Complete Indelible Love Series

by Cee, DW

  “What brings you up here, Commoner?” Donovan said as he and Jake laughed at the stupid comment.

  “Ha ha ha,” I muttered.

  “What’s with the covert conversation in the corner, here? You even separated yourself from your wife, Jake. Shocking!” I was doing my best to pry.

  “That would be none of your business, and we only moved to the corner because Emily is sleeping.”

  “Bummer… I wanted to have a chat with Emily.”

  “Well,” Jake said, “chat with her later, because this’ll be her last peaceful rest.”

  “All right, I won’t bother her. But I do have a question for you, o’ brother o’ mine.”

  Both guys looked at me expectantly.

  “What do you think about Laney and Josh?” Neither man made a move. Both faces were frozen and it was dead silence for longer than it was comfortable. “Well?” I broke the silence.

  “Negative, little sister. I don’t think the two suit.”

  “What do you mean? They’re darling together,” I protested to further my case.

  “Laney is darling with anyone. She’s a grand prize no matter who the guy is, but Josh is not it.”

  I gave my brother a what do you know look and he returned it with a helluva lot more than you do look.

  “Well, what do you think?” I turned it over to Donovan, hoping to get him on my side.

  “What the hell do I know about relationships? I can barely get my own going. I’m not a Reid. I don’t have a say.”

  Cryptic, much? I was fed up with the Donovan Downers in this corner of the plane, and Emily was stirring from her sleep, so I went to chat with my sister. As soon as I was settled, I noticed those two guys get back into their serious conversation, again.

  “Hey. Have a nice nap?” I asked while handing her a glass of water. You see how nice I can be???

  “I did. I tell you, lazy begets lazy. All I’ve done this whole trip is read and sleep.”

  “Perfect. That’s why Jake brought you on this trip. You excited to see the little imps, again?”

  “Oh yeah! I missed them so much. But the weird thing was, once I got used to the luxury of the hotel and the luxury of having me to myself, I didn’t miss them as much as I thought I would. Does that make me a bad mom?”

  “The worst kind,” I kidded, and we both laughed. “I’ve wanted to talk to you about something for a while now, and haven’t had the guts to bring it up till now.”

  Emily looked a bit scared and lost with my statement. She was so genuinely beautiful. If I were a man, I’d fall head over heels in love with this woman, in a heartbeat...just like my big bro’.

  “Have I done something to upset you?” Classic Emily—she placed the blame on herself, first.

  “Oh, geez, Emily!” That came off more exasperated-sounding than intended, “You did nothing wrong. It’s me who’s been in the wrong for a while.” Now she looked thoroughly confused. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a brat to you all this time.”

  There. It was said. I’ve gotten it off my chest and I’ve confessed my sins.

  “Jane.” Emily hugged me. “You’re so silly sometimes. Would you think I was a nut if I told you it thrills me to know that you feel comfortable enough to be a brat to me? I’m still learning about all the different dynamics within a large family. All of this is so new and so much fun.” I saw Jake walk over, probably to make sure his wife was not being terrorized by the little sister. “I love you! And I love you and Max together, and I hope only good things for the both of you in the future. Let’s always be open and honest with one another, okay?”

  “All right...” A fitting word for all that was going on in my life... All Right!

  April 18, 2013 Ferreting

  “So…can I ask what happened between you and Laney in the hotel room back on the Big Island?”

  “No…you may not ask what happened between me and Delaney in the hotel room back on the Big Island,” he said with the same intonation as mine.

  “Why not,” I asked Donovan, “what’s there to hide? What’s going on between you two?”

  “Why the 20 questions? It’s not like I ask what happened between you and Max in the hotel room on the Big Island.”

  “Like that isn’t obvious, already. Like you don’t know the answer to that one.” We both laughed.

  “What happened between me and Delaney is no big deal, but I don’t think she wants it known. And there’s nothing going on between me and Delaney.”

  “But why did you guys argue so much in Hawaii? You two were behaving like brothers and sisters with all the fighting, or you were like an old married couple.”

  He just looked at me, but said nothing.

  “So which is it? Are you the brother and sister or the old married couple?”

  “We are neither, my little vixen. We are…I don’t know what the hell we are. She sees me as an overbearing older man, and I see her as a pain in my ass.”

  Maybe it was because Laney and Donovan have known each other all their lives that they had this weird tug and pull going on these days. I was sure it wasn’t that they were attracted to each other. They were so different and they were at such different stages in their lives. He was also so much older than she was. Why, there was like a decade difference between the two of them. I got the feeling that Laney did not want another older brother in Donovan. And Donovan felt the need to protect her when he was with her and our clients. And from there, she probably got upset with him meddling in her life. Oddly she was a lot more of a free spirit than I ever thought she would be.

