~~~~~~
Jenna spent the better part of the next week packing and unpacking. She went online and read everything she could about London. She bought no less than ten tour books full of things to see and do when they were there. She even packed almost all of Oscar’s things even though he was only going next door to Sara’s house.
Finally about 5 days before they were set to depart Jenna broke down. Tyler found her curled up in his bed with the blinds drawn and the covers over her head. The minute he walked into his apartment he knew something was wrong. Immediately dropping his briefcase he broke into a run heading to his bedroom to find her. From the doorway he could see her shaking violently. He pulled the covers off her head and found her curled up in the fetal position. There were tears streaming down her face and she was practically hyperventilating.
“JENNA baby what is it. What can I do?” He picked her up and sat her in his lap; she immediately curled up into him and held grabbed a fistful of his shirt.
“Oh Tyler! What was I thinking? I can’t do this. W-w-what will people think of me there. I won’t fit in with your colleagues or your brothers friends. That’s if we even get there. I mean do you know how far London is? Oh god we are going to fly in a little private jet all the way there?” She stopped her tirade long enough to gulp for breathe.
Holding her close Tyler just let her vent. He knew that if he tried to reason with her right now it would only make things worse. In her mind set right now she sees only the worst in every situation. She sees only demise and bad things.
It took about a half an hour of Tyler just holding her, rocking her and rubbing her back before she finally just gave out. She fell asleep in his arms. Placing her gently in the bed he covered her and went to change out of his suit. After seeing that everything was shut off and taken care of he grabbed a quick sandwich and then joined her in bed. He didn’t want to take a chance that if he pulled her to him she would wake so he just fell asleep next to her and be there if she needed him in the night.
Jenna woke up the next morning and sat up looking around. Even though she knew that she slept for a long time she was not rested. Getting up she put her robe on and left the bedroom in search of Tyler. Just before she entered the kitchen she heard him.
“…never want to go through that again. It was horrible she was so sad so scared so broken in my arms. All I could do was hold her. Yeah you’re right it’s like she is a different person when it happens. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have to be in London in two days. Yeah I will keep you posted. Alright, bye Dean.” She heard him put his cellphone down on the counter and waited a second before walking into the kitchen.
“Princess, are you ok? Did you get rest? I didn’t mean to wake you.” Tyler watched her walk into the kitchen wrapped in her bathrobe, she sat at the table and smiled weakly at him.
“It’s ok Tyler honest. I slept but it wasn’t restful. I am so sorry you had to see me like that. I cannot even remember the last time I had a panic attack that bad. I don’t even remember you getting home.” She sounded so heartbroken it rubbed him raw. “
“I’m ok now I promise. I want to go to London I want to prove to myself and to you I am a strong. I mean that is if you still want me to go with you.” Her voice was choked up but he didn’t interrupt her. He could see what she had to say was important to her.
“Tyler I want to be with you so much it hurts. But this is who I am and who I always will be. I am never going to be strong and brave like you. I am always going to be scared and anxious. I really do understand if you can’t be with me. All I ask is that if you have decided to move on, that you do so now. If we drag this out and there isn’t a future for us I think it would…Oh god Tyler what are you doing.” He was standing and had swept her up in his embrace in the blink of an eye.
“You are strong Jenna. Anyone who has gone through what you have in life and still not only living but sharing themselves with people is amazing. You help people. I know that you give a portion of your art sales to help others with anxiety. I know that you want to do things and I will never ever hold it against you if you can’t. I love you Jenna and I want to be with you, now and forever.” He kissed her.
“I was going to wait until we were in London and I was showing you some romantic English countryside but I can’t. Marry me Jenna. Be my wife and let me help you accomplish the things you want to in your life. Marry me and make me complete. You are my greatest adventure. Waking up every day with you and sharing my life with you is better than any other adventure I have ever had.” He stepped back and looked at her shocked face waiting for an answer. Praying she would say yes.
Jenna opened and closed her mouth several times before the words she was searching for finally came out. The only words she could find were plain and simple. “You are my dream come true Tyler. Of course I will marry you.”
Jenna threw herself into his arms and kissed him with all the love she had. Crying and laughing at the same time she asked him. “Can we get married in England? In some fabulous little English garden? Just you and me with your family. Oh and of course Dean and Sara.”
“Do you honestly think I would say no to marry you so soon. You do realize of course its winter, right?” Laughing and holding her as close as he could get her. He couldn’t remember the last time he was this happy.
“So? Won’t that be even more perfect? Beautiful trees covered in snow. I love the snow I feel like a kid when it snows.” Jenna sat at the table smiling from ear to ear. Tyler sat across her.
“You can have anything you want Jenna. I would give you the moon if I could.” The couple sat talking for over an hour. Eating breakfast and making phone calls to let their family and friends know what had happened.
