Chapter 14

Jennifer woke with a joy she had never known before. Memories of last night danced around in her brain, much as the two of them had danced on their living room floor.

Their living room floor.

The thought made her giddy. This man, Jonathan Hart, was continually surprising her. The proposal in London. The flight to Maryland. The proposal at her parents' home, complete with a 3-carat diamond ring. And now, a house.

Maybe mansion was a better word? The brick ranch style home was the brainchild of one Lawrence Freeman! Jonathan took the time to walk her through every room in the house, then out on the grounds. They even walked through the guest house. He stopped to kiss her in every room. Each room seemed to be a little more passionate, though he never seemed to be in a hurry. He was taking his time, finding his rhythm, and driving her crazy. He also had another proposal of sorts that equally drove her a bit crazy.

The evening had started in the living room, where Jonathan showed her the two paintings. He told her all that had happened while he was in California with her father. He asked her where she thought the art should hang. Together they laid out possibilities but decided to wait until they had furniture in before they hung them.

Next, the couple headed up the spiral stairs in the living room by the floor to ceiling library. As a lover of books, she could hardly wait to begin displaying her favorites here. They made their way back to the front of the house, talking about plans and possibilities for each room as they went. When they arrived at the double doors at the top of the front stairs, Jonathan stopped her before they walked through them.

He placed his hands on both of her arms and turned her to face him. "Jennifer. Before we walk into what is my personal favorite room in the house, I have a couple of things to discuss with you."

"You have my undivided attention," she was borderline giddy, and she hadn't had any champagne yet.

"Good. I would like to set some expectations with you."

"Expectations?" Jennifer wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

"Yes. Expectations. See, I can hardly wait to spend our nights together in this room. I desire you more than any woman I have ever known. I'll be honest, I have given into those desires with other women much faster than you and I are currently moving."

"You need not hold back on my account," her voice was amorous, passionate, and she slid her arms around his waist. " I am not a prude, Jonathan."

"I didn't say you were," returning her embrace.

"It is the 1970's after all. I don't know anyone who hasn't slept with the people they are dating."

"That may be true. However, I feel a bit like we have had obstacles in our way from the very first time we met."

"Ugh," she groaned. "I know," she said, kissing his neck, "I'm very frustrated by that, too."

"Frustrated, yes," he put one hand on her hip, moving her back a little and lifted her chin with the other so that he could see her eyes. "However, the more I have thought about it, I must tell you, the more I am both frustrated by and yet enjoying this process."

"Frustrated and enjoying? What do you mean?"

"While I want you very much, I also am enjoying getting to know who Jennifer Edwards is. I mean, who you really are." He stepped back and looked at her, "Not just the amazingly sexy body I see before me." He pulled her close again, "And believe me; I find you extremely attractive."

"Thank you very much," she grinned at him.

"I feel like I am learning to know you not just as my lover, but as my friend. I have learned to respect you as an astoundingly intelligent woman. This process has allowed me to see you in a way I have never really seen any woman I've dated. For that, I am very grateful. This leads me to my expectations for the next few months. I want us to carry on just as we have been, until the day we officially become husband and wife." Jonathan searched her eyes, gauging her reaction. "As much as I desire to make love to you right now, I now want to wait until September 25th to do so."

"Are you serious?"

"Very. It's a big part of the reason I bought the house instead of moving you into my condo."

"Wow," she pondered all he had said. "Does this mean you will stop all this seduction you have going on?"

"Oh, I fully intend to seduce you," he kissed the left side of her neck, "woo you," he kissed the right side, "and win you over every day, in everything short of the physical." Jonathan started in for a kiss, and Jennifer reached up with her hand and put a finger on his lips, pushing him back a bit.

"And do I get a say in that?" she questioned him. "I mean, I find the whole concept interesting, but I'm not sure I want to wait another 12 weeks." He leaned in and kissed her. "Especially when you do things like that…"

"Oh, I don't intend to make the next 12 weeks easy. Just worth it. I want to know your heart, your dreams, your thoughts, as well as I intend to know your body." He grinned that grin of his. "Are you willing to try?"

"Can I think about it?"

"Of course you can. And come back with any questions or arguments you may have. I want to be able to discuss it with you, and I want us to be on the same page, always. Agreed?"

Jennifer reached up and kissed him. "Agreed."

He opened the bedroom door, "Then let me show you around your bedroom, my darling."

It was about that time the doorbell rang, announcing the Pompeii Pizza delivery. Once more, Jennifer smirked at the recollection. Guido was a friendly little guy who liked to talk!

Smiling at the memory of how sweet Jonathan was, Jennifer stretched in her hotel bed. She sat up and put her feet on the floor. There was much to do today. She and Jonathan were taking her parents back to the house after breakfast. The idea of sharing the house with her parents was thrilling to her. However, first, she needed to figure out which dress she would be wearing tonight.

