Inclusions

by Emily Duvall

  “How long have you been seeing my brother?”

  “Longer than we should admit to, a little over a year. It started out innocently during a business trip to finalize the acquisition of those three pink diamonds Brent purchased. You remember, the owner of the diamond mine claimed Brent trespassed.”

  “I remember.” Luke nodded. “What about Felicity?”

  “I’ve always been Damon’s other woman. I’m not proud about becoming pregnant by a man about to marry another woman. But I want to clear Melanie’s name. I did meet your brother on the beach. I asked her to get him there for me. Damon wouldn’t have shown up otherwise. What you overheard was Melanie coaxing Damon out of bed and playing to his weaknesses, nothing more.”

  Luke cringed at the entire proof of his accusations. The thought of Melanie taking the brunt of Kendra and Damon’s problems blazed through his body. He put his hands on the back of the chair. “Did you meet Damon on the beach?”

  “I did.” She ran her hand through her hair. “I told him about the baby and he refused to take responsibility. He wants nothing to do with this child.”

  “What are your plans for this child?”

  “I’ll have this baby and raise the child as a single mother. I won’t ask or demand Damon of anything. It’s the way our relationship has always worked. I understand if the circumstances around my job have changed. I won’t lie to you and tell you I haven’t been concerned about if and when you’ll allow me to work for you. This baby compromises our working relationship.”

  “Kendra, three days ago I had my staff entirely in place: a nanny for my daughter, a speech-therapist, and a personal assistant all at my disposal. You’ve put me a position to have to completely start over with a team I trusted and respected.”

  “What about Damon? Where’s his blame?” She approached Luke with white knuckles. “If you want me to quit I’ll quit.”

  Luke raked his hands through his hair. “Do your job. We’ll figure out the rest after the wedding.”

  “I can live with that for today.” Kendra turned and walked out. “We’ll talk later.”

  Luke walked back into his office. He reached for his phone and dialed Melanie’s number. Before she could answer he hung up and decided to do something else first. He’d go and find Damon.

  The door to Damon’s room was locked. Luke jiggled the handle and pounded on the door. “Unlock the door. I need to talk to you,” he shouted.

  A curse word hurled through the air, and finally, Damon turned the lock and opened the door. “What do you want?” he said rudely, yawned, and scratched his cheek.

  “You got Kendra pregnant?” Luke grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him towards him. “What were you thinking?”

  “She hasn’t proven this baby is mine.” He grinned with pride. “I’m an evidence man, let’s not forget.”

  Luke and Damon wrestled back against the wall. Their limbs hurled punches. The lamp on the nightstand crashed to the floor. “You got her pregnant,” Luke repeated.

  “She wanted to get pregnant. She did it on purpose.” Damon ducked and hit Luke in the side.

  “Hey!” Brent yelled and rushed through the open door. “Hey!” He threw his own punch and put his fist between the two of them. “Back off. Back off.” His body jammed between them and they were forced to step back.

  Damon straightened his shirt and cracked his neck. “He’s attacking me on my wedding day.”

  “Shut-up, Damon,” Brent said and stretched out his arms to keep them from going at each other. “What’s going on?”

  “Ask him,” Luke said, wiping off his cheek. A small leak of blood came off his lip.

  “Kendra’s pregnant.” Damon worked out a kink in his neck. “I’m the father.”

  Luke backed away. “Don’t go through with this wedding.”

  “I’m going to marry Felicity. There’s no reason she has to know.”

  “There’s every reason,” Luke roared. “You’ve grown sloppy. You’re pathetic.”

  A low whistle ran through Damon’s lips. “I respect my future wife and I won’t have another woman be a menace to the life we’re going to build. Kendra’s all yours. Fire her, keep her on, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m the one who’s a partner in our company. I’ll put up a much bigger fight if you try to make this legal.”

  Luke primed his fists. Cramps formed from curling them so tight. Brent adjusted his arms. “Don’t even think about swinging.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Damon wiped his mouth and walked out of the room. “I’m getting married this afternoon.”

