Real Love

by Tracy Reed

  SEAN AND KYLA WALKED INSIDE, dropped their bags, and stared out the large window overlooking the water. The view was incredible. They were finally here…paradise. They were also married and free to enjoy themselves. Sean felt he should explain to Peter why they no longer needed the other bungalow. He also offered to pay for their stay because now it was their honeymoon. Peter wouldn’t hear of it. He said what better way to figure out how to design the honeymoon bungalows than by having honeymooners giving feedback.

  Sean walked over and read the note on the large fruit and cheese basket on the dining table. “Ky, Peter said to enjoy ourselves and he’ll meet with us next week.”

  She looked around the room absorbing the space. Sean walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. “What are you thinking?”

  She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m thinking a bed with a high padded headboard and lots of pillows would be amazing on that wall facing the window. Imagine waking up to that view?”

  “I know a better view I like waking up to.” He kissed her.

  “And a double chaise would be perfect in that corner.”

  “No loveseat?”

  “Nope. Honeymooners like options.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh-huh and soft light. Every woman looks good in soft light.”

  “Anything else?” he asked followed by another kiss.

  “A large soaking tub.”

  “We just got here and you’ve already redone the space.”

  “I don’t want you to regret recommending me for this job.”

  “Babe, you are very talented and I know you’re going to do an amazing job.” He kissed her again. “However, I think we need to try out that mattress, because there are quite a few couples relying on our recommendation.”

  “Really?” She smiled.

  “Uh-huh.” He picked her up and plopped her down onto the bed.

  Sean was doing everything he could think of to make Kyla feel special. While she was at the spa, he asked Peter to send some guys up from engineering to help him rearrange the room to Kyla’s suggestions. When she returned, the bed had been moved to face the large window looking at the water. He asked housekeeping to send up some extra pillows and he managed to get a few candles.

  They sat up in bed, staring out the window. Kyla was snug at Sean’s side watching the sun set. “That view really is amazing. I can’t believe you moved the bed.”

  “I had to, after seeing how beautiful you looked standing in front of the window with the moonlight framing you.”

  She kissed the inside of his hand. “Your hands are like your lips, strong and soft.” She gently kissed each finger. “I used to fantasize about your hands…how they would feel moving along my body,” she confessed. “Then, when we started getting serious, I didn’t want you to touch me.”

  “What was all that talk about wanting me to kiss you?”

  “Kissing me is one thing, touching me was something all together different. Before we…when we were just friends and you would hold my hand, that meant more to me than…there wasn’t anyone in my life that just wanted to hold my hand and that meant a lot to me.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “Now you do. I know it sounds corny, but I like sitting on the sofa with you, Simon and Winnie, watching TV or talking. I remember sneaking downstairs and watching my parents sitting in the family room snuggled up on the sofa talking. Corianne thought it was sweet, and I thought it was boring.” She pressed herself further into Sean’s side. “But, now I see that that’s one of the best things about being married…just sitting and talking.”

  “Francesca and I started out like that and then things changed.”

  “I never had that. I think that’s why I liked spending time with you.”

  “Here I thought it was my great sense of humor or Simon that kept you coming around.

  “It was definitely Simon.”

  “I knew he was a chick magnet,” he laughed.

  “How did you decide on Winnie? Don’t get me wrong. I love her, but why didn’t you get me a female Simon?”

  “I took Simon with me because I figured our dogs would be spending some time together, and it would be good if they got along. There was a cute little female Boston Terrier there and he wouldn’t give her the time of day. He walked right over to Winnie, she cocked her head, he barked and looked up at me.”

  “So I have Simon to thank for bringing Winnie into my life?”

  “Yep. I think he thinks she’s like him just with more hair.” He kissed her shoulder. “I guess we should…” The phone started ringing.

  “Is that you or me?”

  Sean looked over at the night table at his phone. “It’s not me.”

  She reached over and picked up her phone. She didn’t recognize the New York number and hesitated before answering. “Kyla James…Mommy, is there a problem…uh-huh…how are Winnie and Simon…okay…no Mommy…I was going to see if Sean wanted to get dinner…uh-huh…we have our time set…Mommy, no…uh-huh…uh-huh…Mommy…Mommy, it’s getting late, and I want to get something to eat…I will…I love you too…good night.”

  “What did she want this time?”

  “The same thing your mother did, are you keeping busy, are you guys being careful? My God, you’d think we were a couple of horny teenagers on Spring break.”

  “How many calls is that now?”

  “Twelve for my mother and ten for yours. We should have told them we got married.”

  “Are you kidding, it would have been worse.” He kissed her shoulder. “Baby, I’ll figure something out.”

  She slumped down further on the bed and pulled Sean toward her. He covered her mouth with his, enjoying her lips when the phone began ringing, breaking the mood. He looked over at the clock. Kyla pulled back laughing. “I’ll give you one guess who it is.”

