by Cee, DW
“How did that happen, Duchess? Should I worry that you’re with Donovan?”
“Donovan came to pick me up in London and he brought me here to my parents. You don’t need to worry. I’ll be here a few more days, and then I’ll come back to you.” I could feel Donovan’s wrath as I said this. He adjusted and readjusted in his seat in the car, and he was close to throwing my phone out the window. “Michael, why don’t I call you in the morning? I’m not all that well and we’re back at my grandfather’s apartment.”
“What’s wrong, Duchess?”
“I have the flu, but I feel much better now. I’ll talk to you...” That was all Donovan could take. He took the phone from my hand and threw it in the canal. “You did NOT just do that!” I yelled at him.
“I did...” he trailed and walked into the house. I ran after him.
“What the fuck, Donovan Taylor! What gives you the right to cut off my conversation with my boyfriend!”
“You cannot have a boyfriend when you’re about to marry me.” He yelled back.
“At this point in my life, I’m closer to marrying Michael than I am to you.”
“The hell you are!” He ROARED. “We are getting married, Delaney Reid. That’s why I gave up everything and moved my life here.”
“What the fuck do you know about giving up anything for anybody? Michael stood up to his grandfather and told him he’d give up his future title, land, money, and practically his family to be with me. What the hell did you give up?” Now I was roaring. “What, you gave up Kate? You gave up Jane? What did you give up for me? Last time I saw you, you were lip-locked with my cousin.” Now, my heart was breaking and my voice weakened. “A woman who has a boyfriend, a woman who’s related to me—is that what you gave up?”
I didn’t wait for a response. I slammed the door to my room and threw myself on the bed and sobbed. The only picture in my mind was that of Donovan and Jane laughing in each other’s arms. That picture had haunted me every night since I returned to the UK.
“Delaney.” Donovan perched himself on my side of the bed and gently pulled me off the pillow and into his arms. “I have nothing to say but I’m sorry. What you saw that day wasn’t exactly as it appeared, but what you didn’t see with me and Jane in Chicago is a confession I need to make. When you are ready to let go of what happened in the hospital room and hear me out, I want to explain everything to you.”
“I don’t think I can take any confessions from you concerning Jane.”
“It’s not what you’re thinking. We talked everything over and realized we weren’t attracted to each other. Jane and I are just friends. She and Max were broken up at the time, and now they’re back together, stronger than ever.” I looked up at him, doubtful. “I promise. Those two are very much together and very much in love.”
“Beautiful,” I heard a tickle in my ear. “I would like for us to stay here cuddled together for years to come, but I have a meeting to attend and you have a father and future father-in-law waiting for you at a conference.”
Last I remembered, Donovan and I were yelling at each other, but somehow it was morning and we were playing “limbo” in bed, again. “You slept with me again.”
“I couldn’t get away even if I wanted to,” he laughed. “One minute you were screaming bloody murder at me, and the next second, you were asleep in my arms.”
“Shut up. You’re such a liar.” I knew he was telling the truth, but I didn’t want to give him an excuse for sleeping with me again.
He guffawed to a point where he was snorting. “You were calling me every name in the book, crying, nose-running everywhere—then next thing I know, you’re knocked out. It was like a scene out of a horror movie. I thought you might have died. No lie, I checked for breathing.”
There was no choice but to laugh with him. “It wasn’t that dramatic.”
“Princess, you were such dead weight on my body, I couldn’t change either of us out of our clothes from yesterday. I would have done everything in my power to strip you of your clothes and see you naked before putting a nightgown on you.”
I laughed some more. “You sound like a dirty old man.”
“Trust me, any man, young or old would give half his fortune to see you naked. Our godson knew what was up when he latched onto you.”
“Oh, I miss James and Ellie.”
“And they miss you too. Right before I left, I saw James kissing your picture.”
“I want to see them!”
