by Sherie Keys
“I like him too, Oliver. Much more than I should,” she murmured as she went to bed and tried not dream of Adrian that night.
It seemed that, in the days that followed, Adrian was around often, perhaps too often, visiting with her and Oliver, working on the bee gardens, and spending a good deal of time with them. It was difficult for her being around him. He stood close to her, his hands and fingers grazed over her skin when he touched her gently in passing, his eyes met hers with deep looks, and she could not deny the heat and gravity between them. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to keep her distance from him; to keep herself from giving in to the thoughts that were almost constantly on her mind about him. She wanted him, and her desire was growing stronger. She couldn’t deny it, and she fighting it was becoming a losing battle.
Frustration built up inside of her, and she finally decided that the only way to solve her problem was to fix it for good. She called Mike, and he answered with a smile in his voice.
“Hey, baby. What’s up?” he asked curiously. He had been missing in action for the remainder of the month that Delphine was spending with Oliver, even when she invited him to go on outings with them or out for a meal. He had given them space and time, and she knew that it was his way of trying to support her as she had asked him to do.
“I want to get married,” she stated flatly.
He hesitated for a moment. “Yeah, I know. That’s what the engagement is about,” he replied in confusion.
“No.” She stopped, closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath. “I mean I want to get married right now. I don’t want to wait anymore.”
A half-laugh escaped him. “You want to get married right now? I thought you needed time and space with Oliver, and now you’re telling me that you want to rush the wedding. What’s going on?”
“Look, I’m keeping Oliver. I’m going to make that official, and we’re really close to the end date anyway. It isn’t about that. I just think it’s time that we tied the knot. I mean, why wait? If we’re going to do it, then let’s go do it. There isn’t any reason to sit around and wait for it. If we’re going to be a family, then let’s make it happen.”
He chuckled then and spoke with a tone of surprise in his voice. “Okay. Well then, let’s do it. I don’t care when we get married. At least I’ll finally get you into my bed! Bring on the honeymoon, baby. When do you want to meet at the church?”
“Friday. Is that too soon?” she asked worriedly.
He blanched. “That’s in three days! You weren’t kidding about doing it right away.”
“Yeah. I’m serious about this.” She didn’t think she could last three more days without giving in to her temptations and desires for Adrian. She had to get married if she was going to make it work with Mike.
“Okay, baby. Whatever you want. I’d love to have you all to myself this weekend. I’ll go find a tux and you pick up a dress and some flowers. I’ll find a preacher and a church. How’s that for making it happen?” He sounded enormously pleased.
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” She smiled with relief. “Let me know where, and I’ll meet you there.”
Three days passed like leaves on the breeze, and she found herself sitting on a chair in a dressing room in an old church in Harlem. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, hardly able to believe that she was seeing herself in a lacy white gown and a veil. She swallowed hard, promising herself that she was making the right choice.
“Are you okay? I think you better drink this,” Justin said quietly, handing her a glass of champagne. He looked at her solemnly. He had made his point clear that he thought she was making a poor choice, but staying true to his word, he was there for her, supporting her and being the best friend that she so desperately needed.
“Thanks,” she said quietly, reaching for the glass and downing it in a few gulps.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t just see you do that to fine champagne.” Justin sighed and rolled his eyes. “You look beautiful. I’m going to go see if Mike is ready. I’ll be back.”
She nodded at him, and he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Walking along the soft carpet, his footsteps made no noise as he moved through the hallway to the other end. He reached the door to the other dressing room where Mike was getting ready.
Justin heard voices, and he stopped and looked in through the doorway. His mouth fell open when he saw Adrian talking to Mike. He handed the groom a white envelope.
“Here you are, Mike. Half a million dollars in cash as you agreed. Now, you go in there and tell her that you aren’t ready for a family and you don’t want to raise anyone else’s child, and then you leave. You never talk to her again. Is that a deal?”
Mike grinned and nodded. “You bet. It’s definitely a deal. It’s the truth anyway.” He reached his hand up and clapped it on Adrian’s shoulder. “Thanks, bro. Good doing business with you.”
Justin backed away from the door and stood behind it as Mike left the room and walked down the hallway toward Delphine’s dressing room. He looked on in silence as Adrian came to the door and stood on the other side of it, watching Mike as he entered his bride’s dressing room.
“I’m sorry, my love,” Adrian whispered. “I couldn’t let you make a mistake like that.” When Mike entered Delphine’s room, Justin came from behind the door and startled Adrian.
“What did you just do?” he asked in a level tone, his eyes locked on Adrian’s. “Why did you do that?”
Adrian sighed and slid his hands into his pants pockets. “I did it because I love her, and I can’t lose her. I won’t lose her. Besides, she shouldn’t be with anyone who would walk away from her for the rest of her life for five hundred thousand dollars. True love can’t be bought.”
