His Unbearable Desire 1 (2 page)

Chapter 2

After the shower she got dressed and went through the rest of her usual morning routine. This involved managing her site, e-mailing back various people (most of her life was spent answering e-mails) and then sorting through orders. Back when she had first started this endeavor she hadn’t imagined it would have turned out to be so much work. It was just a bit of fun and a way to make money. Somewhere along the way it had turned into an actual career, and although she was grateful for it she was also weary.

She had considered bringing someone else in to help but so far no-one had seemed willing. It was a hard thing to contemplate, letting someone else in on what had so far been a solo venture.

This business was hers and everything about it had been created and fed by her own soul. To change that now felt odd, almost as though she was letting someone else be a parent to her child. Perhaps when she moved to the city she would advertise or something. Ideally at some point she’d be able to rent out an office as well.

Although she was making a decent living, she knew the cost of living was going to be higher in Newtown. If she wanted to sample the delights of bars and restaurants she was going to have to expand the business so she could have more money to spend. Rent was going to be much higher as well. She knew it would be a good thing because the business was growing naturally and she wanted it to expand, but there were still so many things that she had to consider.

After spending most of the day sorting through her daily business tasks, Ana took a bit of time to look at apartments in Newtown. A few of them looked promising and as she ran the numbers in her head she figured she could just about do it. She’d probably have to ask her parents for a loan to help take care of all the real estate agent’s fees and other additional costs.

She wondered how anyone managed to actually live properly when so much money was wasted on bills and rent and food. It struck her as silly that humans had to pay so much to simply exist. At this very moment she looked out of her window and spotted a flock of birds circling in the air. She felt incredibly jealous of them because they could go where they wanted whenever they wanted and they didn’t care one bit about anything else, it was all pure instinct.

Ana had often dreamed of leaving it all behind; of going to a remote part of forest somewhere and living simply off Mother Nature. It was a romantic notion that quickly got dispelled when she thought of the practicalities.

She wasn’t a vain woman by any means, but she did like having pretty nails and taking care of her appearance. She also liked watching movies and all those sorts of necessary luxuries. Besides, she had no idea how to hunt or fend for herself. Her father had taken her camping a few times when she was younger. Secretly she had always suspected that he truly had wanted a son, but that had never happened, and she had never really taken to it.

It had been fun and she enjoyed spending that time with her father but she could never start a fire or just live off the land. She was a girl that was meant to live in the city, and she knew that was where she was going to end up. She just had to find a place that was affordable and would give her room to build up for a while. She also had to factor in that moving would be a huge effort and any time it took was taking time away from managing her business.

She ran her hand through her hair and pinned it back as she looked at the apartment listings. She was trying to roughly estimate how much time it was going to take to get her stuff moved from Trinity Falls to Newtown, and then to get everything set up, including the Internet, which she needed to actually run her business.

Everything in the online world moved so quickly, and people’s attention spans were so short that even taking a bit of time off could bleed customers and profits at an alarming rate. It was something she was going to have to do and she was just going to have to find a way to work around it. She supposed that it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. After all, she could mention to her suppliers that she was going to be taking a short break, and she could work harder before and after the move. As long as she put a notice up on the website that orders may be delayed it should be fine.

During the late afternoon she took a stroll outside. This was another vital part of her routine as she spent so much time staring at her laptop screen that she, and it, needed a break. The fresh air filled her lungs as she inhaled deeply. Ana walked along the small high street, peering into shops and greeting familiar faces. She strolled casually and didn’t have anywhere in particular to go.

Outside she saw those same birds in the sky and spent a few moments simply watching them go about their business. It always seemed a little odd to her to see animals live. They survived on pure instinct, which was quite the contrast to humans, especially her.

She had always been the type to think things through carefully and she could count on one hand the number of times she had acted spontaneously. She thought about what it would be like to act with such wild abandon and simply do things she wanted to do on a whim, it would certainly make for an interesting life but she wasn’t sure she could ever surrender enough self-control to make that a reality.

She continued walking along and was in a dreamlike trance until she saw Evan come out of a store. Her heart froze because he was carrying a stroller with a toddler in it, and then Holly came out. She had long blonde hair and an eternally slim figure. Evan put his arm around her and they kissed softly. They looked happy. Ana felt betrayed. She tried to spin around and avoid them but it was too late. She and Evan exchanged awkward pleasantries as Holly scowled and looked away. Evan walked up to her.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she replied.