“You will, real soon. They’ll be here in a few days.” Donovan took out his phone and started dialing. “Hey,” he called out. “Babies sleeping?”
“Is it nighttime?” Jake appeared out of nowhere and asked. “Hey, Cousin. I see you two are in bed, together? All is well?” He gave us an innocent smile that was anything but innocent.
“Hi Jake. All is not well, and somehow your best friend keeps invading my space.”
“How else is he supposed to get close to you if he doesn’t invade your space? You think Emily and I got together by me giving her all the space in the world?” He winked at me.
“But Jake, I have a boyfriend.”
“Laney, I think we all know who will eventually be your husband. It’ll be most kind of you to let Michael go and accept the inevitable.”
“God, I think I’m man-crushing on you right now! I knew there was a reason why I loved you since we were little.” Donovan was acting silly, and Jake let out an aw-shucks kind of guffaw. “Where’s Emily?”
“Right here.” Emily jumped into our FaceTime. “Hello, Donovan. Hi Laney.”
“Hi Emily.” I sounded all mopey. “The kids are well?”
“The kids are beautiful and James was very happy when I told him we were going to go see Auntie Ne Ne. Ellie could care less, sorry to report.”
“I can’t wait to play with those two. It’ll be so neat to live together. Your floor is all ready. The workers came in and did a spotless job.”
“Great. Thank you for taking care of that for us. I can’t wait to see the place, again, and it’ll be fun to have everyone living under one roof. Will you be taking up residence in Belgravia, Donovan?”
“I’ll be taking up residence wherever Delaney will be. She can stay at the company apartment with me, or I can stay at Gram’s with her.”
“Nobody invited you to stay with us.”
“Your grandmother sent me an invitation in the form of a text. You want to read it?”
“NO! She did not ask you to move in with all of us.”
He nodded his head in the affirmative. “She told me I could room with you if I liked.”
“She did NOT tell you we could live in sin, especially knowing I have a boyfriend.”
“I told you to stop calling him that. We are getting married soon. If anyone is your boyfriend, it’s me!” Yet once again, he was getting upset.
“I see you two are working out your differences and strengthening the relationship.” Jake chuckled while giving his wife a smooch on her temple.
“Do you know what this man did, yesterday? I was talking to Michael on the phone, and in the middle of our conversation, he grabbed the phone out of my hand and threw it in the canal.”
Emily and Jake busted up. “Ah, young love!” Jake called out. “Were we ever that rash and stupid, Love?”
“Never!” Emily shook her head. “Laney, just don’t find yourself in the Grand Canyon without a ride home.” Emily started howling while Jake looked horrified.
“Emi! Not cool to bring that up.”
“I’ve got to show you that you’re human too, just like Donovan.” She gave her husband a peck on the lips. “Mr. Donovan Taylor, godfather of my children, soon to be Laney’s husband…”
“Yes, Ma’am!”
“Take good care of my cousin. I love her and Jane as though they were my sisters.”
“I’ll cherish this beautiful lady as though she were my last breath. See you two, later.
I’ve got to get to work.”
“Good-bye!” Jake and Emily called out in unison.
“You heard your cousins, it’s inevitable. We will get married, so send Michael back to where he came from and look only at me. I can’t stand you being with another man.” What about all the times when your heart was with other women? “I know what you’re thinking right now, Miss Delaney Reid. I can’t change the mistakes of my past. I can only try and make perfect our present and future. Give me a chance to love you.” With this, he put both his arms around me and held onto me, looking for an answer, looking for love. “Let’s get ready.”
“Hi Daddy. Hi Pa.” I whispered the last two words.
“Oh, my God! Donny, I think I’m in love with your future wife.” Pa pretended to faint then kissed me smack on the lips.
“Easy, old man. Stay away from the lips. That’s my property.” Donovan chuckled and brought me back into his body. “Good morning, Chief. I can entrust you with my Princess, today?”
