Taking Chances (10 page)

“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 a
dded her favorite 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.

“I know you mean well Ty, but I know myself, I know the signs of an attack and I can handle it. I will try my hardest to do what you say but you have to trust me to know what is good for me. Don’t go overprotective on me Ty. Smothering me is a sure fire way to set me off.” She kissed him quickly and got
up grabbing her coat. She looked him in the eye and he could see she was thinking over what to say next.

“Tell me what you are thinking baby. Say what you need to say. I need to know what you want so I can give it to you.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and grabbed his robe before walking over to her.

“Trust me Ty, because I trust you to do what’s good for me take care of me and not be overprotective. Stopping for just one moment she looked him in the eyes. Do you promise Tyler? Do you promise not to smother me and be too overprotective? I need my space and my own pace to find my way around
city and learn how to handle myself. I have never had to rely on myself, Aunt Emma was always there protecting me and fussing over
me. This is a huge deal for me Ty I mean it. I know you want what is best for me and you want to protect me but there are things I need to do on my own.” she looked at him nervously waiting for his answer.

“I promise baby.” He kissed her sweetly and looked into her eyes. He could see the emotion and could tell this was a big thing for her.

Julia Sara and Jenna spent their afternoon exploring London boutiques and as far as Julia and Jenna were concerned it was also spent getting to know each other better. They had lunch at a lovely little
restaurant with a wonderful view of a little park. Julia quickly found out that Jenna would forgo
eating a delicious meal to sketch something. Actually Jenna was known to forgo a lot of things when the urge to draw something caught her.
After lunch, all three women headed to another store to do some more shopping and then
decided to head back to the hotel. About two blocks from the hotel Jenna had the
chauffer stop the car.

“I have something I would like to look for in here. I would also like to walk back to the hotel by myself.” Looking back and forth from her best friend and future mother in law she reached for the door handle.

“Jen sweetie, are you sure? You haven’t even been in London for twenty four hours are you positive you want to try to venture out alone already?”
Sara placed a hand on her friends arm and looked concerned by her friend’s decision.

“Yes Jenna I wouldn’t want you to get yourself worried while you are alone. I would never forgive myself if you came to any harm. “Not knowing how to bring up the subject of Jenna’s anxiety Julia didn’t say anymore.

“Honest you two I am fine. The hotel is two blocks that way.” She pointed in the correct direction and the other women nodded.

“There are a few things I need to do and I would like to do them alone. Tyler did whatever he had to do to my phone to make sure it works internationally. I am feeling confident and happy. I want to do this. I want to show Tyler that I can do this. I can be the woman he wants and can take places with him on
business trips without worrying that something will happen to me.” She hugged each woman, grabbed her purse and the portfolio she had brought with her today.

The two women exchange worried glances when Jenna got out of the car. The chauffer pulled away from the curb and took them back to the hotel.
When they got back to the hotel Julia saw Tyler talking to the hotel manager in the lobby and went to her son while Sara and Veronica headed to the lounge for a cup of tea.

“Hey mom how was your day with the girls?” He kissed his mother’s cheek and the pair started walking to the lounge.

“Oh we had a wonderful day. We all found something for the wedding and picked out the flowers. Your fiancé decided to get out of the limo a few blocks from here and runs some mystery errands.” As the pair reached the table Sara and Veronica chose she sat down in the seat her son held out for her.

“Where’s Jenna, didn’t she want to have tea with you?” Smiling at the ladies he motioned to the waitress to come over.

“Oh your fiancé had some errands to run and had the limo stop so she could get out a few blocks from here.” Julia took the menu from the waitress and looked it over while Tyler stood next to the table.

“Well you ladies enjoy your tea and snacks I will see you later.” He kissed his
mother’s cheek and walked into the lobby.

Worriedly Tyler called the head of hotel security and talked to the man. Showing him a picture of Jenna he told the man where to find her and told him to watch her. Don’t interact with her don’t scare her just watch her and make sure she was safe.

~~~~~~

Jenna walked into the portrait studio she had noticed yesterday on their way to the hotel. Walking to the counter she greeted the salesperson and pulled the sketch she had been working on for the past few weeks of her portfolio and asked if it could be framed. The saleswoman was very friendly and helped Jenna pick out a frame. She told Jenna it would take one hour and it would be ready. She got her
receipt and decided to go check out some other stores on the block.

After the second store Jenna started to feel off. Her anxiety was up and she felt like she was being followed. There was this tall man in a nice suite who was about fifteen feet behind her who she swore was in the last two stores she visited.
It wasn’t an odd thing for her to feel as though she was being watched or followed when her anxiety acted up so she didn’t think anything of it.

Taking some deep breathes to calm her now rising anxiety, Jenna headed into a small pet store she saw. While browsing she noticed to her relief that the man had not entered the pet store. Jenna had a good time picking out a
Union Jack tee shirt of Oscar. She also saw some chewy toys she wanted to get for him too. One was a red phone booth another was a squeaky royal guard and the last was a plush replica of the underground sign. Taking the bag with her purchases in it Jenna left the store so she could go get her picture.

Noticing again the man behind her after she picked up her picture wrapped in brown paper she started to panic. She felt the all too familiar fog rolling over her mind. She headed in the direction of the hotel.
The man followed her for the first block. Just to prove to herself that she was being silly she went the
wrong way around a block.
All the sudden there were too many people, the city was too loud and everything was just too much for her to handle.
The man had followed her around the block and all the way to the hotel.
Just outside the hotel she tripped. Tyler was inside in the lobby and saw her trip. He ran out to her and got to her a few seconds after the security guard did. When the security guard reached for her
to help her up she screamed.