Complete Indelible Love Series

by Cee, DW

  “We Taylor girls put in a few favorite toys of our own. As to who picked which toys…?” Amanda’s eyebrows lifted along with her shoulders, in the cutest way.

  Rachel picked up a plastic dildo and put her hand to her mouth that formed into an “O.” She made like she was shocked to see such an item in the chest and had me hold the base with one hand, and the phallic part with the other hand—lewd and crass! “This is just in case...my brother isn’t the big brother I thought he was.” Everyone howled, especially the men.

  “And this one,” Kelley picked up something that looked like a teething ring I’d seen the twins use, “this one is called an erection ring.” She read the tag on the ring, then stuck it down my middle finger. “This is just in case our brother can’t stand up to the demands of being a newlywed!” The sisters were putting on the show of a lifetime.

  “In all seriousness, we are thrilled that our brother has found his soul mate. The four of us wholeheartedly agree that Laney is the perfect girl to handle our brother. You two are a match made in heaven, and we wish you as much happiness as we have found in our own marriages. Welcome to the Taylor family, Laney!” Amanda ended her speech and Donovan came up to hug his sisters with me.

  Gram was back up as my newfound sisters were putting the toys back in the chest and Donovan and I sat back in our seats. “Where the hell were we?” She looked at Mom and Aunt Sandy for direction. “Those Taylor girls will fit right in with the Reid women. We’ll have to lock the liquor cabinets before those girls arrive for the holidays.” We all laughed in good cheer. “OK, I think we are onto something borrowed. And for that, Roland, take it away, my love.”

  Grandfather came up and kissed his wife, first and foremost, then addressed all of us. “For those of you who don’t know, Estelle and I only recently married. I knew the Reid children through Estelle and her first husband, Jerry, but I never got a chance to know all the grandchildren until Estelle and I came back here and made our union final. I know grandparents aren’t supposed to have favorites....”

  “Yeah, Gram!” Doug called out in jest.

  “But there are some kids who just call out to us. Jane was always that child for me. When I met her, she spoke to my heart, and I adored her.”

  “How come it’s always Aunt Sandy’s kids?” Sam complained.

  “But after getting to know Laney the past few months, I have to say, you’re very special to my heart as well, young lady.”

  “Thank you, Grandfather. I love you too.” I spoke from my heart.

  “I first met Donovan about ten years ago when Jake brought him to the LA office one of the months I was in town. Jake, being a good friend, thought he’d introduce us and let me know that his best friend was headed to law school. I liked Donovan instantly, as did all the other female staff in the LA office,” Grandfather chuckled, “and made note to remember him when he came to interview for a job in three years. The thing about Donovan most of you don’t know is that he’s an absolute lion in the courtroom, the boardroom, and every M&A dealing that comes his way. He roars, but he’s also fair in his dealings. Because of that, all the lawyers who work with him and against him respect him. It’s rare in our business to be so successful, and so well liked. Donovan is one of those few people.”

  “Thank you, Roland.” Donovan spoke. “But in all honesty, Grandfather here is exceptionally happy with me right now because I finished up the sale of his company to the highest bidder, plus an extra buck or two.”

  “Made you and your wife pretty rich, too,” Grandfather smirked.

  “All in a day’s work.” Donovan shrugged it off like it was nothing.

  “As for his counterpart, if he’s the lion, she’s unequivocally his lioness. The day of Estelle and my wedding, I asked Laney why she chose the glass slippers she is currently wearing rather than a piece of jewelry. There were still quite a number of valuable items, but she chose these shoes, which incidentally, only fit her feet out of all the women in the room. And her answer?” Grandfather looked at me for an answer, so I repeated what I told him months ago.

  “Some women, like my grandmother, have two princes in their lifetime who come and sweep them off their feet. Some women, like my mother, have one prince who fall at their feet from day one and love them forever. For me, I like to believe that though my prince has yet to even notice my feet, with such pretty shoes as these, I’ll land on my two feet no matter the situation.”

