Paradise Found (10 page)

Chapter 13

Daemon Wells had just entered the restaurant when he spotted his father and Victoria Montcherry in a private corner.

What the hell is Victoria doing in Father’s arms?

Daemon saw Victoria step away from his father. He watched as she rushed across the restaurant, ignoring diners. At the exit, he met her gaze. For a moment they stood in stunned silence before she quickly brushed past him.

He watched her weave through the crowded lobby, fighting the urge to run to her. Instead, he stared at his father who stood grasping the edge of the table.

What the hell is Father doing in the Islands? What the hell is he doing with Victoria?
Daemon’s pulse quickened. He had to get some answers.

He strode into the dining room toward his father. Alexander looked up, brows arched in surprise.

“Daemon. What brings you here?” Alexander asked.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” Daemon shoved his hands in his pants’ pockets, avoiding the temptation to strike the bastard in the jaw.

“Conducting business.”

“With Victoria Moncherry?”

“Yes. She’s quite the businesswoman. Pretty, too.” Alexander winked as he lifted his glass and polished off its contents.

“What business would you have with Victoria?”

“She has the land. I have the resorts. Let’s just say that I made her an offer she couldn’t turn down.” Alexander sat and pointed to the chair across from him. “Care to join me for a drink?”

Daemon hesitated. The last thing he wanted was to sip scotch with his father. Yet, if he sought answers, he knew it was the only way.

After ordering drinks, Alexander crossed his arms on the table. “My boy, that Montcherry woman is a force to be reckoned with.”

“She’s not “that Montcherry woman.” She’s Victoria, the woman I happen to love,” Daemon said through gritted teeth.

Alexander laughed. “Love? That’s pure fantasy. The only thing Vicky loves is money and the power it brings.” 

“You apparently don’t know her well. She’s not like you.” He was growing hot and flustered.
And what the hell is with the “Vicky” nickname?

“She’s more like me than you think. So much so that we’re forming a partnership.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“You mean you won’t believe it.” Alexander met Daemon’s confused gaze. “I’ve researched her background thoroughly and made her an offer appropriate to her education and experience.”

“Victoria doesn’t need you or your offers.”

“Vicky will be working with me at Eden Resorts. Hell, at least she sees value in the company even though my own son refuses to be part of it.” Alexander sipped his drink, his gaze unwavering.

Could Father be telling the truth? Why would Victoria decide to work with Eden? I thought she’d reconsidered Island development.

“There’s a great deal about Vicky that you don’t know,” Alexander said. “She’s an opportunist. You were one opportunity, and Eden and me another.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She’s an Island woman. Island women are not loyal to one man.”

“Victoria left the Islands years ago,” Daemon said, trying to quell his temper and his nerves.

“You can take the girl from the Islands but you can’t take the Islands out of the girl. It’s in her blood, my boy.”

“How would you know?”

Alexander winked. “I know.”

Bile rose in Daemon’s throat. No, his father could not be carrying on an affair with Victoria as well. “You’re not sleeping with her?”

“No, but the idea has certainly crossed my mind.”

The way his father said it, so cool and nonchalant made it difficult for Daemon to control himself. “You bastard.”

“I’m an opportunist and so is Vicky. Come on, she may be brilliant but she’s still an island girl.”

The drinks arrived and Daemon gulped half his glass, the smoothness of the scotch doing nothing.

“Did she ever tell you that she loves you?” Alexander’s brows rose as he tilted his head.

“That’s none of your business,” Daemon answered. No, she hadn’t said she loved him
.
Did
she love him?

Alexander sighed. “Daemon, get it straight. Island women are for fun, not love and marriage. Vicky is not an exception.”

Daemon rose so fast his chair wobbled. “I’ve had enough of this.”

“Some stones are better left unturned,” Bessye Montcherry said, shaking out a rag rug on the front porch of her home.

Victoria looked up from her seat to meet her mother’s gaze. The woman knew a little too much and was far too perceptive. The sooner Victoria moved out on her own, the better. She wouldn’t be accountable to anyone.

“Now what are you talking about? More island gossip?”  Victoria arched her brows and scowled.

“I’m your mother and mothers have intuition.”

“Leave it alone.”

“Victoria, you cannot leave and expect to come back having everything your way. This is a small island. Things evolve slowly here. Some things should be left to fate.” She draped the rug over the wood banister.

