I Just Can't Stop Loving You (4 page)

She slipped out of the bed and hurried to the front room and secured the door. She skipped back to the bedroom. He’d be gone for a week and she looked forward to his return.

****

Satoshi knocked on Takumijo’s hotel room door. Everyone was up and about and Takumijo hadn’t put in an appearance for breakfast. This sent Masaaki into a hissy fit and the man sent Satoshi to go in search for him.

A very grumpy Takumijo finally opened the door. He had a bad case of bed head and he only wore the bottom half of his pajamas. “What the hell do you want?”

“We have to be on a plane in an hour. Get ready.”

Takumijo groaned. “I’m too tired.”

Satoshi eyed him curiously. “Why?”

“None of your business,” Takumijo said.

Satoshi crossed his arms in front of him. Takumijo was hiding something. He looked him over. Blood shot eyes, paler than normal complexion, and guilt written all over him.
Sex
. “Don’t tell me you hooked up with one of those strippers?”

“Leave me alone,” Takumijo said, staring daggers at him.

Satoshi smiled. No, Takumijo would be bragging about instead of hiding it  if he’d scored with a stripper. Satoshi tried to peep around Takumijo, which was impossible since Takumijo’s shoulders took up a lot of door space.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to see who you took to your bed last night.”

“She isn’t here,” Takumijo answered.

Satoshi raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Satoshi said. “Get dressed.”

“You’ve giving up already?” Takumijo asked.

“Yeah,” Satoshi answered, walking away. “I like her. She’s a keeper.”

Takumijo chuckled and closed his door.

Satoshi headed back to his own room to make sure he had packed everything he needed. They’d only be in Osaka for a week, then would fly back to Paris to rejoin their group and head for Amsterdam. But the only thing he cared about was seeing Shaundra again. He’d talked to her a couple of times since they left Osaka. She sounded fine, but he knew her well enough to know that she wasn’t okay. He’d spoken to Daichi a few times as well. The plans for the christening had been finalized and would occur once Aomori’s tour ended. He and Takumijo would stand in as the babies’ godfathers along with Cristal and Etsuko Yoshida. Speaking of Cristal, he hadn’t seen her and wondered if she was ready to go. He picked up his phone and dialed her. She answered quickly.

“Hello?”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Meet me in the lobby.”

“Okay,” Cristal said. She hung up.

Satoshi smiled. They didn’t have to identify themselves on the phone anymore.
Spooky
. One of these days they’d be finishing each other’s sentences and wearing matching outfits. He grabbed the handle of his suitcase and rolled it to the door and out into the hall.

Takumijo, believe it or not, had dressed and was walking down the hall in front of him. They rode down on the elevator together and met the rest of the gang in the lobby. Cristal looked like she’d been out all night, hiding her sleep-deprived eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses. Satoshi took the handle of her suitcase and wheeled it out of the door along with his, leaving Cristal to lug her laptop and purse. They all climbed into a hotel van. Masaaki climbed in last and sat next to the driver. Ichiro sat by one of the windows, looking out. Satoshi sighed. This had to be rough on him. Their youngest member’s life would be changing in a couple of days. He’d be a father with two more mouths to feed. They hadn’t had a chance to talk privately since they left Osaka, but he was sure Ichiro carried around a heavy burden on his shoulders since he and Shaundra had parted ways over a month ago.

To his knowledge, the two of them hadn’t spoken, which he knew was eating Ich alive inside. But he’d brought most of it on himself. Maybe he should have dated other women before proposing to Shaundra. Things might have turned out differently if he had. Ichiro had told all of them that he hadn’t cheated on Shaundra. Satoshi couldn’t be sure if he spoke the truth or not. A year ago, he probably would have believed him, but Ichiro had changed and wasn’t their naïve maknae anymore. And if he hadn’t actually slept with Eri, why had he called out her name while making love with Shaundra? Satoshi settled back in his seat and fastened his seatbelt.
So foolish
. He’d never make that mistake.

