Pieces of Me (8 page)

“Well you’re rescued now. Let’s get you guys back to civilization.”

Nicole went to go grab her things. “Just leave it. Whatever you’ve lost, I’ll replace it.”

They boarded the plane. Davis was excited about leaving the island and Nicole was left wondering what was going to happen between them.

The pilot radioed back to base that he had found two survivors of the plane crash. He did not give their names. Davis didn’t want all the media cameras in their faces when they landed.

*****

Four hours later, Davis and Nicole were settling into one of his posh hotels. Nicole had hoped that they would share a suite but Davis had gotten her settled into her own suite. He’d promised he would be back to check on her once he took care of a few things.

Although, it had only been a little more than a week since they’d been stranded on the island it felt like much longer. Was it even possible to develop feelings for someone in that short period of time? It shouldn’t be possible that’s what Nicole kept telling her heart. Her heart didn’t seem to want to listen. She decided to take a hot shower to calm her mind.

She felt a little better when she got out. She should probably call Dana to let her know she was safe. Nicole dialed her number and the phone rang a couple of times before she answered. “Hello, Dana? This is Nicole.”

“Oh my god Nicole! I was so worried. Are you ok? When Davis called I couldn’t believe it. The plane crash was all over the news. We thought we’d lost you.”

“I’m fine. A little exhausted but fine. Remember when I told you I hated flying? Well, this experience did absolutely nothing to change that.”

Dana laughed “I see you still have the same warped sense of humor. I’m glad you’re alright. Do you know when you’ll be flying into Fiji?”

“Not yet. Davis has been so busy that I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him since we’ve been back.”

“Davis? Not Mr. Chatham? What happened on the island and don’ leave out any details.”

“There’s not much to tell. I think when you survive a plane crash and are stranded on a deserted island it would sound a little silly to keep calling each other Mr. and Ms. don’t you think? Anyway, we both did what we needed to do to get through it.”

“Dana, I hate to cut this conversation short, but I’m exhausted. Can I call you tomorrow and give you all the details then?”

“Of course, I’m just glad you’re ok. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Nicole disconnected the call and looked at the clock on the wall. It was 11:45pm. She had hoped Davis would have come by or called by now. Nicole tossed and turned all night probably because Davis never called.

Chapter 11

It wasn’t until the next afternoon that Nicole got a chance to see him. She needed to get out of the room because she was feeling a little claustrophobic. The hotel had an amazing garden so she decided to take a walk through it. That’s when she’d overheard a couple talking. Nicole didn’t mean to eaves drop but when she’d heard Davis’s name she couldn’t move. She felt rooted to the spot where she stood.

“Davis, when I heard your plane crashed I was so overwhelmed with grief. I thought I’d lost you for good and that I would never get a chance to tell you how sorry I was for hurting you the way I did. And…that I still love you. When I got the call that you were alive, I took daddy’s plane and came straight here. I made mistakes. I was lonely because you spent so much time working but that is no excuse. I know you can’t forgive me overnight but maybe we could take some time and start over. If I’ve learned anything with this whole ordeal is that life is too short not to share it with the people we truly love. I love you Davis Chatham.”

Nicole was holding her breath waiting to hear Davis’s response.

He sounded tired “Anne, I don’t know. I can tell you that I’ve never loved another woman more than I’ve loved you….”

Now Nicole understood why he didn’t come to her last night. She couldn’t bear to hear any more of their conversation. Her chest was so tight. She tried to leave without being discovered. She’d gotten her answer and quickly walked back to her suite. Once inside, she let the tears fall. She knew she was being ridiculous thinking she and Davis could have something special after only knowing each other a little over a week. Sex does not equal love and she knew that. Nicole just hoped her feelings for Davis was an island mirage and would go away once she got back into the real world. However, she had this sinking suspicion that it wouldn’t.

No matter how much she gave of herself to someone it was never enough. It was never enough to keep her at any of the many foster homes when she was a child, it was never enough for Todd, and now it wasn’t enough for Davis. Just once, Nicole wanted to be the most important person to someone.

She heard knocking on her door. Nicole quickly dried her tears and went to answer it. “Who is it?”

“It’s Davis.”

Nicole took a couple of deep breaths before opening the door.

“May I come in?”

“Of course., you kind of own the place.” Nicole stepped aside so that he could enter.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to connect with you last night. I had a lot of things to deal with and by the time I was finished it was early morning.” Davis looked tired and the crease was back between his eyes. For some reason, she still wanted to soothe it for him.

“I hope you were able to get everything taken care of.”

“Almost, I was hoping we could talk about what happened between us on the island.”

“Is there an ‘us’?”

Davis frustratingly wiped his hands across his face “Honestly, Nicole, I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt you or string you along. Something you said on the island stuck with me. You said I’d been angry with Anne because I hadn’t truly let her go. I think to some degree you might be right. She’s here and she wants to try and make a go of it.”

