Before they could discuss it further, there was a knock at the door.
Jonathan went to answer it and found a bunch of his friends on the other side.
"Hi, come on in".
Several people came through the door.
"We just came to congratulate you on being named Bachelor of the Month".
"Thanks".
He turned and saw Jennifer standing in the doorway.
"Darling, come here. I want to introduce you to some people. Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Jennifer Edwards. Darling, this is Dr. Susan Kendall, her husband Drew, Laura Walters, her husband James, and one of my old Navy buddies Bill MacDowell".
"Hi, it's lovely to meet all of you".
"So, Jonathan, how are you bachelor of the month if you have a girlfriend?"
"Well, I gave that interview to them a few months ago. And we never spoke about me being named Bachelor of the Month. And they are about to be sued because they published my address without my permission."
They all sat around chatting for about an hour and then Jennifer got up to go to the bathroom.
"I'll be right back".
As soon as she was out of earshot, they started telling her how sweet she was.
"We love her, she's adorable. Keep her".
"She has brains, unlike the others you have dated".
"She's a keeper, Valentine".
"Yeah, I think so too. She actually just moved in here yesterday. Her stuff arrived today".
"Great timing".
Jennifer came out and joined him.
"Ok ladies. Where is the best place to get my nails done? And I'm in desperate need of a haircut".
"Ok, that's easy-Fingertips on Wilshire is my favorite. And I love Barry's Hotheads Salon on Alameda".
"I second that. Barry is the best".
"Great, thank you. I'll have to give him a call".
"I feel like I know you. Are you the same Jennifer Edwards that writes for The New York Times?"
"I am. I no longer write for them, but I did write for them for almost 7 years".
"I have to tell you, I have read almost every article of yours. You are the best writer that they ever had. Are you writing here in Los Angeles?"
"Thank you. Yes, I'm writing freelance for the moment and at some point, I want to write a book".
"You are so talented".
"Thank you very much".
Everyone in the room could see that Jonathan and Jennifer were made for each other.
Jennifer started having a coughing fit, so she excused herself to the bedroom.
A few minutes later, Jonathan saw everyone out and then went to check on her.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine. I just had a little coughing spell, that's all".
She had slipped a nightgown on and was getting into bed.
"How about some water?"
"Please".
He went and got both of them a glass of water and came back.
"Thank you, darling".
He went and changed and climbed into bed with her.
"Want to watch a movie?"
"Sure".
She nestled back against him and laced her fingers through his while he searched for a movie for them to watch.
They couldn't find one so they just turned the tv off.
She reached over and grabbed a notepad and started making a list.
"I think I'm going to go grocery shopping tomorrow."
He leaned over and started kissing her arm.
"Darling, what's your favorite thing to keep in the house?"
"You".
"That's sweet. I meant food wise".
"Can't go wrong with steak or bacon, baby".
She was jotting down all kinds of things.
He was starting to get handsy.
"Max wants bread and ice cream. I want veggies and fresh fruit. Is there something you want?"
"Yes, actually".
He grabbed the pen and the notepad and wrote "Sex" at the bottom of the list.
"Jonathan, be serious!"
"I'm being serious. Darling, Max does the grocery shopping and he does a great job of it. If there's something you want, add it to his list".
"I could, but I'm picky. I like to pick out the produce. I like to look around and touch it and select each one".
"Well, I tell you what. In the morning, after breakfast, we will go to the market together and you can look at the produce till your heart's content".
"Thank you".
She put the notepad and the pen down and snuggled up to him.
"Darling-"
He rolled on top of her and covered her lips with his.
"Darling…the door is open".
He got up and shut the door and then turned the lights off.
He wasted no time.
He climbed back in bed and climbed on top of her.
He kissed her with a fiery passion that she more than returned. He moved his hand up her nightgown and started squeezing her breasts.
He quickly pulled her nightgown off and tossed it aside and then settled in between her breasts.
He focused on her nipples for a minute and then moved his kisses to her neck. She ran her fingernails up and down the sides of his back.
"You're driving me wild, baby".
She grabbed his face and kissed him.
He reached down with one hand and pulled her panties down.
He quickly sat up and protected himself while she removed her panties the rest of the way and then returned to her.
He settled on top of her and she wrapped her legs around him.
He entered her with ease and began thrusting his hips forward. She dug her nails into his back and then arched her back when his lips were on that one spot on her neck.
A few minutes later, they peaked and climaxed together and rode out the waves of the euphoric feeling.
She ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed her lightly all over.
"I love you, baby".
"I love you too".
