Complete Indelible Love Series

by Cee, DW

  If I thought my situation was bad in LA, it could possibly be worse now in Florence. Could my life turn into anything more ridiculous?

  After agreeing to think it through, we headed back to the villa to find a birthday surprise waiting for me.

  “Bee!”

  “Nick? What are you doing here?” Was I hallucinating or was Nick in Florence, here to see me?

  Nick gave his signature laissez-faire shrug and answered, “I thought I would tag along with my sister and Max and help them look for a wedding location. Stupid me believed they were talking about finding a church close to home. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane bound for Florence. And imagine my surprise when I ended up at this beautiful villa where someone informed me you were in residence. What a coincidence.” He let out a small grin.

  I was so damn confused as to what was going on, especially after the crazy proposal/suggestion Michael just handed me. Was Nick actually here to see me? After the disappointing and yet intriguing proposal from Michael, my emotions were jumbled. Beyond a doubt, I was excited, relieved, and happy to see Nick. But the downer in me waited for the other shoe to drop. If Michael’s suggestion left me feeling like my glass was half-empty, I expected Nick’s explanation to topple over my glass and shatter it to pieces.

  “Hi Jane, hi Max. It’s good to see you again.” I rushed out a greeting and turned the attention back to Nick. “Can we talk?” I asked, but it was more a demand that Nick explain why he was here.

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll see you in a little bit?” Michael was not fazed in the least bit that Nick was here. That should’ve been clue number one that a relationship between Michael and myself would not work.

  “So…what really brings you to this part of the world?”

  “Would you believe me if I told you I came all the way out here because I missed you?” Nick answered bashfully.

  “I don’t know what to say, Nick. To say your visit is unexpected is an understatement. You know where I stand, you know what I want, and I don’t think anything has changed.”

  “Can we just start with the fact that I missed you enough to come out here, and go from there?”

  Did my glass just become half-full?

  February 13, 2014 NICK: Love Misspoken

  To say that what happened in Florence threw me into a tailspin would be an understatement. Of course nothing went as planned where one Bee Taylor was concerned.

  The problem began yesterday when Max informed me I’d have to alter my destination.

  “What do you mean she’s not in London? How’d you know?”

  “Josh just sent a picture of the four of them in Florence.”

  “Four of them? I didn’t know she knew Josh.” This situation was starting to piss me off.

  “Laney gave them an email introduction and he was her tour guide in Rome. Josh was homesick and Bee was to be his ‘family’ away from home during her short stay.”

  “Did she stay at his place?”

  “Calm down, Brother. Josh cannot accommodate another body in that matchbox-sized place of his. He was helping her navigate the city and they were keeping each other company. It’s not my brother who is poaching your woman.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Max took out his phone and showed me a picture of Bee, Michael, Josh, and Ruby. They were paired-up. “So they’re in Rome together?”

  “They were. Josh says that they are now in Tuscany at the Bennington villa. You will need to change your plane ticket and come with us instead.”

  It wasn’t the ideal situation, but after haggling with the travel company, I was able to change my flight to Florence with a hefty fee.

  “I’m glad you’re going after Bee. I really like her,” my sister spoke.

  In all honesty, I didn’t know what I was exactly doing. I liked Bee enough to want to be with her, but did I like her this much to fly all the way to Florence to ask her to come home? Now that I had spelled it out, I had serious doubts whether I should go to Florence.

  We landed in Florence, rented a tiny car to drive to our Grandfather’s villa, and settled nicely. Damn! The place was stylin’. Now I understood what all the fuss was about last summer. It took me some time to ask my sister for a favor. The chicken that I was, I asked Max and Jane to come with me to go see Bee at Harry Bennington’s home. They agreed without hesitation, and Josh and Ruby warmly greeted us when we arrived. The first thing I saw in the far distance was Michael and Bee walking together. They looked to be in serious conversation because neither looked up at the car that had driven up the long driveway. I was both curious and a bit peeved that he had her undivided attention. What could they possibly be talking about that made them neither crack a smile nor show an expression?

  “Bee!” I called out loudly when she got somewhere close to us.

  “Nick?!?”

  I grabbed her hand and linked our fingers. She had no clue what I was doing. For the first time, she had no opinion, nothing to say, no comments.

  “I just told you that I came all the way over here because I missed you. I can’t believe you don’t have a response to that,” was how our conversation continued after all the hellos were said, the shock wore off, and we secured some privacy.

  “In my perfect world, I would fall into your arms and tell you how much I missed you. We’d tell each other we love each other, ride off into the sunset, and live happily ever after. But I don’t have a fairy godmother who guides me or protects me, so the only thing I can do is protect myself.”

  “I think I preferred the silent Bee.”

  Bee laughed at my statement and she finally declared, “I missed you too, Nick, very, very much.”