Justin raised his brows and nodded. “You’re right,” he agreed.
“Are you going to tell her what I did?” Adrian asked curiously.
“If the right time happens to come up, maybe, but not today, and maybe not ever. We’ll see if she ever needs to know,” Justin replied. Adrian gave him a nod and left the church. Mike left the dressing room at the end of the hallway, and then he left the church.
Justin walked down the hall and went to Delphine. She was weeping into her hands when he walked into the room, and he wrapped her in an embrace, letting her sob on his chest as she told him what happened.
“Mike just broke up with me! He said he doesn’t want to raise someone else’s kid, and he didn’t want to have a family with me! It was just like having our fight and breakup all over again, except this time I was ready to marry him! I feel like such an idiot!” She wept hard and closed her fingers tightly around the lapels of Justin’s tuxedo jacket.
“I should have known! He hasn’t wanted to be around Oliver at all, and he’s only wanted me to himself. I am not going to give up Oliver or a chance at a family, so he can just have a playmate lover for the rest of his life! He’s such a selfish bastard!” she snapped angrily through her tears.
“He is indeed,” Justin agreed quietly, holding her while she cried it all out.
When her sobbing and tears had subsided, she raised her face to him and looked at him. “Where’s Oliver?” she asked, swallowing hard and wiping her hands over her tear streaked cheeks.
Justin handed her the handkerchief from his breast pocket. “He’s sitting out in the pews with Georgia. He’s fine. Why don’t you change out of this dress and maybe save it for another day? Get your jeans on, and I’ll go get Oliver. I’ll take you home and hang out with him. I think you could use some rest.”
Delphine nodded and wiped at her face and her eyes. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You’re never going to know. I’ll always be here for you,” he replied lovingly. “Now get changed and let’s go home.”
She did as she was bid, and Justin went to talk with Oliver and Georgia. He took them home and sent Delphine up to her room to sleep off her sorrow, and he sat with Oliver
on the sofa and watched movies, eating take-out pizza and ice cream.
“Did Mike stop the wedding because of me?” Oliver asked worriedly, looking up at his Uncle Justin.
Justin shook his head. “No. He stopped the wedding because he realized that he didn’t want to be married to Delphine for the rest of his life. So really, it’s a good thing that he figured that out before they got married. It’s better to break it off before they make a promise to each other. Now, I know you care a lot for Delphine and so do I, and I know that we would both want her to be with someone who would really love her and you for the rest of your lives. Mike wasn’t the right guy, so this is a good change, and it has nothing to do with you. Got that?” Justin asked him seriously.
Oliver nodded and looked relieved. “I want her to be happy.”
“Me too, little man. Me too,” Justin said, giving Oliver a smile.
Delphine threw herself into the bee garden work, and at the first volunteer clean-up day after the wedding was scheduled, Adrian approached her and took her left hand in his.
“There’s no ring on this hand,” he said quietly, his eyes steady on her face.
“There was no wedding, so there’s no ring,” she told him quietly, looking downward.
“How are you doing?” he asked, not digging for details. She was grateful that he didn’t ask. She didn’t want to talk about it.
“I’m okay. I’m focusing on Oliver and on work,” she answered.
“When is the last day of the trial month?” Adrian asked, still holding her hand in his.
She raised her eyes to meet his, feeling the strength of his friendship and realizing that she needed it. “It’s tomorrow,” she answered. “We sign the paperwork tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful. It’s so wonderful.” He smiled at her. “May I take you both out to celebrate?”
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Yes, thank you. I think Oliver would love that. He adores you.”
“I feel the same about him. It’s going to be one of the most important days of his life, and it should be celebrated as such.” Adrian gave her an encouraging smile. “Keep your chin up. Things are good. Things are going to be so good for you and him.”
Her smile widened, and she reached her arms around him to hug him. “Thank you so much.”
“Anything I can do for you,” he said quietly, closing his eyes as he held her to his heart.
When he let her go, he looked at her and held her hand once more, running his thumb over it. “You aren’t with Mike anymore?” he asked cautiously.
She shook her head and looked away. “No. I’m not.”
Adrian tilted his head to the side and spoke thoughtfully. “Would you consider a closer relationship with me?”
Delphine knit her brow and looked down, shaking her head. “Not right now. I need some time and some space. It’s been an insane couple of months, and I feel really lost and confused.”
With a soft sigh, Adrian nodded. “I understand. I’ll give you all the time you need. All the time in the world, but I’m not giving up on you.”
She gave him a pained half smile and walked away from him. Adrian let her go and went back to working with Oliver. Justin went to Delphine and took her hand, leading her to a quiet spot where they had planted some trees and bushes.
