by Cee, DW
When Jake asked how his best friend became so good at gambling, he answered, “Strip poker is all I have to say.”
“I’m going to have to teach Jane to play strip poker. Maybe that’ll entice her to get off this crazy no-sex-till-the-wedding-night idea.”
“What the fuck, seriously?” Donovan asked in horror.
I didn’t go into details until Donovan gave me a ride home from the cul-de-sac. “What the hell do I do?”
Once this jerk stopped laughing at me, he answered, “Seduce her. You think after having had a taste of sex—assuming it’s good sex…” He started howling at the insinuation.
“Asshole.” The laughter spilled from my end, too.
He pretended to clear his throat. “Yeah…assuming you’re doing everything right, how long do you think your woman can go without sex?” I hadn’t thought of that. “Just (re)open that barn door and let the stud ride free.” He was using Jane’s metaphor. “If that still doesn’t work, consider getting some lessons. Jake and I are available and we’ll even offer you the friends and family rate.” Even with the insult, that stupid grin was contagious.
“Go home, Asshole. I got it from here.”
“I think I will go home and unleash my own stud.”
I hoped my woman was asleep already. A sneak attack—that would be the best way to seduce my woman.
Chapter 4 Jane: Celebrating Celibacy
This keeping the barn door shut wasn’t easy business!
Damn. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever committed to in my life. I could’ve passed a lifetime of Bar exams much more easily than refusing sex to my husband-to-be. Luckily, the cold weather kept me in thick clothing in and out of bed.
We were already in February, and headed back to Florence to make a few last decisions before our wedding in May. Like an old-fashioned dating couple, I allowed Max the liberties of some heavy petting, but stopped him before his hands went under my clothes.
Last night, he was frustrated as hell when he proclaimed, “Forget it, Gem. I’m not going to touch you anymore if you won’t let me go beyond feeling you over this damn sweater.”
“What do you mean you won’t touch me?”
“What’s the point of getting myself worked up only to be rock hard the rest of the night? I wake up pissed and the rest of the day is no better.”
“Don’t you…relieve yourself…like in the shower or something?” We’d never ever talked about this touchy subject.
“Hell no. Why should I when I have a fiancée?” Suddenly, Max’s pissed-off demeanor made a turn for the worse, if that was possible. “Have you been taking care of yourself? Is that why you’re not as agitated as I am?”
What to say…? Did I incriminate myself? Should I deny any wrongdoing? Who knew this wasn’t allowed? “Um, I don’t remember us having any discussion about relief, or lack thereof…” That sounded totally lame.
Max jumped off the bed, dug through my toy chest, and pulled out all the vibrating toys that he’d supplied. All of them ended up in the trash. For the first time in weeks, he had a genuinely happy face. “There. That evens the playing field. I should’ve thought of this earlier.”
“Why the hell did you throw those away?”
“If I’m going to suffer, so are you. I’ll agree to stop when you say, ‘no.’ You need to agree to keep your hands and objects off your body. Got it?”
That wasn’t exactly a question as it was more of a demand. I supposed I did this to myself. I had no choice but to suck it up for three more months. “Got it,” I agreed with much hesitancy.
Today, we were headed to the airport with a surly Nick, who was in a deep conversation with Donovan, Jake, and Max. They stopped talking as soon as I walked in the room. No matter how much I begged Max to tell me what the conversation was about, all he mentioned was that it was part of Emily and Laney’s Valentine’s Day present.
“I’ll tell you exactly what this present is if you’ll give me free reign over your body when we get to your grandfather’s villa,” was his demand. I hated being curious, so his offer was like temptation of water in the Mojave Desert. I decided to go thirsty and stick to my guns.
“Jane,” Nick talked to us for the first time since we arrived in Florence. He looked nervous. “Any chance you and Max want to accompany me to the Bennington Villa? You can meet the Benningtons and say hello to Bee.”
