by Cee, DW
“A little late to be saying all of this, don’t you think?”
“Is it, Brendan? Is it really too late for us? Nolan mentioned some woman you’re dating. Is this woman the reason why you won’t give me a second chance?”
“What the hell are you saying, Veronica?”
“I want another chance with you. I want us as a family again. That’s what I’m saying.”
“WHAT???”
Michael: A Surprise New Beginning
The promised day in bed had to wait. I was summoned back to London immediately.
After our breakfast, we drove to Grandfather’s house as quickly as possible. Upon arrival, Ruby told me that Mum and Dad has sent an SOS and needed my help with Grandfather. Without a second thought, I hopped on a plane and came home.
“What’s going on?” I asked my mother who scurried me into the library.
“Your father, uncle, aunt, and I were headed to Los Angeles when His Grace asked where we were headed. Without much thought, your father told him we were headed to Seychelles. His Grace asked to come with us so we could do nothing but agree. Now, he’s getting the plane ready to head to the islands. You need to let him know what’s happening, Michael. Your grandfather is expecting all of us to stay there a month. Isn’t he supposed to get married very soon?”
I saw the huge problem. “I’ll talk to Grandfather, Mum. You tell everyone to get ready to head to LA.”
“I knew you’d take care of this.” Mum left and I headed to Grandfather’s study.
“Grandfather? You have a few minutes to talk?”
“Of course, I do. Where’ve you been, my boy? I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
“Well, that’s because you were away with your uni buddies. While you were all partying like teenagers, I was in Los Angeles working out a merger with the Reid family.”
That got his attention. “The Reid family, you say? What kind of merger?”
“The most important kind, Grandfather.”
He was interested. “Explain, Michael.”
“Chloe and I’ve been in LA planning your wedding.”
“What?” Perhaps shocking a man in his nineties wasn’t a smart thing to do. “Explain in details, Michael.”
“I want to see you happier than happy the last days of your life. The only person to bring light into your life at this point is Estelle Cowper. What would you say if I told you we’ve planned yours and Estelle’s wedding?”
Estelle Cowper would forever be Grandfather’s true love. His eyes lit up at the prospect of marrying her. “Has she agreed?”
“I thought you might want another chance at asking her to marry you. None of us has breathed a word to her. It’s all up to you, Casanova.”
“What if I go all the way to LA and she says no?”
“I have it on good authority that she won’t say no. Apparently, the reason you didn’t get the girl the first time was because of you, and not because of her.”
“What the hell does that mean, my boy? Say things that make sense.”
“I’m not sure, Grandfather. That’s what Emily told all of us. She also said Estelle might be open to living the rest of her life with you.”
“Well, then, what the hell are we doing standing here? Let’s go. The plane’s ready.”
I chuckled at my grandfather’s schoolboy enthusiasm. “I’ll let everyone know.”
The nine of us, Grandfather, his children and spouses, his uni friends, and myself, flew into LA in record time. This back and forth time change was hell on my body.
“You’re back!” Ruby and Sarabeth greeted us. Mum and Dad went straight for their granddaughter.
“Yep. Once I told Grandfather about the wedding, we couldn’t hold him back. Where’s Chloe?”
“Right here.” Chloe walked out and gave Grandfather and his cronies a hug. “It’s so good to see all of you.”
“Chloe,” Niall called, “what’s this I hear about you still being single? What happened after we saw you in Switzerland?”
With a reticent smile and shrug of the shoulders, she answered, “Nobody wants me, Niall. His Grace can get married at age ninety-five, but I appear to have the gift of singlehood.”
“Nonsense,” he said. “Michael’s not married. Why don’t you four have a double wedding?”
She looked at me. I looked at her. Neither one of us said a word. There was much to discuss tonight.
“I’ve called Emily and let her know you’re here, Grandpa Harry. If you’re ready to get married, we’re ready to host your wedding tomorrow.”
“We can’t marry tonight?” I should have understood grandfather would be in a rush. Who could blame him? He’d waited seven decades for this woman.
“It’s late, Father. I’m sure Estelle’s asleep by now.”
Chloe added, “We also have a few more touches to add to the house. Can you wait one more day?”
“No, but I don’t seem to have a choice,” Grandfather harrumphed and led his cronies to their rooms.
“You need a lift to Laney’s?”
She hesitated and answered, “Yes.”
I was dead on my feet but wanted to be with Chloe. “Let’s go. We have some unfinished business.” Without any argument, we left for Laney and Donovan’s home.
“I take it Grandfather was dancing on the table when you told him about the wedding?”
