by Cee, DW
She looked up at me with parted lips. She was surprised at the affection. I felt the chemistry between us; I knew she was as aroused as I was. Damn. Why’d we have to be here of all places? Home was too far away and a hotel was too seedy of an idea.
“I need you to look at this.” She cleared her throat a few extra times and pulled herself away from me. “How many guests will the Benningtons have at the wedding?” Her flushed face told me she was clearly flustered, but she was the consummate professional. Had I just used the word consummate? Damn. Even an innocuous word had a bawdy meaning right now.
“Maybe thirty? Would your family like to attend? I can pick up your parents and sister’s family when I go back to London for Grandfather.”
“That would be nice. I’m sure they’d love to attend his wedding.”
“Is that all?”
“Look at this rendering of what the backyard will turn into for the wedding. Do you think it’s too much for two people in their nineties? Should we scale it back and make it a simpler wedding?”
Were we really talking about my grandfather’s wedding when both of us felt this hum of desire? I supposed we needed to take care of this wedding before I headed back to London to pick up the duke.
“How about simple and elegant? None of us knows whether Estelle will even agree to this wedding. She might be more amenable to it if it’s low-key. At her age, I’d assume all she’d want is her family and the man she (hopefully) loves.”
“What will happen if she refuses to marry Grandpa Harry? I mean, that could be a big shock to his grace. I don’t want him to go into an apoplectic fit if she tells him to go home. We are forcing her hand.”
I chuckled at the thought. “Harry Bennington will be the happiest man on earth because she will say yes to him. Her grandchildren all but promised she’d say yes. Worry not, Chlo-No.”
“When do you leave to pick him up?”
“Next week. Will everything be ready for the wedding?”
“Without a doubt,” she reassured.
“Are we done here?”
“I’m not, but you can leave if you like.”
“I’m not leaving without you.” The firm stance I took surprised her. “Will you have dinner with me tonight?” I was going to have an apoplectic fit if she told me she had another date with a five-year-old.
“Is this a date?” The flirtatious tone was definitely a great sign.
“It’s a date request almost two decades too late. What say you, Chlo-No?”
“I say…maybe?” Dammit all to hell! I knew my ears were red and my head was close to exploding. “Just kidding.” The sound of her giggles burst the tension. “I’d love to have dinner with you, Michael Bennington. What time and where shall I meet you?”
Miraculously, a great idea came to me. “Do you have to be anywhere tomorrow?”
“I don’t think so. I have clients asking for a meeting but I’ve been holding them off. The duke’s wedding is my excuse for a decade-late vacation.”
“Good. Let’s head back and pack a bag. We’re going on a short trip.” She eyed me suspiciously. “Trust me,” was all I could say to reassure her.
“Where are we going?”
“To a place where there are no screaming babies, meddling family, but only gorgeous scenery, fantastic food, and heavenly wine. I want to share this place with you.”
“All right. Give me an hour to wrap up here.”
“Fantastic! I’ll make all the arrangements in the meanwhile.”
It was a damn good feeling to know she finally wanted to be with me. During this time, I’d let my feelings be known and we’d finally head in the right direction.
Chloe: New Beginning (With An Old Nemesis)
An impromptu trip with Michael was both scary and exciting. No matter what I told myself or anyone else, I could never push Michael away. Only he could keep himself from me.
Since I was a little girl, Michael was my knight in shining armor. He would forever be my prince, my hero, my future husband. That was partly the reason why at age thirty-five, I was still alone. My story was sad, but true.
“Hello, Miss Darcy. Where’s Uncle Michael?” Lilah Taylor brought a smile to my face. She was too beautiful for words.
“I think he went to use the computer. If he’s not in your house, maybe he’s at your cousin Ellie’s house?”
“OK. I drew a picture for him.” She held up a sweet picture of a blonde girl and a tall man with dark hair. “Is that you and your father?”
She looked at me oddly. “No. My daddy has brown hair. Uncle Michael has black hair.”
“Doesn’t Uncle Michael have brown hair, too?”
“No.” She answered more firmly and gave me an annoyed look. “Uncle Michael’s hair is darker than daddy’s hair. It’s black.” She insisted. Who was I to argue?
“All right. I’m sure Uncle Michael will love the picture. He loves everything about you.” Those were apparently the right words to say. She nodded with a smile and walked away.
“Lilah Rose, did you say good-bye or did you just walk away from our friend?” Her mother asked.
“Good-bye,” Lilah mumbled and ran away.
“Sorry about that. She’s been anxious to give Michael her drawing of the two of them. She saw Michael out here earlier, and when he disappeared on her, she was a bit irritated. I’m afraid Michael has a five-year-old stalker on his hands.” Laney giggled.
