by M. E. Nesser
“What’s going on here?” I asked.
“Nothing, really. Uh, the girls told our parents all about Thanksgiving. You know, they talked about us. Sara told my mom all about you. The girls are excited about our relationship. That’s all,” Ian stammered.
“That’s total crap, and you know it, Dad,” Sara chimed in.
“Yeah, bro, that’s not what mom was telling me,” Todd added.
“Ok, Jensen. Fess up. What’s going on?” I insisted.
“Can we speak in private, Katharine?” Ian pleaded.
The three spectators at the table all said no—in unison. Now I had to know what was going on. What was the big secret everyone knew except me?
“Fine, I’ll indulge you voyeurs. You might as well know what you’re in for. “
Ian got out of his chair and stood next to me. He took my hand and knelt down on one knee. My mind was racing. What the hell was he doing? There was no way he was going to propose to me—right? We’d just met, for God’s sake. We were grown, rational adults. We never discussed marriage. Holy shit, he was going to propose to me. What the hell was I going to say?
“Katharine, I never thought I would find love again. I had given up on ever finding someone I would want to spend the rest of my life with, and then you came into my world. You epitomize everything a man could want in a woman. You are brilliant and beautiful, compassionate and funny, loyal and loving. I received permission this morning from the amazing young man you raised. I also received my girls’ blessing to follow through with my plan. I wouldn’t be doing this unless everyone was on board. And everyone is.”
He paused, took a black velvet box from his pocket, and handed it to me. I opened it, and a beautiful sapphire ring glimmered up at me. “This was my grandmother’s ring,” he continued. “She was one of the most important women in my life. This ring is the only thing I ever want to be blue on you again. Please, Katharine, will you be my forever?”
His forever? I was dumbstruck, utterly speechless. There were no words. His declaration of love was so sincere, and so beautiful, that I couldn’t stop the flow of tears. I loved this man. I wanted to be his forever. I just couldn’t speak.
“Are you kidding, Mom? Now you’re speechless? Would you like me to answer for you?” Jack said in a mocking tone. Although everyone laughed, I couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
“Of course I want to be your forever, Ian. I already feel like I am,” I whispered. “I never thought I’d fall in love again, and I do love you. I can’t believe I found this kind of love again. I have felt so blessed to be given another chance. But it’s so soon. And I’m scared. I couldn’t bear to lose another man. When Bryce died, a part of me died, too. His death was too painful. I’m so afraid. I don’t ever want to go through that again,” I confessed.
“I promise to be here for as long as humanly possible. There is no place I’d rather be than by your side. We’ll both die one day—it’s inevitable. Don’t let that ruin what we have now: focus on the love we share. I want to spend the rest of my days with you. Please tell me you want the same thing,” he said pleadingly.
I stuck my hand out, indicating that I wanted him to put the ring on my finger. He looked up at me and smiled. Tears were pooling in his eyes. He put the ring on and just held my hand. It fit perfectly. I held his face and gave him a gentle kiss. Then I wrapped my arms around him and starting crying even harder. I noticed Sara getting up and walking toward us. Ian and I stood up to greet her. She hugged us both and was crying as hard as I was. Jack and Todd joined the group hug, and Emily and Martin came into the room just as we relaxed our embrace.
“What are you doing here?” I asked them. “I thought you had other plans.”
“Rumor had it there was going to be a proposal tonight. We’re sorry we were late. The cab ride took forever. It looks like a congratulations is in order?” Emily asked even though the answer was obvious.
“Yes, baby. She said yes!” Ian told his daughter. Emily walked over to her dad and hugged him hard.
“I thought you were going to wait until after dinner,” Emily said.
“Your sister and Uncle Todd couldn’t keep a secret, so I was forced to ask her before they did,” Ian said as he started to laugh.
“Em, you missed it. Dad got down on his knees and said the mushiest stuff. But don’t worry—I recorded the whole thing on my phone,” Sara told her.
“And you said yes, Katharine?” Emily asked me again.
“Of course I did. I love your father more than I thought possible. And I promise you, both of you girls, that I don’t want anything from your father but his love. I don’t need his money, and I don’t want it. I also promise I will always be faithful to him. Your father has truly been my knight in shining armor. I want to be his forever, too.”
I took Ian’s hands in mine, looked him in the eyes, and said, “Ian Jensen, I accept your proposal willingly and without an ounce of hesitation. I want to be yours, forever and ever.”
Emily hugged me tightly and welcomed me into the family. It was such a magical evening. We sat around the table having drinks and desserts for almost two hours. Our families blended so well together. I had seriously hit the jackpot with this one. I didn’t know it until this night, but “forever” was exactly what I needed.
39
When we finally decided to leave the restaurant, all I wanted to do was to take Katharine home to celebrate with her in private. Both of our kids had one more night before they went back to school, and we had already agreed not to spend the night together while our children were home. Sara and Emily said they were taking Jack and Martin to one of their favorite clubs, so I told them my driver could drop them off before he took Katharine and I to our respective apartments.
“Mom, why doesn’t Ian spend the night at our place? Then he can join us for brunch before I go back to school. Sarah and Emily could join us too, if they don’t have plans. How does that sound?” Jack asked.
