They walked inside and were immediately shown to their table. Jennifer quickly noticed it was the only one in the whole restaurant.
"The chef is an old Navy buddy of mine. I called him and arranged to rent out the entire restaurant so that we would have the place all to ourselves. The chef has agreed to make us anything we want on the menu, even to-go if we want".
"How incredibly romantic".
She leaned up and kissed him nice and slow, and then he pulled her chair out for her.
The table was covered in rose petals, and had several lit candles and a bottle of champagne chilling in a bucket. Over in the corner, there was a pianist playing romantic music for the two of them.
They placed their orders and then went to dance. Neither of them could keep their eyes off each other, nor did they want to.
They shared several romantic dances and then sat down to eat. Jonathan popped them some champagne and poured them each a glass.
"To the love of my life, and to us finally spending time together".
"Aww how sweet. You're the love of my life too, and I am so glad to finally see your face this week".
She leaned over and kissed him and then they clinked glasses and took a sip.
Two glasses in, Jennifer was getting rather giggly and Jonathan thought she was absolutely adorable.
They had a most wonderful meal, and Jennifer told him all about the sale of the paper and how at peace she was. She also told him about the terms she gave them in the sale.
"Good call, darling. As a boss, you are sure to anger some people when you sell the business. But when you protect your employees in the sale, you can never go wrong doing that".
He kissed the back of her hand and then fed her a bite of his shrimp.
"Oh my gosh, that's fantastic. What is that?"
"Grilled shrimp basted in key lime butter wrapped in bacon".
"That is so good. Here, taste this".
She cut him a bite of her salmon and fed it to him.
"Mmmmm, that's amazing! Very flavorful".
"I love this place. We absolutely must come back here".
"We will, I promise".
The chef came over at the end of their meal.
"Hey Jonathan!"
"Hey Geoff! Darling, this is Geoff Dawson, the chef. Geoff, this is my girlfriend Jennifer Edwards".
"Hi, it's lovely to meet you. Thank you for cooking for us".
"My pleasure. I hope that your meals were satisfactory".
"They were more than satisfactory. They were exquisite".
"Yes, thank you so much for doing this for us. I really appreciate it buddy. You've got a great place here".
"I do, I do. I love it here and it sure beats cooking on a Naval ship".
"I bet! We will most definitely come back here".
"You are more than welcome here any time. Listen, I have some meals prepared for you to take with you at no cost-they will just need some minimal preparation on your part. I have some more of the bacon wrapped shrimp, I have steaks, chops, chicken breasts, vegetables for roasting or for a salad, and fresh pasta."
Jonathan and Jennifer conferred for a minute and then decided on the steaks, chicken breasts, and shrimp and veggies.
"Perfect! I will put it all together. All you will have to do is grill the veggies and the meats."
"We can handle that".
"And finally, I have some desserts prepared, that can be packaged to go as well. We have vanilla bean crème brulee, fresh strawberry shortcake, Mixed berry shortcake, which is just like a strawberry shortcake but with all kinds of berries and our signature classic dessert, hot fudge cake. I can also do a sampler plate with all 4 of those together".
"Yes, please".
"I'll be right back".
Jennifer scooped up several of the rose petals to take as a keepsake.
Jonathan settled up with the hostess and handsomely tipped everyone.
Geoff appeared a few minutes later with their to-go-boxes.
"Ok, it's all here. And I don't mean to rush you guys, but my dishwasher just told me there's a big storm blowing in, so be careful driving home".
"Thanks, we will".
They quickly headed out to Jonathan's car. He had driven the Bentley.
He opened the door for her and then put the top up.
"I had a romantic drive planned with the top down so we could see the stars. But if it's going to storm, we need the top up".
"Darling, I completely understand. It's fine".
They drove home and hit the storm head on about 10 minutes from Jonathan's house.
It took them an extra 25 minutes or so to get through to his neighborhood.
He pulled up in the driveway and hit the button for the garage door. Nothing happened.
"Darling, I don't think we have power".
"You might be right. Ok, that means we are going to park on the street because I don't trust the Bentley being parked on the driveway at an angle".
