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Lorelei led him to the door. Before they reached the door, Daniel turned back to face her, his expression congenial.
“Thank you for being so understanding. I look forward to working with you and seeing how you make Rhiannon come to life.” He smiled at her, a gentle, warm smile that reached down into her chest cavity and tugged at her heart strings. Without another word, he hurried toward his car. She wrinkled her nose as she watched him get in the driver’s seat and start the engine. Although his car was nice, it wasn’t exactly the type of car one might expect an extremely wealthy man to drive. She liked it though. It showed he was humble with regards to material things. Lorelei saw it as a sign that Daniel Donahue wasn’t all about the flash and the monetary possessions. Perhaps she was reading into things, but it fell in line with Micah and what she knew of his family and his fiancée, Faith. Daniel and Micah had been raised under the same roof and she knew Micah was a God fearing, good man.
Lorelei stood at the door well after Daniel had left her property. There was something roiling around inside of her that wouldn’t subside even though Daniel had left her house and property. Try as she might, Lorelei couldn’t put her finger on it. She went back inside and tried to busy herself with reading a book then washing her hair and calling her best friend. Even though she did a dozen things or more to divert herself she still felt unsettled. Then it dawned on her. She wrapped her arms around her middle to comfort herself from the surprising revelation. It was attraction. She had felt something for Daniel. Something she hadn’t felt for ages.
And she wanted nothing to do with it. Daniel Donahue was off limits. He wasn’t her type. He would soon be her boss. And he was Micah’s brother. Not to mention he was some kind of Jekyll and Hyde. This morning he’d been monstrous towards her whereas this afternoon he’d been full of charm and grace. Warning bells clanged in her head. Sirens blared.
No! No! No!
Normally, Lorelei could stave off feelings like this, but for some reason this time she hadn’t been able to block them, which troubled her even further. Romantic entanglements were always messy in Lorelei’s experience. She wasn’t yet at a comfortable place where she could trust and cherish a man.
She wanted and needed to take the job as Rhiannon but she would limit her interactions with the head of DD Studios. She wouldn’t allow herself to get pulled into his orbit. He probably had a girlfriend. Rich and talented men like Daniel Donahue always did.
**
Daniel drove back to DD Studios as if flying on wings. He felt as if all was right with the world. Tracking down Lorelei had been the right thing to do. Thankfully she had accepted his apologies and agreed to take on the role of Rhiannon. Excitement shot through him. Finally, after such a long time of dreaming of bringing this project to life, the wheels would soon be put in motion. He’d decided to call his project The Rhiannon Chronicles.
Rhiannon was a warrior who had been cast off as a child from her wealthy family due to a birth defect—missing and shortened fingers. During medieval times people often thought birth defects were a sign of evil and witchcraft. Rhiannon had been adopted by a fisherman and his wife and raised happily until her adoptive family had been murdered. Rhiannon is a seeker of justice.
Just thinking about the story of Rhiannon got Daniel’s creative juices flowing. He loved his work so much. He felt blessed each and every single day to be able to work in a field he loved. It was hard sometimes to connect his current day success with the young boy who had gazed out of school windows out of pure boredom. He’d come a long way since then! Daniel knew he hadn’t gotten here alone. God had been with him every step of the way, along with his fabulous parents.
When Daniel arrived back at his office he felt happy and satisfied. He’d messed up earlier with Lorelei, and through God’s grace and Lorelei’s kindness he had been able to rectify it. Things didn’t always go this smoothly for him. Daniel winced as he recollected several instances in his past where he had put his foot in his mouth or acted in a manner that was off putting for people. He wished that he was better with people. Social situations didn’t come easily to him. He sometimes just blurted things out without thinking. And sometimes even when he thought about things before he said them, people didn’t respond very well to him.
He let out a sigh as he walked into his office. Before he could even take a seat, his younger brother, Nash, burst through the door. At a solid six feet, Nash had classic good looks and a charm most couldn’t ignore. With a head full of dark brown hair and ice blue eyes, Nash was just as good looking as the rest of his brothers. Personality wise, Nash was laid back and a bit quiet. Some thought he was shy, but Daniel knew it wasn’t really true. Nash’s past still tormented him. The early years before he had been adopted by Jude and Penelope had left a lot of emotional scars. To this day, Daniel wasn’t entirely sure what Nash had endured with his birth parents, but he knew it had been profound. Perhaps Penelope and Jude had kept the details under wraps in order to protect Nash.
Daniel could still remember the way Nash had cried out at night when he had first come to live with them. They had been earth shattering screams the likes of which none of the Donahue family had ever heard before. He’d been unable to sleep without the lights on and there had been plenty of bedwetting incidents. Trauma. Daniel used to hear the word being whispered by his folks. He hadn’t really known what the word meant, but he had instinctively understood it wasn’t a good thing. Nash had been seriously mistreated.
“Hey there. Sorry I’m late,” Nash said as he walked in. He was out of breath and beads of sweat were gathered on his forehead.
“Late?” Daniel asked, casting a furtive glance at his desk calendar. Oops. It was sitting right there in bold red ink. Two o’clock meeting with Nash.
Nash pressed a hand against his chest. “You forgot about me? I’m wounded.”
Daniel let out a chuckle. “Don’t take it personally. It’s been quite a day already. I found my Rhiannon, but it could have ended disastrously. I dodged a bullet so to speak.”
“That’s great news.” Nash walked over and pulled him into a tight hug. Nash’s hugs were one of the things he loved the most about his brother. Most of his family members were demonstrative, and even though he indulged in these type of actions with his family members, Daniel wasn’t the most touchy-feely person. He watched as Nash settled into one of his comfy, over-sized leather chairs.
Daniel walked over to his full-sized fridge and opened it up, revealing all of his favorite sodas and juices. This was the dream of anyone who had ever grown up with a bunch of siblings. Easy access to his favorite drinks and snacks during work hours. He chuckled just thinking about growing up in the Donahue household and trying to make sure he got his fair share of
snacks and treats.
He also had a big bowl of cherries—his favorite fruit and sweet tasting snack, as well as a few other assorted snacks. He grabbed two Dr. Peppers, one for himself and the other for Nash, along with the bowl of cherries. He grabbed two napkins from a drawer then joined Nash in another leather chair adjacent to the one his brother was reclining in.
Nash’s eyes were closed and he appeared to be settling in for a snooze.
Daniel leaned in and prodded his brother by jostling his arm. Nash sat up straight in his chair. “What? Did I miss something?”
Daniel tried not to laugh. Poor Nash looked zoned out.
“Did you work late last night? You look wrecked.”
Nash made a face. “I wasn’t working, Daniel. I drove to Miami to meet up with a friend of mine who is knowledgeable about obtaining information about birth families.”
Daniel frowned. “You want to find your birth family?”
Nash nodded. “Yes. Are you surprised?”
“A bit. From what I’ve always heard there was a lot of abuse going on in your home. Why would you want to track them down?”
