Complete Indelible Love Series

by Cee, DW

  “Nick and I are both from LA, too. What a small world. Where in LA are you staying?”

  “I’m on the Westside, but I work in downtown LA.”

  Bee gave a pretty smile. “I live in a loft in downtown. You should stop by one day. We could be friends.”

  “That’d be great, Bee. What do you do?”

  “I’m a clothes designer. Nick, here, is a med student. And I’m sure Beau told you about Ruby and Michael?”

  This Lily, girl, woman, whatever she was, looked young. I pegged her at twenty-two or three, at most. But since she was colleagues with Beau, she must have been in her early to mid-twenties. There was a sweet innocence about her and Bee was doing her usual to keep the conversation interesting.

  “How long are you in London for, Bee?” No surprise, it was Beau talking, again. I wished I didn’t have to hear this guy talk.

  “I leave in a few days. Nick and I are here to help his brother’s family move back to the States.”

  “Can we see each other before you leave?” Shit! Seriously? This asshole sees me sitting across from Bee and he’s asking to get together with her?

  Bee shrugged her shoulder and answered, “I don’t see why not?” No fucking way! Did she really agree to meet with him? “Are we on babysitting duty, still?”

  “I don’t know. Ask Emily,” I spit out, to her damn amusement.

  “Wait a minute,” Lily interrupted our stare-down. “Are you by chance related to Emily and Jake Reid?”

  What the hell? “Um, yeah. Jake’s my brother.”

  “Oh my gosh! You’re Nick Reid! I’m Lily Jenkins, Sarah’s sister. Jake once told me he’d introduce us if I ever came out to LA. I feel like I know you, already.”

  “Um…” Seriously, I had no idea what this girl was talking about. Who the hell was Sarah, and why had Jake promised to introduce us?

  Lily giggled like a little girl. This girl was very different from the woman sitting across from me, in all ways. “You have no damn clue who I am or who my sister is, do you?”

  “Are you even old enough to use four letter words?” Everyone busted-up with my question.

  “My sister Sarah is Emily’s best friend!” Ding, ding, ding! “I see the light bulb has gone off.” Snarky little thing… “Do you remember when Emily came to visit our family that first Thanksgiving she was dating Jake? That was when he upgraded us to a fabulous suite at the W in Times Square and the two of them couldn’t get enough of one another?”

  “Kind of?”

  “You and your family were out to dinner when Emily called Jake, and I asked if he had a younger brother he could introduce to me because your brother was the ideal boyfriend at that time.”

  “OK…”

  “And that’s when he told me he’d introduce us if I ever got myself to LA. I think I was sixteen at the time and I thought we’d meet, fall in love, and get married when I graduated from high school!” The whimsical way she dreamed up this fairy tale made me chuckle.

  “Shit, we’ve got another Laney on our hands!” Bee commented, and Ruby nodded in agreement.

  “Sarah told me your cousin Laney is marrying the most handsome man she’s ever laid eyes on. Is that true?”

  Michael jeered, “Only if you’re blind.”

  Lily’s eyes popped open and she thought about the situation briefly. “Then you’re that Michael!” Lily was too excited. “I’ve heard all about you.” She was kind of starry-eyed and cute. “I feel like all the characters in my favorite romance novel have come alive! And you must be the clothes designer, Bee Taylor—aunt to Donovan Taylor.”

  “I am.” Bee found Lily cute, too.

  “Is he really even more handsome and more romantic than Jake?”

  “Well...not to toot my own nephew...but he is pretty freakin’ gorgeous. And as for the romantic part, you’ll have to ask Laney and Emily. The two of them can duke it out and see who comes out the winner.” Funny Bee. She slammed Michael for his slam on her nephew. I loved this woman’s sense of humor.

  “Do you have a picture of him?”

  Bee took out her phone and pushed a button. “Hey, Slavedriver.” She was calling Laney. “Text me a picture of you and my nephew.” Laney must have asked why because Bee quickly said, “Respect your elder and just do as your Aunt tells you!”

  “Cousin,” I interrupted Bee’s conversation, “we’ve abandoned the twins and are on our way to Florence.”

  “You can’t do that, Nick. What will Emily do? She’s got three kids!” Laney was horrified with my brilliant news.

  “If you’re so damn concerned and flabbergasted, come home and help. Why the hell am I moving your boxes in addition to playing with the mini-slavedriver, Elizabeth Reid?”

  “Why do you have my fiancée in a tizzy, Cousin?” Donovan spoke in his lazy, arrogant drawl.

  “Shit man. Come take care of the little girl who calls me Nick, but you, Unca.”

  Donovan proudly announced, “I took Ellie and James out for their first ice cream cone the other day and told them that I was their only Uncle. Good one, huh? And that Ellie was smart enough to follow along. At least she can pronounce your name. She calls Max, ‘Ax!’”