When they went back into the bedroom Tyler made Jenna sit on the chair in front of the window. He went to his dresser and pulled out a small blue box. He walked over and knelt in front of her.
“I am going to do this right.” Opening the box Jenna gasped when she saw a large diamond ring. It was a round diamond set in platinum and around the diamond (which had to be easily 3 karats) were small emeralds.
“This ring made me think of you. The diamond is so pure and you can see everything. The way you hide nothing from me and the emeralds match your one incredibly vibrantly green eye.” He took the ring from the box and held it to the tip of her ring finger.
“Jennifer Heather Flynn will you be my wife.” She heard the hitch in his voice and nodded.
“Tyler Raymond Johnson I can think of nothing in the world that would mean more to me than being your wife.” She looked down and watched him place the ring on her finger.
The couple spent the rest of the day together. Making love, talking, Jenna even sketched what she pictured for their wedding. The two of them were so happy they practically floated on air.
Chapter thirteen
The trip to London wasn’t as bad as Jenna expected. Tyler had held her hand and explained everything she could expect to happen every step of the way. The flight was smooth and comfortable. Jenna was amazed by the comfort of the jet it was so beautiful and she felt very special in the oversized seats with a staff there just for them. The fact that Dean and Sara along with Tyler’s parents also flew with them helped keep Jenna comfortable. So far the hardest part of the trip had been saying goodbye to Oscar who was staying with Adam the now co-owner of the café and his family.
Almost the whole way there Julia and Sara kept Jenna occupied with discussions of the wedding. If the older woman was upset that she wasn’t getting the big fancy wedding she had always pictured for her son, like she did with Bryan, she didn’t let on. By the time they landed in London Jenna had let known all the things she wanted for her wedding. Sara is going to stand up with Jenna and Bryan is going to stand up with Tyler. Dean had been over the moon when Jenna asked him to walk her down the aisle.
Once they landed in London they were greeted by Bryan and Veronica. After the hellos wer
e said and the luggage was collected, everyone got into waiting chauffer driven cars and headed to the families hotel. They all agreed to meet in the dining room for dinner in an hour. Bryan and Veronica lived fifteen minutes from the hotel while everyone else stayed at the hotel in the three top floor penthouse suites.
“I can’t believe that I am not only in London but I am here with my fiancé!” Jenna exclaimed as she threw open the curtains in the living area of the suite to look out on the city.
Tyler walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. The couple just stood there looking out the window. After a few moments Jenna turned in Tyler’s arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down and kissed him tenderly.
“My mother didn’t push you into anything you don’t want did she?” Tyler asked her a little bit worried.
“No she was fine. I only hope you like everything we plan. We are going the day after tomorrow to see the estate we will be married at. It belongs to friends of the family, or so your mother told me. She told me there is a small bridge over a brook surrounded by tons of trees. She also said if we prefer something different there is a small gazebo in a clearing close to the house.” Looking up at him adoringly she hoped he would like the ideas.
“Yes the estate is owned by Nicholas and Diana my mother’s family and Diana’s have been friends for years. Both places sound wonderful princess. As long as the end result is you and I spending our lives together, we can get married in an alley for all I care.” Kissing her nose he winked and walked over to see who was knocking on the door.
Jenna walked through to the suite to explore. She grabbed a bottle of sparkling water from behind the bar and continued her exploration sipping the drink. She found her way to the bedroom kicking off her shoes. Looking around she found her suitcase and opened unpacking and putting her clothes away. She also put most of Tyler’s clothes away, and hung up both of their garment bags. The last thing she did was to find her retro make up and toiletries case along with the dress she wanted to wear to dinner and her stockings. Before she headed into bathroom the she peaked out into the living room and saw Tyler talking to someone whom she guessed was the hotel manager, come to make his presence known.
She walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror then pulled her hair down from its travel messed ponytail. Opening her toiletries case she set everything out the way she liked it, for some reason that made her comfortable. Once she was done she slipped out of her jeans and sweater. Standing there in just her pink lacy panties and matching bra she heard a whistle.
“It isn’t nice to stare you know.” She made eye contact with Tyler in the mirror and she smirked seeing him lean against the door frame.
“Well get used to it princess because I will be staring at you and watching you for the rest of your life.” He moved into the bathroom and took off his shirt and joining her at the double sink.
She saw he had his shaving necessities and he started to shave. Jenna walked over and sat on the beautiful padded bench by the whirlpool tub. She rolled stockings on and made sure the lace tops sat flat on her thighs. After smoothing the stockings on her legs she looked up and caught Tyler staring open mouthed with his razor stopped halfway to his face. Throwing her head back and laughing she stood up and walked over to him.