I wanted to lend my support to my brother who was having a hard time with his relationship. But, to be honest, I wanted to go with him because this villa was supposedly even more incredible than the Antoni Villa. This was something I had to see for myself.
“Wow!” Max and I both exclaimed, driving into the estate. The property lines weren’t visible to the naked eyes—that’s how large these grounds were.
“To think Laney gave up all this for one Donovan Taylor,” I mused. “I’m going to send my partner pictures of what could’ve been for Duchess Laney.”
“I’m sure he’ll love that while he’s in Vegas celebrating his birthday with his family,” Max added sarcastically.
We arrived to find Ruby, and eventually Michael and Bee, greeting us out front.
“Wonderful to see you again.” Ruby gave us a warm welcome. “This is my brother Michael. Michael, this is Laney’s cousin, Jane and her fiancé, Max.”
“Hello.” I greeted Michael after returning Ruby’s warm hug. Nick and Bee walked off as soon as greetings were done.
“We’ve spoken once before, haven’t we?” Michael shook Max’s hand and opened the dialogue.
“Yes, we have. That was the fateful day you left your then-girlfriend as prey for that snake who slithered along the very next day.” What the hell? I had no clue, but by the grin on Michael’s handsome face, he had a clue or two.
“More like a vulture. A warning would’ve been nice,” Michael complained. “How is that jackal treating his prey?”
“Like a lion protecting his lioness and cubs. All is well.”
“OK…” Ruby spoke. “Now that we’ve covered the well-being of the animal kingdom, how about we give Jane and Max a tour of the grounds and have some lunch?”
“Sure.”
As soon as we stepped down to the driveway, another car pulled in and out walked a man whose presence reminded me very much of Sir Roland Ascot III.
“Grandfather.” Ruby greeted happily. “And look who’s with him.” She ran to the other side of the car and greeted a cute, petite woman who reminded me of Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey. It could’ve been more the setting than the actual person. “Chloe!” Ruby embraced her fiercely. “Where’ve you been? How come you haven’t returned any of my calls? I was hoping to take you with me on that damn Arctic tour.”
The laugh on this Michelle Dockery look-a-like was charming. With a strong British accent she said, “Why do you think I’ve been avoiding you? Niles told me about the bet you lost. I knew that was why you were calling ten times a day.”
“No hello for me, Chlo-No?” Michael called her by what I assumed was a term of endearment. She hesitated before walking into his outstretched arms. “It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah.” She didn’t sound convinced. “I hear a lot has happened in your life since we last spoke?”
“I have a long list of ‘I’m sorrys’ for you, but if I start now, the duke might be a little upset we’ve ignored him.” He leaned in and kissed her on the temple before letting her go.
“Grandfather, this is Jane Reid and her fiancé, Max Davis.” Ruby beamed like a knowing child. “Jane looks a lot like someone you once knew and loved, huh?” She then turned to us and introduced her grandfather with all the fanfare of his names and titles.
“It’s very nice to finally meet you.” I leaned in to embrace him as if he was my own grandfather. Something about this man tugged at my heart. His love for my Gram became legendary on the cul-de-sac since everyone returned from London. I had warned Gimpy to outlive Gram. Otherwise, she mi
ght have to marry a third time.
The duke stared at me for an uncomfortable while and welcomed us to his home. He then abruptly left us.
“Don’t let him intimidate you, Jane. I think he’s a little dumbfounded at how much you look like your grandmother.”
“Oh, he doesn’t intimidate me. I think you need to find your grandfather a wife. He shouldn’t live alone. Watching my grandparents, I think love the second time around is just as sweet.”
“I’m sure if he found love with your grandmother the second time around, it would’ve been sweet, but I don’t know how someone his age finds another woman. It’s not like he can go to a nightclub and meet her.”
“True,” I agreed. “By the way, I need to thank you for introducing me to Antoni Villa. If you and your family are in town, I’d love to invite you to our wedding, if that’s not an uncomfortable situation with Laney being married and all.”
