Forgotten Love (Derrien Island Trilogy) (15 page)

“Lucas this is such exquisite art. Thank you for bringing me here!”

“It is my pleasure Natasha.”

As they sat down beneath the shade of a
nearby oak tree she found that the conversation between them was easy and light and Lucas would listen to her and he always minded the small details. Every time she spoke to him she could not help wondering why Marcus could not do the same for her as well. Why couldn’t the man she really loved listen to her and acknowledge her feelings in this way as well? She was eternally grateful to Lucas for his friendship and she could see that his feelings for her were deep and sincere but the more time she spent with him the more she realized that she needed to bring a firm closure to her old life so that there was no confusion between them.

She had said to Marcus that their relationship was over but she had not contacted any lawyers to initiate drawing up divorce papers.
In fact, despite what she had declared she was realizing that she was not prepared as yet for her marriage to be truly finished. Maybe she was being nostalgic or sentimental about this but she had always said to herself that she would get married once in her lifetime and it would be to the love of her life. Maybe in light of all that happened that kind of romantic notion was unrealistic. Also, it would only be a matter of time before her agents at the record company would be inquiring as to the progress of the legal proceedings as well. A lot of money was being invested into the brand that would be known by the world as Natasha.

“Lucas to Natasha, over!”
said Lucas mimicking using a walkie talkie.

Blinking with the sudden realization that her mind had drifted off with thoughts of Marcus again, she
refocused her attention on the man seated across from her on the lawn.

“I’m sorry Lucas, what did you say?”

“I was saying to you that you look beautiful today in that outfit,” repeated Lucas.

“Thank you!”
said Natasha looking away from the deep admiration she saw in Lucas’ eyes.

Natasha as an artist always had a flair for colour and
design and today she was wearing a red strapless dress that was slightly loose at the top and gathered in at the waist, flaring into a short skirt that reached mid-thigh. On her legs were a pair black leggings and calf-length boots and her hair flowed freely around her shoulders and back.

To Lucas
, she looked absolutely stunning and he was having a hard time keeping his promise of only friendship if she continued to look so sensual and tempting. Thought of her already dominated his every waking and dreaming moments. It was as though he was completely enchanted since he ran into her accidentally about six months ago. He wanted nothing more than to erase the disappointment and setbacks she’d experienced and to give her a new life filled with passion and excitement. If he ever met her dumb, jerk of a husband he was sure that he would have more than a few words for him about how to keep a woman like Natasha happy.

“Look Natasha, I know I promised to just be your friend but it is
really hard for me. I can’t stop thinking about you and I always find myself trying to come up with new ways and excuses to see you, like today! I know what you said and I know that you still have to finalize the divorce with your husband but I want you to know that I love you and I am always here for you.”

Hearing Lucas openly admit his feelings for her made Natasha realize more than ever that she needed to get her life together. Her career was
now coming along but she knew that by now Marcus would have been looking for her and she needed to let him know what was going on. They had to come to some kind of closure. She could not let Lucas think they had any hope of a future together when she had not come to terms with her past. A past that was still very much her present. Not a day went by since she arrived when she did not think of Marcus. The truth was that she missed seeing him, hearing his voice, listening to his stories about what happened at the restaurant or even hearing about the direction his latest novel was taking.

Despite her often cool exterior she did listen when he spoke to her
. She was such a mess of jumbled emotions and that made her dangerous to Lucas and to herself. Even though things between she and Marcus had been strained for a while, especially that final night of the Belham’s anniversary wedding, she knew that he loved her and there was a time that she was not confused about how she felt about him.

Just a fortnight ago a
t Courtney’s wedding when she caught the bouquet she turned and saw Marcus watching her face intently.  At first for her, catching the bouquet of tiger lilies had seemed like a symbol that there might be hope for them like it was for Courtney and Ramon who had worked through a lot to be together. Marcus had actually begun walking toward her and their eyes held briefly and as he stood in front of her as his gaze seemed to search her soul for answers.  Then she remembered what she had planned to do that night and right before his eyes she closed herself off again and walked away from him without a word. The drive home had been painful because from the corner of her eye she could see the muscle in Marcus jaw that worked when he was angry about something. She had thrown the bouquet of flowers into the backseat and the car was filled with the fragrant reminder of how callously she had dismissed him.

It
was a horrible experience and she prayed that Marcus would not confront her in the car. She held on to the seat for dear life as he navigated the winding corners as they drove home refusing to answer him, even when he questioned her. She knew that when she got home she still had a few more things to pack and prayed that she would still make her flight. She had planned to make an excuse not to attend the wedding to make her leaving more seamless but Ramon including them in his plan to transport Courtney’s mother to and from the ceremony made that a bit difficult. Every night before she fell asleep, her mind replayed the tortured expression in his eyes as she told him their marriage was over.

“Lucas, I know you think that you love me
, but I have so much baggage to work through before I ever even consider another relationship again,” explained Natasha.

“Natasha, I know
that, but I have decided that I won’t stop trying and I won’t lie to you or to myself any longer. I love you and as I said to you the other night I am not going anywhere. I want to see you grow, and reach all of your dreams. I want to love you and help you erase all of the hurt and pain you have been through. I want to be the one you turn to when you want to talk about something Natasha.”

