Behind every heart of stone is a heart that is afraid to love again. Fate forces this divorced couple to let go of their pride and to break down the walls.
BEHIND EVERY HEART OF STONE IS A HEART THAT IS AFRAID TO LOVE...
Darius Brogan is a handsome, rich, wildly successful, highly admired hotel chain owner. He’s a billionaire who seems to have it all, and is on the guest list for every high society event, with the pick of any companion that he chooses. But, he would leave it all behind just for a chance to take back every callous word he said to his ex-wife Candasee and regain her trust and their marriage. Now, two years after their divorce he can no longer hide the truth from her any more -that letting her go, and trying to live without her was the biggest mistake of his life.
Losing Darius meant walking away from the first close-knit family Candasee ever had and away from the man who once inspired her to reach for the stars. Moving back to the land of her birth she started a new life, desperately trying to forget the one she left behind. This former attorney-at-law and now a dance instructor has found the career she always wanted and the approval of a man who loves her, but when her job forces her to return to Derrien Island for one week to host an arts and media intensive on the island, everything she’s built looks shaky in the light of what both she and Darius were both hiding in their hearts.
Excerpt
hidden love by simmone thorpe- an excerpt
Chapter 1
Twenty minutes was all Candasee needed on this flight to see that this trip was turning out to be a very bad idea!
If this turbulence was a prediction of the kinds of experiences awaiting her on Derrien Island, she wanted nothing more than for this lumbering jet to turn right around and return to the familiar safe shores in Barbados!
Her stomach flip flopped like a fish out of water and a headache the size of Africa was now pulsing erratically in her temple. She squeezed her eyes tight, in an unsuccessful attempt to block out the chaos in the flight cabin. Every few seconds another passenger shrieked in panic at the turbulence they were experiencing and she was sure that she was going to be sick soon!
This was absolutely ridiculous! The sky was a brilliant shade of blue and completely welcoming when they took off, and the trip had seemed so promising at the time. In a show of bravado, she’d even decided that today she would face her fear of heights and sit in the window seat.
Boy was that a mistake!
That earlier sense of optimism about this whole experience was rapidly fading now that she was past the point of no return. Now, only minutes from their destination, mocking grey clouds billowed ominously outside the window threatening to dissolve all of the resolve she thought she’d built up. She had chosen the window seat to enjoy the scenery below, but now she was wishing that she was sitting where her partner was seated, on the aisle, away from the ominous display of the lightning flashing in the angry, dark clouds.
The plane rolled and dipped haphazardly causing her to shriek again with alarm. This would make anyone a believer in omens and signs and she couldn’t help wondering now, what on earth made her think that she could actually sneak back onto Derrien Island and remain undetected for the next eight days.
As she thought about it now, the very idea was too laughable for words. It was as though the storm was mocking her and shaking her out of the pitiful fantasy that she could ever be so close to ‘him’ again without it totally dismantling the secure shell she’d finally built around her heart and her life.
Well, now there was no going back, she thought silently. In a few minutes, she would be back on the island she’d called home for four years, praying and hoping to escape the attention of the man she divorced two years ago.
With his usually jam-packed work and travel schedule and the elite circles he socialized in, staying undetected was theoretically possible. Her hotel was more suited to a more budget conscious vacation, rather than the luxury with which she had become accustomed while living with him. Besides, he was probably too full of pride to even consider associating with ordinary folk, she thought as her lingering resentment left a bitter taste in her mouth.
As she continued to inflict a death grip on both of her armrests she felt a familiar warm hand prise one of them away gently giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“We are going to be fine, just relax, I’m here with you!” whispered a gentle voice into her left ear. Feeling too stiff with fear she didn’t turn her head or speak, but kept her eyes closed and swallowed deeply willing herself to be calm and to enjoy the warmth of the hand now holding hers. Not even this comfort could erase Darius’ face from her mind’s eye; the man she was trying so unsuccessfully to avoid and forget.
After what seemed like hours, the captain finally announced that they had begun the descent into Derrien Island and cautioned all of the flight crew and passengers to ensure that their seat belts were buckled securely.
What a way to be welcomed back!
“Forty more minutes until the next meeting!” said Darius aloud and to no one in particular. He loosened his tie slightly before reclining into a sleek black armchair while sipping on a cold glass of water. Placing one shiny black shoe onto the foot rest in front of him, he admired the fierce display of the thunderstorm as the lightning etched itself into the clouds with violet fury. He had always admired the raw power of an electrical storm and today was no different. A thunderstorm was the display of nature’s power at its best and for him that was pure inspiration. After all, one did not make a billion dollar fortune by sitting around and pandering to the desires of everyone else. Success had to be seized forcefully or else no one would take you seriously.
