by Cee, DW
That was a lot of take in tonight. Not wanting to face Kate just yet, I walked to the beach, far away from our villa, to think.
“Mr. Taylor.” A soft voice called out to me. Initially I thought I was hallucinating, but it was all real—Delaney was sitting on the beach herself.
“Why are you here alone? Where is the rest of your family?”
“Doug and Nick went out for drinks with some women they met, Jane is preparing for your evening meeting, and I thought I’d enjoy the sunset.”
“Have you had dinner?”
“No. I’ll grab something later.”
“I’d take you to dinner except we’re dining with our clients.”
“No need, Mr. Taylor. I’m just grateful you brought me to such a gorgeous destination. I’ll get out of your way so you and Kate can have your drinks. Your villa is stunning.” She quietly spoke those words, and got up to leave. I wanted to spend more time with her, but after Jake and Emily’s over assessment of our friendship, I didn’t want to give any more credence to their statement.
We both went our separate ways.
“How can they be so young and so rich?” Jane whispered after meeting our clients, Brad and Weston.
“Who the hell knows? We are here to make their every wish come true so that some of their wealth will come our way.”
“Yeah...some might come your way, but it’s not trickling all the way down to the basement level that I’m standing in right now.”
“You’ll get there soon. How can you not with Roland wrapped around your finger?”
“Hey. I’m a damn good patent lawyer.”
“You are, my vixen. But if you weren’t Roland’s granddaughter, would you have been chosen to spend a week in paradise?”
“Well...” Jane laughed. “Connections do have their privileges.”
“Let’s get to work. I have an early tee time to make.”
“What are you going to do when you lose to Laney?”
I scoffed at Jane’s remark. “Are you freaking kidding me? I don’t lose in golf. I won’t lose to a girl!” I insisted. “But if I do, I’ll go on a hike to the volcanoes.” I conceded, just in case I might eat my words. “By the way, what’s with you taking an entire room by yourself and having Delaney sleep on a roll-away with the two goofballs?”
“I have to work!” she defended herself, “and Max will be here tomorrow.”
“Shit! You’re going to have Delaney in that tiny room with four men? What kind of cousin are you?”
Jane was pissed. I usually enjoyed the verbal sparring and banter between us but this conversation pissed me off, too. “If you’re so concerned, why don’t you and Kate give up a couple of rooms? It’s not like we don’t know you’ll be sharing a bed!” Jane stalked off like a mad five-year-old.
“Everything all right?” Kate came over and sat next to me in the meeting room while Brad and Weston ordered their drinks before the meeting began.
“Everything is fine.”
“You and I never got in the drinks on the lanai.”
“Sorry.” I thought about lying to Kate but decided it was unwise. “I ended up talking with Jake and Emily, then found Delaney on the beach by herself, so I stopped to talk to her for a little while.”
“You seem fond of this Delaney or Laney, as she has asked me to call her.”
“She’s a sweet girl. I’ve known her since birth. She’s like a fifth sister to me.”
For the first time since I met this gorgeous woman ten years ago, she had a sour look. “Are you sure that’s all it is? You two looked close when I saw you on the beach.”
“Oh...that...well...” I sputtered like an idiot. “It’s a long story but she was seeking revenge because I threw her into the ocean because...never mind. We are friends.” I didn’t explain beyond that.
Perhaps it was the ocean air, or the beautiful surroundings, but Weston and Brad were amenable to our every suggestion. There was no haggling over issues, price, terms—they said yes to everything. When this was over, our firm would make out like bandits. Roland and the senior partners would be pleased.
“If there’s nothing more, Gents, I need to get some shut-eye. I’ve got a 5:00am tee time.” I explained, excusing myself from the table.
“You’re golfing tomorrow?” Weston was interested. “May we join you?”
“Sure!” The more the merrier. These generous two would most likely pick up the golf tab, not that I’d have issues with paying for myself and Delaney. “I’m golfing with Jane’s cousin, Delaney, and the head golf pro, Nolan, at this resort. I’ll call and change our reservation to a fivesome.”
“Sweet! I’m glad we brought our clubs.”
“You came prepared. I wish I’d brought mine.”
I got back to the villa and took the room that was not Kate’s. Like the chickenshit that I was, I quickly prepped to go to bed before Kate walked in and questioned why I wasn’t in her bed.
How does Delaney take her coffee?
What the hell? Why are you texting at this hour?
I thought since you planned this challenge for me, my dearest best friend, you should wake up with me. It’s almost five. Get up!
Emily says she likes it strong with a splash of hazelnut creamer.
Thank you, Emily.
You’re not welcome, Asshole! We’re here to sleep. Stop texting.
I just gave you the perfect reason to have early morning sex.
I got no response. I was sure Jake was already getting busy with a sleepy Emily.
“Good morning!” Those two words were a delicious caress as she snuck up from behind me and spoke into my neck.
“Good morning, Delaney! You ready for the big challenge?” I handed her a perfect cup of coffee and her face showed a mixture of appreciation and bafflement. “I know a lot more about you than you think I do.” I explained the confusion away.
