He banishes me to the bedroom as soon as we get home. "I got wrapping to do" he says, kissing me as he pushes me into the room. "Judging by the bags, you do too. Give me an hour." "An hour?" I squeal. "How the hell can it take you an hour to wrap?" "Uh doll" he groans, running his hands through his hair. "I'm not exactly the most patient person, ya know? Me and wrapping, well, let's just say we don't get along." I smile. "An hour it is" I whisper, kissing him before pushing him out of the room and closing the door. Before I do anything I strip out of my jeans and grab a pair of shorts and a bikini top. It's boiling, totally not what I'm used to. Finally, I sit on the bed and grab the bag I need. I decide to wrap his anniversary present first. I smile as I look at it. I just hope he likes it. I wrap it quickly and hunt for his birthday present. I finally find it and wrap it quickly before checking the time. I've taken over an hour by now, he gotta be done. I open the door quietly and head for the lounge, pausing as I hear him speak.
"I know, and I'm sorry" he says quietly. "I didn't realise keeping it a secret would seriously piss off so many people. I mean, I knew the guys wouldn't get it, I just didn't think any further than them. I'm sorry." A woman speaks next. "We get it Jon" she says. "If you ask me, you did the right thing." "I know" he says quietly. "I wanted us to get through the tricky first year before throwing her to the wolves and them judging her." "Nobody is judging her Jon" the woman says again. Another man butts in, a voice I know. "Nobody knows her well enough to judge her" Colby says. "But, from what I've seen, she's good for you." I smile, taking a deep breath before walking into the lounge. "All d... Oh, hi" I say, nervously looking around. There's more people than I expected. Jon gets up quickly and puts his arm around me. "Lora" he says. "Obviously you know Joe and Colby. This is Galina and Leighla." "Nice to finally meet you" they both say together. I smile. "You too" I say, feeling the reassuring squeeze Jon is giving my side. "So, what brings you guys here? Oh shit, sorry, that sounded so rude, it's just, I wasn't expecting visitors." Jon laughs. "Neither was I" he admits. "But the guys figured it would be a good idea for us all to get together before the filming, for you girls to get to know each other." "Plus" Leighla says, looking at Colby. "A little birdie told us it's your wedding anniversary tomorrow, and Jon's birthday. Even though the guys are going through their divorce onscreen, they're still family, you know?" I smile, liking her instantly. "So we brought gifts" Galina says, producing a bag. Joe grins. "All the girls idea" he admits. "Normally we would take Jon out after the show." "Why don't we all go out tonight?" Leighla suddenly asks. "We've got a hotel booked anyway, won't hurt to go have a few drinks, celebrate and get to know each other?" I look at Jon quickly. "Up to you" he shrugs. I nod, looking back at them. "Sure" I say. "Why not?" They smile, and Galina hands the bag to Jon. "Open them" she says. He looks at me and I nod, following him to sit down. The first gift he pulls out is to both of us. He half puts it on my lap and we open it together. A wedding album. Shit. "Oh wow guys" Jon says. "Doll, we need to get the pictures from your place." I smile and nod. He's got the perfect solution as always. I see Leighla frowning. "We got married in Wales" I explain. "Everything is at my house." Jon nods. "No point me having it all here" he says. "I'm never here anyway. But, we can ship it all over soon, Lora has agreed to move here permanently." Joe and Colby hug me. "Excellent news!" Colby says. Jon smiles as he grabs the next gift. We all laugh as he unwraps a blow up doll. "Guess you won't be needing that if Lora is moving in" Galina laughs.
A few more typical boys gifts later and they stand up to leave. "I'll text you with details for later" Joe says, shaking Jon's hand. He nods and then Joe and Colby hug me again. "Later lil sis" they say, and I smile. I can't believe how quickly they've accepted me. Leighla and Galina wave as they follow the guys to their car. As soon as they're out of sight Jon closes the door and turns warily to me. "Say the word and we won't go" he says quietly. I shake my head. "No" I say. "We need this, Jon. We need to be seen out in public. People need this." He nods. "Ok" he says slowly. "But for the record, I'd much prefer staying in with you and peeling that bikini off you..." "Plenty of time for that Jon" I say kissing him. "We're married, we got forever." He smiles. "Except we don't" he says. "We got about 86 days Lor. Not forever at all." I put my finger on his lips. "Not now" I whisper. "Please Jon, not now? I know we need to sort it, but can we not think about it now? For tonight, we're married, happily married, and that's all that matters, right?" He nods. "What the wife wants, she gets" he says, backing me against the wall and kissing me softly. I feel him pulling the string on the bikini top and I smile. "But first" I whisper, pulling it off and tugging at his shirt. "Let's do what the husband wants."