by Cee, DW
“Well? You haven’t answered me. Where are you off to?” She rambled on about getting work done, but I could tell she just wanted to get the hell away from me. “About this weekend, should we talk? Do I need to…?”
“Nope!” She cut me off cold and took a few steps toward the stairs. I grabbed her hand and started my explanation but she fought back with, “Nope, nope, and more nope. You and I owe each other nothing. You have your life, I have mine—and our lives do not intersect like a Venn diagram.” Delaney and her words—she was a comedic genius at times.
“Delaney.” I curled her hand into mine and liked this warm softness. “I…”
“Seriously, Mr. Taylor. I don’t need to know, I’m not interested in knowing, and I have no right to know. What you choose to do as a grown adult is not for me to judge. What I will say is that Max is a great guy. He loves my cousin and I believe she loves him in return. Whatever the hell is going on in her mind and heart as well as yours, I just hope you’ll consider the collateral damage of both your selfishness.”
So that was why she was sad? It had nothing to do with her…and with me? It was all about Max? Her answer pissed me off. “So that heartbroken look on your face was because of Max?”
“I’ve told you in the past, I like Max. He was sacrificing enough to let the love of his life go so she could find Jake. He deserves happiness.” Did she really have a thing for her cousin’s boyfriend?
Shit! That pissed me off like nothing else. I dropped her hand and let her know that she could leave for all I cared. Sometimes, my heart didn’t know its head from its ass.
It had been a few weeks since that incident at the library, and I hadn’t made things right with Delaney or Jane. It was late, but I needed to start somewhere. I walked past Jane’s cubicle and signaled for her to come out.
“I’m swamped with work. I shouldn’t leave,” she complained.
“You have to eat—might as well do it with me. It’ll look like you’re working over lunch.”
“Yeah, like no one in this office knows we’re friends.”
“Speaking of being friends, I have to apologize and make something right with you.”
“What did you do that I’m unaware of?” she asked with curiosity. “I didn’t realize you had anything to apologize for—it should be Max, not you, apologizing.”
Damn. I hope they weren’t fighting because of me. “What’s wrong with you and Max?”
“Long-ass story I don’t want to go into right now and you don’t want to hear.”
“Did I cause...trouble...between you two?” I hoped to God not. I had enough trouble of my own with one blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty.
“No. It has nothing to do with you.” Praise the Lord! “Why would you be the cause of our fight?” Perhaps I was making too big a deal out of what I’d said at the wedding. “Max and I have issues that seem to defy mankind!”
“Back at Gram’s wedding when I told you that I can’t help wondering what it’d be like to be with you...I shouldn’t have said any of those words.” Especially since I don’t know that I mean them. “Yes, I’m curious, but no, I’m not that curious. I mean, I’m not trying to stir up trouble for you and Max. I want you to be happy. I...”
Jane put out her hand to stop me. “No need to continue. At first I was a little freaked with what you said, but chalked it off to the wedding atmosphere. I know you’re not a bad guy and I know we’re better off as friends.”
“When I’m with you and we get into these flirtatious moods, careless words come out of my mouth. That’s what I need to apologize about—my carelessness and stupidity. Don’t take what I said seriously and if for some reason I caused any issues with you and Max, let me know and I’ll clear the air with him. I know I’m not his favorite person.”
“Donovan...what are we to do with one another? Relying upon our longstanding friendship, we become thoughtless and maybe a little reckless at times. I like talking to you. I’ve always liked talking to you, and sometimes we both get carried away with our conversations. I guess we should not be so casual, especially since I have a boyfriend and you too will have a steady girlfriend one day.”
“You are absolutely dead on. I will be more discreet in what I say and share.”
“What will you do about Kate?”
“Kate and I are done. I’ve let her know already and if it bears repeating, I’ll say it again.”
“With the way she hung onto you at the wedding, we all thought you two were the next to walk down the aisle.”
“When I walk down the aisle, it won’t be with her.”