Nicole’s mouth went dry. “Do you still love her?”

“I...don’t know. My feelings are all over the place. We started something on that island but I’m not sure we can fully explore it until I know for sure what I’m feeling for Anne.”

It took everything within Nicole to hold her tears back. She gave him a shaky smile “I understand. I really do and I…I wish you two the best.”

He reached out and touched her hair. He always loved her hair. “You know if you ever need anything, anything at all please call me, day or night.” Davis reached into his pocket and gave her his card with all of his personal information on it.

“I guess there is one thing you can help me with…I still need to get to Fiji.”

Chapter 12

It had been six weeks since Nicole last seen or spoke to Davis. He tried to call her a couple of times but Nicole thought it was best to cut off all ties.

She had been working day and night with Dana trying to set up the school of technology for the kids. They were just a couple of days away from opening and tomorrow was the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Nicole hadn’t been feeling very well. She assumed with everything that had happened over the last six months she was lucky she hadn’t had a nervous breakdown. She was in the office trying to make sure all the paperwork for the school was in order. She’d been standing at the file cabinet when she started to feel light headed. Nicole sat down in the nearest chair. It took a moment for the spell to pass.

Dana walked into the office. “Hey Nicole….Nicole? Are you ok? You don’t look good.”

“Thanks Dana for that boost to my self-esteem.”

“That sarcastic mouth of yours is going to be the death of you. Seriously, are you ok? You look flushed. Let me get you some water.”

“I’m fine. I just haven’t been feeling very well lately.”

Dana knelt down by Nicole and felt her forehead. “Well, you don’t have a fever. What’s been bothering you?”

“It’s really weird. One minute, I’m starving and the next I want to throw it all up.”

“Hmm…what else?”

“Well, certain smells drive me crazy, I’m tired all the time, and lately I’ve been having these dizzy spells.”

“Nicole, when was the last time you had your period?”

Nicole thought back for a moment and then her eyes got wide as saucers.

“Was it before you left for Fiji?”

“Dana don’t even go there. That’s impossible.”

“Is it? I know you didn’t really want to talk much about your time on the island so I didn’t push but it’s obvious something happened. You’ve been different. And, as far as I know, you and Todd haven’t been together in months. Is it really so impossible?”

“Dana, he’s trying to make things work with his ex-wife. I can’t be pregnant.”

“Well, first things first, you need to take a pregnancy test. No point in worrying if you don’t have to. And, then we’ll figure it out from there.”

A half an hour later, Dana came back from the local drugstore with a pregnancy kit. And, twenty minutes after that Nicole confirmed she was going to be a mother.

*****

The very next day was the ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the school. All the local dignitaries were gathered and in the far corner of the room stood Davis Chatham. Nicole’s heart almost stopped. She’d barely had 24 hours to digest the news that she was pregnant and there he stood all 6’4 inches of him.

Dana had told her that she didn’t think he would actually come to the ceremony since the school was so small and he’d only given her the money as a favor to his sister.

The two hour ceremony was all a blur. However, Nicole was pretty sure she smiled in all the right places and shook all the necessary hands. Thank goodness it was almost over and that she had managed to avoid Davis. It was as if Nicole hand conjured him up because as soon as she’d finished her thought she felt his presence behind her. As she was finishing up a conversation with one of the remaining guests, she heard his voice.

“Excuse me. Nicole, do you think I could have a word?”

She briefly closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around “Of course, Mr. Chatham. I’ll be with you in one moment.”

Davis waited while she finished her conversation. It bothered him that she was so formal. He would usually have sent one of his representatives or even a letter to this type of event but he needed to see her. He’d wondered if she was still as beautiful as he remembered. Stressful situations sometimes have a way of making people think and feel things that maybe a person otherwise wouldn’t. But, in this case, she was even more beautiful. Those big curls were still as unruly as ever as they fell over her shoulders. The conservative navy blue dress with the cap sleeves fit her like a glove. The sweetheart neckline brought back memories of him kissing her. She had the most beautiful skin he’d ever seen. It was as smooth as hot caramel. Nicole was a curvy girl but it seemed she might have lost a little weight. After a closer look she also looked a bit tired. Maybe she was working too hard. He’d find out and make sure she was okay. It had been two long hours before he could finally speak with her. Of course, all the dignitaries wanted some of his time and a photo. He’d tried to convince himself that he only came because he wanted to make sure she was ok. She hadn’t answered any of his messages and that bothered him.

Nicole didn’t think she had the energy for this meeting. She was standing face to face with the father of her child. She plastered on a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Sorry that took so long. I hope you liked the school. Dana’s been working really hard on it.” Nicole knew she was rambling but she was so nervous.

“You guys have done a great job. But, what I really want to know is why haven’t you answered any of my calls?”

Nicole couldn’t meet his eyes so she looked down at the floor “I...I didn’t think that was such a good idea. Sometimes it’s better to just cut ties and move on.”