A Splash of Vanilla (Three Sisters Catering Book 3)

by Bethany Lopez

“Wait,” I said, standing and using a firm tone. “You both need to understand that this wasn’t about you, or about the pact you made as sisters. This was about Dru and her need to follow through with something that was weighing on her. You both dealt with your father’s leaving in your own way, well . . . Dru wasn’t dealing with it, and she hired me because she needed to face the man who she felt was holding her back. She needed to look him in the eyes and tell him what was on her heart. For herself. If you don’t want to see your father again, that’s your choice; in fact, I’d highly recommend you leave that asshole in your rearview, but this was something she needed to do. She doesn’t need your permission, or anger, she only needs your support. She’s always the first one to back both of you, and now it’s your turn to have her back. I get that you’re angry, that you may need to sleep on it and come to terms with your own feelings on the subject, but I’ll not have you making Dru feel bad for doing what she needs to for her own peace of mind. Now, I’m going to take Dru and go home, but I expect you to talk to her tomorrow and apologize for making her feel like shit.”

  I started to walk toward the hall the way Dru had gone, but stopped and turned to say, “And Dru’s very excited about meeting your brothers. Again, it’s your choice if you want to have anything to do with them or not, but they will be coming here, and she will be letting them into her life.”

  With that final shot, I went in search of Dru. As soon as I turned the corner, she flew into my arms.

  “Thank you,” she said, her hands holding my head still as she rained kisses all over my face. “No one has ever stuck up for me like that before.”

  “Get used to it,” I answered, dropping a soft kiss on her lips before saying, “Let’s get out of here.”

  Dru

  I WALKED IN TO WORK the next day feeling like a zombie.

  I hadn’t gotten much sleep. Too many thoughts and emotions kept me up while Mick slept soundly beside me.

  My sisters and I had fought over the years, of course we had, but not as adults. At least, nothing like what had gone down at Millie’s. Ours had always been skirmishes over clothes, boys, or soccer. Never something that had threatened to tear us apart like that.

  Guilt invaded me, pushing between the pain and sadness, and I worried I’d done the wrong thing by hiring Mick in the first place.

  Maybe I should have left well enough alone.

  Even as the thought entered my head, I shook it out, remembering the amazing things Mick had said to my family in my defense last night. Seriously, it had almost been worth Millie’s tears and Tasha’s rage to hear Mick have my back like that.

  He’d been amazing.

  I straightened my spine and took a deep breath before entering my office, just in case one of my sisters was in there, waiting to pounce.

  But, when I walked inside, it was empty, so I let out the breath, crossed to my desk, and got to work.

  I’d gone through all of my emails and responded where needed, when I felt someone watching me. I lifted my head to see Millie standing in the doorway, looking unsure of herself. I could feel her sorrow, and hated to make my twin feel even an ounce of sadness.

  I knew that she and Dad had been closest out of all of us, and that my finding him, and her learning what a jerk he’d turned out to be, was going to be hardest on her.

  “Hey, Mills,” I said softly. Being unsure of myself around her was a foreign feeling, and I hated it.

  She took a few steps inside.

  “I need to apologize to you. I was surprised when you announced you’d found Dad, and even hearing about him brought up those feelings of abandonment. My reaction was swift and instinctual, and I never meant to hurt you. Actually, Jackson and I stayed up talking last night, and I think I’m going to go see a therapist about it. After my reaction to Kayla’s disappearance when Jackson and I were dating, and then the way grief overcame me last night when you talked about Dad, I realized that I haven’t dealt with his abandonment of us, and I can’t fix it on my own.”

  “Oh, Mills,” I said, standing and moving to pull her in for a hug.

  She wrapped her arms around me and we held each other for a few moments.

  “I think it’ll be good for you,” I whispered, hating that she was hurting. “And, I’m sorry that I brought out those feelings.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Millie said, pulling back to look in my face.

  It was comforting to stare into the eyes of the person you’d shared a womb with. No one could comfort me the way Millie could, and I just hoped I could give her some now.