  Sean let out a huge sigh, reached over and picked up his phone. He looked at the caller ID and shook his head. He pressed the button answering the call. “Hi Mom…no Mom…Mom I told you we will, when we’re ready…uh-huh.” He sat up and Kyla snuggled up next to him. “Mom…Mom…Mother, listen to me, we’ll get married when we’re ready…I know that Mother…” he climbed out of bed and began pacing back and forth. “Uh- huh…I’ll talk to Ky…no…she’s probably in bed…no, because we’ve already taken care of everything…no, I don’t care if you do want to pay for them…because we only want certain people there to celebrate with us…no, we already ordered one. I told you, we took care of everything before we left…please don’t do that…why? Because if you do, we’ll move the party and won’t tell you…I’m serious…I wouldn’t do that…it was both our idea…I don’t believe I’m having this conversation. I’m on my…,” he caught himself before continuing his statement. “I’m trying to have a little vacation time, and you’re trying to upset me…apology accepted…I love you too…I’ll tell her when I see her…bye.”

  He pressed the button ending the call and walked over and stood in front of the window, staring silently. Kyla got up and walked over and wrapped her arms around him, gently kissing his back. “I’m sorry, I know this isn’t how we planned it.”

  “That’s not it. It’s the calls every couple of hours. We’re responsible adults, not…”

  “Do you want to call and tell them we got married?”

  “No, because then our wedding will become a circus.” He turned to face her. “I promised myself, I’d give you the wedding you wanted.”

  “What I want is for everyone to know you’re an honorable man, who respected me so much he was willing to forsake a well paying job for my virtue. A man who loved me so much, he put up with my bizarre behavior and married me. I want everyone to know, he loved me so much, he patiently put up with both our mothers calling us on our secret honeymoon nagging him to marry me.” She pulled his face to hers and gently kissed his lips. “I love you.”

  He walked over to the nightstand, picked u
p his phone and pressed the button for the programmed number. “Mom…hold on.” He dialed another number and waited for an answer. “Hello Miss Nadine…Mom…good you both can hear me. I’m going to say this once, Kyla and I are here working and trying to have a vacation. We’re adults and know what our boundaries are. If we do something we need to answer to God for, that’s between us and Him. Please don’t call either of us unless someone has died, is in the hospital, there’s a problem with Simon or Winnie, our apartments have been robbed or burned down. If it’s a work problem, someone from our office will contact us. And don’t even think about making changes to our engagement party. If we find out you’ve interfered with our party or invited additional guests, we’ll cancel it and not tell you when it’s rescheduled. Do I make myself clear…good…I love both of you, good bye.” He pressed the button ending the call and turned to face Kyla.

  “Wow, that was some speech.” She walked toward him. “You know you are very sexy when you take charge like that.”

  He stood up straighter smiling. “Well, you know, I am the head of the family.”

  “And you’ve been doing a very good job.” She stepped closer and he wrapped his arms around her. “But, I want to talk about those boundaries you mentioned.”

  “What about them?” He covered her mouth with his kissing her passionately.

  “That was nice, but those boundaries.” She gently stroked the side of his face. “What are they, I mean if there are rules, I would like to know what they are.”

  He smiled and pushed her down onto the bed. “We don’t have any.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  Chapter 76

  SEAN REACHED OVER AND GRABBED his phone, looked at the caller ID and pressed answer call. “Good morning, Camille.”

  “Hello Mr. Prescott, I mean good afternoon. When will you be back?”

  “We got back last night. Why?”

  “I know you told me not to make any changes. However, your mother and Miss James’ mother are trying to book the suite for the day after your party.”

  “What? Why?”

  “They said it’s for a surprise bridal shower for Miss James. I told them the suite was already booked, but they insist I find them another location in the hotel. I tried calling Miss James, but it went right to voice mail.”

  He sat up. “I don’t believe it.”

  Kyla quickly sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  “Hold on, Camille.” He covered the phone with his hand. “Our mothers want the suite on Saturday to throw you a shower.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. Give me the phone.” He handed her the phone. “Camille.”

  “Miss James, oh I…”

  “When did they call?”

  “Right before I called Mr. Prescott.”

  “Give us a half hour, and come down to our room.”

  “You’re in the hotel? I thought you weren’t due back until tomorrow? If I’d known, I would have…”

  “We’ll see you in half an hour.”

  “Okay.”

  “Bye.” Kyla pressed the button, ending the call.

  “I thought this was a fake project to keep them distracted?” Sean asked.

  “So did I.” She picked up her phone and pressed the programmed number. After a couple of rings, a cheery voice answered.

  “Hey there, Mrs. Prescott.”

  “Good morning.”

  “Where are you?” DeeDee asked.

  “The Surrey. We got in last night. What’s going on with our mothers?”

  “They’re coming over today at noon so we can finalize the the shower plans. Why?”

  “They called the hotel trying to book the suite for the day after the party for the shower.”

  “We agreed to have the shower at my place.”

  “They are way out of control. First they were trying to make changes to our party, then they started calling us every couple of hours. Sean and I barely had time to…we only need two days and then…”

  “Calm down. Everything is going to be fine. I’ll take care of the mothers. Enjoy your husband and call me later. Bye.”

  “Thanks. Bye.” Kyla hung up.

