It Started in Paradise

by Nicki Night

  Donovan bit down and rolled his eyes upward. “That’s delicious, Mrs. Saxton.”

  She smiled, obviously happy to meet Donovan’s approval. Her plump cheeks reddened slightly.

  Donovan shook his head. “Absolutely delicious,” he said, covering his full mouth.

  Donovan took a seat at the table with his father and brother. Grace placed a sample plate in front of him with an array of different canapés. She was more like an aunt than a housekeeper. She’d been part of his family for as long as he could remember.

  Just as he joined his father and brother’s lively conversation about who beat who on the golf course a few weeks back, the doorbell rang.

  Grace looked toward the foyer, leaning her ear in that direction. She laid the spoon down on a porcelain rest, wiped her hands in a dishtowel and headed for the door. “I’m getting it, Mrs. Rivers.”

  “Thanks, Grace,” Joliet called from upstairs.

  Donovan heard the rustle of several people entering the vast home. Grace led them to the sitting room and promised to return with drinks.

  “So who are our guests tonight?” Donovan turned and asked his father.

  “Yes, Dad. Mom made it seem like tonight’s dinner was pretty important,” Dayton added.

  “Oh,” Donovan said when the realization hit him. “So you have no clue what’s happening either.”

  “Mom ‘invited’ me this afternoon. Only her words sounded more like a directive than an invitation.” Dayton smirked and Donovan shot him a knowing look.

  “Yes. Those invitations...” their father said.

  Grace returned with a tray of her decadent peach tea, topped with juicy slices of plump organic peaches before leaving again.

  “Let’s greet our guests,” Mr. Rivers stated, standing erect to his full six feet and three inches. He had always taken good care of himself and had been quite the athlete in his youth. Even now he managed to maintain his build. The salt-and-pepper hair framing his smooth skin seemed premature. Gray hair usually made people look older, but against William’s face, it simply seemed energetic and appealing. He and Joliet appeared as perfect as Barbie and Ken.

  Donovan and Dayton stood with Mr. Rivers and together the trio strolled into the sitting room to greet their guests.

  Mr. Rivers led the introductions. It was obvious to Donovan that his father wasn’t any more familiar with their visitors than they were. Immediately he noticed the two stunning women that accompanied the older short woman with the big presence and the much taller gentleman that stood protectively by her side. Donovan and Dayton passed quick knowing looks. Their silent but clear dialogue confirmed that this was a setup. The two gorgeous women were an obvious indication.

  “Joli will be down momentarily,” Mr. Rivers assured them after exchanging pleasantries. “I understand you’re a golfer.” He directed his inquiry to Roland Creighton—the husband.

  “I am. You?” Roland confirmed and asked.

  “For sure.”

  A bright smile eased across Mr. Rivers’s face. Donovan knew then that golf would dominate the better part of their conversation during the evening.

  “Hello!” Joliet sang as she entered the room like a cool, welcome breeze. Obviously more familiar with their guests than everyone else. “Tiffany, you look absolutely gorgeous,” she said, scanning the woman before hugging her.

  “Thank you, Joliet. Your dress is fabulous.”

  As if on cue, Grace entered with a tray of canapés and set them on the coffee table before smiling pleasantly and disappearing as quickly as she’d entered.

  “I see your girls have met our boys.” Joliet smiled. “They’re beautiful.” Tilting her head, she grinned at Donovan and winked.

  “Savannah. Serita. Come meet Mrs. Joliet Rivers.” The twins flanked their mother, towering over her on each side. “We met at the membership meeting for the women’s organization I joined a few weeks back. We hit it off right away and vowed to do dinner soon after and now here we are.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Rivers.” They shook her hand, one after the other.

  “Serita works in commercial banking and Savannah will be entering medical school in the fall.”

  “Welcome to New York, ladies. I hope you enjoy living here on Long Island. It’s a great place to live.”

  “Thank you,” Serita said. Savannah smiled in agreement.

  “I’m sure my boys will be happy to show you around.” She looked over at Donovan and Dayton and stretched her eyes.