As soon as they were parked, they made a mad dash to the front door, which wasn't easy for Jennifer to do in heels.
By the time they got inside they were soaking wet.
They took one look at each other and burst into laughter.
She leaned forward and kissed him.
They put their to-go boxes in the fridge, and then went to get into some dry clothes. Jonathan lit them some candles and it wasn't easy, or perfect, but they made do.
Jennifer slipped into a black lacy nightgown and towel-dried her hair and clipped it up.
Jonathan slipped into some pajama shorts and then found some more candles to light.
"Darling, will Max have a key to come in when he gets in?"
"Max is at a marathon poker game. Won't be home all weekend most likely".
"I see".
The thunder boomed and the rain poured outside while they scrambled about inside.
Jonathan got the room all lit up in candles so they could see each other and found a battery-powered radio and turned it on.
She climbed into bed next to him and he leaned over and kissed her.
"Lay on your stomach".
She was so excited.
She tossed a pillow to the foot of the bed and laid down and he straddled her waist and began to rub her shoulders.
She began to moan about how good it felt.
"You always know the best ways to spoil me".
"With any luck I always will".
He rubbed every inch of her back and legs and got all her stressed spots out.
When he was finished, he climbed off her and she sat up and moved to snuggle with him.
They had hot, torrid, passionate sex for about 2 hours until they were both so completely exhausted they couldn't go on another second.
As they calmed down, he ran his arms up and down her back and kissed her forehead.
They were just about to fall asleep when the power came back on.
It took them about 20 minutes to blow out all the candles, make sure all the doors were locked, and reset the clocks. Jonathan ran out and pulled the Bentley into the garage while Jennifer got them their desserts and 2 forks.
He found her in the kitchen getting it all set up.
"Great idea, baby".
She pulled herself up on to the counter, and they had a few bites of each dessert.
Jonathan declared the crème brulee to be his favorite, while Jennifer was fond of the hot fudge cake.
"What do you have planned for the rest of the weekend?"
"Can't tell you that. It's a surprise".
"Darling…I have to know how to plan, to make sure I'm ready".
"You will be".
He slowly started kissing her neck.
"Weatherman said it was going to storm all night and all day tomorrow".
"It's a good thing I watched the weather before I made our plans, isn't it?"
She chuckled and kissed him.
They quickly put away the desserts, and tossed the forks into the sink and headed to the bedroom for round 2.
***Sunday***
Jennifer and Jonathan spent all day Saturday making love, eating, and lying in bed. They completely turned off the outside world and just focused on each other and nobody else.
Sunday morning, Jennifer woke up to Jonathan bringing her breakfast in bed.
"Did you make all this?"
"Yes, I did".
"How incredibly sweet".
"We have fresh pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and mushrooms and a sprinkle or two of cheddar cheese, and fresh sliced fruit, along with freshly brewed coffee prepared just the way you like it and some freshly squeezed orange juice".
She leaned over and kissed him.
"Thank you, darling. I love this".
He found them an old movie that just happened to be one of Jennifer's favorites on tv and they watched that while they ate.
When the movie ended, Jonathan slipped on his slippers, took their trays to the kitchen, and then slipped out and retrieved something from his car.
He came back and climbed in bed with her.
"Did I hear the garage door open?"
"I don't think so".
She noticed he had a string of red ribbon in his hand.
"What is that?"
"Put your robe on. We have an activity".
"Ok".
After her robe was on, he tied the velvet red ribbon around her wrist.
"Ok, now follow this and untangle it till you get to the end."
Jennifer began to follow the ribbon through the house.
"When you come to an index card or something that's attached to the ribbon, you have to stop and see what it says".
The ribbon was looped through the handle of her suitcase which was in the foyer.
A card attached said "The first time I ever saw you was in the airport".
"How sweet".
She followed it through the house to the next clue.
"That first weekend we ever spent together".
She kept following and found 10 more clues that included memories like "all the romantic dinners we've shared", "my favorite way to wake up is right next to you", "Your back scratches are my favorite", "I love our mid-day phone calls", "Our trip to Maui was one of the best trips I've ever taken", "I love how you always try to make me happy", "I love how you always want to hold my hand".
