With Love; Now & Forever (19 page)

washcloth pressed against her forehead.
“She’s coming around.” Jennifer’s voice floated into her
consciousness and she opened her eyes to see four faces
staring anxiously down at her.
“What happened? Oh, God, I passed out, didn’t I?” she
moaned, mortified at the thought.
“Hey, you shouldn’t be embarrassed, you stood up to a
ghost! Hell, you stood up to Georgia and that’s enough to
make anyone weak in the knees!” Jennifer chuckled. Ana looked at Jennifer, “Did you see him? Did you see
Austin?”
Jennifer nodded, squeezing Stavros’ hand. “I did, we all
did. It was beautiful, seeing him again! He fixed it, he did
something and both he and Barry went into the light, they
crossed over.”
“Barry went with him? Willingly?” Ana asked,
astonished. “After all of that and he just went quietly?” “It was because of you, Ana.” Rick spoke softly. “Barry
felt the love you had for Austin, then felt the love you have for me. He knew he would never experience that with you, or anyone. I think he actually felt penitent. You shamed
him, Ana, him and Georgia.”
“Where
is
Georgia? I should apologize for my
harshness, it’s not her fault her husband was haunting me.”
Ana started to sit up and look for Georgia.
“She’s gone, she said there has been enough pain and
loss, she didn’t want to deal with anything else. I think she
went home to lick her wounds. Between you and Barry, I
think she got a major reality check.” Lissa explained. “You were right, Lissa. Barry had other lovers, I just
never knew, never
thought
…” Jennifer shook her head. “Marriage is a very challenging, beautiful union. It’s
also a force to be respected and reckoned with all in its
own.” Lissa said quietly.
“Would you like to have coffee?” Jennifer blurted out,
staring at Stavros.
“Pardon?” he stumbled, caught off guard by the
misplaced question.
“Uh, oh,” Jennifer stumbled, realizing her timing. “I would love to have coffee with you.” Stavros jumped
in, giving her hand a slight squeeze.
“Great! How about tomorrow morning? We could go
into town to that little café that we first went to when I
wanted to pick out drapes?”
“Café Rouge? I haven’t been there in ages, that sounds perfect! Thank you, Jennifer.” He leaned over and brushed a kiss along her cheek, Jennifer’s face flushing bright red and Ana started giggling, knowing that Jennifer was
recalling one of her dreams.
“Well, it has been quite a night for me. Marcus is going
to be here bright and early so if you’ll excuse me, I will be
retiring to my room for the night.” Lissa stood and smiled
at everyone. “It has been an interesting and challenging
night, thank you for the experience.”
“Lissa.” Ana stood tentatively and when she felt sturdy,
embraced Lissa. “Thank you
so
much for all of your help,
for believing me and not abandoning me. You helped give
me my life back.”
“Oh honey, it was all you. You have more strength in
you than you give yourself credit for, you’re an incredible
woman and deserve an incredible man, again.” Looking
over at Rick, Lissa smiled. “Take good care of him and
keep him out of trouble. Oh, and after things have settled
down, you two need to come to our home for dinner, it
would be nice getting together with another married
couple!” she strode out of the room without waiting for a
comment.
“I think we all need to get a good night’s sleep but right
now I’m wired.” Jennifer admitted. “Anyone game to join
me for a nightcap?”
“I sure could use a good stiff drink.” Ana agreed, “How
about you, Mr. Montgomery?”
“I would love one, Miss Cassadine.” Rick smiled “I don’t understand the formalities of you Americans.”
Stavros shook his head looking at Rick and Ana. “It’s like a term of endearment, Stavros.” Jennifer tried
to explain but seeing the puzzled look on his face, gave up.
“Never mind, I guess it’s a good thing we’re not American!
Come help me with the drinks, please?”
“My pleasure.” he nodded and took her hand as they left
the room.
Rick pulled Ana into his arms and lowered his head to
kiss her. It was hard, full and passionate. “You were so
brave and so furious! Remind me to never make you that
mad when we’re married.” he teased.
“I don’t think you could. I love you Rick, I love you so
much that sometimes it’s scary and painful. I don’t want to
be away from you anymore.”
“I promise, my beloved, you’re stuck with me! So, did
you want to talk about the date?” he started to kiss and
nibble on her earlobe, working down her neck.
“Date? What date? I thought we were beyond the dating
part and moving on…” Ana was confused, trying to focus
on the subject at hand but finding her body responding to
his touch.
“Not a date, silly,
the
date, our wedding date.” he
brushed her hair back over her shoulders and moved towards the swell of her breasts, feeling her shake and
tremble.
“Oh,
that
date! As soon as possible, I don’t want to wait
any longer! I don’t have any family that I need to make
arrangements for and Sally can be ready on a moment’s
notice, how about you? How soon do you want to get
married?” she started to rub his chest and kiss his earlobe,
wanting to disorient him as much as he was her.
“My family and I aren’t very close, remember? The
most important people in my life are right underneath this
roof so how about tomorrow? Let’s get married tomorrow.”
He fingered her bra straps so that one fell gently off of her
silken shoulder.
“Afraid I can’t do it that soon. Being that this is my first
wedding, I want a beautiful dress and all the frills. Sorry,
honey, but I want the works.”
Hearing the slight apologetic tone in her voice, he
stopped what he was doing and looked at her. “Don’t you
dare apologize. You deserve the fairy tale wedding, I can
put a hold on my hormones, for now, and give you the
wedding that you want. Just don’t make me wait
too
long!”
he teased and kissed the tip of her freckled nose. “I promise. How about in three weeks? Here? I know
Jennifer and I can find a dress in three weeks and the
gardens are so beautiful right now with all of the fall colors
that we won’t need to buy a lot of flowers, just my bouquet. Tuxes for you guys shouldn’t be too hard and Sally can handle the office until the week before the wedding, I’ll just have her let our clients know that we will be shut down for a week so that if they need anything, they will have to schedule it before or after that week. What do you think?”
she searched his face for any sign of what he was thinking. “I think it’s brilliant. We’ll talk to Lissa and Marcus
tomorrow and make sure their schedules are clear, I’ll call
my manager tomorrow also and let him know what’s going
on. He’s not going to be very happy but he’ll get over it.
We might have to wait on the honeymoon so I can finish
my obligations but after that, I promise to take you on the
longest, most beautiful honeymoon you could ever
imagine!”
“That’s a lovely thought but leave the honeymoon trip to
the expert, remember what I do for a living? I plan
dreams.” she pulled Rick’s head down and licked his lips,
then softly pushed her tongue inside his mouth. He
wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tighter,
forgetting everything but the woman he loved, here in his
arms.
She didn’t know how she could feel more blessed or
more fulfilled than being in his arms. She knew he was
right, people did have more than one soul mate and she was
experiencing it right now. Yes, she had loved and still did
love Austin and that love didn’t go away but her love for Rick was just as strong, just as intense and just as deep as it had been for Austin. It was just
different
, different because he was different, he was Rick, not Austin. She felt her heart open up and flood her body with the gratitude of love, giving love and receiving love. She opened her mouth to tell him that, to tell him how much she loved him but his lips found the hollow space at her throat and it took her breath away. Her thoughts now focused on the physical
sensations that were chasing her towards ecstasy. He felt her change but was unable to put a finger on
exactly what had altered. He knew she loved him, wanted
him, fought for him but while he was kissing her and she
melted into his arms, he felt her soul, her aura fluctuate. It
was intense, powerful and sensuous. The love that now
emanated from her was so commanding that he felt
humbled that he was the object of that pure emotion.
Knowing words weren’t enough to express how he felt, he
held her tighter, his kisses more intense as he allowed his
body to take charge of his motions. He reached the little
hollow at the base of her throat and licked and kissed,
feeling her pulse quicken, her scent so strong there that he
felt he was going mad with desire.
She was his, he was hers, they were going to be together
for as long as this life allowed them to be. She knew that
time could be fickle, that it changed every day and their life
together could be short or long, but she vowed to live it like everyday was their forever, their happily ever after that would go on and on. She could be happy with that and she knew Rick would be too.

