His Perfect Match

“Okay. Aunt Dee said we’re going to play hooky tomorrow and go to the zoo.”

“Sounds like fun, wish I could come along.”

“You can go with us next time.”

“Liz, your cab is here,” Dee called from the front of the small house.

“Be right there.” She leaned forward and hugged Marc close. “I’m going to miss you so much, but I’ll get back as soon as I can. I love you.”

“Love you too, Mommy.” He pecked her cheek and then, having done his duty, immediately began squirming to get free.

Liz slipped on her heavy winter coat and boots and, taking the small suitcase from her bedroom, headed for the living room where Dee was peeking out the window.

She placed a soft kiss on Dee’s shoulder. “Take care of my baby, Dee.”

Dee looked her directly in the eyes as if to convey the sincerity of her next words. “You know I will.”

Two and a half days later an exhausted Liz climbed the carpeted stairs leading to the welcome center of the Hawaiki Inn resort. Even in her bedraggled state Liz couldn’t help but be impressed by the elegant bungalow-style hotel.

She’d arrived on the courtesy van along with six other guests and all the others had already gone in to register. But she’d just stood on the porch taking in her new surroundings.

Liz wasn’t sure exactly what she expected but it certainly was not this warm and welcoming chocolate-colored wood-shingled village. Everything about the place said “Come inside my walls and rest.” And after her long trip she was more than ready to comply. The problem was that somewhere inside those walls awaited the confrontation of a lifetime.

It had only been two days since she’d left the snowy streets of Columbus, but she could’ve traveled to another world. Where Columbus was experiencing one of the worst winters on record, New Zealand was just entering its summer season. Where Columbus was all freezing winds and dirty snow, New Zealand was a lush green landscape sprinkled with flowers and trees of every color.

The welcome center sat back from a cliff top. Standing on the long, circular porch gave Liz a breathtaking view of a harbor with the clearest blue water she’d ever seen in her life. It sparkled like a pool of tiny crystals in the bright sunlight.

Colorful flowers were scattered in pots and growing wild throughout the complex. So many of them she was certain she’d never even heard of before.

Unable to put off the inevitable any longer she entered the lobby and found it just as colorful as its surroundings. The large open room was decorated in tangerine and royal purple. Large, plush sofas were spread around beside small wood tables beneath walls decorated with abstract artwork. Candles, lanterns and tiki torches adorned the room. As she crossed to the counter the last couple from the van were getting their room key.

“Welcome to Tairua, can I have your name please?” The young Maori man at the counter gave her a wide smile.

Liz felt her spine relax and only then did she realize she had expected to see Darius standing behind the counter. “Thank you. It’s Lisa Smith.” She gave the alias she’d registered under, fearing Darius would cancel her reservation if she used her real name.

“Yes, Ms. Smith, I have you right here.”

He punched something into the computer. “You will have the Nogomain bungalow.”

“Nogomain?”

The young man smiled. “All of our bungalows are named after Polynesian gods and goddesses. Nogomain was an aborigine god that gave spirit children to mortal parents.”

“Really?” Liz thought that maybe fate was sending her a positive sign given how desperately her mortal child needed some spiritual intervention. With impressive speed the attendant explained to her all the hotel’s amenities and gave her a small brochure to fill in the blanks.

A short while later, small suitcase in hand, she was wandering down the redbrick path that wound its way through the collection of small bungalows looking for Nogomain.

A couple passed her looking so completely in love that for a moment her heart ached for what she’d never had. Further down the walkway she saw a group of teens talking and laughing as they took the path that led down to the harbor. And, as she spotted her bungalow and approached it, she noticed a group of people off to her left, toasting their glasses. She placed the key in the lock of the door, glanced at the group and felt her heart stop.

There in the middle of the small crowd stood Darius looking like a Maori god himself. The years had changed him, but she knew it was him without a doubt. His perfect smile seemed even whiter. His light complexion had darkened to a golden bronze. His short-cropped dark hair had lightened to a sandy brown. Funny, I’d always thought his hair was black.

That single thought reminded her of just how little she knew about this man she was once engaged to. She quietly moved from the walkway across the plush grass to shield herself behind a nearby tree.

Where did that body come from? The Darius she remembered was lean and bordering on skinny. This man was full of muscles—everywhere. From his impressive pecs, over the six-pack abs to the thick thighs. If he’d been fully dressed in one of the business suits he use to wear constantly she would’ve wondered if anything was padded, but wearing only swim trunks revealed that the only thing padding his bulges and biceps was pure flesh.

She frowned. She didn’t remember him looking this good. She searched her memory and decided that was because he didn’t used to look this good. Time had obviously been good to him. She fought down the slight resentment she felt, realizing that while she’d been struggling to put herself through school and at the same time take care of a sick child he’d been here living the life of a real-life beach boy. But justice wouldn’t allow the resentment to simmer. Immediately her conscience asked the question: and whose fault is that?

She stood hidden behind the tree listening as he informed the group of guests about the evening’s activities, including a full luau dinner. Apparently the Hawaiki Inn went to great lengths to keep their guests entertained.

It didn’t take Liz long to realize there were changes other than his physical appearance. Darius had always been self-confident but there was a sternness about him that she’d never seen before. Despite the wide smile he gave his guests there was a hardness to him. Soft brown eyes that she remembered as being full of compassion were no longer tender. Now they were shrewd, analytical, as he scanned the group around him and sized up each individual.

For the first time Liz began to doubt her plan. She’d come to ask her ex-fiancé for the favor of a lifetime, but it appeared she’d arrived too late. It appeared that man no longer existed.

A few minutes later as she stood over her open suitcase preparing to unpack she was forced to admit Aunt Dee was right. Before she confronted Darius she would have to make a trip to the hotel gift shop and hope they had something in the way of clothing. There was no way she could approach the stranger she’d just encountered looking as defeated as she felt.

The old Darius would’ve taken pity on her and offered his help immediately. But the man she saw today would take one look at her lived-in linens and well-worn wools, realize she’d fallen on hard times and then proceed to eat her alive, all the while laughing at her temerity.

No, she was going to have to rethink her whole approach. She would have to exchange truth and desperation for cunning and manipulation. She closed up her suitcase and shoved it in the bottom of her closet all the while saying a silent prayer for strength and wisdom. Getting this new Darius to bend to her will was going to be a lot harder than she’d assumed.

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