A Date in the Dark

Available HERE

By Zee Monodee

The very first time I heard about Decadent Publishing, it was through their 1NightStand line. A friend of mine with the house back then emailed me and urged me to write something to submit to this line—the reasoning being that 1NS takes place all over the world, and I could thus use the location of my home island, Mauritius, as the base for the story.

Now, I had no clue about the line, and this is how I went searching for the guidelines and requirements...to find out that 1NightStand is a dating agency run by Madame Eve. She pairs people on blind dates, for - of course - one night. Up to the couple to decide whether they will walk out together when morning comes.

This, to me, spelled out a night of loving and then the inevitable leaving of morning.... My heroine, Simmi Moyer, came to me on a sudden flash of inspiration. She would be a career girl, already high up on the executive ladder, but lacking the fulfilment of body and heart. Maybe Madame Eve could help...

But Simmi never bargained that she would also find the fulfilment of her soul as well with the man this lady pairs her up with for a night. Lars Rutherford is his name. He is everything she could’ve asked for in a man...but he is hers only for the night.

Only in the dark...

Around that same time when I was conceiving this story, I stumbled upon this track by singer Jojo. The whole video - with lyrics, tone, setting, and emotion - struck me as the embodiment of what my 1NightStand story would be.

Take a listen, and then take a chance on my story, Once Upon A Stormy Night... Let me know if you agree with using this song as the unofficial soundtrack for the tale.

Blurb:

British billionaire Lars Rutherford came to the tiny island of Mauritius to take over directorship of his best friend’s shipping company. He’s not here for anything but the job, or—to the chagrin of the many matchmaking society mamas in the country—to find the ‘right woman’ for him.

Corporate legal affairs specialist Simmi Moyer is rich, beautiful, successful, and climbing the executive ladder with tremendous speed. She’s got it all—or does she? Mauritian society shuns her for being single and childless, and nothing she accomplishes will ever be enough.

Lars isn’t looking for a woman; Simmi isn’t looking for a man. Both just want one night to forget their precarious position in this traditional, culture-driven society.

The tempest brewed by uncalled-for yearning in their hearts when they meet, and the desire for something more substantial than one night of pleasure, builds between them, while outside, a real-life cyclone storms on the island and ensconces them in a world where only the two of them exist.

Before the night is over, both Lars and Simmi will have to decide whether each will walk out the next morning alone, or if they can put themselves on the line to step out together.

From Mauritius with love,

Zee