“It’s been a little more than twenty-four hours since I left Bel Air and I’m right back. I didn’t have to say much more than ‘You are going to marry Estelle Cowper.’ The plane was ready, everyone was packed, and here I am.”
“You must be tired, Michael. Why don’t you stay back and rest? It’s going to be a long night.”
“The only thing I want to do more than sleep is to settle matters with you, Chlo-No. Grandfather waited seventy years for his bride. Is that what you’re going to make me do, too? I’ve already waited long enough.”
“What does that mean, Michael?” she asked in shock.
I rewound to what I’d said and shit! I wasn’t planning on outing myself completely. Hell. I’d started it. I might as well finish it.
“That means, Chlo-No, that I want you as my bride. We’ve danced around one another long enough. Let’s do what we should’ve done right out of school. Will you marry me?”
“What?”
Chloe: Inspirational New Beginnings?
“What do you say, Chlo-No?”
Shoot. What do I say? “Yes!” Where did that come from? Shit. Shit. Shit. “Wait!”
Michael went from elated to not-so-elated. “What was that? Is it a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’? Where does ‘wait’ come in?”
“Listen.” I sighed to Michael’s discontent. “I want to marry. I want to marry you. I’ve always wanted to marry you. But this proposal is all wrong.”
“What’s wrong with it? I mean, ideally, I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me in a car. But I don’t want to waste any more time. I think we should get married.”
“Do you love me?” I could be shooting myself in the foot by asking this question, but it was important I know.
“Do you love me?” he asked question for question.
“I’ve always loved you, Michael.” It was the truth. I have always loved Michael.
Michael wasn’t as sure about his “love” for me, and this was a huge red flag. “Chloe, my heart belongs to you. I’ve been wanting for us to get together for a long time.”
“Does that equal love?”
“I can answer your question, but I need to think through some things before I make any sort of declaration. What I do know is that we are good together. If you give me some time, I think I can give you the answer we both want.”
What? “You can’t marry someone just because you rub along well with them. All these years, I’ve held out because I wanted a man to see me as his one true love. If you don’t think you fit in that category, then we shouldn’t marry.”
&nbs
p; Michael thought a little longer. “Can you give me some time? I’ll explain everything once I have my heart and head sorted. What I can tell you is that my heart is in deep enough to want to marry you. That should tell you something.”
“OK. I can do that.” I needed for both of us to be positive this is what we wanted.
“So, no more Brendan?” He asked this random question.
“I don’t think he’s interested in me, but if he asks, let me meet with him one last time. I’d like to explain us to him and Nolan. I don’t want to disappoint that little boy.”
“Fair enough.” I saw Michael smile. In turn, I couldn’t help but smile with him. “So, will you be my date to Grandfather’s wedding?”
Now, he was messing around with me. “I would love to be your date to Grandfather’s wedding...except, I have to work.”
“You won’t be working the entire time, Chlo-No. This is a family wedding. Once the scene is set, you’re free to be my date and to enjoy the love of two people in their nineties.”
“What do you think will happen when the duke makes his grand entrance? I hope Estelle won’t say no.”
“I agree. It would crush Grandfather if she refused him. But, according to Emily, she won’t refuse him.”
“Emily better be right.” What an amazing day tomorrow will be if all goes well. “Laney told me that Bee just gave birth to her second boy and she’s coming out of the hospital early so she and the family can attend the wedding.”
“It’ll be nice to see Bee. It’s been years since we’ve spoken.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, Chlo-No.”
I had to know. “Why did you ask me to marry you when you weren’t ready to ask or to get married?”
It took him no time to answer. “I’m tired of waiting and searching, Chloe. I’ve been walking around in circles when you’ve always been waiting at the bullseye. My eyes have opened. Though I can’t exactly wax lyrical about my love for you—yet—I know you’re the one I want to spend eternity with. We’ve only recently reconnected and it took us no time to become the friends we used to be. I’m hoping the next step is to rekindle our love. Does the answer satisfy you?”
“It does, Michael. I, too, had lost my way. Thank you for coming back and finding me. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us.”
That wasn’t quite the proposal I was looking for, but I didn’t mind these small steps. I’d waited this long. I didn’t mind waiting a bit longer. I wanted everything perfect.
As we arrived at Reid Place, we heard a friendly “Hello!” from Emily, the Reid family spokeswoman. “Where’s His Grace? I expected an impromptu wedding tonight.” She understood Grandpa Harry well.
“He tried to come with us, but we told him Estelle needed her beauty sleep,” Michael kidded. “Of course, she might be the most stunning Reid, soon-to-be-Bennington.”
