It was the phone that woke Jonathan up. He groaned in annoyance and blindly reached out for it at the bedside table. He had been sleeping in the guest room at the penthouse because the bed from the master bedroom had been moved into the Bel Air house, where he and Jennifer had been staying for the last week. He was now being abruptly woken up in the penthouse as an unmarried man for the very last time.

"Hello?" he answered, voice hoarse from sleep.

"Good morning, Mr. Hart. This is Sal downstairs, and there's a delivery here for you."

"Send it up, Sal. I'll pick it up from the hall later," Jonathan said, hoping he could go back to sleep for another hour or so.

"Well, the thing is, Mr. Hart, it's sort of…well, it's sort of time sensitive. Apparently it was delivered to your office and since it's a weekend, they had it forwarded here right away. You might want to send Max down," Sal suggested.

Jonathan frowned. Sent to his office and forwarded to Hart Towers? Everyone at the office knew the wedding was at the Beverly Hilton. He had a suite booked for himself and his groomsmen to get ready before the ceremony, just as Jennifer and her bridesmaids would be getting ready in her suite. But he'd stayed the night here to avoid the temptation to sneak into Jennifer's room. As it was, he had her wedding present waiting for her at the suite to give her later. Who would have sent a package here instead of the hotel?

In the end, Jonathan hauled himself out of bed far earlier than he wanted to so that he could ask Max to go downstairs and take the delivery—whatever it was—up to the penthouse. Jonathan made a pot of coffee while Max was gone.

"Mr. H, I think you oughta come see this," Max called from the living room.

"Just bring it in, Max," Jonathan shouted back, pouring his coffee.

"Nah, I think you gotta come out here." He was certainly insistent.

Sighing in annoyance, Jonathan brought his mug out to the living room. This was a hell of a way to start his wedding day. "Max, what's going on?"

And then he saw it. A huge wooden crate with air holes. And there was something moving inside. No wonder the office sent it here instead of the hotel. No wonder Sal was all out of sorts. No wonder Max told him to come out here and see it.

"What the hell is that!?" Jonathan exclaimed. The thing inside the box was moving around more, clearly agitated.

"I didn't look too close," Max answered warily. "There's a card, though. Maybe that'll tell you."

Jonathan put his coffee mug down on the side table and cautiously approached the crate. There was an envelope taped to the top that he snatched up before whatever was in there decided to attack. Just as Jonathan stepped away, something furry and gray hit against one of the air holes.

Sufficiently far away, Jonathan opened the envelope. It was a typed note that read, Jonathan, you really did win a knockout. Best of luck in marriage. – Elliot Manning

"Manning," Jonathan snarled to himself. He now had an idea of what was in the crate, so he did his best to look inside through one of the holes. And sure enough, there was a kangaroo in there.

Leave it to Elliot Manning to send a wild animal as a wedding present just so he could make a stupid pun.

"Max," Jonathan instructed, "do me a favor and call the zoo and have someone come pick up this kangaroo. I've gotta get in the shower and head over to the hotel."

"I'll take care of it, Mr. H," Max assured him.

Even though the call had gotten him up early, all this nonsense with the damn kangaroo had now been a cause for delay. He quickly showered and shaved and got dressed. His morning coat and suit for the wedding were waiting at the hotel, so he just had to have something to wear to get there. And Max had already packed all of Jonathan and Jennifer's things for the honeymoon, and that was waiting in the back of the Bentley for when Max drove them to the airport later. Jennifer didn't know where they were going, or even that they were going to be leaving straight from the reception, but she did know that Max would take care of everything. Just as he always did.

Jonathan was still running a little behind when he got into his Ferrari and headed out to the Beverly Hilton. He passed by a truck from the Los Angeles Zoo entering the parking garage just as he was leaving. So at least that hopefully meant that Max would have the kangaroo sorted soon enough and could meet him at the hotel.

