by Cee, DW
Heaven! Absolute heaven! Even in the craziness of it all, this beautiful woman was atop me, smiling—or perhaps she was grimacing. Whatever it was, it looked like the smile of an angel.
Before others joined us, I asked, “Hey there Delilah, how ya doing? Long time no see.”
With a stunned expression, my angel giggled. Like a heaven’s choir, I knew her laughter meant all would be right in our world.
Delilah Taylor would soon be Delilah O’Shaughnessy.
#RN!
Delilah: #OMG!
Who was this man that I was laying on top of, who was most definitely not my fiancé?
Before I could answer that question, Rhys pulled me off this man’s body, grabbed the stranger, and positioned to punch him again. In the melee, he couldn’t hear me yelling, asking for the senseless beating to stop. I scrambled to stop my fiancé from killing this person.
“Stop!” I yelled again.
Fortunately, my brothers caught a hold of Rhys, and my father caught a hold of the other guy. Honestly, Dad’s expression showed more furor than my future husband’s. Perhaps Donovan Taylor wasn’t the safest person to be holding this stranger right now.
“Hold on! Stop. No more fighting!” I yelled again.
Looking around, my entire family had rushed the head table area. Rhys’s brothers, along with my own, made a threatening semicircle around this poor guy. Though kissing me at my engagement party was not cool, I almost felt sorry for him. I needed to calm everyone down and figure out what the hell was going on.
“Hello. My name is Delilah Taylor. I’m unsure what you were thinking, but I’m engaged to be married to that man,” I pointed to Rhys. “If you will apologize to my fiancé for your error in judgment, we can all go back to this happy occasion.” OK. That was a little lame in this crazy situation but I had to do what I had to do.
“Hello.” The guy repeated. “My name is Nolan O’Shaughnessy. I do know what I was thinking because you’re to be married to me—very soon. I will not apologize because this was not an error in judgment. Unfortunately, you cannot go back to this occasion because he,” this Nolan pointed to my Rhys, “should not be your fiancé. That’s my position.”
Rhys and his posse growled. Somewhere, I heard groaning. A few people stepped into our large circle and attempted to explain this insane situation.
My future brother-in-law, the man right above my fiancé said, “What’s going on, Nolan? Why’re you doing this?” Did Ron know this guy or was he just asking in general terms?
“This is Delilah—my Delilah.”
Ron continued to reason, “She can’t be your Delilah. She’s engaged to Rhys. I don’t know what happened, but why don’t we all stand down and discuss this like proper gents?”
This Nolan nodded his agreement and all the men started walking away. Um...hello? Where was everyone going and why was I, the star of this night, left here?
“HEY!” I hollered. “What about me?” Wasn’t I the one who was accosted?
“Sorry, Love.” Rhys came back for me but I wouldn’t have it.
“No. You all come back here because I need to talk to this man, not you.”
Nolan came right back. “What did you want to talk about, Delilah?” He was a little too jovial for someone who was about to get pummeled by every man in this room. “How can I help you?” I felt like I was at a local grocery store getting help from the clerk.
“Who are you?” Perhaps I voiced that question a little too harshly. “How do you know me and why did you come in here and ruin my engagement party? I don’t remember anyone else ever proposing to me—what the hell possessed you to kiss me?” I hoped my mother didn’t hear my language.
“I’m Nolan O’Shaughnessy. We first met at your house when we were five and recited the numbers together from 0-1,000. After that, we had a delicious dinner and parted until we met again at Michael and Chloe’s wedding at the castle in Fife. Don’t you remember me giving you your first kiss, telling you that I was going to marry you?”
OMG! Seriously? Was he kidding me? I took several breaths before speaking. “Nolan...!” I had to stop and breathe out loud some more. “We were FIVE. Most people don’t remember what they said at age FIVE. How could you think we’d marry if we haven’t spoken since kindergarten? It’s not possible.”
“With us, it is possible.” His counterargument was crazy! “Give me a month to prove to you that we belong together. I promise you’ll agree with me at the end of that month.”
That’s when I heard the growls, and saw Rhys’ fists curled into tight balls.
“Nolan,” Ronnie coaxed. “Let’s go out and get a drink, Mate. Just you and me. We’ll talk this over and I’ll help you understand what’s already happened here.”
“No,” Nolan O’Shaughnessy argued. “The only person I want to talk to is Delilah. I’d like a private audience with her.”
“Hell no!” Rhys answered. “She’s going nowhere with you.”