She gave me a whatever look, and we walked to greet the three waiting for us at the first tee.
“Delaney Reid, Weston Hong and Brad Wang. Gentlemen, Delaney Reid.” I wasn’t sure I liked the look-over Weston and Brad were giving this little girl while I made the introductions. I’d have to keep her close to me all day.
“Any questions before we start?” Nolan asked and we all shook our heads, no. “Let the good times roll.”
Delaney took her first shot and damn! It was a beauty. Why hadn’t I golfed with this girl more often?
“Very nice shot, Miss Reid.” Weston stuck right next to Delaney starting from the second hole. He had convinced Brad to sit with me in the golf cart and snatched Delaney away from me.
“Why thank you.” She gave Weston her golf saga from when she was young, and I was annoyed enough to pull her back to the game.
When it wasn’t Weston gaining her attention, Delaney hung out with Nolan, who was giving her useful tips concerning the course. They weren’t cheating, but it annoyed me that they were so friendly after having met just yesterday.
“Hey. Can you tone down the flirting? I’m sure you think since you won’t ever see these men again, it’s harmless to toy with their emotions, but it’s not cool. You look like a floozy.” That last word wasn’t the best thing to say. Her face blanched and her eyes looked pained. She walked away before I could explain myself.
The rest of the day was a fight till the bitter end on the golf course. We kept besting one another on each hole, and it wasn’t until the very end when she beat me in a sudden death playoff, that I saw her smile again.
“What the hell happened, again? Do I need to be your guide in every matter of love?” Jake whispered after I’d made another idiotic move, and accused Delaney of cheating in golf—in front of the entire group at lunch. Her defeated look was no different than a knife through my heart. Sure, I was being surly for losing to a girl, but I didn’t mean as much harm as I’d placed.
“She flirted with every man on the course, and I called her a floozy and a
cheater. I know she didn’t cheat, but I don’t like losing and I don’t like seeing her chatting it up with other men.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“Pray that Emily will make it all right for me since she went out to talk to her?”
“You know my cousin is sweet and naïve. She doesn’t flirt. What she probably did was answer everyone’s questions with a smile and a genuine interest in return.”
Jake was correct, but I didn’t want to admit it. “I’ve seen her flirt and trust me, it was more than a benign interest in return.”
“Blind, deaf, dumb, and an asshole—that about sums you up in four words.”
Whether or not I believed Jake, I did need to make up for my surliness. I scheduled a tour of the volcanoes she wanted to see and invited our lunch group to join us. Only Weston and Brad accepted.
“Where’s Delaney?” I asked when we all gathered for dinner.
Our clients declined our invitation to have dinner with the “family” and went on a helicopter ride at sunset. When I didn’t see this little girl at our dinner table, there was the initial fear that she might have gone with them.
“I don’t know. Jane? Doug? Was she not with either of you?” Emily asked.
“No.” Both answered without much concern. “I’m sure she’s just running a little late.”
Halfway through dinner, I was worried and pissed that this girl hadn’t shown up.
“What’s the matter? Why are you so antsy?” Kate put a hand on my jittery leg.
“It’s nothing.”
“Well if it’s truly nothing, then can we go back to the villa after this meal and have a talk? I’d like to know what’s going on with us, and I need an answer from you. You’re avoiding me and I don’t like it.”
“Yeah. Sure.” I didn’t have a choice but to agree. Our talk was long overdue. Ending my relationship with Kate was priority number one.
Delaney never showed up to dinner, and I was worried until I caught a glimpse of her sitting on the sand, alone. I wanted to reach out to her, but with Kate attached to me, I was stuck having to get out of this drawn-out relationship.
“Jake and I will take care of her,” Emily whispered as she gave me a hug goodbye. “You take care of this asinine situation with Kate.”
I gave her a slight nod and walked back to the villa with Kate.
“Donovan, I want to know where we are at with us. I’ve asked if your offer of marriage is still on the table and though you said no, I didn’t read it as a resolute no. I want us to get married and have kids. I should have come to you sooner, and it wasn’t easy for me to admit that I wanted a child, but I have, and you’re the only man I can see myself having children with...” She left herself wide open and I needed to gently close that door.
“Kate. I...”
“Hello?” We both looked out to the lanai where Brad and Weston were standing. “May we come in?”
“Sure.” The relief of not having to speak with Kate was palpable. She could feel it too, and wasn’t thrilled.
Our clients came up with a few changes they wanted to take care of before we left for our all day excursion, tomorrow. We called Jane to our villa and got to work.
“What was with Kate tonight? She was like a depressed lioness who lost her claws.”
“What the hell, Jane?” We laughed as I walked her back to her room.
“You and she have a fight?”
“Something like that. When are the Davises coming in?”
“Tomorrow around noon.” Jane was practically skipping back to her room. “Thanks to you and Laney for getting the clients in a good mood, I’ll have tomorrow free to spend with Max.”
