***Thursday***
Jonathan and Jennifer spent every day together all week, till Thursday night. Both of their fast result tests came back clean, and he had been very diligent about protecting her since their lunch date.
"What does your weekend look like?"
"Well, I'm on vacation next week. So, I was thinking I might go up to Boston or fly down to Miami and just relax in the sun and come back Monday or Tuesday".
"Perfect. What if instead of Boston or Miami, you came to LA with me?"
She nodded.
"Ok, I'll be back in the morning. We can fly to LA whenever you get off work, and then next week, we can fly back here together".
"Perfect. I'll be packed and ready".
She gave him several long kisses and held him close.
"It's going to be so weird sleeping without you tonight".
"I know. It's going to be so weird to get a full night's sleep".
"I can't help it, darling. You are just so irresistible".
"I don't ever want you to resist me".
A few kisses later, he was headed to the airport and she was headed to bed.
2 hours later, her phone was ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hi beautiful".
"Hi handsome".
"I can't go to sleep without telling you goodnight".
"I'm so glad. I love telling you goodnight too".
"I'll see you tomorrow night, baby".
"I can't wait."
She blew him a kiss and they hung up.
***Friday***
He came to the apartment at 6 and they headed to the airport. She decided not to ask him about Kristin, the less they thought of her the better.
"What airline are we flying? And let me reimburse you for my ticket, how much do I owe you?"
"You don't owe me anything. And we aren't taking an airline, we are taking my private plane".
"You own your own plane?"
"Yes, actually. It's nice, big, and private".
She leaned over and kissed him.
"Good".
"It's about a 6 hour flight to LA, so I ordered dinner for us and it's waiting on the plane".
"How sweet".
They pulled up next to his plane at the airport and got out. He helped her out of the car and they climbed up the steps.
Jack came out of the cockpit.
"Hey Jack, this is Jennifer Edwards. Jennifer, this is Jack Carter, the best pilot in the business".
"Hi, nice to meet you. Thank you for flying us tonight".
"My pleasure, ma'am".
He gave her a quick tour of the plane and then they sat down and got buckled.
As soon as they leveled off, he got up and got their dinner ready.
"I ordered you the grilled chicken breast and steamed veggies and a side salad from Montero's. If you don't like it, we can get something else when we get to LA".
"I'm sure it will be fine. It was so thoughtful of you to get us dinner".
He brought her plate to her and a silverware packet, and a bottle of water.
"Thank you, darling".
He sat down next to her and they ate dinner and he told her all about his house.
"Do you live alone?"
"No, I have a houseman. He's the only family I've ever known, really. He lives with me and works for me, and his name is Max".
"Is he your uncle?"
"He's more like my dad. I never knew my parents, that I remember anyways. They died when I was 2, and I was sent to live at the Mission Street Orphanage in San Francisco. Max befriended me when I was 12, and he basically took me under his wing. He's my dad in every sense of the word but legally".
"That's so sweet".
"He's a good guy. He loves to play poker and bet on horses, hell, he loves to bet on anything, really. And I know one thing for sure: he is going to love you".
"You think so?"
"I know so. What's not to love?"
"Awww… you're so romantic".
She kissed him a few times and then kicked her shoes off and curled up next to him and put her head on his shoulder.
He reclined their seats and they relaxed together for the rest of the flight.
"So, you told me that your mother passed away. Is your father still living?"
"Yes, he is. He has a home in Maryland, where I was born and raised, and he has an apartment in London, one in France, and one in Germany. He works at different art galleries throughout the year in those places. Not so much London anymore, but still France and Germany".
"That's interesting. I have an art dealer that I deal with in France when I'm there".
"Oh? Who is it?"
"Stephen Edwards".
Jennifer smiled.
"That's my father".
"Are you serious?"
She nodded.
"Small world. He's a very smart man, and one of the few art dealers I trust".
"I appreciate that".
They chatted about her upbringing and things she liked to do and things he liked to do and before they knew it, they were landing in LA.
She gathered her things and they headed down the steps.
He had called and Max and told him to leave a car for him, and he walked her to it.
He took her bag and put it in the backseat and then opened the door for her.
"Thank you".
As they drove to the house, she laced her fingers through his.
"Darling, did you ever bring anyone else from New York here to meet Max?"
"One time. And it didn't go well. They were arguing after about 10 minutes".
"Imagine that".
He pulled them up to the house and parked.
"This is it. 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a den, kitchen, and dining room plus a nice backyard with a patio".
He walked around and opened the door for her.
"Thank you".
He grabbed their bags and walked her inside and placed their bags by the steps.
"Max, you home?"
"In here, Mr. H."
They walked into the kitchen.
"Hey Max".
"Hey, Mr. H."
"Max, this is Jennifer Edwards. Jennifer, this is Max Brennan. Jennifer will be staying with us for the next few days".
"Hi, it's so nice to meet you".
"Lovely to meet you, Miss Edwards".
Jennifer ran her hand up and down Jonathan's back.
"I made dinner-you two hungry?"
"What did you make?"
"Chicken parmesan and grilled veggies".
"Sure, we can eat".
"Can we help you get it together?"
"No thank you, Miss Edwards."
"I'll give you a tour of the house while Max gets it ready".
"Alright".
He led her to the living room.
"This is the living room. Max's room is over in that corner. He has a master suite-room, large closet, and his own bathroom. Dining room is through there. We hardly ever use it though. The eat-in kitchen is more than plenty."
He took her hand and led her upstairs.