  “What did she say?” Sean pulled her back to him and wrapped his arms around her.

  “She said they agreed to have the shower at her place.” She let out a deep sigh. “Sean, what are we going to do? All we need is two days and then…”

  “Shhh, everything is going to be fine. We’ll meet with Camille, finalize everything, run all our errands and come back and relax. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m going to take a shower, wanna join me?”

  “Camille will be here in twenty minutes. If I join you…”

  “Okay, you go first.” She kissed him passionately and climbed out of bed leaving him a little excited. “Not fair,” he called out.

  Kyla looked out the peephole and opened the door. “Good morning, Camille.” They hugged each other.

  “I brought breakfast.” The server followed behind her with a room service cart.

  “Where would you like this?” the gentleman asked.

  “The dining table. Thank you.” Kyla replied.

  “Will there be anything else, Ms. Jessup?”

  “No, that will be all. Thank you,” Camille replied.

  “Let’s sit down. Sean’s getting dressed.” Kyla poured a cup of coffee. “Would you like a cup?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sean…Camille is here.” She filled the cup and placed it on the table in front of her.

  “Thank you.” She took a sip and cleared her throat. “Miss James, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry, but I recall you and Mr. Prescott saying you were…I mean your story was inspiring. It made me rethink some things about myself. So, if it’s none of my business…”

  Kyla smiled as she wiped her mouth. “Sean and I got married a couple of days before we left.”

  “I thought we were planning your wedding?”

  “That’s correct.”

  She covered her mouth. “Oh my God, so when I called, you were on your honeymoon. I’m so sorry.”

  “That’s okay. It was supposed to be a working vacation. Instead it was a working honeymoon.”

  “I think eloping is romantic. My mother, however, doesn’t agree with me. She’s insisting on a huge family event.”

  “I didn’t know you were engaged.”

  She held up her left hand revealing her engagement ring. “He proposed on New Year’s Eve.”

  “How romantic.”

  “I would love to do what you and Mr. Prescott are doing. It’s only been a few weeks and our families are driving us insane. Gregory and I are two steps away from going to the city hall and calling it a done deal.”

  “Sean and I agreed to do our wedding and marriage, our way.” Sean walked out and kissed Kyla.

  “Good morning, Camille.”

  “Good morning, Mr. Prescott. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. I take it my wife told you our little secret?”

  “Yes, and I think it’s romantic.”

  “Honey, guess who got engaged over the holidays?”

  He looked at Camille holding up her left hand showing her engagement ring. “Congratulations.” He walked over and kissed her on the cheek. “Babe, when did you order breakfast?”

  “This is a gift from Camille.”

  “Thank you.” He sat down and Kyla poured another cup of coffee and placed it in front of him. He lifted the metal cover. “This looks good.”

  “I wasn’t quite sure what you might like, so I ordered some of the things you selected for your wedding brunch.”

  “It’s perfect. Thank you.” He bowed his head and prayed. “So our mothers are trying to plan something?”

  “Yes. They were calling and demanding to make changes and then they started calling about a bridal shower. I’m sorry about calling you on your honeymoon, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “We understand. Is ev
erything else set?” Kyla asked.

  “I spoke with Butch yesterday and he said he’ll be arriving at ten. He said don’t ask how he did it, but he managed to find enough white lilacs for your bouquet.” Kyla’s eyes lit up. “I spoke with the head of security, and he’s going to send up a couple of guys to cover the doors to the terrace until time for the ceremony. I spoke to Ryder and he and his band are all set. I also took the liberty of hiring a DJ. It’s good to have a mix.”

  Sean nodded. “I like that. Thanks.”

  “I was very careful not to say anything about the wedding to Ryder. I have you booked in the suite on Friday morning, however, I checked and it’s empty. If you would like to move up there today, I can arrange a special rate.”

  Kyla looked at Sean. “What do you think?”

  “What about Winnie and Simon?” Sean countered.

  “We can book a room nearby for them,” Camille replied.

  They both smiled. “Winnie and Simon are our dogs. We haven’t seen them since we left. My mother is bringing them to us tomorrow.” Kyla looked at Sean. “I miss them.”

  “I’ll make sure the concierge knows we have two special guests checking in and to send up a few goodies.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What kind of dogs are they?”

  “Winnie is a Yorkie and Simon is a Boston Terrier,” Kyla answered.

  “Little dogs.”

  “Don’t tell them that. They think they are the biggest dogs on the block.” Sean smiled.

  “Would you like me to arrange a grooming session for them Friday morning so they’ll be ready for the wedding?” Camille asked.

  “That would be perfect, thank you. Now all we need to do is keep our parents distracted and away from us until the wedding,” Kyla said as she rubbed her forehead.

  “Babe, everything is going to be fine.” He patted her hand.

  “What time are they arriving?” Camille asked.

  “I’m not sure, but knowing them, very early in the morning.” They laughed. “What about your parents, honey?” Kyla looked at Sean.

  “I’m not sure, but it will probably be early, like your parents. I think Jordan and Zoë will be here Friday morning.”