“So is there someone you might consider walking down the aisle with?” Jane was on her fishing expedition. I handled the check and got up to leave.
“Isn’t that the question of the century!” was all I was going to reveal.
“You’re not denying anything so there is a woman!”
Shit. How was I getting out of this one? “There’s no woman,” I immediately denied. “All I said was, Kate isn’t the woman.” We were already in the elevator and I couldn’t get away from Jane fast enough.
“You are not getting out of this, Donovan Taylor. Who is she, huh? Who is she?”
“I need to get to my office. I have a conference call happening soon.”
“You’re such a chicken. Come back here and talk to me,” she yelled across the firm as I did my damnedest to get away from her.
Kate? or Jane? or Delaney?
Work took me to New York and back, but before I left, I blew off a softball game because I was still pissed with Delaney. Why the hell did she care so much about Max and how he felt? Did she give a damn at all about how I felt? I was the one she interacted with all the time and I was the one without a girlfriend. It shouldn’t have bothered me to this extent, but two weeks later, I was still upset.
“Donovan?” Shit. It was Kate again. She was finding too many reasons to call me these days. That talk we had back at the Montage did no good. It was time to sit and talk to her again.
“Yeah, Kate.”
“Weston Hong and Brad Wang have agreed to meet with us and they want to meet halfway.” Weston and Brad were two huge clients who would bring millions to the firm if we played our cards right.
“Where is halfway between Asia and America?”
“Why Hawaii, of course!”
Now this was a welcome phone call, unlike the other calls I’d received from her. Very different from her usual self, she was needier and less self-assured of late. The needier she got, the further I retreated into my corner. Kate and I were an ugly combination right now and I needed to step away for good.
“You’ll have to be back in time for our meeting.”
“I just landed at LAX. Have your assistant send me all the info. See you soon.” I hung up before Kate had a chance to want a dinner get-together or worse, to spend the night at my house. Shit! My phone was ringing again. I was going to let it go to voicemail if it was Kate again. To my surprise, it was Jake so without hesitation I answered. “Hello! What brings you to call me at this hour? Aren’t you cuddled up in bed with your wife by now?”
“What’s this I hear about you working in Hawaii?”
“Damn. How does news get around so fast? I just heard of it myself a minute ago. How do you know and why are you asking?”
“Jane told us she’s going with you and I need a break from my beautiful monsters who hog up my wife’s attention. I thought we’d join you in Hawaii. Where are you staying?”
“I’m not sure, but I just got an email and that probably contains my itinerary. I’ll forward it to you.”
“I assume you don’t mind us barging in on your work trip?”
“Hell no. It’ll be a welcomed distraction. I need to end this half-assed relationship with Kate. She’s getting too clingy and I can’t stand it. We are finally over!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll let her know in Hawaii.”
“I’ll remember that. Bye.”
This was going to be a good trip, I decided. Once work was done, a week in Hawaii with Jake, Emily, and Jane would be fun. Shit! What now? The cell phone rang again.
“I’m forwarding the email now.” I called out to Jake who was probably calling me to be a nag.
“It’s me, Kate.”
“Oh. Sorry. I thought you were Jake. What’s up?”
“The firm is getting each of us a room, but the hotel will upgrade me to the presidential villa which has like four or five bedrooms. I wanted to see if you wanted me to refuse your room.” I guess this conversation was beyond a doubt, necessary. Now she was expecting us to be together whenever we were in the same vicinity.
“Keep the room. Jake and Emily are coming to Hawaii. I’ll see if they want to take it. I’m sure Roland won’t mind if I give my room to his eldest grandson.”
“So, we’ll share a room?” She was hesitant.
“Let’s talk when we get to Hawaii, Kate. I think we have a lot to discuss on this trip.”
“Yeah, sure.” Now she sounded insecure again. Damn! Breaking up with Kate was not going to be easy.