“I guess Michael’s wish is somewhat fulfilled with your daughter. No doubt it gives him great pleasure to irritate your husband.”
“Don’t tell Donovan I said this, but I think the thought of his daughter liking Michael upsets him more than when I liked Michael. I don’t know what we will do with him when she gets together with her first boyfriend.”
“Is he that protective of your boys?”
“No. Not at all. Donovan can’t wait until his boys fall for a girl. He just didn’t expect it to be his little girl to crush on a man I dated.” Now Laney was laughing. “Men can be ridiculous at times.”
“At times?” I questioned.
With a grin Laney said, “Michael tells me he’s taking you away today?”
“So he says…” I left my statement open-ended. Who knew what forces would stop us from spending some time together?
“You know,” Laney started, “you and I are not much different. In fact, when I thought about it last night, our love stories are very much alike.”
“How so and what love story? I don’t know that I have a love story.”
Laney flat out ignored me. “I fell in love with Donovan Taylor and declared to everyone that I was going to marry him—at age eleven! I watched him date woman after woman. I pined, I cried, I coveted, and then I got pissed off and left. Fortunately for me, it didn’t take him long to come after me. Then I entered med school, got knocked up, married, and produced three kids. Life was a whirlwind for me once Donovan Taylor came literally knocking on my door.” Laney Taylor’s dreamy eyes spoke of her fairy-tale happiness. “I loved him for so damn long, but I thought I’d end up an old maid, still in love with him, continually yearning for a man who didn’t want to be mine.”
Yep. That sounded very much like me. “But you did get your prince.”
“I did.” Her knockout smile told of many happy years with her prince. “Mine came early in life, but Donovan was already in his thirties, ready for life. I was kind of on his timetable.”
“I think it might be a little late for me, Laney. I’ll be thirty-six this year.”
She encouraged, “There’s nothing that says marriage and babies all have to happen in your twenties. You’ve made quite a name for yourself in the world of weddings and now you’ll make a name for yourself as the Bennington Duchess. Allow yourself to fall madly, hopelessly and confidently in love with Michael. If you don’t ever take that chance, you won’t know if he’s really your prince.”
“If I may be honest with you
? Can you keep this information confidential?” She nodded excitedly. I, too, was happy to be able to open up to someone. I just didn’t think it’d be a woman I once disliked with a passion because of my jealousy. “It’s really all up to Michael. If he will love me…I’m already there, Laney. But, I want to be courted. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. I just want a man, preferably Michael, to show me that he’s willing to put some effort into loving me. That’s all.”
“So if Michael courts you and admits that he loves you, you’ll marry him?”
“Pretty much. I’m so pathetic, huh?”
“You love Michael and always have. That’s not pathetic. I only hope Michael will see how lost he’s been without you.”
“Laney, I know you’re a well-meaning friend, but please don’t coach him. I want to know everything he does comes from his heart and not yours.”
“Can I drop hints?”
“Won’t you drop hints regardless of my answer?”
She giggled. “I guess? I want you and Michael to experience this marital bliss. The sooner you marry, the sooner we’ll be family. Life has come full circle for all of us.”
“For the Reids, it has. The wedding should be beautiful and I hope this will add a few more years to Grandpa Harry and Estelle’s lives.”
I supposed life had come full circle for Laney and myself as well. The woman I’d envied from afar had become my friend within a matter of weeks. Who would have thought I’d have a heart-to-heart with Laney Reid Taylor!
Brendan: A New Beginning (For My Five-Year-Old Rico Suave)
“When can we see Chloe again? I have a present for her.”
“Do you have a present for me, too, Nole?”
“Nope. Just for Chloe.”
“What is it?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”
Since she’d attended his game, his attachment to her had grown. He talked about her nonstop, continually wondering when he’d see her again.
“We’ll probably see her at your next game, Buddy.”
“But this present can’t wait. I have to give it to her today! I’m going to call her.”
To my surprise, my son pulled out a cell phone and long-pressed the number 2. What the hell?
“What are you doing and where’d you get that phone?”
“Calling Chloe.” My five-year-old actually put up his hand to stop me from talking so he could talk to the woman on the other line. “Chloe?”
What the hell was happening? Where had that phone come from and how did he get Chloe’s number?
“I have a present for you and I have to give it to you today or it will die. Can you come to Dad’s house?” By the downtrodden look on his face, she must have said no. Then he perked up and asked, “Can Daddy and I come to you? Please? Please? Please? You have to see my gift today. It really will die.” She must have answered yes; my son was jumping up and down. “Here, Dad. Talk to Chloe.” He handed me the phone but I needed some answers.
First, I questioned Nolan. “Where did this phone come from?”
“Mom. She sent it today.”
