Jonathan walked a step behind Jennifer, allowing her to take the lead. It felt right, that she should be the one in charge of the outing. He'd be right there if she needed him. He'd be able to keep an eye out for the kind of obnoxious men who saw a woman and immediately began to stalk like a lion after a gazelle. He'd step in, if necessary.
But Jonathan also knew that there were plenty of men—probably plenty that Jennifer knew—who would want to protect her by doing things for her. And he would be lying if he said that wasn't his first instinct. But good as the intentions behind that instinct were, he would do her a disservice by not letting her do things herself. One of the things Jonathan loved best about Jennifer was how strong and capable she was. She had lived very well on her own all these years. And after hearing a little bit about her past, he saw what a big sacrifice and commitment she was making by starting this new life with him. He wouldn't disrespect that by traipsing all over her independence.
Jennifer turned her head to look back at him. Her hair shone beautiful red in the LA sunshine. "Darling," she called to him, "why do you keep falling behind?"
"I'm enjoying the view," he quipped, grinning at her. And it was a nice view. He'd happily fall behind if it meant getting to watch her behind.
She laughed. "You can enjoy the view another time. In fact, I'll give you a much better view when we get home," she added. "But come here." Jennifer reached out and took Jonathan's hand so they walked side by side down the aisle of the enormous parking lot of the Mercedes Benz dealership in Beverly Hills.
"See anything you like?" Jonathan asked her.
"Plenty. I like this pale blue, that's rather pretty. And the red is nice, but you've already got the red Ferrari, and I don't think we really need to match."
"And I already know you don't like the silver," he added. She'd liked the car in New York but not the color. She wanted something colorful.
"I don't want that dark brown for the same reason. It is nice, but I just don't think it's very me," she said, pondering one of the cars in front of them.
"I think we'd better go inside and talk to a salesman before someone comes down on us like a vulture," Jonathan suggested.
"Yes, and it'll be nice to get out of the sun for a minute. I've been in London and New York for so long, I don't think I remember what sunshine is!" Jennifer replied with a small laugh. "You think I've got freckles now, just wait until I spend a few days outside in this."
"That'll be great," Jonathan murmured. He leaned in to kiss the side of her neck. Oh, her beautiful, perfect neck! "I love your freckles. Favorite thing about you, I think."
Jennifer gave him a side-eyed scoff. "I hardly think that's true."
"Hmm," he replied with feigned concentration. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should make a list."
She grinned. "You do that. I'd be interested to see what you come up with. And maybe I'll do the same. We can trade lists after dinner."
"Perhaps a game of show and tell?" he asked, very eager about this idea.
"Just the thing," Jennifer laughed. "Now let's buy me a car before I lose all concentration to start playing right now."
There was some merit to that, but it wouldn't be fair to seduce her now and go home without getting the car. She really did need one of her own so she wasn't reliant on borrowing a car from him or Max every time she wanted to go somewhere.
And if there was a part of him that worried that the passion and infatuation might fade and Jennifer might wake up one day and wonder why she'd sacrificed her independence in favor of life with Jonathan, perhaps he could ease some of the concern by making sure that he never really tied her down. She would always be free. He wanted more than anything for their love and their relationship to be a blessed gift and never a cage to keep her in.
The first time Jennifer Edwards drove down Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills towards Rodeo Drive with the top down in her Mercedes convertible, she felt giddy with joy. The wind in her hair and the sun on her face and Jonathan's hand resting on her thigh. Nothing in the world could be better than this. If this was what life in California was going to be, she was ready to drop everything of her former existence without a question. She had known that the future with Jonathan Hart was going to be a bright one. She couldn't have imagined how outrageously happy she could be. At least with their clothes on.
"Where to first?" Jonathan asked as they reached a stoplight.
"I think Ferragamo just got a new collection in that I'd like to take a look at. And I don't have much California attire, so maybe some lighter dresses would be good. Or probably shorts. I don't have anything that I can wear on a sailboat, I don't think. We'll have to look around," she answered, thinking out loud. Moving to California in late July was probably ill-timed.
"I'm sure you've got gorgeous gowns, but I thought a formal cocktail hour for our engagement party would be good. So you should get something new for that," he suggested.
"That's a very good idea. Now, you're sure you don't want to call Max to come pick you up?" she asked worriedly. "It might be a long afternoon…" It was only fair that she warned him. Yes, they'd gone shopping together in London, but that was that first day they'd been engaged and they were both on cloud nine after the rust of the two days prior. No man really liked to follow a woman around when she shopped, did he? And it wasn't as though Jennifer really needed him to buy things for her. Unless she decided to get everything designer today, she could cover most of the purchases she needed on her own. After all, Jonathan had just bought her a car. He'd done quite enough for today. She didn't want him to be bored following her around these stores, or worse, resentful over the way she spent his money.
But of course, Jennifer needn't have worried. His thumb stroked her knee affectionately. "I don't want Max to pick me up. I want to spend the day with you and showering you with beautiful things and enjoying being a passenger in your new car," he told her.
The number of times in a day that Jennifer's mind screamed out her love for this man was a bit outrageous. But she couldn't help it. He was the most wonderful man in the world, and she was lucky beyond belief that he was hers.
Jennifer followed Jonathan's directions to a centrally located parking garage on Rodeo and Wilshire so they could walk around for a little while. "If we have a lot of packages, I can bring the car around for you later," Jonathan reasoned as she parked on the second level of the garage.
That sounded perfectly fine to her. They both got out of the car and she locked it with her shiny new key. She took a moment to gaze at her pale yellow Mercedes. It looked more beige in this light, actually. It was beautiful. There had been a brighter yellow but the dealership only had it in hardtop and she was set on having a convertible, so they'd chosen this one. The bright yellow she might have liked better, actually. More colorful, like she'd wanted. Maybe next time. For now, she was more than pleased with this one.
They held hands as they wandered the streets. When Jennifer made any comment about anything, Jonathan steered her inside and insisted she pick out what she wanted. He was apt to spoil her at this rate. A part of her absolutely adored that about him, but she was a bit concerned about his extravagance. It was one thing when he surprised her with lavish things. That, she didn't mind at all. That, she loved. But being with him and feeling the pressure to buy three things instead of one when she really didn't need any was a little odd. She tried to rein in his enthusiasm a little bit. After all, this was still new to both of them. They'd find their balance eventually.
Jennifer did, however, happily let him persuade her into getting an incredible red gown from Versace. It had a plunging neckline and a high slit up the side of the chiffon skirt, and the back was completely open. One side of the bodice was covered in huge red sequins, almost like fish scales, and Jennifer immediately fell in love with it. Maybe it was a little much, but oh, she didn't care. It was gorgeous. And she knew Jonathan would love it. And she did love wearing red. It would be perfect for their engagement party. Whenever that happened to be.
After a few hours, the boxes and hanger bags were all packed up in the trunk of the car, and Jennifer got back into the driver's seat of her car.
"Did you have a nice day, darling?" Jonathan asked her.
Before she started the engine, she turned to him and grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled him into a rather insistent kiss. "I had the best day. Thank you for everything, darling."
He gave her another kiss, this one a bit sweeter. "Absolutely my pleasure."
She settled back into her seat. "Now," she said, "let's get back home and I can give you a fashion show of all my new things."
"And we can play show and tell?"
Jennifer smirked. "We'll save that for after dinner." She had a feeling that they'd never get to dinner if they started on that game too early in the evening.