Using the excuse of having to talk to Jake, I got off the phone with Kate and called my buddy to offer him the good news.
“Donovan, you’re on the house speakerphone, and Emi, Jane, Doug, and Nick are here. What’s up?”
I said my greetings to everyone and asked Jake, “You booked everything already?”
“Yep! Signed, sealed and delivered via email.”
“There’s going to be an extra room at the hotel. Why don’t you cancel your room and take mine? Our clients are paying for it, and it’ll be unused.”
“I’ve already booked our room with points. I don’t think I can change it now.”
“Donovan, this is Doug. Can we take the room?”
“Who’s we? You and your sister?” Did I want Delaney on this trip?
“No. Me and Nick.”
“Sure. The more Reids the merrier.” What the hell? I figured Roland wouldn’t mind which grandson took the room. As pissed as I was with her, I was bummed Delaney wouldn’t be there.
Emily must have read my mind because she began coming up with ways to bring Delaney along and in the midst of the conversation, Delaney herself came into the room and refused a ticket Emily, Jake, and Nick were offering her, and refused to buy herself a ticket. She used the excuse of having to save money for her trip to London.
At this point a smart man would’ve both kept his mouth shut and just listened, or he would’ve hung up. But, I was never a smart man where a woman was concerned. My big, fat mouth wouldn’t stay contained. “Delaney Reid.” I called out to her and hoped she’d pick up the phone rather than keep me on speakerphone.
Smart girl did just that. “Hi Mr. Taylor.”
“How are you, Little Girl?”
“I’ve been good. How are you? We’ve missed you at the games.”
“You have?” Now why did that make me feel so good? My pissed off demeanor died instantly. “I knew you’d miss me when I didn’t show up to the games.”
“I didn’t say I have, I said we have, as in the collective group. You’ve missed two games.”
“So you’ve noticed.” I wanted to tell her that I missed her too. Our last conversation was a shitty one we had yet to resolve.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed. How can I not when there’s no one to catch for me? We lost the last two games.” She sounded sad. Yes! She was sad I wasn’t there!
“Is that the only reason you’ve missed me?”
She went dead silent on me. The seriousness between us was freaking me out just as much as I’d freaked her out. The mood needed to be altered…fast!
I put out an offer to buy her a ticket to Hawaii because I wanted her there with me and of course she refused. While she droned on about why she didn’t want a ticket from me, I took out my laptop in the middle of the airport and proceeded to book a ticket on our flight.
“Don’t buy me a ticket,” she warned for the sixth time.
“Just did. Check your inbox.”
“Mr. Taylor!” She made that cute groan that usually made the skin between her eyes crinkle.
“See you tomorrow, Little Girl. I’m glad you missed me.” I hung up before I could say, “Because I missed you too.”
“I thought the relationship was over?” Jake whispered as he came over to shake my hand. “You two look almost as much a couple as my wife and I. How are you going to end this?” We were all at the airport, ready to leave for our work vacation, and Jake was on-the-nose. Kate clung to me like a wet blanket.
“I’ve not a fucking clue. I may need you to play referee when we arrive in Hawaii. She and I are roommates.”
“Shit.”
“You can say that again.” I looked over at the Reids, and saw Jane on the phone, Doug and Nick goofing off, excited to be here, and Delaney somewhat unhappy. I started walking toward her to see what was wrong when Kate stopped me.
“We need to get in or we’ll never make it to the gate on time. There are always a crazy number of people going to Hawaii this time of year.”
Kate and I walked in with Jake and Emily right behind us. I looked back to make sure everyone was together and my stomach had that weird flipped-out feeling when I saw Delaney lagging in the back. Jane was still animatedly talking on her phone, the other two conversed jovially about the trip but Delaney looked lonely by herself. Once Kate and I situated ourselves at the gate, I excused myself and went out in search of the girl my heart couldn’t let go of no matter how hard I tried.
“Hey, Little Girl.” I found her at the magazine stand.
