"You did what?!"
"I bought us a house. Baby, just hear me out. We need more space, this house isn't cutting it. And I told the realtor what my non-negotiables were and what your non-negotiables are, and she found a house that fit that exactly and actually surpasses any expectations that I had for us. And I had to act quickly because she said it wasn't going to last on the market very long".
"You bought a house without asking me my opinion? You're kidding right? This is a joke?"
"I tried to ask you your opinion. But you and I were never able to speak to each other on the phone at the same time. I had to act fast".
"Jonathan, remember that conversation we had where you said you didn't know if I wanted to be involved in the house hunting and I politely but sternly reminded you that I deserve to have a say in the house that we choose to spend our lives in?"
"Yes, I remember".
"What happened to that?"
"Nothing happened to it. We just had to act fast, baby, that's all".
"Obviously something did, you bought a house without me!"
"Look, just come home and if you don't like it, we'll sell it".
"You had no right to buy a house without me, Jonathan".
"Well, if you were home, you could have participated, Jennifer. I'm doing a lot of things without you lately".
"Oh, I see what this is. You resent me for going on the book tour. All those times you said you were proud of me, you really weren't. In reality, you were resentful. And now the conversation at the inn makes sense. Of course you don't mind if I work from home, because I'll be there to answer to your every beck and call, is that it?"
"Jennifer, this is ridiculous".
"No it isn't. If it was, you wouldn't have made that completely asinine statement".
"Ok, I take it back. I'm sorry. Look, why don't we think about this and talk about it in person when you get home?"
"Yeah, it sounds to me like you have a lot of thinking to do".
"Baby, come on. Let's not fight".
"I cannot believe you had the audacity to buy a house for us without consulting me, Jonathan. Are you crazy? How did you expect me to react?"
"We will talk about it when you get home".
"Fine. I'm going to bed. Goodnight".
She hung up before he could say anything.
***2 days later***
Jennifer was in a cab, on her way to Jonathan's house.
She had changed her flight and didn't tell him when she was coming home.
She paid the cab driver, and grabbed her bags and walked inside.
"Miss Edwards, wonderful to see you!"
"Hi Max! Great to see you too".
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
"Where's Jonathan?"
"He's at a business dinner. Should be home any minute".
"Great".
She headed to the bedroom and quickly unpacked and then came out and started a load of laundry.
She had just slipped into her pajamas when he came in.
"Hi".
"Hello".
He came over and kissed her.
"I would have picked you up at the airport".
"It's ok. I took a cab".
"Have you been here long?"
"About 20 minutes".
She climbed in bed and got the pillows like she wanted them.
Without a word, he went and changed into his pajamas and then came back and joined her.
"How long are you home this time?"
"4 days".
"So, tomorrow, what if I call the realtor and see if she can let us look at the house?"
"What's the point? You already bought it without considering my opinion, why start now?"
"Come on Jennifer, don't be like that."
"Just stating the facts."
"Do you really think I resent your success?"
"I'm not the one who said that, you are".
"I never said that. I would never say that, because it's not true. I do not resent you".
"If I recall correctly, you were in agreement with me going on the book tour Jonathan. If you didn't want me to go, you should have spoken up then".
"I did want you to go. I do want you to go, Jennifer. And yes, I did mean it when I said I was proud of you, because I am. I am insanely proud of you. I love you, you know that".
"Well, something in this relationship isn't working. I don't want to fight with you, but it seems that's all we do. And it's all because you keep making dumb decisions without consulting me first".
"Look, I have an idea. What if we postpone the wedding and all the wedding planning till after your book tour? And my original offer still stands-we can go look at the house and if you don't like it, which I'm positive won't be the case, I'll sell it and we will find a house we both love together".
"Jonathan, I don't want to postpone the wedding. I don't think that's the answer".
"Well, we've tried it where I'm planning it while you're gone, and that didn't work. You stated you don't have time to plan it. There aren't any other options baby."
"I don't want to talk anymore, let's just get some sleep".
He reached up and turned out the light and then wrapped his arms around her.
As soon as she could tell he was asleep, she eased out from under his arms and went and slept in the guest room.
***The next morning***
Jennifer was up early. Jonathan found her in the kitchen having coffee when he got up.
She poured him a cup and then took hers to the patio.
"Morning".
"Morning".
He came and sat next to her.
They were both quiet for a few minutes.
Finally, she turned to him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me whatever you want, you know that".
"Why did you want to marry me? What made you feel that way?"
"I just realized that I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life without you. And that if I'm that in love with you, marriage is the next logical step".
