by Cee, DW
“I love having a rich grandfather,” I squealed while looking through the beautiful building. The antiquity and beauty of Europe never ceased to amaze me.
Donovan looked amused. “Yeah. I love you having a rich grandfather, too. Just don’t get too comfortable here; we are staying in a hotel, tonight.”
“But it’s so beautiful here and it’s free. Why spend money on a hotel?”
His loving and most handsome face appeared. “If you are true about not making me wait till our wedding night, then I’m making love to you tonight. But, before that happens, let us clarify a few things.”
“What do we need clarified?”
“You have broken up with Michael?”
“Michael...shoot! I need to give him a call and make sure he’s OK,” I digressed.
“Delaney!” Donovan brought me back to him.
“Yes. Michael and I broke up. It was such a terrible thing, Donovan. Who am I to break his heart? He was very hurt when he left. I don’t think I could stand that kind of pain if you broke up with me.” I spoke with much insecurity knowing if this happiness were taken away from me, I’d be utterly devastated and lost.
“This happiness will go on till death-do-us-part, assuming…we are getting married?”
Was “We are getting married?” close enough to a marriage proposal? At least it wasn’t a demand. “Maybe.” I held back the giggle.
Now, the disgruntled, but still very handsome face came out. “You drive me nuts,” he declared. “What am I missing here? You’ve been in love with me for most of your life, I return this love, you have no boyfriend, why no marriage?”
“Like I said before, you’re a smart man, Donovan Taylor. Figure it out.”
“You, me, tonight—you got it?”
“Yes.” I smiled and gave him a kiss. “You look incredibly dapper, Mr. Taylor. Go to work so you can pay my medical school tuition, if we get married.”
“I would pay that bill and more if you’d be my wife.” That was a sweet sentiment.
“Would you still be saying that if I told you my tuition would be free if I stayed a Reid?” I got his undivided attention, which amused me. “Daddy says since he works for the University as a surgeon as well as a professor, I get free med school tuition like I got free undergrad tuition. That’s all part of the perks of working at a university. Do you still want me, right now?”
He didn’t even blink. “We could take Jane and Max as witnesses, walk to city hall right now, and become man and wife. The choice is yours. I’ll take you, medical tuition and all.”
I truly loved this man. “Since it would kill my mother not to throw me a wedding, I think I’ll have to say no to your idea of a city hall wedding. Go to work, Mr. Taylor. I’ll see you tonight.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Max, Jane and I walked a few minutes to Josh’s new place. None of us could believe he had found such a reasonably priced apartment in this posh neighborhood. Once we got inside, we understood why the rent was so cheap.
“Laney!” Josh came up and hugged me.
“Hello there, fellow unemployed college grad. How was your trip over here?”
“It was a dream in that private plane of your grandfather’s. Then, I couldn’t believe how nice your grandmother’s place in London was. And then I come here to find this spacious place.” He pointed to all of maybe 250 square feet.
“Wow. I think this apartment might just be big enough to serve as Donovan’s closet.” Jane and Max cracked-up.
“I still think it would still be too small. Between your wardrobe and Donovan’s, you two will have to get a bigger house.”
“So...Donovan?” Josh inquired.
“Yeah...” I answered with an apologetic-smile. Josh and I had had this talk a while back about us being better off as friends, but I guess it didn’t hurt to say it one more time. “He returns my love and we are together now.”
Josh came over and gave me a hug. “I’m happy for you, Laney. It took the idiot long enough to notice you.”
“You tell him that when you see him.”
“I will.”
“OK,” Jane broke us up. “I’m getting claustrophobic watching you two hug in this tiny quarter; let’s go out and buy Josh what he needs for this matchbox-sized apartment.”
The afternoon was all about buying as little as possible, but still making sure Josh stayed comfortable so far away from home.
“You know I’m only a flight away. You will always be welcomed in Belgravia if you get tired of all this luxury.” I pointed to his sparse living quarters.
“Thanks, Laney. I think I may drop in more often than not. I kind of miss those twins already, though they were a handful when I was babysitting them.”
“Kids have a way of doing that to you. Emily will enjoy having you with us, so come visit often.”
We headed to a late lunch when my boyfriend called. That gave me goose bumps realizing he was now my boyfriend.
“Is this my deliciously handsome boyfriend calling?” Of course, I strayed from the others before making this forward comment. I could practically see his grin.
“Would my equally delicious and definitely more beautiful girlfriend like to join me and my clients for dinner? It has turned into a couples’ dinner, and I’d be awfully alone without you.”
“What time is dinner? We are about to eat a late lunch right now.”
“8:00pm. Since I’ll be in a meeting up until then, I’ll have a car pick you up.”
“Sure. I guess I’ll have something light to tide me over. How should I dress?”
“We’re at the only three Michelin-starred restaurant in Rome, at the Waldorf. You decide. Also, bring our suitcases because that’s where we’re staying tonight.”
“Isn’t that a little expensive? Does the firm usually put you up in such posh places? I’m going to have to tell Grandfather they are spending way too much money seeing to your comforts.”
