***Thursday***
Jennifer woke up early, around 6:30. She had a surprise for Jonathan, and couldn't wait to give it to him.
She grabbed the phone and took it into the bathroom and ordered a breakfast cart with champagne, and then came back to the bedroom.
She changed out of her pajamas into some special lingerie, and then climbed back in bed and snuggled up to him and fell back asleep.
He woke up around 7, saw what she was wearing, and immediately started kissing her neck.
"Happy birthday, honey".
"Happy birthday to me, indeed".
She had put on a black lace halter baby doll nightgown.
"You are so beautiful".
"Thank you".
He kissed her a few times, and then nibbled on her earlobe.
"We have a great day planned, too bad you have to go to the office".
"I'm sorry, babe, I can't help it. I have a meeting".
"I'll just have to keep a warm spot for you".
He ran his hands up under her nightgown.
"I think I just found a very warm spot".
He lifted the halter over her head, and pulled it down past her breasts.
He was talking to her as he kissed her all over.
"What are we going to do after I get home?"
"Whatever you want to do, honey".
He looked up at her.
"Anything?"
She nodded
He resumed kissing her chest.
He moved to her nipple and lightly bit it.
"Mmmm".
She kissed the top of his forehead and wrapped her legs around his waist.
He moved his kisses back up to her neck, as she scratched his back in long strokes.
She reached down and squeezed his butt, as he nibbled on her neck.
She could feel his erection growing against her.
"Honey…"
"Yeah, babe?"
"You still have your boxers on".
"Right".
He stood up and took them off, while she shimmied out of her underwear and tossed it to the floor.
He climbed on top of her again, and enclosed her nipple with his mouth.
"Mmmm".
She reached down and grabbed him.
"Come on baby".
"Almost".
She wrapped her legs around his waist again, and he quickly entered her and found her center.
Cries of Yes! Yes! filled the room as he thrust in and out of her over and over again.
He picked up the pace and she grabbed his shoulders with her fingernails.
"Oh baby…."
"I want you, babe".
"I….want…..you…..too…..".
She kissed him as he exploded inside of her, bringing her to release as well.
He kissed her neck as they recovered together, lying there, just holding each other.
"That was incredible".
"Birthday sex usually is".
"This is the first year I've had birthday sex".
He laid his head on her chest, as she scratched his head.
"Well, consider it our new tradition".
There was a knock on the door, so they got up and went to get their robes from the bathroom.
She got her robe on first and went and answered the door and brought the birthday cart in.
"I ordered us breakfast, honey".
"Good thinking".
She fed him a strawberry.
"Champagne or coffee?"
"Coffee. Let's save the champagne for tonight".
"Good idea".
He put the champagne in the mini fridge as she poured them some coffee.
They ate breakfast together, and then he went and showered and got ready for the office.
She grabbed a shower after him, and put on some lounging clothes when she got out.
"I'll be back around 12:30."
"Good, because your surprise starts at 1".
"I can't wait".
He wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I love you, have a good morning".
"I love you too, I'm so happy I get to spend your birthday with you".
They kissed several times and then he left.
She got back in bed and turned on the news.
About 10 minutes later, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi. It's me".
"Hi darling".
"Darling, did I remember to thank you for starting my morning off in such a lovely way?
"The pleasure was all mine".
"Ours. Have a lovely morning, sweetheart".
She blew him a kiss as she hung up the phone.
She fell back asleep and woke up around 11.
She got ready and was sitting on the couch in the room when Jonathan got back.
"Hi honey".
"Hi darling".
He came to her and kissed her a few times.
"What do I need to wear to my surprise?"
"Jeans and a polo will be fine".
He changed clothes pretty quickly and then they left their room and headed to the elevator.
They got downstairs and she led him towards the spa.
"We're going to a spa? That's my surprise".
She nodded.
"We are getting a couple's treatment. You'll love it".
"What are we doing?"
"A deep body scrub followed by a table shower and a full body massage".
They checked in, and were given robes. They were taken to the quiet room to wait to be called back.
