by Cee, DW
“Where’s the ring? Have I received the wedding invitation in the post? Can you afford to give her all she deserves?” This Michael came inches from meeting my fist. He might as well have called me Commoner at the end of his sentence. I was about to challenge him when I saw Delaney walk off on her own. Our hole was a short one and close enough for me to see that she was alone rather than with her father and grandfather.
I left the asshole to mouth off to himself, and ran off to comfort my girlfriend. “Delaney.”
She immediately ran to me. “Donovan. What are you doing here?”
“I saw you walking by yourself so I came after you. What’s the matter? Why are you here, alone, and why are you crying?”
“I’m so miserable right now. This whole thing with Michael shouldn’t have happened…I don’t know how we ended up playing together…and you seemed so upset with everything…I’m sorry.” Watching Delaney cry was my least favorite pastime, but something about her head on my chest, and my arms enveloping her body—I didn’t mind her crying at all. “You know Michael doesn’t mean anything to me. You know I love you, right?”
“I know.” I kissed her head repeatedly. “I love you too, and I’m sorry I’ve made this difficult for you. I’ll try and finish this game without troubling you, OK?”
“Maybe we shouldn’t have come here. I can’t get my head into the game without worrying about you.”
“If you lose, you’ll be my sex slave, so I’m all for you losing.” She finally smiled. I knew talk of sex would make her happy. “I should have realized earlier this would stress you out. Let’s finish this game and go have a quiet evening in our room with no interruptions, all right?”
“That sounds wonderful.” All was good now. “You know I love you, right? You know that’s not why I haven’t agreed to marry you? I decided the other night when we talked that I was being silly and selfish. I thought I needed a…” She was too heartbroken to continue. This selfless woman was willing to give up her fairy tale proposal so I would feel secure in our love. “It doesn’t matter anymore what I need. We love each other and there’s no reason why we can’t get…” The only way to stop her from finishing this sentence was to kiss her. And kiss, we did! We went at it so long, the chief had to come break us up.
The rest of our play involved a serious wager with 5000£ on the line. My cheating girlfriend, and a very self-satisfied Roland won the large pot. We had to play nice and hang with the family before we could hie off to our room. The surprise of the day was not seeing the Benningtons, but finding out that the duke and Gram were acquainted already. They apparently had a history as they spoke tenderly to one another while Roland looked irritated.
While I counted down the moments till we could get onto more important matters, I had a word or two for my cheating girlfriend while the twins sat with us. “I expect you to show me your cunny-ing ways one more time when we get back to our room.”
“With pleasure, Mr. Taylor.” She grinned and planted a lush kiss on me.
“Damn! I didn’t think dinner was ever going to end. I’ve wanted to do this to you since we got here.” After being forced to dine with the families, and playing more than footsies during dinner, we raced to our room and I immediately held her up against the wall. The smart girl that she was, my girlfriend wrapped her long legs around me and rubbed herself against me to relieve the built-up pressure. I was not going to let her get off without me.
“Bed, now!” she insisted.
“No. Here.” I didn’t give into her demand.
By some miracle, I disrobed the both of us—at least the articles that needed to be off—and we were fully engaged. The way I was banging her up against the wall, I was afraid to see what her backside would look like after we were done.
“Babe. Come with me,” I begged.
She could be such a good girl at times. She came as I did and no different than our usual, we were done before we even got started. Shit! I couldn’t believe how quickly I came again. My performances had been embarrassing of late.
“Is sex always this good?” My once-innocent asked as we moved our setting to the bedroom.
“It’s never been this good, Babe. You bring out the crazed lust in me.”
“Tell me the truth. Does sex always feel like you’re pleased as hell to be falling off a cliff? I won’t be mad with your answer. I just want to know if this is how it would have felt if I’d had other partners.”
“Why the hell do you need to know about sex with other women and men right now?” Her question pissed me off.
“I was just curious to know what it’s like for others.” She was on the defensive. “It’s always so fast paced and frenzied for us, whereas in the movies they always show couples making love like they had nothing else to do the rest of their lives. Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” She went on her stomach and looked away. I was such an idiot at times.
“Come here,” I brought her into my arms. “I’m sorry for being a dick. When you mentioned hypothetical sex partners, it pissed me off to think of you with someone else.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” she giggled. “I haven’t been with anyone.”
“I know, but the thought of you wondering what it would be like with someone else put me in a hellish mood. Sex with you is really like no other. I’m not making this up. I’ve told you before—it’s a combination of you being a virgin, you being my future bride, me not wearing a condom—I can’t get enough. I keep thinking I can slow it down and make sweet love to my woman, but once we get going, it’s a race to the finish line.”
“Shall we play the tortoise rather than the hare this time?”
Could I ever beat my woman in a game of words? Definitely not. So instead, I did my best to play the tortoise this second round.
I called a late night meeting with the family after Delaney fell asleep so I could discuss my plans of finding a ring and proposing to my woman.
“What’s with the meeting at this hour?” Knowing Jake, he was grumbling because he and his wife weren’t in bed.
“A half an hour won’t kill you. I need some advice.”