  Grandfather chuckled along with the crowd at my explanation. “As much as Laney was already in love with a very dense Donovan Taylor, she understood that she would be all right, with or without him. I loved the tough-girl fairytale attitude.”

  “Did you really say that?” Donovan asked, surprised.

  “I did. Why are you so surprised?”

  “You truly would have been all right without me in your life?” His voice was slightly sad.

  “I wouldn’t have been all right, but I would have moved on with life and tried my damnedest to forget you, Mr. Taylor. You were nothing but heartache up until about two hours ago.” I winked and gave him a kiss on the lips.

  “Because your grandmother and I are so pleased with the both of you as individuals, and as a couple, we are happy to present you with a ‘borrowed’ plane for your honeymoon. Take the jet to your honeymoon destination. That, and a much needed time off, is yours for as long as you like.”

  We got up to thank our grandfather.

  “That has to be the most generous offer. Thank you, Grandfather.” I was speechless.

  “Roland. That’s extraordinarily thoughtful of you, but I have tickets purchased. You and Gram use the plane to go visit your homes in Europe.”

  “Your Gram wants to be nowhere but home with her family. We will be on this cul-de-sac till we die. Use the plane. You and Laney deserve it.”

  “Thank you.” We were awestruck by their kindness.

  As we walked back to our seats, we saw Jake and Emily walk up to the stage. Emily started the speech, first. “Everyone in this tent wanted to do something special for this couple, tonight. Jake and I fought to get one of the four traditions and something blue fell upon us after much begging. I first got to know Laney at my bridal shower and wedding, and my initial thought upon spending some time with her was, what a confident woman. We shared a similarity in that we had both just finished up our time in Japan. She went to study abroad whereas I went to mend a broken heart. I can’t tell you how much my heart hurt watching her love a man who loved her in return, but had no clue that he did!” Emily was doing a little reprimand. “Donovan Taylor, you were as bad as Jake when…” That’s when Jake took the microphone from her and brought his wife into his body.

  “I’d like to tell you a story about two people who could not get each other off their minds no matter the number of years that went by. Young Laney Reid was smitten with an older Donovan Taylor, and she’d ask me to deliver notes to him in the form of dropping them in his pocket. I’d get specific instructions like, ‘Now place this note in his front, right pants’ pocket when he’s not looking,’ or ‘Jake, can you slip this note in the inside pocket of his jacket?’ Now in reality, Laney, how was I supposed to do this if he was wearing his pants or jacket?”

  Everyone laughed.

  “You mean to tell me all these years, you lied and said you did what I asked without really doing it?” I accused.

  “Every note was placed in his right jacket pocket.” Jake winked at me.

  “How boring,” I complained.

  Jake only shrugged. “These two have also been giving each other gifts for as long as I could remember. Donovan.” He got my husband’s attention. “That brown messenger bag you take with you to work every day. Guess who gave that to you when you graduated from law school?”

  “You?”

  “Guess again.”

  “You?” He turned to me as I nodded yes.

  “I take it you liked it?” I whispered.

  “I use
d it every day. It’s my go-to bag for everything.” That made me smile.

  “Yep. It was from a young Laney Reid who had to have saved up her money for a long time to be able to afford designer travel bags. Comically enough, as Laney asked me to give Donovan the present as a gift from me, Donovan gave me a gift, just a few weeks later, and told me to give it to Laney under the pretense that I had purchased it for her sixteenth birthday.”

  “You’re the one who bought me that ring?”

  “I saw it in Europe and thought of you, and I knew your sixteenth birthday was coming up.”

  “Why didn’t you give it to me? It would have made me so happy.”

  “It seemed inappropriate at the time.”

  “And the gift giving went on.” Jake continued his story. “Laney has given Donovan a birthday gift every year since her sixteenth birthday. Lucky for me, I never had to buy my best friend a gift because Laney did it for me.” He got laughs from everyone. “And Donovan started showering Laney with gifts once they re-met back in January, but those gifts always came from me and Emily.”