“We would be honored to attend. Plus, it’ll give my grandfather something to look forward to since your grandmother will be in attendance.”
Ruby and I got along well. Not surprisingly, the men found many common grounds and enjoyed their time together as well.
“What’s the story between your brother and this Chloe?” I asked, as we were getting ready for dinner. Max and I were told that a meal with the Benningtons was a formal affair most of the times. We both had to borrow some clothes to attend.
“You noticed that, huh?”
“How could you not? The air was thick and heavy, and their relationship was ripe for romance. Is she an ex? A possible future girlfriend?” I brought up all the possibilities.
“She’s a childhood friend who literally grew up with us. Her family has been with us for generations and now she works for my grandfather.”
“What does she do?”
Ruby had to think about this one. “Technically, she’s an interior designer. But for now, she’s acting as my grandfather’s personal assistant.” I must have had a questioning face because Ruby answered, “Don’t ask.”
“And your brother?”
“That too, better not to ask.”
“Well, if you put it that way, I must ask.”
Ruby laughed. “I would label them as ‘unwilling-to-admit-childhood-sweethearts.’”
“They’ve been unofficially together for that long?”
“Yeah, until Laney showed up.” Ruby found much humor in this story. “The day Michael met Laney at the airport, he was supposed to wait for Chloe, who was on a later flight. He apparently told her he’d pick her up, but forgot all about his ‘Chloe-No’ until recently. It’s not a happy situation and I can’t wait to see how he gets out of this one.”
This was a juicy piece of gossip I couldn’t wait to tell my cousin. “So now what? How’s he going to get her back?”
Ruby’s laughter continued. “You haven’t heard?” I shook my head no. “My brother has shown an interest in Bee Taylor. I think your brother better watch out or Michael may pull the animal kingdom move on Nick.”
“I’ll let him know. But you should let your brother know that Bee is pretty much spoken for and so are Michael and Chloe, from what I can see.”
Ruby snorted. “Yeah, I’ll clue in the future duke.”
Dinner was a grand affair with almost a server per diner. I’d never seen such pomp and circumstance for a family meal—for any meal.
“Do you do these formal affairs every night?”
“Yep.”
“How do you do it? What a hassle to get dressed for dinner every night.”
“This is all I know. My first dinner in the dorms in a US college, I came dressed in a regal dress and everyone, I mean everyone, stared at me throughout the meal. It was an adjustment to go the other way.”
I stopped having a private conversation with Ruby and decided to show some manners. “Thank you so much for having us for dinner. I know you weren’t expecting three more mouths to feed.”
“Any friend of Michael and Ruby’s is a friend of ours. We seem to have an affinity with the Reid and Taylor families.”
“Like hell we do.” The duke spit out, to which Lizzy Bennington, Ruby and Michael’s mom, countered with much charm and grace.
“You know,” I slipped into this conversation, “I warned Gimpy to stay healthy because we might lose Gram to a certain duke in England if she outlives my grandfather.”
The duke finally cracked a smile. “You’re as sassy as your grandmother.”
“No. Laney got the personality, I got the looks.”
“A deadly combo,” Harry Bennington answered with a wink, and then went back to his Beef Wellington.
“How is our Laney feeling? I hear she’s carrying twins?” Lizzy asked.
I explained Laney’s married life, school life, and pregnant life to the family who wanted her as one of their own. The Benningtons were good people not to hold a grudge against my cousin who broke Michael’s heart. From the sound of it, Michael was still reeling from losing the woman he thought would fill the role of his duchess. Personally, I thought he should concentrate on his “childhood sweetheart.” She appeared perfect for him.
“Where’s Chloe?” Ruby and I went back to our private conversation.
“She left for Rome on an errand for my grandfather.”
“What was so urgent that she had to leave without having dinner?”
“Getting away from ‘the duke.’” I assumed it was the second in line, rather than the present one, Chloe was running from.
