Indelible Love Series + Entwined Bundle

by DW Cee

  The drink fest began. I’m not a hard liquor kind of girl, unless it comes in a swanky glass or has a cute umbrella in it with lots of foo-foo syrup. But tonight, after what happened with Max, then Donovan...what the hell?!? I’ll drink all ten flights to forget this mess.

  “Talk, Donovan Taylor. What happened after Laney stopped by? And stop pussyfooting around the answer.”

  “Kate, who was with me to finish up a case, greeted her at the door.”

  “Shit!”

  “You can say that again.”

  And so I did. “Shit!”

  Donovan didn’t even crack a smile at the joke. He gulped down four of ten, so I had to do the same.

  “I convinced Delaney to wait for me at her house because I had a gift for her, and sent her off smiling. Then, it all went to hell. Kate and I got into an all out brawl about Delaney. Kate accused me of cheating on her, back in Hawaii, with Delaney, and it took hours to get Kate calm and off to her hotel. After Kate left, I laid down to clear my head and next thing I knew, my alarm was going off at 6:00 a.m.”

  “Shit‼”

  “There was a part of me that wanted to go see Delaney that morning, but I knew she had an 8:00 a.m. graduation to attend, so I figured I’d see her at the barbeque and give her the graduation present then. I didn’t think she’d be upset I didn’t show. Hell...she probably didn’t even wait up for me.”

  “But what if she did?” This time, it was my turn to gulp down number five. “I have to tell you, that day when she came to the office to say goodbye, I was filled with the oddest, saddest emotion when I saw her wave goodbye to you. It was totally reminiscent of an old movie where the heroine leaves her lover and the lover has no idea what’s going on.”

  “That’s not the worst part of this story.”

  “There’s more?” The bartender poured number six. “How long is this story?”

  “This stubborn girl has not returned any of my calls, texts, emails, or visits. I dropped off her graduation gift at Gram’s home and either she was there and avoiding me, or she’s been out every fucking time I’ve visited.”

  “Is that why you’ve been to London so many times these days? It wasn’t for work, but to see my cousin?”

  “Work was the primary reason, but it wasn’t something I had to do in the London office. For some reason, Roland suggested I go and take care of it in person, so I did. But the kicker of it all...” he stopped to throw back number six, “I finally saw her yesterday.”

  “Yeah?” I said happily after doing the same with my drink. “So what happened when you two met?”

  This unfolding story was like reading about Mr. Darcy revealing to Elizabeth when he began to fall in love with her in Pride and Prejudice. I’d never seen Donovan so enamored and befuddled by any one person or event.

  “I didn’t get a chance to talk to her. The cab driver was pulling up to Gram’s home and I saw her waiting out front. She flashed a blinding smile and I thought she was smiling because of me. I asked the driver to stop and just as I was about to get out, some guy ran over to her and spun her around in his arms. She looked...happy...”

  Damn! My friend Donovan looked miserable. Number seven went down without another word. At this point, neither of us could taste anything. We were borderline drunk. Before it got any worse, I paid the tab and we walked out into the cool air, back to the hotel.

  “For the first time in my life, I feel this shitty feeling in my chest. What is this feeling, Jane?”

  “Rejection, heartbreak, betrayal...all girly feelings I believed guys were immune to?” He laughed and kissed me on the forehead, like old times.

  “I’m sorry, Jane. I think I’ve had feelings for this little girl for a very long time but couldn’t admit it till I saw Delaney with this guy. Jake kept preaching Delaney as my perfect girl, but I didn’t believe him. I really didn’t. I thought my feelings for her were no different than my feelings for my sister, Rachel. I honestly believed it was you I was attracted to—otherwise, I wouldn’t have trifled with your feelings and hurt you and Max.”

  I kept quiet. I’d actually forgotten about the mess I was in with Max.

  “I was attracted to you for years, but I think some time ago, this attraction turned into a curiosity and a thrill of the chase. You and I have always been good, lifelong friends, and that’s the best place for us to be, past, present and future.”

  I agreed without having said a word.

  Stage 7—Course of Action: “Will there continue to be a Max & Jane?”

  “What can I do to help you, Jane? I’ll make a visit to Mexico if I must to help you two get back together.”

  “I think it’s me who needs to get my ass over to Mexico, and soon! There goes my track for partnership. No partner is going to vote for me with all these days I’m taking off.”

  Donovan laughed. “Really? That’s your worry when you’re in deep shit with your boyfriend?”

  “I think I’ve lost him for good this time. There’s no recourse for this one.” Donovan hugged me as the tears fell heavily. My drunken state wasn’t helping.

  “I’m sorry, Jane. This was all my fault. Jake and I will fix this for you. I’ll rely on your brother’s resourcefulness to come up with a plan. And I’ll do everything in my power to get you and Max back together.”