  Grace entered the room again. Delicately clapped her hands together, lifted her chin and smiled. “Dinner is served,” she announced.

  Joliet led the way to the dining room. William took his usual seat, which was opposite Joliet at the large round table that was large enough to seat twelve. Joliet had Grace remove four of the chairs to make the seating for eight appear a little more intimate. She didn’t like seeing empty chairs.

  After a quick grace from the man of the house, they began to indulge in the small feast Grace had prepared. The group sat before a vibrant arrangement of niçoise salad. The center of the table boasted elegantly plated wild-caught king salmon, mouthwatering slices of chateaubriand, champagne risotto, roasted eggplant, peppers and asparagus and sweet summer corn.

  Tiffany raved about the delicious spread as they dined and talked more about how she and Joliet met and seemed to have become fast friends. Tiffany expressed her desire to become familiar with her new city, which served as the catalyst for her joining the organization. She and Roland had relocated from Chicago for him to take on his new role as CEO of a top investment firm headquartered along the border of Nassau and Suffolk. The girls would also begin new careers right there on Long Island.

  After dinner, Grace offered their company a choice of fresh organic strawberries topped with her homemade whipped cream or her decadent chocolate coconut cake. After dessert, the parents returned to one of their sitting rooms for cocktails while the twins, Dayton and Donovan headed out back to the gazebo.

  “We’re so sorry,” Serita, the oldest of the twins by a minute and a half, said just after they sat comfortably.

  “For what?” Dayton asked.

  “Our parents—specifically our mother,” Savannah continued for her sister. “They mean well, I’m sure.”

  “In that case, we’ll need to apologize for our parents as well—specifically our mother,” Donovan said. The four laughed. “She’s always playing the matchmaker.”

  “We didn’t want to be rude,” Serita said. “But we felt it was important to let you know that we’re both in serious relationships. Our boyfriends are back in Chicago, but we have no intentions of breaking up.”

  “We totally understand.” Donovan held his hand up as if he were surrendering.

  “We certainly wouldn’t mind being friends. It would be great to have some guidance with becoming familiar with New York,” Savannah said.

  “Then I’m your man,” Dayton volunteered. “I’ll tell you all you need to know and if you need a ride, I’ve got you covered there, too. Friends?” Dayton extended his hand. They all shook as if sealing an agreement.

  Donovan felt instant relief. As pretty as these girls were, he hadn’t been interested and wondered how he might have to let one of them down. He wanted to give this thing with Chloe a chance.

  “Great!” Serita almost squealed. “Our boyfriends will be visiting next weekend so it would be helpful if you could suggest some nice restaurants and a few interesting places we could go in the city.”

  “You got it,” Dayton said. “Take my number.” The four of them exchanged numbers.

  Now that the pressure had been removed from the atmosphere, they felt free to enjoy themselves. The conversation lightened and getting to know each other became interesting. As cool as the twins seemed, Donovan c
ouldn’t help but notice that conversation with them wasn’t as intriguing as his chats with Chloe.

  When the Creightons left, Dayton and Donovan helped Grace clean up. William retreated to his favorite chair in the family room and Joliet changed into a comfortable caftan.

  “So what do you think of the girls? They were stunning, weren’t they?” Joliet’s eyes sparkled as she entered the kitchen, leaned against the counter and bit into a bright red strawberry.

  Donovan and Dayton looked at each other.

  “Yes. They were stunning...” Donovan started.

  “And taken,” Dayton continued.

  “Stunningly taken,” Donovan concluded, snickering at his mother’s chiding glare. She tried to hide her smile but couldn’t once they started laughing. Even Grace’s shoulders shook from trying to contain her laugh from the opposite side of the room.

  “Nice try, Mom.” Donovan kissed her cheek. “But I’ll find my own lady, thank you.”

  “When?” She threw her hands up and let them fall at her side.

  “It may be sooner than you think,” Donovan teased.