  It was at this point Emily took back the mic. “When we went to Hawaii, Jake and I saw Laney and Donovan’s love blossom into something special. We could almost taste a wedding in the near future. It was there that we think these two truly fell in love, and it was there that Donovan opened his eyes to a Laney who wasn’t so young anymore. In honor of something blue, Jake and I would like to recreate that trip for you. We have two plane tickets and a stay at the same resort, but not the same Presidential villa room.” That got huge laughter from all who went to Hawaii with us.

  “Thank you.” We both embraced our best friends. Donovan and I were floored at our family’s love and generosity. I would have cried, if the practical me didn’t understand that running make-up on a bride was not a pretty sight.

  Gram got back on stage. “We are almost done, but we need the groom up here to explain the something old part, as well as to present his wife with her wedding rehearsal gift.”

  Donovan kissed me again before taking center stage. He was truly the most handsome man on this earth. I’d never tire of looking at his face.

  “I have a friend who’s not only my best friend, but has been my biggest competition since birth. He was born earlier than I was, he’s slightly taller than I am, and he’s always gotten better grades. If I got an A, he got an A+, if I got a BMX bike, he got the BMX X-games bike. We were always competing—but in a friendly way...kind of…” Donovan gave a nod to his best friend. “Of course he got married before I did and thanks to an over-the-top grandma, his bride got a six-carat diamond. Now how the hell does any man compete with a six-carat rock? Well, you don’t. You do something different and unexpected. So after much thinking about this something old gift, I thought I’d finally outdo my best friend.” Donovan gave Jake an evil grin.

  All of a sudden, we heard, “Let’s keep it simple and sane,” from Max in the background. Max, of course was the next one up and he knew it wasn’t going to be easy to top Jake’s diamond earrings.

  “Just like my buddy, I also picked something old and something new, but unlike my buddy, I’ve got more than two diamonds to give to my wife.” We could all hear Max groaning loudly! The other Reid men followed suit. “Delaney Taylor, come on down!” My husband, too, did a Bob Barker imitation.

  “Diamonds, diamonds, diamonds…” All the ladies chanted.

  “My beautiful bride,” he turned me to him. “You are more beautiful than Aphrodite, possess the intelligence and wisdom of Athena, and are more desirable than Persephone. If I were Hades, I wouldn’t ever let you leave me. Every goddess, every princess have one thing in common—a crown. Since you are my princess, my goddess, my all, I thought it fitting to get a crown made for you.” Donovan pulled out a black square jewelry box and opened it for me. “This crown was made from the generosity of your grandmother, grandfather, aunts, and parents who gave you all their loose diamonds. And all the pink diamonds that dot the crown are from me. I love you, Princess.”

  This is where I lost it and cried. It wasn’t the tiara that broke me, but the love bestowed upon the both of us from our entire family. There was no doubt the Reid family personified love, but tonight was another fine example of just how much.

  “Thank you,” was really all I could say to my thoughtful husband.

  “Now, my Cinderella, I want you to recognize the practicality of this crown. If you wear it this way,” he adjusted it to sit on my head, “it becomes a tiara. But if you wear it this way,” he then readjusted it to lay flat on my head, “it becomes a fancy headband.”

  After kissing my husband, we walked to our parents and showed them our appreciation for all they’d done for us from birth until now.

  The party kept on, but Donovan and I were both ready to leave. Next to Donovan’s proposal, tonight was the most memorable night of my life. My family and Donovan had made sure everything went beautifully.

  “Last surprise, Princess.” Donovan handed me a present box as I headed upstairs to change into my going-away outfit.

  “More?” I broke into a huge smile. “How will you ever top tonight?” I teased.

  “You just stick around long enough to find out,” he teased back.

  Bee helped me up to my bedroom for the last time and out of the stunning reception dress.

  “What on earth is this?” I asked pulling out a pair of faded jeans, a fitted t-shirt and a leather jacket. “Are we off to a concert somewhere?”

