by Cee, DW
Michael wouldn’t let go of me. “I know I won’t be disappointed. I leave at the crack of dawn tomorrow and I needed to let you know this before I left you for a few days.”
“What’s the date today Michael?” I had a strange feeling I was forgetting something.
“Today’s the fifth.”
“Oh my gosh! I forgot to call Max. Give me a second.” I turned on my phone and gave Max a ring.
“Why hello there, Laney. You’ve been at the forefront of my mind the past few days. It’s nice of you to call.”
“Hi Max. Happy birthday!”
“Thank you. How do you know it’s my birthday?”
“I spoke with Josh not too long ago, and he told me your birthday was coming up so I jotted it down. What are you doing today? I hope you have a fun day planned?”
“I’m in New York with Jane, and I have a dinner later tonight with some members of your family.”
“New York? Jane?” Perhaps I shouldn’t have questioned why Jane was there. As far as I knew, she was still his girlfriend – regardless of what I saw in the hospital room.
Max quietly chuckled. “Yes my girlfriend Jane is here. Were you expecting someone else?” He was teasing me and I didn’t quite understand his reason.
“No, no. I don’t know why I asked that silly question. I was caught off guard because you said you were in New York. I was just in New York with Mom not too long ago.”
“I heard. You had a good time with your mother?”
“It was a wonderful time. So are you in New York celebrating your birthday?”
“It’s a really long story and too long to explain over the course of one phone call, Laney. I’ll tell you when I see you in person.”
I was happy at the thought of seeing Max. “Does that mean you’re coming to London sometime soon?”
“Laney, I think you’ve got a lot of surprises coming your way very soon.”
“What does that mean, Max? Now you’ve got me curious.”
“Surprises are never fun when you know ahead of time. When it happens, it’ll catch you off guard, that’s for sure.”
“You’re being terribly unfair Max.”
“You still seeing that same guy?” There was slight disapproval in Max’s tone.
“Yes. I’m still seeing Michael.” That’s when Michael could wait no longer and asked me to hand over the phone. I did as requested since it was such an unusual request.
“Hello this is Michael Bennington. I thought I should introduce myself to you since you seem to know who I am, already. I’m also curious to know what Laney has told you about me.”
Max and Michael immediately hit it off over the telephone. Maybe the sense of disapproval was only in my head. Michael explained briefly how we met and a few of the things that we had been up to lately, and he also explained to Max about his hunting trip and how he would like for us to meet when he got back.
“We are off to my grandfather’s once I get back and then to Seychelles. Perhaps we can see you when we come into London briefly before our trip to Seychelles, or I will see you after our holiday.”
From the sound of it, Max agreed to meet with Michael. I didn’t know whether that meant it would be the four of us, Jane included. I had no thoughts of seeing Jane for at least another year.
“He would like to say good-bye to you.” Michael handed the phone back to me.
“Hello?”
“He sounds like a good guy, Laney. I can’t wait to meet him if the occasion arises.”
“Yeah, Max. I can’t wait to see you too.”
“I believe you have a birthday coming up soon? Let me be the first to say I hope all your dreams come true on that day, Laney. Because of all the people I know, you deserve everything you have ever wished for, and more.”
His sweet sentiment made me feel homesick again. “Thank you, Max. I’ll see you soon.”
“What a top bloke!” Somehow talking to Max gave Michael a boost to his self-confidence. I didn’t know what conversation had taken place between the two men, but Michael was happier now than when he arrived.
“He is one of the best guys out there.” I agreed.
“I’ll see you in a few days?”
“I’ll see you in a few days!”
(K)night
What a way to spend a birthday. It was raining, but hot and muggy, again. This gloomy weather came and left without any rhyme or reason. Michael was still on a hunting trip with his buddies somewhere in Scotland. I didn’t think it would bother me that no one was around on my birthday, but it did.
This flu that hit me in the wee hours of the morning didn’t help, either. I could feel the ache down to my bones. I hadn’t been this ill in a long time. Normally, an illness never bothered me, but being so far away from home and my family, I was feeling more homesick than ever.
Ding dong.
Ding dong.
Who could it be at this hour? I took my time getting downstairs hoping this person would go away before I made it to the door. I just wanted to crawl back to bed.
Ding dong.
Ding dong.
All right! “Who is it?”
No one answered. Why didn’t this heavy wooden door have a peephole? I needed to see about getting a peephole as soon as possible.
“Can I help you?” I asked annoyed, only slightly opening the door. “Donovan....” I whispered in surprise.
“What are you doing opening the door at this hour for a stranger in only your pajamas? Where is everyone? Are you alone?”
No hellos. No, how have you been, Delaney? Only a scolding. I proceeded to turn around and head back to my room.
“Where the hell are you going?” He tugged on my hand. “I came halfway across the world to see you.”
“Now that you’ve seen me, good-bye. Please close the door properly on your way out.”
“Delaney,” he pleaded in a tone I’d never heard before. I stopped to try and make heads or tails out of that tone. Coming from another man, I might have thought it an endearing, affectionate tone. But on this man, I had no idea what to make of it, so I continued to walk. “You Reids are all going to make me do my penance, aren’t you?”