“How’s things?”

“Pretty good. I see you’ve found what you were looking for. When you said you wanted a family I thought you meant you wanted to make one yourself, not insert yourself into an existing one.”

“It’s not as simple as that,” he said.

“Do you know who she is? What she did?!” Evan glanced at Holly who was standing a little way away with her son.

“Yes I know what she did to you but she’s changed. She’s not the same person she once was. You’re not the only one who’s grown since high school,” he said in a strained whisper. “We spoke about it a lot and she’s not proud of how she acted or how cruel she was back then but she’s a sweet person now and we both want the same things. I’m not doing this out of spite or anything, I’m doing this because she makes me happy.”

The words stung, but mostly because he had found it so easy to find what he had been looking for whereas she still only had plans in place. They were still plans that she intended to see through though.

“Well that’s something I suppose. I’m in the process of making arrangements to go to Newtown. I don’t know when I’ll be leaving but once I do I’ll probably never come back.”

“I really do hope you get everything you want,” he said, and then hugged her. The feeling of warmth and comfort was nice, and just as she began to nestle into him, he broke away and walked off with Holly. Ana wondered if the price for pursuing her dreams was to be alone, and she hated the thought that she would never find something like that again.

Break-ups were odd. They had been so close and shared so much for a little over a year and then it had ended. Since then they had barely spoken. The only times they ever saw each other were in awkward encounters like that, and Ana was looking forward to moving away so she never had to endure those again.

She tried to put it out of her mind and think about other things instead but it was difficult. Every aspect of her life was in a good place except romance. She was ready to be close with someone, and she felt ready for that big relationship. She was twenty five now and she had to start making some choices that would echo into the future, a good man would be one such choice but again, she had to move away for that.

Trinity Falls was a place stuck in the past, a land before time that only held memories and nostalgia. It was an anchor that she had to relinquish in order to become the person she always knew she could be. For some people home was a place of safety, a sanctuary in which they could always be secure and would remain until their dying day. But that was not true for Ana. She saw herself like one of those birds flying high in the sky; deep down she wanted to be a wild spirit who could make a nest in any part of the world and see her home as the place where she began her journey, not the place in which she would end it.

Chapter 3

The day was pleasant, as most in Trinity Falls were, and as Ana returned home she started putting a plan into action about how she was going to move to Newtown. There were some factors that could scupper her plans but she was tired of always taking those into consideration. The time had come for her to simply get on with it and formulate a way to get where she wanted to be.

She fired off some e-mails to the landlords and estate agents in the hope of getting appointments to view apartments, and then set about organizing her orders so she knew how many she had to complete. She also made a list of everything she would need to take care of if she moved, and she kept adding to this over the rest of the evening.

She also worked out how much money she would need initially. Her savings account would take a large hit and it gave her pause. It was a lot of money, but then again she thought that it was doing her no good just sitting there and she might as well use it for something worthwhile.

It was all very exciting, planning something so big, and she got so caught up in it that she almost didn’t hear her phone ring. The shrill beeping went off and she shifted the papers on her coffee table, for the phone was buried underneath them. She grabbed it and answered breathlessly.

“Aunt Rose! It’s so good to hear from you, how are you?” she said. Aunt Rose was her father’s sister and had always been Ana’s favorite relative. Even though she was older than her father, Rose had a youthful exuberance about her and was always bouncing around like a yo-yo.

She was quick with a joke and had a bawdy sense of humor that Ana had found hilarious when she was a teenager. She had been so different from other adults that Ana had naturally gravitated toward her, and had told her things that she would never dream of telling her parents.

“I’m fine my dear, and you?”

Ana looked down at the sheets of paper strewn around her. “Oh yes, you know what it’s like, just living day by day.”

“Indeed. Well, the reason I’m calling is because I have a proposition for you. I’m planning a wedding this weekend and I’m short one person on the bar. I could really use some capable hands because the crowd is made up of the upper echelons of Newtown’s society. I know its short notice but could you come down for a few days and help me out?”