Picking up the first garment bag Jennifer unzipped it and pulled the dress out. She hung it on the closet door, and opened the second bag, hanging that dress beside the first. However, when she opened the third, she knew she had found the dress.

"Bonjour, chérie," Suzanne called, knocking on the door.

"Bonjour, Momma. Come on in." Jennifer turned as her mother opened the door and held the dress up in front of her. "What do you think?"

"Oh, Jenny! Oui! I think that is perfect."

Jennifer laughed, "Isn't it just? I'm delighted I packed my black heels. What about you, Momma? Did you find a dress?"

"Oui, Jenny. Papa helped me pick one last night. I am all set."

"Excellent!"

"Try it on, Jenny."

Jennifer stepped into the bathroom and replaced her nightgown with the evening gown. "How was your evening?"

"Charmant. We had such a good time."

"Great!" She stepped back out of the bathroom. "What do you think?"

"C'est parfait, my Jenny."

"Merci, Momma. Now, I need you and Pa to get dressed. We are meeting Jonathan in 30 minutes for breakfast, after which, he and I have a surprise for you."

***

"How soon do you intend to have the house furnished?" Stephen asked Jonathan as they toured the house.

"Over the next few months, we will take our time to find the right furnishings and decorations." He informed him. "I don't want to rush; however, I do plan on having it livable when Jennifer moves in." He turned to her, "I guess we need to determine when exactly that will be."

Jennifer thought a moment, "I need to look my calendar over, but probably within the next month."

"So, we need to pick out a few key pieces before you head back to New York, so they can be in by the time you get back." She could hardly wait to go shopping with him.

As they toured the house and grounds with her parents, Max and Freeway, Jennifer watched Jonathan interact with them. He was respectful, tender, and patient. Jonathan could make her mother laugh almost as quickly as her father could. Then he would turn around, catch her eye with his bright ice blue eyes, wink and grin at her. Her heart would skip a beat. He was so handsome, so sexy, so charming…

She stood at the edge of the pool and contemplated his words from last night. Who thinks this way in this day and age? And yet, compared to the other guys she had dated, who else treated her with such respect? Had any of them wanted to make sure they knew her heart? None of them had. If all they were interested in was sex, she sent them on their way. Those who made it past that step often seemed not to make it very long after. Elliot had been a particular disaster. Most of the guys Jennifer had taken a strong stance with early. Elliot had been a case of too much alcohol and attraction being a bad combination. She might have seen the red flags sooner if she wasn't drinking that night. She spent the next few months trying to figure out where the attraction and relationship had gone. She finally determined it wasn't worth finding.

Then there was Jonathan. A guy who not only jumped wholeheartedly into the relationship with both feet before any sex was involved, now he wanted to wait until they were married. He would kiss her, he would hold her, but he would not make love to her until they were man and wife. Her head spun.

Could she wait that long? She felt the fire burn every time he kissed her. She felt the sparks when his hand touched hers. When he pulled her close, she wanted to be even closer. Right this minute, the wedding felt like it would take forever to arrive. She sighed.

"Everything ok?"

Jennifer startled at the voice behind her and the arms sliding around her waist. "Oh, Darling! I didn't hear you come back from the guesthouse." She leaned into his body, her head leaning back onto his shoulder.

"So I gathered. What were you thinking about?"

"Our conversation last night."

"Oh? Anything I should know?"

She turned, placing her arms up around his neck, "You mean other than the fact I can not wait to be Mrs. Hart?" He kissed her.

"Hey, you two," her father called from behind them. "What else are we doing?"

"We are going to the church I booked so Jennifer can see it and check out a couple of furniture stores before we get ready for tonight's party. You are welcome to come, or I can have Max take you back to the hotel."

Stephen turned to Suzanne, who turned to Jonathan and said, "Oui, we would love to come with you."

"Then let's go," he replied.

***

The party made the news. Or rather, the engagement of Jonathan Hart made the news. Also the fact several people were flying into town for the party from all over the world. The guest list of 300 Jonathan had hoped for grew to 500. There would be politicians, authors, key figures from the business world, and other celebrities in attendance.

As Jonathan looked over the list, Kimberly handed him he was a bit in awe of her ability to pull this off with such short notice.

"The long and short of it," Kimberly told him, "is everyone wants to meet the woman who removed you from the "most eligible bachelor" list."

Jonathan half-heartedly laughed. "I always hated being on that list anyway."

***

He picked up the phone to place another call after he received the one from Rachel. He had been invited to Jonathan Hart's engagement party the next evening, and he thought his boss would want to know. Of course, he had been correct.

And now he was making plans for a rather explosive party.