  Speaking of clients, we were having dinner tonight with our Taiwanese clients as a celebratory meal. They followed us back to Los Angeles, we accomplished a few more items that were not on the agenda, and before they left, they wanted to buy us dinner as a thank you for the great time in Hawaii. In all honesty, we should’ve been the ones thanking them. We hardly worked in Hawaii. I think we worked maybe eight hours, and even for me as the peon of the group, I didn’t work that much. We should be buying them dinner, but instead, they insisted on buying us dinner. Another odd thing, Kate decided to go out of town, then go back to London for a little while. She said she needed to help the London office settle with the new clients she brought into the firm. I think that was just her excuse to step away from Donovan and their troubles. Whatever!

  “So if you’re not going to answer me about Laney, you gonna answer some questions about Kate?”

  “Boy, you’re really nosy tonight! I don’t know if I’ll answer any questions, but you can try asking...” he smirked.

  “What’s the story there? Why was she so upset and aloof with you in Hawaii and why is she in London now?”

  He gave me that famous Donovan smile, but didn’t say a word, again.

  “Kate and I are at an impasse right now.”

  “Impasse? What does that mean?”

  “Let’s just say that she and I agree to disagree for now.”

  “So it’s not over?” I sounded a little too eager asking that question. Donovan arched his eyebrow in response to my eager beaver question.

  “I don’t know if it’s ever over between us. We just continue and are always at an impasse at some point in our relationship.”

  “How are you ever going to have a real relationship with a girl when Kate is always in the background hovering? What is she, iCloud? She’s always ready and available for download?”

  Donovan busted up. “When did you become my IT girl?”

  “Isn’t that a bit unfair to your next girlfriend?”

  “Why, you want to audition for the role?” He asked as though it were a challenge.

  “Are you offering?” I dared him back.

  “For you my vixen, that offer still stands.”

  This time I busted up at his comment. “You’re such a liar! You could’ve beaten Usain Bolt’s 100-meter dash record with the way you sprinted to Kate as soon as she arrived. You dr
opped me like a hot potato.”

  “There was nothing to drop since I never held you to begin with.” Once again, another dare…. Was I going to pick up the gauntlet and answer this dare?

  “Things are really good with me and Max right now. I’m good. Max is good. We are good! I don’t want to ruin it. We worked through a lot of stuff, and I think this is the best we have ever been. I like where we are, so don’t dangle your apple.” I left him with that ultimatum.

  “If everything is so good, why are you even tempted? How can I possibly be the snake in the Garden of Eden, my beautiful Eve?” This serpent had such a way with words.

  “Shut up,” I said, and slapped him on the arm. “Just drive the car and let’s drop this whole conversation.” That was a cowardly way out, but hey, it was a way out. There was something about Donovan that was always tempting, no matter what stage of life I was in. Maybe it was his good looks, or maybe it was his cocky self-assured attitude. I don’t know what it was, but he was definitely the fruit of temptation, waiting to be eaten (in the Biblical figurative-sense, of course).

  We pulled up to the quintessential LA restaurant, Spago, the same time Laney and Josh pulled up.

  “You’re a bit out of your comfort zone, aren’t you?” I posed a question that had a myriad of possible meanings and answers.

  “Why whatever do you mean, Sis?”

  His last word brought a huge smile to my face. Though, the last thing I needed was two more brothers.

  “You want me to pick you up later?” Josh’s voice changed whenever he spoke to Laney. Normally he sounded like a rascal, but with her, he sounded like a love-sick puppy.

  “That’s okay, Josh. You go hang out with your buddies. I’ll catch a ride home with Jane. No need for you to make that extra trip.”

  “It’s no trouble if you want me to come and pick you up.”

  “Thank you for the offer, but it’s silly to have you bother when Jane and I live on the same street.”

  “You know it’s no bother, right?”

  Laney looked a bit uncomfortable, and Donovan and I looked like voyeurs .

  “See you later,” she said with a perky smile.

  “I’ll see you at the birthday party?” Josh added one more question in an attempt to stop Laney from departing.

  “Absolutely.” Laney answered with a dazzling smile that left Josh practically drooling, me smiling at the cute young love-in-blossom, and Donovan...I didn’t know how to explain the look on his face—odd? Unreadable? Idk, Idc, whatever...

  Laney gave us a tentative wave hello, and Donovan walked over and gave her a semi hug. It looked like she was about to refuse his hug, but quickly decided against it, so they looked very awkward.

  “Thank you for joining us for dinner, Delaney.” Donovan, too, was extra sweet to her. Did someone designate today as be-kind-to-Laney day and forget to send me the memo? “It was cool of you to agree to have dinner with all of us. Both Weston and Brad wanted to see you one last time.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad I can help you and Jane.”