“All is going well with him?” Suddenly, the air became thick and uncomfortable. Jane stumbled through her words about how she loved Max and how they were enjoying their relationship. “Jane, my vixen, I am happy for you. This whole attraction thing between you and me is actually comical and insane at times. We both enjoy the flirtation, but you are special to me and have always been. If you are happy with Max, then I am nothing but thrilled for you. I don’t ever want to lose you as a friend.”
“Thanks, Donovan. You’re very special to me, too, and I don’t want anything to change between us. I enjoy our friendship and like you said, timing wasn’t ever right between us. This is probably best for us, and the way it was meant to be. Friends?” Jane put out a hand for me to shake.
“Friends!” I kissed her forehead and said goodnight.
I sat in the bar for a while and wanted badly to call Delaney. I needed to make sure she was all right after the way I treated her earlier; I wanted her to join me and tell me everything was good between us. Just like I had come to a friendly conclusion with Jane, I needed that kind of closure with Delaney.
Lucky for me, Kate understood I was not in the mood to discuss us any further when I arrived back at our place. Her room was dark, thank God. I took up residence in the second bedroom.
The ride to Hilo was green and long. There was no sight of the ocean for a good hour, only lush trees and greenery. Outside of a simple hello, Delaney went mute on me this entire day. Instead, she laughed and enjoyed her time with Weston and Brad. Even our tour guide would crack jokes with her, and she did everything possible not to have any contact with me.
If that didn’t piss me off, Weston Hong was about to get the shit pummeled out of him if he didn’t stop touching Delaney. She didn’t look to be returning his advances, and she didn’t particularly look happy whenever he touched her, but I was furious with her for putting herself in such a dangerous situation.
“You’re flirting with my clients and I don’t like it. You could jeopardize our relationship with them once they realize you’re just playing games with them.” I hissed at this girl the moment she untangled herself from the three men.
“I’m not flirting with anybody.” She sounded hurt. I dared not look in her eyes.
“Yeah you are. My clients’ heads are spinning every time you smile at them and touch them.”
“How can you say that?” Shit. I still wasn’t looking at her face, but I could hear her whimper like a wounded animal. “I can’t believe you just said that to me.” After a few more choice words letting me know what a dickhead I was, Delaney stopped talking all together. She wouldn’t have lunch with us, and we all let her be. Part of me was happy that all the flirtation ended, but a bigger part of me was uncomfortable with the way I’d unfairly treated this girl.
Brad and Weston decided to spend more time in Hilo, so after I arranged for a different tour guide to take care of them, the three of us headed back to the other side of the island.
“Should we call everyone out and go to the beach?” I carefully approached Delaney who was pretending to sleep.
She opened her dejected eyes and peered into mine. “Sure,” she whispered and went back to “sleep.”
Our guide led us to a locals’ only beach where the sand was green and the waves were high. Delaney smiled for the first time today, and took the surfboard and bikini Doug brought for her from the hotel. She didn’t ask for permission, and she didn’t mingle with any of us. As soon as she changed, she dove straight into the water and the surf became her stress reliever. The smile was back on both our faces.
“Damn she’s good! Who taught Delaney how to surf?” I asked everyone around me.
“We weren’t lying when we said she rocks in just about every sport,” Doug explained. “Our little Laney has been surfing since she could swim.”
I was about to say something when out of nowhere, Delaney wiped out and I panicked when I saw the surfboard come crashing on her head. “Shit!” I ran into the water and grabbed her before she went down and swallowed more water. “Delaney.” I held onto her. I hugged her. I couldn’t let go of her. My life flashed before me, and I saw it without this girl and it momentarily paralyzed me. “How do you feel?”
“My head hurts and I feel dizzy.
I want to throw up.” Even though I held her, I felt like I was losing her. “Why are you in here helping me?” She asked this asinine question.
“What the hell kind of question is that?” I was furious she thought so little of my concern for her. It pained me to think I might have lost this girl and all she could do was wonder why I was here helping her? “Why the fuck do you think I’m in here?” Those words woke her up from her daze, and she furiously swam away from me. I grabbed her and pulled her onto shore with me then picked her up.
“Please put me down,” she begged.
“Stay still, Brat!” I held her tighter and fought to keep her in the safety of my arms. “You’ve been a pain in my ass all day today.” I meant to say this only to Delaney, but somehow the fight between the two of us escalated and I’d embarrassed her in front of our group.
She was pissed. “I didn’t ask you to come into the ocean and save me.”
She was hurt. “I get it.” Her words were barely audible, but I heard them loud and clear. “You don’t want me anywhere near you. I’ll stay away.” With her shoulders slumped, she ran the hell away from me.
“Long day?” Emily greeted me at their door.
“Damn you look ugly. Come in.” My buddy actually welcomed me into their sanctuary. “Max told me what happened when he brought Laney up here so I could check her out. Is there anything else I should know that I don’t already know?”
“What did Max say?”
“Laney hurt herself while surfing, you were a dick to her, and she’s nursing more than a head wound. Is that all?”
I ignored Jake and went to his laptop on the desk. “Can I use this? I want to show you something.”
“Make it quick. Emily’s getting a bath ready and I want to hop in with her.”
I gave him a dirty look and Jake smiled like an asshole.
“What do you think of this beach house?”