Page 2 of Taming His Honeydoll
“It’s complicated, Oliver. It’s not just Henry, we’ve both decided we just aren’t working. His parents are going back to London where they are originally from, and he intends to go with them.”
Oliver’s eyes widened in incredulous disbelief. “And what about Levi? Is he just going to abandon his son? This is ridiculous!”
Emma fidgeted restlessly, wishing he would back off. Her brother had always been overpowering, bigger than life, and she’d always failed to please him. “We are working that out,” she replied in an evasive tone. “I’ll have full custody, but he’ll fly us over there to visit and he’ll also come back here to visit. I think it’s really great of him to allow me to keep full custody of Levi myself,” she retorted. “Besides, it’s really between us.”
Feeling at a distinct disadvantage with him towering over her, she walked to the window and stared out. The veterinarian practice Oliver was a partner in was growing; new construction was going on outside to add another section to the original building. He’d worked hard to become the success that he was, but he was still too up in her business as far as she was concerned. That was a problem for her.
If Oliver were to find out that Levi didn’t belong to Henry, he would be all over her to know who the real father was. As much as she loved her big brother, he was too much of a father figure at times. Their father had died in Oliver’s senior year at Revere High and she’d only been ten years old at the time. Ever since then, he’d taken that male parental role further than she’d liked. In fact, she’d resented it—a lot. It hadn’t stopped him though. Sometimes she wondered how her sister-in-law Marsha put up with his dominant, overprotective personality.
“Do I need to have a talk with him?” Oliver rested his butt against the edge of his desk as he studied her.
The growly tones brought Emma out of her reverie. “No, god no,” she sputtered, turning to face him again. “He’s not like you—you’d probably freak him out. Besides, I can take care of my own business, big brother. I don’t need you to save me,” she mocked.
“Maybe he needs to be freaked out—sounds like he needs a wake-up call. How can he run out on you and Levi like this? The man has responsibilities for Pete’s sake,” Oliver gritted the words through clenched teeth, his eyes blazing.
Emma’s temper flared. “I’m not a responsibility if I don’t want to live with him either,” she retorted defensively. “And Levi is both our responsibilities, not just his. Besides, he isn’t forgetting about Levi—we are making plans together to cover all that. We are just done with being married.”
“Uncle Ollie!” The childish voice squealed in delight as the subject of their discussion came rushing into the room followed by Oliver’s wife, Marsha. Emma let her breath out in a whoosh, thankful for the reprieve. Her little bundle of joy was so beautiful with white-gold curls and big blue eyes. He resembled Henry closely enough that no one questioned his parentage.
“Levi,” Marsha protested with a laugh as she caught him by the arm and picked him up. “I’m sorry, he got away from me,” she said to Emma, her eyes darting between her husband and her sister-in-law in the tense atmosphere.
Emma rushed to take Levi but Oliver scooped him out of his wife’s arms and set him on his shoulders. “Hey, buddy.”
Levi laughed in delight and patted Oliver’s head. then hugged his uncle around the neck in a tight squeeze.
“Arrghh,” Oliver gurgled, pretending to be choking, then reached up to tickle his nephew.
“It’s okay, Marsha,” Emma assured her, deciding to make her escape. “I’ve told Oliver my news anyway,” she added quickly. “I have a meeting to get to, so I’ll take Levi to the babysitter. Oliver can fill you in.”
“This discussion isn’t over,” Oliver warned as he handed Levi to her.
“It is for me,” Emma replied, chin up. “Later!”
Oliver watched his sister out of sight while Marsha slipped her arm around his waist and finger waved to Levi hanging over his mother’s shoulder. “That girl is hiding something,” he growled in exasperation.
“You think?” Marsha grabbed his gaze with a mocking glance. “She’s been hiding something for years. Ever since she got married so suddenly. What’s she up to now?”
“Watch it,” he replied with a slap to her behind. He turned to face her and dropped a kiss on her pouty bottom lip. “She and Henry are getting a divorce and he’s moving to London.”
Marsha leaned back, her mouth dropping into a round circle of surprise. “You’re kidding! What’s going on with their marriage? What about Levi? How can he do that?” She sputtered.
Oliver ran his fingers through his auburn waves. “You know as much as I do right now. She’s getting full custody and they are making visiting arrangements with Levi from time to time. That’s it—that’s all she told me.”
“Wow, I never saw that coming,” Marsha murmured, glancing out the window where Emma was putting Levi in his booster seat.
When she and Oliver had married, she’d thought a close relationship would develop between her and Emma. Especially when Emma had mentioned a guy interest from college named Sawyer. She’d been shy and hesitant, but her eyes had been shiny and hopeful, and Marsha had suspected she might be in love.
Three months later on spring break, Emma had come home planning her wedding to Henry James Brassington the second. After that, they’d rarely seen or spoke with her until Levi was born. She’d never mentioned Sawyer again except when Marsha had asked about him once. She’d simply dropped her head and said he’d never made the cut and he wasn’t worth talking about. Marsha had taken the hint and left it alone.
Getting close to Emma after that was a distant dream, but Marsha was sure the girl had suffered heartache. When she’d gotten pregnant immediately after her marriage, Emma had become very busy with school, her pregnancy and her husband. They rarely saw either of them.
“Yeah, me either,” Oliver replied with a sigh. “Although, I never got the impression that Emma was head over heels about Henry. I’d hoped for more than that for her, but he was her choice, so I respected that. I just wish he wasn’t leaving Levi behind. That I can’t condone and my respect for him just went down several notches,” he growled.
Marsha hesitated and then decided now was a good time to give him her news. She’d intended to wait and tell him over a candlelit dinner at home with all the trimmings, but she felt like he needed the boost now. “Well, I have something else for you to concentrate on, my love,” she said softly, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing him on the chin.
Oliver wrapped his long arms around her, always ready and willing for affection from his wife. “And what might that be?”
“I have someone waiting to meet you to celebrate Christmas together.” She took one of his hands and placed it on her abdomen, then giggled at his expression as the light bulb went off and his green eyes opened wide.