“I believe in creating my own fate, thank you.” Victoria rose from her seat and looked over the rails into the palm forest and mangrove swamps beyond. “I’ve decided to build my home on the isolated beach on the other side of the island. I submitted my application to the Planning Authority. Contractors
will be giving me proposals
so work can begin when I get approval. The sooner the better.”

“So, you are staying in the Seychelles?”

“Yes.” Where else could she go? She’d tried living around the world and all paths led back to the Islands.

“I thought you would fly off once you found things hadn’t gone as planned.”

She turned to face her mother. “Apparently, you don’t know all of my plans.”

“Child, you came back thinking you could wheel and deal your way into land development, thought you could live without men and romance, thought you could rekindle a relationship with the son you threw away? Things just haven’t happened that way, have they? The Islands don’t need more development. A woman can’t live without love. A son doesn’t need a mother in blood only.”

Victoria’s eyes burned a hole through her mother. Though her mother’s words were painfully true, she didn’t want to hear them. “Stop! I’m dealing with things in my own way.”

Her mother grunted.

“I’m building my own home so I can have my own place. The Seychelles
are
my home. The land I’ve purchased is a wise investment and has opened the doors of opportunity. I don’t need a man in my life and I’m content knowing my son is healthy and loved. I don’t need to re-enter his life. There. Settled.”

When the yellow Jaguar convertible spun into the front dirt drive, Victoria had little time to react. Daemon leapt from the vehicle and was marching to the front steps of the porch. He stared at her, eyes aflame.

Chapter 14

“It was a pain in the ass to track you down, Miss Montcherry,” Daemon said with a bite in his voice. His hair was disheveled and his khaki slacks and shirt wrinkled.

“You needn’t have bothered,” she said, meeting his burning gaze.

“I don’t understand. We had plans for this weekend. What’s with the damn message on my answering machine?” He raked a hand through his hair.

Victoria drew a deep breath to steady her nerves. She knew that leaving the message stating that she couldn’t join him for the planned sail to Fregate Island would upset him. She knew it was the coward’s way out but she couldn’t face him. Facing him now took all her strength to remain outwardly calm while her heart was breaking within
.

“You told me that you never wanted to see me again and to get out of your life completely, that we were bad for each other.”

“We are.”

“Why? Because my father offers you more opportunity?” His face was growing red with the heat of anger.

“Your father has nothing to do with us.” She tried to remain calm and unaffected though her stomach was tying in knots.

“The hell he doesn’t. You two certainly looked cozy at lunch!”

“Your father and I were discussing a business arrangement.”

Daemon scoffed. “Right, with his arms around you.”

“Appearances are deceiving.”

“When it comes to you, I’ll have to agree.” His face flushed. “And, what’s with this damn “Vicky” business?”

“Vicky business?” She shook her head.

“The pet name my father has for you.”

“Pet name?”

“Don’t look so startled. Another secret is out.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. No one has ever called me Vicky. I detest nicknames.”
What was he driving at?

He waved his hand.

“Daemon, you’re a special person but you have to understand that the time isn’t right for a relationship. With anyone.”

“If you had something to say, some problem, why didn’t you tell me in person?”

“I couldn’t bear to face you.” She stood hugging herself.

He sighed loudly. “I just don’t get it. I love you and know that you love me. We have a future together. You just want to throw it all away? Why?”

“I haven’t a choice.” She could see the pain in his eyes and in the stiffness of his stance as he confronted her. He was confessing and she had to be a bitch to save her soul, his soul.

Her mother, standing nearby, cleared her throat.

Daemon turned to her. “Ma’am, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to air dirty laundry in front of a guest.”

“She’s not a guest,” Victoria said. “She’s my mother, Bessye Montcherry.”

Daemon tilted his head as his gaze shifted from Victoria to Bessye and back again. Bessye was as dark as Victoria was light
.

Not that it mattered. Living on the remote islands had taught him that such differences didn’t matter in the scheme of life. What mattered was that Victoria was giving him the brush-off.

“Though we may not resemble one another, we’re both Seychellois through and through,” Victoria said, hoping that her race would make it easier to drive him away.

“There’s nothing wrong with being Seychellois,” he said. “Something is wrong when a woman suddenly decides to break off a relationship.”

She couldn’t meet his gaze. Her eyes were growing damp with the sadness of goodbye. “I haven’t a choice.”

“Be honest with me, Victoria,” he demanded.

She swallowed hard. She wished she could just dig a hole and crawl into it, cover herself with dirt and be gone.

