by Cee, DW
“Make your choice and let me know. I won’t be waiting, so choose wisely and quickly.”
Damn. Damn. Damn. Fuck!
Nolan: I...mpossible (Part 2)
I left the restaurant with a heavy heart and an empty stomach. After years of friendship with Cam, I couldn’t salvage anything. She was demanding all or nothing. I wasn’t ready to give either.
Arriving at Reid Place, I decided to put on a smile and stop worrying. I’d figure something out.
“Hey, Nolan.”
“John.” I didn’t know why I was so surprised to see him here. I supposed he had just as much right to be at this party as I had.
John sensed the questioning and answered, “James invited me on behalf of Jacob.”
“Or maybe on behalf of his twin sister?”
“Maybe...”
“How’s it going with Ellie?”
“It’s not.”
What? “I thought all was going well in New York. What happened?”
“Life happened. We’re back to reality and back to status quo.”
“Explain that to me, John. Last I left you two, you were practically back together. I don’t understand.”
John answered, “All I can say is that we don’t have a future together. As much as I’d like a relationship, it’s nearly impossible. I’ve told you why, Nolan. Please don’t make me rehash the pain.” If that wasn’t the answer to end all answers, he added, “Plus, James received an offer at Mass General so we might be moving by the end of summer.”
“Wait! What the hell? I assume when you say James, you’re talking about your twin James, and not Ellie’s twin, James?” He nodded in the affirmative. “You’re going to leave Ellie at Reid Place and move away to Boston? How can you do that? Don’t you love her?” Were my questions too invasive? It wasn’t as though we were best friends or anything.
Sadly, he answered, “There are times in life, I’ve learned, when you have to take unwanted actions for the sake of others.”
“Wha, what?” Why was this guy always so cryptic? “Details?”
“No details, Nolan. I’m basically here to wish Jacob a happy birthday and to tell Ellie that I will soon be out of her hair.”
I could’ve been totally imagining this, but I swore I saw tears in his eyes before he turned toward the house. “But John—” He didn’t look back. He marched in with determination.
“Why’re you out here when Lilah’s in there?” Nicky tapped me out of my stupor.
“Hey, Nicky. I’m just dazed from all that’s happened to me today.”
With an easy grin he said, “It’s only two o’clock, Nolan. How much could’ve happened?”
To me, this was an invitation to spill my guts and cry over an imaginary pint of ale. At times, my friend appeared uncomfortable listening to my spiel. At other times, he outright laughed in my face.
“How about I give you some good news?”
“Hell yes. Sock it to me.”
“Regardless of my cousin, I’m in. I’ll join your efforts.” When I was silent for too long, he laughed loudly and said, “I take it that you don’t give a damn if I’m in. All you want is my cousin to be in.”
“No. No. That’s great news. Hopefully you can convince Delilah to join, but as you can see, if I choose to explore something with Cam, then I won’t be able to work with Delilah, regardless.”
Nicky’s eyes bugged out as he asked, “You’re considering hooking up with Cammie? What about your undying love for my cousin?”
“I don’t know what the hell I’m to do, Nicky. Cammie and I have a perfect friendship. I never thought of her as anything but a friend, but I can’t say I’m not intrigued by her proposal. If we were to start a relationship, it’d be nothing short of ideal.”
“What about my cousin?”
“Your cousin is the star of my dreams, but I wonder if that’s all they are—dreams. Perhaps I made an error in judgment by continuing to believe that a kindergarten crush equated love. Maybe I should let go of my pipe dreams and return to reality? I’ve been causing a ruckus for no reason—maybe?”
“You’re giving up that easily? I don’t know anything, first hand, about love and relationships, but from what I’ve heard from the couples on this block, no one had it easy. I’m not supposed to tell you this but secretly, we’re all rooting for you.”
“Yeah?” That was a huge, surprising, ego boost. “You all like me that much?”
Nicky chuckled. “Well, I like you that much, I suppose.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“What it means is that the rest of the family doesn’t want Lilah to move away to England. It’s not so much you, but your proximity that puts you on the top of their lists.”
I was mildly offended. “So it could be anybody vying for Delilah’s hand, as long as they live in LA? Not even an Orange County or San Diego guy will do?”
“I guess.” Now Nicky was in full laughter mode. “Hey, don’t look at me that way. It’s not me who makes up these silly-ass rules.”
“You haven’t made this decision process any easier, Nicky.”