Ana was torn. She wanted to help her aunt but she had so much to sort out about moving plus she still had to manage her online store.

“I don’t know, I mean, I want to but I have a lot of things to take care of with the business and, well, I’m thinking about moving to Newtown so I was going to try and make some progress with that this weekend.”

“That’s wonderful! I understand completely, so if you can’t you can’t and I suppose I’ll find someone I can make do with. I just remember when you helped me over the summers during college and I thought it would make a nice reunion.”

“I wish I could but I’m not sure I can fit it in. I’m sorry,” Ana said reluctantly. She heard Aunt Rose sigh over the end of the phone, and Ana felt a pang of guilt stab at her heart.

“It’s no big deal I’m sure I’ll manage. But before I go are you not the least bit curious who the wedding is for?” she said in a teasing tone. Initially Ana hadn’t been, but the manner in which Aunt Rose spoke made her feel like she wanted to know.

“Okay, I’ll play, who is the wedding for?”

“Bruce Arvel and Seline Kyle.”

Ana’s eyes widened. The two of them were offspring of two powerful families that were extremely wealthy and she knew that the place would be filled with high-ranking members of society and all manner of celebrities and other well-known people. The temptation to mingle with that crowd, even if it was only to serve them, was tempting, but still Ana couldn’t possibly give up all that time.

“I’d really love to Aunt Rose but I feel like I really need to be responsible and say no.”

“Okay then, but I feel like I should tell you how much you’d earn for three days’ work. Since the two families are insanely wealthy they’re pulling out all the stops and they gave me a huge budget to work with so I’m making sure that everyone gets a good wage. You could make five thousand dollars from this, and that’s not even including tips. Can you imagine how generous these people are going to be drunk at a wedding?”

Ana’s eyes popped out of her head and she almost dropped the phone in shock. Five thousand dollars would be a big boost to the bottom line of her bank account. She glanced down at the numbers she had calculated. It would mean she didn’t have to worry so much. With that much money at stake she knew it was the most logical decision.

“Alright, I’m in, but I do need to bring my laptop and I will need to do work while I’m there.” Aunt Rose squealed with delight and agreed, and then gave Ana the details and the address. When Ana put the phone down she sunk back into the sofa in shock. The amount of money was crazy and it felt like things in her life were finally falling into place. The universe was smiling upon her and she couldn’t have been happier.

Over the next day or so she packed a small bag with all of her essentials, and also took out her favorite sparkling red dress. It had been a while since she had had the opportunity to wear it and she wasn’t sure if such an opportunity would present itself during the weekend as she would technically be working, but she’d hate to miss out on the chance to wear it. It was a long dress that ran down to her ankles and clung perfectly to her curves.

When she wore it, it looked as though she had been poured into it. Her bosom threatened to spill out of the plunging neckline and it was a real head-turner. Her heart beat with excitement. Working with Aunt Rose was always fun and she thought of all the eligible billionaires that would be in attendance. She had never been part of a social extravaganza like this wedding and it felt as though anything could happen. She knew that nothing like this would ever happen in Trinity Falls, and it just fed her hunger to escape that dead-end town even more.

On Friday morning she flung her bag into her car and sped off. The pre-wedding party was taking place that evening with the wedding happening Saturday afternoon. Then there was the reception and the evening party, and then on Sunday a brunch. It was a typical schedule for one of Aunt Rose’s weddings, and Ana was looking forward to getting back to that lakeside retreat.

It was almost like being transported to another world and she understood why so many rich and famous people enjoyed getting married there. It was a secluded part of the world and Aunt Rose made sure to keep the paparazzi far away. Ana drove out of Trinity Falls and headed to Newtown.

In a short while she knew she would be making this journey, and on the horizon she saw the glittering skyscrapers trying to reach the heavens. The shimmering metal and glass constructs looked almost alien compared to the rustic and humble buildings in Trinity Falls, and she longed to be a part of that beating heart.

It wasn’t time for that yet, as she took a turn along the road, turning away from the city towards the lake. The winding road was bumpy and the tires of her car crunched against the gravel. Trees and bushes framed the road, separating her from the rest of the world, and then the road opened up, giving way to the expansive resort.