“For what?” My future father-in-law, too, was grumbling.
I did feel a tad bit sorry for bringing everyone out at such a late hour. Our second-round tortoise sex lasted much longer to our delight, but obviously not to the delight of all who were falling asleep in Jake’s living area.
“Let’s get on with it, Donovan. At our age, every minute counts.” Roland chose to show up to Jake’s room in his pajamas and robe. Gram was properly dressed.
“I’ve figured out why Delaney won’t marry me. She’s waiting for a proposal!” I announced loudly and proudly.
“Shit. This is why we’re all meeting close to midnight?” Roland was pissed enough to grab Gram’s hand and pull her out of the room. “It took you long enough to figure this out.”
“Wait. You knew, Roland?”
“I hope you’re brighter in the courtroom and boardroom or my daughter is going to suffer with you. We all knew,” my father-in-law scoffed.
I saw my best friend laughing and even his sweet wife tried hard not to laugh at me.
“What the hell. You all knew and kept it from me? Why didn’t anyone clue me in? I’ve been wracking my brain wondering why Delaney wouldn’t marry me.” What the hell was wrong with the Reid family? “Pa, did you know?”
“I’ve known since Amsterdam.”
“What kind of betrayal is this where you all knew and yet you didn’t help me?” Seriously? Even my own flesh and blood didn’t help me.
“Baby asked me not to tell you,” was my father’s only excuse.
I was seriously shaking my head!
“Now that you’ve figured out Delaney’s one-heart desire, aside from yourself, how can we help you?” Emily was truly the only person here on my side.
“Thank you for your gracious offer, Emily. I need to ask Mom and Dad to take Delaney home with you
next week.” I addressed them first. “Originally, we were going to Vienna, Prague, and Munich together, but now, I need that time to search for a ring. I want to do this proposal right.”
“All right,” Mom answered. “We can do that, but how do we get her home?”
“Pa.” I had to wake my father up. He went from conversing with me to snoring within minutes.
“Huh?”
“Will you pay attention?”
“Then hurry up and spit out what it is you want from us at this late hour.”
“You and Ma have an anniversary coming up. Can you plan to celebrate it next Saturday?”
“I think our anniversary is in November. It’s always around Thanksgiving.”
“Delaney doesn’t know that. Just lie.” Was it too much to ask my father to go along with the program?
My future mother-in-law laughed. “It’s Henry’s birthday in a couple of weeks. We can celebrate it Saturday.”
“Finally! Someone who’s willing to help.” Pa rolled his eyes at my comment.
“Why the hell were we included in this meeting at this hour when I can be in bed with my wife?” My asshole best friend asked grumpily.
“I need the both of you to help me convince Delaney to fly home. I can’t go ring shopping and try and sell Roland’s company if she’s with me.”
“What kind of diamond are you looking for, Donovan?”
“I don’t know, Gram. I don’t have a clear idea. I’d like to do something unique, but when your best friend gives his wife the diamond to beat all diamonds, everything pales in comparison.”
Jake smirked and pointed to his wife’s ring, which apparently never left the finger.
“Donovan, you can take whatever I have.” My future mother-in-law was the greatest.
“The hell he can. I worked damn hard to provide those for you. Let him struggle with getting my baby a decent-sized diamond. Only after, can he take from your collection.”
“Donovan, when we get home. You can see what I have. Take what you like.”
“You’re welcome to sift through the Ascot jewels—at least what’s left of them.”
“Thank you Gram. Thank you, Roland. I appreciate the offers, but I want to get her something on my own. I’m going to have to do some research.”
Roland gently pulled Gram and readied to leave. “When I was preparing to propose to Estelle, I found a fancy-cut pink diamond but lost it to a higher bidder. If you have the patience and the bank account, I’ll lead you to some jewelers in Germany I was working with a few months ago.”
“A fancy-cut pink diamond?” I’d seen them in pictures, but hadn’t considered them in my price range. Once Roland sent me all his information, I’d do some research, take a good look at my bank account, and find the perfect diamond for my princess. A pink diamond...sounded perfect for my future wife.
The next day was filled with more golf and a half-day of shopping for the ladies. I spent the afternoon laying the groundwork for my trip to Germany and perused Roland’s fancy-cut pink diamond file. Against my desire, we all ended up at a dinner at the Bennington castle. My mood changed from shower-sex-happy to who-the-hell-has-this-kind-of-money, pissy one.
“Why do you look so grumpy? Jake asked as he dropped his kids off with the nannies and stood next to me to appreciate the grandeur.
“I’m suddenly feeling insignificant. Gram was right. Delaney could have enjoyed all this and more.” I suddenly wondered if I was being selfish. Obviously, Delaney liked this guy enough to call him her first boyfriend, and had I not come along they could’ve made it to the altar.
“I think in all the years we’ve been friends, this is the first time I’ve heard you sound unsure of yourself. Even when you heard Laney was dating someone, you were confident you’d win her back.”
“Wouldn’t all this,” I surveyed our surroundings again, “make you feel insecure? What if Emily had dated Michael and you took her away from such luxury?”