  “We can deal with this tomorrow,” Brent said.

  “This changes everything.” Luke straightened his sleeve and stalked past Brent.

  The doorbell rang and signified the continuation of more wedding activities. Luke returned to the main floor and found the trellis in place. Two sheer swaths of fabric pulled to each side and held in place by pale peach, pink, and white roses already huge in their bloom. Large pots of the same roses trimmed into circles took up space on either side of the trellis and chairs draped in bows the color of pale skin created an aisle down the center. Felicity stood up at the front, she spoke fast and loud to a woman with hair the color of the bows on the chairs. The bride looked up at Luke, frowned, and cut off her conversation with the woman.

  The catering staff, led by Latonya, cooked up something smelling rich and sweet, and making Luke’s mouth water. Both unopened and opened boxes took up space on the floor. A group of workers from the event planning company set up tables near the door. The house transformed into a warm, idyllic scene for a wedding. Amongst the setup and organization, Luke glimpsed the day through a different lens now. The scene in front of him was wasted on his brother and his unsuspecting bride. For a brief moment, he imagined this in a different light, as if it were his own wedding, and if only Melanie could be here to stand at the trellis, with the wind roughing up her hair and her cherry-red lips grinning back at him unevenly.

  “Have you seen Kendra?” Felicity said. The lines under her eyes spelled stress and the tone of her voice mimicked all-out panic. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t find her in the next five minutes. My stylist is stuck in traffic behind a tour bus with a blown-out tire, and my makeup lady hasn’t been heard from. The wedding cake’s the wrong flavor and the florist sent me roses when I ordered Freesias. My one-and-only hasn’t responded to any of my texts either.” She finally released her breath. “Is Damon at least awake?”

  “Damon’s awake.” Luke didn’t want her reading into anything he said.

  “I don’t want to see Damon before the wedding. Kendra is our buffer.”

  Luke laughed. “I wouldn’t say she’s a buffer.”

  “If you see her, tell her I’m looking for her.”

  “I will.” Luke sidestepped Felicity and dodged tripping over a box of programs. He grabbed his phone and checked his messages. He knew she wouldn’t have called him. Luke ran up the stairs and waited in his office until he could get what he needed out of Damon’s bedroom.

  Chapter 28

  The custom-made suit fit the contours of Luke’s lean body. Damon stayed holed up in the first floor bedroom while Luke and Brent greeted guests and ushered them to their seats. A music trio dressed in tuxedos sat off to the side playing classical music with a cello, violin, and a flutist. The boxes were packed away, the champagne chilled, and an army of caterers led by Latonya waited with baited breath from behind the kitchen door. Luke stood off to the side of the trellis with his hands resting at his sides and his mind nowhere near the wedding about to take place. A mutual friend of the bride and groom led Felicity’s mother down the aisle, followed by Brent, holding up his arm for Felicity’s older, pregnant sister. He took his position next to Luke.

  The smiles on the faces of the guests sparked electricity into the room. Luke’s eyes raked over the guests. Excitement brewed in the air. People spoke with energy and looked on with a mix of covetous pleasure. Viv
ian squirmed on Stevie’s lap in the front row. Her bare feet stuck out from under her dress and the big bow on her head sat askew. She slid down Stevie’s lap and Stevie put her back up. His heart filled with such love for his daughter. He would find a way to help her; to really see her.

  He glanced away from her and spotted Kendra, at the back of the room. He couldn’t see the exact expression on her face. He kept looking at her and he squinted, feeling a rush of unsettled nerves down his back. Kendra moved back and rang her hands. He grew annoyed at her constant fidgeting and then he realized with alarm that Kendra paced, not walked. The look on her face—apprehensive—reminded him of the way she looked in the middle of a meeting and tried to convey to him that there was trouble.

