Impossible Tale of Nolan & Delilah Vol. 1

by Cee, DW

  “Are we through with you opening your wallet?” Ian, the good-natured one, quizzed. “I get that you have credit cards, but who’s paying for all this?” He pointed to my many newfound loves.

  “Did I not tell you about the huge advance I received for a three-book deal with the biggest book publisher?”

  “What the hell?” Ian looked to JR for an answer. He received an I-don’t-know shrug in return.

  By the time we arrived at Ian’s café, both cousins were caught up on my life. It wasn’t easy impressing two men whose lives could be chronicled for a TV series, but I had. That was the best start to this trip.

  Since JR and Ian practically grew up in New York, they knew tons of awesome places. The café Ian took us to had me bug-eyed the entire time. There were too many celebrities—actors, musicians, and models—to count. I spent more time ogling the stars than listening to the bands. From the little that I heard, they sounded good enough.

  That was my first night with the two cousins I love.

  The next day brought the four Reid siblings together. After hugs, handshakes, and more hugs, Ellie and I decided we’d let the boys do what boys do and go out for tea and more shopping.

  “I take it you’ve heard about John joining our possible business venture?” I asked Ellie over a blini topped with caviar and the Taj Hotel’s special tea blend.

  “Yeah,” she grumbled out loud, though it didn’t sound like a complaint to me. “Are you going to join Nolan? My involvement is purely contingent upon your involvement.”

  Shit. Was my cousin asking me to join so she could be with her ex? “Do you want me to join?”

  She quickly denied, “No. Not if you don’t want to. I don’t want to get you into trouble with Rhys. You do what works for you.” That was so not convincing.

  What the hell to do and say? “Will you give me some time to think about it? Rhys has told me that I cannot work with Nolan. Let me see if he might change his mind.”

  “What are your thoughts, Lilah?” Now, we were both onto the cucumber and smoked trout sandwich.

  “I’d be a dummy if I didn’t want this. This hair growth idea has been brewing in my brain since I saw my junior high school math teacher, Mr. Lockwood, losing his full head of hair at age twenty-five. As much of a complication as he is, Nolan is giving me an opportunity to save years and years of work and research. I want to join his team. More than me, Nicky wants us to merge. He’s been too nice to say anything, and if I wasn’t his cousin and this wasn’t my invention, Nicky would’ve jumped on Nolan’s wagon the moment Nolan presented the idea.”

  “Then go for it, Lilah. I can understand how important Rhys is to you, but why do you need to follow his dictate? He’s directing which way your life should go; I wouldn’t follow it.”

  “But he’s my fiancé, Ellie. We’re to be married in two years.”

  Glumly, my beautiful cousin said, “I know you are a lot farther off than John and I ever were, but I thought John and I would get married, too. He gave me this,” Ellie pulled out a band where the gold had been worn and muted with time. “He told me this belonged to his great-grandmother and that he wanted me to wear it as a promise ring until he could afford to buy me an engagement ring.”

  I was so sad for her. “El...you mean to tell me that your relationship had gone that far?”

  “It had, in every sense. I believed we were getting married. Look at us now. As if nothing mattered, he broke it off without much of an explanation. I’m not trying to come off as a naysayer, but you don’t know for certain where your relationship will end up until it finishes at the altar. Go and do what you want. Don’t let Rhys make you conform.”

  I heard very little of what Ellie had said. I could only focus on the visual. “Why do you still have the ring? Do you carry it in your pocket, daily?”

  “I’ve tried to give it back, but there hasn’t been a good time. Whenever I think I should approach John, his brother, James is with him, giving me the stink eye. I’ve texted and asked how I can return the ring; he’s yet to respond.”

  “So you keep it on a necklace, near your heart?” Elizabeth winced at my question.

  “Yeah. Silly of me, huh? I don’t want to let go of the false dream.”

  “Oh El...” I pushed the dessert portion of our tea tray toward her. “Let’s eat and enjoy ourselves.”

  While pigging out on all the goodies, I decided to help the sister of my heart. She deserved happiness. Since I was in a position to be of some aid, I’d do what I could.

  Nolan: “Duh, DUH, duh-duh, duh DUH, duh-duh, DAH-di-doooo—DAH di doooo...” ~Theme song from Mission Impossible

  My day started off with a BANG!

  I received the phone call that basically sealed the relationship deal with my Delilah. “Nolan?”

  “Hey, there, Delilah. What’s it like in New York City?” I sang those few lines.