He hoped he wasn't cutting it too close when he hurried through the lobby, waving hello to the many guests and hotel staff who knew him but not stopping to chat. He had to get up to his suite to pick up Jennifer's present. She didn't know he was going to come give it to her before the ceremony. As far as Jonathan knew, at least, Jennifer didn't know he had a present for her at all. That was what made the surprise so fun. And she would never, ever expect this present. He knew that for a fact.

Mr. Maximoff had been kind enough to make sure the gift was wrapped properly. It was a little obvious what it was, but it would still be quite a surprise. Jonathan picked it up from where it rested at the back of the sofa in the sitting room area of the suite. A little unwieldy, but he'd manage just fine.

Jennifer's suite was on the same floor but on the far end of the hotel. Quite a trek with a giant wrapped gift in his arms. But at last he reached the door, putting the gift down for a moment to knock.

There were voices inside, including some excitable squealing women. He heard someone—Carol, maybe—tell Jennifer that the bride doesn't answer the door. And sure enough, Carol answered the door a moment later.

"You're not supposed to be here!" she exclaimed.

Jonathan just chuckled. "If Jennifer isn't in her wedding dress yet, I was hoping I could have a moment of her time. Privately. I have a surprise I want to give her," Jonathan explained.

Jennifer herself muscled her way over, holding a glass of champagne and . "I am not in my wedding dress yet, and of course I want to see my groom! Carol, let the man in," she insisted.

Begrudgingly, Carol opened the door so Jonathan could come in. Jennifer came forward to greet him but stepped back when she saw what he was carrying. She eyed him curiously.

"You'd better come into the bedroom," she suggested, putting her glass down before leading him through the room.

Jonathan followed her and was pleased when she shut the door behind him, leaving the bridesmaids to all giggle and wonder to themselves. He put the gift on the end of the bed and finally turned to see his beautiful bride. "Hi, darling," he greeted.

She smiled. "Hi," she answered, stepping forward to kiss him. "To what do I owe the immense pleasure?"

"Well, I already had to suffer through the whole night without you, and I just couldn't wait till the ceremony. And besides, I wanted to give you your wedding present."

Jennifer's whole face lit up. She really did love presents. "Yours is packed in my luggage already, so you'll get it as soon as I get to my suitcase, wherever it is we're going."

Jonathan grinned. He didn't know whether she had gotten him something or not, but he was pleased she did. She had great taste, and anything she picked out for him was sure to be special. After all, it came from Jennifer. That made it special in and of itself. "I know we're cutting it a little close and you have to get ready, but I didn't want to pack this and I got delayed getting out the door today," he explained.

"Is everything alright?" she asked in concern.

He scowled, recalling the nonsense he'd left at the penthouse. "I got woken up at the crack of dawn by Sal, the doorman, calling about a delivery that had been forwarded from my office that had to be collected right away."

Jennifer's eyes widened. "What was it?"

"You remember I told you about Elliot Manning, that business competitor of mine? Well, he must have seen us in one of the papers and read we're getting married because he sent me a huge crate with a kangaroo inside and a note congratulating me on 'winning a knockout.' A damn kangaroo in the middle of the penthouse. I had Max call the zoo."

It wasn't until that moment that Jonathan noticed that Jennifer's face had gone pale. "Is that all the note said?" Her voice was strained.

"Yes, why?" he asked in response. His annoyance with Elliot had gone right out the window. "Darling, what's the matter?"

"I…well, I don't think that wedding present was just about you."

"What do you mean?"

Jennifer bit her lip, searching for her words. "Do you remember when you asked me about my ex-boyfriends? And I told you about the last relationship I had before we met?"

"You said he was like my evil twin," Jonathan recalled. And then it clicked. "Oh no."

She nodded sadly. "I used to be involved with Elliot Manning. He actually flew to New York from Honolulu to see me after you beat him in that race. And we went to London together, initially. And given what happened between us, I don't think the kangaroo and the knockout comment are a coincidence."