“Mr. Taylor, please go back to your hotel and let’s talk again tomorrow. It’s early, I’ve got the flu, and you’re making me even more homesick.”
“You’re ill? Let me see.” He came over and measured my temperature with his hand, looked over my face, touched my neck. I had to laugh. “Why are you laughing?”
“I have the flu. I wouldn’t get too close if I were you.”
“Let’s go,” he pulled my hand and took me to the first bedroom. “This isn’t it. Which one is yours?”
I pointed to my room.
He took me to my room, had me get in bed, made himself comfortable by taking off his shoes, jacket and tie, and got in my bed with me. I just stared at him as though he were crazy.
“Why are you here, Mr. Taylor?”
“First of all, no more Mr. Taylor. You called out my name when you first saw me, so now that I know you can pronounce it, use it.”
Who did he think he was coming here and making demands of me? “Mr...”
“I mean it, Delaney. Don’t test me.” He responded in a most menacing way, so I decided not to address him at all.
“What brings you to London?” I said without calling out his name. I wanted to stick out my tongue and show him that he was not the boss of me.
“I’ve moved here.”
What? “You’ve moved here? But why?”
“I came here to court a lady who will soon be my wife.”
I don’t know why but the thought of Donovan marrying someone brought a flood of tears to my eyes. Uncontrollable tears poured down my face at the thought of Donovan Taylor courting another girl. Why did he have to come here and tell me his wonderful news?
“What’s the matter? Are those tears of joy, of sadness, or of....you l
ost me, Little Girl. I was told by your entire family that you don’t cry in front of anyone. Even when you fell off trees, you went into the confines of your own home to deal with the pain. Why the tears? Are you in pain?”
He seriously had no clue. Yes, MORON! You’re hurting me again. Instead of yelling at him, I just shook my head and walked into the bathroom. I turned on the shower so he couldn’t hear my wracking sobs.
“Delaney. What’s the matter?” Donovan pounded on the door.
I cleaned myself up and walked outside and tried to act as normal as possible. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m feeling more homesick than I thought. Seeing you reminds me of my family.” I tried to smile. “So when’s the wedding?”
“I don’t know. That all depends on you.”
“Why me?”
“Because, Princess. You’re the lady I’ll be courting.”
“Delaney, I really do want to let you sleep a little longer, but we have to get going.” Donovan was still here. This flu had hit me so hard I didn’t know whether I was hallucinating when he first showed up at my door.
“Where are we going?”
“Amsterdam.”
“Why? What’s in Amsterdam?”
“It’s a surprise for your birthday,” he whispered in my ear and gently coaxed me up. “Happy 23rd birthday, by the way.” He then kissed me on my cheek, right by the ear his lips were speaking into.
“I can’t go anywhere. Michael is taking me to his grandfather’s home tomorrow. I’ll disappoint his entire family if I don’t show up.”
“The hell you are,” Donovan got angry. “You are not to see Michael anymore. I don’t know what your status is with him, but I will not tolerate you getting friendly with any other man.”
Was he for real? “Who the hell made you God, again?” I bit-off. “I don’t remember needing your permission to date anyone. Did Dad give up his paternal rights to you?”
“In the olden days, a woman was the property of her father, then her husband.”
“What the hell? Am I now a piece of cattle to you?”
He got frustrated. He scratched his beautiful head with both hands and harrumphed. “We are getting married, so yeah! You’re mine and only mine.”
“Mr. Taylor!”
“I told you to stop calling me that!” Now he was really mad. I had to say, I was kind of enjoying his frustration with our role reversal. “Call me by my damn name! I hate it when you call me Mr. Taylor. It feels like there’s so much distance between us.”
Had I not been feeling like shit, I would’ve enjoyed irritating him more, but this time I just gave in. “All right, Donovan.”
Like a patient in a bipolar clinic, Donovan quickly went from pissed off to elated. He picked me up and swung me around—which was not good for the vertigo already in place. “Say my name again. That was so damn sexy.”
“If you don’t put me down, I’m going to make like that time at my grandmother’s pool twelve years ago, and throw up on you.”
“You are so sweet. You were adorable as a child; you are irresistible as a woman.” He tried to kiss my lips but I pulled back.
“Um…I remember you resisting me many a time, Donovan Taylor. Why the change of heart?”
“I’ll give you all the details in Amsterdam. But for now, I really have to get you to the airport.”
“Give me one good reason why I should break my promise to the Bennington family and follow you to Amsterdam.”
“I’ll give you two. Because you love me and because you have family waiting for you in Amsterdam.”
“I don’t love you!” I denied. “And who’s here to see me? Is Grandfather here, again? He and Gram are in Amsterdam?”
“You do love me, and I return your love so let’s go. I won’t tell you who, but I’ll tell you two Reids have just landed at Schipol airport. You will regret not seeing them, and they will be sorely disappointed not seeing you.”
“You’re not lying to me are you?”
He was starting to get upset again. I supposed he had no reason to lie, especially since he had no way of getting out of the lie. “All right. You win. Let me leave a message for Michael.”