  Damon walked down the aisle with full swagger and a devilish grin to match. He wore smugness like an offensive cologne. Luke’s fists tightened at his sides. The doubts about Damon’s trustworthiness multiplied and expanded. Family members were supposed to know limits. Damon should know his boundaries. Instead, his brother picked himself over the interests of their business. Damon ignored the sensitive, professional relationship Luke had crafted with Kendra. She handled everything: travel, booking, employees, research and Damon was willing to throw her position away, her efforts at making the company more successful for some stolen nights. The thought of Damon lying to him about Melanie and about why he went with her to the beach brought white-hot pain to his knuckles. He opened his fingers and could feel the blood rush back to his fingertips.

  The music stopped in the timeless, breath-holding moment. Like this one perfect pause in time could be stretched out forever. The poised and eye-catching bride stood at the entrance to the aisle. The musicians played Glasgow Love Theme and the bride took her first step while holding in her hands a bouquet of blush roses centered at her middle.

  Luke fought the urge to check his watch. The plane awaited him. His forever waited after that. His gaze moved away from Felicity and over the other guests. Felicity’s mother dabbed her eyes in the front row. The pregnant sister and her husband leaned into each other. An elderly woman craned her neck and another couple spoke softly to each other. Goldie dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

  The guests listened and sat holding up faces of happy anticipation and Luke looked back to the bride, then to the last row, until his gazed stalled at the sight of familiar, warm eyes. The grin came into view next. That familiar, private way only she reserved for him. The music swelled and took over.

  Luke took a step forward and broke away from the line of groomsmen. Brent’s discreet hand prevented Luke from moving. “Looks like you have a visitor,” he said through wired lips.

  “Indeed, I do,” Luke responded without taking his eyes off her.

  Felicity reached the end of the aisle and handed her bouquet to her mother and hugged her. She gazed at Damon with newlywed eyes all the way to him, not breaking eye contact for one second. All of the guests looked to the bride and groom, but Luke looked to Melanie.

  The Officiate presiding over the ceremony thanked everyone for joining Felicity and Damon on their special day. “Today you will leave your individual lives and become a union and a family,” he said and continued in a voice loud enough to carry into the house. “Today you become something more than yourself. You are creating a future, a home, and a commitment to each other…”

  The words spoken about love and commitment grazed Luke’s ears, and he looked at Melanie as if making some silent union with her.

  “The rings, please,” said The Officiate.

  Brent reached into his breast pocket and pulled out two white gold bands, one for his brother and the other for Felicity. He handed them to The Officiate without joke or remark.

  “This ring signifies a never-ending circle of hope, love, and faith. Damon, do you take Felicity as your wife, to honor and love her, in good times and bad? If you do, say so, and place the ring on her finger.”

  “I do,” Damon said and slid the band on her finger.

  The Officiate turned to Felicity. “Do you take Damon as your husband, to honor and love him, in good times and bad? If you do, say so by placing the ring on his finger.”

  Felicity turned back to her mother, then at Kendra, who appeared to be standing at the back of the room, and returned her gaze to Damon. “I don’t.”

  Damon’s head jilted forward; his eyes unbelieving. “What?”

  The Officiate’s eyes popped. “Felicity, do you take Damon as your husband?” he tried again.

  “You heard me. I said no. I don’t want to marry you,” she blared like a megaphone. The lace-covered shoulders shrugged up and down. “I won’t marry you in this lifetime.”

  “What do you mean?” Damon grabbed her hand and yanked her forward. He put his face up in hers. “Everyone’s watching. All of our friends and our family, this is my brother’s house,” he seethed.

  “You slept with another woman while we were dating.” Felicity turned to her guests. “He slept with another woman our entire engagement. He got her pregnant.” Felicity’s mother half stood up, remained stooped. A murmur skidded through the audience like skipping stones, each reaction becoming stronger and more pronounced. “My fiancé is going to be a father and I’m not anywhere close to becoming pregnant.” She shoved the bouquet to his chest, picked up her slender skirt, and walked away, talking as she went. “This man is a cheater. He’s a liar and in case you’re going to try and weasel your way out of this, let me be clear: I’m leaving you at the altar!”