  “Keep your day job, Nolan. You’d never cut it as a singer.” What a wonderful greeting.

  After snorting out my laughter I asked, “What’s going on?”

  “I’m calling for two reasons.”

  “Number one?”

  “When you come here on Saturday, bring John with you. I’ll talk to Grandpa Henry and make sure that he can have the weekend off.”

  “Done. Number two?”

  “I will work with you if you’ll find out for me why John broke up with Ellie.”

  “Damn, Delilah. That’s a tall order. How the hell am I to figure that one out?”

  “I’ve no idea, but I want to know if he’s worthy of a second chance with my cousin. She still loves him, but if he’s going to be a jerk to her, I don’t want them working together.”

  “They already work together, at the hospital.”

  “Not really, Nolan. They’re in two very different departments and on opposite wings. They may come across one another in the cafeteria, but if they wanted, it wouldn’t be hard for them not to see one another for weeks.”

  “So this is your challenge? I find out why John broke up with Ellie and you’ll join my team?”

  “Yes.”

  “Done!”

  “Good-bye.” Cheeky girl hung up on me after she had her say. Damn, I liked this girl.

  Since I chose to accept the mission, I was off. The hospital was my first stop.

  “Hello, Grandpa Henry.” The greeting was met with boisterous laughter—and not the good, encouraging kind, either.

  “Hello, beautiful mother. In my eyes, you’re as stunning as my mother. Is it already lunch time?”

  “Hello, Nolan. What brings you here, again?” My future mother-in-law asked with a wink.

  “Delilah’s sent me on a mission. I’m here to do her bidding.” Father and daughter laughed at me. “Have a wonderful lunch. I’ll visit soon.”

  “He’s as much of a fool as your husband was before you married him.” I heard Grandpa Henry joke. Dr. Taylor’s giggles were music to my ears.

  “Hey, John. Thanks for meeting me on short notice.”

  “No problem. What’s up? What was so urgent that you couldn’t wait until after work when I have more than thirty minutes?”

  Being the brave man that I was, I revealed my morning conversation with Delilah. I also explained my quandary, as well as my wish to help in any way.

  “Listen. We’re not trying to pry—at least not in the way you might be thinking. Delilah wants to know because she loves her cousin and doesn’t want to see her hurt any further. I want to know because I love Delilah and want to do everything I can to make her mine. I also want to see you and Elizabeth back together again if that’s what you both want. Please help me, and allow me to help you.”

  John hesitated for most of his lunch. I truly thought I’d leave without an answer. It was at the last minute when he caved, not so much for me, but for the woman he loved.

  “First, you can tell Delilah, but neither of you can tell Els, nor anyone else. It’ll stay a secret between the three of us.”

&n
bsp; “Done. Assuming you’re not plotting to harm Elizabeth Reid, I’m sure Delilah will agree.”

  “Second, I will talk because unburdening myself will help you and me, but you can’t expect us to get back together. It won’t happen. Don’t push me or Els. We can work side-by-side, but I don’t want there to be any uncomfortable coincidences created for our benefit. However, the masochist that I am, I want to be near my Els. She’s distanced herself from me and I hate it. I miss her smiles.”

  “Done.”

  John’s explanation almost put me to tears. Here was a man who truly loved the people in his life. There was no damn way I could be as unselfish as he’d proven to be. Poor John. Poor Elizabeth.

  “You promised.” There was a solemn warning with those two words.

  “I promise.” I agreed. “I also promised to bring you to New York with me tomorrow.”

  “What? I can’t go on such short notice.”

  I looked over to my future grandfather-in-law. John turned to my view as well. Grandpa Henry nodded. That was all he had to do and John was free for the weekend and two extra days beyond the weekend.

  Hot damn. This was going to be a terrific four days!

  Delilah: “I want your sex...” ~George Michael

  “My fair lady, how’s the Big Apple treating you?” Rhys had surprised me and come in a few hours earlier than expected.

  “Rhys!!!” I jumped into his arms. “I thought you weren’t getting in until mid-morning.”

  “I worked a little magic and hopped on an earlier flight. The caveat is that I need to be on my uncle’s timetable since I caught a ride on his plane. He’s heading back right after dinnertime.”

  I was bummed, but I knew he couldn’t stay the weekend. “Whatever. As long as you’re here. That’s all that matters. I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too. What have you been doing with your cousins?”

  “I assume one of them let you into his apartment?”