  “Mick was right. You’re entitled to get the closure you need to move forward and try and put what he did to us in the past. We all need to do so in our own ways, and I think therapy will be my way.”

  I nodded.

  “I don’t want to see him,” she admitted, her voice shaky.

  “You don’t have to,” I replied firmly. “Honestly, you’re better off remembering him the way he was . . . the person he was to you, before.”

  “After what Mick said, I figured as much. But, Dru, I would like to meet these brothers of ours, when they come to town.”

  I grinned.

  “I knew you would! I’ve only met Brody, the youngest, and I honestly don’t know anything about the other two yet, only that Dad and Susan are their parents. But, Brody seemed like a very nice kid. Sweet and laid back, and I can’t hold the sins of his parents against him . . . against any of them.”

  “I agree,” Millie said, taking a step back and wiping a few stray tears off her cheeks.

  Just then, Tasha walked in, her face a mask of indifference.

  She walked passed us both without saying a word, marching to her desk with a purpose.

  Millie gave me a sad smile and said, “Well, I better get to work.”

  I nodded and watched her walk out, before going back to my desk.

  “Tasha . . .” I began, but she cut me off.

  “I can’t talk about it yet, Dru. I need time,” she said.

  I sighed, my stomach in knots, and opened up my planner to see what the rest of my week looked like.

  My phone rang and I saw Mick’s name flash across the screen.

  “Hey,” I answered with a smile, grateful for the interruption.

  “Ma’s in the hospital,” he said, panicked. “Can you meet me at Saint Mary’s?”

  “Yes, of course, I’m on my way,” I exclaimed, standing and looking for my purse.

  He hung up and I grabbed my bag, my heart pounding as I glanced at my calendar again.

  “Can you have Tanisha take my one o’clock and check with the florist about tomorrow night’s event?” I asked Natasha as I hurried to the door.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked from right behind me.

  “Mick’s mom’s at Saint Mary’s. I don’t know what happened, but he asked me to come.”

  “Oh my God, poor Mick,” Tasha said, her hand covering her mouth. Mick and Tasha had an interesting relationship, ever since he saved her from Jericho’s mom and brought her back home safely. I knew they had a bond, and no matter how mad she was at me, she’d want to be there for Mick. “I’ll tell Millie and have Tanisha and Claire cover for us. We’ll be right behind you.”

  “Thanks, Natasha,” I said, my eyes filling with tears. “And, I’m sorry.”

  “Let’s not worry about that now,” Tasha said with a wave of her hand. “Go.”

  I nodded and took off, eager to get to Mick and Dottie.

  Mick

  I RUSHED INTO THE HOSPITAL, my heart in my throat.

  I’d just been leaving the gym when the admin from Ma’s facility had called to tell me she’d been taken to Saint Mary’s. She’d fallen at breakfast that morning and had been taken in by an ambulance.

  I knew it could have been worse. Thank God she didn’t have a heart attack or something, but the thought of my ma being in the hospital was enough to make me frantic.

  “Dottie O’Donnelly!” I shouted when I entered the
emergency room, my voice louder than I’d intended. “Sorry,” I managed to say in a more acceptable tone. “My mother was brought in this morning, Dottie O’Donnelly.”

  “Yes, sir, someone will be right out to take you back.”

  I looked at the chairs in the waiting area, then moved past them and started pacing in the aisle.

  A few minutes later, a nurse came out and called out, “Mr. O’Donnelly?”

  “Yes,” I replied, hurrying toward her.

  “Your mother is stable. We’ve moved her to a room on the second floor. You can follow me.”

  I breathed a little easier, knowing that it was good news for her to be out of the emergency room and stable.

  Still, when I walked in and saw my mother looking frail and scared in the hospital bed, I felt like a little boy, rather than a grown ass man.

  “Ma,” I called, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

  She looked away from the small TV mounted on the wall in front of her and said, “I’m not dead, Mickie, get over here and give me a kiss.”