Jonathan felt his blood run cold. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he did always have a temper…"

"Jennifer, did he hit you?" Jonathan was ready to postpone the wedding and leave right now and find Elliot Manning and do a hell of a lot more than beat him in a boat race.

"No," Jennifer assured him. "No, he never, ever did that. But…it was close. Close enough to knock sense into me, so to speak, and make me leave him. And that was all, I promise."

Jonathan felt some of the tension leave him at that. It was a comfort at least to know that she hadn't been hurt. Physically, at least. But Jonathan could read between the lines, recalling what she'd told him about this so-called evil twin. He had a mean streak. He had probably hurt her plenty, but those wounds wouldn't show on the surface.

He pulled her into his arms and just held her for a little while. He buried his face in her neck and breathed her in. She hugged him back and whispered, "So now you know. And we don't ever have to talk about him ever again."

And that was just fine by Jonathan. He didn't answer her though. He just held her.

It was Jennifer who pulled back, wiping her eyes and giving herself a little shake. "So is that my present?" she asked, pointing to the wrapped package. "Something in a frame?"

Jonathan swallowed back his emotion, trying to move past things the way Jennifer clearly wanted. After all, it was their wedding day. There wasn't any space to be upset today. He forced a smile and said encouragingly, "Yes, it is. Go ahead and open it."

Her mood shifted almost immediately, which made Jonathan smile. Giddy as a child, Jennifer ripped open the paper. He just stood back and watched, barely containing his own excitement for her to see her present. And as soon as the front of the painting was revealed, Jennifer gasped and practically jumped backward. "Jonathan!" she exclaimed. "Is that…it's not…" she stammered.

"It was in a private collection, as I'm sure you know. But the art dealer I hired to find it was able to convince the owner to sell to me. To us. I thought it might look nice hung up by the stairs in the new house," he suggested.

Jennifer had tears fill her eyes. "I can't believe it. I mentioned this painting once on our first date. I can't believe you remembered."

"It was a very memorable first date," he answered. Which was true. He remembered everything she told him. How could he not when he had fallen head over heels in love with her in those first few hours?

She shook her head in disbelief. "You didn't even know my name."

Jonathan just shrugged. That was all water under the bridge. One thing he'd learned very early into their relationship was that despite her telling him her name was Louise Tobin and her concealing the fact that she was the annoying reporter he had been trying to avoid, every single bit of that first evening they spent together had been Jennifer. The woman he fell in love with had been the woman he was going to marry today. Her name hadn't factored into it.

Jennifer sighed and wrapped her arms around him, looking up adoringly. "What on earth did I ever do to deserve someone as wonderful as you?"

"You exist," Jonathan answered simply. "You exist and we found each other. Isn't that enough?"

He kissed her, then. And it felt wonderful to know that this was the last kiss they'd share before they became husband and wife.

The Van Gogh. The self-portrait that Jennifer had seen once about a decade ago when it was up for auction and she'd accompanied her father on some of his business. She had fallen so in love with that painting in those few moments she'd seen it. She didn't know who'd purchased it, and it hardly mattered. That painting had become her very favorite ever since. And Jonathan had found it and bought it for her. So it could hang on the walls of 3100 Willow Pond Road in Bel Air. Jonathan had bought her the Van Gogh to put in their home. She could hardly believe it.

Jennifer had been slightly shellshocked by receiving that gift, but Deborah had banged on the door to remind them that they needed to get ready. Jonathan had kissed her cheek and said he'd see her later and left the suite.

The rest of morning was a blur. She somehow managed to pin up her hair and do her makeup. The girls helped Jennifer with her dress and her veil. And then they were heading down to the ballroom for the ceremony.

There was a little side room—barely bigger than the closet she and Jonathan had enjoyed their tryst in last night—where she was told to sit and wait. So here she was. Sitting and waiting, alone with her thoughts.

Most of her thoughts were still on the Van Gogh. It didn't seem real. And she probably wouldn't really believe it until they got home to Willow Pond and she saw it on the wall each day. And even then, she might not ever get used to it.

