by Cee, DW
“I’m sorry, Jane. I think I’ve had feelings for this little girl for a very long time but couldn’t admit it till I saw Delaney with this guy. Jake kept preaching Delaney as my perfect girl, but I didn’t believe him. I really didn’t. I thought my feelings for her were no different than my feelings for my sister, Rachel. I honestly believed it was you I was attracted to—otherwise, I wouldn’t have trifled with your feelings and hurt you and Max.”
I kept quiet. I’d actually forgotten about the mess I was in with Max.
“I was attracted to you for years, but I think some time ago, this attraction turned into a curiosity and a thrill of the chase. You and I have always been good, lifelong friends, and that’s the best place for us to be, past, present and future.”
I agreed without having said a word.
Stage 7—Course of Action: “Will there continue to be a Max & Jane?”
“What can I do to help you, Jane? I’ll make a visit to Mexico if I must to help you two get back together.”
“I think it’s me who needs to get my ass over to Mexico, and soon! There goes my track for partnership. No partner is going to vote for me with all these days I’m taking off.”
Donovan laughed. “Really? That’s your worry when you’re in deep shit with your boyfriend?”
“I think I’ve lost him for good this time. There’s no recourse for this one.” Donovan hugged me as the tears fell heavily. My drunken state wasn’t helping.
“I’m sorry, Jane. This was all my fault. Jake and I will fix this for you. I’ll rely on your brother’s resourcefulness to come up with a plan. And I’ll do everything in my power to get you and Max back together.”
“There’s nothing you or Jake can do. And I’m just as much at fault. I’ll ask Jake where Max is staying and make a visit. I’ll give it one last try and if that doesn’t work, I don’t know...”
“You let me know if you want me to go with you to help explain the situation.”
“Are you an idiot? If Max saw us walking together, he may hire the Mexican mafia to take you out.”
“Me? Why just me?”
“Because Max at least loved me at one point in his life. There’s no love for you, Buddy!”
We laughed because if we didn’t, we’d both be in tears.
“Hell, who’s trying to reach me at this hour?” I answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Where are you? Emily’s water broke, come to the hospital.”
That brought me out of my drunken stupor. “All right. I’ll see if we can book a red-eye home.”
“Who’s we?”
Shit. Shouldn’t have told my brother. I spit out the next long sentence in one breath before Jake started verbally tanning my hide. “Donovan-is-here-with-me-and-we-talked-everything-out-and-are-no-longer-playing-any-more-games-and-I-will-go-to-Mexico-and-beg-Max-to-forgive-me-because-I-love-Max-and-can’t-live-without-him!”
“I have never had to deal with two more idiotic adults than you and Donovan. Come home safely.” Jake said those last three words with much affection.
“I love you, Jake. And thank you.”
“I love you too, little sis. Come meet your newest niece or nephew.”
July 4, 2013 The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming!
It’s a BOY! We didn’t get to the hospital in time before the birth of my newest nephew, but when we got there, he was a gorgeous bundle of joy. But, before I give you details of what this little one looks like, Donovan and I got into another HUGE mess! And this time—yes, I am laughing—it’s Donovan who’s in deep shit, not me.
“Why are you pulling me into this room? Emily’s room is next door.”
“I know. But, I need to try one more thing.”
“No...!” I whined. “I don’t want to do this again. I thought we agreed that this was gross.” Donovan had his arms around me and was attempting to put his lips on mine. “Why the hell are you doing this again?”
“Look, I’m sorry. Just humor me, one last time. I need to be 100% sure that this isn’t it for us before I decide what I’m about to decide.”
“You are so convoluted with your words.” I tried to pull away, but he lightly tickled me and pulled me even closer to him during my moment of weakness.
“We were drunk on emotion when we first kissed. It was like we were on the rebound. Let me try this when we are both of a clear mind and decide this is definitely not it.”
“NO‼!” I pleaded. This situation made me laugh at this point. “I don’t want to make out with my brother, please...!”
“This will be the last favor I ask of you, Jane.”
“Oh, all right!” I acquiesced, but soon started giggling when his face got real close to mine.
Donovan, too, started laughing. “This is a shit of an idea, huh?” He said when our lips were separated only by an invisible sheet of paper. He couldn’t go any further than this. Donovan, too, knew this was unnecessary. We were NOT attracted to one another. Instead, Donovan lifted his head and was about to talk when we were distracted by someone.
“...Miss, that’s not the right room. It’s the one next door...”
“Okay...sorry...” a voice cried then disappeared.
Donovan dropped me—literally, he cursed everything and everyone to hell, then he did another Usain and bolted out of the room. I followed so I could see this hilarious situation. (Okay, this situation was hilarious only in my mind. And it’s payback time for all the grief Donovan has caused me)
“Where is she?” Donovan ran into Emily’s room, with me following suit.