“Do you see something you like Mr. Johnson? Or are you just pondering the best way to shave your stubble?” Laughing she walked over to the dress she had hung on the hook.
“You are such a little wise ass, Miss Flynn; you will pay for your wise mouth later. That is a promise.” Winking at her in the mirror he continued to shave.
Standing next to the man she loved and would be marrying in a weeks’ time, Jenna fixed her hair into a messy but sexy up do.
Jenna grabbed the dress she had bought at the big department store downtown. She had never in her life spent that much on a dress but she felt the need to look extra special on this trip.
Her dress was a dark pink, strapless, silk dress with a tulip hem that fell just above her knees. She took her bra off, much to the delight of Tyler who was now stripping out of his jeans and grabbing his suit from his garment bag. Shimmying into the dress she held it up and walked over to him.
“Zip me up please.” Smiling over her shoulder at him, he walked over and slowly slid the zipper up.
“I look forward to unzipping you after dinner. I am thoroughly enjoying the show of you getting dressed.” Swatting her on the behind he went back to dressing himself.
While she put the finishing touches on her make up by adding just a quick dab of pink shiny lip gloss, Tyler straightened his tie and winked at his woman. Sitting on the bed Jenna put on her black very high heels. Standing up she looked in the mirror and tried to decide what jewelry to wear, not that anything could compare to her gorgeous engagement ring.
“You almost ready princess?” Watching her pick through her jewelry he made a mental note to stop at the jewelry store downtown to make sure the wedding bands he ordered would be ready in time.
Settling for a simple white gold chain with a single tear drop diamond pendant and matching earrings that were Aunt Emma’s.
The couples all met in a small private dining room. Julia looked stunning in a knee length black dress and a stunning diamond and pearl necklace, Sara was wearing a red dress with spaghetti straps and beaded accents on the empire waist line and Veronica glowed in a simple white lace dress that fell just below the knee and showed off the adorable baby bump. The men all looked completely dashing in nice suits and held the chairs out for their companions.
The meal was full of was full of laughs and smiles. They discussed wedding plans and things to do and see while in London. Julia would pipe up every now and then with an idea that was a little too fancy for Jenna’s taste but for the most part they agreed on almost anything.
Julia watched her son and his fiancé and smiled. At first she wasn’t happy with her son dating “the help” but the more she got to know Jenna the more she was over the moon about having this girl in the family. She knew that her views on some things were out of date and she honestly loved that Tyler called her on it. Jenna was a lovely girl who didn’t bow down to the expectations of others. From her tattoos to her sometimes colored hair she was her own woman and didn’t apologize for it. The most important thing however was that she made her son happier than she had ever seen him.
At the end of the meal everyone went their separate ways after the woman all decided to meet back up tomorrow for lunch and then to a boutique that Sara knew would be right up Jenna’s alley for a wedding dress. Jenna was close to tears after not did Bryan embrace her but so did Tyler’s father Alfred.
Once back upstairs they were barley inside the penthouse before Tyler stripped her out of her dress carried her through to the bedroom demanding she leave on the stockings and heels. Jenna literally squealed with delight as he ran through the suite with her over his shoulder.
Chapter fourteen
The next morning Jenna rolled over to find Tyler lying on his back one arm flung over his eyes the other at his side. The sheet was covering him from the waist down with the exception of his right leg. His hair was even more mussed up than usual and he was mouthwateringly handsome. Jenna slid out of bed naked and walked to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and when she was putting lotion on her skin she noticed a few “love bites” on her thighs and breasts.
Blushing, her mind went back to last night. Usually their love making was gentle sweet but oh so intense. Last night however Tyler was wild and it rubbed off on her. She was sure if he rolled over she would see marks where she scratched her nails down his back. The mental image of the way he looked up at her when she rode him made a shiver go up her spine.
Forcing herself back to the present she dressed in a black and white striped maxi skirt that hung low on her hips. Reaching in the drawer and grabbed her red long sleeved drape neck sweater. Finishing her look she added her fa
vorite pair of black ballerina style flats. While she brushed her hair and quickly put it in a braid she heard Tyler stirring in the next room.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you. I was trying to be quiet so you would be rested for your meeting later.” She sat on the side of the bed and leaned down to kiss him.
“Its ok princess, I wanted to talk to you before you left anyway.” Sitting up and leaning on the padded headboard he rearranged the bed sheet to cover himself a little.
“I want to make sure you stay with my mother and Sara. Not only have they both been to London numerous times but they are used to the pace of the city. I fixed your cell phone so it will work internationally. I want you to call me if you feel anxious. Come back to the hotel. Don’t overdo it and don’t go off on your own.” He pulled her to him and kissed her lightly on the lips.
Taking Chances Page 7