“Impudent boy, she’s been in my entrusted care for the past twenty-three years. What, in the course of a couple of days, you think you’ve usurped my position?”
“Just checking, Chief. Just checking...” Donovan gave me his mega-watt smile. “I’ll see you tonight?”
I nodded yes. “Have a good day.”
Donovan wouldn’t leave. He had a hard time letting go of my hand.
“Can we talk, tonight? Will you give me a chance to come clean so we can start this courtship on the right foot?”
“Let’s see tonight. At the rate I’ve been going, I may fall asleep in the middle of dinner.”
“I forgot to ask how you’re feeling this morning.”
“I feel decent, but not well. Whatever this bug is, it’s got me good. I just hope I don’t doze off in the middle of my dad’s seminar.”
Donovan cupped the side of my face and came in for a kiss. I didn’t refuse him. “Every moment I’m not with you, I miss you, too. I love you, Princess.”
“Go to work before Grandfather fires you.” I let out an unintended giggle.
“You two look beautiful, together, Baby. I trust everything is going well?”
I watched Donovan walk out with his father before answering. “Daddy. Can I trust this twist of fate? Can I really believe that the man I crushed on since I was ten has finally noticed me and wants to marry me?”
“I think you can. Donovan had a tough time dealing with your absence, but I honestly believe he fell in love with you while you were still in the States. All those days you spent together, your mother and I thought we saw fireworks from the start.”
“I don’t know, Daddy.”
“What will you do about Michael?”
“I’m going to call him today and break up with him. Though I’m unsure where things will go between Donovan and me, I don’t feel right being officially with one man, and unofficially with another. Can I ask you to keep this information a secret from everyone? Of course you can tell Mom.”
“Sure, Baby. You do what you think is best for you. Your mother and I will support your every decision.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
My father’s seminar was a huge hit! I couldn’t believe the number of people who came to hear him speak. I stayed with Mr. Taylor for most of the day while Dad was entertaining questions and guests, and my time with my possible future father-in-law was a sweet one.
“You know your Ma and I adore you, Laney Reid?” Pa Taylor formed his statement into a question.
“And I, too, think you and Ma are wonderful people.”
“You love my Donny?”
“I believe I do.”
“Then what’s the matter? Why won’t you accept his proposal?”
“Well, there hasn’t been a proposal to accept, and we have many things to talk over.”
“So I just need to get my son to propose and you’ll accept? Your Ma and I can’t wait for you to become better acquainted with our girls. Do you remember them?”
“I remember Kelley the best since she was with Jake when I was hopelessly in love with your son.” I smiled.
“You’ve been lusting after my Donny since you were a little girl?” Mr. Taylor said that loudly enough for our entire lunch table to look up from their meals and conversations.
“Pa,” I admonished. “I was only ten. Ten-year-olds don’t lust. We crush.”
“Whatevah! Lust, crush—all the same!”
I laughed. “I’ll tell you a secret if you’ll keep it to yourself.” Now, this was the wine combined with medication, talking. I was getting loose-tongued again. Pa Taylor nodded his head feverishly. “I asked your son to marry me when I was a little girl, but he never had the courtesy to answer me.”
“Shit! That moron of a son of mine could’ve been with you since you were in grade school?” Now Pa was just plain making fun of me. “You could’ve had a dozen kids by now.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s just wrong. I was twelve when I asked him to marry me in the form of a letter. Plus, that moron of a son of yours told me that he was going to ask Kate to marry him the same day I asked him to marry me!”
“Stupid! He’s just stupid at times. He gets that from Jamie’s side of the family.” I saw Pa take out his phone and start texting.
“What are you doing?” I asked in horror.
“I’m telling my son that he’s an idiot!”
“You promised to keep my secret,” I cried.
“Don’t you worry, my sweet Laney. I’ll keep your secret.”
