Something Forever (28 page)

Chapter 3
9

Jenna

Five years later

“Surprise!” I heard as I walked in. I gazed around to see my
family and friends gathered in a private room of the restaurant called Jazz Kitchen in Anaheim. A large square table was set in the middle of the room; a bouquet of beautiful flowers in a tall glass vase was set on the table. And lavender and white balloons were tied to the back table for decoration.

“Happy thirtieth,
babe,” Max kissed my forehead.

“Thank you
,” I thought I said. Standing there, stunned and silent, it felt like a dream as I smiled at our guests. Hopefully my smile didn’t look dorky, because I felt my lips tugged too close to my ears.

“Jenna
,” I heard a voice call. “I’m going to take Cassie from you.”

“Mom.”
I finally snapped out of my confusion. Feeling her arms around me, she took my six-month old daughter out of my arms.

Oh my God! It hit me. Max had thrown me a surprise party. “Jenna, Happy Birthday.” Becky, Nicole, and Kate gave me a hug all at once.

“Thanks for coming?” I said, looking down. Christopher had let go of my hand. After he turned two, all he ever wanted to do was follow Connor around.

“It was so hard to keep it away from you,” Becky
exclaimed. “I was so afraid that I was going to slip.”

“Well, you did a great job because I was completely clueless. Max told me that he had planned a special dinner for our family for my birthday and that we would spend the night at the Disney hotel, since it’s
in walking distance. We also planned to go to Disneyland the next day. Wait.” I paused. “Are you going to Disneyland with us?”

“They sure are.” Max placed his arms around me.

“I can’t believe it. It’s going to be so much fun,” I squealed.

“Let’s see how long we can handle standing in line with all
of these kids,” Matthew added.

“Before we discus
s our itinerary, let’s eat first,” Max suggested. Taking my hand, he led me to the buffet that was set up just for our room. “Birthday mommy needs to eat. I already told Connor and Christopher to eat lunch. My mom helped them with their serving.”

“Did I tell you how much I love you?” I asked, taking a plate
that he offered out of his hand.

“As many time
s as I tell you that you’re beautiful.”

“That many?”

“I still don’t think it’s enough.” Max winked; the one that sent all sorts of shivers through me.

“You’re too good to me, you know that?”

“I have to make sure Mrs. Knight is happy.” Max scooped a spoonful of vegetables and placed it on my plate.

“Balloon, Mommy,” Christopher
whined, tugging my dress.

“You can have it after lunch,” Connor said
. “I told him to stay with Grandma, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“
Would you like to sit with Mommy and Daddy?” I asked Christopher.

With his head tilted back, his brown eyes were wide
open. Christopher nodded with the most adorable pouty face.

“C
an I sit with Addison and Shawn?” Connor asked. “We want to play super heroes. I’m Superman. Addison is Supergirl. And since Shawn is younger than me, he’s Superboy.” Conner lifted both of his arms to show us his muscles.

Max chuckled lightly.
“Yes, you may, but we need to see how much you ate before you throw your plate away.”

“Okay, Dad.” Connor took off with
his hands in the air.

As I watched him dash off, I gazed upon my mom and Ellen
doting on Cassie while they ate. And the dads were talking about golf. It was such a sweet sight. I’d heard horror stories about in-laws unable to get along, but not in our case. Thank God!

“Mason is so cute,” Kate said, taking a bit
e of her fish.

“He’s such a lucky boy to finally have parents who will love him,” Nicole added. “How old is he again?”

“He’s almost two,” Matthew replied, spoon-feeding Mason, who was sitting next to him. “He’s still getting used to us speaking English. We hired a nanny that speaks Chinese to help us through the transition. It’s only been two weeks, but he’s adjusted pretty well. It took us longer to adopt than we had planned. We were still deciding which country to adopt our child from, but we finally decided on China.”

“Did you name him
after a family member in your family?” Keith asked, placing his cup down after taking a sip.