  My little niece was as darling as they came. I’d do just about anything for her, James, & JR.

  “Get your asses back to the flat.” I put my foot down at this ridiculous situation.

  “Damn, you can be a nag! We’ll be home first thing in the morning. Now stop bugging us.” Laney was back on the line. “Max and Jane found the winery they want to get married at, and we’re taking in the scenery and sampling their goods. You’re breaking the romantic mood.”

  I hung up on Laney, pissed as hell that I was at a tea with four other people I didn’t care to get to know.

  “By morning, all the forces will be back and we will be home a few hours after that.” I informed Bee.

  “I guess I can’t see you tomorrow, Beau. We leave sometime in the morning.”

  “How about tonight?” the asshole asked.

  Bee looked to me for permission and I was stumped. Just because we slept together last night didn’t mean we were tied to one another. If she wanted to see a friend, or an ex-boyfriend, ex-fiancé, whatever the hell he was...I had no right to tell her what to do.

  “Well?” Bee put the ball in my court.

  Shit!

  December 16, 2013 BEE: To Bee or Not to Bee

  Asshole, asshole, asshole! I could’ve killed Nick for the way he shrugged his shoulders like he cared less who the hell I spent my evening with, as long as we spent the night in bed together. At this moment, I felt like a whore. And it was also at this moment that I knew my feelings for Nick Reid ran deeper and stronger than I cared to admit.

  When I looked over at Nick for “permission,” I didn’t think he’d give it to me. I thought he’d tell me we needed to get back to the flat, or make some excuse like, “Bee and I have plans this evening.” But nooooo! The jerk made me flinch when he gave his noncommittal shrug.

  “Hey, Beau.” I gave my excuses before we caught a cab, on our way to this not-so-happy reunion. “Could we catch up back in the States? I’m technically here as a helper for my future in-laws, and I feel bad that I’m out having a good time while everyone else is packing and trying to contain three babies.”

  Beau would always be Beau. This was reason number one million why it didn’t work with us. “Uh, sure. No problem. I’ll see you around.” He went about his way without feeling an ounce of remorse for what he’d done to me years ago. He didn’t even have the decency to catch a cab for me.

  It was still early so I caught a ride to the local stores that I knew carried my line, and went to see what they looked like on mannequins and on the hangers. I was pleased with the way my Spring/Summer collection was selling.

  Having not a freakin’ thing to do in this city, I thought about pulling a Laney and watching a show, but decided instead to call on my new friend, Rub
y. She and I got along well at tea, and by the look she gave me when Nick gave his non-answer, she knew what I was going through. I knew she’d be willing to go have a drink with me.

  “Hello?”

  “Um...is this Ruby’s phone? I’m sorry, do I have the wrong number?”

  “No. This is Ruby’s phone. Bee, this is Michael.”

  “Hi Michael. This is Bee. Is Ruby not around?”

  “She went out with some friends, but forgot to take her phone. I picked up only because I saw your name on the screen. Can I help you with anything?”

  “I thought she might want to go have a drink with me, but since she’s not there…” I didn’t know what else to say. Shit! I hated how pathetic I sounded.

  I could tell Michael was grinning, close to laughing, on his end. “Didn’t work out with your Beau?”

  “Even before we caught a cab, I remembered the reason I dumped him to start.”

  “If you’re willing to commiserate with a different Bennington, I’d be happy to be your drinking partner.”

  “Can you point us to a great bar with music that won’t hurt my ears?”

  Michael was now fully laughing. “Are you more of a pub girl, or a fancy bar girl?”

  “Probably a pub girl, but I don’t want to fight a crowd for a seat, and I don’t want to shout and strain to listen to our conversation. If you can accomplish all that, plus take us to a place with great fish and chips, dinner and drinks are on me.”

  “Now what kind of English gentleman would I be, allowing a lady to buy me dinner and drinks?”

  “The same kind of English gentleman who let his girlfriend go find her happiness with my nephew.”

  “If you promise not to carry-on about how ‘freakin’ gorgeous’ your nephew is, dinner and drinks are on me.”

  “Deal!”

  Traffic in London was no joke, and the restaurant Michael picked had a line outside.

  “Bee.” Michael greeted me with a wave over to the side of the restaurant.

  “Where the hell did you bring me? This place is happening.”

  “A friend of mine owns this place, and not only do they have the best fish and chips in London, but they also have an extensive bar and a good dozen beers on tap.”

  “Is it warm beer? You know we Americans don’t do warm beer.” I let him know what I didn’t like before we sat in comfy chairs at this snazzy bar.

  Michael explained, “If we sit here, it’ll be quiet, with a bar vibe, and comfy, with full dinner service. And the beer is the coldest in town. Once you get a taste of cold beer, it’s hard to go back.”

  “How have you been doing since summer? Have you started dating again?”