“Princess, I’ve yet to use any of the hotel money I’ve been allotted since we’ve stayed at Roland’s everytime I’ve been working. I’ve got lots of credit built up.”
“Well then...I guess we’ll have to get a suite with all the bells and whistles, tonight!” I kidded.
“Nothing but the best for you, Princess. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Can’t wait. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I was so excited; I was practically bursting out of my skin.
“Donovan?” Jane had no need for any other words.
“Donovan.” I answered.
Once lunch was done, the men headed to their respective rooms to take a siesta, and I convinced Jane to go shopping with me. Via Condotti was located in Grandfather’s backyard, and I decided it was time Jane and I bonded over our favorite pastime.
“What’s the occasion?”
“ A client dinner at the Waldorf, with significant others. How should I dress?”
“Many of those women will come pretty dressed up because they can afford to look good.”
“Shoot. What should I wear, then?”
“How about we get you a sexy little number?”
“Sounds fab!”
Our hours of shopping resulted in one super sexy, but also femininely flirty little black dress. With a jeweled neckline, a twirl-worthy skirt—slightly shorter and bunched in the front, longer and with a tie-back sash in the back, and no sleeves, I felt ready to take on these executive wives. I matched the dress with the same black heels Donovan presented me with when we went to the observatory, my favorite Chanel necklace, and my clutch from Hawaii. I felt enormously giddy knowing Donovan had gifted me all these accessories.
“Damn! You look good, Cousin.”
“You think?” I felt shy now that Jane was commenting on my looks.
“I may have to come over and borrow that entire outfit from you one day.”
“You are
more than welcome to. It’ll probably look better on your thin frame.”
“You have no idea how good you look, Laney. Your curves are what make you look so feminine. And where, may I ask, did the necklace, clutch and shoes come from?”
I beamed. “If you can believe it, they were all from Donovan even before we started dating.”
“What? Explain.”
“These shoes came with a dress when he took me to the observatory one night, the clutch he bought for me when we were in Hawaii, but I was led to believe until recently that it was a gift from Jake and Emily, and the necklace that came in an adorable matching jewelry case, was an apology gift after Ashley’s wedding.”
“What the hell happened at that wedding between you two? I can’t believe I was there and missed all the action.”
“LONG story. I’ll tell you one day when we have a lot of time.” I looked upon my cousin with regret and sadness. “I guess this is good-bye for a while?” We had bonded over the past few days, and I would miss not being with her.
“Stupid me. We could’ve had this when we were younger. I always envied your friendship with Sam, but I thought I was too old for you two. I should’ve swallowed my stupid pride and joined you and Sam.”
“We have the rest of our lives to become good friends. And there’s Emily to be our referee if it gets ugly.” We both laughed and hugged. “Have a safe trip back to London, then home. I’ll miss both you and Max.”
“We will miss you, too.”
Max walked me out to the car that arrived after Jane and I had said good-bye. After putting our suitcases in the trunk, Max came around and gave me his easy-going grin.
“You happy?” he asked sweetly.
“Are you?”
“I couldn’t be happier.”
“Me neither and I have you to thank.”
“Really?” He sounded surprised. “Why me?”
“Part of the reason why I decided to let go of Donovan’s past, was after seeing you and Jane get engaged. I figured if you could forgive and work through your differences, who was I to hold a grudge? It wasn’t like we were even together at the time. And to tell you the truth, I’m glad Donovan and I resolved everything and so quickly. He makes me incredibly happy.”
Max gave me a big-brother hug. “He’s a lucky man, but don’t make it too easy for him. He needs to pay for some of his sins.”
“Amen, Brother!” I agreed.
I got to our hotel room earlier than planned, hung up our clothes, and checked out the posh digs. He did get us a suite. There was soft music playing when I walked in and a huge vase of roses, almost blood orange in color, that sat in our bedroom. After a touch up to my make-up, I walked to the restaurant, excited to see my boyfriend.
To my horror, I realized I was the last one to arrive. Shit! How had that happened? All the men followed Donovan’s example and stood up when I arrived. “I don’t know how I could be the last one here when it took me less than two minutes to come from my room. I apologize!” I spoke hoping I didn’t start the evening on the wrong foot.
“Hello, Princess. You look stunning.” He kissed me lightly on the lips.
“Thank you.” I did my absolute best not to look like a giddy teenager.
“New dress?” he whispered.
“Uh-huh! Jane and I decided to explore the ‘hood.”
Now he was doing his best not to look like a silly teenager in love.
“You two have to be either newlyweds or newly-dating,” one of the ladies commented.
I looked at her in surprise. “How did you know?”
“You both have that I’d rather be in a hotel bedroom rather than a hotel dining room vibe.”
The entire table laughed and though I laughed with them, I could feel my cheeks getting red.
“Hello. I’m Laney Reid.”
“Reid?” One of the gentlemen asked, “Any relationship to Estelle?”
“She’s my grandmother.”
“You’re dating the boss’ granddaughter? Smart man!” All the men chuckled.
“Do all your client dinners last that long?” There was no way I was getting into the negligee I bought earlier today. All the wine and food weighed me down. “And what’s with the meal lasting till almost midnight?”
