Carved in Stone (The Stone Series) (2 page)

             
An unbearable stabbing pain sliced through Aidan’s chest and it took all of his strength to keep composed, in complete control, locking his emotions down. After all, he was looking after Gabriella’s best interests, ending it for
her
sake, saving
her
from further pain, but why in the hell did it feel so fucking wrong? And what the fuck was wrong with his chest!

             
After refusing Aidan’s repeated offer to drive her home, Gabriella went into his bedroom to dress and call her cousin Mia to pick her up. This reaction only served to piss him off more, at himself, towards her, than he already was. Damn stubborn woman! Her stubbornness was one of the rare traits he didn’t think was so fucking adorable about her.

             
Aidan waited patiently by the front door as she walked slowly towards him carrying her overnight bag on her shoulder. At first she refused to meet his eyes so he called her name in a firm authoritative tone. As he expected, she instantly raised her eyes to meet his. He opened his mouth but she silenced him further from expressing –
what the fuck - he didn’t have a clue what he wanted to say
– by reaching up on her toes, giving him a small sad smile that only increased that stabbing pain within his chest, placed a gentle kiss on his jaw and with a strength, grace and dignity far beyond that of her young years, she left without so much as a glance back.

             
For several long minutes Aidan stood as the early morning sunlight filtered through his front door, looking out past his driveway where Gabriella had left, feeling ambivalent and unexpectedly empty. Grimly he closed his front door and walked back out towards his patio.

             
Pouring himself another drink, Aidan sat contemplating his life, incredulously second-guessing his decision to end it with Gabriella. Second-guessing decisions was something Aidan never did in both his professional or personal life.

What the fuck was wrong with him!

              He did the right thing – for her and for him. The whole bullshit love and relationships path was not for him. He had an empire to run, to control and at present, he was shit knee deep in a complicated acquisition and merger that if successful, would not only ensure justice for his mother’s stolen assets, extracting long awaited retribution on her behalf but a positive result in his favor, would guarantee full controlling interest in the one company, amongst the many he owned, he had yet to procure.

             
Downing the glass of whisky in one gulp he poured himself another one, trying restlessly to drown the painful unabating ache that had laid siege in his chest as the dawn leisurely kissed the horizon over the majestic Pacific Ocean.

Chapter One

             
“Morning G. Rise and shine,” chirps Mia annoyingly, jumping onto the bed with enough force, my body jostles from the impact.

S
nuggling deeper into my pillow, I groan, “Go away.”

             
“Enough moping Gabby, come on get up. Now!” Chides Mia, tugging the sheet that’s covering my body and off of the bed.

             
“It’s time to get up, get ready for work or else we’ll be late for Thursday morning coffee with the girls.”

             
“I said GO. AWAY. M!” I growl, squinting my eyes open to read the time on the bedside clock.

Five thirty-two.

Really?

             
“Jesus Mia, it’s not even six yet. And I’m not mopping. I’m sleeping; there is a difference you know. Also, I don’t drink coffee… remember?”

             
“Nope, I’m not leaving until you get up,” counters Mia, springing from the bed and yanking the bedroom curtains aside.

             
“Besides, who doesn’t drink coffee? That’s just weird G. I’ll never understand your dislike of caffeine. It’s the nectar of the Gods.”

             
I love Mia to pieces but there are those times where I also want to ring her perfect slender little neck with my bare hands. And this morning is fast shaping up to be one of those times.

             
“Whatever,” I mutter, rolling my eyes. Oh my God, can Mia prattle on sometimes.

              “Look Gabby, I know you’ve had a really rough, shitty week but babe it’s a new day and honestly, I can’t stand to see you like this for one day more. I’m concerned about you, I’ve never seen you like this,” states Mia, her tone threaded with undisguised worry.

             
Early morning sun filters cheerfully through the bedroom window as I blink sluggishly, adjusting to the morning light and focusing my gaze onto my gorgeous cousin who is standing at the foot of my bed fully dressed. On second thought, maybe today isn’t one of those days.

             
Mia is looking down at me, her eyes wide and silently anxious; her full cupid lips are pinched into a straight taut line. Worry taints her normally carefree countenance and it becomes transparently obvious, Mia’s concern for me this past week has taken its toll on her too. As hard as I tried to hide it, I know she’s heard me crying myself to sleep every night.

             
After sobbing into Mia’s arms all last Saturday night and most of Sunday, I was determined not to mope further in front of her. But I should’ve known I could never fool her – she knows me all too well. Mia and I have always had a close and unbreakable bond – she’s a true sister to me in every way that matters.

This is not how I envisaged our lives together when I moved here. Ten months ago my mom died in a car crash, my dad threw himself into travelling continuously for work in order to deal with his overwhelming grief from her death and my brother Dean… well he’s off back-packing somewhere through Europe with two of his best friends. At first, I resented Dean for leaving on a six-month holiday so soon after our mom died but in reflection, I know now this is his way of dealing with his own grief at the loss of our mom.

             
There was nothing left for me back home in my native country of Australia, so when Mia suggested I come to LA to live with her, I jumped at the chance. My mom was born and raised in Southern California and after meeting my dad she moved to Australia to be with the love of her life. Somehow, me moving to Los Angeles where she grew up would feel like I was bridging some of that gaping void and loneliness I’d felt since loosing her.

