopping list when Damián strode into the kitchen.

  “Hey.” She swiveled on the barstool to greet him. “Is the show over?”

  “No, I just need to talk to you.” Even before Damián asked, Major excused himself from the kitchen.

  Once the couple were alone, Aiko asked, “What’s up?”

  Damián settled on the barstool next to her. “My dad tracked Lincoln to San Diego.”

  Her heart immediately jerked in her chest. “Is he okay?”

  “I’m not sure. I didn’t ask my dad.” Concern gleaming in his eyes, he said, “I want to assume that Lincoln’s okay but something about the way my Dad was acting was off.”

  “Off?” She was relieved that Lincoln had been found, but this new information about Archie’s behavior had her more than a little nervous.

  “He was acting strange. I don’t know.” Damián’s brow wrinkled in thought. “Like there was a lot more he wasn’t telling me.”

  “Well, what did he tell you?”

  “He says that his people had traced Lincoln down there but they lost him.”

  “How do you even lose someone?” Aiko’s voice rose with her panic.. “When did Lincoln disappear?”

  “I don’t know.” A sheepish look crossed Damián’s face. “I’m sorry. I really don’t have any more information apart from that. He was found in San Diego then he disappeared on them.”

  Aiko sighed. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.” She reached forward to take his hand. “You’ve found out much more than I did and this isn’t even your responsibility.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I wish I could’ve found out more.”

  “We will. I hope.” Rubbing her forehead, she asked, “What about the PI?”

  “Nothing from him yet.” Damián shook his head. “But I told him that Lincoln had been sighted in San Diego. Maybe he can trace him there.”

  “Maybe.” Aiko certainly hoped so.

  Damián asked, “What do you think Lincoln’s doing in San Diego?”

  “No idea. As far as I know he doesn’t have family or business there. Brenda might know something.” Aiko reached for her phone. “In any case, just knowing where Lincoln is might get her off my back.”

  Worry glittering in his eyes, Damián asked, “Was she bad?”

  “Worse than bad.” Looking down at her phone and toying with it, Aiko said, “The woman has a degree in guilt-tripping. She made it seem like it was my fault that Lincoln-”

  “Uncle Dama.” Seraphina raced into the kitchen at that moment. “Zoe’s refusing to let me watch my show.”

  The interruption was enough to cut short the adults’ conversation. While Damián went off to resolve the conflict between the girls, Aiko called Brenda to let her know what they knew so far before resuming menu-planning with Major. A while later she heard Damián herding the girls upstairs, presumably to bed. By the time Aiko came upstairs, both girls were in their rooms. After the usual setting out of uniforms for the next day, packing backpacks and saying goodnight, she strode to her and Damián’s room. She found him in the walk-in closet, his hands in his pant pockets while he stared at the clothes on his side of the closet with a thoughtful expression.

  She stood at the door watching him. “Penny for your thoughts?”

  “Hey!” His gaze flickered to her. “Have you seen my purple-striped shirt?”

  “You wore it on Monday.” Aiko strode deeper into the closet to stand beside him. Looking at the shirts lined in front of them, she pointed to a soft yellow one. “Why don’t you wear this one? I’ve never seen you in it.”

  Damián cringed. “And there’s a reason for that. Yellow is not a good color on me.”

  Aiko laughed. “I didn’t know you cared so much about your clothes.”

  “You don’t know all my secrets,” he quipped, a slight smile playing on his lips

  “Don’t I?” Aiko arched her eyebrows playfully even as a warm feeling started in her chest.

  It felt good to banter with him after all the tension that had haunted them for the last couple of weeks. Damián must’ve been feeling it too because he didn’t answer her. Instead, he just stared at her with that smile on his lips. She returned his stare with her own even as the warmth inside her was joined by longing and regret. She’d missed him so much these past few days. Even though they slept in the same bed, it’d seemed like they were miles apart emotionally.

  As they stared at each other, the emotions inside her ballooned to an almost unbearable measure. Before she knew it, she was turning to face him. He turned as she did, and they met in an embrace. Her arms around his waist, his arms around her back. For a long while they didn’t say anything, just held on to each other tightly. Relief raced through her like a river flooding its banks and overwhelmed her. Feeling tears gathering at the back of her eyes, she closed her eyes and burrowed deeper into his chest.

  She could feel every long breath he took as he held her close and smoothed his hands over the length of her spine and the back of her head. His fingers dug into her scalp and tilted her head upwards until their eyes met. There was so much emotio
n swimming in the gray depths of his gaze as he stared at her; emotions she couldn’t even decipher. When he lowered his head towards her, she rose on tiptoes to meet him, and their lips finally touched.

  It was a sweet, tender kiss rife with all the emotions pulsing between them. Their mouths sought each other eagerly, met in a slow-burning kiss that flooded her with longing. Her body melted into his, surrendered to the deep, intoxicating and sensual web he wove with his lips.

  The kiss lasted for a long time, yet it still didn’t feel long enough. Aiko wanted – needed more. Grabbing his collar to haul him even closer to her, she suckled at his lips. With ravenous desperation, she lashed her tongue against his to draw more of him into her. Mirroring her hunger, Damián cupped her face in his hands and slanted his lips harder over hers, deepening the kiss beyond anything she could’ve dreamed of.

  His hands skimmed their way from her face down the rest of her body until he cupped her ass. Then he lifted her up effortlessly. Aiko didn’t need any urging; she wrapped her legs around his flanks automatically and teased his lips with hers as he walked them to the bedroom.

  They never stopped kissing. Not when he set her on the bed, or when he pushed her to lie on her back. Not even when he came over her fitting his lower body between her thighs.

  “Damián,” she whimpered against his lips, loving the feel of his body over hers. His chest pressed to her breasts, his thighs bracketed between hers, that swollen part of him pushing against her pussy through their clothes – it felt so good. Her passionate sounds seemed to agitate him because the intensity and tempo of the kiss increased until it felt like the fire between them was consuming her.

  He ran his hands over her thighs, pushing up her dress in the process until the fabric was bunched up at her waist. Now she could feel every inch of him pressed even more deliciously against her. When he ground his cock against her panty-clad mound, his heavy length rubbed her clit and she nearly came apart.

  “Damián?” Tearing her lips from his, she forced her eyes open to meet his gaze. His eyes were half-lidded and clouded with passion while his breath was just as loud and rushed as her.