“Italians like to start their dinners late, and it goes a good three hours. It was a bit heavy, huh?”
“I’m warning you now, there’s not a chance in hell I’m wearing anything sexy to bed tonight. All that alcohol and salt have got me so bloated. I’m wearing my boyfriend sweats to bed.”
“You actually own something sexy to wear to bed?”
When Donovan came to me in London, my go-to wear were those sweats, again. “I might have bought a piece or two...or three...or four...” I let it hang and went to brush my teeth and wash my face. The decision was made. I could not have sex tonight when I felt so unsexy. Tomorrow, I’d only eat a salad and drink water all day.
“Let me see what you bought.”
“What for? I’m not wearing it. I feel about as sexy as a hippopotamus. We are not doing anything but sleeping tonight.”
“The hell we aren’t. I’ve had a semi hard-on all day today thinking about making love to you. Put on whatever it is that you bought today, or just strip and let’s get started.”
“That was so unromantic. You understand, this is my first time. This isn’t like let’s-get-it-over-with-in-the-back-seat-of-a-car.”
“Princess, I booked a suite in one of Rome’s finest hotels for you. A backseat romp was hardly my intention. Can I at least see what it is that I’m not getting tonight?”
Now I always thought of myself a smart girl, but somehow, I felt this man was duping me at this very moment. I took the bag of clothes and locked myself in the bathroom. While Jane went over to Josh’s to drop something off this afternoon, I popped into the lingerie shop and the sales gal convinced me to buy four different possibilities for tonight. There was the black, barely there, split open in the front, come-hither one with lacy underwear. Then there was the pink, tight, hoochie-mama looking one. And then there were two white ones. The first white one was a pretty, romantic, Victorian looking one with lots of lace but very little cleavage, and then there was the white one with ruched straps, holding up a short, thin babydoll-looking dress. My large boobs made the dress even shorter but I thought this would be the one. All the sales gals voted for the black one, but given my status tonight, I went with the white babydoll one.
“Tonight...” he lamented.
Just for that comment, I decided to put on the hotel bathrobe over my negligee.
“OK, I’m ready for bed.”
“Well?”
“Well what?” I played dumb.
“Why the hell are you wearing that robe? Let’s see what’s under it.”
“You know,” I said, “Max told me before he left, not to make life so easy for you, and I think he was right. After all the heartache you put me through, I think I gave in to you too easily. I was a floozy for always chasing after you and telling you how much I loved you.”
“That bastard! I’m going to kick his ass for putting ideas into your head. Come on, Princess. Let’s see what’s under the robe.” His begging soon turned into a threat, “Don’t make me come over there and disrobe you.”
“No. I think I’ll sleep with this robe on tonight.”
“Shit.” he muttered and walked toward me. The suite was big enough for me to run away. I ran into the open balcony knowing I could come in through the living room. Donovan started giving chase.
“Aaah!” I screamed like a girl and ran as fast as I could, but our place wasn’t exactly a football field.
“Gotcha!” Donovan tackled me onto the bed and I couldn’t stop laughing. Before I could protest, I was divested of the robe, though I still lay on it, and Donovan gave an appreciative look-over.
“You like?” I asked in a breathy voice.
“I like.
” His approving hands roamed everywhere. “Can I see the other three tonight as well?”
“If you’re a good boy, I may consider it.”
“Model the other ones for me and I’ll tell you which one is my favorite.”
“And what will you do for me?”
“Everything.” Now he was breathing hard and speaking of hard, I could feel him growing harder on me. It was exciting and scary at the same time.
Following his wishes, I tried on the other white one and Donovan said, “You’re beautiful in it, but not for tonight. I need more skin.”
When I wore the black one, he was speechless and the tenting in his pants was becoming even more pronounced, so I decided silence equaled approval.
The pink one got this reaction. “You can play the slut after I’ve turned you into one. Get back in the first one. You chose well.”
As soon as I changed back into the first negligee, he pulled me onto the bed. With the way he was going to town on my neck after a brief but seriously hot kiss, I was glad we wouldn’t see anyone this weekend. I’d have nips and bites all over.
“Um...Donovan...?”
“Hmmm?”
“It’s too hot for a scarf and I’d like to leave the room before next week. Could you try not to leave too many dark marks on me?”
His lips went flat against my neck, and I could tell he was laughing. “Can I leave it in areas that can’t be seen by others?”
“Uh-huh,” I squealed as I felt his lips travel south.
He pulled the babydoll negligee over my head and now I was only in my lace underwear. The lights were completely on in the room and I was feeling totally self-conscious.
“You’re gorgeous,” he murmured right before he put a nipple in his mouth and started playing with it like I’d seen the twins playing with the nipple on their bottles. I would never be able to look at a nursing baby again without thinking of this man who was now suckling on my right nipple. He was soon trying his damnedest to swallow my breast—which was not happening unless you had the mouth of Jaws—and the feeling was insanely good.
“Is this supposed to feel this good?” The once squeal turned into a loud moan. The noises that came out of my mouth were foreign ones to me; ones I’d heard only in movies. I never thought they’d come from my own mouth.