  Joliet narrowed her eyes at him and tossed the same glare in Dayton’s direction, which made them laugh even harder.

  Joliet sighed. “I have some other friends with beautiful daughters that you could meet.”

  “You have more friends with daughters?” Dayton asked incredulously. “Because I could have sworn we’d met them all.”

  Joliet’s mouth opened and closed once she realized they were messing with her.

  “You boys!” She pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips.

  “We love you, Mom, but we really don’t need your help,” Donovan said carefully. He didn’t want to hurt their mother’s feelings.

  “We know you mean well, but our idea of the ideal woman is apparently different than what you think.” Dayton shrugged matter-of-factly.

  “So what is the ideal woman?” Joliet seemed exasperated.

  “No. No. No.” Donovan wagged his finger. “We’re not going there.” He kissed his mother again. “I’ll see you in the morning. Good night.” He turned before she could say anything else.

  Dayton followed suit and headed behind Donovan, leaving Joliet in the kitchen to wonder.

  The moment he got in his car, he dialed Chloe’s number. Something about meeting those twins made his desire to move forward with Chloe stronger.

  “Hey, you!” Her soft voice filled the line, sounding a little deeper than usual.

  “Did I wake you?” he asked.

  “No. I was lying down, but I wasn’t asleep.”

  “Because you were waiting for my call, right?”

  Chloe’s chuckle was like a soft breeze blowing in his ear.

  “Sure. Yeah. Right.” She laughed louder.

  After delighting in the sound of her laughter, Donovan’s words flew from his brain and ran straight past his lips. “We’re going out Friday...” He paused, giving her a moment to object as he knew she would. Before she could fumble through the start of her protest, Donovan cut her off. “And I refuse to take no for an answer.”

  Chapter 11

  Chloe absolutely loved the ideas that the women from MarComm proposed. She was even more confident about her decision to override her mother’s opposition and hire their firm. They were still in the process of finalizing their agreement but Chloe wouldn’t wait to move forward on their idea to host a sampling reception. They would invite businesses and individuals on a potential list of targeted clients. This event would offer prospective customers an opportunity to tour their venue, sample foods from their unique menu and view a presentation communicating why Chandlers would be the ideal location for their next event.

  Timing was critical. They often received many requests to book events during the months of May, June and July. Chloe wanted to take advantage of this high season and hold the event before the end of June. She’d been working on El but her mother was stubborn. She knew that El liked the ideas the consultants presented but she refused to acknowledge them. El was still pretty angry with Chloe for moving forward with negotiations against her orders. El gave Chloe the cold shoulder for days until Bobby Dale finally intervened.

  Chloe navigated the catering hall with a cheerful bounce. However, as excited as she was, it was hard to keep her focus on all the great things happening at Chandlers.

  Chloe’s mind kept shifting to Donovan’s refusal to accept no for an answer. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go out with him. She just didn’t think it made much sense to date someone who she could never enjoy a long-term relationship with. Their families would never get along. She could only imagine how El would act.

  It was unfortunate. Donovan seemed like a long-term kind of guy. Chloe felt so comfortable talking to him and remembered how easily she was able to relax in his presence by the time they left Puerto Rico. Donovan made her laugh, think and even challenge herself both personally and professionally. They swapped silly childhood stories and reveled in how much they had in common. Under different circumstances, Donovan would be the perfect guy for Chloe.

  Chloe looked at the time in the lower right corner of her laptop and sighed. The end of the day was almost here and she still hadn’t thought of a way to let Donovan down easily. So far, she’d been unsuccessful in convincing him that going out may not be in their best interest. She loved their discussions but didn’t want to mislead him. There was no way they could take things any further.

  It wasn’t about defying her mother, though she was fiercely loyal to her. Chloe never liked conflict and didn’t want to deal with the drama of bad blood messing up their family relationships. She thought about calling Jewel. She’d yet to tell her that Donovan planned to take her out later. She already knew what Jewel would say: “Go” and “No one has to know.”