“Sorry, Man. Why don’t you go in and talk to my cousin and see what she says? Tell her the offer you have on your table and maybe she’ll switch seats?”
“You think it’ll be that easy?”
“Hell no. But what do you have to lose? You’re already going to lose one woman or the other.”
“You’re right. I’m a loser either way. I might as well go into that backyard with a smile.”
That was when I rushed into the party, spotted my woman, yelled out “Delilah!” and dove into the pool straight for her.
Nolan: I...mpossible (Part 3)
I popped up from the pool, gave her a “Hey there, Delilah,” and stole a kiss from her.
Then, all hell broke loose!
Within seconds of that kiss, a large body practically cannonballed into the pool, jumped up in my face and swung his giant fist at me. Instantly, I was knocked back into the water, taking Delilah with me since my arms hadn’t quite loosened after the kiss.
“Nolan! Nolan!” I heard Delilah yell, the guy with the big fist growled, women screamed, and men rushed our vicinity—it was utter chaos in the pool. “What the hell is the matter with you?” Delilah was yelling at Rhys when I came to. What was he doing here and when had he come?
“He kissed you!” Rhys yelled back.
“So what?! You don’t go around hitting people like that, Rhys. You could’ve really hurt Nolan, not to mention me, your fiancée. Did you not notice that I was right next to him?”
“I’m just sorry I didn’t really hurt him.”
I had to protect my Delilah before this Rhys got even more violent. “Hey. What you did wasn’t cool. You might have hit Delilah, instead of me, thanks to your outburst.”
Those words riled him up even further. Delilah’s twin brothers held back each arm. “You asshole! Lilah is engaged to be married to me. I’d never hurt her. You’re the one I’d put six-feet under if I could.”
“You could’ve fooled me with the way you swung your arm without a thought for Delilah’s safety. You’re the asshole for putting her in danger. You don’t deserve her with that foul temper of yours.”
“Fuck you! You have no right to hang around my woman. You have no right to think of her as anything but an acquaintance. And you have no damn right to kiss her. You have absolutely no claim on her.”
“Can’t take a little competition?” I taunted. “If you’re so insecure, why don’t you give up already? What Delilah and I have is none of your damn business.”
“Say that again, to my face, without using my fiancée to protect your sorry ass.” He returned the taunt.
Sweet Delilah was in front of me trying to protect me from that man she’d engaged herself to—it was adorable, but unnecessary. I could defend myself as well as my woman’s honor.
“Let’s get out of the pool and take care of this,” I challenged.
&
nbsp; “Boys!” Dr. Taylor hollered. “You’re ruining our party and it’s pissing me off. Get your asses out of the pool, dry yourselves off and come into the pool house. We need to get this resolved once and for all!” Delilah’s mother was unhappy.
Hoping to get on her better side, I quickly did as Dr. Taylor had commanded. I saw Rhys attempting to talk to an angry Delilah while drying himself off. It was like watching a good comedy as he begged her to talk to him.
“Lilah, you know I wouldn’t have hurt you. I knew what I was doing. You were never in any danger from my fist,” was his stupid-ass explanation.
“What I don’t like is your temper. It sets off too easily, Rhys.”
“What was I to do when I saw another man kissing you? I can’t believe I’m in the doghouse for defending us from that bastard. Why aren’t you on my side? You’re my fiancée. You’re supposed to be with me through thick and thin.”
“I am with you, Rhys, but I don’t like what I see.”
“But you do like what you see in Nolan?” If I didn’t think Delilah would be in a worse situation, I would’ve laughed out loud at Rhys Kent. What a fool.
“Boys!” The holler came from the pool house.
The three of us hightailed it into the room, coming face to face with two angry parents and three even angrier brothers—if that was even possible.
“We should’ve kicked your ass back in London, Nolan.”
“What? But Henry—it wasn’t my fault. This jerk punched me.”
“Neither one of you jokers deserves our sister.” Scottie announced while throwing an ice pack at me. “Put that on there before the swelling gets worse.”
“Thanks, Scottie.”
“When my parents are done with you, we’d like a word as well.” Henry spoke, Scottie and DJ agreed with a nod and left the room. This situation went from bad to worse to worst.
Just in case I survived round one, the Taylor men would make sure they’d bury me alive in round two. What was I thinking? Maybe Cammie was the better, easier choice.