“Emily is where you expect her to be.” My brother answered. “She’s in bed with our latest addition to the family.”
“Hi Emily,” he kissed her on the cheek and only glanced at the newborn. “Delaney hasn’t come here, yet?”
“Laney?” They all called out. “What do you mean by that, Donovan?” Jake asked.
Before he could answer, there was a knock at the door and a stranger walked in with a flower arrangement the size of this room. “Are you Emily?” He asked with the sexiest English accent I’d ever heard. I suppose all English accents were sexy, especially on a good looking man.
“Yes,” my brother, of course, answered—looking none the happier. “And you are?” He did his damnedest to sound intimidating.
“You Michael Bennington, grandson of Harry, the old geezer?” Gimpy interrupted Jake’s stare down.
“Yes, Sir.” This Michael answered. We all wondered, first—who is this man, and second—how does Gimpy know him?
“Harry, that impatient bastard, has called me all morning. What have you done to court his ire? He can be an arsehole when you deviate from His Dukeness.” Gimpy and The English Stranger laughed heartily. “Well...what have you done and what’s my granddaughter have to do with this? It puts me in a shite of a mood that the bastard is upset with my granddaughter for no reason.” Wow, the English Gimpy was coming out. “There he is again,” Gimpy sounded annoyed as he pulled out his phone.
“What is it now, Your Grace?” The sarcasm was dripping, so I was unsure whether the words, “Your Grace” were for real, or just Gimpy mocking these English people. “Hold on, let me put you on speaker and you can talk to your grandson. I’ll warn you not to upset my granddaughter who just gave birth, and her three babes sitting on the bed with her.”
“Michael, what is the meaning of this? Who the hell is this girl that’s got your head up your arse?”
“Language!” Gimpy warned.
“Grandfather, she’s the shine to my sun and the light to my moon. I would give up my future dukedom, if she would agree to spend the rest of her life with me.” The English Stranger declared.
Shit! If those weren’t the most romantic words ever uttered, and with a beautiful English accent at that! Damn. That was swoon-worthy. Plus, I now felt like I was transported back to my Regency romance novels. What the hell was all of that about his dukedom? Was Gimpy not
joking about Your Gracing the grandfather? And hell...where was Laney? I finally came out of my daze to look at Donovan’s face and he looked upset...very upset. I don’t think I mentioned, with all this English craziness, that it was Laney who opened the door when we were about to “kiss.” Right now, Mr. Donovan Taylor would kick his own arse, if he could. Maybe for what he’s done to me, I’d offer to kick it for him in these beautiful shoes purchased back in Chicago.
“Hi,” Laney whispered to The English Stranger.
This was a total romance movie in the filming. Our sexy English man rejoices at finding his love and they go off into a conversation of their own that has no meaning to any of us. I saw Donovan turn away and Jake whispering something to him. Emily had a sad smile on her face, Gimpy was balking at The Duke on the phone, Doug and Nick were confused, and the twins kept trying to get Laney’s attention. Laney only looked up when everyone started clearing their throats.
Laney made all the introductions, but wouldn’t look at me or Donovan when she introduced us. Shit! I realized she was probably upset with me. But then again, why would she be upset with me? It’s not as though our almost kiss had anything to do with her. Maybe she was just embarrassed. And where had she been all this time? The bathroom? The wrong floor? Did she have feelings for Donovan? My life was crazy enough without adding one Laney Reid to the equation. I had more important worries on my mind.
There was an entire conversation going on that I wasn’t interested in. My hope was to get Jake’s attention and have him help me get over to Mexico so I could salvage this mess. I sorted through all the work that needed immediate attention, and what I could take care of after my trip to Mexico. Most likely, this weekend would be the first chance I’d get to go there and grovel.
I was minding my own business when everyone called out, “Now?” This woke me up to Laney kissing Emily and the twins goodbye, and giving Gimpy a hug right before stepping out of the room with Michael. What had happened while I was daydreaming about fixing my nightmare? Immediately, Donovan went after her and my head was spinning.
“He finally opened his eyes,” I heard Jake mutter.
“I think I’ll leave you to get some rest, Emily. Your Gram and I will be back later with some dinner.”
“Thank you, Grandfather. We’ll see you soon.” Emily touched both twins and encouraged them to “say goodbye.” And obediently, the two waved at Gimpy.
Donovan came in with his shoulders sagging, much sooner than I expected. The conversation with Laney must not have gone well. I’d never seen this kind of a look on him before—sullen, torn, depressed, almost a bleeding-on-the-inside look.
“Nick would you and Doug take the twins outside and maybe walk around the hospital with them? They’ve been here the entire time and I think they would like some fresh air.” Emily waited patiently till the four of them went out and shut the door .“What the hell is the matter with the both of you?” Emily’s eleven words formed into a question made all of us jump back three spaces and seriously quiver in our boots.
“SHITE!” as the English would say.