             
Living with Mia was meant to be a fresh new beginning for me. It was meant to be fun and exciting for both of us - the two of us taking on the world. But in the past six weeks I had un-expectantly met, fell head over heels in love and then had my heart painfully broken from the most breathtakingly beautiful, sexy, and enigmatic man I had ever met in my twenty-five years. If there were such a thing as a scale to measure awe-inspiring male hotness, Aidan Stone would be so far off that scale and into the next freaking universe it wouldn’t be funny.

             
Aidan made me feel alive, he touched me like no one ever had, he reached into the very heart of my soul setting it ablaze and just six short days ago he abruptly ended it, ended
us
, shattering my heart into a million tiny pieces in the process.  

             
Since last Saturday, I’ve felt a huge oppressive crushing weight pressing constantly down on my heart. It’s taken all of my strength just to breath in and out every day – to get enough oxygen into my lungs so I can function like a normal human being.  I keep asking myself – how?

How
did I fall so far, so damn hard for a man, who was clearly out of my league in the first place, and it occurred so lightening quick, so profoundly deep that now it is over, I feel trapped, chained in a bottomless pit of sadness?

             
Gazing into Mia’s troubled sapphire eyes, for the first time in six days I feel myself expressing a genuine heartfelt smile at my beautiful caring, compassionate cousin.

             
As if reading my thoughts, Mia nods her head once, returning my smile as she exhales on a sigh.

             
“Gabby”, she says gently, “It’s time to get over that narcissistic douchebag of a dickhead and the best revenge is moving on which includes…” she smiles with a mischievous wink of the eye. “…Thursday morning coffee with your girlfriends before we go to work. Or in your case a hot chocolate… you freak!”

Chuckling, I shake my head.

Narcissistic douchebag of a dickhead!

Huh
!

Well Mia is nothing if not creative with her insults.

And that’s one of the many reasons I love Mia to the moon and beyond.

             
“Okay, okay… I’m getting up. Would you stop with the Miss Positive attitude now? And I’m not a freak. You’re the freak…freak,” I say, poking my tongue out at her pouting.

             
“That’s my girl,” coos Mia, as she walks towards my wardrobe. “What are you going to wear today? Ooh I know… how about the black pencil skirt with this mint green silk blouse,” she says, holding up the blouse in question.

             
“This color looks great with your skin tone.”

             
“Whatever,” I grumble half-heartedly, waving my hand dismissively while stomping towards the bathroom as Mia continues to rummage through my wardrobe making mumbled comments regarding my apparel.

             
Two hours later, I’m sipping tea out of a travel mug in the passengers’ seat of Mia’s Jeep as she navigates the morning peak hour traffic on our way to the little coffee shop that’s located only a block over from where we both work. Working only several buildings apart from each other, it makes it easy for us to car pool together most days.               Staring absently out the window, a smile curves my mouth as I listen to Mia humming along with the radio while weaving strategically in and out of the traffic. Her driving is almost as erratic as Aidan’s…almost.

             
The last three days at work have flown by in a whirlwind of meetings, huge new learning curves and yet the hours have also passed in an oppressive grey haze of disconnection. So much so, I have felt like I’ve been on auto-pilot every waking second. Thoughts of Aidan continuously distract me, tormenting me constantly throughout the day. My nights are besieged with memories, an endless loop of images; Aidan touching me, caressing me, the feel of his warm breath on my neck, the taste of his sensual lips on mine, the sound of his warm rich voice and his unique alluring scent. Cinnamon and sandalwood are now fragrances I avoid like the plague.               This overwhelming sense of loss feels almost too achingly raw to bear alone in the darkness of evening, it literally takes all my strength to breathe through the sorrow as I desperately beg for sleep to come, a welcome reprieve from all the hurt.

             
Everyday for the past six days I have continually reminded myself that I’m not the first woman to experience a break up…and I won’t be the last. That, which doesn’t kill us, only makes us stronger. Another one of mom’s adages she used to quote to Dean & I all the time. The memory makes me smile with fondness despite everything I’m feeling right now.

             
Paralyzingly terrified did not even begin to describe how I was feeling on Monday morning as I walked into the opulent foyer of Stone Tower to commence my first day as the Assistant Events Coordinator for the Stone Corporation. Luckily Jeremiah met me before we descended the lifts to the tenth floor.

             
Initially, the firm Mia worked at, Morris Advertising employed me but Aidan’s conglomerate, the Stone Corporation, had acquired the small quirky advertising firm and as such they consolidated, absorbing many departments that weren’t essential or profitable in productivity.

             
Jeremiah who had been with Morris Advertising for a number of years as their Events Coordinator was promoted to the Events Director for the entire Stone Corporation’s vast holdings of subsidiaries. This was a huge advancement in Jeremiah’s career and one he couldn’t refuse. He was beside himself with glee and as far as I was concerned, it was a well-deserved promotion, Jeremiah excelled in his job and I felt it a huge honor just to be working under him.

             
I was also offered the position of Jeremiah’s assistant, second in charge of the Events Division, which at first I contested as I assumed the only reason I was offered the promotion in the first place, after barely being in my current role for a couple of months, was solely because my boyfriend was the CEO, he owned the whole freaking conglomerate.

             
A considerable advancement in my career based on nepotism was not something I aspired to. How would anyone in the events department let alone management and future clients take me seriously? I’d be forever known as the girl that only got the job because she’s sleeping with the boss.

             
I’d rather freaking work at MacDonald’s serving Big Mac’s than be
that
girl.

Would you like fries with that?