Delaney Reid Taylor: I...n love (Part 1)
“Rhys, you owe Nolan an apology.” I hated sounding like a harpy, especially in front of the man who was to be my future son-in-law.
“But—”
“An apology! You can’t go around beating up a man because he did something you didn’t like.” Damn—still a shrew. I saw my husband’s oh-so slightly upturned lips. He was quietly smirking at me.
Another oh-so silent smirk I saw was on Nolan’s lips. If he thought Rhys was the only one on my shit list, he was sadly mistaken. By the end of my tirade, I’d ream both boys for making my girl’s life miserable—though she was no innocent bystander. She’d have her day on the stand, too.
“I’m sorry.” Rhys grumbled.
“Nolan—it’s your turn to apologize to both Rhys and Delilah. Stealing a kiss from our daughter wasn’t right, regardless of your feelings for her.” The look on this kid’s face was priceless. Mr. Genius thought he was safe. Little did he know that I was only just beginning.
Per his usual bright self, he didn’t argue. He, too, mumbled, “I’m sorry” to Rhys and Delilah.
“Now—” I barked out, “I want all this nonsense to stop. I’ll give each of you a chance to say your piece, then I want you,” I looked dead-on at my daughter, “to put an end to all this.” I couldn’t believe how my own daughter had the gall to look innocent—as if she wasn’t the instigator in all this nuttiness. That cheekiness definitely came from the Taylor side of the family. We, Reids, owned up to our mistakes and faults. We didn’t cover them up with cute expressions.
“I know what you’re thinking, Princess. No, it’s not a Taylor trait. If I recall, you looked just like our daughter when I accused you of playing both Michael and me,” my dear husband whispered then kissed me by my ear.
“Shut up, Donovan. This is no time to stroll down memory lane,” I whispered back. “We need to take this issue at hand and squash it.”
“Be my guest.” All his kisses threw off my groove and I needed to find order again before these three thought they were excused.
Pushing my husband away was no easy feat. When the loving was done, I asked, “Who wants to go first?”
Rhys and Nolan spoke at the same time. When I gave them both the stink eye, Nolan stepped back and allowed Rhys to have his say.
“I am Lilah’s fiancé. We are pledged to be married. I shouldn’t have to justify my actions to protect my fiancée from predators like this guy.”
“Where the hell do you get off calling me a predator?” Nolan fought back. “Delilah and I are friends, good friends, and I was invited to attend the birthday party by the birthday girl, herself.”
“Is that true?” Rhys asked. Delilah nodded her head yes. “Why? Why would you invite him?”
“He’s become a friend, Rhys. It’s nothing more, nothing less.”
“Truly?” Both men asked—Rhys with relief, Nolan with sadness.
“Nolan,” our Lilah addressed the man whom I believed was the front runner, but was receiving the consolation prize speech, “I’ve grown to like you as a friend, very much so.”
“But...”
“But, that’s who you are to me, a friend...”
“Truly, Delilah? Am I just a friend to you?” There was something about this Nolan O’Shaughnessy that spoke to me. Though I’d be fine with Rhys as my son-in-law, I was rooting for Nolan. I think deep down, my daughter knew who she’d end up marrying. It might take a while for her to understand, but when she got there, she’d end up as happy as I’d been with Donovan.
Speaking of, my husband leaned over and said, “You have a look of love and heartbreak on your face, Princess. You’re sending the wrong vibes to the man who’s already won our daughter’s heart.”
“Which man is that?” I asked in secret.
“Touché.”
“What do we do, Donovan?”
“Absolutely nothing, Delaney. This is her battle, not ours.”
“But—”
My husband wouldn’t allow me to continue. Instead, he decided it was his turn to talk.
Donovan Taylor: I...n love (Part 2)
“You, three, are keeping us from celebrating with the rest of our family. I have three other children out there, along with the rest of the family, worrying about what’s going on in here. Can we come to a resolution—and quick? I’ve yet to have lunch.” I knew those weren’t the most sensitive words to say to my daughter, but I wanted to break up this tense moment for her. She was at a loss for words where this Nolan kid was concerned.
“I want to hear the words from you one last time, Delilah. Will I ever be anything more than a friend to you?” he pressed.
My daughter was on the verge of tears. In the course of a few weeks, I guess she’d formed an attachment to this boy. I knew she shouldn’t have rushed into a relationship with Rhys. No different than her mother, our daughter fell in love in London. However, our story would live on forever. I wasn’t so sure about our daughter’s story.
