Forsaking All Others

by Linda Hudson-Smith

  The e-mail was signed S.A.

  As Jessica’s heart pounded faster than sound, she gave serious thought to what had been asked. If S.A. was willing to reveal his true identity before she got into the limo, she didn’t see any harm in considering his proposal. However, she had to know exactly who her secret admirer was. For whatever reason, she believed it might be Weston. Since she couldn’t be certain, she had to be careful not to set herself up for more heartache.

  Only seconds after Jessica had sent her reply to California Boy she received his return e-mail. He was happy with her response and he promised her she wouldn’t regret her consideration. On the morning of February fourteenth he’d also send her a huge clue about his identity. If she didn’t figure it out, the driver would reveal it.

  Deciding not to dwell on this madness for another second, Jessica got up from the desk and left the office. After entering the master bedroom, she walked over to the dresser and pulled out a clean set of underwear to put on after her hot shower.

  As soon as Jessica got out of bed on Valentine’s Day, she grabbed her robe and trudged down the hallway to her office, where she quickly turned on the computer. This was D-Day, the moment of truth. She could hardly wait to get the clue that would finally reveal the identity of California Boy/ S.A.

  Before opening the latest e-mail from California Boy, Jessica sucked in a deep breath. The anticipation of its content was so high it made her extremely nervous. As she perused the short note, her hopes were quickly dashed. There wasn’t a single clue as to who he was. The e-mail only let her know that the driver was to deliver a surprise package containing information on his true identity. Waiting a while longer wasn’t a bit pleasant for Jessica, but she was too curious to call it off now.

  After viewing the package’s content, you can either make my day or make me feel like an absolute loser. The decision is all yours, Jessica.

  S.A.

  In another rare event in her life, Jessica had taken off the entire day from work just to prepare for her date. It darn near took an act of Congress for her to miss work. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, even before she knew she’d have a date, she had scheduled a spa appointment to include a facial, a full-body massage, a manicure/pedicure and a wash and set.

  Jessica had also purchased a brand-new, sexy, fire-engine-red dress. If Weston turned out to be the mystery man, she had high hopes of setting a four-alarm fire at evening’s end. If it turned out not to be him, she’d still love wearing the beautiful red dress that showed off her petite figure quite nicely.

  The Pier 1 Imports box, decorated with a huge red bow, contained the first clue, a wooden travel-sized chess set. Jessica had beaten Weston at chess in Aspen. The night after they’d gone out for dinner and a movie, she had worn a custom-made T-shirt purchased from a shopping-mall kiosk. The shirt read I Beat Wes at Chess.

  Jessica began to read the handwritten note she’d also removed from the package.

  “I’ve always loved playing games with you, Jess. I hope you enjoy this one.”

  The handwriting on the parcel was another exceptional clue. Jessica would know that handwriting anywhere. Her breath caught as tears sprang to her eyes.

  California Boy/ S.A. and Weston were the very same person. No doubt about it.

  The music CD and the calla lilies, her favorite flower, were the final clues. The CD was labeled Made Especially for Jessica. Without hearing it, she was willing to bet it was a collection of the songs they had listened to in Aspen. Another note instructed her to give the CD to the driver to play on the way to the restaurant—and to bring along one change of clothing and her toiletry items.

  Standing outside the limo, poised to get inside, Jessica handed the driver the CD and politely asked him to play it for her. He immediately agreed to do so. Once she was comfortably seated in the back of the black stretch, he offered her a glass of wine. When she accepted, he poured red wine into a crystal glass.

  Settling into the driver’s seat, he said, “Sit back and relax, Miss Jessica. I’ll deliver you safely to your destination.”

  Ten minutes into the ride, the driver’s cell phone rang. Upon answering the call, he nodded. “Yes, sir, we’re already on the way. Will do, Mr. A.”

  Mr. A., Jessica mused, wondering what the single initial stood for. “Admirer,” she quickly assessed, laughing inwardly. This was so exciting.

  The chauffeur peered at Jessica in the rearview mirror. “The gentleman wants to know if you’re okay, Miss Jessica.”

  “I’m just fine.”

