Something Forever (23 page)

Tears streamed
down Jenna’s cheeks, and before I had a chance to wipe them, Becky handled her some Kleenex. She was crying, too. I wanted the pastor to hurry. It took every ounce of my energy to stop myself from kissing Jenna right now. If I could, I would have carried her back to our hotel room, stripped her naked, and made sweet, passionate love to my wife.

After we exchanged our rings, the pastor spoke
again. We were near the end. “We have come together in this place and heard the willingness of Maxwell and Jenna to be joined in marriage. They have come of their own free will and in our hearing have made a covenant of faithfulness. They have given and received rings as their seal of the promises. By virtue of the authority vested in me under the laws of the State of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Carefully wrapping my arms around Jenna, I tilted her body just enough to make a show and gave her a kiss everyone would talk about. The sound of clapping and the wolf whistles blew like crazy. After I helped Jenna steady, I guided her arm through mine and we headed down the
aisle. What an amazing experience.

Chapter 3
1

Jenna

Relief washed over me when the wedding was over. I cried, but I was able to
maintain enough control not to sob like crazy. What an amazing opportunity for Max and I to show our love in front of our family and friends. As we proceeded down the long, white aisle, I noticed what a fabulous job our wedding coordinator had done with her staff.

The tower Max and I
had stood under in front was draped in lavender material that looked like curtains. Long, grand vases were set on either side, filled with the most beautiful colors of flowers I had ever seen. They looked so perfect that I would have thought they were fake, but I knew they weren’t. White lace and small bouquets of flowers hung from one chair to the next in the center aisle. I was so busy making sure I wouldn’t trip and locking my eyes on Max that I hadn’t enjoyed the beauty of this set until now.

Our reception area was set outside
of the restaurant called Amaya, on the deck adjacent to the area where we had exchanged vows. The tables were set up with white linens. On the center of each table was a vase of uniquely decorated purple, pink, and white flowers. Each place setting included a party favor filled with Godiva truffles in a silver paper box with purple and white ribbon. Everything was color coordinated to the tee, and I had to give big thanks to my mother-in-law.

Clink, clink, clink.
Matthew hit his wine glass with a fork, standing up. The mic was right next to our table, so it was easy access for him. “Welcome everyone. For those of you who don’t know me, shame on you.”

The crowd laughed.

“Just kidding,” Matthew chuckled. “My name is Matthew Knight, the younger brother of the groom. I’d like to make a toast, but not the kind you would eat.”

The crowd laughed again.

“You can tell from my jokes that I’m the jokester of the family, and the better looking one. Just kidding again,” Matthew said, chuckling. “Okay, but seriously. I’m not going to bore you with what a great guy Max is, because all the wonderful stories you hear about him are true. And I’m not going to bore you with what a great brother he is, because everybody knows he is.

“I
want to share a story that will touch your heart and is why we are here. When Max was in high school and I had no idea what falling in love was, I asked my brother what love meant. He said that he wasn’t sure, but when he knew, he would let me know. Time passed, and I asked him again in college. He said he didn’t know. To which I would say, ‘With all of the women you’ve dated, you don’t know?’ He simply said he would let me know.

“
I asked him again after we started working with our parents. The answer was the same, until Jenna walked into his life. He spotted her at a restaurant and hadn’t officially met her yet. Max called me that day. And do you know what he said?” Matthew paused. “Max told me that when he saw Jenna, his heart thumped so hard that it felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. And when she left, his heart had stopped beating. The reason why Max says his heart only beats for Jenna? Because it’s true.”

At that moment, my heart expanded with bliss. Max said that to Matthew? If I
’d only known how he felt, I could have saved us a lot of heartaches. Max squeezed my shoulder. His arms were wrapped behind me. When I gazed into his eyes, he pressed his lips on mine softly and tenderly, as if to confirm Matthew’s words.

Matthew gazed directly at us.
“Let’s raise our glasses and toast this amazing couple, who couldn’t be more perfect for each other.” He waited to see more glasses up in the air. “To Max and Jenna, may you have a fruitful life together with a minivan full of kids. And may your heart thump hard for each other for the rest of your lives. Here is to something forever.”

Clink, clink, clink. The sound of glasses ech
oed in the air. Max’s parents, my parents, Matthew, and Becky all toasted their glasses. It was easier since we all sat at the same round table. Then Becky stood up.

“Hello
, my name is Becky Miller. I’m the maid of honor. The instant I met Jenna, I knew she was special. And I knew at that moment we would become best friends for life. Her innocence and genuine heart were what stood out for me, and I had to make her my friend. Just like Matthew, I’m not going to bore you with stories of what a great person Jenna is, because she is. I want to share a story that will touch your heart. Jenna was always the safe one. She hardly took any risks, but when she met Max, her whole world became a huge mess. She couldn’t breathe. They were soul mates destined to be, because no matter how hard Jenna tried to stay away from Max, she couldn’t.