July 8, 2013 Brothers
I never did get to tell you what JR looks like, did I? Before I get sidetracked again, JR is gorgeous! I’d say he looks more like Emily than Jake. He has her coloring, her face, and her long, lean physique. His face still looks like one of those squishy stress balls you form in your hand, with tiny eyes (which are closed most of the time), puffy cheeks, and red lips—but he’s my nephew, and he’s beautiful! This little one has light brown, bordering on blond hair (apparently, Emily’s mom was blonde), and deep brown eyes. I was happy that JR had a look of his own, though he did still look much like his siblings. With a set of twins above you, he needed to stand out and make his own mark in this world. Especially if you have Elizabeth Logan Reid as your sister. She’ll be the boss of both brothers, that’s for sure.
JR stands for Jonathan Robert Reid. Jonathan is Jake’s full name—dunno why he was called Jake instead of John or Johnnie—and Robert is in honor of my dad. Emily is doing well but she’s still royally pissed with me and Donovan. We are both scared to go over to her home, though Jake says she’s fine with what’s happened. Donovan and I did our confessional in her hospital room and my brother filled in any blanks. I think Emily is more concerned with Max’s feelings than my own. She hasn’t asked how I was doing after Max dumped me before leaving for his trip. Should I be mad at her for not considering my feelings?
If Emily was interested, I’d tell her I was not doing well—physically, mentally, or emotionally. I’ve been spending my nights in our bed at the new empty house and my days wondering how Max was faring. Was I acting like Alex Forrest, myself, by staying over at a home where I wasn’t welcomed anymore? Max and I had finished moving in but had not “lived” at the house, yet. We thought we’d start after my big trial.
Prophetic word—TRIAL. That’s exactly what this was!
“Anybody home?” Garret and Josh walked into Max’s house as I sat on the chair doing what I’ve become an expert at—zoning. “If you’re going to stay here by yourself, you need to CLOSE and LOCK the door, Sis.”
“Hey,” was all I could say.
“We just talked to Max.”
“You did?” Nobody had been able to get a hold of Max since he’d left. This was the sign I’d been looking for, from above. “What’d he say?”
“Well...” Garret elbowed Josh for telling me about their conversation. “We can tell you what Max said, if you’ll tell us what the hell is going on. Josh and I are in the dark. Max won’t say much.”
We changed locations and went out for a burger and a beer. Here, I told the Davis brothers about my infidelity.
“Shit, Jane!”
“Do you hate me, too?” I put my head down. I’d have nothing to say if Garret and Josh hated me for the rest of their lives. “I know I hate myself for what I did.”
“Jane...we still love you. You just caught us by surprise.” Josh answered and hugged me and Garret joined in. “We’ll help you.”
“Please help me by telling me what Max said to you today. Is he doing all right? I’ve sent him a few emails asking if I could call him, but he hasn’t responded. Do you have a number where I can reach him?”
“Max is...Max. He didn’t say much except he told me to...” Garret stopped but I encouraged him to continue. “He told me to get the house ready to...rent...”
“Which house?” Surely, Max was NOT kicking me out of our home!
“Well...” Garret couldn’t answer. “Would it piss you off if I said, the house you are living in?”
That’s when I lost it and started to cry in a public restaurant.
“Jane...” Both brothers hugged me. “Don’t cry. When Max told us to clear out his place, he didn’t know you were living there. He stopped talking once I told him you had been there since right after he left. I think he was dumbfounded.”
“You have his number? Can I call him?”
“He called from someone else’s line just to say he was okay. Max didn’t take a phone. Are you just going to wait for him to come home and try to fix everything, then?”
“No...I’m going to go see him. Jake is working everything out for me, but it’s taking longer than usual because Jake’s been so busy with the new baby.”
“What can we do to help you?” Josh asked.
“Did Max ask about me at all?”
Garret and Josh looked at each other before answering. “He didn’t in so many words but we know he misses you. When he was here, he talked about you incessantly. You were his life, his every breath. I swear, there were times when we told him to shut up because we were so tired of hearing about you,” Garret acknowledged.
“Janey...” Josh put his arms around me and kissed me on the cheek. “Max still loves you. Most likely he feels betrayed, but it’s not like you did anything with Donovan—that asshole! I knew I never liked him. Where the hell is he now? I’m gonna
go kick his ass.”
“I think he’s planning on flying to London to see...” I stopped mid-sentence wondering why Josh was still here. “Why haven’t you left yet? Weren’t you supposed to be in London by now?”
“Everything is not quite settled with my house. I had a few things that needed fixing. I hope to leave by next week.”
Would it be a good idea to tell Josh about The English Stranger as well as Donovan? It didn’t seem like a good idea now, but maybe he’d be better off knowing that odds were stacked against him.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“It’s nothing Josh. I was just thinking.”
Talking with Josh and Garret depressed me enough to go visit Jake, regardless of Emily’s feelings for me.