  He reported Jessica’s remarks back to Mr. A. After a few more words had passed between the driver and the caller, he hung up the phone. “Mr. A. will call periodically to see if you’re okay. He wants to make sure you’re comfortable. He also asked me to tell you he can hardly wait to see you.”

  Jessica smiled softly. “Same here. I guess it’ll do me no good to ask for a name.”

  The driver laughed. “You’re right. Besides, I only know him as Mr. A.”

  As the limo pulled up to the valet lane at the St. Regis Hotel, located in the heart of Los Angeles, Jessica gasped with excitement. Although she hadn’t seen him yet, Weston was right there to open the door for her, holding on to a dozen red long-stemmed roses. As he presented the flowers to her, he lightly kissed her forehead.

  The very moment Jessica’s and Weston’s eyes locked, she fell into his arms. Not a single word passed between the couple. Both were crying and laughing, all at the same time. All eyes were on the happy duo. Making a spectacle of herself wasn’t an issue for Jessica at the moment. She couldn’t care less who witnessed their amazing reunion, an awesome moment in time.

  Weston had missed Jessica more than he’d ever thought possible.

  The most secluded table in the house had been reserved for Weston and Jessica. Rose petals and tiny red, purple and gold foil hearts were strewn about the fine white linen tablecloth. A trio of red and white candles nestled in a triple crystal holder served as the centerpiece. The setting was absolutely breathtaking.

  Weston sat across the table from Jessica and looked into her eyes, something he loved to do. Although he longed to be right next to her on the booth-style seating, inhaling her alluring scent, he thought he should give her some space.

  Jessica folded her hands and placed them in her lap. “I’ve been trying to date again, but can’t get past my feelings for you. I’m only here because of this.” She pulled out the letter and handed it to him. She had planned to read it, but she felt too nervous. “What are you really up to? Why are you here in L.A.?”

  Jessica looked down at her trembling hands. “Maybe you shouldn’t answer until after you read the letter. I wrote it shortly before I got the e-mail from you. I hadn’t written in my journal since we last saw each other.”

  “Wow! That’s really something else.”

  Several minutes into the reading Weston broke down emotionally. Jessica was close to losing it, too, but she somehow managed to hold it together. She had written the letter as though she had been talking to God and Weston at the same time. She had known all along that they belonged together, but fear had had her handcuffed. That was why she had asked God to show her some kind of sign. Reading in between the lines was what had nearly killed her. It had to be one way or the other between them, all or nothing.

  Weston folded the letter and moved over to sit next to Jessica. After laying the papers on the table, he took her hand in his. “Do you want me to move to L.A.?”

  Jessica’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Of course I want that. When?”

  Weston smoothed back her hair. “I’m flying back to New York tomorrow, on a late-evening flight. But I plan to move to Los Angeles in a month or so, permanently. Does that work for you?”

  Jessica found it increasingly hard to hold it together so she let go of her pent-up emotions. Her tears fell furiously, her lower lip trembling uncontrollably. Weston’s willingness to move to L.A. had her overwhelmed with joy. This was the stuff
fairy tales were made of, yet it was happening to her and for her…and for him and for them.

  Jessica kissed Weston softly on the mouth. “I can’t believe this. I’d ask you to pinch me if I didn’t think it would hurt.” They both laughed. “Are you really moving to L.A.? Please tell me I heard you right.”

  Weston kissed Jessica back, passionately. “I wouldn’t kid you about something so serious. I’m moving here just to be with you. Wherever you are is right where I want to be. Spend the night with me in my hotel room?”

  Jessica quickly sobered at Weston’s request. All she could think about was the last time they’d slept together. The sweet intimacy they had shared should’ve made it impossible for them to split the way they had, yet they’d done so anyway.

  Weston quickly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a gift box. “I don’t want you to spend just one night with me. I’m asking for a lifetime of nights. Will you marry me, Jessica Nicole Harrington? Please say yes!”

  Jessica didn’t need to see what was inside the gift box to make up her mind about marrying Weston. She wanted to be his wife more than she wanted anything else in this world. “Yes,” she cried, “yes, I’ll marry you!”