"Darling, have you done this before?"
She nodded.
"Have you?"
"I've had a massage before, but I've never had the other stuff before".
"You'll love it, I promise".
They were called back to their room and given side by side tables.
After they had their deep body scrub, the shower started. Jennifer looked over to see if he was enjoying it and he was asleep.
The attendants dried them off and then had them put their robes back on and took them to a room for their massages.
She embraced him before they got on the tables.
"Are you enjoying this?"
"Yes, very much so. It's not something I would ever have chosen for myself, but I'm loving it".
"I'm glad".
She kissed him and then they got on the massage tables and waited for their attendants.
Jennifer had sprung for the 2-hour massage.
After it was over, they were taken back to the dressing room where they changed out of their robes and then headed out.
Jennifer paid the bill and they went back upstairs to their room.
As soon as they got into their room, they sat on the couch for a minute.
He put his arm around her and kissed the side of her head.
"Thank you for that, babe. I feel amazing".
"I'm glad".
"What time are our reservations?"
"5. We probably need to leave in about 20 minutes".
As soon as he was ready, they left and headed to La Scala.
They had a very romantic candlelit dinner, and they both enjoyed the fresh pasta.
"Do you want dessert honey?"
"Nothing I can order from here".
"You got that dessert this morning, sailor".
"So I did".
He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
She paid the bill and they headed to the car so they could go to the Laker's game.
He had courtside seats, and Jennifer loved seeing him so excited.
During one of the timeouts, Jennifer leaned over and kissed his cheek. They were then featured on the Kiss Cam, and happily participated. Everyone cheered for them as they kissed.
After a very thrilling game, they headed back to the hotel.
They held hands in the car as they drove.
"Darling, I meant to tell you this, and I'm sorry I didn't do it before, but it's possible that we will end up on television because of this. That typically happens to me, and I'm sorry if you aren't comfortable with it".
"I'm fine with it."
She rubbed the back of his hand with her other one.
"Is there anything else you want to do tonight, honey?"
"Relax with you".
"Well, I think that can be arranged".
They pulled up in the parking lot and parked, and walked inside to their room.
She was headed towards the closet when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"What, what is it?"
"This has been the best birthday I've ever spent darling, and it's because I'm spending it with you. Thank you for everything, I love you".
He leaned down and kissed her.
While they were kissing, the phone rang.
They looked at each other.
"This better be good".
He walked over and answered it, and she went to change clothes.
"Hello?"
"Mr. H. It's Max. I just wanted to tell you Happy Birthday".
"Thanks, Max. How's Vegas?"
"Hopping. What's the house situation like?"
"They reversed the sale, and Jennifer and I have to figure out what house we want, and make an offer".
"Got it. Well, I'll call ya in a few days, Mr. H. Tell Miss Edwards I said hello".
"Sounds good Max. Thanks for calling".
They hung up.
He walked over to her just as she had put on her nightgown.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down and kissed her neck.
"Max says hi".
"That's sweet. How is he?"
"He says Vegas is hopping. That's Max-lingo for he's winning".
She chuckled.
He changed into his pajama pants and came and climbed into bed next to her.
She turned on the news, and had him lean up against her.
She played with his chest hair while she held him and kissed his head a few times.
He fell asleep laying up against her.
After about an hour, she started nudging him.
"Honey…."
"Hmmm?"
"Wake up, your laying on me".
"Oh, sorry babe".
They repositioned themselves, and he turned the TV off.
She settled into the crook of his arm.
"Goodnight birthday boy, I love you".
"I love you too, babe".
***The next morning***
Jonathan woke up first, when his alarm went off, and he snuggled Jennifer a little closer.
She was awake by the time he got out of the shower.
She had ordered them a coffee and pastry cart from room service.
"Darling, we need to decide which house we want. The Willow Pond house is officially on the market today".
"Whichever one you want is fine with me".
She walked him to the door when it was time for him to go.
"I love you, all my heart. Have a good day, babe".
"I love you too, all my heart. See you tonight".