  “Jesus, Ma, you scared me,” I said as walked over to her bedside and leaned down to kiss her wrinkled cheek.

  “Don’t you take the Lord’s name,” she chided, causing me to smile for the first time since I’d gotten that call. “This is a Catholic hospital, for crying out loud.”

  I chucked.

  “Sorry, Ma. What happened?”

  She sighed, looking put out by the whole thing.

  “I was going back to get cream cheese for my bagel and didn’t realize Robert was standing behind me with his new cane. He’s been taking that stupid thing everywhere, even though he can walk just fine without it. Anyway, I tripped over the darn thing and put out my hands to stop by fall, broke my left wrist.”

  I looked to her side and saw a cast was around her left wrist and partially over her hand.

  “That’s it, I’m taking you home with me,” I told her, my tone brokering no argument.

  Of course, she argued.

  “Oh no, you’re not. A broken wrist is no big deal, plus, I’ll need a little extra help from the staff at the facility.”

  “I can help you,” I replied.

  “No, you have work and need to focus on Dru,” she said. “How’re things going with you two?”

  “Great . . . But, I’m serious, Ma, you should move out of that place and live with me.”

  “No, but thanks, Mickie. I’m happy where I am.”

  I let out a frustrated growl and wanted to pull my hair out.

  “Knock, knock, can I come in?”

  I turned to see Dru standing in the doorway, her appearance exactly what I needed.

  I crossed to her and took her in my arms.

  “Thanks for coming,” I murmured into her hair.

  “Of course,” she replied, patting my back.

  I dropped a kiss on her forehead before letting her go.

  Just her presence made me feel calmer.

  “How are you feeling, Dottie?” Dru asked, and I realized she was carrying a bouquet of flowers.

  “Oh, pshhh, it’s only a broken wrist. Mickie shouldn’t have made such a fuss,” Ma said, but I could see she was pleased Dru had come.

  “These are for you, should I put them in water?”

  “Oh, just bring them here for now, we can get water later.”

  Dru took the flowers over and handed them to Ma as she sat on the edge of the bed.

  “Hello!”

  I turned to see Millie and Tasha coming inside.

  “I hope we aren’t intruding, but we wanted to check in on Mrs. O’Donnelly,” Millie said, carrying a vase of flowers.

  “Oh,” Ma said, trying to sit up and fluff out her hair for the new arrivals.

  “Dottie, I’d like you to meet my sisters, Millie and Natasha.”

  “It’s lovely to meet you both.”

  I felt a hand on my arm and looked down to see Natasha standing next to me.

  “She’s okay?” she asked, worriedly.

  I nodded.

  “It’s a broken wrist, so it’ll heal. Thank God.”

  Natasha hugged my side briefly, then went to shake my ma’s hand.

  “Jackson and Jericho are coming by as soon as they can get a break from work,” Millie told me from her perch on the other side of Ma’s bed.

  “Oh, they don’t have to, I’m not sure how long they’ll be keeping her,” I replied, feeling foolish for making more out of the situation than it was.

  “They want to,” Tasha assured me. “If you guys leave before either of them arrives, just shoot ‘em a text and let them know.”

  I nodded, looking around the room and thinking how lucky I was to have these women in my life. It was crazy to think that over a year ago, I had no idea who they were, and now they were an integral part of my life.

  Especially Dru.

  Dru

  “I’M SORRY I GOT SO mad,” Tasha said. “You know how Dad’s a trigger for all of us. I was upset that you broke the pact, but we made that pact when we were kids. Mick was right, you deserve to do what you need to without getting grief from us. And, Dru . . . I’m ecstatic about you and Mick. I truly think you guys deserve each other.”

  “Thanks, Tash, I’m gonna go up and check on Mick. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  I gave my youngest sister a hug, then went upstairs to see how Mick was doing. He’d seen his mother safely back in her apartment and then come here.

  I knew he was still upset over seeing her in the hospital and I wanted to be there to comfort him.