  Chloe rested her head against the back of her chair. Closing her eyes, she remembered how much fun they’d had at karaoke night. How awed Donovan was when he’d heard her sing. Quick flashes of the time they spent together played in her mind’s eye as if she was flipping through a picture book. She saw the balcony in the restaurant; moonlight rippling on the navy blue sea, the caverns and the night they had sailed. She felt his lips on hers.

  Chloe’s breath caught. Her head snapped up, eyes popped open and her hand flew to her heart. She looked around even though she was in her office alone.

  Chloe didn’t want to be done with Donovan. She decided to go. Jewel was right. No one had to know. She breezed through the remainder of her day with a depth of excitement.

  Two minutes after five o’clock found Chloe in her car. She escaped the office before El could come asking what she had planned for the evening. She didn’t want to lie to her mother but couldn’t possibly tell the truth.

  By seven thirty, Chloe had a light snack, showered and dressed in an electric blue, strapless jumpsuit. She ran the flat iron through her hair, eliminating the bit of frizz that the humid day generated. When the doorbell rang, Chloe’s stomach released a swarm of butterflies. She stood still and gathered herself before heading for the door.

  Chloe’s cell phone rang. She continued to the door, letting Donovan in before excusing herself and retreating quickly to retrieve her cell phone. It was El. Chloe was glad to have missed her mother’s call. She dropped her phone into her evening purse and went back to greet her company.

  Chloe could see Donovan’s appreciation for the effort she put into preparing for her date. She couldn’t help her demure smile.

  “You look great,” Donovan said with a sigh. He kissed her cheek.

  “Thanks.” She looked him over without shame. “You look pretty good yourself.”

  “Are you ready for another adventure?” Donovan asked. His voice dipped slightly lower.

  Chloe shrugged her shoulder and raised
her brows. “I guess so.” Donovan’s lips spread into an easy smile. Chloe suddenly felt aware of her femininity and that flirtatious spark she had sensed in Puerto Rico returned. Tilting her head slightly, she locked eyes with him. Everything else in the room seemed to disappear. “I’m ready.” Chloe snickered, realizing how her comment could have easily been taken out of context. Her voice sounded husky and she blushed, yet let the possible double entendre hang in her air.

  Donovan cleared his throat and his smile broadened. “We’d better get going.” Opening the door, he stepped back to allow her to walk out first.

  When Chloe stepped past Donovan, she felt a jolt of electricity rush through her. She stood rigidly to avoid shuddering in front of him. Chloe swallowed and continued through the door.

  Donovan opened the car door for Chloe before rounding the back of the car to the driver’s side. Inside, he set the radio to a jazz station.

  “How many excuses did you think about telling me before you finally decided to go out with me?”

  Chloe’s telltale smile hid behind tucked-in lips. “What makes you think I came up with excuses?” Donovan looked at her sideways as if her question was ridiculous. Chloe replied with laughter.

  “This won’t be the last date either, you hear me?” Donovan proclaimed.

  “Wow! You’re bossy.” Chloe shook her head, flattered by the notion that Donovan wanted to continue seeing her. His smile was like a shot of whiskey—intoxicating and causing her heart to spread in her chest. She felt giddy. Donovan had a way of making her feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. In his presence, Chloe became hyperaware of her femininity. Playful banter accompanied them all the way to Manhattan.

  Donovan pulled into a parking space as another car was pulling out. “Perfect timing,” he said, maneuvering the car into an impeccable parallel park.

  They exited the car near Washington Square Park. The downtown streets were filled as they usually were on a Friday night. Taking Chloe by the hand, Donovan led her through the crowd.

  After two short blocks, he steered her down a short flight of stairs into a trendy lounge. Blue lights lined the underside of the bar top. Fancy liquor bottles lined glass shelves in front of a water feature. A live band played a popular R & B soul song on a small stage. The lead singer’s raspy voice floated through the small space, creating a sultry vibe. She reminded Chloe of the singer Jill Scott. She, too, had a pretty face and curvy frame. Her voice was potent enough to reach inside of you and plug right into your emotions.