The lakeside retreat was a large collection of buildings. The main area was a huge cabin that sat next to the lake with a long porch stretching out into the body of water. A few small rowing boats were tied to the shore, and the lake looked resplendent in the summery dream. Drooping trees framed the edges of the lake. It encompassed a large area and there was even a small tunnel of trees that provided some shade and let to a more secluded part of the lake. This was often used by newlyweds after they spoke their vows, and it was perfect on a warm, dusky evening.

The fragrance of flowers met Ana’s nose as she stepped out of the car and walked towards the cabin. There was a large open area that was perfect for picnics, and all around them was a woodland area that was the place where fairytales came to life.

When Ana had visited as a child Aunt Rose often told her stories of pixies and fawns that came to visit her in the dead of night. Many times Ana had stayed up late in an effort to meet these wonderful, supernatural creatures but it had never occurred. As she grew older she realized that they had all been simple stories told to appease a simple girl, but deep inside she still had hope that somewhere in the world magic existed, even if she was unable to see it.

The low, wide cabin stretched along the side of the lake. Next to it was another large building. It was built using brown bricks and had the look of and old English manor house. It housed the kitchen, staff, and some rooms for guests. Then, over to the left and away from these two buildings were a set of smaller cabins that offered some privacy. Each one came with a log fire and plenty of room for families; it was where she and her parents had stayed when they had come to visit. It was also out of those windows where she had peered out into the darkness of the woods looking for those things of fairytales, but all she could see were shadows.

When she grew older and returned to work she was given a room in the other building, but that room was far more functional and did nothing to inspire her imagination.

A few people were milling around and walking between the buildings and the cabin as they prepared things for the evening’s festivities. On the edge of the lake stood some white chairs and an arch, which was where the ceremony was going to take place on the following day.

Ana breathed in deeply and took in the scenery. It felt good to be back there and she was excited to see Aunt Rose, so she walked in and saw her Aunt giving various people orders. She was like the conductor and everyone else was orbiting around her.

Ana strode through the main hall. There was a long white table on one side and circular round tables placed all around the room. At the head of the room was an open space for a dance floor, and the other end housed the bar.

“Ana!” Rose screamed, running along the length of the room to fling her arms around her niece. Ana held on tightly and succumbed to the warm embrace. Rose looked busy; her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail and she was clutching a clipboard to her breast. Ana glanced down and saw that she was checking many things off a list. One thing about her aunt that had always impressed her was how cool she was under pressure.

Although Ana ran her own business she was responsible for it herself and since it was still relatively small she could deal with the small fires. Aunt Rose on the other hand always had three problems to deal with at once and all her employees depended on her. She was also catering for someone’s special day, and not just any people either; but the most well-bred who were used to things being of an excellent standard, and yet Aunt Rose had never let anyone down.

Ana didn’t know how she did it, because even with her online store there were times when things seemed to be too much. Where she felt herself cracking under the strain but Aunt Rose was always composed and took everything in stride.

“How’s the preparation going?” Ana asked.

“Oh you know, it’s the same as usual. People are panicking and there are about five crises going on at the moment but it is going fine. I’m glad you’re here it feels like ages since I’ve seen you! I’ve put you up in your usual room. The party is scheduled to start at eight but you know what these people are like they generally show up when they want to so I’d like you down at the bar from about six thirty.

You’ll be in charge, you’ve got Liam, Cindy, and Mark as your main staff. They’re all good people and I’ve assured them they’re in good hands. If you need any more help during the night just call me and I’ll get someone to help. It’s all an open bar and there are crates of extra drink out the back so you shouldn’t run out but if you do come and see me. That also means that lots of people are going to be drunk.

I’ve talked to the bride and groom and I’ve told them that I won’t tolerate any bad behavior here, so don’t get intimidated by their wealth. If you need to throw them out do it and I’ll deal with any backlash. Other than that it’s the same drill as always. Make yourself at home and take a look around if you want to get yourself re-acquainted with the place. I’ll try and come up to see you a little later but you know how things are when it gets to this time.”

Ana was about to nod and say that it was okay when a young girl came up to Rose with some problem, and the elder woman rushed off to help. Ana was left in the middle of the room to gaze in awe at the place. It had been a long time since she had helped out and was glad to know that Aunt Rose was still doing well in her career.