She gave him a back scratch while he kissed her.
They stayed like that for a while, neither of them wanting what the other was doing to stop.
"Penny for your thoughts, baby".
"Oh, I was just lying here thinking about how I'm so lucky to have landed the bachelor of the month".
"I'm not only landed, I'm grounded and retired".
"Even better".
He eventually climbed off her and they got dressed again and then climbed back in bed.
She nestled back against him and he wrapped an arm around her.
"Goodnight, I love you".
"Goodnight, I love you too".
***The next day***
Jonathan and Jennifer slept in for a bit and then had a lazy breakfast.
"Darling, can you drop me off at the market this morning?"
"Sure I can".
"Thank you".
"Mr. H., the Lakers are having an afternoon game today-first 100 people to get in get a free bobblehead".
"Oh, that's right. I don't want to miss that. Darling, what if you take the car and go to the market while I go to the game with Max?"
"Sure, if you want".
"Thanks, babe. You're the best".
He kissed her and went to get ready.
She jumped in the shower behind him and when she got out, he and Max had left.
She made her way to the market, and took her time picking out the produce and looking at all the groceries they had that she wasn't used to.
After about 3 hours, she checked out and drove home and put the groceries away.
She went and found a nail salon and got a manicure and pedicure and a long chair massage before coming back home.
Jonathan and Max still weren't back, so she made herself some dinner and then sat down with a glass of wine.
Around dinner time, things got busy. The phone was ringing off the hook with women calling to talk to Jonathan. If it wasn't the phone, it was the door.
She told about 15 women that Jonathan wasn't home and then started telling them that they had the wrong house.
Finally, she just turned out the porch light and turned off the lights in the front of the house so that it looked like nobody was home.
About an hour after the last person had knocked, there was a persistent doorbell ring. She finally got up and went to answer it.
She found an attractive woman standing on the other side of the door.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"Hi, is Jonathan Hart here?"
"I'm sorry, you-"
"I mean, is he home? I know he lives here. I'm a friend of his, and I'm only in town for a short while. He's expecting me, but I'm afraid I'm a little early".
"Come in."
She let the woman in and then shut the door behind her.
"He's not home but I expected him to be home hours ago, so it's possible he could arrive home any minute".
"Great. I'm Nicole, it's nice to meet you".
"HI, I'm Jennifer. How do you know Jonathan?"
"He and my father did business together".
"I see."
"How do you know him?"
"We have a mutual interest". Jennifer was purposely being coy, as she knew Jonathan had his share of bad press lately, and she didn't trust this woman as far as she could throw her.
They awkwardly chatted a few more minutes and then Jennifer sighed in relief when she heard the garage door opening.
"That must be them now".
"What a great game, Mr. H. Miss Edwards, you would have had a blast. It was-uh oh".
Max stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Nikki sitting on the couch.
Jonathan came in behind him.
"Nikki, what are you doing here?"
"I was hoping we could talk".
"What is there to talk about?"
"Plenty. Jonathan, you have to know how I feel about you".
"We talked on the phone a few days ago, and I told you I wasn't interested in rekindling anything with you, Nikki."
Jennifer stood up.
"I'll be in the bedroom".
"What a marvelous idea. Then we can talk without any distractions".
"No, don't go. You live here too, you don't have to leave the room".
He held his hand out to her and she took it.
He pulled her into an embrace.
"Nikki, I'm going to say something and you aren't going to like it. But I need to say it anyways. Jennifer, just to fill you in, Nikki and I dated a few years back, and to please her father, we got engaged. He passed away a few weeks after our engagement and we called it off and decided to remain friends".
Jennifer nodded.
"Jennifer and I are together now, Nikki, and that's not going to change. I'm sorry you flew all this way, especially after I made myself clear on the phone the other day that there wasn't going to be anything other than a friendship between us."
"Jonathan, just think about it. You and I were good together once, we can be good again".
"Nikki, when I dated you, you were concerned about prestige and how fast you could spend my earnings and how much shopping you could do in a day. And I was never dressed well enough, and I never did things well enough to please you. Quite frankly, you and I were in a relationship with another person, and that person was your ego. But you and I as friends-you aren't like that. I value our friendship much more than I could ever value a romantic relationship with you. And what I have with Jennifer is so much better than I could have ever imagined, and so much more than I ever deserved and I'm not willing to throw that away for a relationship that I know I'll be miserable in".
"How can what you and Jennifer supposedly have be anywhere remotely as good as what you and I had?"