  Michael put in our first round of drinks and let out an unintended sigh. “You like oysters as much as Laney? You want me to order a dozen?” This man was still very much in love with the woman who was soon to be a Taylor.

  “Let’s cut the formality tonight. Think of me as your drinking buddy, your older sister, your best friend. Tell me what’s been on your mind and in your heart.” Just because I was frustrated about relationships, that didn’t mean everyone else had to be in the same state.

  “Laney Reid is who is on my mind and in my heart. What are the chances she and that nephew of yours won’t get married?”

  “None! Negative! Nicht! You and she dated for a short two months. Is she that unforgettable?”

  Michael swished his drink before gulping it down in one shot. “I believed she was going to be my wife the second I laid eyes on her.”

  “You and she have that in common, huh? You knew she thought the same of Donovan?”

  “Yeah, but she was ten at the time. What did she know?”

  “Obviously she knew more as a ten-year-old than we do as late-twenty-year-olds. Have you spoken with her or seen her since she left?”

  “No. I’ve refused to see her or answer her calls. I can’t help but read her emails and texts. She gets all melodramatic or completely poetic whenever she sends her emails that look like school essays.” Michael smiled, finally. He was a handsome man, especially when he smiled. “She tells me about every facet of her life, except for the part about her fiancé.”

  “Have you been out with anyone since Laney?”

  “A few...no one exciting.”

  “How about that girl, Lily, we met today? She had a Laney-esque aura about her.”

  Michael grinned. “But not nearly as beautiful…” Then he trailed off. “Let’s leave the maudlin in the closet and talk about you. Tell me what’s been happening with your collection and how sales are going.”

  “Well, since you’ve introduced me to a Mr. Whippy cone and those damn Flakes, I’ve gained ten pounds hoarding boxes of Flakes in my suitcase every time I visit London. Aside from the ten extra pounds I didn’t need, sales are through the roof. You English have a great sense of style, and you’re rich enough to afford my clothes.”

  “That’s fantastic!”

  “God, I love the way you say that. ‘That’s fantastic!’” I mimicked. “It doesn’t get much sexier than a man with an English accent.”

  Michael sighed again. “That’s what Laney said when we first met.”

  “Buddy! Wake up!” By this point, we’d both done our share of drinking and not much eating. “Be like your grandfather and move on. There are plenty of women in the country of England, and if the English girls are blind to your charm, good looks and wealth, cross the Atlantic and try another American girl.”

  “Since it looks like you and I have both been cast aside by a Reid, perhaps we should give it a try?”

  Was he serious?

  Duchess Bee?

  December 19, 2013 NICK: Bee Buzzed

  It had been a few days since we’d come back from London, and Bee and I hadn’t spoken. I was pissed she got home so late, wasted at that, and she was pissed because...who the hell knew why she was pissed? I did not understand women, and I had no desire to understand them.

  “Nick!”

  “Why the hell do you keep hanging out at our house when you have your own?”

  “I need your help.”

  “Laney, you are starting to bug...”

  My cousin whined, “Donovan won’t make it here till right before the wedding, Doug is taking his last final, and everyone else has a wife, kids, or a fiancée to tend to. You’re my only helper.”

  “What d’ya need?” I asked with resignation.

  “Could you help me take all these clothes over to Bee’s? They all need some sort of adjustment.”

  “Damn. Must you women make such a big deal out of what should be a simple day of professing your love to one another?”

  “Nicholas!” The way she kept calling me by my full name bugged too. “It’s our wedding day. The day we girls have dreamed about since we could walk in heels and wear a tiara.”

  “I don’t think Jane ever walked in heels or wore a tiara, Laney.”

  “Well maybe so, but Jane is going to be just as neurotic about her wedding as I am right now about mine. Are you going to take me over to Bee’s or not?” She was starting to get more than annoying. She seemed to think I was her slave.

  “Give me your phone.” Surprisingly she did as asked, and I dialed Donovan’s number.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Calling your fiancé.”

  “You can’t do that!” she complained. “It’s late over there. Don’t bother him. He’s tired.”

  “Hello Princess! Is this a phone sex call?”

  “Sick!” I spit out. “I didn’t need to hear that.”

  Laney took the phone from me. “Sorry, Donovan. That was Nick. How are you, Honey?”

  Damn. I didn’t need to be listening in on their conversation. Laney was giggling away and smiling bright. I had to admit, she lit up when she spoke to her fiancé. It was a sweet look.

  “Let’s go!” I pretended to complain.

  “Oh! OK!”
she answered me, but continued speaking to Donovan. “I have to go to Bee’s to get your suit altered. I’ll talk to you tomorrow? Are you busy?”

  Damn cousin of mine yapped the entire drive to Bee’s. “Why couldn’t you have done this on your own?” I asked, but got no response. She didn’t give a shit what I’d asked.