  Uncharacteristically, she folded herself into my arms, and stayed there very quietly. It was a bit of a mystery to me the way she was behaving today. Whether it had something to do with the talk she had earlier with Michael, or she was speechless over my effort of wooing her all the way in Florence, I had no damn clue. Truth be told, this wasn’t a good sign. By now, we should have been in bed having make-up sex, but I didn’t foresee sex anywhere in the near future for us. After our talk was done, she quietly walked us back to the villa, and told everyone she had a little work to do before going off to her room. Ruby gave us the grand tour of the home and vineyard, and I didn’t see Bee again until dinner.

  “Thank you so much for having us for dinner. I know you weren’t expecting three more mouths to feed.” Jane played the good-mannered Reid.

  Mrs. Bennington commented, “Any friend of Michael and Ruby’s is a friend of ours. We seem to have an affinity with the Reid and Taylor families.”

  “Like hell we do.” That Grandpa Bennington was a cantankerous one.

  Lizzy, as she asked us to call her, laughed. “Oh Harry, let the past be in the past. You and Michael are such the brooding types. Your women left you, get over it, and move on and find another one. Just because you stay brooding and angry does not mean these women will come back to you.”

  I knew Lizzy Bennington was talking about Laney, but I had no idea who this other woman was. I didn’t really care. The only concern I had was of the brooding woman next to me.

  Mrs. Bennington continued to talk. “How is our Laney feeling? I hear she’s carrying twins?”

  My sister said, “She’s doing very well. She attends med school with Max and Nick, and even with the craziness of school, pregnancy, and marriage, she’s never been happier.”

  “And she is healthy? Is she big? Can she get around okay? I wish I could see what she looks like pregnant.”

  Michael answered his mother, “I’m sure she’s as beautiful as she has always been, Mother. I remember reading in one of her emails that she was going to Vegas this weekend.”

  I didn’t know whether to feel sorry for this Michael for still holding a candle for my cousin. He obviously still cared for her or else he wouldn’t know so much about her.

  Bee questioned, “I didn�
�t realize you kept in touch with her.”

  “I don’t respond, but I do read her emails.” I couldn’t figure out why Bee had that look on her face—one of bewilderment? Sadness? Understanding?

  “My cousin has a slight obsession with Bruno Mars, so Donovan took her and my brother and his wife to Vegas to watch him in concert.” Jane explained more to Michael than anyone else. “Also, Donovan and Jake needed to get their wives out of town while their Valentine’s Day present was being delivered.”

  “What’s the gift?” Ruby asked. Every woman was glued to Jane’s revelation.

  Jane laughed. “Neither man would tell me. They both claimed I had a big mouth and couldn’t be trusted. Emily and Laney don’t know about part two of their gift. I only found out because I overheard them explaining the gift to Max. They stopped talking as soon as they realized I was in the room. I believe Max knows.”

  “Max,” Lizzy Bennington implored, “we must know what this gift is.”

  “I would love to tell you, but seeing as how I have to live with these men the rest of my life, I cannot say a word. Give Laney a call next week. She’ll be more than happy to tell you.”

  “Michael tells me Laney lives on the same street with your family?” These Benningtons sure did have a lot of questions for us.

  “Yes,” I answered. “Laney lives in between my brother’s family and her parents’, and across the street from my parents’ and grandparents’.”

  “That must be a lot of fun living with all your family members on one street.” Ruby commented.

  “As with everything, it has its pluses and minuses.” I smiled to let them know I was kidding. “For the most part, it’s great having so many generations on one cul-de-sac. We get along well and have a great time together.”

  “I was told you are a med student. What kind of doctor will you be?” I guess Lizzy was their spokesperson for the evening.

  “I am leaning more towards getting my M.D./PhD. I did a year of research last year and I really enjoyed it. I think that’s more up my alley than dealing with patients on a day-to-day basis.”

  “Doesn’t that take a long time? When will you get married and have kids, if all you’re ever doing is studying?”

  “Um, yeah, it’s going to take a while to get both degrees and to get settled into a research project. I’ll need to be published and I’ll probably study abroad for several years. Maybe when all of that is going well, I’ll consider settling down. My brother already has three kids, and my sister’s getting married this spring, so my parents are not in a rush to see me married.”

  By the stoic look on Bee’s face, I probably did not say the right thing. I should’ve kept my mouth shut where marriage was concerned. But, after seeing how I made the effort to come all the way out here to tell her that I missed her, how could she deny me or our attraction? She was about as golden as any girl was going to get for me.

  I didn’t know what to think when Bee excused herself before dinner was over. Saying that she had a terrible headache, she didn’t come out and say goodbye when the three of us left. Maybe I should’ve been worried, but I wasn’t. I knew she would understand my true intentions.