“That’s sounds like a great idea,” Katharine said.
The girls and Martin agreed to come by Katharine’s apartment at 11:30 a.m. I couldn’t believe Jack had suggested I stay at their place. It was very thoughtful of him; I know it had to be strange for him to think of his mom sleeping with another man. His acceptance meant the world to me. I was so excited to celebrate our engagement properly.
We dropped the gang at the nightclub, which looked and sounded like it was packed. We could hear the pulsating music from our car. The kids jumped out of the car and instantly forgot about us. It was obvious they were ready to go party and dance. I know Jack and Sara weren’t twenty-one yet, but I was pretty sure they both had believable fake IDs. I had never agreed with the legal drinking age, so it didn’t bother me that they were going into the club. I was just thrilled that everyone got along so well. If I were honest about what I was seeing, I would speculate that there was something going on between Sara and Jack. I’d have to ask Katharine about that. I think she knew something I didn’t.
My driver dropped Katharine and I off at her place, and I felt like a kid going to Disney. I started my sexual assault on her in the elevator. I couldn’t help it. I had been waiting all night to get my hands on her. I pushed her against the wall and started thrusting my tongue into her mouth. She responded eagerly, which fueled my desire even more. I got my hands tangled in her hair so I could deepen the kiss. I had my body pressed against hers, but it didn’t feel close enough. My right arm slid down her back and found her ass. I kneaded it and pulled her hips closer to mine. There was no way to hide how aroused I was. My hard body was poking against her midsection. She was moaning huskily. I felt like I was going to lose my mind.
A bell interrupted our intense make-out session, alerting us that we had reached our floor. Part of me wanted to stay in the elevator and make out with this sexy vixen for hours, but a bigger part of me wanted to get her naked and fuck her senseless.
We straightened up quickly, in case there was anyone on the oth
er side of the door. Fortunately, there wasn’t. We chased each other to her door, and she fumbled with her keys as she tried to unlock it. As she closed the door behind us, I pushed her against it and started kissing her passionately once again. I unbuttoned her shirt as she pushed off my suit coat and took off my tie. We undressed each other in record time, making sure our mouths never broke the seal. We sucked each other’s mouths and necks as we panted in sexual frustration. I had never wanted this woman more than I wanted her at this very minute. Her acceptance of my proposal had been the strongest aphrodisiac of my life.
My heart was beating fast, and my obvious arousal was throbbing hard against Katharine’s stomach. She reached down and stroked me, and I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. I reached down quickly to make sure she was wet enough that I could enter her without any discomfort. She was swollen and dripping—it was so hot knowing she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
I lifted her hips up, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I still had her back pressed up against the front door. Without any warning, I shoved myself inside of her as deep as I could. She let out a cry and a breathy “harder!” so I didn’t let up. I think it was one of the most intense and frenzied moments in our relationship. It didn’t take long for either of us to find our release. I buried my head in her neck and moaned as she threw her head back and made similar sounds. The orgasm had been incredibly intense for me, and it was obvious she was just as satisfied. As our breathing slowed down, I made sure our bodies stayed joined and carried her into the bedroom.
I laid her down gently on the bed and settled my body on top of hers. We started kissing again. She told me she loved me. I told her I loved her forever. We giggled and started making out all over again. I feasted on her neck, her lips and her breasts. She massaged my ass and rotated her hips beneath me. I could feel myself getting aroused again. I’d never recovered this quickly before, not even when I was a teenage boy. This woman did incredible things to me. I felt like I had won the lottery.
This round of lovemaking was slow and sexy as hell. I kept my body inside of her for nearly a half an hour as we danced to the rhythm of our heartbeats and breath. This woman was going to be my wife. A dream that I didn’t even know I had was coming true. It was one of the happiest days of my life.
40
Never in a million years had I thought that Ian would propose to me so soon. We had only been together for a couple months, and the logical part of my brain was teeming with reservations about getting married again. It was all happening so fast. I had never been a spontaneous woman, and here I was, being more spontaneous than I had ever been in my life. It was incredible how my life had changed in such a short time. It was a bit overwhelming, but I couldn’t have been any happier. Ian was my knight in shining armor and my savior. He saved me from my sad and lonely existence. Any logical reservations that I had were completely trumped by something more powerful than logic. My heart, on the other hand, wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I knew that for a fact. I loved him. I couldn’t imagine spending one night away from him. That’s why I said yes. It was surreal. I had fallen in love again. I couldn’t believe it.
I loved that Ian had wanted our children to be a part of the proposal. If I’d said no, he would have been incredibly embarrassed. I would never have turned him down, though. I loved him too much. It was such a bonus to have our children on board with our relationship. They seemed to really like each other and accepted the fact that Ian and I wanted to be together. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so blessed.
After our second round of sex, I ran to the foyer and collected our clothing. I didn’t need Jack to see our things thrown all over the entranceway when he got home from the club. Then I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of champagne and two crystal flutes so we could continue our celebration. It was late, and I should have been tired, but I was so high on happiness that I wanted to savor every minute of it. I was giddy at the prospect of being engaged at this point in my life. It made me so happy. I wasn’t ready for the celebration to end quite yet.