“I remember telling Jenna that if she didn’t take a leap of faith with Max that she would never know.
After finally making her decision, she told me whatever happened, she would be okay. You see, Jenna always prepared for the worst. A part of her was expecting something to go wrong, but their love for each other was too strong.”

When Becky took a moment to catch her breath, Max kissed me on the cheek. “So,” Becky continued
, “Max...you are simply Jenna’s air. You make her world spin. To Jenna and Max. Love you both very much.”

Clink, clink, clink. Matthew started hitting his glass, then the rest followed.

“I’m going to make your world spin, babe,” Max said as the clinking of glass rang louder and louder. What was he doing? He helped me up, tilted my body, and gave me a passionate kiss.

The wolf whistles echoed, indicating everyone was satisfied with that kiss.

After dinner, we had the father-daughter dance and mother-son dance, then Max and I slow danced together while the harpist played. The cake was delicious and many pictures were taken. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Just as the reception ended, the sun started to set, jetting out the most beautiful colors of pink and purple. Never had I seen such colors in the sky. And never had I seen and felt so much love and support as I did that day.

“Mrs. Jenna Knight. Let me do the honors.” Max opened the door, swooped me up in his arms
, and carried me over the threshold.

“We did it. I can’t believe
it’s over,” I said, feeling my back touch the bed. Max dropped next to me.

“Yes, we did. It’s official. Tomorrow, we’ll be heading to Paris, then Rome. By the time we come back from our honeymoon, we’ll be able to sleep in our new home.”

“Really?” I turned on my side to him.

“I forgot to tell you. The movers are moving everything out of my
apartment to our new home. Matthew is going to direct them.”

“You’re so lucky you have Matthew.”

Max kissed the back of my hand. “Yes, I am.” Max caressed my cheek and looked lovingly into my eyes. “I’m so happy, babe.”

“Me, too,” I said sincerely. “I can’t believe I’m Mrs. Knight. It’s going to be hard to get used to.”

“I understand. You’ve been Jenna Mefferd for so long. Thanks for taking my last name.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s all or nothing.”

“Good, because it’s all for me.” Max’s eyes turned dark and greedy. I knew that look too well. My body had already started to tingle. “I love you, Jenna Knight,” Max said, unzipping the back of my dress. Then he carefully took off my veil and undid my hair. Max hovered over me. “I’m going to show you all night just how much.” His hot breath rushed down my neck, then lower to my shoulder. His kisses traveled downward as he tugged my dress down, exposing my strapless lacy bra. “Beautiful,” I heard him mumble against the base of my breast.

I drowned in pleasure
when Max circled his tongue around my nipple. “Oh...Max,” I murmured softly. He didn’t stop there, he continued to glide his tongue down the middle as my skin was exposed. When he got to the base of my stomach, he rubbed and kissed my belly as if he was kissing our baby. His touch was different in that area.

Max had undressed me past my waist, and now
the dress was on the floor. With the dress out of the way, Max took his time and kissed his way up my white stockings, to the garter, and to my lacey white G-string. When I heard a low growl, I knew Max liked what I was wearing.

But oh God! He was playing with my clit with his tongue. The sensation shot up to my core, expanding fast and hard. He was filling me up and I wanted more.

“I want to undress you,” I said, out of breath. It was my turn.

After Max helped me up, I kissed the side of his neck while I undid his bow, his vest,
his shirt, and helped him out of his tuxedo jacket. I slowly ran my hands across his firm chest, feeling every curve of his tight muscles as his chest rose and fell. Max groaned and shuddered from the warmth of my tongue. As I continued to taste him, I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and let everything drop to the floor.

Max was hard
, big, and ready for me. Down on my knees, I licked every part of his dick, then sucked and stroked the way he liked. “Jenna,” Max hissed and made the pleasured sound I loved to hear. Max started to rub my shoulder, and then threw his head back with his eyes closed. He needed to touch me. When he’d had enough, he yanked me up and kissed me, full of passion, desire, and want.

I couldn’t recall how my bra and all the extra
lingerie I had on were off me, but that was what Max did when his hands ran all over my body and he kissed me like there was no tomorrow. He was so smooth and graceful with his hands and his lips that it always came as a surprise when I was completely naked.

After what seemed like an eternity of foreplay and me begging him to be inside
of me, he finally entered. The shot of pleasure coursing throughout my body made my head spin. I was lost to his touch and the pleasure he was giving me. There was no sense of time or reality. It was just Max and me. Sometimes Max would look into my eyes and ride me slow. Sometimes, he would rock faster, causing me to expel short, gasping pleasure sounds. Max always made sure my needs were fulfilled, but he exceeded expectations tonight.