  “I don’t understand how you could be so kind, caring and thoughtful to the rest of us, but so insensitive to the woman you like or maybe even love.” Jane started in on me. What had I done now? “Did you even get a chance to wish her a happy birthday? Did you give her a gift?”

  Damn! In the mayhem of it all, I’d forgotten to wish her a happy birthday. And the gift I brought was still sitting in my suitcase. “I don’t love Bee, and I was not insensitive to her.” I defended myself. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t want to hear it either.”

  “If you spent money and time and effort to come all the way out here, obviously you feel more than a little like for her. That’s fine if you don’t want to get married. Nobody is forcing you. But must you spell it out and let Bee know that you have no thoughts of going anywhere with her but to bed?” Jane was not happy with me. “I’m sure the Bennington family had some idea why you showed up in Tuscany today, and yet you embarrass her by emphatically stating that you have no thoughts of doing anything but research. What does that do to a woman who was most likely excited to see her man come looking for her all the way out in Europe? If I were her, I would dump your ass and tell you to go to hell. I hope you get what I think should be coming to you.”

  Ah, damn! If my sister was this upset, I’d hate to see how upset Bee was. I didn’t want to deal with her today. I’d go back tomorrow and suffer the consequences.

  February 17, 2014 BEE: Love Realistic

  There was a knock on my door late at night.

  “Am I waking you?” Ruby carefully opened the door, wary of whether or not she was welcomed into the room.

  “No I’ve been sitting here, I’ve been pacing, I’ve been antsy, and I’ve been tossing and turning in bed. I welcome your visit.”

  “You left before we could sing happy birthday to you. It’s still your birthday, so I brought your cake; I figured the two of us could celebrate.”

  “Why the hell not? Bring over the forks and let’s begin.” On the tray was a large pot of coffee, half a carafe of milk, and a beautiful birthday cake. Today was a reminder that I was getting older, but had little to show for the twelve years I’d been alone, “establishing” myself. I decided to drown my sorrows in this sweet gesture and between the two of us, Ruby and I polished off half the cake and drank all the coffee. All night long, I’d end up taking trips to the bathroom! “That was good.” I said with the last lick of the fork.

  “What happened today? I wanted to come up earlier, but was afraid you might be crying in here by yourself. I thought you needed your space.” Ruby said that seriously, but with a smile.

  I sighed loudly. “What a birthday, Ruby. I think this has to go down as the crappiest birthday ever.”

  “Tell me.”

  “In not so many words your brother told me that though we didn’t like each other, we should try for a relationship. As soon as he finished telling me that, I come to find Nick is here in Tuscany, and he informs me that he misses me. So I’m thinking that’s a good sign. We get to dinner and the man who flew all the way to Tuscany because he misses me, tells everybody that he will be doing research pretty much the rest of his life, and has no thoughts of ever settling down.”

  “Did you not know this about Nick? Did he promise you marriage and now he’s backing out? Is that what it is?”

  “No. He never promised me anything. When I came to London, Nick and I ended the little we had because he told me he didn’t want to get married for ten years, whereas I do want to get married within the next few years. I wasn’t asking for him to marry me, but I thought with him having flown all the way out here to tell me that he missed me… I know it was stupid of me to think this, but I thought that maybe he wanted something a little more than sex. After your brother’s crazy suggestion, I just couldn’t take another slap in the face at the dinner table. That’s why I had to leave early.”

  “Bee…”

  “Nope, Ruby. Stop! I don’t want pity, I don’t want suggestions, I don’t want grandiose dreams of what my life will be like in the future. This is my reality. I’ve come to accept it. I’m OK with it now.”

  “Damn! You’re a strong woman. I don’t know what I would’ve done had I gotten a birthday gift like yours today.”

  “What a birthday present, huh?”

  The next morning, I got up early and found Michael by himself in the breakfast room. This was our chance to finish our talk.

  “You have a few minutes?”

  “Of course.” Ever the gentleman, Michael stood up and pulled out a chair for me.

  I didn’t waste any time explaining my thoughts. “I think you want this relationship with me about as much as I want it with you. I don’t think I will offend you if I say let’s not be each other’s sloppy seconds. Y
ou have become a dear friend to me. I hope we can stay that way.”

  Michael thought carefully through his answer. “The offer stands. I may not love you, but I’m willing to figure out if a future holds for us.”

  I know Michael didn’t say that to hurt me, but what he said stung. Did I have so little going for me that a man would proposition me to be his girlfriend even though he didn’t and wouldn’t love me? Did I have a sign on my head asking to be loved? Was I just not lovable? My heart hurt so badly I excused myself and went out for a walk. I never saw myself as an emotional person. When the fiasco with Beau happened, I shrugged it off as bad luck and moved on with life. When my mother purposely set out to hurt me, I chalked it up to her immaturity and never looked back. Was it my age? Why was I so tearful on this beautiful day in Tuscany?