Ian was excited to see me walk into the room with champagne. He’d expected me to be tired, but I told him sleep was the last thing on my mind. He put some music on, and we drank champagne and giggled like school children. “Thank you for saying yes Katharine,” he said to me. “How could I say no?” I replied. “You brought the best ammunition ever to the proposal, Ian. You brought our children. As long as they’re all on board, then I would never have said no to you. I love you too much to have turned you down. I can’t wait to be married to you.” Before the bottle was finished, we were making out like horny teenagers.
We made love for another hour before we both collapsed in a euphoric heap. His stamina was unbelievable. I never had sore muscles from sex before, and I didn’t think it was possible to climax as much as I had in the past few months. His extreme level of fitness made him a machine, and I was reaping the benefits of it. Tonight was no exception. It was the best possible way to celebrate our engagement. I woke up around nine to the smell of coffee and my man kissing my neck. He knew that was the best way to wake me up: getting my neck kissed turned me on more than just about anything, and I loved having a cup of coffee when I first got up. Damn, I could get used to this.
After I finished my coffee, we fooled around again. It was playful and fun. It seemed like every time we had sex, it was different. I loved that about our relationship. We showered and got dressed after we finished; we had plans to have brunch with the kids before they went back to school.
Brunch was fun. We had bright, outgoing children who loved to talk, debate, and challenge one another. It was the best way to start the union of our two families. Brunch lasted about two hours, and then we all went our separate ways with hugs and smiles all around. We promised to get together again for Christmas, and I thought about how happy I was to be looking forward to a holiday instead of dreading it. “I did it, Bryce,” I thought. “Not only did I find passion again, I found another family to love.”
The next couple of weeks were a combination of work, sex, and dinners all over town. On the weekends, we would often leave the city and drive to resorts, ski lodges, bed and breakfasts, or casinos. We were lucky we could afford to go wherever we wanted without worrying about the cost. Deciding who paid for things, however, became a constant bone of contention between us. One day we got in a heated discussion about who was going to pay for the weekend we had planned at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.
“I’m the man, Katharine. You need to let me pay for these trips,” Ian said.
“I don’t want your money, Ian. I can afford to do things, too. We need to find a way to share the expenses. I don’t ever want you to think I’m using you for your money. I’m not your ex, you know,”
“Don’t ever compare yourself to that bitch. It pisses me off that you would even mention her name in the same sentence with yours. I know you don’t want my money. Just call me old-fashioned—I want to be able to spoil you. It makes me feel funny having you pay for things.”
“Well, it makes me feel funny to have you pay for everything. We need to figure out a way to be partners in every aspect of our relationship. It won’t work if you insist on paying for everything. I’m a grown woman, and I can take care of myself. I’m not going to start relying on a man at this point in my life,” I said to him insistently.
“Why is relying on me a sign of weakness? Why can’t you just loosen up and enjoy the fact that I want to indulge your every whim?” he asked me.
“Because it makes me feel like a whore!” I told him.
“Are you kidding me? You’re a successful, brilliant attorney who is more than capable of being self-sufficient. How the hell could you ever compare yourself to a whore?” he said in a loud, frustrated voice.
“It’s just like the discussion about who’s going to pay for our new apartment. I can’t expect you to pay for the place where we are going to live together. It’s just not right!” I yelle
d at him.
“Consider it a wedding present,” he offered as a suggestion.
“A watch or a necklace is a wedding present, not a penthouse apartment in Manhattan!” I said in exasperation.
“You’re being unreasonable, Katharine.”
“And you’re being chauvinistic!” I said angrily.
I stormed out of the living room, went into my bathroom, and started a bath. It was the first real fight we’d ever had. I didn’t like it, but I felt very strongly that we should share our expenses. I knew he was incredibly wealthy. I also knew what his ex-wife had done to him. I didn’t ever want there to be a resemblance between us. I didn’t give a rat’s ass what his net worth was. I loved him and not his wallet. God, he was infuriating.
As I calmed down in my lavender-scented bath salts, I decided that we needed to put some kind of closure on our disagreement or we’d never get any rest. We were intelligent and reasonable adults who just couldn’t come to an agreement about the financial crap. And that was what it was—crap. We were both independently wealthy, and we were still fighting about money. I knew that I had to give in a little bit. He was old-fashioned in a lot of ways, and I’d always thought that his old-school views were very sweet. It was one of the things that had first drawn me to him. Now that I thought about it, it was still an endearing factor that made me love him even more. Then what the fuck were we fighting for? For a true gentleman—which he was—it was emasculating to let a woman have too much financial control. God, I felt so conflicted. On one hand, I enjoyed all of his pampering when we were dating. After my agonizing year alone after Bryce died, I cherished everything he did for me. But I knew that it would be unsettling to be “taken care of” when we were married. It just wasn’t me. I needed us to be equals in every aspect of our relationship. I was proud of my success and needed to maintain a sense of independence or this would never work. Hiding in the bathroom wasn’t the answer. I needed to make him understand how I felt. I dried off quickly, threw on my Yale T-shirt, and went out to find Ian and make this right.