Lorelei felt as if a slight wind might blow her over. What in the world was Daniel Donahue doing at her house? How in the world had he found her? And what was she going to say to him that wouldn’t make her sound like a raving lunatic? She still felt angry about their earlier encounter. She found it hard to go all Zen and forgive him in an instant.
She cleared her throat. “Mr. Donahue. I really don’t think there’s anything to say. You made your feelings known earlier this morning. The message was received loud and clear.”
She heard a loud sigh on the other end. “I have a tendency to come across as a bit blunt. Will you please give me an opportunity to rectify my mistake? I would be forever grateful for it.”
Forever grateful? Ugh. Why did he now sound like a polished and polite gentleman? rather than a rude boor? She began to falter right there and then. He was Micah’s brother after all and she’d vowed to be more flexible and forgiving. Being churlish wasn’t her style.
She pressed the intercom again and said, “Okay, but just for a few minutes. I have somewhere to go.” She buzzed the gate open then placed her dish in the dishwasher.
Had she made a mistake in allowing him in? She began to rummage around in her kitchen drawer for her bottle of mace. She didn’t think she would have to use it on Daniel Donahue, but a person could never be too careful. Lorelei didn’t like being alone with strange men and she didn’t allow it to happen very often. Her mind began to race. How had he found her address? Through Micah? Her agent? It didn’t sit well with her that people could so easily obtain access to her whereabouts. It left her feeling unsettled. And although she didn’t want to admit it even to herself…slightly scared. And she hated feeling frightened. It made her feel as if she was giving her power away to an emotion. It had taken her years to get to a safe place where she wasn’t looking over her shoulder every moment of every day.
When the doorbell rang Lorelei took a few moments before answering it. Once she felt calm and composed she opened the door, inhaling a deep, fortifying breath as she did so. Daniel was standing at the door with a sheepish expression etched on his face. He looked a little bit different from earlier. He was wearing shorts and a turquoise-colored polo shirt. She had to admit he was handsome. Daniel was tall and lean with a dark head of hair and gray-blue eyes. She had to stare for a moment. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen eyes this color before and she certainly hadn’t noticed them earlier. No doubt her mind had been focused more on his attitude than on his good looks.
“Thanks for seeing me,” Daniel said, shifting from one foot to the other.
She waved him inside, then closed the door behind him. Daniel Donahue was giving off safe vibes. Lorelei usually put people into two categories—safe vibes or red flags.
For whatever reason, Lorelei didn’t feel intimidated by Daniel’s presence the way she normally did around men she didn’t know very well. It was hard to explain but he exuded a very calm air. Perhaps it was because he was Micah’s brother and she knew tidbits about the Donahue family. They were good folks. How bad could he be?
And Daniel looked a bit nervous as well. If she had to guess, she would wager he wasn’t about to pounce on her.
She led the way into the great room with Daniel following behind her.
“Take a seat,” she suggested, waving a hand toward the love seats. Daniel sat down in the chair and settled in. He crossed his hands in front of him and locked gazes with her as she sat across from him. Once again she found herself a bit mesmerized by his piercing eyes. They were truly one-of-a-kind.
“Again, thank you for allowing me to come in. I want to apologize to you about this morning.” The words came tumbling out of his mouth. Lorelei had the impression he was trying to get the words out quickly due to nervousness. It was sort of shocking. Daniel was a man who had the world at his feet. Why would he be nervous around her?
“I tend to say things sometimes without thinking about how they sound.” He winced. “It gets me in a lot of trouble.” He raised his eyebrows and shifted in his seat. “I spoke without thinking about your feelings, for which I’m truly sorry.”
She frowned at him. “You came all the way over here to apologize? A simple phone call would have sufficed. Or a dozen long-stemmed roses,” she cracked.
Even though she’d been joking, Daniel didn’t crack a smile. “You like roses? I can have my assistant send you a room full of them.”
Was he serious? A room full of roses? Ugh. Was he just a rich guy trying to throw his money around? She met enough men like that in her profession. It didn’t impress her at all.