“My daughter apparently hasn’t been truthful about her past and other points,” Bessye said.

Victoria stepped back. If her mother mentioned Justin, she would bolt from the porch. She couldn’t tell Daemon about the boy being her illegitimate, throwaway son. What would he think of her?

“Ms. Montcherry, I would just like to know what’s going on.”

“I fear Victoria has a problem with trust,” Bessye added.

Trust! How dare Mother mention trust!

“Excuse us,” Daemon said to Bessye. He took Victoria’s arm and led her from the porch, out into the front yard.

“We need to talk privately,” he added, releasing his grip.

Victoria met his unwavering gaze. Her heart was thumping and her mind reeling.

“I trusted you, Victoria. Apparently, your own mother feels that you are incapable of doing the same.”

Tears she couldn’t control started down her cheeks.

“Daemon Wells, you deserve more than I can give. Love isn’t enough. I can’t explain everything. You have to understand.”

“Understand that you want to run away from our relationship?” He placed his hands on her shoulders.

She trembled at his touch, at the conflicting feelings of wanting him to be a part of his life and yet having to let go because of Justin and her past.

“Daemon, this has to be goodbye.”

“Can you really live your life without me? Without this?” He drew her tightly against him and kissed her with rough passion, branding her lips with the possibility of what might have been.

Victoria closed her eyes, relishing every moment in his intimate embrace and the kiss that seared her lips. She wanted him, yet had to muster all of her will power for Justin’s sake.

“Please. Go,” she whispered.

Daemon shrugged her off, turning on his heel. Without looking back, he stormed to his car and entered his Jag, slamming the door loudly. The car sped off in a cloud of dust.

Chapter 15

Daemon sat in an Adirondack-style chair on the top deck of his La Digue home, his eyes fixed on the horizon where the ocean met the sky. The two almost blended, one not
discernible
from the other, reminding him of Victoria and him. He raised the crystal glass to his lips, nursing a scotch and soda and a bruised heart.

After the confrontation with Victoria, he raced to Paradise Helicopters. Parking, he headed to the heli-pad. Without a word to his employees who were working nearby, he hopped in the Jet Ranger and powered it up. Lifting off, he hovered for a moment before heading over the steep mountain ranges of Trois Freres and soon over the open waters of the Indian Ocean heading toward La Digue. There was a peaceful serenity here he never felt on land. There was something about the wide expanse of sky that made problems small and insignificant in the world as a whole. As he observed God’s universe, it set his mind at ease and soothed his heart and soul. Other people sought out psychologists and psychiatrists. Daemon just needed time alone in the sky. By the time he landed on his estate on La Digue, he was calmer than when he left Mah’e.

Sensing that something was wrong, Raj had prepared a scotch and soda and handed it to Daemon as he always had when his employer came home unexpectedly. Daemon smiled upon accepting the cool drink and proceeded up to his bedroom deck alone to watch the sun set on the day and on his relationship with Victoria.

The sky went from blue to indigo to crimson as the sun set over the horizon. With it, the incoming tide began to splash ashore against the rocks and beach far below. Soon, the sky would turn black with a scattering of stars and constellations glittering like diamonds against black velvet. He loved observing the daily cycle of nature and enjoyed even more sharing it with others. If only he could have been in a thatched cottage on a secluded beach on Fregate island with Victoria. She would be snuggled in his arms, her head resting against his chest, the softness of her hand in his. He swallowed hard. If everything had gone as planned, they would be sipping Dom Perignon and watching the sunset. And afterward …

He reached into his pants’ pocket and withdrew a velvet box. Popping open the spring-lid, he stared at the sparkling marquis solitaire diamond he had ordered recently
from his favorite diamond merchant in South Africa. With a sigh, he snapped it closed thinking how he had planned on presenting it to her this very evening, dropping it into her flute of champagne … a very expensive rock of ice. He slipped the box back in his pocket.

What had he been thinking? For the first time in his life he had been prepared, eager even, to propose marriage. There had been no doubt that he wanted to spend every day and night for the rest of his life with Victoria Montcherry. She had stirred his heart, his soul, his mind, his body. In her eyes he had seen his future. He thought she had seen the same things. Wanted the same things. Wanted him.

Now he wasn’t so sure, of her or of himself.