  The guests sat dumbstruck. They didn’t speak or move. A couple of them hid their cell phones after recording the entire scene. Damon charged down the aisle after Felicity. The infamous brother known for his suave legal skills and connected to a family of gem-hunters ran after his bride.

  Luke acted fast. He stepped forward and addressed the guests, “I thank everyone for coming today. I know many of you traveled a long way. I apologize, but there will be no wedding today. I ask everyone to leave us alone and give my brother and our family some privacy.”

  Felicity’s mother shot up from her chair and stomped her foot. “I’m going after my daughter,” she blasted to another guest and left her chair, knocking over the empty one next to her. She ran down the aisle as fast as her legs would carry her.

  The other guests followed Felicity’s mother without protest or comment. Nobody dared to say a single word. They settled for knowing, scandalous glances to one another.

  “I’ll go find our brother,” Brent said, slapped Luke’s arm, and walked off.

  Luke lingered near the trellis until every last guest departed. Nothing but empty chairs and floor vases of roses lined the aisle. A slight breeze flared up their petals and the silky ribbons tied around the vases. A cluster of people remained at the far end of the house, near the front door, and the catering staff began talking amongst themselves, waiting for direction. Melanie too had disappeared in the wake of everyone scattering out of the wedding ceremony.

  Luke turned his back to the rows of chairs. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared out thoughtfully at the ocean. A thin mist of longing for Melanie stirred beneath his skin. He’d been so quick to judge her. To dismiss her. She’d done everything he’d asked of her…she’d come to Maui on a whim with an insane offer. She’d taken all the risk. She’d worn the burden he’d placed on her to take a leap of faith and trust him. But what had he ever really, truly, risked for her? Nothing. Not one thing. She showed up, sitting in the back row, not standing next to him at the altar, because he’d pushed her away, again. He hung his head in shame.

  Luke turned around. His heart crashed into his chest. She stood there in the middle of the aisle breathtaking and radiant. The flowers and ribbons of the decorations flapped in a sudden gust of wind and flared up her shirt and her hair. She looked soft and supple and he wanted to reach out and touch her face. “Hello,” he said, too afraid to move for fear that he would do or say the wrong thing. He was defenseless against this moment and not even he wou
ld try to take control.

  “I went to find Kendra,” she said.

  He remembered to breathe. “When did you get here?”

  “Just in time to see your brother get what he deserved.” She bit back a smile. “What about the groomsman, is he okay?”

  “I am now.” Luke broke out of the trance and walked over to her. He slid his hand up her cheek and drew her close. “I know what happened the night you tried to get Damon on the beach. I know about Kendra’s baby. I owe you a huge apology.”

  “There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding each of us whenever we’re together and I won’t allow that to continue. I don’t want an apology. I want us to be even. I know what my brother tried to do to you. I know he’s guilty of the horrible act you accused of him of doing. I won’t let him come between us again. Enough time has been lost because of him. You and I, we’ve both been wrong. We’ve both disappointed each other. We’re also back in front of each other, despite everything. There’s nothing left except how I feel about you.”

  The corner of his lip pulled up. “How do you feel about me?”

  “I love you.”

  He yanked her into his body and slid his hands down her back. “I am in love with you, Melanie. There’s no one else in the way. Not our past, not the people in our lives. This is how I want you. Close to me.”

  She laughed softly. “I agree.”

  “Melanie?” Stevie said, surprised. “I thought you’d left for the Mainland.”

  Melanie separated from Luke. “I did. I’ve returned after two delayed flights and bad weather. I’m late, but I’m here.”

  Stevie shook her head at all the empty chairs. Her gaze moved up the aisle to the trellis. The curtains and flowers attached to the wood swayed in the breeze. “What a waste of a beautiful day. That poor girl. I wish I’d known about Damon. I would have flown to Chicago and set him straight. I can’t imagine what Kendra is going through.”