Chapter 2

Jonathan caught Jennifer's eyes as he hung up the phone. "Well. That went well…"

She walked over to him and hugged him as she started to apologize to him, "I am so sorry. I don't know what's gotten into him. He's never acted that way before."

"Oh?" He smiled an impish grin, "You've called him from a foreign land and announced you were getting married to a complete stranger before?"

She laughed despite her frustration. "When you put it like that… No. I have not. And," she sighed as she put her head on his chest. "I guess he has a right to be unhappy with the situation."

"And we, my Darling, have a flight to catch. Max and I can get our bags ready…"

She was off on another line of thought before he finished his, "So much for taking extra time and hanging out in London." She let go of him and walked towards the window, pondering her actions earlier that day. "Maybe giving my ticket to the flower lady wasn't the best idea… I wonder when the last flight to New York is."

"Whenever I say it is." He picked up the phone and started dialing, "I'll have Leonard get the plane ready so that we can get out of here quickly."

She turned back to face him, "Get the plane ready?"

He smiled. Jennifer had much to learn about him and the life she just agreed to. The thought of introducing her to it made his heart skip a beat. "Yes, get the plane ready… Leonard! Hey, we have a change in the schedule. Yes, we need to fly to…" he turned to Jennifer, and whispered, "I forgot to ask, where are we going?" Maybe she wasn't the only one who would be learning a thing or two in this venture.

She giggled at him, "Maryland. We will fly into Baltimore."

"Baltimore, Leonard. We will fly to Baltimore tonight." He watched her as he listened. She had walked back to the couch and was chatting with Max, who had just entered the room like they were old friends. Amazing. "Perfect. We will grab a quick dinner, and be there by 7:30." He checked his watch. "Maybe 7:45. Do you want us to bring anything to you? Great. Thank you!" Hanging up the phone, he turned to them, "Wheels up at 8. We need to pack, grab a bite, and get on the road."

"How about I get the kitchen to make us something to go?" Max offered.

"Dinner at 33 thousand feet?" Jonathan questioned.

"Sounds lovely." Jennifer smiled at him. The sight of which he was sure he would never tire.

"OK then. I'll finish packing," Jonathan agreed, walking to the bedroom.

"And I'll get the food," Max said as he headed for the door.

"What about packing, Max?" Jonathan questioned. "You could just call down before you finish packing."

Max laughed. "I'm already packed. The way I figure it, I have about 45 minutes to settle the score with Jeffery and Clive."

"Good luck, Max!" Jennifer called after him. She turned to Jonathan. "How can I help?"

"Maryland?"

"Uh-huh."

"You grew up in Maryland? How did this not get discussed the other night?"

"Well… I think it might have somewhere between all the champagne and the dancing." She walked to him and embraced him, "You remember? Horse farm? Trees? The lake? I'm sure I told you…"

"Those things I remember." He lightly brushed a curl from her face with his fingers, to get a better look into those eyes, his hand lingered. "I guess I was thinking maybe Massachusetts."

She nestled her cheek into the palm of his hand. "Oh, that's where I went to school."

"Long commute?"

"Boarding."

"Beautiful." He leaned in and kissed her. He could feel her body relax against his, and it made his longing for her grow stronger. "I wish we had more time," he whispered.

"We will have the rest of our lives, my Darling. Right now, we have a plane to…" he interrupted her mouth with his own. "Ah, I can see this will difficult to accomplish." She smiled at him.

"Don't do that…" he warned her.

Puzzled, she responded, "Don't do what?"

"Smile at me like that. I am finding I lose all self-control when you do." Her grin widened, she ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him back for in another kiss. Then she sauntered off towards his bedroom, "More to come, once the packing is done, Mr. Hart."

"You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Edwards," as he quickly followed her.

***

"Who was that, Darling?" Suzanne Edwards asked as she walked into the living room. "I could hear you bellowing from the kitchen, and thought I had better see what all of the fuss is about."

Startled by his wife's voice, Stephen Edwards turned to face her, "The fuss?" he responded, still feeling rather indignant. "The fuss is your incorrigible daughter!"

"You were speaking to our Jenny that way, ma chérie?" She was only mildly feigning her own irritation. She did not appreciate it when he lost control of his temper. She slid her arms around his shoulders.

"Of course not, Darling," Stephen embraced his wife. "No, I was speaking to the man she thinks she is going to marry."