“How are you doing?” he asked her directly.
“Oh, you know. I hate all men and I want nothing to do with any of them.” Bitterness rose in her and she gritted her teeth in anger. “I mean, what kind of a jerk does what Mike did? What kind of bastard goes all the way to the altar and then just leaves? What about our plans? What about Oliver? What about me? What about our future?” Angry tears escaped her, and she closed her eyes.
Justin sighed and took her arms in his hands. “Okay. It’s time to tell you. I want you to look at me and let me say this, listen to me, okay?”
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “What? Tell me what?”
“There’s something you don’t know,” he began, taking a deep breath. “When I went to Mike’s dressing room at the church, I saw Adrian there with him. Adrian gave him half a million dollars cash if he would tell you that he didn’t want to have a family or raise anyone else’s kid. Adrian told him if he took the money, he couldn’t ever contact you again.”
Delphine gaped. “What?” she whispered, staring at her best friend in total disbelief.
“Mike took the money and he was glad to do it. He said it was a good deal, and it was the truth anyway. He didn’t want kids. He took that money and went straight to you to break up with you. I would bet that same half a million dollars that he doesn’t ever talk to you again.”
Anger flushed over Delphine, and she almost growled as she spoke. “Adrian paid Mike off, so he wouldn’t marry me? Are you serious?”
“Yes. Listen to me, Del, he did it because he loves you. Like, he really truly loves you. You have to understand that,” Justin told her earnestly.
She flung his hands from her arms. “I can’t believe this! Where is he?” She spun where stood, facing the big garden behind her, and she caught sight of Adrian working with Oliver.
“Delphine, don’t-” Justin began, reaching for her arm to stop her, but she was already marching straight for Adrian. When she got to him, she glared hotly at him.
“I need to talk with you in private,” she stated darkly. Oliver’s eyes grew wide, and Adrian sighed and looked down at the boy.
“You keep working on this, and I’ll be back in a few minutes. It’s okay. Just keep at it.” He gave Oliver and encouraging nod. Oliver nodded in silent reply and looked down at the flower he was planting, placing his small hands on it.
Delphine turned and walked over to the shed at the far end of the garden, and Adrian followed her. When they were inside with the door closed, she wheeled on him and planted her hands on her hips. “I just found out that you paid Mike off so that he wouldn’t marry me!” she shot at him furiously.
“Justin,” Adrian sighed, taking his gloves off and laying them on a work bench.
“Yeah, Justin. Do you want to tell me what in the hell you think you were doing?” she demanded, her eyes burning into him.
“Yes, I did pay him off to leave you at the altar. I was stopping you from making a huge mistake,” he replied evenly, looking back at her.
“A mistake? Adrian, you ruined my chances for a happy marriage! You wrecked my life!” She felt hot tears stinging her eyes.
He shook his head and spoke firmly, but with a level voice. “No, I didn’t wreck your life! I saved it! I saved you from a terrible marriage. I saved Oliver from a man who couldn’t care less about him. I saved you from an inevitable divorce!”
Adrian took a few steps toward her and looked hard into her eyes. “You were ready to marry a man who was willing to walk out on you for the rest of your whole life for nothing more than five hundred thousand dollars. How long do you think that money is going to last him? Not the rest of his life, that’s for sure. It was so easy for him to take that money and walk away from you. It took no convincing, no effort on my part. He jumped at the offer, because you and Oliver mean nothing to him.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she listened to him, realizing that he was speaking the truth to her.
He continued, his tone softening but no less passionate. “I love you, Delphine. I love you with all of my heart and no amount of money could keep me from you. No other man could keep me from you. Nothing could, because you mean too much to me. I did this out of love for you and for Oliver because I couldn’t bear to lose you or him to another man. If Mike had actually loved you and wanted you, you would be married right now, and I would have lost you, but he didn’t. He was more interested in the money than in a lifetime together with you. We’re all so lucky that he took that money and ran. All of us, Delphine. You and me and Oliver.”
She trembled as she wept, realizing the truth in everything that he was saying to her, and she couldn’t speak. Adrian r
eached his hands to her face and gently lifted her chin so that she could look at him.
“I love you more than anything, Delphine. I want you to be my wife. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I want to adopt Oliver as a family, a real family, then I want more kids with you. As many kids as you want. I want to build a future with you, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. I love you, Delphine.” He spoke with enormous emotion in his voice.
Leaning forward, he kissed her tenderly and her salt tears covered both of the lips as she began to kiss him in return. Fires ignited in her and butterflies danced within her as they always did when he was near her. His mouth moved over hers desperately, conveying in his kiss all that he felt in his heart for her.
When he let her go, his eyes sought hers and he held her face in his hands. “Marry me. Say yes. Give yourself to me for the rest of your life.”