Lunch with Pa Taylor was a hoot, and it was wonderful to see the close relationship my dad had with Scott Taylor. This was what family was all about—enjoying one another, loving one another, and supporting one another every way we could. I knew if Donovan and I could work through his issues with all the other women in his life, our marriage would be an easy one where all the pieces of the puzzle already fit together. We only needed two more pieces to finish the Reid-Taylor puzzle—those two pieces being Donovan and me.
“Will you excuse me, Pa? I have a phone call to make.”
“Sure, Baby. I’ll be right here if you want to divulge any more secrets to your Pa.”
I laughed while walking away.
It was time. I wasn’t sure where Donovan and I would end up, but I knew for sure where Michael and I were headed.
“Duchess!”
“Hi Michael. How are you?”
“I was worried about you when our call got cut off. Whose number is this?”
“This is my father’s temporary phone while he’s in Europe. My phone ended up in the canal, unfortunately.”
“Canal?”
“Long story, Michael.”
“How much longer are you in Amsterdam? When can we expect you at Grandfather’s?”
“A couple more days, and I wanted to talk to you about us.”
“Shit! I knew it wouldn’t be long before that Donovan Taylor figured out what he was missing. Duchess, I don’t want you to say what you’re about to say. We need to see each other. When we’re together and you can tell me the same words you’re about to utter, then I’ll consider it.”
“But Michael, this isn’t fair to you. I don’t think I ever fell out of love with Donovan. He’s here and he wants us to get married. His parents, my parents, my grandparents, my cousins—everyone is championing our cause. I haven’t admitted anything to Donovan, yet, but I know I still care for him.”
“And you don’t care for me?” Michael was sad asking me this question and I was sad for him. I should never have gotten together with him. I knew it would only end in a broken heart.
“I do, Michael. You are the kindest and most caring person I’ve ever met. You and Ruby have made my adjustment to a new country so painless. I appreciate you and like you very much.”
“But...you don’t love me.”
“Michael, I’ve been honest with you from the start. You knew my feelings for you
weren’t that strong, yet.”
“Duchess, I need to see you. I can’t come to any resolution till we meet face to face and you tell me that you can’t ever grow to love me.”
“Michael...” Aargh! When did my life get this complicated? “I should be in London soon. I’ll call you when I leave Amsterdam and we can meet. But, Michael?”
“Yes, Duchess?”
“I don’t think I can meet you at your grandfather’s. That’s going to make this situation even harder to resolve.”
“I’ll come to London to see you. Just please,” he pleaded, “don’t make any decisions before we get a chance to see each other. I love you, Duchess. Don’t forget that.”
I sighed quietly. “I’ll see you soon.”
As soon as the call was done, I sighed loudly. I should have listened to my gut instinct and never started a relationship with a man I knew wasn’t my forever. What a mess I had created.
“Delaney...Delaney!”
“Huh?” After my call with Michael, I’d been a space cadet with Donovan and my family. I blamed it on the flu, but I knew what was ailing me.
“Bee’s on the phone and she wants to talk to you.”
“Bee?” I gladly answered the phone. “Hello, Stranger. What’s going on?”
“I’ve got an unusual situation, and I need your help.”
“Ok...how can I help you?”
“You know about my fashion show in a couple of days?”
“Is this where a few American designers based in Paris wanted you to join their mini fashion show in Paris?”
“Yes. I had a model drop out at the last minute, and I need you to model some of the clothes for me.”
“NO WAY!” I almost shouted. “I’ll come support you, I’ll sit in the front row, I’ll even buy a dress or two, but there’s no freakin’ way I’m modeling anything in public!”
“Come on, Laney! I’ve seen you strut your stuff. You’re a natural. There’s a catwalk coach here who’ll walk you through the steps. I need you to model just a few items. I promise! I won’t put you out on the catwalk more than twice.”
“Bee...!” I complained. “Why would you want me as your model? I’m fatter, older, and uglier than the girls who do this for a living. I’ll be the laughingstock.”