She should have tried to concentrate more on the painting and on Jonathan and on how sweet he was, but with nothing else to distract her, Jennifer's thoughts inevitably moved to the other crazy occurrence of the morning. Perhaps she had been foolish to believe that Elliot Manning would never affect her life again. Because here he was, being an ass and trying to steal attention from those who deserved it. Elliot certainly didn't deserve to plague her thoughts like this, especially on her wedding day. But he just always had that way about him, always taking focus.

It was probably for the best that she had finally told Jonathan about her past with Elliot. He deserved to know, of course, but the wedding day certainly wasn't the best time. But Jennifer couldn't hear Jonathan complain about what Elliot had done and not explain. It wasn't just Jonathan that Elliot had wanted to humiliate. He somehow knew that directing that nastiness at Jonathan was actually the easiest way to upset Jennifer.

Although, a part of Jennifer did wish she'd gotten to see the kangaroo. She'd never gotten to see one up close, and she'd always loved animals. She was glad, at least, that the LA Zoo would take care of the poor thing. Knowing Elliot, that kangaroo had been snatched out of the wild for the sake of a joke. It was cruel. That was Elliot.

A soft knock came at the door, thankfully taking her away from thoughts highly unsuitable for her wedding day. "Yes?" she called.

The door opened and there was Pa, all dressed in his finest clothes. "Are you ready?" he asked with a smile.

Jennifer couldn't help grinning. "More than ready."

"Everyone's inside, so it's time we get to our place."

She stood up and approached her father who gazed at her in awe.

"You look so beautiful, Jennifer. Just like your mother," he said.

A lump of emotion settled in her throat. "Really?" She obviously remembered her mother and had seen pictures of her, but she had usually been told by everyone that she took after her father.

"She wore a gown very like that when we got married. She'd be so proud to see you today, to see the wonderful woman you've grown up to be," Pa told her.

"Do you think she'd like Jonathan?" Jennifer asked, brushing off Dad's compliment to avoid getting too emotional about it.

He chuckled, "Darling, everyone likes Jonathan. And seeing the way you two love each other would make any parent happy. I know I am."

Jennifer really didn't want to cry, not right before the ceremony. "Thank you, Dad," she said softly.

"Alright, let's go to our place," he said, holding his arm out for her.

Everything was silent and still as they waited behind the doors to the ballroom. Jennifer had a vision of everyone inside, her bridesmaids and the groomsmen and Max and Jonathan. Oh Jonathan. She really did love him more than she ever dreamed possible. And becoming his wife was this first step in the rest of their lives. They already had a home and a family with Max, and now they'd be married and happy forever. Jennifer couldn't even contemplate anything else. Life with Jonathan would be a dream come true because he was a dream come true. For the millionth time since meeting him in London, Jennifer was almost overwhelmed by how lucky they both were to have found each other.

The doors opened and the wedding march played. Jennifer walked down the aisle with her Pa, clutching onto him to try and keep herself from floating up in the air with happiness. She was vaguely aware of the crowds of people all in their pretty chairs and the flowers all around, but Jennifer's eyes found Jonathan and she could not look away.

He had a beaming smile on his face, and when she got closer, she could see he had tears in his eyes.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" the minister asked.

"I do," Pa answered. He leaned in a kissed Jennifer's cheek through her veil and whispered, "Congratulations, darling."

There was a slight noise of Max clearing his throat, reminding the minister to then ask, "And who gives this man to this woman?"

Max stepped forward. "I do." He gave Jonathan an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder as he went to go sit down.

Jonathan then took Jennifer's hand, and they faced each other. The both of them were smiling so much, they probably looked like lunatics. Maybe they were. Given how they'd met and fallen in love, a little bit of insanity at the wedding ceremony only made sense. A fine farewell to Jennifer Edwards and the perfect greeting to Jennifer Hart.