“Umm. That’s not necessary.”
“Well, I wanted to look you right in the eye and tell you that I want to offer you the role.”
Lorelei gasped. “What? Seriously?”
“I’m very serious, Lorelei. This venture is very important to me. It’s been in the works for several years.”
“What changed your mind? You were so adamant this morning that I was the worst person for the role.”
He squinted as if he was pondering her question. “Well, to be honest, you’re probably the most stunning face I’ve ever seen. My initial reaction was to reject you, thinking you couldn’t possibly be a tough warrior. But that was foolish on my part. I should have embraced your beauty rather than dismiss it.” There was a look of confusion etched on his face, as if he was still trying to figure things out.
Lorelei swallowed past the lump in her throat. She hadn’t expected in a million years for Daniel Donahue to show up at her house full of apologies.
“I created that concept of Rhiannon based on my mother and my sister, both of whom I love dearly,” he continued. “My sister Shayla is the only girl amongst seven boys. It takes a special woman to deal with so much testosterone. And my mother is my hero. I want to do justice to them and out of my desire to do so, I was a tad overzealous.” He was looking at her as if he expected her to respond. “In a way, I held your beauty against you, which was wrong to do.”
“I-I don’t know what to say,” she hedged. Suddenly she was tongue-tied. She hadn’t expected any of this from Daniel. A very short time ago she had been thinking some pretty mean-spirited thoughts about him and now he was at her house trying to woo her into starring in his video game. Everything was happening at such a dizzying pace!
“Please say yes. Say you’ll be Rhiannon so we can sign a contract and get this project rolling.” He was staring at her with big puppy dog eyes, pleading with her to acquiesce.
Lorelei didn’t know why she was hesitating. People made mistakes, didn’t they? As a Christian woman it would be hateful of her to remain unforgiving. Not to mention the fact that this project excited her in a way she hadn’t experienced professionally in quite some time. She had gone to the interview this morning because she’d really been enthused about the role of Rhiannon and the success DD Studios had been experiencing with their various video games. Instinct told her it would be a huge success. Lately she’d been feeling bored with the modeling life. She’d prayed to God to open new avenues for her and to show her the true desires of her heart.
Lorelei yearned to do different things and showcase her versatility. The worst thing she could do would be to become predictable. There were only so many Ray Ban or Gucci campaigns she could shoot. She was incredibly bored with makeup campaigns and teeth whitening commercials. For such a long time now she had been trying to stretch. It was a cliché, but she didn’t want to simply model. There was so much else out there.
Do it! A voice buzzed in her head. Say yes!
“Yes,” she said in a firm voice that betrayed none of her wariness. “I’ll accept the job.”
Daniel jumped to his feet. He raised his fist in the air in jubilation. “Yes! She said yes!”
Lorelei felt her lips twitching with mirth. Daniel looked so ecstatic. Matter of fact, he resembled a little kid at the moment. He was extremely appealing when he smiled.
He ran his hands through his hair. “Sorry about th
at. This project means the world to me. Knowing you’re on board is amazing news. I’ll have my people reach out to your agent with all the details such as compensation and your shooting schedule.”
Lorelei stood up. Even though she was tall, looking up at Daniel was a bit intense due to his height and those mesmerizing eyes. She felt a slight electricity in the air as their eyes met and locked. Oh no! She knew this strange feeling bubbling up inside of her. And she wanted nothing to do with it.
“Well thank you for coming all the way over here to tell me the good news,” she said, her tone grateful. She could truly appreciate a man who was able to make amends so quickly. Maybe Daniel wasn’t the jerk she’d believed him to be a few hours ago.
He reached out for her hand and placed his over it. It wasn’t a handshake. It was more of a hand embrace. Lorelei felt slightly uncomfortable at his touch, but it wasn’t for the usual reasons. Daniel’s hands were warm and soothing. She had a strong sense of being in the presence of goodness, even though she barely knew him. He seemed strong and steady.