“What time is the nanny candidate arriving?” Shaundra Yoshida asked her boss and good friend Harper Kehoe as they sat in the den of the farmhouse in Osaka, Japan. So far, she had interviewed about ten people and found fault with all of them. With less than a couple days before her confinement into the hospital, she was running out of time. Doctor Sou, her Obstetrician, had arranged for her to check into the hospital by the end of the week for a scheduled Cesarean section since he didn’t think it was safe to wait any longer.

“Soon,” Harper said, sipping his Earl Grey tea. “I think you’re going to like this one.”

Harper looked especially good this afternoon in a dark blue suit and grey shirt that brought out the color in his hazel eyes. At forty-one, he still cut a dashing figure, and he had a great body. They’d been friends for over twenty years now, since he’d opened his publishing company in New York and accepted her first manuscript.

Shaundra picked up her cup. “You said that about the others.” She sipped and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” Harper asked.

Shaundra put the cup down. “I don’t think I’ll ever get the hang of drinking tea. I miss coffee.”

He reached over and patted her hand. “You can have all the coffee you want after the babies are born.”

“I won’t have time to drink coffee then,” she said with a weak smile. “I’ll be too busy tending to their needs.”

“Awe, come on. It won’t be so bad.”

Shaundra shook her head. “When was the last time you changed a diaper?”

“Twenty-four years ago and he’s still causing problems. I swear, I don’t know where his head is at sometimes.”

Harper’s son Damien attended graduate school with her youngest daughter Tricia back in New York, and had been quite the handful to his father for years. Harper had another son, Kevin, who at eighteen was considered a genius and had companies all over the world trying to hire on the college freshman.

“He’ll be graduating in a couple of months so half the battle is over,” Shaundra told him.

“If he graduates,” Harper said angrily. “His grades aren’t the best and he hasn’t decided on what type of field he wants to specialize in.”

“Ah, so he’s still majoring in fun,” Shaundra teased.

“And minoring in girls,” Harper said.

“So, he’s pretty much a chip off the old block.” She’d heard many stories about Harper and his wild youth.

“No, I had calmed down by then and met his mother.”

Harper very seldom spoke of his ex-wife and never in a positive way.

“Well, maybe Damien will find some nice young woman and settle down,” Shaundra said.

The doorbell rang.

Shaundra struggled to get to her feet.

“Sit,” Harper ordered. “I can do this.” He rose and left her in the den.

Shaundra sighed, wondering what this nanny would be like. Finding someone capable of taking care of two babies and who could deal with the Aomori circus was not going to be easy. She looked over at the television screen. The entertainment news was about to come on, but she had turned down the volume to talk to Harper. Shaundra reached for the remote. Footsteps echoed in the hallway that led from the front door. Well, she’d just have to see the news later.

“Shaundra, this is Dae-Hyun Choi.”

Shaundra struggled to her feet and smoothed down the hem of her maternity dress. She lifted her head to see the nanny candidate and a broad smile graced her face.

“Dae-Hyun, this is Shaundra….”

“Morrison,” Dae-Hyun said. “I’ve read all your books.”

A hot blush rushed up Shaundra’s neck and spread across her cheeks. Before her stood six feet of incredible-looking Asian yumminess. She tried to maneuver over to him, but her belly got in the way. The babies picked that moment to get active inside her womb. Harper rushed over to her and steadied her on her feet. Shaundra extended her hand and Dae-Hyun walked over and accepted it. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Choi.” She paused. “Dae-Hyun? That’s not Japanese, is it?”

“No, Korean,” Dae-Hyun answered in perfect English.

His voice brought on another smile and he had big hands. Her body trembled and a warm feeling ran down to her toes.
Down, cougar
.

Dae-Hyun smiled at her and released her hand.

“Have a seat,” Harper told both of them.

Shaundra looked over at Harper, almost forgetting he was there too.

Shaundra sat down on the sofa next to him while Dae-Hyun sat across from them. This gave her an opportunity to check the young man out thoroughly. So far, she liked what she saw. “How old are you?”

“Thirty,” Dae-Hyun answered.

The cougar inside of her growled.

