by Cee, DW
If you’re joining my world for the first time, Indelible Love – Emily’s Story starts the Reid saga, but you’ll be all right reading this story as a standalone. If you have any questions, shoot me an email at [email protected] and I’ll fill in all the blanks for you.
Sit back and enjoy the ups and downs of three young people who have so much going for them. Many times, I wish I lived in the worlds that I create.
Happy Reiding!
Prologue
“Chloe! Get over here!!!” Michael was shouting at me. He was always shouting at me. “Chloe, come here!” “Chloe, where are my shoes?” “Chloe, come play with me!”
He made me walk all the way over to that dratted tree that gave me this ugly scar last month. “What is it? Ruby and I were making scones with the new cook. He’s so handsome.” I shouldn’t have shared that, but it came out.
“What do you mean, ‘He’s so handsome?’ What kind of man becomes a cook?”
“Not everyone can be a duke, Your Grace.” I spoke in my sassy, naughty tone Mummy hated. She said only American girls spoke like that. We English girls had more manners—whatever that meant.
“I want you to stand right there.” Now Michael was behaving like a nine-year-old duke, commanding me. I was nine, too, and he knew I didn’t like it when he told me what to do.
I stood there because I wanted to hurry up and get back to Ruby and the cook. I stood there because Michael could throw a fit when he didn’t get his way. But most importantly, I stood there because Michael was my best friend. We promised each other that we’d always be best friends.
“Do get along,” I commanded. “The scones will be made without me.”
Michael stared at me for an eternity and when his head came close to mine, I started moving. The closer he got, the further I stepped back.
“Stay still!” He was being The Duke, again.
“Whatever for?” He kept coming closer and my stomach had a funny feeling, like something BIG was going to happen.
“Chloe, with this kiss, I promise to love you forever.”
That dratted Michael stole a first kiss from me. I was about to have words with him when he ran away.
“Whoever said I wanted you to love me forever?” I yelled.
I hated it when Michael smiled. It always made me smile with him.
Love, kiss, whatever! I needed to get back to the scones and to the handsome new cook. I’d deal with Michael later.
People: New & Old (10 Years Ago)
Chloe: Laney, Who?
Damn that Michael “The Duke” Bennington. Arsehole! Asshole! Shitehead! Shithead! What else could I call him?
For some hell-if-I-know reason, he left me stranded at Heathrow with four large suitcases. Idiot promised me that Finneas would bring the Range Rover for all the junk I brought with me.
I knew I should have caught the same plane as Michael and Ruby. I was the idiot for taking the cheaper flight that started at the crack of dawn with two stops in between LAX and LHR. Pride kept me from sitting in luxury; Michael did offer to buy me a ticket.
Damn! I was in a pissy mood when I finally arrived at the Benningtons in Belgravia.
I walked in the kitchen door to find everyone peering through an open slit. “What’s going on, Addie?”
All three cooks in the Bennington household jumped and worked extra hard not to fall into the dining room.
“Quiet, Chloe.” Little Andrew shushed me. Andrew was Addie’s nephew and apprenticing under his sixty-nine-year-old aunt so he could one day take over the Bennington kitchen.
“What’s all the fuss? Why are you eavesdropping on the Benningtons?”
“Michael brought home a girl.” Addie announced with glee. “It’s about time that boy stopped fooling around and got serious about carrying on this fine name.”
“What’s the big deal? Michael’s brought home plenty of girls. She—whoever she is—won’t be the first, and definitely won’t be the last.” In the twenty-five years we’d known each other, Michael had had many girls on his arm and in his bed. It was nothing new to me.
“This girl is different.” Addie proudly announced as though Michael was her son. “She’s an American!” I didn’t know why that mattered or made any difference.
“She’s different because she’s an American? His Grace is going to love this piece of information.”
“Don’t you dare tell him and scare her off, Chloe.” Katie, Addie’s other sous chef, warned. “She’s beautiful,” she said in a dreamy voice. “She looks like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.”
Now this was interesting. I went over to the door and took a peek myself. Who was this girl that had blinded the Bennington kitchen staff?
“I don’t see her. No one is there.”
“Is dinner over? They’ve had dessert so I guess they could be done. I hope she returns.” Addie finished saying as Ruby walked in.
“Hey, Chloe. You’re back! How’d you get to the kitchen when the doorbell never rang?” Ruby greeted me with a sister-worthy hug.
“You should know by now I don’t ever use the front door. I’m accustomed to the servant’s door.”
Ruby rolled her eyes at me. “Whatever! When did you get here? You should have joined us for dinner. Michael is in love.”