This freak storm was not uncommon in the tropics at this time of the year and the weather had been unstable these past few weeks. Long rivulets of water raced across the fifteen foot, floor to ceiling glass wall like mini-streams, outside his penthouse office suite located on the top floor of the Derrien Island Hilton hotel. The transparent wall charged the room with the effect of being on the zenith and on the edge of the world. So, whenever he looked outside, there was only the promise of new opportunities to be seized. It was like having VIP balcony seats to all that happened in the skies and on the earth beneath.
As he continued to watch the storm, his thoughts drifted to his wife, well ex-wife, as he recalled just how much she’d hated these storms and this particular window to the world. They were complete opposites, fire and ice, and maybe that was the reason for the fierce attraction they shared when they first met. Four years of marriage was the result of that passion and when it ended Darius swore he would forever close his heart to the notion of love after that. But despite his best efforts to distract himself by working long hours and travelling the world, her memory only became more and more entrenched in his system.
Being with her was the best thing that had happened to him in his adult life and that was an understatement considering that opportunity always tended to flow easily toward him and his lifestyle was one that many people envied intensely. But with Candasee that was not the case! He found out that she was not as predictable as an investment nor as eager to please him as his business partners were. She had her own mind and although he loved that about her, it was that very desire of hers to be independent of him that had rubbed him raw to the core.
Ever since their divorce and even more since the Belham’s re-marriage almost a year ago, she played a starring role in all of his daydreams and night dreams too. His Candee, his Candasee. If only he could turn back the hands of time, there was so much that he would have done differently!
Shaking his head to clear away the memories, Darius stood up and walked over to the glass wall to look down upon the surrounding grounds below. His office was situated on the eleventh floor of the hotel, so he was far away from what was transpiring below. But this elevation did offer him a panoramic view of the Caribbean Sea to the right and the tropical inland regions as he panned his vision to the left. What met his sight was not surprising at all! The ocean, instead of being its usual sparkling turquoise was now a murky grey, as soil and sand washed into the pounding surf. The beaches were deserted and there was no sign of activity there. The roads surrounding the hotel property showed signs of flooding though and he immediately thought to call down to the front desk to ensure there were no immediate issues with the guests.
Candasee had always said he could be quite self-centred, mulish and what was it, oh yes myopic was the word she’d often used. Maybe to some extent she was right! After all here he was upstairs enjoying the storm while the rest of the island was surely under some kind of flood watch by now.
Striding over to his desk, Darius sat and dialled the number at the front desk of his hotel. After speaking to the on duty reservations manager he was assured that the property had suffered no damage and all of the guests heeded all of the warnings to stay inside and be safe during the sudden bad weather. Breathing a sigh of relief at that good news, Darius hung up the phone and began to prepare for his next meeting.
For the next five days, his hotel would have the pleasure and prestige of hosting a world class travel and tourism show which would be travelling all over Derrien Island to capture its beauty. It was none other than, “Where In the World Is Sally Flanders?” the most watched and highly rated travel show on all the major cable networks. Sally Flanders only came to luxury destinations where the visitor reviews were highly rated. So, it was a definite honour for her production team to consider making his hotel her base of operations for the next five days.
He, the hotel’s management team and the Derrien Island Tourism Board had been working overtime to make sure that all the plans were in place and so far everything was going well. This could mean that his hotel could win the highly coveted Best Hotel travel award with this kind of publicity and it was not something he was taking lightly at all.
With this kind of pressure it was not surprising for him to realize that he hadn’t been downstairs or even outside of this suite in the last two days. Having his office paired with a live-in suite was the ultimate convenience for the consummate workaholic he’d become. He was also simultaneously working on closing a deal to purchase a brand new block of condominiums on the South Coast and he was anxious to get the paperwork completed. Thankfully he had chosen his hotel staff well and they always made sure that the day to day running of this and all of his other properties occurred smoothly, while he pursued his other expansive business exploits.
In fifteen minutes, his attorney’s would be here as well as Sally’s legal team for the final contractual arrangements for the show. She would be arriving tomorrow afternoon and the filming would begin the following morning.
