Complete Indelible Love Series

by Cee, DW

  “Good.” I tousled her hair as if she was my seven-year-old sister. “Happy studying and stay safe. Don’t leave the library until Nick comes for you.”

  “Yes, Big Brother.” We gave each other a quick hug, and I left to meet my fiancée and her friends for dinner.

  The ride was a short one as everyone thought we should meet near school since I was the last one done for the day. I had some time so I called my brother in Italy, knowing he wasn’t asleep even at this late hour.

  “You do know it’s three in the morning over here?”

  “Yeah, but I knew you wouldn’t be asleep. How can you fall asleep at a decent time when you get up in the afternoon every day?” I razzed my little brother.

  “Hey. I worked damn hard to earn a 1:00p.m. wake-up time!” He defended himself with a chuckle. “What’s up? How do I get a few minutes of your precious free time when you have a beautiful fiancée to keep happy?”

  “We’re meeting for dinner, but I’m at the restaurant early, so I decided to see how my favorite brother is doing.”

  “What do you need?” He was no dummy.

  “You saw the website Jane sent you? Can you visit the place for us and give us a full report? Take copious pictures and maybe even a video or two.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, seriously. Don’t you want to be a part of our wedding?” I knew he didn’t, but I was sticking to my mantra of offense, not defense.

  “Not really.” He spoke without a care in the world. Maybe I needed to mix in some guilt with the offense.

  “Don’t you want to see your future sister-in-law happy?”

  “What the hell are you for if I’m the one making her happy?”

  Damn! There was one too many smartass twenty-three-year-olds in my family. “Jane was mentioning how much she trusted your artistic sense of style. She said that if you liked the place, she’d go with it, sight unseen.”

  “Really?” It was always about him. “My sister said that? She trusts my taste?”

  “Absolutely! She says she’ll book a ticket for you on the speed train. You can take a quick day trip to Florence and check out the wedding location for us.”

  “Tell her not to bother. My friends and I are headed there this weekend to paint the Tuscan scenery. Have her set up a meeting with the wedding coordinator and I’ll be there.”

  I guess offense wasn’t the answer to my brother’s cooperation. I needed to stroke his ego, or better yet, use Jane’s name to stroke his big-ass head. “Will do, Bro’. Jane will text you all the info.”

  “OK. I need to sleep now if I want to get up before noon.”

  “Dear God,” I muttered to myself. He was in for a shock when he got back to reality and found a job. “Thanks, Josh. Have a good weekend.”

  “Give Jane a hug and kiss for me.”

  “Will do, Bro’.”

  The conversation finished just in time for me to greet the love of my life, her best friend Becky, and Al, Becky’s husband.

  “Hello, my precious Gem.” I cupped her face with both hands and placed an I-missed-you-very-much kind of kiss on her.

  “Break it up, will ya? You think we can’t kiss like that because we don’t love each other anymore?” Al jested. “It’s not like we haven’t had sex in the last three months or something.”

  Becky elbowed him in the gut. “Shut up, Al. I’ve been tired. Give this pregnant mama a break.”

  This was going to be a fun night. “I see we will have some confessions tonight.” I spoke while shaking Al’s hand and kissing Becky on the cheek. “Let’s go in and grab a drink before confession, Al.”

  “Shit! What’s the point in complaining when there’s no resolution?” he grumbled while Jane and I found humor in Becky’s contorted expressions.

  “To friendships,” we four toasted once we all sat and received our drinks—Becky sticking to her tall glass of milk.

  “To having sex before our child arrives.” Al toasted by himself.

  “All right, Al. What’s with the complaints?” Jane questioned. “I’ve never heard complaints from my brother and he has three kids.”

  He took a large gulp of his beer before starting. “Well! The little woman here hasn’t let me touch her since she peed on a stick. Even a monk would be unhappy with his sex life!”

  Becky rolled her eyes in response. “You do know that monks don’t have sex?”

  “Exactly!” Al snorted. “You think it’s easy watching you sleep practically naked every night?”