"Up here is my room and the guest room and guest bathroom."
His room had the typical bachelor pad feel-dark colors, not a lot of furniture. Just a bed, dresser, tv mounted on the bed, and a nightstand.
He showed her the bathroom.
"I have a shower stall and a tub, but this tub doesn't work. The tub down the hall does, though".
"I see".
He showed her the guest room and then they headed downstairs.
Max had everything all ready, so they sat down and ate. Jonathan lit them some candles and poured them some wine.
After a nice dinner, they headed upstairs to bed.
"We will probably sleep late in the morning, Max. So don't feel like you have to make us a big breakfast".
"You got it, Mr. H."
"Thank you for a lovely dinner, Max".
Jennifer leaned forward and hugged him and kissed his cheek.
"You're welcome, Miss Edwards."
"Goodnight".
"Goodnight".
"Goodnight, you two".
He carried their bags upstairs and into his room.
He set hers on the bed and got out a luggage rack for her from the closet.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
"Tomorrow, how would you feel about me taking you to spend a day on the water?"
"I would love it".
"Great, then we will do just that".
She kissed him and then unzipped her suitcase.
"If you want to hang something up, I can make space in the closet for you".
"That would be great, thanks".
He went and shoved all his stuff to one side and then grabbed some empty hangers and handed them to her.
She quickly hung up her clothes and handed them to him and he hung them in the closet.
She grabbed a nightgown and put it on and then stepped into the bathroom to brush her hair.
She came and climbed into bed a few minutes later and settled into his arms like she had done all week. His bed was at least twice the size of hers, which made it easier for them to cuddle without feeling like they had to hang on for dear life.
"I'm so glad you are here with me".
"I'm so glad that we are together, darling".
They made mad, passionate love to each other and then fell asleep.
***Saturday***
They woke up around 9, and got ready to go on the boat. They went downstairs and packed a cooler of snacks and drinks to take with them, and a bag of towels and sunscreen.
"We'll be back sometime tonight, Max. We will pick up dinner on our way home".
"Have fun. Be careful!"
Jennifer hugged him goodbye and they headed out.
He drove her down to the harbor, and pointed out some sights along the way.
He pulled them up to the harbor, and parked in front of the walkway.
He carried the cooler, while she carried their bag of towels. He took her hand and led her to the boat.
"This is it. This is my first baby. This is the Dealbreaker".
"The dealbreaker?"
"Yes. I was dating this lady, and she hated how much time I spent on my boat and she told me that it was a dealbreaker, if I didn't start spending more time with her. So, I named it dealbreaker and I dumped her".
"I see".
They got settled and he showed her where the stowaway container was, and where the life jackets were, just in case they needed them.
She helped him untie the boat and once he got it started, and he got them away from the marina and out into the open water, she went and stood behind him as he steered them out into the bay.
He gave her several kisses as he navigated them through the channel and into the bay. He drove them out about 45 minutes and then anchored them.
He came and relaxed next to her on the bench seat.
She dug out the sunscreen and started putting it on her arms and legs.
She took her cover up off, revealing a bright purple string bikini.
"Darling, would you mind getting my back please?"
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
"I'll do yours if you do mine".
"Deal".
He put on a liberal amount of sunscreen on her shoulders and rubbed it in all over her back. He went under the straps like she told him to. It felt more like a massage than anything, and Jennifer was loving it.
After he got her sunscreen all rubbed in, they switched. He pulled his t-shirt off and she started rubbing sunscreen in all over his back and shoulders and the back of his neck.
"Darling, you have a knot in your neck, right here where it meets your shoulder. Do you feel that?"
"Yeah, it's alright. It happens when I'm stressed, that's all".
She rubbed it a few minutes and it actually appeared to shrink a little.
She reached around and rubbed some sunscreen in on his chest some and then did his ears.
He did his arms and legs and then they stretched out and enjoyed laying together in the sun.
They ended up falling asleep in the sun for a few hours, and only woke up when a couple jet skiers flew past them.
Jonathan went to the cooler and got out some of their snacks.
Jennifer made them plates and Jonathan opened the wine they had brought and they sat up and ate. Jennifer fed him a bite of the smoked salmon and he fed her a bell pepper dipped in hummus.
After they were done eating, she cleaned it all up and put it away and got them each a fresh water bottle.
They decided to get in and swim for about an hour, and enjoyed diving in and jumping off the boat.
After they were out of the water and were drying off, he sat down and then pulled her onto his lap.
She wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"What is it?"
"Darling, I just want to tell you something. I'm a pretty famous man out here, in California. And that's ok. It is what it is. And there are things that come along with that, whether I want them to or not. One of those things is the ever constant focus into my love life. And I have this reputation of sorts, for dating women who, shall we say, aren't that smart, or are only interested in me for the media status. Plainly put, I've had a lot of first dates, and not a lot of second dates. I admit, I've been somewhat of a ladies' man, in the past. I've had a lot of relationships that were strictly physical. And even though some people aren't who I know I want to spend my life with, I will still spend time with them just so that I'm not alone. I'm not saying it's right, but I am saying it's what has happened. Now, I said all of that to say this-you are the one that changed that for me. You are the one that I can finally see myself being with when I'm 90. I'm so thankful that I met you and I can't imagine being anymore in love with you than I am right now".
He leaned up and kissed her.
She was taken aback.
"You love me? Like love me, love me?"
"I love you love you".
"Jonathan, are you sure?"
"I'm 100% positive".
"I…..I….."
"It's ok, just say whatever it is".
"I love you too".