“My cousin has been in love with you since she laid eyes on you. According to Aunt Barbara, Laney announced that she had met her future husband and since then, you were a marked man. She loves you. She cares not where she’ll live or how much you have in the bank account.” Jake was a good friend. “It’s not as if you’re a pauper, yourself. By the time the AAP Europe sells, you could be sitting mighty pretty. Your wife will add her own wealth to that large pot.”
“I know.” I still wasn’t fully convinced. “When I see this splendor, I feel guilty I can’t give her the castles and tiaras she should have.”
Jake slapped my back and laughed. “Unless you’re the queen of England, nobody has a life full of castles and tiaras. Fret not, Buddy. We make our women deliriously happy.” Jake was right. This wasn’t a lifestyle for most people. “Speaking of deliriously happy, there’s my stunning wife in a knockout mini-dress. Please give my ample thanks to Laney for picking out a dress Emily would never wear in public.”
My best friend sauntered off to his wife and I decided I’d been away from my girlfriend long enough. This maudlin get-out-the-violin drama was futile. Delaney loved me. The rest would work itself out.
“Hello. I’m Donovan Taylor.” I greeted Michael’s parents and did what Gram asked of me by acting civilized.
“So you’re the one who took our beautiful Laney away from us.” Very different from Michael’s attitude, there was no malice in his mother’s voice.
“I can’t apologize for your loss because Delaney has become my greatest gain. I don’t know what I was thinking letting her go the first time.”
“We are sad for our son, but wish you both well.” Elizabeth Bennington was a classy woman.
“Thank you.” I tried to remain humble. My girlfriend was thrilled with my attitude tonight. “You look beautiful, Mom.” I turned my attention to my soon to be mother-in-law, and charmed my girlfriend even further. Mom responded with a dazzling smile that reminded me of Delaney’s. At first glance, mother and daughter didn’t look related, but when they smiled, the resemblance was almost uncanny.
“Son?” There was much affection in the chief’s calling. I was back to my old self already. “Will you get us a glass of wine?”
“White?”
“Sounds good.”
“Can I get you anything, Princess?”
“I’ll take whatever Dad is having.”
Before leaving for my errand, I commented on my girlfriend’s wickedly deceptive dress. Her outfit appeared to cover everything on the front side, but the back was bare down to her rear end. There were no undergarments because Delaney didn’t want “panty or bra lines” so I warned her to stay covered under her shawl. “Let me not see any skin on your back tonight or those perky nipples I so love to roll around my tongue.” By the immediate shiver, I knew we’d have a good time when this was all over.
“So how long have you and Laney known each other?” Ruby, Michael’s sister, sat next to me in an unending table where my girlfriend and her ex sat next to one another, about a mile away from us.
“I’ve known Delaney all her life. My family is close to the Reid family.”
“Isn’t it a little weird dating someone whose nappies you might have changed?” This Ruby Bennington had personality.
I laughed at her comment. “I’ve yet to change any nappies, so no, it’s not weird.”
“But if you’re as close as you say, you must have seen her through all her stages—braces, ugly mullet hairstyles, pimples, chubbiness, geeky glasses, no?”
“Delaney never had braces, was never ugly, wore her hair in pigtails a lot but I don’t remember any mullets, no pimples, no chubbiness, and no geeky glasses. What I remember of her as a child was her genius-level vocabulary, her hysterical humor, her bright personality, and her doll-like looks. She was beautiful then, and she is beautiful now.”
“It doesn’t feel like incest or child molestation?” Ruby laughed at her own inquisition.
“Nei
ther. I feel like the prodigal child who’s come home. My future wife and I were meant to be together since she tagged me as her future husband, thirteen years ago. I tried, but could not fight the willpower of a ten-year-old’s wish.”
“You’ll be good to my dear friend? You won’t beat her up physically or beat her down mentally?”
“I thank you for loving Delaney. She’s told me what good friends you and Michael have been to her since she landed in England. I will be beaten to a pulp by her and the Reid-Taylor families before anything happens to her. I promise to treat her like a queen the rest of our lives together.”
I thought I had won Ruby over with all my answers until I heard her next question. “Laney?” Ruby shouted across the table. “You want to spend the night here tonight?” Was she freakin’ out of her mind? There was no way I’d let my woman spend the night away from me and near her ex.
A verbal scuffle ensued between Michael and me, and this was the easier one compared to the one I got into with Delaney when she found out I was headed to Vienna alone.
“We have a bit of a change of plans.” I had to explain to Delaney and tell her why she was not traveling with me next week.
“And they are?”
“You are going home with Mom and Dad, and I am going on several quick trips throughout Europe. I’ll meet you at home Friday or Saturday.”
“Home as in Belgravia?” Delaney wouldn’t let it go. She was unhappy.
“Home as in our home in LA.”
“LA? Why are we going there?”
“Many reasons.” Shit. I was running out of reasons and looked at everybody who was in Jake’s room last night for help. Nobody helped.
“And those reasons being...?”
“To make sure our home has a roof, the beach house is still standing, the cars run, the LA office is billing copious hours, to celebrate your father’s 55th birthday, my parents’ 37th wedding anniversary...need I give you more reasons?”