  “Oh my gosh, Al. Give me a break. It’s only been a few weeks since I’ve denied you. Let’s not embarrass ourselves in front of a newly engaged couple.”

  This was almost better than snuggling in bed with my fiancée and watching a sitcom.

  “Why are you holding out? You pulling a Laney?”

  “What did you say, Jane?”

  “Why are you role-playing a virgin, Girlfriend?”

  “You try living with a child who likes to sit on your sciatic nerve.”

  “I thought he stopped doing that.”

  “He gave me a grace period for about a month, but now he’s back with a vengeance. I’m glad to be home on disability.”

  “You think you’ll go back to work after you have the baby?” I knew work vs. motherhood was always in the back of Jane’s mind.

  “I don’t think so, but I’m unsure. I want to leave my options open.”

  “Emily loves staying home with the kids, and I know my brother doesn’t want her anywhere but with the children.”

  “No doubt, it’s the best place for mother and child,” Becky agreed.

  “OK…” Al interrupted. “Enough heavy talk.”

  “Al’s right. Explain to me what you were saying about Laney.” Becky turned the conversation around. “What did you mean about pulling a Laney?”

  “She told us after the Bocelli concert that she was a virgin, and your brother had yet to accomplish changing the status.”

  “No freakin’ way!” Becky said a little too loudly. “Donovan Casanova Taylor is keeping his bride a virgin?”

  “I think he’s done the deed by now.” Jane laughed at her best friend’s stupor.

  “Are you sure, or is she going to hold out on him? After all that’s happened with them, I wouldn’t blame her if she kept him waiting.”

  “Let’s find out,” Al spoke while pulling out his phone. “Hello, Brother. You’re on speaker with my little woman, Max, and his little woman.”

  “Do you know what time it is in Munich, Asshole?” Donovan greeted.

  “How can you sleep tonight when you’re about to see the woman who’s up and left you again? What the hell do you keep doing wrong that your woman can’t stand to be on the same continent as you?”

  “Did you call me at two in the morning to harass me? I see that lack of sex is making you even crankier.” We all laughed, to Becky’s horror. “I’m a busy man who’s not only trying to sell a company and buy an engagement ring, but is also trying to get married.”

  “Shit, Al!” Becky hollered. “Who else have you told about our sex life?”

  “Lack thereof…make him happy and give it up, Beck. I’m tired of the whining.”

  “Oh my gosh!!!” She yelled some more.

  “Relax, Woman.” I found great humor in Al’s all-is-good attitude. “Your brother and I were lamenting together.”

  “We were not lamenting together.” Donovan explained, “Not that it’s any of your business, but there’s no issue with my sex life or my sex partner.”

  “So she put out, finally?” my fiancée asked.

  “You are bothering a very busy man. If you all don’t mind, my affairs are that of mine and my soon-to-be fiancée’s, and you all need to get a life.” We laughed at his cocky tone.

  “Will you be home tomorrow for your own party?” I asked.

  “Damn, I hope so. Roland’s plane is waiting to take me to London so I
can pick up a few items. Then I’ll hop back on the plane, and I should land in LA around five in the afternoon.”

  “You’re cutting it a bit close, Big Brother.”

  “Don’t I know it, Beck. I wish I could be with Delaney, but when she sees the ring I’ve procured, it’ll all be worth it.”

  “So you’ll propose tomorrow?”

  “I’ve no clue, Jane. I hope to, but I don’t know when I’ll find the time to pop the question. As it is, I’ll be the last one to arrive at the party.”

  Jane added, “But everyone is coming in to see you and Laney engaged.”

  “Damn! I feel like a chicken with its head chopped off these days. I’m going to lose all my hair by the time the company is sold and I get married.”

  “As I’ve noticed since I started dating Becky, life always works out well for you, Bro. You’ll figure something out.”

  “Have you talked to Laney today? I just saw her at the library before I met up with these three. She was working hard to get ahead so she could spend as much time with you while you’re in town.”