"Ok, so what changed?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, why do you feel differently? You stated last night you want to cancel the wedding, so obviously something has changed".
"I don't want to cancel the wedding. I want more than anything to be married to you. I mean postpone it, as in pick a different day".
She looked away from him and wiped a tear away.
He wrapped his arms around her and tried to comfort her.
"Is that why you left the bed last night? You think I don't want to marry you?"
She nodded.
"You knew I left the bed?"
"I woke up and you were gone, I thought you might be in the bathroom. When I woke up again about an hour later, and you were still gone, I figured you went to sleep somewhere else. I had no idea you were thinking I didn't love you anymore or that I don't want to be married to you".
"I miss the days where we were happy to talk to each other, so much. I miss the butterflies you used to give me when you dropped by my apartment".
"Yeah, I miss us being happy too. We need to figure out how to get back to that".
"I think I'm going to call Marcia and cancel the rest of the book tour. This is too taxing on me physically, mentally, emotionally, all of it."
"Baby, don't do that. You deserve all the success. You wrote the book for the people who read it, they deserve to meet you and tell you they like it. We can figure this out, but don't cancel your book tour. I don't think the tour is the cause of all of this".
"I'm not usually like this".
"Like what?"
"This…this….all over the place about a guy. I mean, before I met you, if someone made me this upset, I would have just left, it would have been over. But with you, I don't want to do it that way. I don't want to lose you, I love you more than anything. I want to work this out, I just have no idea how to do so".
"Baby, we went from seeing each other a couple times a week to seeing each other several times a week to spending every night together. Then we got engaged and if we weren't living together before, we certainly were then. And then we separated ourselves for 2 weeks. You came home for a week, then went back away again, and this time, you're doing double the work you did the first time. You're tired, baby. I can see it in your eyes. You're exhausted, you don't know what end is up. It was inevitable that we would have an argument at some point".
"I just want us to be happy and to get along and to not make major decisions without the other's input".
He took her hand and led her inside and poured himself another cup of coffee.
"How about an omelet?"
She nodded.
She cut up veggies while he cut up the meats and quickly cooked them.
"Off the top of my head, call Marcia. Tell her to cancel your plane reservations for the rest of the tour. I will call Jack, he can fly us from place to place, and Marcia and Meredith are welcome to fly with us if they want. I will conduct my meetings in the hotel by phone while you are at your book signings, if I have to. And I will put Stanley in charge for the rest of them. 3 weeks, baby. We can do anything for three weeks".
"I love that plan. And I love you more than anything".
She leaned up to kiss him and then went and called Marcia.
Right when their omelets were ready, she came back in the kitchen.
"She was agreeable. I also got her to agree to not book two engagements in one day unless absolutely necessary."
"Good. See, we are figuring this out".
"Now, what about the wedding and the house?"
"Well, as far as the DJ and the caterer, and the marriage license and the minister and the invitations, I think I can do all that while I'm home this time. As far as the house, ok fine. I'll go look at it".
"Thank you, that's all I'm asking".
Max came in then.
"Good morning love birds".
"Hi Max".
"Morning".
"You two gonna be around for dinner tonight? I have a poker game but I can put something together before I go".
"Sure, why not?"
"Sounds good to me".
"Miss Edwards, my poker friends were wondering if you would mind signing a few books to them? I told them all about you and they all said they would love a book. I told them fair was fair, you pay for the book and then she signs. They agreed".
"Sure Max, I'm happy to do that".
They finished their omelets and then Jennifer headed to take a shower.
She was just about to get out when the shower door opened.
"Jonathan!"
"Mind if I join you?"
He stepped in the shower.
"Max might hear us".
"He just left for the track, and I gave him money to bet on a race that will take place after his so he will be gone a while".
"You're so clever".
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"Did you already soap your back?"
"Yeah, but you can do it again".
"With pleasure".
He leaned down to kiss her as he took the soap in one hand and soaped her back.
She took the soap from him and soaped his chest. She grabbed her loofah and scrubbed his chest clean while he reached down and squeezed her breasts.
She sucked on his nipple for a few minutes and then he picked her up.
She kissed him with more passion than she had ever felt for anyone. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and ran her fingers through his hair.
He pushed her up against the wall of the shower and used his pelvis to hold her in place.
They furiously kissed as he quickly entered her and began thrusting in and out of her. They were like wild animals who couldn't get enough of each other.
"I want you".
"I want you too".
He squeezed her breasts as he brought her to a climax, and then reached his own a few minutes later.
"That was amazing".