Today was by far the longest we
’d explored one another. I didn’t know what time it was and I didn’t care. All I knew was that I was beyond exhausted. He wanted to make our wedding date memorable. There was no doubt in my mind that he had done what he had set out to do. I felt desired. I felt wanted. I felt his love in every kiss and every touch.

Chapter
32

Jenna

After we had brunch together with our family and frie
nds, we said our good-byes. Mom and Dad decided to stay a few extra days with my in-laws, and Matthew and Becky drove to Los Angeles airport to catch a plane to take the flight to San Francisco. There was no doubt in my mind that Becky’s parents would adore Matthew.

“Mrs. Knight
,” I heard. “Mrs. Knight.”

I loo
ked up at the pilot and realized he was calling me. I was Mrs. Knight. It felt so strange to be called that name, even though I knew that it was my name now. It would take some time to get used to. “Yes?” I smiled.

“
Please tell Mr. Knight we can take off now.”

Just as he finished his words, Max entered.
He had been checking the back of the plane. “We’re good back here.”

“Put on your seatbelt sir, we’re clear to go.” With that, the
pilot closed the door behind him. I could never get used to the idea that I was riding on a private plane.

“You comfortable, babe?” Max asked, making sure my seatbelt was fastened.

“I already did it, Max.”

“Just making sure,
babe.” Max kissed my forehead. “If you’re tired, take a nap. And if you’re hungry, let me know. Our lunch is already prepared.”

“Thanks.”
Max was so good to me and always catered to my needs. He held my hand as the plane took off. Looking out at the beautiful clouds, I wondered how on Earth I was so lucky to find someone like Max.

After we landed, we got into a car that was heavily tinted. Max had hired a driver for the duration of our stay. The time difference didn’t bother me much since I
’d slept most of the time on the plane.

“We going to take a quick detour, then we’ll be on our way to the hotel,” Max informed.

“Why?”

Ma
x kissed the back of my hand he was holding, and grinned widely. “You’ll see.”

What did he have up his
sleeve?

When our limo driver pulled over, Max helped me out of the car. We were both dressed in casual wear so I knew we weren’t going any place fancy, but I never would have imagined that we would stop by a bridge.

“What are we doing here?” I asked, observing people around us. Many couples were holding hands. When I turned to Max, I was taken back by the countless locks on the bridge. It was massive. Holy cow! “What is this place?”

“This is where couples come and declare their love forever by writing
their names on the lock, then they toss the key into the river.”

Then it dawned on me. Becky had mentioned what
they had done in our conversation. “Becky told me about this place.”

Max pulled out something from his back pocket and dangled it i
n front of me with an irresistible grin, like he was about to do something naughty. The lock was the biggest one I had ever seen. It was bigger than my hand. I was pretty sure that no locks on this bridge could compare to the size of ours. “That’s huge.”

Max chuckled. “Yup, mine is. That’s what you said.”

“Oh my God, Max. I didn’t mean …” I decided to play along. While I caressed his chest and pressed my body on his, I spoke with a sultry tone. “That’s true. Yours is huge. And I want to lick it.” I couldn’t believe I had just said that.

Max chuckled again and his grin told me he liked my comment. “I can show you later, but let’s do this
.” Max wrote my name, then his with a permanent pen.

“Where should we lock it?”

“Right here.” Max pointed.

Becky had told me that their lock was at the start of the bridge. I didn’t think we would ever find it because I couldn’t visualize what she meant, so I was surprised that Max had found it. “Did Matthew tell you about this place?”

“He did, but I also knew about it. I had planned to bring my wife here when it was time. And here we are.”

I smiled at Max
, knowing I was his first. “Are we going to put ours next to Becky and Matthew’s?”

“That’s the plan.” Max handed the lock to me.

Matthew and Becky’s lock was big—it stood out from the others for sure—but I knew ours was bigger. “Theirs is silver, too.”

“Ours is platinum
, babe. Heavy duty. I had it made by a locksmith.”

Why did that not
surprise me? “Platinum, Max? Seriously?” I laughed.

“Nobody is going to be able to break it. Let’s put it on together
.” After I looped it through, Max helped me press into the hole until we heard the “click” sound. “On the count of three, we toss the key together. This is forever, babe.” Max pressed his lips on mine. “One...two...three.”

Max’s hand that was already cupped behind mine gently pushed forward. The key flew just high enough to plop into the river. I jerked with a scream. Max had slapped my ass. “
Come on, Mrs. Knight. Let’s go have some fun.”

Our honeymoon was an amazing experience to remember. Max and I took a lot of pictures to show our family a
nd friends. Though we were gone for two weeks, it seemed like a dream. It went by too fast.