“Actually,
” Matthew started to say, chuckling. “He’s named after a paranormal young adult character Becky likes to read about.”

That got everyone’s attention.
“Really? That’s awesome.” Keith grinned.

Matthew’s tone rose with excitement
. “He’s named after a descendant of God. He can shoot lightning bolts out of his fingertips. He’s bad ass, I tell you.”

We
all burst out in laughter. “Seems like someone read that book. What’s it called?” Max teased.

Matthew shrugged his shoulders. “
From Gods
. But just the part where he did things with his bolt of energy to make Skylar go crazy for him. You know...I have to make Becca happy.”

“Oh God! Matthew!” Becky lightly punched him. I totally understood the reason for that slap. Becky was not the shy type, but she certainly
was around her in-laws. Sex was one topic that was off limits with parents for the both of us. Becky looked at me and cringed.

Kate
glanced at her husband. “What are you laughing about? You should read that book.”

Everyone started laughing again. “Let’s change the subject. We have kids here,” Max murmured, gazing at Addison and Connor. They were staring at us with wide
, curious eyes.

“Wow. Mason can shoot lightning?” Connor admired.

“No, no, no,” I said quickly while we continued to laugh, but now it was from Connor’s question. We had to start being careful of what we said. Connor was more observant about what we discussed these days. “Uncle Matthew was joking.”

“Oh,” he chuckled. And just like that he
picked up his fork to eat again and turned his attention to Addison and Shawn.

“Excuse us for a moment,” Becky said out of the blue. “Jenna, Kate, Nicole, I need to talk to you.”

We followed Becky to the back. It was the first time I’d seen my birthday cake. Max had it made from my favorite bakery. It was decorated Louisiana-style to match the atmosphere of the restaurant. It even had a beautiful mask on the top.

Becky placed a box in front of us. “I was originally going to get it for Jenna as her birthday gif
t, but I couldn’t help myself. I had to get it for all of us.”

“Becky, you didn’t have to do that,” Kate scolded
playfully.

“Open it.” Becky looked so excited. She was practically holding her breath.
“I can’t wait for you to see it.”

“It’s beautiful. Oh, Becky.” I hugged her tightly with tears in my eyes.

“I love this,” Nicole added. “It has my baby’s names. Shawn and Sarah.”

“Mine
, too.” Kate held hers up. “Kristen and Kelly.”

Becky reached into her shirt and pulled something
out. “See. I was trying to hide it. I got one, too. It’s sterling silver, so make sure to take good care of it.” The names of her children were imprinted on the bottom of the circular pendants that were layered from small to big, Addison and Mason.

Placing the
pendants on the palm of my hand, I reflected on the years when Becky and I first became roommates.

“How m
any children do you want?” I asked Becky as we sat on the sofa, sipping our tea on a cold winter night.

“I think two. I don’t think I can handle more than two kids fighting together,” Becky snorted. “My sister and I used to fight all the time. Drove my mom crazy. How about you?”

“At least three. Two boys and a girl. But I’m a bit afraid that I may take after my mom and will have a hard time conceiving.”

Becky snapped out of her thoughts and started laughing. I knew she was thinking dirty thoughts. “Well, think of it this way. You can have lots of sex trying.”

I had to laugh at her humor. “I hope sex is good.”

“If you meet the right husband it will be.” Becky blew into her cup and took a sip.

“If that ever happens.” I ran my finger around the rim, wondering whom I would end up getting married to.

“You will, Jenna. You have a beautiful heart
. I have no doubt you will marry a man with the same heart. I’ll make sure of it,” she stated and winked.

“The same goes for you, Becky.”

“I hope so,” she sighed. “With my luck of men these days, who knows?”

“Someone great is waiting for us out there.”

“I hope they’re wonderful.”

“Yeah
...I hope one day we’ll get our something forever.”

“Jenna, are you okay?” I heard Becky’s voice.

I blinked my eyes as I snapped back to reality. “Yeah. I was just thinking about what we said to each other when we first became roommates.