  “Yes. We’ve made casual introductions.”

  “Let’s get the three of you caught up with one another.”

  Rhys got along with JR and Ian just as well as he did with all my other cousins. It was in vain that I worried my cousins might say something wrong, namely Nolan O’Shaughnessy. Smart men that they are, they only helped my cause.

  “What shall we do today, my fair lady? I am at your disposal all day.”

  “How about we pretend we’re New Yorkers and have brunch? That’s such the thing to do here.”

  He chuckled. “It’s Friday, technically a workday. Do they do brunch on Fridays?”

  “Why don’t we go find out?”

  We left JR and Ian to their own devices and went to the Lower East Side to find a restaurant that would satisfy my desire to be a true city girl in Manhattan. Rhys found the perfect spot and we dined on champagne, eggs and lobster at eleven in the morning.

  “Tell me what you and your cousins have been up to.” So I did, not leaving out any details. “Tell me what’s on the agenda for the rest of the weekend and how long you’re planning on staying here.”

  This part was more difficult. Wavering back and forth, back and forth, I couldn’t decide whether Rhys needed to know that Nolan was coming in tomorrow. It wasn’t as though he was my guest. If it wasn’t for Nicky and whatever business the two of them would conduct, he wouldn’t have joined a Reid-family trip. Knowing he’d be here would only upset Rhys; I so hated upsetting him. We had about ten hours together. To waste that time arguing would be stupid. Really, really stupid.

  Making the wisest decision in this impossible situation, I told Rhys everything I’d done and would do, omitting only the parts concerning Nolan; that was such a small part, it was simply negligible.

  “What did you think of JR and Ian?” I changed subjects.

  “Like the rest of your cousins, they were cool, though not as straight forward as the rest of your cousins. I couldn’t quite figure out what JR did for a living and it’s surprising that Ian isn’t another doctor.”

  I giggled. “We’re kinda boring, huh?”

  “Over-achieving would be more like it. Tell me about your writing, my fair lady. How is that going?”

  “All I have is time these days so I’m well into the second book. My editors are looking over the first one and I’m making corrections as well. It’s a ridiculously fun way to spend my day.”

  “I can’t believe you have a three-book contract. One day, I’ll have to read them when they’re in print; I’m already incredibly proud.”

  That was so sweet. “I can give you a copy of the first book if you want a head start.”

  “I’ll wait, my fair lady. When the first book is out, I’ll be the first to purchase a hardcover-copy. Right now, I have more reading than I want.”

  Something about his refusal pricked. It wasn’t exactly a refusal, but I was hurt he wasn’t as interested as I would’ve been had the roles been reversed. It bugged, but I pushed it aside. Perhaps he wasn’t into fiction.

  “How about we go to the Met after our meal?”

  “Any chance we can head back to the apartment? Will it be occupied?” My fiancé had that look in his eyes, part feral, part bashful—if those could even be mentioned in the same sentence.

  It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in exploring sex with him. We’d be man and wife one day. Of course I wanted him in that same way. The biggest problem was fear. While on Reid Place, I’d grown up under an invisible lock and key. Dad, along with every male in the neighborhood, was a pit bull whenever a boy came around. I was stupid enough not to go away for college, so for twenty-two years of my life, Donovan Taylor was my puppet master.

  The fact that my older brothers were born seven-and-a-half months after my parents’ Christmas wedding wasn’t lost on me. I was also aware that my older brothers didn’t always come home when they used to live at home. They also had apartments where they were able to come and go as they pleased, with whomever they pleased and pleased them. Yep, I knew the inequalities of being a girl on our block, but it also made me feel secure.

  At this moment, with talk of heading back to the apartment, I wasn’t feeling too secure. “I’m pretty sure Ian and JR have their orders from my father to guard over me, Rhys. I’m sorry but we can’t head back there, at least not for the reasons you’re wanting.”

  “How about I get us a room at the Plaza? Or do you want something swankier and more modern? Whatever you want, my fair lady, I’ll provide. Let’s spend the rest of our day in bed, sipping champagne and loving each other.”

  “Absolutely not,” I answered a little too vehemently.

  The disappointment, maybe even some annoyance, was hard not to see. “All right, then...”

  Shit. Awkward...! How to right this wrong turn? “You want to go see a matinee? I’ve been dying to watch Hamilton. Could you spend your resources on tickets rather than a hotel room?” After a nervous chuckle I said, “Never mind. I can pay for two tickets. You want to watch it with me?”