  “There’s nothing you or Jake can do. And I’m just as much at fault. I’ll ask Jake where Max is staying and make a visit. I’ll give it one last try and if that doesn’t work, I don’t know...”

  “You let me know if you want me to go with you to help explain the situation.”

  “Are you an idiot? If Max saw us walking together, he may hire the Mexican mafia to take you out.”

  “Me? Why just me?”

  “Because Max at least loved me at one point in his life. There’s no love for you, Buddy!”

  We laughed because if we didn’t, we’d both be in tears.

  “Hell, who’s trying to reach me at this hour?” I answered the phone. “Hello?”

  “Where are you? Emily’s water broke, come to the hospital.”

  That brought me out of my drunken stupor. “All right. I’ll see if we can book a red-eye home.”

  “Who’s we?”

  Shit. Shouldn’t have told my brother. I spit out the next long sentence in one breath before Jake started verbally tanning my hide. “Donovan-is-here-with-me-and-we-talked-everything-out-and-are-no-longer-playing-any-more-games-and-I-will-go-to-Mexico-and-beg-Max-to-forgive-me-because-I-love-Max-and-can’t-live-without-him!”

  “I have never had to deal with two more idiotic adults than you and Donovan. Come home safely.” Jake said those last three words with much affection.

  “I love you, Jake. And thank you.”

  “I love you too, little sis. Come meet your newest niece or nephew.”

  July 4, 2013 The British Are Coming, The British Are Coming!

  It’s a BOY! We didn’t get to the hospital in time before the birth of my newest nephew, but when we got there, he was a gorgeous bundle of joy. But, before I give you details of what this little one looks like, Donovan and I got into another HUGE mess! And this time—yes, I am laughing—it’s Donovan who’s in deep shit, not me.

  “Why are you pulling me into this room? Emily’s room is next door.”

  “I know. But, I need to try one more thing.”

  “No...!” I whined. “I don’t want to do this again. I thought we agreed that this was gross.” Donovan had his arms around me and was attempting to put his lips on mine. “Why the hell are you doing this again?”

  “Look, I’m sorry. Just humor me, one last time. I need to be 100% sure that this isn’t it for us before I decide what I’m about to decide.”

  “You are so convoluted with your words.” I tried to pull away, but he lightly tickled me and pulled me even closer to him during my moment of weakness.

  “We were drunk on emotion when we first kissed. It was like we were on the rebound. Let me try this when we are both
of a clear mind and decide this is definitely not it.”

  “NO‼!” I pleaded. This situation made me laugh at this point. “I don’t want to make out with my brother, please...!”

  “This will be the last favor I ask of you, Jane.”

  “Oh, all right!” I acquiesced, but soon started giggling when his face got real close to mine.

  Donovan, too, started laughing. “This is a shit of an idea, huh?” He said when our lips were separated only by an invisible sheet of paper. He couldn’t go any further than this. Donovan, too, knew this was unnecessary. We were NOT attracted to one another. Instead, Donovan lifted his head and was about to talk when we were distracted by someone.

  “...Miss, that’s not the right room. It’s the one next door...”

  “Okay...sorry...” a voice cried then disappeared.

  Donovan dropped me—literally, he cursed everything and everyone to hell, then he did another Usain and bolted out of the room. I followed so I could see this hilarious situation. (Okay, this situation was hilarious only in my mind. And it’s payback time for all the grief Donovan has caused me)

  “Where is she?” Donovan ran into Emily’s room, with me following suit.

  “Emily is where you expect her to be.” My brother answered. “She’s in bed with our latest addition to the family.”

  “Hi Emily,” he kissed her on the cheek and only glanced at the newborn. “Delaney hasn’t come here, yet?”

  “Laney?” They all called out. “What do you mean by that, Donovan?” Jake asked.

  Before he could answer, there was a knock at the door and a stranger walked in with a flower arrangement the size of this room. “Are you Emily?” He asked with the sexiest English accent I’d ever heard. I suppose all English accents were sexy, especially on a good looking man.

  “Yes,” my brother, of course, answered—looking none the happier. “And you are?” He did his damnedest to sound intimidating.

  “You Michael Bennington, grandson of Harry, the old geezer?” Gimpy interrupted Jake’s stare down.

  “Yes, Sir.” This Michael answered. We all wondered, first—who is this man, and second—how does Gimpy know him?

  “Harry, that impatient bastard, has called me all morning. What have you done to court his ire? He can be an arsehole when you deviate from His Dukeness.” Gimpy and The English Stranger laughed heartily. “Well...what have you done and what’s my granddaughter have to do with this? It puts me in a shite of a mood that the bastard is upset with my granddaughter for no reason.” Wow, the English Gimpy was coming out. “There he is again,” Gimpy sounded annoyed as he pulled out his phone.