Becky nodded with a small
smile. I could tell from her expression she knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Could you help me with this?” I asked.

After Becky put on my necklace, she swung her arms around my shoulders. “Group hug.”

Kate and Nicole squeezed in as we held each ot
her tightly. From my position, I could see Max and Matthew smiling at us. Their faces were full of love, care, and understanding. Then my vision shifted to all of the children. Thinking about them always warmed my heart. I thanked God for my life. So much had happened in the past seven years for Becky and me.

This one insecure
girl, who wanted everything to be safe, had changed. I had become the woman I was meant to be. The confident Jenna needed a man like Max to show me that I could trust and love again with all of my heart and soul. He made me feel beautiful. He made me feel desired. He showed me that I was worth fighting for. And that alone made me believe in us.

Life was full of surprises
. Sometimes the surprises were not so good, but the good ones made my life even better. Like Max and the unexpected pregnancy. At the end, those unexpected surprises were the ones that brought the most joy in my life. I could not imagine my life without Max and my children. As I looked at them, my heart expanded with so much happiness that it couldn’t possible get any fuller.

I didn’t want to think about “what if I had never given Max a chance
?” The truth was, Max and I were meant for each other. One way or another, we would have found each other at the right time and place. This I knew for sure from the bottom of my heart. I couldn’t imagine my life with anyone else and I never would. He was my something great. My life was something wonderful as I gazed at my family and friends. And now...we would live for something forever.

Something Amazing (Spin-off of Something Great Series)

Coming January 12, 2015

Prologue

Rachel

“Hi Rachel. It’s good to hear from you.”

“Hey, Becky,” I said softly, trying not to break down over the phone. It was the last thing I wanted to do. “Is Matthew with you?” I thought bringing up Matthew to divert the attention would help, but it didn’t.

She chuckled lightly. “Sorry. Matthew was tickling me. He says hi.”

“Tell him I said hi, too.”

“Is everything okay? You’ve never called me this late before. I mean, its nine o’clock here, but it’s midnight in New York.”

“I...it’s just that. I’m going to take a mini vacation.”

“What happened?” My sister’s voice was concerned. If she was lying in bed, I could imagine her getting up.

I tried my best to maintain composure, but her big sisterly voice—the voice that always soothed me when I felt anger, hurt, or any type of emotion that needed reassurance—made me utterly lose it. Tears immediately burst free, which she definitely heard it. “We broke up.”

“What? Why?” Her tone reached another level of pitch.

“It’s kind of Matthew’s fault.” My lips quivered as tears ran down my cheek.

I heard a slap and Matthew’s shout. “Ouch! What was that for? You better watch it, Becca, ’cause you’re turning me on. I don’t care if it’s your baby sister on the phone. I’ll make you come big time. She’ll be hearing Matthew and Becca porn.”

Oh my God! I let out a snort. That seemed to stop the tears for a bit. “Don’t hurt him. He didn’t do anything.”

“I’ll be right back,” I heard her tell Matthew. “Okay, sorry about that, Rachel. What do you mean you and Greg broke up? What happened? Tell me everything.”

Tell her everything? Where do you start when there is so much to tell? “I don’t love him anymore.”

“Are you sure?”

“Becky...remember when you told me about Jenna. How she was going out with a safe guy, but her heart wasn’t really there.”

“Yes.”

“I think that’s how it is with me. I just didn’t know it until I saw how Max and Matthew were. When you hear about it, it’s one thing, but when you see it with your own eyes, it becomes real. My eyes were opened when I came to visit you. I love Greg, I’ve loved him for the past two years, but I don’t think he’s the one for me.”

“As much as I really like Greg, I’m on your side. If you’re not happy with him, then it’s better that you found out sooner rather than later.”

“I want to know what it feels like to love, and be loved, the way you and Matthew love each other. There’s so much respect, honesty, and...passion.” I was kind of shy saying the last word, but that was a big deal in a relationship. Sex was a big deal.