Considering Michael told me he’d love me forever, back when we were nine, I didn’t know if I believed that he was finally in love at age twenty-five. “Who is she this time?” I asked after tearing off a piece of lemon pudding bread. I was starving.
“Her name is Laney Reid, and though we technically met her at Heathrow, he saw her on the plane and talked about wanting to meet her the entire plane ride.”
The cake in my mouth wasn’t as sweet and tasty as it normally was. Addie was losing her touch. “Where’s your brother? I need to hear this news from him.” I didn’t know how to feel, what to feel.
Ruby caught on. “You OK?” she whispered so no one else in the kitchen could hear. “That wasn’t exactly sensitive of me, was it?”
“Why wouldn’t I be OK? Michael can date any woman he wants. All these years, that’s what he’s done.” My tone was on the defensive, offensive. It killed me to admit, I was hurt.
“When did you land? Why didn’t you let us know you were coming today? We would have sent Finneas back to pick you up,” Ruby mentioned.
Did I want to explain that I had waited for Michael and Ruby at Heathrow the past many hours? I couldn’t do that to my dear friend who had been like a sister to me all these years. It wasn’t her fault that her brother was an idiot. How was she to know I’d called both of them copious times making sure they were safe? Last we spoke, Michael told me he’d wait for my plane to land and we’d catch a ride home together. All that worrying was for nothing; his plane hadn’t blown up. I now knew what had happened to Michael—he fell in love.
“Rubes, I’m headed home. It’s been a long day.” I rolled my four suitcases, one on top of another, and headed out the back door.
“Where are you going? What do you mean, home? This is your home.”
“This is your home. I found a flat to share with one of my friends, her boyfriend, and a friend of his.”
“But Chloe,” Ruby whined. “We’re all finally home. We were supposed to be roommates.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“All right. You better meet me for lunch.”
“Sure, Rubes. See you.”
I left in a hurry before Michael returned from wherever he had gone.
I had a desperate phone call to make.
“Allo?”
“Cat. I’m homeless. Can I take you up on that fourth roommate offer?”
I heard the not-so-silent grin in her voice. “I’ll text you the address. It’s not Belgravia, but I think you’ll find it comfortable enough.”
Thank God!!! I breathed a huge sigh of relief. What the hell would I have done if Cat’s offer had been rescinded? That was close.<
br />
It was dumb of me to think I was a member of the Bennington family. Too many times I’d forgotten my place in this world. It was easy to do when they all treated me like a member of their inner circle. I’d do best not to forget this fact.
The black cab took me to the specified address and I found myself in Southwark.
“Welcome home.” Cat saw the cab and came out to help me with my bags. Her smile told me she was happier than happy to see me. “Shall I give you the grand tour?” She asked with humor as we stepped in the flat.
“Please. Lead the way.”
Cat showed me to the room I’d technically share with her, knowing she’d be with her boyfriend every chance she had.
Our situation was a cozy one. Cat and I would share the slightly bigger room, while Daniel, Cat’s boyfriend, and his buddy Brendan would take the other one. One of the saving graces to this tiny flat were the two bathrooms attached to each room and a tiny extra room that could be used for just about anything but a bedroom. It was too small to house a bed.
“Where are the boys?”
“They went to pick up dinner.” Cat’s plastered smirk couldn’t be missed.
“What’s with the freaky smile?” Cat was famous for her crazy ideas, and I was afraid I might be caught in the middle of one.
“Can’t a friend be happy to see another friend?” Her offended “method acting” wasn’t working.
“Not when the friend is a notorious troublemaker,” I accused.
My accusation rolled off her like a bowling ball headed for a perfect strike. “Come here.” She pulled me down on the ratty sofa. “Tell me what happened.”
“What do you mean?” My “method acting” was even worse. She wasn’t buying the I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, Cat.
“What happened to your palace? Why are you here?” The kidding was done. Cat was now worried for me.
I thought about playing this off as if I’d finally grown up and decided to leave the comforts of home. I could also pretend I didn’t want to be at the Bennington’s any longer. Both would be lies and Cat didn’t deserve a lie.
“Michael is in love and I don’t want to be an interloper.”
“Didn’t he just come home with you today? Did he bring a girl home from the States?”
“No. They were on the same plane and he must have turned on the Bennington charm. She was at his house for dinner, already, when I arrived.”
“Wait! Didn’t you arrive together? What happened to catching a ride with Michael and Ruby?”
“Michael was so mesmerized with this Laney that he forgot to wait for me.”
“Her name is Laney?” I nodded yes. “What the hell kind of name is Laney?”
“Who the hell knows? I’m done for the day, Cat. I’m going to bed.” I got off the sofa and dragged my bags into our room.
