Forever Reasons (10,000 Reasons Book 4)
Page 13
*******
What the hell was going on? I dreaded this dinner with a passion, wanting nothing to do with this man, his young bride, and this dining hall that gave me the creeps. When Jackson mentioned meeting here, I almost balked. However, business was business, and I decided to be professional.
I was relieved to see that the wife hadn’t shown. Our talks went so smoothly, I thought maybe I could leave early after only having had drinks. Wrong! What happened next blew my mind.
Jackson suddenly stood up mid-conversation, so I decided to follow.
“Xander?” he called.
I looked up and that’s when I saw her. She would forever be that sweet girl who stood up to an asshole of a dinner date. Tonight, as always, she was everything I wished for in a woman.
Stunning.
Exotic.
Graceful.
Alluring.
Exquisite.
My goddess was alarming. As it did daily, every part of my body stood tall to meet and greet her. Once upon a time, I didn’t believe in shit like love at first sight, but I knew that first night was it for me. Like a sixteen-year-old, I could feel my heart beating faster, my palms getting sweatier, and my body humming to the excitement of saying hello. Even after all this time, she still did it for me and would for the next seventy years.
My wife had the innocence of Audrey Hepburn, and the sex-appeal of Marilyn Monroe.
When we first met, she was a girl. She looked no older than twenty-one, a decade my junior. As I continued to stare, I realized that we were being introduced and it was my turn to make the next move. Putting all this horny teenage bullshit behind me, I walked over to meet my “date.”
“Jenna,” Jackson introduced us with a grin, “This is Xander.”
“Hello.” Her voice was as soft as her skin. I knew I was getting lucky tonight.
As I stared at my wife’s exotic looks, I thanked the Lord above that our daughter looked like her beautiful mother. Part-English, part-Asian, part-American, and part-Israeli—there was no better combination. This night just turned out to be the best night yet.
I placed my hand out for this Jenna who so shyly said hello. Staring at my hand, she inched her right hand forward, then brought it back to her side. I could see her mind churning, wondering how she was going to throw me off my grove. Not tonight, Dear Wife. We were heading back to our first night, to the exact memory that had been burned in my brain.
Taking charge, I placed my hand on her back and led her to her seat. She tensed the moment I touched her. Her taut body was an electric charge to my own. I loved that with every touch we had fierce chemistry. For the rest of our lives, we’d have this magnetic pull.
“Miss? May I offer you some champagne?” the waiter asked.
She politely said no, but I chose to take two glasses on our behalf. “I assume you’re old enough to drink champagne?” I challenged by sliding the alcohol in front of her just like I’d done so many years ago.
She nodded and answered, “The maître d’ carded me before I was allowed in.” She’d remembered her original line, too. “Though I can’t drink tonight, and maybe for the next eight months, I’m hoping I get to eat an entire meal at this fancy place. I was told they make a mean dessert here.”
This was where I was rewriting history. “Jackson, Katie-Rose, it was wonderful seeing you again, but my wife and I will be heading out. Can we reschedule this meeting?”
“Of course.” Jackson had mellowed with age and a younger wife.
“Thank you for everything,” my wife said to the couple. “Bye.”
Before we headed out, I took my bride to the infamous bathroom. Both times she went in there, we did not have good results. Tonight, it was all about to change.
“What’s that?” she asked knowing full well what it was.
“I bought a three-pack earlier and have been carrying this in my pocket all day. I was damn nervous it might fall out. I can’t stand the wait. Please, Jenna.”
She knew what I wanted. After a peck on my lips, she was ready to relieve our curiosity.
*******
After doing as Xander asked, I went outside to my husband who waited impatiently against the wall.
“Well?” he asked.
“I thought you might want to see the results together.”
Immediately, he took the stick from me and we both witnessed the + sign. We were having another baby!
“I’m sorry for intruding on your date,” I went back to role-playing mode, “but I thought I’d inform you that I’m pregnant.” Xander’s grin was priceless. I guess I told him. “I don’t want anything less than a lifetime of happiness and a gaggle of kids from you.”
“How do I know it’s mine?” He was playing the asshole role—one he played so well for so many years.
If I was a good enough actress, I would’ve cried, yelled, screamed, and brought unwanted attention upon us. Instead, I laughed and said, “With all the times you’ve made love to me, I have no doubt he, she, it, they are all yours.”
“I’ll take every one of the little buggers you want to give me. Thank you, Jenna. Thank you for tonight, for erasing a god-awful memory, and for loving an asshole like me. There are ten-thousand reasons why you shouldn’t love me. Thank God you chose not to listen to any of them. I love you, Jenna.”
“And I love you, Xander.”
Author’s Notes:
Thank you for finishing the 10,000 Reasons Series. I’d love to chat with you about Xander and Jenna, or maybe about a second part to this serial. Did any of you catch on to the next (possible) storyline? Contact me at dw@dwcee.com, find me at https://www.facebook.com/DWCee, or tell me if you think I should write another part to this serial at https://twitter.com/DWCee_.
Thanks for taking this ride with me. If you haven’t already, make sure to walk on over to Reid Place and visit The Impossible Tale of Nolan & Delilah. If this is your first foray into one of my stories, you might want to start with the Indelible Love series.
Hope to hear from you in the near future.
DW Cee