Selective/Memory: The "Depth of Emotion" Book 2 (The Depth of Emotion) (22 page)

Discovering the most secluded spot possible on the beach, he’d unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and sat in the soft sand. It didn’t escape his notice that he could only feel the coolness around his left foot. Surprising even himself, he was happy that no anger came along with that thought. It pleased him that his sessions with Dr. Rhodes were proving to be productive. He’d been to him less than a dozen times, but he felt more in control of himself, and his thoughts were clearer than had occurred since the accident—he felt more like his
old
self.

The island breeze budged his shirt away from his skin and it flipped wildly in the warmth of the Pacific. It had been a productive day. Jonatan was the photographer for this shoot. Declan had no intentions of working on this job. In fact, he was downright belligerent when it was suggested that he get into the photos, but Aimee was convincing—and he trusted Jonatan’s opinion as a professional.

At first, Declan was pissed off, thinking that he and Aimee were in some ploy to make him feel better about himself—but he knew Jonatan better than that. He hadn’t seen him in almost a year and he was unrestrained in his comments, especially making mention that Declan’s upper body was “cut,” “buff,” and “more defined.”

Little did Jonatan know that it was necessity that built his upper body. He had to use his arms, shoulders, and chest in physical therapy, as they compensated for his weakened lower half, especially in the early days after the accident.

Jonatan’s comments were successful, as was Aimee’s encouragement. His ego had been stroked, for in this business, appearance was everything. His arms were bigger and stronger, as was his chest, making his waist appear much smaller. It was comforting to receive some confirmation, especially from those he trusted, that he was still able to make money at this, competitive a field as it was, although his focus was now to orchestrate these events, not be the subject of them.

Watching the sky colors in Hawaii could be a spectator sport for him, it was so relaxing. He never tired of it. He had been here for two days and the suffocation that had become his daily life evaporated with the warm winds. The clouds always had a relaxing effect as well as the waterfall of shades that streaked through the sky toward sunset. There was nothing he could compare to it—
with the exception of the blues
.

The blues interrupted the rigid excruciation of pain and numbed it. Only the blues in the water and the sky could compete with the memory of the eyes that haunted him. He missed her. Declan was in the process of “cleaning up his act,” as his mother would say. He’d cut back on the drinking—way back according to him—though not all the way. He sure as hell would never be a boy scout, and everyone knew it, but he was trying. He could live his life with the absence of almost anything—except her—but he hadn’t figured out how he was going to get her back.

Seeing Dr. Rhodes was helping him to get his head on straight. As reality invited the lonely tightness in his chest to return, he worked out more to rid himself of the tension. It was a side benefit that the exercise built up an appetite and made him a healthier person. He’d groaned when he had lunch with Jeannie and she told him that he was “looking good” and would be “a good catch.” He was doing better, but inside, there were times when he felt like a raging beast because there was still one thing that frustrated him that was left unresolved…

Her.

He loved her.

Still.

As he watched the sky turn to different lights and hues, it reminded him of the ferocity of the changing shades in her eyes.
Her moods could change those colors as quickly as they were changing in the sky before him!
He didn’t know if there would ever come a time when he would spend casual time, like this, just holding her, looking into them again, but the sky imprisoned his thoughts—and he wondered if something would intervene and give him a chance at loving her again…

He walked back from the beach hoping it would ease his loneliness a little. Closing the door of his cottage, he heard a slight movement and his instincts went into overdrive.

He slid into the kitchen, knowing he wouldn’t be held accountable for injuring a trespasser. A knife was the first weapon that came to mind, so he quietly opened a drawer and grabbed one in stealth-like fashion.

A heavy thud came from one of the bedrooms and his attention immediately focused on the light shining through the crack at the bottom of a bedroom door. His instincts vibrated through his entire body like a predator.

Quietly, he placed his back against the wall and inched slowly toward the room. Blood rushed in his ears, making his hearing impaired, and his heart doubled its pace. He could still hear heavy footsteps in the room as the trespasser didn’t try to hide their location.

He reached the door, and questioned his sanity.
Why hadn’t he just called Security and let them handle this?
Surmising that it was too late to turn back now, his hand went hesitantly toward the doorknob.

The element of surprise would be his best defense, so he sucked in a breath, and with all his might, he powerfully threw open the door, scaring and surprising the intruder.

“AHHHHHHHHH!” he screamed, hand and knife high in the air!

The violator fell back, banging their head against the wall, clutching their chest; eyes open wide, flickering with shock.

“Declan! What the hell are you doing?!” yelled the startled intruder.

Before shock could register on Declan’s face, arms came from behind, colliding with his back. One went around his waist, the other twisted back the arm that was in possession of the knife. He grimaced at the infringing position.

“Get the hell off of me!” he yelled, struggling against his captor.

Once the knife fell, he was released and he stumbled to the wall. The same arms that had taken him down were now helping him up, and the scene took on a surreal, ridiculous feeling. He looked all around him to make sense of what had just transpired.

“Well, that’s one way to say hi.”

Declan’s eyes flew up to a “shit eating” grin, and Carter gave him a moment to register who had become his visitors.

Surprise and astonishment blended on Declan’s face as he took in both his brother and Blake’s appearance.