At that thought, his thoughts once again drifted to Candasee. She was a brilliant corporate attorney with a real knack for closing even the toughest deals in the interest of her clients but unfortunately, she did not love it. At first he could not understand this fixation of hers with wanting to pursue a career that made her happy regardless of whether it also made her the most money and suited her status in society. After all, a person couldn’t just live on happiness and bliss as she liked to call it. He’d often told her how irresponsible and immature it was of her to be like that, although he knew it never made any sense the way he felt about her decision either. It wasn’t a crime to choose a career that you enjoyed, in fact, people did that every day, so that clearly wasn’t the real reason why he was so vehemently opposed to her decision to become a dance instructor.
He recalled that it was through her work as an attorney that they met for the first time. Even now he could remember with startling clarity the day he walked into Kiering and Plessette Associates located on the island of Barbados to seal the deal to finalize the purchase of the land on which this hotel now proudly sat in Derrien Island. It belonged to a wealthy retired justice of the peace, who no longer wanted to develop it and after pulling some strings, he was able to secure one of the best stretches of beachfront property on the entire island. Most of the early negotiations were done by video conferencing but that day he went to sign the official documents indicating that the sale of the land was now finalized. It was a one day trip that ended up lasting almost two weeks; all because of her!
Derrien Island was his mother’s home country and he only moved here with her at the age of ten. He was born in Scotland but his experiences there had forever closed his mind toward ever wanting to make that country his home. It wasn’t anything to do with the country itself per say because from his vague memories it was a really beautiful place. The problem lay with his father’s side of the family who were so abhorrent to him that he’d forced them from his mind a long time ago. He even found it difficult to recall what his father looked like sometimes. All he knew was that they made the early years of his life and his mother’s life such a nightmare that eventually she was unable to take the abuse any more. It was then that they relocated to her former home on Derrien Island.
So, purchasing the land the hotel stood on was therefore very important to him. It was his way of making sure that his mother would be taken care of financially and have part ownership of something she could really be proud of.
Candasee just happened to be the attorney assigned to close the deal. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that the Ms. Maxwell he was expecting would turn out to be a young, dark and exquisitely gorgeous woman who to his delight was wearing no wedding rings. The usual demeanour of steel that worked wonders in his business meetings seemed totally out of place then and it was very difficult for him to concentrate on anything else but her during that brief meeting.
As he signed the many documents, he found himself watching her fluid movements discreetly from under his eyelashes. She was so calm, aloof and business-like, but beneath all of that, warmth radiated from her that was both magnetic and calming to him. He hadn’t spoken to her yet and already just being in her presence set him at ease and on fire all at the same time.
Miss Candasee Maxwell was about five foot eight and had a slender, shapely body that not even her tailored business suit could hide. Her skin was the dark, smooth, deep even tone of rich Arabica coffee grounds. Long straight hair that clearly reached way past her shoulders was parted in the centre of her forehead and pulled back into a neat ponytail and pair of rimless glasses was perched on her pert nose. She had the fullest, softest lips he had ever seen and thought should ever be legal on a woman’s face covered in only a thin sheen of clear gloss.
But nothing could have prepared him for the beauty of her slanting slate grey eyes, which the lenses of her spectacles couldn’t hide as she looked up at him from under a fan of long jet-black eyelashes when she sat. It still amazed him till this day that her eyes were the exact same colour as his and from that moment forward he considered them to be his long-lost matching pair.
She was all business that day, but he was a mess of hidden emotions. Over the years, he had learned how to conceal them quite well and he was at least thankful for that skill. While she went through the finer details of the contract he listened and enjoyed the almost musical sound of her voice and her accent. By the time the meeting was over and the papers were signed, he’d already decided that before he left the island he would return to her office, not as a client but to get to know her better.
He remembered with a smile his clever ruse to leave his monogrammed gold pen in the boardroom and how well it worked when he returned after work hours, to retrieve it claiming it had much sentimental value for him. It worked like a charm and soon with a little small talk Candasee was smiling and talking to him. Taking the chance on her good mood, he’d nonchalantly popped the question, “Will you have a drink with me later to celebrate the signing of the contract?”
He remembered how her eyes narrowed as she considered the appropriateness of his invitation and could almost read her mind as she debated within herself as to whether or not her associates would consider it to be the proper thing to do. She’d always had those kinds of internal conflicts throughout the years he’d gotten to know her. Maybe that was why she didn’t have the stomach to continue working as an attorney-at-law. Her idealistic way of viewing the world often got in the way in his opinion, of making decisions based on the cold hard facts of reality. But they discovered just how different they were on that score much, much later.
That day he reminded her with a coaxing smile that they had concluded their business and he was no longer her client so she did not have to worry about it affecting their working relationship.