  “I’ve no idea, Laney Taylor. Your husband went through great lengths and secrecy to make this night better than a fairytale.”

  “And he succeeded!” I changed without arguing and with the last zip of my killer crocodile leather boots, I walked down the steps to a crowd of people milling about my porch. As the crowd saw me, they slowly cleared the way like Moses parting the Red Sea, and in my driveway were two Ducati motorcycles! My husband sat on one and the other had my name on it. “No freaking way!”

  “Yes, freaking way! Come on, Wife. This is part one of our honeymoon.”

  “What does that mean?” Donovan had also planned the honeymoon, so I had no idea where we were headed. Not surprisingly, he had purchased all my clothes for the honeymoon and had packed my suitcase as well.

  “We are riding to the hotel, and tomorrow we ride to where the plane is waiting.” That was all I was getting for now.

  “Well then, let’s go!” I ran through the showering of white grains of rice with, crazy enough, red and silver-dyed rice mixed in the batch. Mom had truly thought of everything.

  As I got on and looked over the bike, the nagging sensation that started my day came back. I knew there was something that needed to be done before we started our honeymoon. Getting off the bike, I walked a short step over to Donovan and asked him to follow me to our first of two destinations. He did as asked.

  “What are we doing back at our house?”

  “Can you come in for just a minute? I promise, it won’t take long.” I ran upstairs to our bedroom and had him wait by the staircase. After what seemed like an eternity, I frantically called Donovan up to our bedroom.

  “What’s the matter?” He had made a mad dash up the steps. “What’s wrong?”

  “This…” I handed him my wedding gift for a lifetime.

  “I can’t believe we’re back here.” I mused, watching the canals from our bedroom window.

  “And I can’t believe the wedding gift you gave me!” Donovan was still in shock with what happened right after the wedding.

  “What do you think I was going through during the wedding? I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I am now a certifiable floozy.”

  “That you are, my little tramp.” He had that look in his eyes again.

  “Shit. Not again. We just had sex for like the tenth time since we got to Amsterdam. We haven’t left the room. We haven’t had a bite to eat. Your baby is starving.”

  “That’s your faul
t for changing our honeymoon plans last minute. We could’ve been surfing in South Africa, but here we are lounging in Europe.”

  “I thought since this was the place that started it all, we should come back here. Plus, we’ll see water in a few days. The Maldives idea was a good one. I can’t wait to be on the water. You think I can do some water sports while I’m there?”

  “Absolutely not!”

  “Hell. I just want it stated for the record, it was all your fault. I told you we needed to wait or you needed to use something.”

  “Yeah, like after not seeing you for almost a month, I could hold back. Tell me again how this baby happened.” Yes! A baby, Our baby!

  “The baby was conceived that week we spent skiing in Switzerland, during Thanksgiving break.”

  Donovan and I hadn’t seen each other in close to a month, and decided that rather than spending time with the family during Thanksgiving, we’d spend it alone. I had a week off from school and Donovan’s last client was in Zurich, so we decided to meet in St. Moritz and ski for a week.

  “That was a hell of a week, wasn’t it?”

  “It was!”

  Donovan met me at the airport and we couldn’t keep our hands and lips off each other. The built up foreplay from sexting and phone sex reached its climax as we made a mad dash to the hotel and literally locked ourselves in for two straight days. What I failed to mention to my fiancé during the two days of uninterrupted sex was the fact that I was coming off a nasty sinus infection and that I was still on strong antibiotics. The doctor had warned me that antibiotics could reverse the effects of the pill, but since I hadn’t seen Donovan in a while, I figured it wouldn’t be an issue. Well, obviously I was wrong because the day of the wedding, I realized I was late with my period, and that had me wondering if I was possibly pregnant.

  “You know, I worked really hard to come up with details of our wedding that would make it memorable for you.”

  “And you did. Our modes of transportations were the best. How did you find that Cinderella carriage?”