  Since Jessica’s hands were still shaking badly, Weston opened the gift box. As he lifted out the glass slipper, she felt breathless. A two-carat brilliant-cut diamond ring nestled inside the slipper on a bed of bright-red silk—the most breathtaking gem she had ever seen. Weston had outdone himself once again.

  Weston slipped the ring onto Jessica’s finger, kissing her gently. “Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart! I promise to try and make every day of our marriage just as special as our engagement date, Valentine’s Day. I love you, Jessica.”

  “I love you, too, Wes, with every fiber of my being. As for making our marriage special, that’s something we both have to work on. I promise to do my part.”

  “I want to make you the best husband you could ever want. I already know you’ll be the best wife. We can have a great life together.”

  Jessica cupped Weston’s face with her two hands. “We can have it all. Just you and me, together forever, forsaking all others.”

  As if Weston hadn’t already done enough for Jessica to try and make her Valentine’s Day the best, he told her to get ready for the massage he had scheduled. It would be administered after she received a chocolate body scrub. He then handed her a basic black, one-piece bathing suit he had purchased for her.

  Jessica had not a clue what a chocolate scrub was, but it definitely sounded scrumptious to her. Weston was a serious chocoholic so she was surprised he wasn’t receiving a body scrub, too. However, he was joining her later for a fun dip in the hot tub. No sooner had she had changed into the swimwear than a knock came on the door. Since Weston had disappeared, she couldn’t thank him for all the amazing surprises. Jessica ran to get the door.

  Two extremely well-maintained, statuesque females entered the room after introducing themselves as Ingrid and Ana, from Sweden. The blondes were also rather pretty. Wasting no time at all, the two sexy-looking therapists went right to work on setting up the portable massage table.

  In a matter of minutes, the therapists began working Jessica over.

  Feeling utterly divine and totally relaxed from the serious work-over administered to her by the very capable Swedish therapists, Jessica plucked off the silver tray one of the chocolate-dipped strawberries. As she held the strawberry up to Weston’s mouth, he bit a large chunk out of it. She sank her teeth into the other end, tasting it first and then consuming the remainder of the sweet, juicy fruit.

  As Jessica’s full, moist lips met with Weston’s, she flicked her tongue across his lower one, tasting the sweetness of the chocolate left there. “Mmm,” she moaned softly, “your lips taste divine.”

  Weston picked up another strawberry and held it over the wick of the candle until the chocolate began to melt. As he let the liquid drizzle onto Jessica’s breasts, he had fun slowly licking off the sweetness, making her purr softly.

  Weston looked deeply into Jessica’s eyes. “Do you, Jessica Nicole Harrington, take Weston Roman Chamberlain to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  “I do,” she breathed, trying hard not to giggle. Jessica rested her forehead against Weston’s. “Do you, Weston Roman Chamberlain, take Jessica Nicole Harrington to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward?”

  “I do,” he whispered huskily, “always and forever.”

  “We now pronounce each other husband and wife,” they said, sealing their vows with a staggering kiss.

  As the steamy jets swirled and pounded around their nude bodies, Jessica settled herself onto Weston’s lap. As if it wasn’t hot enough in the hot tub, the heat flaming from their bodies, their skin slick with the expensive massage oils, had caused the water temperature to soar.

  Jessica had made sure Weston’s manhood was well oiled so the drying heat wouldn’t affect their lovemaking. As he entered her molten treasure, their lips came together in a flesh-melting kiss. The sweet tension heightened, as they began riding the waves of their combined passion, not in any real hurry to reach the much sought-after pinnacle. While Jessica and Weston wildly heeded the call of their love-starved bodies, she knew she’d never get enough of the man she loved enough to marry. They could make love all night…and she’d still want more and more of him.

  As the couple’s world splintered into a million tiny fragments, their earth-shattering climax was more powerful than the first. They breathlessly screamed out each other’s name, confessing their undying love.

  Jessica and Weston couldn’t wait for their magical fairy-tale day to arrive, the day they would finally enter into holy matrimony, into wedded bliss, forsaking all others…until death do they part.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-0993-4

  FORSAKING ALL OTHERS

  Copyright © 2007 by Linda Hudson-Smith

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