“Just a drink, to celebrate before I leave tomorrow!” he’d coaxed gently till finally she’d relented.
He’d taken her to a waterfront tapas bar and restaurant and by the end of the first drink, he had convinced her to stay longer and to have dinner with him. At no point during the night did they even discuss the contract. Instead he got to know more about her and he found himself opening up and sharing details about himself that he had never told another soul. It was as though her eyes were just part of the indicator that she was his other half. Usually for him, women came and went due to his singular focus on developing his businesses. Truly, until that point no woman meant anything to him except for his mother and aunts and now he could see that Candasee was the woman who would change all of that for him.
He talked and she shared and together they drank an entire bottle of wine. They ended up being the last to leave the restaurant around eleven that night, totally oblivious to the time. He chuckled at the memory of how her eyes widened in shock as she looked at her watch when the restaurant manager politely reminded them of the time and that they were ready to close up.
For him, it was truly love at first sight and till this day he knew that he still had not gotten over her. She was his first love and instinctively then he knew she would also probably be his last. How had things gone from such deep connection to this empty gnawing space which now occupied his life? He’d cancelled weeks of meetings just to be with her after that night and flew in on many weekends disrupting his work schedules unable to be out of her presence for very long. They did that until it became clear that being separated from each other was pure madness and they got married after only seven months.
Letting her go from his life without a fight was sheer pride on his part and a decision that made no sense when he considered how he truly felt about her still. Trying to move on was turning out to be a waste of time because so far no woman he knew could hold even a flame to the bonfire she had ignited within him.
Over the last few weeks, he had even begun to entertain the idea that he would fly out to Barbados to surprise her for her birthday next month. It was a crazy plan that had the word failure stamped all over it considering the way things stood between them when they separated. But he had to know if there was still a chance that they could somehow resolve this mess between them. Without her he knew his life had become pretty unbalanced! It wasn’t so much that he did not have opportunities to enjoy himself or that business diminished but it was a certain happiness, joy and peace to living he had with her that was gone now. She brought out the best in his creativity, his humorous and fun loving sides, and even sharpened his intuitive capabilities. He missed her terribly!
“Mr. Brogan, your guests have arrived for the meeting!” spoke the voice of his secretary Portia through the intercom, interrupting his latest daydream. The adjoining room to his office had been converted into a reception area for his clients and an office for his secretary Portia and private security team. He also had an adjoining conference room where he held meetings.
Darius leaned over and pressed the button, “Thank you Portia and please send them into the conference room immediately!” He felt a little relief knowing that at least for another few moments his mind would have some respite from thinking about her. A business matter of this magnitude would require his full attention and he could not afford to mess up the details with these fantasy trips of his.
“Sir, before I do that I need to let you know something first. I am coming in!” said Portia in an agitated tone.
“Okay, but make it quick!” he replied gathering the necessary files on his desk for the meeting.
Within seconds the door opened to admit Portia inside and she was wringing her hands nervously.
“Mr. Brogan I just received some very bad news!”
“What is it?” he replied, his head snapping upward to take in the nervous wreck his secretary had become.
“Sloane Arts and Media cancelled their appearances for next week due to the flooding damaging most of their equipment. It will take another week for them to even repair and replace the damaged items. Also in the process of trying to get to the warehouse storage to salvage their equipment the lead singer and the lead guitarist are now very ill. The lead singer suffered a fall due to a diabetic episode and is in the hospital and the rhythm guitarist has developed appendicitis.”
“No!” exclaimed Darius, thinking of the long months his team would have spent looking for the right entertainment group to provide a professional entertainment package at the hotel during the travel show. “The filming for the show begins one day from now, did we have a backup group?” he asked anxiously.
“Well that’s the thing, we did but seeing we could not offer them a definite yes, they went on to book another show and are currently performing at a music festival in Australia,” she said twisting her features apologetically.
“This must be some kind of joke!” exclaimed Darius at the implications this had for the final evening program for the travel show being held at the hotel that week.
“I assure you it isn’t a joke sir! The events team is looking for a replacement right now but they aren’t holding out much hope at such late notice!” replied Portia.
“No, there must be a solution to this. There must be some other group we can find to replace these two. This recording will be shown globally and a lot was invested to ensure that we host this show with excellence,” Darius almost shouted with exasperation.
Portia noted his stressed appearance and decided that she had said enough. “I will check back in with events team and let you know if anything changes in an hour or so!”
As Portia left hurriedly, Darius swore softly under his breath and pinched the area between his eyes wondering where in the world would he find a replacement of the quality needed at this late hour?
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