“It was my pleasure, Lorelei.” He nodded at her, then said, “I’ve got to get back to the office. We have some kids coming in this afternoon to test out some new games. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Lorelei led him to the door. Before they reached the door, Daniel turned back to face her, his expression congenial.
“Thank you for being so understanding. I look forward to working with you and seeing how you make Rhiannon come to life.” He smiled at her, a gentle, warm smile that reached down into her chest cavity and tugged at her heart strings. Without another word, he hurried toward his car. She wrinkled her nose as she watched him get in the driver’s seat and start the engine. Although his car was nice, it wasn’t exactly the type of car one might expect an extremely wealthy man to drive. She liked it though. It showed he was humble with regards to material things. Lorelei saw it as a sign that Daniel Donahue wasn’t all about the flash and the monetary possessions. Perhaps she was reading into things, but it fell in line with Micah and what she knew of his family and his fiancée, Faith. Daniel and Micah had been raised under the same roof and she knew Micah was a God fearing, good man.
Lorelei stood at the door well after Daniel had left her property. There was something roiling around inside of her that wouldn’t subside even though Daniel had left her house and property. Try as she might, Lorelei couldn’t put her finger on it. She went back inside and tried to busy herself with reading a book then washing her hair and calling her best friend. Even though she did a dozen things or more to divert herself she still felt unsettled. Then it dawned on her. She wrapped her arms around her middle to comfort herself from the surprising revelation. It was attraction. She had felt something for Daniel. Something she hadn’t felt for ages.
And she wanted nothing to do with it. Daniel Donahue was off limits. He wasn’t her type. He would soon be her boss. And he was Micah’s brother. Not to mention he was some kind of Jekyll and Hyde. This morning he’d been monstrous towards her whereas this afternoon he’d been full of charm and grace. Warning bells clanged in her head. Sirens blared.
No! No! No!
Normally, Lorelei could stave off feelings like this, but for some reason this time she hadn’t been able to block them, which troubled her even further. Romantic entanglements were always messy in Lorelei’s experience. She wasn’t yet at a comfortable place where she could trust and cherish a man.
She wanted and needed to take the job as Rhiannon but she would limit her interactions with the head of DD Studios. She wouldn’t allow herself to get pulled into his orbit. He probably had a girlfriend. Rich and talented men like Daniel Donahue always did.
**
Daniel drove back to DD Studios as if flying on wings. He felt as if all was right with the world. Tracking down Lorelei had been the right thing to do. Thankfully she had accepted his apologies and agreed to take on the role of Rhiannon. Excitement shot through him. Finally, after such a long time of dreaming of bringing this project to life, the wheels would soon be put in motion. He’d decided to call his project The Rhiannon Chronicles.
Rhiannon was a warrior who had been cast off as a child from her wealthy family due to a birth defect—missing and shortened fingers. During medieval times people often thought birth defects were a sign of evil and witchcraft. Rhiannon had been adopted by a fisherman and his wife and raised happily until her adoptive family had been murdered. Rhiannon is a seeker of justice.
Just thinking about the story of Rhiannon got Daniel’s creative juices flowing. He loved his work so much. He felt blessed each and every single day to be able to work in a field he loved. It was hard sometimes to connect his current day success with the young boy who had gazed out of school windows out of pure boredom. He’d come a long way since then! Daniel knew he hadn’t gotten here alone. God had been with him every step of the way, along with his fabulous parents.
When Daniel arrived back at his office he felt happy and satisfied. He’d messed up earlier with Lorelei, and through God’s grace and Lorelei’s kindness he had been able to rectify it. Things didn’t always go this smoothly for him. Daniel winced as he recollected several instances in his past where he had put his foot in his mouth or acted in a manner that was off putting for people. He wished that he was better with people. Social situations didn’t come easily to him. He sometimes just blurted things out without thinking. And sometimes even when he thought about things before he said them, people didn’t respond very well to him.