“Did you talk to Greg about this?”

“I did. The problem is that he’s a great guy, but there’s …” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Well, look. Surely, you and Greg were not meant to be. You’re still so young, fresh out of college. You should date around.”

I released a heavy sigh and sniffed. “I know. There’s a part of me that feels relief, and a part of me that’s hurting.” The tears that I’d tried to keep at bay escaped at the corner of my eyes.

“I understand. I’m so sorry. Breaking up is hard to do, especially when you’ve been together for so long. Want to come visit me?”

“Actually, the reason why I called was to let you know that I’m going to go to Kauai with Stacey.”

“Your roommate,
Stacey?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. I’ll make it to your wedding rehearsal.”

“Okay. Do Mom and Dad know?”

“Yes. They know about the break up and my trip. I’m sure they’ll be calling you tomorrow.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

“What are sisters for? Anyway, I’ll let you go. Thanks for listening.”

There was a silent pause. I knew Becky didn’t want to hang up. She was worried about me. The truth was, though I was hurting, I felt a sense of freedom. Was this a temporary thing? Had I made a mistake? I guessed time would let me know.

“Any time, Rachel. Do me a favor.”

“Anything. What is it?”

“When you get there, don’t sulk. Forget Greg. Forget everything. Date many hot surfer guys. Have a blast with
Stacey. Be free and make out with lots of guys, but be responsible. Do what you were supposed to do for the past two years.”

“Okay,” I said. I didn’t know about the hot surfer guys, but I would definitely leave all of my worries behind and go to a peaceful place to help me clear my head. “Thank you. I’ll see you soon.”

I heard Becky giggle and a moan, even though she probably didn’t mean for me to. “Come to bed. It’s cold without you,” I heard Matthew’s voice murmur. I didn’t know if that was meant for me to hear either, but it made me smile. I loved how playful Matthew was. I meant it when I’d said it was Matthew’s fault. He made me see what type of man I wanted forever with. From all of the shuffling and steps on the other end of the line, I was assuming that Matthew carried her to bed.

“Call or text me to let me know you’re safe. Call me anytime. You’ll be three hours behind my time zone. And I’m really sorry about the break up. It’s always hard, no matter the reason. Love ya.”

“Love you, too. Bye, Becky. Say good-bye to Matthew for me.”

“Bye, Rachel,” Matthew said. I was surprised to hear his voice. “Sorry about that. The one that was meant for you will come when it isleast expected. I’m talking from experience. When you get there, go to Poipu. There’s a restaurant bar my friend owns at the beach, called Ocean Front. You can’t miss it. It’s the only one there. His name is Hendrix. I’ll give him a call. When do you leave for Kauai?”

“Next week. I haven’t made any reservations yet. Stacey and I decided spur of the moment.”

“I won’t take no for an answer. I can set both of you up at Sheraton. I’ll call tomorrow. Have a great time and be safe. You’re my sister now, and I’m going to treat you like one, so guys better be aware.” I heard a sweet, manly chuckle. It was half serious and half teasing. Being the type of person he was, I knew he spoke the truth.

“Thank you, Matthew.”

“By the way, you should be getting a phone call tomorrow. The photography department loved your work. The job is yours if you want it.”

“Are you serious?” I asked with elation. It was the first time I smiled this week. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say yes. Come and work for us, but only when you’re ready. You don’t have to start right away.”

“Thanks, Matthew.” Although I hadn’t made my mind up yet, that was the perks of having a connection and a great future brother-in-law. “You’re the best.”

Matthew chuckled. “She said I’m the best.” That was meant for Becky to hear. “She’s so smart.”

“Of course you would say that. You are the best.” I heard chuckling from my sister.

“I’m best at everything, but mostly making Becca happy.”

There were more giggles from her. “Sorry, Rachel. Oh my God! Stop, Matthew.” More laughter rang through the phone. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye, Matthew. Bye, Becky,” I said out loud, laughing, then hung up.