Complete Indelible Love Series

by Cee, DW

  Max agreed wholeheartedly about Laney and Donovan being suited for one another. He turned each of our private conversations into a public one by asking my cousin about her future. “Laney, you have a clearer idea of your future after having been an unemployed college grad for a few months?”

  “Funny you ask…” She appeared somewhat hesitant about her answer. “I was thinking I might go to med school rather than film school.” She then turned to her boyfriend and added, “I’m sorry I haven’t mentioned this to you earlier. It’s been on my mind, but I literally just decided this morning and I was going to tell you…”

  “I am proud of you no matter what you decide to do.” Donovan kissed an unsure Laney. “But you can do whatever you like. You know that, right?”

  “I know, and that’s what my parents keep telling me, though I know Daddy wants me to go to med school. After hearing my dad speak at the conference in Amsterdam, I thought it would be a waste not to be under the tutelage of two brilliant surgeons on the cul-de-sac.” My egomaniac brother’s head was growing with each word of adulation. “But I’m torn between having kids soon, and being in school and residency for so many years. Jane, what will you do about your pending marriage and kids?”

  Shit, if that wasn’t the question of the century for me. This was a struggle for me, too.

  I answered the best I could. “Max and I will most likely get married as soon as his schooling is done. Maybe we’ll get married right here in Tuscany?” I’d thrown this idea out to Max earlier and his response was still the same. I knew a Vegas wedding was all right for this man as long as we married. “As for kids, I don’t know, either. I’d like to pop them out sooner rather than later, but it may be a few years.”

  Emily chimed in with her words of wisdom. “Ladies, you have many years before you have to have kids. I wouldn’t trade my three for anything in this world but I will tell you, once they arrive, there’s no sending them back. Do what you want to do, accomplish your goals, and then you can decide when it’s time to have kids. You don’t have to do everything at once, and all at the same time.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to spoil our godchildren in the meanwhile,” Laney took the words right out of my mouth. I loved these three, and now with the honor of god-parenting bestowed upon Max and myself, we would do our utmost for JR, Ellie and James.

  Breakfast with the family was ideal. Max and I played with JR while Jake and Emily prepared to leave for London.

  “He’s such a good baby, huh?” I couldn’t help kissing this little one.

  Maybe it was because we were his godparents, but JR tugged at my heart even more than the twins. At this moment, he looked very much like my brother and Ellie, which meant he looked a lot like me. He had a full head of black hair with wayward curls, clear blue eyes, and a pale complexion. His coos and gurgles made me want to procreate now and have a little one of my own. This baby in my arms was perfect.

  “You have a beautiful look on your face right now. I love seeing you with JR.”

  I loved this man who loved me so completely. “Would you consider having a baby as soon as we got married?” What a truly wild statement coming from someone who never really liked kids.

  “I’d make babies with you right now if you wanted one.” Max kissed me with much heat. “Should we hand JR back to his parents and go back in the room? I think I owe you satisfaction of the oral kind after the way you woke me up this morning.”

  I giggled and agreed. Who the hell could give up that kind of an offer?

  We didn’t need to go far. My brother and Emily were back in the kitchen with their suitcases.

  “You ready to leave?” I was eager to send them off.

  “Yep.” My brother answered. “We’ve said our good-byes to Donovan and Laney. I guess it’s good-bye to the both of you for a while. We probably won’t see you until we get back home after Thanksgiving.”

  “Max and I will be back in Europe every chance we get. We just need to hop a ride with Gimpy whenever his plane heads this way.”

  “We’ll see you soon.” Emily hugged me and said, “You and Max are as perfect as Jake and I, and Donovan and Laney. I wish you the same happiness I’ve experienced being Emily Reid.”

  “Thanks, Emily.” I kissed Emily and my godson on their cheeks. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Emily turned to Max and had tears in her eyes. “I’m so very happy for you, Mad.”

  Max hugged my sister lovingly. “I haven’t heard that name in years. I’d forgotten all about it.”

  “You will love my sister with all your heart?”

  “With all my heart and more…I promise.”

  “I wish you even more happiness than I have found. Words can’t express how overjoyed I am with the way life turned out for the both of us.”

  Max gave Emily a kiss on her forehead, which made both my brother and I, antsy. Neither one of us was crazy about this exchange of affection. Though none of it was inappropriate, and in reality, it was very much a brotherly-sisterly kind of love, Jake and I could have done without it. Their familiarity bugged us.

  “You ready to be loved?” Max asked once Jake and his family had left.

  “No. I think I’ll pack.” I walked upstairs without another word.

  Max followed but didn’t say much else. We packed in silence. As soon as we were done, he took hold of my hand and pulled me onto his lap on the sofa.

  “It’s my turn now.” He kissed me lightly on the lips. “Let me tell you about my four years with Emily.” He was no dummy.

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I said, and played it off like it didn’t bother me.

  My fiancé held back his laugh. “Oh, I think I have to, even if I don’t want to.” His smartass answer deserved a swift kick in the shin. “Ow!” He quickly amended his statement. “But, I really want to tell you about the three women I dated before the perfect woman came along and gave me hell.” After another smartass statement, Max was wise to lay us flat on the sofa, with our limbs entwined.