She kissed him several times and then he left.
She was in the hotel room, reading, when the front desk called.
"There's a delivery here for Miss Jennifer Edwards".
"I'll come get it".
"No need ma'am, we can send it up to you".
"Ok, thank you".
A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. It was the bellman with her delivery.
She opened the box and found that it was a beautiful flower arrangement.
She dug for the card and opened it.
"I saw you at the game last night. Been to the bathroom at Cavelli's lately?"
No signature.
She immediately felt panicky.
She quickly showered and dressed and then headed to Jonathan's office.
She parked next to his car, and took the elevator upstairs to his office.
His secretary was sitting at her desk, outside his office.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"Yeah, I'm going to speak with him."
"Oh, well, he's in a meeting and-"
Jennifer barged right past her and into his office.
He was on a conference call.
He could see she was upset.
He reached his hand out to her and stood up.
He let her hug him for a minute, and then he turned his attention back to his call.
"Listen, gentlemen, I have to go, something has come up. I'm going to let my assistant take over this call. Her name is Deanne. Thank you for your time".
He forwarded the call to Deanne, and then turned his attention to Jennifer.
"Are you alright?"
"No, I'm not alright".
"What is it?"
He walked her over to the couch.
"I was in the hotel room. And the front desk called and said you have a delivery. They sent it up and it was a bouquet of flowers. And I was thinking "Oh how sweet, Jonathan sent me flowers". And then I dug for the card, found this and realized it wasn't you that sent them".
She handed him the card and he read it.
"Ok, I'm going to call Agent Weatherington, right now."
He got up and went to the phone and pulled his wallet out.
He found Agent Weatherington's number, and called him.
He left him an urgent message to call him back on his private line and then went back over and sat next to Jennifer.
He put an arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Why don't we go to my ranch this weekend? Nobody will know where we are, we can ride horses and just kind of hide out, and come back Sunday morning and then fly to New York?"
"I would love that."
"As soon as Agent Weatherington calls back, we can go".
He buzzed Deanne to come in to his office.
"Yes, Mr. Hart?"
"I'm going to be working out of the New York office next week, so any meetings that I can't take there either need to be handled by Stanley Friesen or rescheduled. And as soon as I get the phone call I'm expecting, I will be leaving the office today".
"Yes, Mr. Hart".
His phone rang just then, and he went and grabbed it.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Hart, it's Agent Weatherington".
"HI, thank you for calling me back. Jennifer Edwards is out here in California with me, and she and I are staying at the Montage hotel. This morning, someone sent her flowers with a card that said "Saw you at the Game last night, been to the bathroom at Cavelli's recently?" She and I went to the Laker's game last night and we were on the jumbotron. We also went to dinner, but we didn't recognize anyone at the restaurant or at the game".
They talked for a few more minutes and then hung up.
"He says we can go to the ranch, and he's going to investigate and see if he can figure out who sent the flowers, and if we get any further deliveries or issues to call him".
She nodded.
She stood up and put her hands on his chest.
"I'm sorry, darling. It's just I thought that all of that was behind us, and then I was alone and I thought they were from you".
"Hey, it's ok. You did the right thing by coming here. We did the right thing by calling him".
"I don't want to live in hiding, or in fear Jonathan, but this is the mob."
"I know. I don't either".
He gathered up his things and they headed out.
"I'll be back week after next, Deanne. Stanley is in charge. I can be reached at the New York office on Monday if needed".
"Yes Mr. Hart".
They headed to the hotel and quickly packed.
She was quiet on the drive, and he didn't push it. He could tell she was frightened.
It was about a 4-hour drive, and they made it fairly easily. He told her all about how he had found it and purchased it and what he had there.
She fell asleep for about the last hour of the drive, and he just held her hand as they drove.
He pulled them up to the house and parked. He walked around to her side and opened her door.
He gently unbuckled her and then started kissing her cheek.
"Babe….wake up, darling. We're here".
She woke up and looked at him.
"I think I'm going to be sick".