He had always been a dreamer with lofty goals. Seeing the best in the world and in others, though he had experienced the worst. Ever since his brush with death in Afghanistan he had been living life on fast-forward. Living as if every moment could be his last, he worked harder, longer and achieved more, since that incident than he had ever done in his life. Maybe he was rushing things with Victoria. Perhaps he had imagined her to be in love with him when all she wanted was an island fling.

The curt message she had left on his answering machine seemed so out of character for her that he had to confront her. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. Her lack of trust. She didn’t trust him enough to tell him things. She didn’t trust him enough to mention her relationship with his father. What other secrets was she hiding and why?

People in love didn’t keep secrets. To have a lasting relationship, there had to be unconditional trust.

Trust!

He polished off his drink and contemplated having another. Deciding against it, he knew that alcohol wouldn’t dull the ache inside. What was supposed to be the first day of the rest of his life had become the loneliest. And he had experienced many lonely nights. He rose from his seat and stretched. Tonight he would be sleeping alone.

Justin handled the throttle on the Jet Ranger with the confidence of a professional. He controlled the helicopter like a seasoned pilot and made Daemon proud. The boy was incredibly intelligent, mature for his age, and a fast learner. Though he couldn’t yet legally drive, he could handle a sophisticated helicopter. The craft hovered then landed in the center of the heli-pad like a dart in the bulls-eye.

“Yes!” Justin pumped a fist in the air.

“Perfect landing,” Daemon replied with pride in his voice, flipping through paper charts. “Let’s see, you passed the written exams and the final step is flying solo. You have to wait on that, though.”

“Being too young is such a bummer.”

“Don’t be so eager to grow up.” Daemon pulled off his headset and snapped off his shoulder harness.

Justin did the same, turning off the rotors on the craft. They slowly spun down.

“Mr. Wells, can I ask you a question?” The boy looked at him with a frown.

“You know you can ask me anything.”

“I was just wondering. So many girls in school, some much older than me, keep flirting with me.” He fidgeted in his seat. “Some are so, like, forward they’ve asked me to make out with them.”

Daemon met the boys’ concerned gaze. “They have?”

A blush erupted on Justin’s smooth face. “I like girls and all and I get some funny feelings, you know what I mean? But I’m not ready for any of that stuff. Is something wrong with me?”

Daemon wanted to chuckle but held on to his serious demeanor. “Nothing’s really wrong. Each person matures at a different level and girls mature faster than boys. Also, the body tends to mature faster than the brain, unfortunately. I’d say you’re a very responsible and level-headed young man.”

Justin shrugged.

“Making out isn’t something to be taken lightly but is a very serious endeavor that can lead to very serious circumstances. Don’t let anyone pressure you into doing anything you’re not ready or prepared for,” Daemon explained, grateful that he told the boy about the “birds and the bees” years earlier. A little reinforcement now and then couldn’t hurt. He also was flattered that Justin trusted him enough to confide in him.

Daemon continued, “You know, too many young men on the Islands pursue sex like a sport and too many young women are mothers before they’re ready.”

Justin nodded.

“You have a bright future ahead of you. Sex and early fatherhood would only ruin it.” Daemon counseled and protected the boy as if he were the son he never had, knowing how it felt not to have a father around.

“Umm … “ Justin began, a sheepish grin creasing his face. "Mr. Wells, is Miss Montcherry your girlfriend?”

Daemon’s eyes darted open as he was caught off guard. “
Was
my girlfriend. I’m not really sure where we stand right now.”

“You know, she’s a new friend of
ma mere?
They met at my home. My siblings were wondering if she was looking to adopt someone.”

“Why?” Daemon thought something was a bit unusual about the scenario.

“She came by to visit the other day when I wasn’t home and had a long chat with
ma mere.
My siblings didn’t hear the conversation but said that Miss Montcherry raced out of the house crying and
ma mere
had to run outside to comfort her.”

“Really?” Daemon’s radar went up. “That’s strange.”

Justin shrugged. “I don’t know any more than that. Only, she later turned up at our football tournament.”

Daemon sat back against his seat, puzzled. Victoria had seemed uncomfortable, revealing unexpected emotions for a woman attending a mere sporting event.

“I guess she was happy to see you,” Justin said with a blush on his face.

Daemon remembered the rather intimate and possessive kiss he had planted on Victoria’s lips in front of everyone. She had appeared more shocked than happy
.

These revelations just added more mystery to Victoria and more questions. What was she holding back from him? What other secrets did she have?

Did it really matter?