  “Start talking,” I commanded.

  “I don’t know if I need to explain Hannah any more than I’ve already explained. She and I were young; we made a terrible mistake; I made an even bigger one after she lost the baby. After what happened with Hannah, my parents were on my case so severely, I counted the days until I could get the hell out.”

  “I’m so glad to see that your relationship with your parents has improved.”

  “It’s all thanks to you, Gem.”

  I gave him an aw-shucks kind of look, but told him, “Continue.”

  “On the first day of school, my floor mates and I went to breakfast and there was this beautifully shy girl quietly listening to what everyone at her table had to say. We guys went over to introduce ourselves to the girls, and Em and I knew immediately that we wanted to spend time alone. We went to explore the campus, and I had her tell me all about herself.”

  I sighed. “I don’t know if you should continue.” I might have been jealous of Laney for petty reasons, but with Emily, I had real reasons to feel insecure. To me, she was perfection on a level I couldn’t compete against—ever.

  “If you don’t let me continue, how am I supposed to get to the part where I meet the love of my life?” Max held me tighter. He understood my insecurities.

  “This story already feels like you met the love of your life.”

  His body shook as he laughed. He continued his story without permission. “Emily told me about her sad life and instinctively, I wanted to protect her. Growing up, I never felt as if I’d done anything right; nothing I did was ever good enough. Back in undergrad, Emily and I filled each other’s emptiness. She wanted to be loved, and I needed to feel wanted. I liked being with someone who gave me peace, who encouraged me to be myself, and who never pushed me for answers.”

  “What answers did Emily need from you?”

  “I rarely spoke of my parents, though Josh and Garret c
ame into conversation often, and I didn’t speak of a future. The former was because my heart was so hardened where my parents were concerned. The latter was because I had no clue where I was going. Initially, I figured it was no big deal since I was only a freshman. But as the years passed by and I was still clueless about a future, I started to worry.”

  “So in the four years you dated, Emily never asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up?”

  “We spoke of it here and there, but she knew I didn’t know and she never badgered.”

  “You had a good woman there.”

  “I did.” Max stopped to gather his thoughts. I let him be. If I could learn anything from Emily, it was to allow this man to be the man he chose to be. There was no rushing Max Davis. “Fast forward four years, and I knew I had to let Emily go.”

  This was the part of their story I never fully understood. “How can you buy a ring for Emily, but soon after, break up with her?”

  “Would you believe me if I told you that I bought a ring for Emily to stop myself from breaking up with her?”

  “Explain.”

  “I knew toward the end of our relationship that we wouldn’t make it to the end. I loved Emily, but I wasn’t the right man for her. She had been through too much in her short life. I knew bringing her into the Davis fold wasn’t the right place for her. She needed a Robert and Sandy Reid to love and spoil her. My parents couldn’t do something like that—or at least that’s what I believed.”

  “So what did you do?”

  “So, what I did was buy an engagement ring with the earnings from my job at the lab.”

  “What the hell?”

  Max laughed. “My thought process at the time might have run along the same theory as divorce-ready couples creating a baby as a last-ditch effort. It was a bad idea, but I did it because I didn’t want to let her go. The thought of hurting Emily killed me. I didn’t know if I could do it.”

  “So the night of your graduation,” I moved this story along for him.

  “Days leading up to graduation, I talked to Peter, and he thought I was crazy to let Emily go. He encouraged me to propose and convinced me that was the right thing to do. I decided he was right and put together a plan to propose.”

  “So what changed your mind?”

  “During graduation, the idea of proposing stressed me out. It didn’t help that our speaker talked about going out into the world and making something of ourselves. I had no future, I had no income, and I had nothing to offer a wife. In the end, I reasoned that a man about to propose shouldn’t be stressed—nervous, yes, but not sweating profusely at the thought of being responsible for a mate. That’s when I knew for sure Em and I were not meant to be together.”

  “So you break up with Emily, then hook up with another woman all within a month? You were a regular asshole.”

  “I was.” He agreed with me. “I had a hard time letting go of Emily and her love for me. Not having grown up with affection and encouragement, Emily’s love was a godsend. You’ve seen her with your brother and their kids. You see how doting and motherly she is. I craved that attention and that’s where Jennifer came in.”

  “You met her after your accident?”

  He nodded yes. “She, too, had that motherly side to her, and I replaced Emily with Jennifer. It was an asshole thing to do to her; I hurt her badly.”

  “I didn’t realize you had such a selfish side to you.”

  “After Emily, I kind of spiraled out of control. My heart was even harder, and I didn’t see my parents for a very long while. After my brush with death, I finally woke up to reality and decided I needed to do something with my life. During that year off, I volunteered at a clinic and they assigned me to pediatrics. That’s where I found my calling. Once I got into med school and found direction in my life, thoughts of Emily resurfaced, only to be made worse when I saw her with your brother.”

  “The perfect Dr. Jake Reid.”

  “Yep. He was so perfect, it pissed me off.”