“Do it later. I have a car waiting for us. Is that your going-away bag?” He pointed to my suitcase. Good thing I’d packed a couple of nights ago.
“Yes. Let me freshen up and we can leave.”
Still feeling like death was knocking on my door, I let Donovan hold my hand and lead me through the airport till we were comfortably seated on the airplane. From there, I fell asleep again, not to speak with him until we landed.
“I told you once before that you’ll never know if the man you’re with is your knight in shining armor if you keep falling asleep on him.” I could feel the chuckle in my ear. “Your chariot awaits, Princess.”
We had another car waiting for us at Schipol airport, and in thirty minutes, we were in the heart of the city.
“Where are we?” I asked in awe. “This is so incredibly beautiful.” It genuinely was the most incredible sight I’d ever seen.
“We are at your grandfather’s home in Amsterdam.”
“How old is this building? It’s gorgeous. And the canal…absolutely breathtaking!”
“Your innocent look of awe is breathtaking and gorgeous. You, Miss Delaney Reid are a beautiful sight. I’ve missed you.” Donovan leaned in to kiss me again, and I stepped away once more.
“Donovan,” I gently chided. “I’m seeing Michael. Please don’t…” I didn’t believe this statement wholeheartedly myself at this very moment, but I needed to set parameters before I got myself into a situation of falling in love with this man again.
“Before this is over,” Donovan gently chided me, “you and I will be man and wife. Michael will be a friend in passing. Don’t push me away. I’ve missed you too much to be kept at a distance.” He didn’t kiss me again, but he held my wrist and led me into my grandfather’s home.
“This place is indescribable. Look at the view of the canal from all the windows. How utterly charming! I could live here.”
“Princess, I’m sure Roland would allow us to live here if we asked. We could even set up house before we got married.” He gave me his rascally smile.
“Explain, Donovan Taylor. Why the change of heart? How did I go from pariah to princess in the course of a few months?”
“You were never a pariah,” he chuckled. “It just took a bit for me to realize you were my princess.”
A knock at the door interrupted our conversation. “My surprise?” I asked in a whisper.
Donovan flashed the most brilliant smile and walked with me to the door.
“Baby!” Four voices called out at the same time.
“Mom! Dad! Mr. Taylor? Mrs. Taylor?” What a surprise! I hugged my parents. “What are you doing here?”
“Your father had a last minute speaking engagement in Amsterdam, and Donovan was brilliant enough to suggest we all come out and celebrate your birthday with you. How are you, Laney?” Mom was all over me, making sure I was in one piece. “Why are you so hot?” She sounded upset.
“I have the flu, but Donovan still forced me out here with the enticement of seeing family. He didn’t tell me who was here. I thought it might be Gram and Grandfather, but am I glad it’s you.” I went into my father’s arms. I had missed my parents! “How long are you here for, and are you coming to England with me?”
“How about a greeting for us, Baby?” Mr. Taylor put out his arms. I looked over to Donovan for direction, and he motioned for me to go give his dad a hug; and so I did. “How have you been, beautiful girl? Your Ma and I have missed you.” He kissed me on my forehead and sent me over to “Ma” who did the same. It was sweet the way the Taylors were greeting me.
“Why don’t we go out for an early dinner and we can give Delaney all the details of what’s happening? There’s a great cafe right down the street from here. We can eat along the canal.”
&n
bsp; We shuffled out two by two, and Donovan quickly put his hand around my waist. I tried to give him a look of warning, but he didn’t take it.
“You holding up?” he whispered in my ear, then kissed me where he’d just spoken. “It’s good to have you next to me, Delaney. Don’t leave me again,” he pleaded.
“Hey, Lovebirds! You need to keep up. We don’t know where we’re going. You two can’t take your sweet time canoodling.” Mr. Taylor embarrassingly called us out in the middle of the street.
“Let’s go.” No matter how I resisted, Donovan held my hand or some part of my body all the way to the restaurant. Once at dinner, I quickly sat between my parents so this man wouldn’t befuddle my senses any more than they already were. What on earth had happened since I left? Why was this man now giving me the attention I so craved when I was home? This had to be some crazy joke to have Donovan Taylor telling me I was to be his bride.
“Laney?”
“Yes, Mom?”
“Is Estelle’s home ready for Jake’s family?”
“Yes. It just finished the other day.”
“You know there’s a plane full of people coming?”
“No, I didn’t know.”
“Jake and his family, Robert and Sandy, Estelle, Nick, Doug, Josh, and Garret will be on the plane as well. And I think Donovan said that Jane and Max were headed to London, too.”
What had happened to bring everyone this way? I wasn’t complaining, but there were more changes than I could comprehend. Michael and Aleksandra had done a marvelous job keeping me busy, but I was still terribly homesick. And Jane…last I saw her, she was in Donovan’s arms, lip-locked. What was I to do with that fact? I decided to let go of that for now.
“How long are you in town, Mom?”
“We are here for five days. Then we will go to London. I’m staying indefinitely, but your father has to leave soon.”
“I can head back to London with you when you leave.”
Donovan looked upset as soon as I made this statement. “I can’t head back there, yet. I have business in other cities to attend to before reaching London. I was hoping you’d stay with me.”