  “I’ve been so crazed today, I haven’t had a chance to talk to her. I’ll call her once I’m done with you guys. I don’t know how I’ll return to Europe once we get engaged. It’s going to be hard to separate.”

  “You’ll do what needs to be done and sell the company quickly. There’s no doubt in any of our minds that you’ll do a good job for AAP. Worry not, Donovan, and come home safely.”

  “Thanks, Jane. I shall see you all in about twenty-four hours.”

  “Well, that was sobering,” Al announced, after taking a chug of his beer. “Donovan Taylor, serious and hankering for a future—what has this world come to if he’s changed so drastically?”

  This was the first time the four of us spent quality time together and I enjoyed Becky and Al. I appreciated this easy-going relationship, and I loved that Jane and I had a future. Every day since I proposed felt good, but tonight felt real. We were headed to the altar and making our forever commitment. I sure as hell liked that thought!

  Chapter 5 Jane: The Surprised (Engaged) Guest

  “Max?”

  “Yeah, Babe.”

  “We should head over to Aunt Babs’.”

  “How about we finish what we started earlier, and then we’ll head over to your aunt’s?”

  Max and I got in late last night and didn’t wake up until almost noon today. This was the first Saturday we didn’t have anything going on until the evening. After Max brought us food to eat in bed, we laid around and watched a little TV until Max decided he was horny and needed some lovin’. We got as far as taking off our tops when the doorbell rang and Garret was in our home, desperate to use our Internet. Apparently, he had some unfinished work he needed to do remotely, and his internet went out. We had no choice but to stop and accommodate Garret. Our place wasn’t big enough for Garret to be in the living room and not understand what was happening.

  “We can’t show up after Donovan. We’d never hear the end of it from my family.”

  Max’s lips started sucking in all the right places. “We’ll be done in ten minutes. The way I’m feeling, we might even be done sooner.”

  I giggled. “Hold onto all those nasty thoughts and we’ll revisit after the party.”

  “Damn Donovan Taylor! He’s been a pain in my ass since the day I met him,” Max grumbled.

  “Let’s go.” I grabbed my fiancé’s face and pulled him away from my neck. I was wearing a dress tonight. I didn’t need red blotches illustrating what almost happened tonight.

  The party was just beginning when we arrived. Except for the guest of honor, we were the last to step into the revelry.

  “Hi Jane,” all of the Taylor sisters greeted me. “Congratulations! We hear you received a jackpot of a proposal in Tuscany of all places.” Kelley, my brother’s ex-girlfriend, embraced me with a sweet hug. Though Becky was my best friend, I loved Kelley like an older sister. We all believed Jake would marry her and unite our two families.

  “Thanks, Kelley. Let me introduce you to Max.”

  Each Taylor sister hugged my fiancé as though he was her brother. Rachel congratulated him. Kelley told him how lucky he was to have me as his future wife. But it was Amanda, the oldest of the Taylor women, who apologized for her brother’s sins. She didn’t belabor our past, but she did do her best to make sure there were no hard feelings.

  “Oh Mandy,” Becky groaned. “Jane is engaged. Donny’s about to get engaged. Why do you need to bring up the past? It’ll only embarrass the parties involved.”

  Amanda was still holding onto Max’s hands. “I want to make sure there will be no animosity. What Donny did was wrong and I don’t want Max to hate him.”

  She always looked out for all her siblings, but there was no doubt who she took care of the most. Donovan would be her oldest child, and she his second mother.

  “There are no hard feelings between us. I decided long ago to let Laney kick your brother’s ass for me. From the looks of it, she’s doing a fine job.”

  All four sisters laughed. “Speaking of, where is our fifth sister?” Rachel asked while the rest of them searched.

  I explained, “We saw her sitting outside, on her swing, waiting for her future hubby to show.”

  “He’s here,” we heard someone call out.

  Jamie and Aunt Babs stood in front of the window watching their “son” arrive.

  “Oh my gosh! I think he’s proposing to her, NOW,” Jamie spoke in a whisper that was heard all the way to the back of the room.