She got to the final notecard and pulled it off the ribbon.
"I am so incredibly proud of you, and proud to know you, and love you more and more each day".
Underneath the notecard, was the newspaper. She picked it up and unfolded it and gasped when she read the headline.
Will You Marry Me?
She turned around and he was on one knee.
"Ever since the moment I met you, I have been captivated by how beautiful you are-not just appearance wise, but who you are as a person. I love you with all of my heart and soul and I don't want to spend another moment of my life without you in it. Jennifer Edwards, will you marry me?"
She was wiping the tears away.
"Oh yes, absolutely".
She held her hand out to him as he slipped a stunning 4 carat Asscher-cut diamond and platinum ring on her finger.
As soon as he stood up, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
He sat down in a chair and she sat down in his lap.
"I love you so much, and I promise, I will be the best wife to you, no matter what."
He kissed her a few times and then she looked at her ring.
"If you don't like it, we can go get another one. I just thought of you as soon as I saw it".
"Darling, we will not! I love it! It's absolutely perfect because it came from you, and that's what counts. And no matter what I would have picked in the store, it would have never been as beautiful as this".
"Were you surprised?"
"Incredibly".
"I had all these plans… I was going to ask you at dinner, and then I was going to put it in the dessert…. And I just lost my nerve. I wanted it to be absolutely perfect. When I woke up this morning, I came up with this".
"I loved every second of it."
She kissed him again and then rested her head on his shoulder.
"Darling, how did you do the paper?"
"Well, that was the other part of the surprise. Remember the Lotus deal?"
"Yes, I do".
"Well, we hit a few snags, mainly in regards to capital. Long story short, Lotus purchased a company called Lancaster Press, Inc. That wasn't divulged to me until our meeting on Friday. So, once I found that out, I waited until you had left the paper, and went by there and had them print a fake edition, and then wrapped it up. I knew I wanted to work it into the proposal somehow, but I wasn't sure how".
"It was perfect, darling. Absolutely perfect".
They spent a lazy morning cuddling and loving on each other, and then Jennifer helped him clean the house up before Max got home.
"Does Max know?"
"He knew that I was going to propose, he just didn't know when".
"I should call my father and tell him. He'll be thrilled".
"He is aware also. I called and got his blessing Friday morning".
"I love that you did that".
She leaned up and kissed him and then went to call her father.
"Hello, Edwards residence?"
"Hi Walter. This is Jennifer. Is my dad around?"
"Yes, Miss Jennifer. He's right here".
"Jennifer, sweetheart. What a surprise".
"Hello Pa."
"How is everything?"
"Absolutely wonderful. Jonathan proposed to me this morning, and I said yes".
"Well, that's wonderful! Congratulations".
"Thank you. I am so happy! And I love it that you gave him your blessing. That was one of the few traditions I wanted him to keep".
"What are the others?"
"Pa, you know I'm more modern than you. I wanted him to ask you for your blessing and I want you to walk me down the aisle, but the rest of the wedding will be modern and non-traditional".
"Sweetheart, did you say he proposed this morning?"
"Yes. It was…..over breakfast".
Over breakfast, after breakfast. Why split hairs?
"You plan the wedding that you want, sweetheart. I'll go to the bank tomorrow and deposit your wedding fund into it. Anything outside of that will be your responsibility".
"I think that's more than generous. Thank you, Pa".
They chatted a little longer and then hung up.
Jennifer returned to Jonathan in the kitchen, where he was washing the dishes.
"Everything ok with your dad?"
"Yes, he's thrilled that we are engaged. He congratulated us. And just in case it comes up, I told him you proposed over breakfast".
"I can go with that".
"How soon do you want to get married?"
"Does tomorrow work for you?"
He gave her that grin that made her go weak in the knees.
She gave him a look and tried to stifle a chuckle.
"I think I would like a little more time to plan and prepare".
"I will go along with whatever you decide, darling".
"Well, it sounds like you are getting the hang of marriage already".