“You haven’t had dinner, yet. The boys went to pick up chicken pot pies at the Anchor. You should eat.”
I was starving, but I decided I didn’t want to try and be social tonight. I wasn’t up to meeting a new person.
There were several reasons for my foul mood. I wasn’t pissed because Michael met a girl. He was always hooking up with girls.
I was pissed that he forgot me—his best friend, his forever love. Of course he wasn’t in love with me. We lived in two very different worlds. Love between the future duke and the granddaughter of a valet wasn’t realistic—even in this century. We’d talked less than a day ago and made plans to meet at the airport.
No matter—what was done was done. I’d sleep it off and wait for Michael to call me tomorrow.
After a twenty-five year friendship, who the hell was Laney to break us up?
Chloe: Brendan, Who?
Damn Laney Reid!
It was mid-morning and I had expected a phone call by now. The apology call never came.
It could be that he was still sleeping? Shit. I shouldn’t obsess. This wasn’t healthy.
“Good morning, Roomie.” I finally walked out of my room, looking like death and feeling even worse, and was greeted by a Greek god look-a-like.
“Uh, hey. I’m…”
“Chloe. Chloe Darcy.”
This hot looking guy with a killer grin and a Magic Mike body walked into the kitchen and made me a perfect cup of coffee—with lots of sugar and even more cream.
“Uh, thanks.” I sounded like an idiot. All I could say was, “uh...”
“You’re welcome. I’m Brendan O’Shaughnessy.” Geez, it was way too late in the day for me to be so discombobulated by a man’s voice. I was halfway obsessed with this Brendan O’Shaughnessy’s Irish brogue, and I’d just met him. He was Irish, but there was a strong English accent that made him sound even sexier.
“Uh…” Damn! There was that word again. “I assume you’re the other roommate?” Stupid question since he already called me “Roomie.” Whatever. I was going to have to make up for all my stupidity. “How do you know Cat and Daniel?”
“Daniel and I are cousins on our Mum’s side.”
“Oh.” What the hell was it with these mono-syllabic words? Why couldn’t I form coherent thoughts?
Brendan must have caught onto my embarrassment. He had a full-on, double-dimpled smile.
“So you’re the designer from the US?”
“Yeah. I was in New York the first three years, then ended up working in LA the last year.”
“Finally, a conversation,” he teased. His chuckle sounded so manly and hot. There was something seriously wrong with me this morning.
“Sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night. It’s hard to come home after having been away for so long.”
“How long have you been away? Your accent is still English.”
“Four years.”
He gave me an odd look. It wasn’t that he looked odd; he was far, far, far from odd-looking. He watched me as if I’d just fallen off the bizarro tree.
“Don’t you have family here?”
“Yes.”
“Holidays? Birthdays? Anniversaries? Christmases? You stayed away for all four years?”
“I did.”
He expected more of an answer. I didn’t give it to him. We didn’t know each other well enough to go into personal details.
“All right.” He waited. He stared. His dark eyes bore a hole through my clothes, making me feel naked.
I got nervous and said, “Where’s everyone?”
“Cat went to an audition and Daniel went to work.”
“And you are still here because…?”
He lightly chuckled. “Would you be even more nervous if I told you I was here because I wanted to meet and greet my new roommate?” Um…yeah…Bad Boy! “How about if I confessed that after hearing about your smokin’ hot looks and even hotter body, I was curious to see if you were all that was advertised?” Just kill me now! There was no way I was anywhere close to ‘smokin’ ‘hot’ or ‘hotter’. As always, advertisements were completely false.
“Well, I’m sure you’re devastated that your cousin and his girlfriend lied to you. ‘Smokin’ and ‘hot’ have never been adjectives used before or after my name.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m definitely not devastated since there’s been no lie.” OMG!!! “In fact, I think they were dead-on in their assessments.”
My face had to have been the color of a fire engine. I could feel it burning. “Um…”
Brendan fell into a hearty laugh. “Have I embarrassed you enough this morning, Chloe Darcy?”
Hell yes! “I’m fine,” I squeaked. “If you’ll excuse me.”
Brendan caught me before I walked back into my room. “Where are you going?”
“To bury my head in my blanket? I’ll be back out maybe at the end of the week.”
The manly-man laugh was back. This Brendan O’Shaughnessy was too sexy for words.
“Sorry. I was kidding around with you, except for all the adjecti
ves.” I about expired when he winked at me. I didn’t know what was cuter. The wink or the dimples that came with it. “I’m a banker and I just landed back in the UK after a three-week-long trip to China. My company gave me the rest of the week off, so I’m lounging around.”