  We ran over to the two windows giving us a view of the swing and crowded one another for the best vantage point.

  “I don’t know what he’s saying but her face is getting softer by the word.”

  “She looks like she’s about to cry.”

  “Look at how much she loves him.”

  “And he loves her.”

  We all spoke in a jumbled mess; each person called out the emotions we were witnessing.

  “Oh my gosh, is that a pink diamond?” Becky screeched. “Leave it to Donovan Taylor to pick something flashy. Even his jewelry taste tends toward the metro side.”

  “Hallelujah!” I looked over at a crying Aunt Babs who teared in happiness for her daughter, who had been in love with Donovan half her life. “Our baby is getting married.”

  After what seemed like a kiss that lasted an eternity, the happy couple picked themselves up and walked in to greet all of us. We all descended upon the two like bees to honey.

  Laney showed off her ring, and Donovan received hugs and slaps on the back. With our two engagements, the Taylors’ anniversary, and Uncle Henry’s birthday, there were more than enough reasons to celebrate. We were all in a fine mood except for my brother and his is-she-or-isn’t-she girlfriend. I walked over to try and break their dour mood.

  “What’s with the frown, Charlie Brown?” I asked a solo Nick, since Bee left to congratulate Laney.

  “You damn women drive me nuts. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

  “What is it that you’re exactly doing?”

  “This dating stuff. It sucks.”

  “Why do you say that? I didn’t realize you and Bee were seriously dating.”

  “We’re not.”

  Damn, he was in a pissy mood. “If you’re not dating, then how can you say ‘dating sucks?’”

  He glared at me. “Will you stop being a lawyer and mind your own business?”

  “What did you say to him?” Max walked over as Nick stomped off.

  “Absolutely nothing.” I chuckled.

  “You must have interrupted him as I was interrupted this morning. Lack of sex could put anyone in a pissy mood.”

  I teased, “You don’t look put out at all to me.”

  “Oh, I’ll show you what ‘put out’ looks like as soon as I can get you alone,” he threatened.

  “I think I’ve decided to spend the night
at Mom’s with all the girls. We’re having an impromptu slumber party.”

  “Shit, Jane. Seriously?” Talk about pissy. “You’ve kept me waiting for hours.”

  “I’ve kept you waiting? Wasn’t it your brother who invaded our space earlier? Then, wasn’t it your mother who needed you to stop by and fix her computer? I think it was your family in cahoots to ruin your sex life.”

  “Are you really staying here tonight?” Max started sucking in all the right places again, this time with a room full of family and friends.

  “No,” I breathed heavily. “We’re having a slumber party tomorrow night.”

  “Good.” He kept assaulting my body and driving me hormonal.

  “Will ya break it up? You’re at a family function for crying out loud.”

  “Laney!” I pulled away from Max and hugged my cousin. “Let me see the ring…oh my gosh! It’s gorgeous!!!” Laney and I jumped up and down. “You did good with the diamond, Donovan Taylor.” I hugged my soon-to-be cousin with my free arm.

  “Congratulations.” Max and Donovan greeted one another. “Jake is not going to be pleased that you upped him in the diamond category.” Max picked up Laney’s hand and got a good look at her ring. “I’m very happy for you, Laney.” He also gave her a sweet hug.

  Donovan gloated, “I’ve already sent Jake a picture of the ring, and while he’s happy for my bride-to-be, he was a little pissed with me.” He grinned.

  “We can now wedding-plan together,” Laney and I said simultaneously.

  “Laney soon-to-be Taylor.” All the Taylor sisters huddled in the corner, motioned Laney over to them.

  “Shit. What the hell are my sisters up to now?” Donovan griped. “Don’t go.” He held onto his woman.

  Max and I laughed at his childish play.

  “What are you afraid of, Mr. Taylor? Are there more secrets I’m to learn from your sisters?”

  “I don’t think so, but it isn’t unheard of for them to make my life miserable. Ignore them, Princess. What can they do for you that I can’t?”