"Like I told you. You were concerned with shopping and prestige and being seen with me by the press and making the headlines and making the front page of the papers. Jennifer's not like that. She cares about me as much as I care about her. She doesn't see me as a big dollar sign. She asks me how my meetings went, she values my opinion on decisions, no matter how small, and she does things that she knows I like, just because I like them. She offers to pay for things, she tries to make sure I'm comfortable, and she genuinely enjoys spending time with me. She hasn't once asked me to take her shopping, and she hasn't once tried to get into the papers with me. Quite the opposite, actually, as she's bent over backwards to try and keep our relationship out of the press because she knows how much I hate being in the media. I want someone who cares about me, who isn't with me for recognition purposes and who I know I can depend on to support me, not to bleed me dry. And I found that, in Jennifer."
Nikki hung her head.
"I'm sorry, Jonathan. You're right. I do value the finer things in life, and I was hoping to instill that value in you. I was talking on the phone with Nicholas and he told me about the article in Corporate Monthly, so I called you. I decided after our conversation, that you needed a visual reminder. So, I bought my ticket and flew here and as soon as I landed, I saw you on the cover of LA Chatter as the Bachelor of the Month and knew I had to act fast".
"Well, I'm sorry your trip was for naught, and I hope you have a safe trip home".
He walked her to the door while Jennifer headed to put on her pajamas.
A few minutes later, he came into the bedroom.
"Hey, I'm sorry she ambushed you".
"It's ok, it's not your fault. I'm sorry I let her in. She told me you were expecting her."
"I wasn't. She had no right to do that".
"How was the game?"
"Long. I should have thought that through. They opened the doors way too early, and honestly, the wait wasn't worth it for a bobblehead".
"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe next time you and Max will have a better time".
She embraced him and he leaned down to kiss her.
"Did you find your way to the market ok?"
"Yes, I did. And I love your produce section, darling. So much more extensive than in New York. Did you and Max eat at the game?"
"Yeah, we did".
He changed into his pajamas and then they headed to the living room.
They snuggled on the couch and found a movie to watch. Jennifer wrapped her arm around his shoulder and gave him a chest rub.
"Darling, what's your plan going forward on the Bachelor of the Month issue?"
"Well, my lawyer and I have a meeting with the CEO and his lawyer Monday. I'm definitely suing them for violation of privacy for printing my address."
"Jonathan, we can't live with the phone off the hook forever. And people are coming to the door nonstop it seems".
"Ok, so I will call and have my number changed and the new one will be unlisted. And if I have to, I will post security at the end of the driveway to keep people from coming up. And even though I don't want to, maybe I should make a statement to the press that I'm no longer single".
They stayed up a little longer and then headed to bed.
As they climbed into bed, Jennifer was thinking out loud.
"Nikki was pretty attractive, in her own way".
"Would you like to finish that thought?"
"Well, it's just strange seeing the competition, that's all. Little glimpses into the life you had before me make me wonder what your life was like then".
"Baby, I'm not just saying this. I truly, truly mean it when I say you are so above her league. She never had a chance to get in your lane. You are kind, generous, genuine, compassionate, spunky, gorgeous, loving, thoughtful, and caring, and that's just the short list. She is a few of those things, but a few things that she is that you aren't is selfish, possessive and greedy".
"Well thank you".
She leaned over and kissed him a few times.
"Do you think Nikki will come back?"
"If she does, it's not going to change anything. I meant what I said to her, she and I are just friends".
She was scratching his chest.
"What do you want to do tomorrow?"
"Well, I need to do some shopping. And I want to go down to the beach for a bit. Why, what are you doing tomorrow?"
"Well, for starters I was thinking I would take you out for a nice dinner".
"That sounds nice".
He leaned down and started kissing her neck.
"And then…afterwards….who knows what we could get into?"
She leaned up and kissed him as he turned out the light.
***The next day***
Jonathan and Jennifer slept in, and then had a lovely breakfast.
Just as they were finishing up, the phone rang. Max grabbed it.
"Hello? Hi, yes, she's right here".
He held the phone out to Jennifer.
"Miss Edwards, the phone is for you".
"Thanks Max. I'll take it in the other room".
She got up and headed to the bedroom.
"Hello?"
"Hi sweetheart, it's Pa. How are you?"
"Hi, I'm great. I was hoping I would talk to you today".
"Well of course you would. It's my only daughter's birthday, after all. Can't miss that. Happy birthday sweetheart".
"Thank you".
"Are you and Jonathan celebrating your birthday in a special way?"
"Not really. I don't even know if he realizes it's my birthday".