“Hi Mr. Taylor.” She greeted me with a bright smile. “Thank you, again, for taking me to Hawaii. It was unnecessary, but very much appreciated.”
“Why aren’t you with your family?”
“No particular reason. I thought I’d buy some magazines to read on the plane. It’s a long enough flight where one movie won’t do.”
“Is that your way of telling me I should have bought you a first class ticket so you could watch as many movies as you like?”
That was the magic question to bring forth her gorgeous smile. “Yeah, Mr. Taylor! If you’re going to buy someone a present, go all out and buy her the best. Don’t give her a half-assed gift where she has to buy magazines and smutty books to pass the time away.”
“Perhaps I’ll upgrade you if you’ll share only the juicy parts of the smutty book.” Now she was laughing so hard, she was snorting. “Pick out a few good ones and I’ll see you in first class.”
I felt good leaving her with a smile. When I got back to our group, it was time for us to board and of course, Delaney was still in her own world, browsing through the selection.
“Let’s go.” Kate urged me onto the plane. The four of us comfortably settled while I saw the rest of the Reids heading to the back of the plane. Jane loudly voiced her displeasure of being considered a second-class citizen at AAP. Oh well...it sucked to be a lowly associate. “Shit.” Kate spoke while reading a message on her phone. “My clients need me to meet with them this morning. They’re going out of town for two weeks and today is the only day they can meet. I’ll have to catch a later flight to Hawaii.” Now why did that make me happy to hear she wouldn’t sit next to me the entire flight? “This seat will be empty. Shall I see if I can bring one of the Reids up here? Who shall I ask?”
“Delaney.”
“Laney.”
“Laney.”
The three of us answered at once. Kate opened her mouth to ask a question, but stopped herself. “Well, OK. I’ll see you in the evening?”
“Sure. See you later.” Kate was expecting a “proper” good-bye but my heart wasn’t into it.
“You need not loo
k so relieved, Buddy. I think Kate is starting to catch on.”
“I’d appreciate her catching on so I don’t have to spell it out.”
“Your life is too complicated. All on one island, you’ll sleep with the woman you’re dying to get away from, dine with another woman you think you’d like to spend more time with, and continually seek out the right woman you pretend to stay away from—what the hell kind of life is that?” Jake observed.
“An idiotic one,” Emily spoke right before Delaney joined us sporting a reluctant grimace.
“Why the frown, Laney?” Jake asked.
“I don’t belong here.”
“I told you I’d upgrade you.” I winked and pulled her into the seat next to me before she found a way to sit next to Emily. “Did you highlight the good parts, yet?” I saw a covert smile but she wouldn’t answer. She was trying her best not to laugh. “Are you going to go dark on me the entire plane ride?”
It was probably my imagination, but I thought I saw a hungry look on Delaney, thoroughly admiring me up and down.
“I don’t know. Do you have anything stimulating to talk about, Mr. Taylor?” That damn Mr. Taylor moniker wouldn’t leave her pouty mouth. I was tempted to kiss her till she promised never to call me Mr. Taylor again.
Eventually, Delaney opened up about all her dates, and I was bothered that she’d dated, but couldn’t get enough of our conversation.
“Didn’t you say you were going to end things with William?” Emily joined our conversation. “And what about Aaron? What happened with him? He was darling when he accidentally ended up on our cul-de-sac. Did you end up going out with him?”
“Who’s Aaron?” I confronted this girl who had too many men knocking on her door.
Delaney rolled her eyes at my big-brother tone of voice. “I ended it with William.” She only addressed Emily. “And as for Aaron...he was cute...”
“He sure was cute! I think he was the cutest one yet.” Emily spoke to Delaney, but searched for my reaction. Silently, I told Emily and Jake to both back off, and silently they both laughed at me. “I’ll admit, Ellie and I peeked out our window and saw you sitting on your swing with him. You two looked awfully sweet!” I was more than annoyed at how awfully sweet Emily sounded.