  I laughed. I knew about that pissed off feeling. Jake and his perfection had always been a thorn in my side. “So what did you do?”

  “I fought for Em. Deep inside, I knew Em and I didn’t belong together. It was one of those instances where I knew I didn’t truly want her, but I didn’t want anyone else to have her either. I did everything I could to tie Emily back to me, but her heart was already taken.”

  “Poor Emily. She had it rough dating my brother.”

  “She did. I was at her house when she told Sarah, Charlie, and me that she was leaving to teach in Japan. My heart split into a thousand pieces watching her force a smile on her face when she was feeling so broken. Right then and there, I knew I’d done her wrong, again. I vowed to help her find happiness—whether with Jake Reid or another man.”

  “What bothers me about you two is the strong affection you still have for one another.” This was something I didn’t know if I could ever overcome. “And what was with the nickname, Mad?”

  “Emily and I will always hold one another in the highest esteem because we were with one another during our darkest days. She came to school after having lost her mother, and soon lost her beloved grandparents. I came to school feeling relieved for having lost my child, and having found my freedom from oppressive parents. We were each other’s paradise. We grew up with one another and much of who we are now is because of each other. Think of it as two young people becoming best friends and watching each other grow up. Had we been the same sex, we’d still be the best of friends. It’s only because of propriety and the fear of your brother that we cut off our friendship.” Max was kidding about that last part—or so I believed.

  “OK…” Was it wrong of me to still be bothered?

  “We are only happy for the happiness each other has found—nothing more.”

  “And your nickname?”

  “M.A.D. are my initials. She used to call me Mad when she was proud of me. This was her way of telling me she was proud of me, of us—nothing more.”

  “All right.” I sighed, and decided to let it go.

  “If my relationship with Emily still bothers you, I’ll talk to Em and we’ll treat each other on a more formal level. She won’t be offended. She loves you like a sister and she wants to see you happy.”

  How stupid was I for still feeling insecure about my sister-in-law and my fiancé’s relationship? It was really time to let everything go.

  “I think if you offered that to Jake, he’d jump at the chance, but I’ve decided to stop badgering you about your past. We will only start looking toward the future, I promise.”

  Max stared at me for a good amount of time and decided he wasn’t going to find whatever he was searching for. Perhaps he thought I was going to pull a one-eighty on him. “I love you, my precious Gem.”

  That was good enough for me. Now that he’d spoken what was on his mind, it was time to put his mouth to better use.

  “How long is the ride to Rome?” I asked Donovan, who had booked us a private cabin.

  “A little over an hour,” he answered without looking up. He was busy preparing for a dinner meeting with some clients.

  “You staying at Gimpy’s apartment?” I turned my attention to Laney since Donovan looked as if he didn’t want to be bothered.

  “No.” Donovan answered regardless. “I booked us a hotel room.”

  “I see…” I wanted to leave that as an open-ended statement, but I couldn’t when I saw Laney blush and Donovan grin. “Why a hotel room when you have free lodging in a gorgeous place?”

  Max shook his head and gave me a stern warning.

  The crimson cheeks on my cousin’s face said it all, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “Well…uh…Donovan wanted…um…hell…” That was quite a mouthful. I couldn’t help but bust up at my cousin.

  “You afraid we might get in your way tonight?” I probed even deeper, to my fiancé’s consternation.

&nbs
p; Donovan was now fully laughing, but wouldn’t help his girlfriend answer my questions.

  “Ah, shit,” Laney mouthed. “Donovan says the Reids and Taylors have been a thorn in our sides in Europe, and he’d like some privacy.”

  “For what purpose?”

  Laney’s face went from sweet, to pissed-off, to resigned. “OK. If you must know…I am still a virgin and Donovan would like to do something about this, but our families and our nebulous status have been in our way.”

  Even Max burst into laughter with this candid statement. I knew Laney was an innocent, but I had no idea to what degree.

  “You’re still a virgin???” That came out wrong.

  “Yes?!?” Laney squeaked.

  “Leave my pure-as-snow girlfriend, alone, Jane,” Donovan warned in jest.

  I let it go for now, but I had to say, I was a little perturbed. As to exactly what bothered me, I’d have to think it through some more and possibly have a little chat with my fiancé about my own “virginal” status.

  With Donovan busy at work, and Laney turning on her tablet to watch a movie, I turned my attention to my fiancé, who was watching me with a smirk.

  “What’s with the know-it-all grin?”

  “I just can’t take my eyes off your beauty.” I knew there was more but he wouldn’t divulge any more info.

  “Should we really get married here in Florence? Would that be OK with you and your family?”

  “You do whatever your heart desires, Gem. We have very few Davises to call family, and you said my mom liked the idea of a Florence wedding.”

  “I need to find myself a wedding coordinator out here, don’t I? Where do I even begin to find one of those?”

  “I’ll ask Ruby and Michael if you need some help. I’m sure the Benningtons can help you,” Laney commented. “Although, I don’t know if Michael will talk to me.”

  Max and I caught Donovan rolling his eyes and chuckled. “Would you ask Ruby for me? I need to find a church to get married in, and a villa or vineyard or some large place to have a reception.”