He let out a sigh as he walked into his office. Before he could even take a seat, his younger brother, Nash, burst through the door. At a solid six feet, Nash had classic good looks and a charm most couldn’t ignore. With a head full of dark brown hair and ice blue eyes, Nash was just as good looking as the rest of his brothers. Personality wise, Nash was laid back and a bit quiet. Some thought he was shy, but Daniel knew it wasn’t really true. Nash’s past still tormented him. The early years before he had been adopted by Jude and Penelope had left a lot of emotional scars. To this day, Daniel wasn’t entirely sure what Nash had endured with his birth parents, but he knew it had been profound. Perhaps Penelope and Jude had kept the details under wraps in order to protect Nash.
Daniel could still remember the way Nash had cried out at night when he had first come to live with them. They had been earth shattering screams the likes of which none of the Donahue family had ever heard before. He’d been unable to sleep without the lights on and there had been plenty of bedwetting incidents. Trauma. Daniel used to hear the word being whispered by his folks. He hadn’t really known what the word meant, but he had instinctively understood it wasn’t a good thing. Nash had been seriously mistreated.
“Hey there. Sorry I’m late,” Nash said as he walked in. He was out of breath and beads of sweat were gathered on his forehead.
“Late?” Daniel asked, casting a furtive glance at his desk calendar. Oops. It was sitting right there in bold red ink. Two o’clock meeting with Nash.
Nash pressed a hand against his chest. “You forgot about me? I’m wounded.”
Daniel let out a chuckle. “Don’t take it personally. It’s been quite a day already. I found my Rhiannon, but it could have ended disastrously. I dodged a bullet so to speak.”
“That’s great news.” Nash walked over and pulled him into a tight hug. Nash’s hugs were one of the things he loved the most about his brother. Most of his family members were demonstrative, and even though he indulged in these type of actions with his family members, Daniel wasn’t the most touchy-feely person. He watched as Nash settled into one of his comfy, over-sized leather chairs.
Daniel walked over to his full-sized fridge and opened it up, revealing all of his favorite sodas and juices. This was the dream of anyone who had ever grown up with a bunch of siblings. Easy access to his favorite drinks and snacks during work hours. He chuckled just thinking about growing up in the Donahue household and trying to make sure he got his fair share of
snacks and treats.
He also had a big bowl of cherries—his favorite fruit and sweet tasting snack, as well as a few other assorted snacks. He grabbed two Dr. Peppers, one for himself and the other for Nash, along with the bowl of cherries. He grabbed two napkins from a drawer then joined Nash in another leather chair adjacent to the one his brother was reclining in.
Nash’s eyes were closed and he appeared to be settling in for a snooze.
Daniel leaned in and prodded his brother by jostling his arm. Nash sat up straight in his chair. “What? Did I miss something?”
Daniel tried not to laugh. Poor Nash looked zoned out.
“Did you work late last night? You look wrecked.”
Nash made a face. “I wasn’t working, Daniel. I drove to Miami to meet up with a friend of mine who is knowledgeable about obtaining information about birth families.”
Daniel frowned. “You want to find your birth family?”
Nash nodded. “Yes. Are you surprised?”
“A bit. From what I’ve always heard there was a lot of abuse going on in your home. Why would you want to track them down?”
“Because I would like to know more. I had siblings, Daniel. I have only vague memories of them but I know they existed.” He shrugged. “I have questions that need answers. Not knowing is holding me back a little bit. I’d love to have all the answers, so I don’t wonder about all the holes in my life story. Does that make sense?”
Daniel nodded. “Of course it does.”
Although Daniel wasn’t certain it was a good idea to open Pandora’s box, he didn’t blame his brother for wanting to put those questions to rest. It was a natural curiosity for adopted children. And since he himself hadn’t been adopted he had no way of knowing how deeply it affected a person. He imagined Nash didn’t feel complete.
“Why don’t you just ask Parker and Jason to help you? That is their line of work, you know. They’re the best in the PI business.”
“I don’t want to involve the family just yet. With everything happening between Mom and Dad, it could add a lot of stress to their lives. I don’t want to hurt them. They’re going through enough as it is.”
Forever and a Day (Seven Brides Seven Brothers Pelican Bay Book 5) Page 3