Hearing those words coming from Lucas, a single tear escaped out of Natasha’s eye and he reached across and smoothed it away with his thumb. These were the words she longed to hear, these were the words she wanted to hear f
rom Marcus, the man she married and it all felt so strange coming from Lucas.

“Lucas the things that you say to me...”

“I mean every word Natasha,” he interjected earnestly. “Let me help you through this. I promise that I won’t try to get physical with you although that will require superhuman strength,” he laughed.

What was she going to do
? She was still very much a married woman and here she was, sitting in a park with a man who was pledging his love for her while she had not resolved her own feelings for her own husband. Here was a man offering her all the things she had dreamed of and back at home was a man who refused to even try.

“Lucas I just feel so overwhelmed, I don’t know what to say to you right now.”

“You don’t have to say anything to me. Just know you are loved, that’s all. Look it is getting a bit late and I know you have your wardrobe fitting at four to prepare for the photo shoot this weekend and a choreography session in the morning. I want to have dinner with you but I will let you make the next move. I am not trying to crowd you but I must warn you that if you take more than two weeks to call me again, you may find me standing on your doorstep.”

“Lucas
thanks for understanding,” she said sincerely and reached out and took his hand giving it a gentle squeeze.

Looking down at their joined hands Lucas exhaled forcefully and said, “Let me get you back to your apartment before I go back on my promise.”

Folding up the blanket Lucas and Natasha packed up the remains of their lunch and Lucas called Eli his driver, to meet them where he had dropped them off before. Offering her his arm again Natasha slipped her arm through it as they walked slowly back talking amiably.

They never looked across the park to see Marcus and Sheldon standing beneath the grove of oak trees watching the entire scene.

“Steady bro!” said Sheldon as he and Marcus came out from behind the expansive trunk of the tree to sit on the wooden bench in front of it.

Marcus watched the retreating form of his wife and Lucas Johnson as they walked back through the park. Natasha looked so happy and carefree, a look he had not been able to arouse in her
for a while now. He sank down on the bench and held his head in his hands and allowed the tears that he had been holding back to flow freely and silently.

Sheldon remained standing and allowed Marcus to have a private moment. He had brought along some surveillance equipment once he and Marcus had discovered where Natasha was staying. They had arrived in Atlanta and then booked another flight to Savannah where the university
they thought she might be attending was located. They tried to follow through on Marcus’ first hunch about Natasha going back to finish her degree but they found out upon reaching there that she had not enrolled as yet.

Then they looked up Lucas Johnson in the phone book and decided that if they could follow him the trail would e
ventually lead to Natasha. That strategy worked so well that not only did they find Lucas but also Natasha’s apartment and the studio where she was recording some music.

Following them to this park and t
hen listening in to their conversation was the hardest thing Marcus had ever done. It was all he could do not to storm over there and start a fight that would make history in Forsyth Park. If it had not been for the restraining presence of his friend Sheldon he did not know what he would have done. In fact, it was Sheldon’s expertise in security that helped them locate Natasha so quickly and his advice for him to wait and assess the situation first before rushing in.

After sitting there
silently for another fifteen minutes Marcus finally found his voice.

“Sheldon, do you think I’ve lost her for good?”

“You heard it for yourself, she did not exactly tell this guy that she loved him too. She knows she needs to work out her own life first. I think that is a good sign.”

“You know
, I knew that this would have been hard but to stand here and to listen to that man say those things to Natasha,” said Marcus brokenly.

“Look don’t beat yourself up, let us stay rational and think of a plan.”

“She has everything that she wanted right now. She is getting to record some music and who knows where it will all lead for her.”

“I am sure that is true but you heard her, she is not ready to m
ove on as yet and I am sure it’s because she still loves you,” said Sheldon reassuringly. “Look you don’t have time to feel sorry for yourself. Lucas is playing hard ball and sooner or later Natasha is going to crack under that pressure. That guy is really convincing!”

“Sheldon you are not making me feel any better about this
by putting those images into my mind!” snapped Marcus.

“Exactly, I am trying to get you to get off this bench and
go and take some action. Go and see your wife tonight!”

“I don’t know if I should just show up at her door like that! She may not be ready to see me as yet!”

“You won’t know unless you take the plunge. It seems to me that you have a two week window or less to work some magic before Lucas comes a’ calling again.”

“If that man touches my wife, I swear...”

“Okay let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Let’s go. We have to get you ready for meeting number one.

Sitting in her bathtub sipping on a glass of wine later that night Natasha felt as though she could finally relax. Lucas had ordered some dinner for her and it was waiting for her in the kitchen. The wardrobe fitting had been so amazing. All of those new clothes and having her own image consultant bringing clothes from designers who wanted the exposure was truly an exhilarating experience.  Lucas had taken the entire evening off and made sure that she got to her appointments on time and had even stayed and cheered as she modelled her clothing selections. He was beginning to grow on her a little, she would admit it. He was such a wonderful man and he was doing all he could to make sure she had a smooth transition. So why was she still thinking about Marcus every waking moment in between.

Standing
up, she applied a fragrant body mist and then gently towel dried her skin. Then she walked out to her bedroom where she had laid her bathrobe. She could not remember the last time that she walked from her bathroom to her bedroom naked at home. She had always been careful not to give Marcus the impression that she was open to lovemaking and part of that meant dressing in the bathroom. It was a feeling of freedom now being able to do this.