Loving You (Remembrance Series, Book 2) (6 page)

I didn’t understand why he needed to verify things. “Why would she lie about a pregnancy?”

“That’s how Phillip ended up marrying her. She claimed to be pregnant and then supposedly miscarried, less than two weeks into their marriage. He felt it was only honorable to stay married to her and try to make things work. To say her temperament is trying, is the understatement of the year. But, he seems to love her; so, we tolerate her actions and he tries to keep her in tow. Sadly, we don’t get to see Philip often because of her little shenanigans.”

I leaned over and gave Gregory a full kiss on the lips, trying to negate his bad mood. It seemed to work because he grabbed hold of my head and deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into my mouth and exploring every inch of it. It wasn’t long before my mother cleared her throat, causing us to break off our intensity.

“Feeling better?” I asked him.

“You are definitely the light to my soul,” he said, as he wrapped me in a gentle hug.

“I’m going to hope that Gwen is pregnant and that we can expect a little niece or nephew to spoil. Maybe this is what she needs to break some of her cynicism. A mother’s love for her child can easily change the way one looks at the world.”

Gregory shrugged his shoulders and got up from the table to rinse and deposit his plate in the dishwasher. “Did you want me to help you into the bedroom or do you want to stay out here with your mom for a while? I’ve got some work to finish up on the computer. I will only be an hour, maybe two, tops.”

“I’ll stay here and look through some of the books while you work. That way you can have some peace and quiet without me disturbing you.”

He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss on the end of my nose. “You never disturb me. I find my mind works best when I’m around you. But, I concede. By the way, my mom is really anxious to take you dress shopping, especially since I told her that your cast will come off, soon. Plus, she wants to get engagement pictures. She needs us to figure out where we would like them taken and she’s already reserved the photographer in two weeks.”

My mom came to the edge of the kitchen. “I have to agree with Lorraine. Engagement pictures would be nice to have; plus, you could send out a few in the ‘Engagement Party’ invitations. As for dresses, even if you can’t try any on yet, we could at least get your measurements and narrow down the dress choices and places to shop. We only have a few months left. That’s not a lot of time to work with.”

I took a deep breath in, feeling my ribs protest a bit, and wondered how my life suddenly got more complicated. “Okay. I guess I don’t have a choice with the engagement photos. Besides, it would be nice to have a photo of us to put into the hometown newspaper in Clewiston, so my friends from back there will know I finally found someone special. As for the photographer, I wonder if he has any suggestions on locations that don’t require much traveling.”

Gregory gave me another quick kiss on the lips. “Thank you. I’ll get his information from Mom and see if he can send me sample location pictures we can look through and determine what you feel you’re up to doing.”

I started to get up and reach for all the bridal books that Lorraine sent, but he insisted I sit back down and scooted the items to within my reach. “Let me know when you’re ready to come to the bedroom and I’ll help you.”

I just shook my head and smiled, shooing him away, so I could look at the books. I was tired of looking at bridal dresses, so I focused, instead, on the samples Lorraine sent for other parts of the Wedding.

Mom sat down with me and we tried to decide on color choices. Since the wedding would be a fall/winter event, I wanted rich colors like gold and burgundy. I took post-it notes and stuck them on a few napkin colors and my imprint design choices, as well as flower arrangements I thought I might like.

To my surprise, three hours had passed and I had only made a small dent in what Lorraine wanted me to look through. When I started to yawn, Mom took the catalogue from my hands. “You’re not allowing your body enough rest, Jordan. You’re never going to heal properly if you keep pushing yourself.”

“You’re right. I need to get to bed.” I stood up slowly from the table, testing my balance. Mom stood beside me to help steady me. The vertigo still wasn’t completely gone, but it had definitely improved to the point where I was able to make my way to the bedroom, on my own.

Gregory’s head whipped around as soon as he heard me enter the room. “What are you doing walking without any help?”

“The vertigo is better, as long as I have a wall or piece of furniture to steady myself. Are you almost done for tonight?”

“Yes. I was just about to come and get you.” I noted he was trying to close out a couple of windows, one of which looked like an instant message.

“Who are you instant messaging?” I was curious and feeling a little jealous, for some reason.

“I noticed my brother, Phillip, was online and I tried telling him about Gwen’s note.” His face told me the conversation didn’t go well. “He swore that Gwen would never write something like that and then told me to leave him alone.”

My heart ached for him. “Give him some time. Hopefully, he’ll come around or Gwen will change.”

He finished shutting down the laptop and crossed the room looking deep into my eyes. He took a deep breath. “There’s more.”

I knew my eyes widened with the news. “Okay. What are we dealing with?” I made sure to put the emphasis on
we
.

“Remember me telling you about my ex-girlfriend, Angela, when we had dinner at the Copper Pot?” He paused, waiting for me to nod. “She’s been sending me emails, instant messages and calling my cell phone for the past week. She is insistent that we need to talk. She wants to get back together and said that she made a mistake by breaking up and that we are perfect for each other.”

I shook my head and laughed. I couldn’t help it. The irony of the whole situation and the timing of everything spelled trouble to me.

He took hold of my head in both hands, pressing his nose and forehead to mine. “Know that my heart belongs to only one person and that’s you. It always has and always will be only you! You are my destined love, as we’ve seen throughout time. Nothing will EVER change that! I’ve told her to back off or I’d seek legal action against her for harassment. I’ve already told her I’m engaged to be married and wouldn’t dream of ever leaving you.”

I didn’t understand his concern. “So, what aren’t you telling me?”