  “What is it now, Your Grace?” The sarcasm was dripping, so I was unsure whether the words, “Your Grace” were for real, or just Gimpy mocking these English people. “Hold on, let me put you on speaker and you can talk to your grandson. I’ll warn you not to upset my granddaughter who just gave birth, and her three babes sitting on the bed with her.”

  “Michael, what is the meaning of this? Who the hell is this girl that’s got your head up your arse?”

  “Language!” Gimpy warned.

  “Grandfather, she’s the shine to my sun and the light to my moon. I would give up my future dukedom, if she would agree to spend the rest of her life with me.” The English Stranger declared.

  Shit! If those weren’t the most romantic words ever uttered, and with a beautiful English accent at that! Damn. That was swoon-worthy. Plus, I now felt like I was transported back to my Regency romance novels. What the hell was all of that about his dukedom? Was Gimpy not joking about Your Gracing the grandfather? And hell...where was Laney? I finally came out of my daze to look at Donovan’s face and he looked upset...very upset. I don’t think I mentioned, with all this English craziness, that it was Laney who opened the door when we were about to “kiss.” Right now, Mr. Donovan Taylor would kick his own arse, if he could. Maybe for what he’s done to me, I’d offer to kick it for him in these beautiful shoes purchased back in Chicago.

  “Hi,” Laney whispered to The English Stranger.

  This was a total romance movie in the filming. Our sexy English man rejoices at finding his love and they go off into a conversation of their own that has no meaning to any of us. I saw Donovan turn away and Jake whispering something to him. Emily had a sad smile on her face, Gimpy was balking at The Duke on the phone, Doug and Nick were confused, and the twins kept trying to get Laney’s attention. Laney only looked up when everyone started clearing their throats.

  Laney made all the introductions, but wouldn’t look at me or Donovan when she introduced us. Shit! I realized she was probably upset with me. But then again, why would she be upset with me? It’s not as though our almost kiss had anything to do with her. Maybe she was just embarrassed. And where had she been all this time? The bathroom? The wrong floor? Did she have feelings for Donovan? My life was crazy enough without adding one Laney Reid to the equation. I had more important worries on my mind.

  There was an entire conversation going on that I wasn’t interested in. My hope was to get Jake’s attention and have him help me get over to Mexico so I could salvage this mess. I sorted through all the work that needed immediate attention, and what I could take care of after my trip to Mexico. Most likely, this weekend would be the first chance I’d get to go there and grovel.

  I was minding my own business when everyone called out, “Now?” This woke me up to Laney kissing Emily and the twins goodbye, and giving Gimpy a hug right before stepping out of the room with Michael. What had happened while I was daydreaming about fixing my nightmare? Immediately, Donovan went after her and my head was spinning.

  “He finally opened his eyes,” I heard Jake mutter.

  “I think I’ll leave you to get some rest, Emily. Your Gram and I will be back later with some dinner.”

  “Thank you, Grandfather. We’ll see you soon.” Emily touched both twins and encouraged them to “say goodbye.” And obediently, the two waved at Gimpy.

  Donovan came in with his shoulders sagging, much sooner than I expected. The conversation with Laney must not have gone well. I’d never seen this kind of a look on him before—sullen, torn, depressed, almost a bleeding-on-the-inside look.

  “Nick would you and Doug take the twins outside and maybe walk around the hospital with them? They’ve been here the entire time and I think they would like some fresh air.” Emily waited patiently till the four of them went out and shut the door. “What the hell is the matter with the both of you?” Emily’s eleven words formed into a question made all of us jump back three spaces and seriously quiver in our boots.

  “SHITE!” as the English would say.

  July 8, 2013 Brothers

  I never did get to tell you what JR looks like, did I? Before I get sidetracked again, JR is gorgeous! I’d say he looks more like Emily than Jake. He has her coloring, her face, and her long, lean physique. His face still looks like one of those squishy stress balls you form in your hand, with tiny eyes (which are closed most of the time), puffy cheeks, and red lips—but he’s my nephew, and he’s beautiful! This little one has light brown, bordering on blond hair (apparently, Emily’s mom was blonde), and deep brown eyes. I was happy that JR had a look of his own, though he did still look much like his siblings. With a set of twins above you, he needed to stand out and make his own mark in this world. Especially if you have Elizabeth Logan Reid as your sister. She’ll be the boss of both brothers, that’s for sure.

  JR stands for Jonathan Robert Reid. Jonathan is Jake’s full name—dunno why he was called Jake instead of John or Johnnie—and Robert is in honor of my dad. Emily is doing well but she’s still royally pissed with me and Donovan. We are both scared to go over to her home, though Jake says she’s fine with what’s happened. Donovan and I did our confessional in her hospital room and my brother filled in any blanks. I think Emily is more concerned with Max’s feelings than my own. She hasn’t asked how I was doing after Max dumped me before leaving for his trip. Shou
ld I be mad at her for not considering my feelings?