"Pardon me, sir," Walter, the Edward's butler, stepped into the room. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Our little Jenny is getting married? Tellement excitant! And you did not let me talk to her? Oh, Stephen!"

"Walter! Yes, please. I believe we will be having guests tonight. Would you make sure Jennifer's room is ready? Now, now, Suzanne, there will be plenty of time for you to talk to her. I told them they are to come here at once so we can discuss this properly." Stephen could feel his frustration building back up, just thinking about the conversation. He left his wife's embrace, moved to the bar, and began fixing himself a drink. "She did one interview with this man, and now she thinks we will let her marry him?" As an afterthought, "Oh, and Walter? The guest house, too."

"Very good, Sir."

"Interview? You mean the man she went to London to interview?"

He took a drink before he answered, "Yes, the one and the same."

"And you would put him in the guest house?" Suzanne questioned him. "What is his name?"

"Hart. Jonathan Hart." Yep, still just as bitter tasting. "And I'll not have him sleeping with my daughter before he does marry her. At least not in my house."

She shook her head but decided to drop the topic, "Jennifer Hart. Charmant."

"Now, don't get too attached. We must meet this man first."

"Oh, Stephen. You mustn't be so proper with her. She is a child of 29. You must let her make her own decisions now. Trust her! If our Jenny thinks he is the right man for her, then he must be a very good man."

***

Max, Jonathan, and Jennifer met up with Leonard and began loading the food and luggage on the plane. Really, by the time the three arrived, Leonard had everything ready. He quickly took the little bit of luggage to the storage area and moved to prepare for their long journey.

Once the wheels were up and the plane was in the air, Max went up to sit with Leonard leaving Jonathan and Jennifer chatting over their meal together. Topics and banter moved so fast Jennifer could hardly keep track. This man was charming, intelligent, handsome… nothing short of amazing! A thought popped into her head, "Oh! I forgot I went shopping."

Jonathan was caught off guard, "Shopping? When did you have time to go shopping?"

"Oh, you know we love-starved matrons know how to peek through keyholes to get what we want," she giggled at her dig.

"I'm going to be paying for that little slip for a while, huh?"

"Maybe. Hang on; I picked a little something up for you." She got up from the little table they had been sharing their meal at and headed back towards the back of the plane where she had left her bag. She came back with a brown paper bag. "I didn't have time to wrap it."

Jonathan felt his heart skip a beat, knowing she thought to pick something up for him. "That is so sweet." He opened the bag to find a book. The title was 21 Reasons for Living A Collection of Interviews From 21 Favorite People. The author's name caught him off guard. "By Jennifer Edwards? You didn't tell me you wrote a book."

Thinking for a moment, Jennifer told him, "I guess it didn't come up."

"What else have you not told me yet?" He grinned at her.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to find out as we go."

"Ummm, I think I like the sound of that. The discovery of Jennifer Edwards." He flipped open the cover, and paused, "I think you forgot something…"

"Forgot something? What do you mean?"

"And so humble, too…" He laughed. "You didn't sign it. I mean, I think my copy of my fiancé's book should be autographed, shouldn't it?"

"Ah, you are so right!" She ran back to her bag and came back with a black sharpie. She opened the front cover and wrote inside. Then as she shut the book, she said, "There you go, kind sir, 'tis all fixed now."

"And I thank you, Madame." Opening the book, he read, To my Darling Jonathan – Love Jennifer – Hart to Hart! "I love it. Thank you." He patted the cover of the book, "This will be a treasured book in my library!" He leaned across the table and kissed her.

"You know, it's going to be late when we get in, and then by the time we get to the farm, I'm guessing it will be midnight their time, but feel like 5 am to us. We probably should think about getting a little rest on the plane."

"I know we should," he responded, "but I'm not tired yet."

"Me either, I'm just trying to be practical."

"How about this… In-flight movie?"

"Seriously? You can do that?"

"I have three to pick from, Funny Lady, The Return of the Pink Panther, and Jaws."

"You pick, I haven't seen any of them yet. I don't get to movies very often."

Jonathan picked Jaws, grabbed a blanket, and they settled in together on the couch. He found contentment holding her close to him, to familiarize her scent, the rhythm of her breathing, the contour of her body as it fit with his own. Jonathan decided he liked the feeling.

Somewhere before the movie was half over, Jennifer had fallen asleep. Before the movie ended, they both were.