  Donovan held the door for both of us, and our clients were already waiting for us in the patio. They insisted on ordering the ten-course Chef’s tasting meal, so there was no escaping this long night!

  “Delaney, have you ever been to Hong Kong?” Weston asked, while sipping his champagne.

  “No I haven’t. But I would love to go. I’ve only seen Japan in Asia.”

  “You should come visit. Hong Kong is an amazing place to be.”

  “Aren’t you both from Taiwan?”

  “Yes, but Brad and I live in Hong Kong. When do you graduate?”

  “May.”

  “If I sent you my plane, would you come visit me?” Yikes! Weston was coming on strong. And I’d say by the looks of that scowl on his face, big brother Donovan was emerging. Laney noticed as well, and quickly cut Weston off.

  “Thank you for the invitation, but I’m going to London as soon as I graduate.”

  “Why London? What’s in London?”

  “Nothing is in London except my grandmother’s flat. I’ve just decided that’s what I want to do for a year.”

  “Then, can I come see you in London?” This guy was coming on even stronger, and wouldn’t take a hint. I thought about helping Laney out, but a curious side of me wanted to see how she’d handle this situation. And, an even more curious side of me wanted to see how Donovan would handle this situation.

  Laney looked really uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat just as five servers came with our next course and she knocked over the bowl of agnolotti pasta right out of the server’s hands and into her dress. To me, that dish was the best thing on this menu, and it spilled all over her pretty dress. The server was horrified and mortified. The rest of us didn’t quite know how to help her. As smooth as ever, Donovan got up from his seat, went over to her with his napkin, and carefully transferred the pasta from her dress to his napkin.

  “You okay?” He asked her gently.

  She looked like a Madame Alexander doll with beet red cheeks, embarrassed by the ruckus she caused, and nodded that she was all right. At this point, the general manager came over, the sommelier was over, and even Wolfgang Puck came over to our table. As soon as people started making an even greater fuss of her situation, she calmly excused herself and hied off to the ladies’ room. Donovan actually looked more upset for her than she was for herself.

  In the madness of it all, I got a call from Josh and stepped outside to talk to him, and to get away from the awkward scene waiting to develop when Laney arrived.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “My bro’ wants me to pick you up and bring you to the hospital. Can you let me know when you might be done?”

  “Why does he want you to pick me up?”

  “Dunno. I’m doing his bidding. Can you also have Laney with you when I come by?”

  “A-ha! So that’s your ploy? Use me and your brother as a decoy so you can spend more time with my cousin?”

  “I wish I were clever enough to have come up with that.” He cracked up. “It was entirely Max, but it benefits us all.”

  “Sounds good. Will be in touch.”

  Everything was back to normal, and everyone was politely conversing. Gratefully, the talk was all about business, so Laney was able to hide in the background.

  When the meal was over, both our clients offered to drive Laney home, to which she politely but firmly said no. Good for her. I explained to her and Donovan about my ride situation, and she surprisingly declined my invitation as well. And even before Donovan uttered a sound, she told him she’d call a cab to come pick her up.

  “Delaney...don’t be silly. I live right by your parents’ home. I can drop you off.”

  She sighed. “I’d really like some time to myself, and to be myself. I don’t like it when I have to pretend to be happy.” Now that the clients were gone, her lips formed into an impressive pout. I swear, she could make money modeling for doll makers. “Sorry. I’ve said too much. Ok...I’ll go with you if we can leave now, and if you promise not to talk to me in the car.”

  Donovan looked like he was about to disagree, but saw how unhappy Laney was, so he acquiesced.

  “Jane, I’m sorry but would you be angry with me if we left you here by yourself? I don’t want to have to turn down another ride home. I’m mentally exhausted.”

  Um...well...angry would be a strong word, but I was irritated she’d suggested it. But...whatever! “No. Don’t worry about it. Josh should be here soon.”

  “Thanks, Jane. I owe you one,” she practically shouted her words while racing to catch the door the valet was holding for her.

  Ok...ho-hum...

  “Hey Sis, get in!” A cheerful voice called out.

  I sat in the front seat, but Josh wouldn’t leave. “What’s up?” I queried. “Why aren’t we leaving?”

  “What about Laney? Where’s she?”

 
; “I thought it was me you wanted to see!” Of course I knew it wasn’t.

  “Would it piss you off if I said it wasn’t? I was hoping to spend some more time with your cousin.”

  “Does my cousin know you’re this interested in her?”

  “I tried to tell her, but she wasn’t willing to listen. She cut me off, and told me that she would like to get to know me solely as a friend.” He sounded disappointed. “Is she seeing somebody right now? Is she interested in anyone?”