Desire a Donovan. A.C. Arthur
fine with a capital F. He’s now CEO for one of the fastest-growing social-media sites, so he’s hella rich. He knows everyone that is anyone and he’s crazy about you.”
“And the cons?” Lyra asked hoping Regan could come up with more than Lyra had.
“Hmm.” She thought for a minute, her chin-length chestnut hair moving slightly as she tilted her head. “He drives a Hummer, which is by far one of the ugliest SUVs I’ve ever seen.”
Lyra erupted with laughter, which led to Regan doing the same until they were both almost in tears. Leave it to Regan to make her laugh when she was really down.
Taking a deep breath Lyra finally confided, “I just don’t know that I’m ready to marry him. Like, I know that one day I want to be married and to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams—or at least a man that I’m madly in love with. But I don’t know that it’s Mark. Do you understand that?”
Regan nodded. “I do. So what now? Are you going to tell him or go through with it because you think it’s the right thing to do? I know how you are. If you think you’re going against some unwritten rule or some nonsense, you’ll walk on hot coals or cut off your own hand.”
“Ever the drama queen,” Lyra said, just as her cell phone rang. She looked down at it and frowned. “It’s Mark.”
Regan nodded and stood. “And I’m leaving.”
“Go ahead and bail on me. That’s what you always do,” she whined.
“This is your pity party, and you’re about to be a runaway bride. You can catch me up later when we have dinner. I already made reservations for seven. Don’t be late, and change your clothes, please.”
Lyra waved Regan out of her office just as she answered the cell phone. “Hey, Mark.”
“Hey, sweetheart. Just wanted to check and see how everything was going on your first day.”
Mark was very considerate.
“Oh, it’s going fine. I was just meeting with Regan, going over the upcoming shoots and deadlines. I have to go to Friday’s game, and I’m doing a shoot tomorrow, so I’ll be pretty tied up this week,” she said, just in case he wanted to get together to talk about the wedding. For a guy, Mark was very excited about planning a big, lavish wedding. A little too excited.
“Okay. Well, I guess if you have to work. I wanted to go over to my parents’ and get started on some of the wedding plans.”
Lyra knew him like she knew each line in the palm of her hand. It wasn’t hard though, by the end of the month Mark’s new assistant would probably know him just as well. And yet she still felt closer to Dion.
“Sorry.”
“No, don’t be. I understand this is your career. But don’t make any plans for next Saturday. My mom wants us to come over for dinner.”
Lyra groaned. “The Donovans are having their annual Wish Upon a Star charity ball that Saturday. All the family is expected to be there.”
There was a pause on the phone, and Lyra knew that Mark was thinking she wasn’t really a member of the Donovan family, although he’d never say that to her. While they’d been in L.A., he’d constantly reminded her that the Donovans were not blood, that what Janean did was out of charity and that it was time she lived her life without clinging to them.
“You haven’t been there for the past ten years. I’m sure they won’t miss you for one more,” he argued.
“The difference is I’m staying in their house now. They’ll expect me to be there.”
“And that’s another thing. We can get an apartment until we find a house. You don’t have to stay with them.”
“I know that, Mark. I can get my own apartment for that matter. But it means a lot to Janean that I spend some time with them after being away for so long.”
“I’m starting to feel like your mother where the Donovans are concerned. It’s just not healthy the way they’re attached to you and you to them. You don’t belong.”
“And just where do I belong?” she asked, as the headache that had been a dull pain after her argument with Dion began to ramp up a notch.
“Calm down, sweetie. Listen to what I’m trying to say. You and I come from regular families who go out and work hard to make a way for themselves. We’re not from money and privilege.”
“But your salary just made you a millionaire before your thirtieth birthday. That doesn’t exactly make you a ‘regular’ guy.”
“That’s money I earned, Lyra. Not money that was given to me. It’s different. They’re different. And you shouldn’t spend your time trying to fit in with them.”
His words hurt, mainly because she’d been telling herself that most of her life. She knew the Donovans were different, knew that they weren’t part of her family. So she didn’t need Mark to remind her of that fact.
“Go to dinner at your mother’s on Saturday and give her my apologies. I won’t be there.”
“Wait,” Mark said hastily. “Don’t hang up angry. I don’t want us to fight, not about this anyway. I’ll take you to the charity ball, and on Sunday we’ll spend the day with my parents. Okay?”
Lyra was quiet. Her elbows were propped up on her desk and she began to wonder why she didn’t just end things with Mark. “Fine,” she said with a sigh. Because it was just like Dion had said, she needed to grow a backbone.
* * *
“What’s on your mind?” Sean asked the moment he stepped into Dion’s office and closed the door.
Dion looked up from his desk then stared down at the Rolex on his left wrist. “Meeting’s not for another fifteen minutes.”
Sean nodded walking closer to the desk and taking a seat in one of the guest chairs. “That’s why I came early to ask you what’s going on?”
Spreading his palms on the desk, it was apparent to Dion that Sean had something on his mind. He realized that he wasn’t going to get to finish reading the distribution reports he’d just received from Sean’s assistant.
“Why don’t you tell me what you think is going on, because I’m sure you have some little idea roaming around in that head of yours,” Dion said, sitting back in his chair and looking directly at his brother.
They were close, almost like twins but not. They even looked alike—they were both tall with slim, muscular builds, and they both had the same caramel complexion that their mother had. Sean was the studious brother with runway-model looks, a square jawline and a cleft chin, and dreamy eyes that girls loved to stare into. Dion almost laughed as he remembered back in high school girls said exactly that about his younger brother. On the other hand, he was the athletic one with rugged good looks and a bad-boy image that made him attractive to a totally different type of girl. Still, there was no denying that the Donovan men were just as attractive and just as unattainable as their cousins in Las Vegas.
“Lyra’s downstairs with Regan. I hear she’s got her assignments and plans on hitting the ground running.”
Dion rubbed his chin. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“It’s a very good thing for Infinity, since Lyra’s a phenomenal photographer. We’re more than lucky to have her on board, and it’s good for Lyra because I think she missed being around family.”
“So it’s a win-win all around.”
“I think you know that,” Sean suggested.
“Just spit it out, man,” Dion said.
“Okay, since you want me to spell it out,” Sean said with a frown. “Mom says she’s talking about getting married later in the year, to that internet