Just like Max
said, all of our belongings were set when we got home. Max also paid for them to put everything in it’s place so I didn’t even have to hang anything in my walk-in-closet that looked more like a room. Even the furniture we had agreed to purchase was placed in the correct position: the crib, dresser, the rocking chair, and little baby fixtures.

“The painters are coming by tomorrow. You can ask them to
design the nursery however you’d like.” Max slipped his arms around my waist from behind and kissed my cheek. “My parents, Matthew, and Becky are on their way.”

“I can’t wait to see them.
I also have a doctor’s appointment next week.”

Max’
s hand fell down to my stomach. “You mean
we
have a doctor’s appointment.” Suddenly, Max jerked away. “Did you feel that?” he asked excitedly, his eyes wide. “I felt our baby move.”

“I did,
” I said with exhilaration.

“That was incredible.” Max got down on his knees and placed his hands on my belly. “Come on,
baby, move for Daddy.” He leaned in closer and his expression told me he was consumed with joy. Max kissed my stomach, stood up, and gave me a kiss. “Was this the first time?”

“Yes it was. Our baby knows we are home.”

“Our baby is smart.”

The sound of the doorbell broke our conversation. “Let’s go down together.” We started down the stairs. “Should we
tell them the sex of our baby?”

“Nah,” I laughed. “Not just yet.”

Max swung the door open. “Jenna!” Becky practically jumped on me. She was really starting to show. Then it was Matthew’s turn. He looked down to my stomach. “You sure ate a lot in Paris.”

We laughed out loud from his teasing comment. “You know
how Max is. He loves to feed me. Let’s go to the family room.”

“Matthew already gave me the tour of your house when the movers moved you in. I made sure they placed everything where I thought you would like it,” Becky explained as we sat on the leather sofa. “You have a beautiful home.”

“Thanks, Becky. You shouldn’t have. It’s no wonder everything looked right in place. So, how are you feeling?”

“So far so good. I have
a doctor’s appointment every other week. Enough about me. Tell me all about your trip.”

Max and I shared as much as we could. W
e even told them about the lock, but we didn’t mention that ours was bigger.

“Mom and Dad are coming, right?” Matthew asked.

“They’re on their way,” Max replied, placing his hand on my stomach again.

“They live down the street. You
’d think they would get here first,” Matthew chuckled. “What are you doing?”

“We felt our
baby kick for the first time today.”

“We did, too
.” Matthew grinned, gazing at Becky. “Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl? We’ll tell you, if you tell us.”

We all laughed and stood up when there was a knock on the door. “Here they are,” Max said. We followed behind
.

Becky stopped me. “I don’t know if Max told you, but we’re moving down the street. A house went up for sale. We loved it so much that we put in our offer and they accepted it.”

“Becky. That’s wonderful.” I embraced her tightly. “We can help each other.”

“That was our thoughts exactly. And before I forget, Nicole and Kate want to throw a dual baby shower for us. Is that okay?”

“It’s perfect.”

The door opened, but before Robert and Ellen could see us, I asked Becky a qu
ick question. “How did your parents take it? And what did your sister think of Matthew?”

“My parents adored him
, and Rachel, too. They loved Matthew. And Ellen and Robert were beyond excited,” Becky said quickly, smiling. Ellen and Robert had spotted us. I would ask her more questions later.

“Welcome,” I greeted, giving them hugs. “Max had dinner catered.
Let’s head toward the family room.”

“Babe, it’s for you.” Max handed me the phone. “It’s your mom.”

I excused myself to our bedroom. “Mom?”

“Jenna. How are you?” Mom’s tone immediately gave me comfort.
“Is everything okay?” I had called my parents the day we got back from Paris, so to get a call from her this soon worried me.

“Everything is fine. Dad and I wanted to say thank you. We received the big statue of the Eiffel tower and the various chocolates you mailed. It was a nice surprise.”

“Max and I wanted to thank you and Dad for coming.”

“You don’t have to thank us.”

“I know, Mom, but we wanted to. I’ll see you in couple of months, right?”

“Yes. Dad will finally retire. We also agree
d to take Max’s old place, but only if he let us pay the rent. We can’t stay there for free.”

“I think he paid it off.”

“Regardless, we’re not staying there for free. That is our deal.”

“Okay. I’ll let him know.”

“I can’t wait. I’ll help you with the baby in any way I can. I wasn’t able to be there much for your wedding, but now it will be easier.”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t do much either.”

“Well, I’ll let you go. Drink lots of fluids and eat healthy. Do you know the sex of the baby yet?”

Oh God! I wanted to tell her so bad, but Max and I had made a promise to each other. “Not yet, Mom. Our baby is stubborn. The legs were closed. Maybe on the next visit we’ll find out
.”

“I’ll call you soon. Love you. Bye.”

“Love you, Mom.”