I needed to figure out a solution and fast! Rhys, along with all the testosterone in this room, was not going to hold back for much longer.
“Rhys? May I speak with you privately?”
He took my hand and pulled me to the corner. I saw Mom, Auntie Emily, Auntie Jane, and Auntie Bee holding back our side of the family. Auntie Chloe and my future mother-in-law were doing the same with the Kent side of the family.
“I’m so sorry, my fair lady. Your perfect engagement was ruined because of that nut job. What can I do to make things better? Anything. Please tell me what you’d like done. I’ll make everything happen for you.”
My fiancé was going to flip when I told him, “Let me talk to Nolan.”
“No way!” he answered immediately.
“Let me see what it is that’s driving him. The only person he’ll respond to is me. I’ll let him down easy where he doesn’t lose face in front of the crowd of people.”
“I don’t like it.” My sweet fiancé was caving.
“You trust me?” I knew those words would get him. Of course he trusted me. I trusted him just as fiercely.
“Are you sure?” Still, he was holding on, hoping I’d change my mind.
“Yes. Positive. Give me five, maybe ten minutes with this Nolan and I’ll figure out whatever this is.”
“Under one condition—you take your cousin Elizabeth with you.”
I could live with that. “Deal!”
We kissed. We hugged. We went to clear a hurdle so we could continue with our forever.
Nolan: #ILY!
“Nolan, why don’t we sit down and let Lilah and Rhys figure out a few things?” Dad bobbed his head toward many seats away from the ruckus. I decided it was best to follow him. The crowd, minus a few friendly faces, was not a welcoming one.
“Why don’t we join you?” Michael suggested as he led his pretty wife and joined us.
“Tell us what’s going on in that genius head of yours, Nolan.” Chloe asked with a smile. “That was some entrance.” I was glad she approved—at least I thought she approved.
“Well...I suppose I shouldn’t have been so dramatic, but when I saw my Delilah as Rhys’ Delilah, I lost it. She wasn’t supposed to have been up there with Rhys. It was supposed to have been with me.”
“I can’t believe you even remember her, Nolan. What makes her so special that this many years later, you still want to marry her?” Chloe continued.
“Over the years, I might not have spoken with her, but I knew everything about her. I don’t want to sound like a stalker, but I kept tabs.”
“Um, Son...” Dad was worried. “That does sound kind of stalkerish. What possessed you to do that?”
“I know this will sound odd to you, but I knew Delilah was the girl I wanted to marry. Since she mostly stayed in Los Angeles, and we were all over the map, I had no choice but to make an ally in the family. I communicated with this person and asked about her.”
“Who is this person?”
“I can’t say, Dad. I don’t
want my ally to get into trouble.”
“So for how long have you been in contact with your friend?” Dad asked.
I had to think back. “Well, I guess since I was in middle school? No. It was when we had settled in Los Angeles and I went off to college.”
“So this infatuation hasn’t been that long.”
“Dad. It’s been since I was five.” This conversation frustrated me. “I know you all don’t understand. Since I barely knew Delilah and she doesn’t know me at all, you’re wondering why I’d disrupt her engagement. In many ways, I can’t explain it myself except to say, I know she’s the one. No matter how old or young, I don’t think it matters. When you know, you know.” I saw Chloe nodding her head in agreement.
“Nole—” Dad started saying, but couldn’t finish his thought when I stood to greet Delilah and her cousin Elizabeth, who stood behind her like a bodyguard.
“All right, Nolan O’Shaughnessy. I’m giving you ten minutes to clear up this mess. You,” she pointed to me, “over there,” she pointed to an empty corner. I loved this bossy side of her. It made me smile to think of our future together. We walked to the corner and her bodyguard stayed a few paces away, giving us some privacy, but also letting me know that she had Delilah’s back. “Talk!” Delilah commanded.
What I ended up saying was not what I meant to say. “I love you.” Damn! Where had that come from? Who said those three final words from the start?
“What?” She looked at me as if I should be committed. After a few seconds of sheer shock, she said, “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Tell me why you’re here and what I can do to get you out of here.”
“Initially, I came because Ron invited me.”
“How do you know my future brother-in-law?”
“You don’t have a future brother-in-law because I’m an only child.” No matter her resistance, I needed to continue to hammer my point. She was taking no crap from me so I just kept talking. “Ron and I were college roommates.”
“But he’s older than you.”
“I went to college earlier than most people.”
“Whatever. Keep talking.”