  “Hey, Millie sent up some of her famous beef stew and fresh bread. I told her how much you’d wanted some the other day,” I said as I shut the door behind me.

  I turned to see Mick sitting on the couch, an untouched beer bottle in front of him, staring unseeing at the TV.

  I put the food down on the kitchen counter, then went back to the couch and crawled on his lap, snuggling him close and saying, “She’s going to be okay.”

  “I know, she’s just so stubborn,” Mick said, squeezing me closer.

  “Hmmm, sounds like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” I joked, trying to lighten his mood.

  “No matter what I say, she won’t agree to move in with me. I really think it would be better for her. Lord knows, I’d feel better.”

  “All you can do is keep asking.”

  “I had an idea . . . I could finish the basement for her. Put in a full-on apartment down there, so she could have all the luxuries she has at the facility, and have me right there if she needs anything. Maybe if I get it all fixed up and show it to her, she’ll finally change her mind.”

  “That’s a great idea. I didn’t realize you had a basement.”

  “Yeah, there’s not much down there but storage right now, but if I fixed it up, it’d be real nice. It’s a walk out, so she wouldn’t need to come up and down the stairs to go outside. We could put a sweet little deck out there, give her a nice spot to read.”

  “You should do it,” I whispered, thinking I’d love to see the before and after. After all, I’d seen his kitchen and bathrooms, so knew he had the talent and ability to make something really special for Dottie.

  “Do you? I wanted to get your input . . . to know if you’re on board with her moving in,” he asked, kissing the top of my head softly.

  “Why wouldn’t I? You certainly don’t need my permission,” I replied, looking up at him.

  “Well, I think I do, because I’m hoping that one day you’ll be living in that house with me, and I need to know that you wouldn’t mind Ma living in an apartment downstairs,” Mick replied, blowing my mind.

  “Really?” I asked excitedly.

  “Absolutely. That’s where this is going for me, Dru. A house, marriage, kids, the whole shebang.”

  I switched position so that I was straddling him and kissed him with every ounce of love and happiness I had inside of me. His hands went under my shirt and caressed my ba
re back, simultaneously pulling me closer, so there wasn’t an inch between us.

  Mick undid my bra as I lifted the hem of his shirt, and we moved slightly apart so he could put his hands behind his head and grasp the back of his shirt. He pulled it off in one swift move, while I rid myself of my blouse and bra.

  Crushing my naked breasts against his chest, I fisted my hands in his hair and kissed him again, rocking against his already hard cock and making us both moan.

  Mick shifted beneath me, turning us so that I was laying back on the couch and he was laying over me, then began to work on the button and zipper of my skirt. I lifted my hips to help him ease it over my hips, then watched greedily as he undid his jeans and kicked them off.

  My panties were next, then his boxer briefs, and finally he was laying back over me, his mouth on my breast and his hand moving over my hip.

  I kissed him hungrily as I opened my legs wide, flinging one over the back of the couch and placing the other foot on the floor, so he was lined up right where I needed him. Mick kept his breathtaking green eyes on me as he slid slowly inside, my breath catching when he filled me fully.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist, tucking my feet under the inside of his calves, and he began to slowly move.

  Mick took my hands in his and intertwined our fingers, bringing them up over my head, his eyes never leaving mine as he thrust in and out, as if he had all the time in the world.

  It was glorious torture, and I never wanted it to end.

  He brushed his lips softly over mine, then said, “I love you, Druscilla.”

  Tears filled my eyes and I tried to blink them back, but one fell down my temple as I admitted, “I love you, too, Mick. So much.”

  We made love slowly, learning and loving every inch of each other’s bodies. And when we came, it was like the stars aligned and confirmed we were meant to be together. Mick kissed the tears from my cheeks, and made me feel like the most precious being alive.

  I knew that every second of my life had been leading me to this moment . . . to Mick.

  Mick

  “THERE’S SOMETHING IMPORTANT WE NEED to discuss,” Dru said from the bottom of the stairwell. “I know you’re busy with the renovations, but we’re running out of time, so I need to get you on board.”