“You should see this resume,” Harper said. “He has excellent credentials.”

And a cute, sexy little smile
, Shaundra mused. Damn and she thought Yi-jun Lee was a stunner. He had nothing on this one.

“I’ve checked out his resume and got references. He was the nanny for a prominent household in Korea before the family moved to the United States on business.” He handed the folder to Shaundra. “Stop gawking at the young man and try to pay attention,” Harper told her.

“Party pooper,” Shaundra told him, watching Dae-Hyun squirm a little in his seat. She opened the folder and began reading through the very impressive resume while Harper continued to talk to Dae-Hyun. He’d lived in a United States a couple of years, which would explain his English skills. He’d graduated from college, majored in Early Childhood Education, and had several degrees in martial arts. Shaundra stopped reading, looked over at him, and noticed the muscles under the black jacket. She smirked and went back to reading. He’d worked as a bodyguard for about a year and was a licensed dietician. She lifted her eyes again and trained them on him. Dae-Hyun had an amazing set of lips. She shuddered and went back to the file. His hobbies were ballroom dancing and preparing international cuisine. He had culinary skills? Now why did that get a rise out of her? She smirked. Dae-Hyun was just too good to be true. She closed the folder. “You are aware that you’ll be responsible for two babies?”

“Yes, Ms. Morrison,” Dae-Hyun said, bowing politely.

“It’s Mrs. Yoshida,” Harper corrected.

“Yes, sorry, Mrs. Yoshida.”

“Shaundra is married to Ichiro Yoshida of the Japanese pop group Aomori,” Harper told him. “I suppose you’ve heard of him.”

“Yes, sir,” Dae-Hyun said. “They’re very popular in Korea too.” He paused. “Shouldn’t he be here too? I mean, wouldn’t he want to meet the person who could be the nanny for his children?”

Shaundra rolled her eyes. “Well, he’s on tour in Europe right now. You’ll meet him soon enough. The two of you have many things in common. He’s into martial arts and he’s a chef.”

“I look forward to meeting him,” Dae-Hyun said.

She heard the sincerity of his words, but his eyes said something else. Shaundra smirked. “When can you start?”

****

“Tell me more about Mrs. Yoshida,” Dae-Hyun said to Harper as they traveled together to the hotel where Dae-Hyun stayed. The two men rode in Harper’s chauffeured town car.

“What would you like to know?” Harper asked.

“Everything,” Dae-Hyun answered. “I can’t protect her unless I know more.”

Harper looked over at the young man and shook his head. He’d kind of hoped this one would not be swept away by Shaundra’s personality like every other man who crossed her path. “She’s fifty-one years old and has four grown children who live in the United States. She met Ichiro a year ago when I dragged her to Japan to help me promote KiNii, a publishing company I own with Mr. Goro Niigata, Aomori’s boss. Three other writers accompanied us and Mr. Niigata got this idea to join three Japanese writers with the American writers for publicity. He also decided that it might be nice to include Aomori, and it probably all would have turned out differently had the lead singer, Yori Morioka, not gotten the hots for Shaundra.”

“Yori and Shaundra had a thing?”

Harper scratched his head. “I don’t know how to describe what they had, but in the end, she chose Ichiro.”

“What else?” Dae-Hyun asked.

“Shaundra and Ichiro got married in the United States while Aomori was there on tour. One of her fans tried to kill her right before that, and Aomori’s fans still hate her for marrying Ichiro.”

“Define this hate.”

“You know, threatening emails and blasts over the Internet. So she moved here to be with her husband and they began having marital problems. Shaundra left Ichiro and was nearly killed in an earthquake and tsunami. Luckily, she was rescued and taken to a hospital in Tokyo. Everyone thought she had perished, but then one of the members of Aomori hired a detective who found her in the hospital. She was in a coma, but awakened without any apparent damage done to her physically. She returned to her husband who learned for the first time about Shaundra’s pregnancy. The two of them seemed to be happy for a while, and then she told me that Ichiro cheated on her before he left for the European tour. Now you’re all caught up.”