I did as the bossy lady told me to do. “I’m here because my former roommate invited me, but now I’m here because I need to claim my future bride.”
“This is crazy, Nolan. I don’t know you. You don’t know me. We have nothing in common except Auntie Chloe and Uncle Michael. Even that is a stretch. You have to get it through your thick skull that you and I won’t work. We will not be getting married!”
“I know all this sounds bizarre, but all I’m asking for is a chance, Delilah. Once you get to know me, you’ll understand what I mean—we are meant to be together.”
“Nolan!” The scowl that followed my name was adorable. “Stop it! Stop this madness! We can’t work. We won’t work. It’s impossible.” What started as a demand ended up in a plea. “Nolan...please...you have to go. This is my engagement party. I’m going to be Mrs. Rhys Kent in two years. If you don’t leave, you’ll ruin our night and those men who are standing not too far away from us might hurt you. I don’t understand why you so fiercely believe we should be together, but I’ll assume it’s all done with a good heart. Thank you for considering me as your future spouse. Had you kept in touch, we might have worked out, but now, it’s too late. Can’t you understand...?” The desperation in her voice made me feel bad. I never wanted Delilah to be sad—especially not because of me.
“All right. I’ll leave under one condition.”
Her face lit up. As much as it pleased me to see her smile, it broke me to understand why. I hadn’t timed my life well. This was a huge step back, but I’d recover.
“Anything!” she answered with excitement.
“When do you get home?”
“In about a week, why?”
“When you do, you’ll give me six months to prove to you that I’m the man for you.”
“What? Why? How? When? Where?”
“What: I will court you.
Why: Because we were meant to be together.
How: By any means possible.
When: Anytime.
Where: Everywhere.
If you promise me six months, I’ll leave.”
She was about to say no, but she saw the male faction of her family walking toward us with menacing growls. Elizabeth walked over and tried to stop them; the posse wouldn’t be swayed. They’d reach us soon.
Delilah became incredibly anxious as the men neared. I could feel her fear. “Will you promise to treat me and respect me as a friend? Nothing inappropriate, if I say yes?” she asked all in one breath. I held out wondering if I should give in, but in the end, I didn’t like making her unhappy. Currently, she was very unhappy.
“All right. Let’s start off as friends.” What else could I do? I wanted her approval and smile. To both our great delights, we shook hands.
Delilah declared loudly, “Friends!” Before the men reached us, she pushed me toward my dad and pleaded that I keep our bargain.
To that, I answered, “I think it’s time for us to leave, Dad. Nice seeing you again, Chloe, Michael.”
A job well done, if I do say so myself.
Delilah: #WTF!
So...after that crazy interlude from one Nolan O’Shaughnessy, we went right back to partying the night away. I soothed all the ruffled feathers and the men enjoyed the night as much as the ladies.
I thought all was fine and dandy until the twenty questions began today, the very next day.
“Lilah, Rhys is here to see you,” Mom called.
It was a little early, but no matter. I was always happy to see my fiancé. “Hello, Handsome. What brings you to Belgravia at this hour? Have you had breakfast?”
“I was hoping we could talk privately. Do you mind taking a walk with me?” Rhys didn’t sound like his usual self. I knew we were in for a doozy of a conversation.
“Sure. Let me grab a jacket.” I told Mom what we were up to and left for our walk.
“Can you tell me why Nolan O’Shaughnessy believed you were to be his bride? At first, I thought you didn’t know him, but watching you talk to him in private, I wondered if you were hiding something.” WTF? Where had that come from?
“Hiding something?” I asked in complete surprise and utterly offended. “What exactly are you accusing me of, Rhys? Don’t beat around the bush. Just say it!” I demanded.
“Don’t be mad, Lilah. I’m frustrated with what happened last night, and still in the dark about your relationship with Nolan.”
“Mad? Frustrated? Relationship?” WTF?! Had he just said those words? I wanted to say too many words that shouldn’t be said between two people who love one another. “Why don’t we talk later when we’re not so emotional.” With that statement, I headed home.
“Wait! Lilah...” It took him two steps to overtake me and enfold me in his arms. “I’m sorry, but you must understand my frustration. Some guy not only invaded our joyous engagement, but he also kissed you. If that happened in reverse, what would you have done?”
“Beaten the hell out of the woman.” The answer came out with force and heat.
“You’re a gentle woman and you want to beat another person for a hypothetical scene. Imagine my anger when I saw another man holding you. No other person on earth has the right to be that intimate with you—only me.”