“Max,” Harry Bennington called my fiancé. I had been so busy checking out the weirdness between the Michael-Bee-Nick triangle I’d forgotten about the man who was holding my hand at the dinner table. “Was Antoni Villa accommodating to your needs?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“I’ve been hearing rumors about this villa being sold. I think Antoni is having money issues. That Italian is worse than any English I’ve seen.”
“What do you mean?” I interrupted. Damn. I didn’t need any more issues with wedding sites.
“Antoni gambles on everything and anything. The latest I heard was that he gambled away his Normandy estate, his wife is divorcing him, and his mistress is freely spending on his black Am-Ex card. I’ll keep my ears open for you.”
“Thank you.” I groaned at the thought of looking for another location.
“My invitation still stands. You can marry here. It’ll give my over-paid staff something to do.”
“We will keep that in mind.” At least we’d have this place as backup, if all else failed.
“What did you think of the Benningtons?” I asked Max as we readied for bed.
“They were kind and generous. I think once Michael and Harry let go of their respective Reid women, we can all be lifelong friends.”
“I thought the same thing. I like Ruby very much. I can see why she and Laney struck up such an easy friendship.” I saw Max pull out a red box from his suitcase. “What’s that?”
“It’s our first Valentine’s Day as an engaged couple. I couldn’t pass on this day even though you’ve told me we would not be celebrating this day of love.”
“You know if we acknowledge this holiday, it’s too tempting to become physically involved.”
“Oh, I know,” he spoke without a care in the world. “It’s too bad you won’t be able to utilize this.” He pulled out a bunch of contraptions that looked like more sex toys. After a peek-a-boo showing, Max put everything away. “I’ll bring it back out in the summer.”
Max gave me a simple peck on cheek and hopped into bed. He turned over and pulled the cover practically over his head.
“Really? That’s it?” He ignored me. “That’s the kiss you’re gifting me for the night?”
He lazily rolled over to address me. “I told you. I’m not touching you just to frustrate myself. I’d rather stay celibate than play how-close-can-we-go-without-doing-it. All or nothing, Babe.” He smiled an
d blew me a kiss.
Asshole!
Chapter 5 Max: Celebrating Bacchus
“How goes the war on celibacy?” Laney’s husband was out to torture me at the Clippers game we were attending.
“What the hell?” Jake joined in the conversation.
A few hours ago, my fiancée called and explained our evening outing with the family. Now, with Donovan’s probing question, I had to explain to my future brother-in-law about my plight.
“Was she always like this?” No further explanation was necessary. Both Jake and Donovan knew what I meant by this question.
“Jane becomes impetuous when anything messes with her self-esteem, or if she thinks she needs to prove herself somehow. That’s when her brain goes into overdrive and the wild child rears its ugly head.”
“Your sister is a nut at times.”
Jake and Donovan both laughed. “Trust me when I say, you haven’t seen the last of her ‘nuttiness.’ Wait until you have kids and they are in competition with the cousins.”
“Shit,” I muttered.
“So what’s been your plan of attack? Are you positive you don’t need some technique-improving help? Advice?”
Donovan would forever be a thorn in my side. “I’ve decided to starve her.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Well, my future cousin-in-law, I’ve told my fiancée I won’t touch her. Currently, I’m treating her as if we are on a first date. It’s driving her nuts and she’s about to explode on me in every sense of that word.”
“I see. You’re using reverse psychology?”
“Something like that, Jake. If that doesn’t work, I’m going to give in and wait until the wedding night. What your sister doesn’t remember is that I’ve done this before. Three months is nothing compared to the four years I’d…” Shit. I stopped talking immediately, and that asshole soon-to-be cousin of mine howled.
“Good going, Davis.” Donovan called me by Jake’s moniker for me. “Don’t mention anything personal about your ex,” he pointed to me, “his wife,” he pointed to Jake, “and we’ll all have a great evening tonight,” he did a round of pointing to us all.