Gravity took over and Blake sat down before he fell down, hitting the edge of a bed, visibly shaken.

Declan looked from one man to the other. “What are you doing here?!”

Seizing the opportunity to diffuse the situation, Carter made a joke of it. “Well, brother, we decided to make your trip to Paradise a little bit more…relaxing…”

Re-entering the suite, the girls found the dining area had been set with beautiful crystal, luscious tropical flowers, and flickering candles. A fresh Mahi was being prepared in their kitchen by the hotel Chef along with fresh local produce.

They disappeared into their respective rooms, preparing for a fun and relaxing dinner. Although it was just the girls, all the special details lent themselves to a pampered and casual elegance. Each girl had chosen to wear a sundress bought on the island for the dinner. Aria chose a soft white gauze with cap sleeves. Although she couldn’t explain it, with her curls slightly trussed up and wearing no shoes, the
Aloha
in the air made her feel as if she unquestionably belonged to the island.

As she met Aimee and Paige on the Lanai, an attendant began to mix drinks for them. The sun had just begun its descent and the colors of the Pacific sky captured and entranced her.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Aimee said as she noticed the direction of Aria’s attention.

Aria nodded. “How do you get used to this kind of beauty?” she asked, feeling overwhelmed with the transformation of the horizon before her.

“I don’t, Aria. I don’t think I ever will,” Aimee confessed. “I always want to stay in a state of amazement of my good fortune. I’m afraid that the minute I begin to take it for granted…and I don’t…I’ll become as shallow as Marisol.”

At the mention of her name, the hair on Aria’s neck eerily raised and her eyes went cold. Memories of the woman who had caused so much pain and destruction in her life made her heart ache. The invocation of her name amongst all of this loveliness seemed sacrilegious.

“Aria, please don’t look at me like that,” Aimee said.

She approached her friend, giving her a gentle hug.

“If I ever become callous with my good fortune, then I promise you have my permission to knock some common sense into me.”

“I want in on that action,” Paige chirped from behind.

“You don’t touch me, Paige,” Aimee jokingly warned. “Only Aria can. You’d do it just for the fun of it!”

“You’ve got that right!” Paige said, and laughter erupted among the group.

The Chef approached them announcing that dinner was ready, so they filed into the dining room readying themselves to thoroughly enjoy the feast he had so carefully prepared.

“Why aren’t you wearing a sundress, Paige?” Aimee asked, making dinner conversation.

Aria looked at Paige. She was defensively ready to help her friend deflect the tender subject if necessary.

“Sundresses aren’t really my thing,” Paige very casually answered, never looking up from her plate, “but I’ve brought some pretty lightweight dresses.”

She remained calm and was very collected. Paige had some physical secrets she preferred to hide. She’d had many years of girlish inquisition as to hair and clothing choices, and had become quite the expert at deflection. Aria had been her friend, as well as her hair stylist and helped her to conceal those things that she had hidden as
flaws.
Between the two of them, they had tag-teamed many inquisitive conversations, such as this one, into non-existence.

Aimee seemed to be satisfied by her answer and returned her attention to the dinner, much to Aria and Paige’s relief. She continued to chatter lightheartedly.

“You’ll love shopping tomorrow. You’ve already been to some very nice stores, but where you’ll be going tomorrow has some of the most beautiful prints here on the Island. I’m sure you’ll both come back with things that you just couldn’t resist!” she said, directing her excitement to the both of them.

“I think you’re right about that!” Aria said, happy to talk about a subject they all enjoyed. “Paige and I haven’t yet met clothes or an accessory that we didn’t like!”

“Isn’t that the honest truth?!” Paige agreed. “We could start our own consignment shop!”

“Hey! There’s an idea!” Aimee chirped. “We should think about that when we get back home. We could sandwich the three stores together;
Real Estate, Renovations, and Reusable Rags
!”

Warm laughter began to grow as Aimee’s sense of humor and the alcohol were apparently beginning to take effect.

“No, really! Think about it.” She laughed. “We could pull it off!”

“I believe it may be the alcohol talking, Aimee. Tomorrow you may rethink your idea,” Aria said, shaking her head in amusement.

Aimee moved from the table and slightly wobbled over toward the drinks.

“True, but tonight I’ll have one more of these, thank you! You never know, I may have some more
brilliant
inspirations.”

It was then Aria noticed she had polished off almost all of the pitcher of drinks!

“Speaking of inspiration,” Paige said, walking to look at the sunset, “each evening I’m more amazed than the one before.”

She directed their attention upward to the sky.

The hopeless romantic had engaged within her, and Aria found it difficult to swallow once she was ensnared by the sky’s lure. Having never seen Hawaiian sunsets, it’d become a daily addiction, and she moved to get a better view. It was almost dark, but the remaining colors were unbelievable. She was completely overcome and stood to enjoy the gentle breeze that accompanied it, along with the shapely clouds which seemed to touch the horizon line.

“Aimee, thank you,” she whispered as a tear fell unrestrained. Her heart felt bigger than her chest.

“Oh, sweetie! What is it? Are you okay?” Concerned, Aimee went over to where Aria was standing.