“She’s threatening to ruin our lives if I don’t take her back. She knows who I really am and has offered to make it public knowledge, along with slandering my family’s name and reputation, along with yours, with false claims.” Before I could object, he continued. “I’ve already told my parents about her threats and they have someone keeping tabs on her, to ensure she doesn’t try to follow through with anything. She shouldn’t be a problem; but we both need to be careful until we’re sure she’s not a threat. Her father recently fell on hard times with his business. My guess is she’s desperate for money and sees me as easy prey. I don’t know if the darkness has gotten to her or if she’s just a little mentally imbalanced, given what’s happened; but I don’t want to take any chances with you.”

“Wow. Just when you thought you had life figured out and knew what you’re dealing with, another wrench gets thrown into the works.” I swayed for a moment, before finding my balance.

“I’m going to get ready for bed. I just can’t deal with anymore nut cases, today.” I headed into the bathroom and changed.

When I came out, he was already in his boxers and a t-shirt. “What do you mean by anymore nut cases?” He wasn’t happy that I was withholding information.

“Nothing to worry about. I just got a nasty phone call from Pamela, today. I’ve already talked to Caroline about it, so it’s all handled,” I replied as I climbed into bed.

He turned off the light and hovered over me. “Please don’t keep secrets like this from me. I need to know if something or someone is bothering you.” With that, he leaned in to graze my lips with his. His warm and tender kisses floated down my jaw, across my shoulders and back up at the pulse point of my neck, where he bit gently, causing me to shiver involuntarily, as he continued on toward my ear. His lips and tongue licked and suckled behind my ear, my lobe and then probed my ear gently.

Gregory pulled back to gauge how I was doing. At least I didn’t hear a pop or have nausea this time. I could hear swirling noises and the sound of released pressure. His eyes stared at me widely, so I reassured him. “I’m doing fine. Something is definitely going on in my ear, but it’s hard to describe.”

A quirky smile spread across his lips, as his eyes looked a little lower, down to my chest. He pulled back the covers. “I’d like to try something with your permission, Jordan.”

“I trust you not to hurt me.”

He gently lifted my t-shirt to just below my breast line, his thumb gently grazing over the edge of one breast, and leaned into the area of my damaged ribs. He winced at the site of the bruising. It wasn’t hard to miss where the fractures were. After several weeks, it had lightened and had just recently started yellowing around the edges. At least it was better than the dark black that had initially been there.

He leaned across me, supporting his weight with his arms, as he began trailing his tongue and lips over the injured area. “Let me know if I put too much pressure on you. I have a theory that maybe multiple attempts might be needed for deeper wounds.” He continued kissing, as he whispered, “Plus, I think I’m getting addicted to the taste of your sweet skin.”

Okay, my mind was definitely on sensory overload, as goose bumps spread across my skin. I inhaled deeply and my breath caught, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of the pain or his words. He stopped immediately and moved back up the bed to my face. “Did I hurt you?”

I shook my head. My insides felt weird, but how to describe it was impossible. He looked frightened by my inability to talk, so I wrapped my hands around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. I nipped at his lip, searching for entrance into his mouth to show him that I was fine. For a second he hesitated, before exploring my own mouth, in return.

Then without warning, he pulled back. “Jordan…I…We can’t…need to…” He didn’t finish the sentence, instead kissed me briefly before flashing out. The next thing I heard was the shower running.

Gregory spent a good ten minutes in the shower before finally emerging back into the bedroom. By that time, my head cleared and my breathing settled. I tried taking a couple of deeper breaths, to test his theory, and found that while I still had pain, it was at least more tolerable.

He crawled back into bed and, to my surprise, pulled me close against his side. We both looked into each other’s eyes and said, “I’m sorry,” in unison.

We each knew what the other was trying to say. Temptation could be… well… tempting, sometimes; but we both wanted to wait until our wedding night. Thankfully, it was only a few months away.

I settled my head on his chest and was lulled to sleep by the beat of his heart.

The darkness around me lightened at the edges and I could feel Gregory’s arms surround me in our dreams.
“You take the lead on the dreams tonight, darling. I’ll watch over and protect us.”

I let my mind wander as the area began to shift around us and we found ourselves watching Hannah and Aaron stroll along the shores of a river. In the distance, there was noise coming from large wooden ships and masts, as the sailors unloaded their wares from the cargo holds. Apparently their city had a port.

Aaron stopped and turned to Hannah, closing his hands around hers and looking rather serious. “I met your father at his office this morning, and formally requested his permission for your hand in marriage.”

She nodded. “And?”

He twitched his mouth as he looked down at the ground.

“Please tell me he did not refuse your request. How could he?” Hannah’s head shook side to side in disbelief, as tears began to fill her eyes.

His hand reached up to wipe a tear from her cheek. “Relax, my love.” A smile spread slowly across his face. “He was rather excited about our families joining. As such, he has given us his blessings to proceed forward.”

She playfully slapped at his chest. “Aaron, you fiend. How dare you play jokes at my expense?”

He looked around to see if anyone was watching, before placing a chaste kiss on her cheek.

“What of your family? Have you talked with your father, yet, to express your wishes?”

He took a deep breath in. “My family could not be happier about our union. Both my parents find the combining of our families a benefit to the community and to each other.”

Before either of them could say another word, “Aaron Williams, is that you?”

We turned to see a beautiful blonde young woman, with what looked like a handmaiden, dressed in stylish gown and matching petticoat, slowly approach the couple. Aaron’s jaw muscles grew noticeably tense as the young woman approached, and for good reason; her aura was glowing bright red.

“Lucinda Roberts, it has been ages. How is your family?”