“Why?”
“Because she said she wanted to talk to me but she doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Great. That woman was sharing her antipathy in front of our son. Not cool! “Where did you get Chloe’s number and how did you know to program it into your phone?”
“He asked me for it last time I saw him so I wrote it down on a piece of paper,” Chloe explained.
That still didn’t explain how she became number TWO on his speed dial. It kind of pissed me off that I wasn’t number two.
“How did you learn to use the speed dial and if Chloe’s number two, what number am I?”
I heard Chloe giggling on the other end. Nolan only said, “Can we please get to Chloe before my present dies?”
“Chloe, tell me where you are.”
We were on the road within seconds of the phone call. That was when Nolan explained, “Stephanie put Chloe’s number in the phone for me when the phone came. She just told me to press number two.”
“What number am I?”
“I don’t know!” He was done with this conversation but I wasn’t. “You came home and Stephanie stopped babysitting me. We couldn’t finish playing with the phone.” I could have sworn I heard a sigh and saw him rolling his eyes at me. Was this really happening?
“So it wasn’t that you asked for Chloe to be number two?”
“Dad!” Now, he was really done.
I was doing fist pumps in my head knowing my son didn’t prefer some woman to me.
“Here we are. Why don’t you call number two?”
Nole jumped out of the car with his backpack and stopped dead when a gorgeous little blonde walked out of the house with Chloe. My son stared, but as to whom he was staring at was a mystery.
“Hi Nolan!” Chloe walked over and gave him a hug.
Nolan grunted a hello, but continued to stare at the blonde. My son had damn good taste. She was a beauty.
“Hey.” I walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “Who’s this pretty girl?” I asked.
The girl giggled and answered, “I’m Lilah Taylor.” There was no shyness about her. With big blue eyes and cornflower yellow hair, I saw why my son was slack jawed and drooling. Were five-year-olds supposed to be this advanced?
“Nolan. Did you have something for me?” Chloe asked.
My son stared at her and mumbled something completely incoherent. I thought I’d help him out and introduce him to the object of his desire.
“Nolan, this pretty girl is Lilah Taylor. Lilah, this smart, handsome, and infatuated boy is Nolan O’Shaughnessy.”
Lilah giggled again. “That’s a long name. Do you know how to spell your name?”
“Of course I do!” His chest puffed up as he literally spelled it for her. “N-O-L-A-N O-S-H-A-U-G-H-N-E-S-S-Y! and I can count to one thousand.”
“So can I!” she answered in wonder.
They both counted in harmony.
“Shit,” I said under my breath. “This could be a while.”
“Lilah. Who’s your friend, here?” Damn. Michael Bennington was here, too. I didn’t realize they were together. He waited for an answer but she was too busy counting.
Chloe did the polite thing, instead. “I believe you boys know one another?” We nodded and shook hands. I gripped his hand hard. He returned the unspoken message. “That cutie who appears smitten with Lilah is Nolan, Brendan’s son.”
“He’s the one you’ve been going on dates with?” Michael asked with a chuckle. “I suppose he’s cuter than I am. But can he come pick you up?”
Chloe laughed. I was a bit pissed. What was that supposed to mean? Was Michael competition for us? Last I heard, he was engaged to some English gal. I knew he was here with Chloe for his grandfather’s wedding, but I had no idea he was interested in Chloe. I needed to step up my game.
“Nolan.” Chloe tried to stop the number-counting five-year-olds. “I have to leave soon. Could you tell me what it is that you wanted to give to me?”
Since they wouldn’t stop, I decided to hand the backpack to Chloe. “I’ve no idea what it is, but it’s in here.”
That’s when Nolan screamed, “Noooooo!”
We jumped back and Chloe quickly returned the backpack to my son. With a sheepish smile, this five-year-old Lothario stuck his hand into his backpack and pulled out a handful of flowers.
“Here, Lilah.” He handed them to a smiling girl, who thanked him and ran to the man walking out of her house.
“Daddy! Look at what Nolan gave me!”
“Shit.” We, three adults, uttered when we saw the pissed off expression on Lilah’s father’s face.
I was doing something seriously wrong here. While Michael was pursuing Chloe and my son was pursuing two girls, I was wasting my life away crunching numbers. At this rate, Nolan was getting a girlfriend befor
e I had even asked a girl out. I needed to think hard about what it was I needed to do to get Chloe back in my arms.
I wasn’t going to lose her again!
Michael: (We Are Starting A) New Beginning
“That was the most hilarious scene! I should have set up a video camera facing the door to catch Donovan’s expression. Had it not been for Laney, I think he would have locked Lilah in her room the rest of the afternoon.” Donovan Taylor’s comeuppance arrived early—like ten years too early!