"Yeah, it was incredible".
She kissed him a few times and then got behind him.
"Put me on your back, darling".
He got her on his back and she reached over and got the shampoo. She lathered his hair really, really, well and massaged his scalp. Afterwards, she rinsed him and then conditioned him.
"Oh, that feels wonderful".
They shared a few kisses and then he grabbed them each a towel and they dried off.
"It's official darling. I'm never showering alone again".
"As long as your showers are with me, I can live with that".
He leaned down and kissed her and then they both got dressed.
"Want to go with me to meet with the DJ and the caterer?"
"If you'll go with me to see the house".
"Deal".
They headed to the garage and she saw that her car was back.
"Darling, what did they say about my car?"
"It was the transmission. They replaced it".
"Wonderful".
They headed to meet with the DJ first, and Jennifer ended up liking him. She made a few changes to the package selection that Deanne had picked out, but in the end, they booked him. They headed to speak to the caterer next. She was a sweet little old woman, who owned her own deli. She answered all of their questions and gave them lots of samples. Jennifer and Jonathan were not fans of the menu Deanne had chosen.
"What kinds of things did you want to serve?"
"I'm torn. Honestly, I like these three things-the boneless buffalo wings, the artichoke cups and the caprese sticks from this menu, and these things-the shrimp salad, the artichoke dip, and the mini cheesesteak sliders from this one".
"And I like the things she didn't like on both. So, how about if I drop two from each section, she drops two from each section, and then we make our own custom menu?"
"I'm fine with that. Just make a list of what you want, and how many people you are expecting and the date of your wedding".
Jennifer wrote out the list and all the required information and handed it to her.
Jonathan paid the deposit and they headed out.
"Thank you".
They headed to meet the realtor to see the house.
As soon as they pulled up to it, Jennifer's eyes began to sparkle.
"I love the gate".
"Yeah, me too. If we keep it, I want to get a new one-one with an H on it maybe".
"That's a great idea".
He punched in the code and they drove up the driveway.
"So, it sits really far back from the road. But all the houses and yards are connected by a gated pathway. There's an HOA, and there's a neighborhood patrol."
She fell in love with the pond, and the cute little bridge that was over it.
They walked inside and Traci, the realtor, gave her the grand tour. Jonathan stayed downstairs since he had already seen it.
He was outside on the patio when she came outside to talk to him.
He knew as soon as he saw her what she was feeling.
"You're mad. You're mad because you love the house and I was right, aren't you?"
"I hate it when you're right. But yes, I do love this house. I can see you and me living here. And Max too. But darling, I want to make some changes."
"We can make whatever changes you want, I promise".
"Darling, can I ask you something?"
"Absolutely."
"How much did this house cost?"
"$12.5 million".
He framed her face with his hands.
"And it's worth every penny".
He gave her a quick kiss before she could say anything.
They went back inside and talked to Traci.
"Well, are you keeping it?"
"Yes, we are".
"The seller gave a $200,000 decorating bonus, so if there's anything you want to have painted or wallpapered, or the floors redone, you can tell me and I will tell them".
"Well, there's one major change I want to make. Upstairs in our bathroom, we have two separate vanities separated by a wall. I want to knock that wall down and connect them. I also want to convert the shower from a tub shower to a shower stall".
They all went upstairs and she and Jonathan agreed on exactly what they wanted and the realtor took detailed notes.
"I will tell them tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime, you will need to get three estimates from contractors for them to choose from".
"Will do. Thank you for all your help".
"Thank you for meeting with us".
They headed back home and came inside.
Jennifer went to take some headache medicine and lay down a little bit, while Jonathan made himself a sandwich.
After he finished eating, he came and joined her. She was fast asleep in the bed.
He closed the drapes and laid down next to her and wrapped his arms around her.
They slept for about 2 hours and then woke up.
She woke up first and eased out of his embrace and went to get some water.
She came back and climbed into bed with him again, and nestled up against his shoulder.
He slowly woke up a little bit later and kissed her a few times.
"What time is it?"
"5:07".
"I had a fun evening planned for us, but I love laying here with you too".
"Well, why don't we do the fun evening and then come back and lay here some more?"
She leaned over and kissed his forehead.
He moved and rested his head on her chest.
She kept kissing him till he was up.
He found her in the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"What do you have planned for tonight, darling?"
"It's a surprise".
They got ready and headed to the car.
She kept trying to get him to give her hints the whole way there, but he wouldn't budge.
When she saw where they were, she got the biggest smile on her face.
"This is where we are going?!"