“I agree that Gram is the most beautiful of us all.” With all the looks in this family, Emily was generous to give Estelle the highest honor.
“Shall we get this party rolling?” I asked.
“What’s the rush, Chloe? Come here and add some pounds to your slender self,” Laney called out. Laney and Jane were standing by the dessert table, noshing on a large dinner plate full of sweets. “Emily and her baking are going to be the death of my once-girly figure.”
“You and me, both.” Jane was tall, thin, and striking with her dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. Even taller, curvier, and with a blonde-hair, blue-eye combo, Laney was the epitome of Americana beauty. Neither lady had anything to complain about. Of course, Emily, even after four children, had the waistline of a twenty-year-old.
“Hi!” Laney and Jane both embraced me when I finally made it to the dessert bar. “You and Michael had a productive ride here? It’s been an entire twenty-four hours since you’ve seen each other.” Laney was the consummate kidder.
“We had an interesting ride over here.” I shouldn’t have piqued their curiosities. It was never wise to challenge three women into a guessing game.
“Do tell!” That was a command from Emily of all people.
I was in for it now. I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t not talk. Shit. What a mess.
“Chloe’s hiding something big from us. You see the wheels turning. ‘Shit. I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth. Should I tell them? Should I not tell anyone that Michael wants to get married and have ten kids right away!’ That’s what’s going on in her head.” Laney giggled.
“How did you know?” This woman had a sixth sense.
“What??” Laney hollered. “You and Michael are getting married?”
That’s when the men heard—as if they had a choice but to hear when Laney yelled as loudly as a bullhorn—and walked over.
“You told the ladies we were getting married without telling me, first?” Damn it all to hell. Just when I thought I was over disliking Laney…
“No. I…” How was I to get out of this situation? First thing to do was to shut down the celebration. “Let me explain!” Those words went unheard. The men were slapping Michael on the back. The ladies were taking turns hugging everyone. “Stop the celebration and let me explain!” This time, everyone had no choice but to listen to my bullhorn-like holler. “We are not getting married. Michael asked me to marry him in the car on our way over here. That proposal was not why I waited thirty-five years. I will be courted. I will be wooed. I will receive the proposal of a lifetime!” I hadn’t meant to make such a declaration, but I did. The blush explained my embarrassment.
Michael walked over, hugged and kissed me on the temple. He understood.
The rest of the ladies started in on their proposal complaints.
Emily began. “I received a car/drive-by proposal. I agree with Chloe. That was not the way to convince a girl to marry her sweetheart.”
“But,” Jake countered, “when the time was right, I proposed in Paris with petit fours symbolizing the different phases of our courtship. I think I got it right the second time.”
“You did, Love.” It was wonderful to watch the two interact. Their love was profound.
“Ha! You think a car proposal is bad?” That was Laney speaking. “How about a caveman-style, ‘You, Delaney. Me, Tarzan. You marry me or else!’ demand? That’s how the first hundred proposals happened.”
“Princess, I finally got it right and proposed to you with a pink diamond on the porch of your parents’ house. It would’ve helped if your family would have clued me in to what I was doing wrong!” Donovan looked at Jake while making the latter part of his statement.
“Well, I had the most amazing proposal—whether intended or not. Tuscany, Andrea Bocelli, 15,000 people as our witness—what a night!”
“What wasn’t amazing was our nightmarish months leading up to the wedding. When we decide to renew our vows, we’re eloping,” Max declared with an impish grin.
All three couples were an inspiration. I had a good feeling Michael and I might be joining these six people in the near future. For now, we had a wedding to plan.
Brendan: A Complicated New Beginning
“Mommy, are you going to live with us from now on?” My son was killing me. What was supposed to be an innocuous stay had turned into nights of pure torture watching her in her skimpy nightie. It was as if she was purposely taunting me.
“I don’t have another job for a while, Baby. If your daddy’s all right with me staying, I’d love to be here with you.”
“Hurray!” Nole yelled from the top of his lungs. “Daddy! Did you hear that? Mommy can stay here with us. Is that all right? You have to say yes. I want Mommy here with us forever!”
What the hell could I tell my kid, but “OK.” I had no choice. This was seriously a case of damned if I did and damned if I didn’t. Veronica and I needed to talk before this went any further.
“I think we have a few things to discuss in private, Veronica.”
She lo
oked at me with her freshly made face and answered, “All right,” with the sweetest smile. All I could think about was how much I loved sucking on those lips. She had the most delicious mouth. Shit! Shit! Shit! I was in serious trouble and by the seductive grin, my ex knew what I was thinking. “Tonight? After Nole’s down for the night? I could pick up a bottle of champagne and we could—”