he fall foliage was brilliant with reds, oranges and bright yellows. There were about fifty white folding chairs set up on the grassy knoll,

a red velvet stretch of carpet running through the middle of them towards a white wicker archway. Jewel toned Sumatra lilies adorned the archway with green ivy weaving in between the colorful blooms.

Jennifer, dressed in an emerald green satin cocktail dress, chatted with guests as they showed up and she helped usher them to their seats. Her joy filled her body knowing that her grounds were going to be the start of a beautiful marriage between two of her closest friends. The only thing that made her happier was when she looked at Stavros, also escorting guests, and found him watching her too. She felt the tremor shoot through her body and was reminded of when she was a teenage girl and found the captain of the Rugby team staring at her. Butterflies were an understatement for what she felt in her stomach and she wondered if the flushed feeling in her body was visible. God, she hoped not! Looking at him now, she felt exposed and raw with emotion. He was wearing a black Chiarelli Uomo tuxedo with an emerald green vest and bow tie that purposely matched Jennifer’s dress. The Italian, singlebreasted jacket fit his figure perfectly, enhancing his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

Her eyes found Sally, whom she had met just yesterday, and she felt herself smile at her. The bubbly brunette was as friendly as Ana had claimed and Jennifer found herself immediately taken with the petite pixie. Just as Ana had described her, Sally had arrived dressed in dark purple leggings with an oversized men’s pastel pink shirt, belted loosely at the waist. The calf-high black army boots were laced with matching purple ties and her short hair was pulled back in a multi colored hair band. She and Sally talked for hours while Ana was at the spa, having her nails done while Stavros sat in the corner, trying to keep up with the bubbling female conversation.

Jennifer giggled at the expression on Stavros’ face and Sally’s animated hand expressions. She had gone to pick up Ana at the spa, which left Sally and Stavros unaccompanied for an hour but she didn’t fret or worry about any possible attraction. She had seen the look of bewilderment in Stavros’ eyes while Sally had babbled on about the singles scene in New York and the various bars and dance clubs that she enjoyed. She was more animated and bubbly than what Stavros was accustomed to and she knew that he would quietly and politely excuse himself if he got too overwhelmed and was also confidant that Stavros only had eyes for her, just as she did for him. She fondly remembered their first official date.

They had gone for coffee at the Café Rouge and then wandered the streets of Hayward’s Heath. Although they had done similar things often in the years that Stavros had been working for Austin, they both knew that this time it was different, it was personal and definitely not work related. They had strolled for many blocks with Jennifer’s hands at her side and Stavros behind his back, but when they both bent over to smell some fragrant candles a shopkeeper had on display, Stavros had tentatively linked his fingers with hers. They both looked at each other and smiled, not relinquishing each other’s hand until they got back into the car to come home that evening.

They hadn’t kissed yet, both wanting to take their time and respect the circumstances that had brought them together but Jennifer knew that she wouldn’t be able to wait that much longer and she didn’t think Stavros could either. She dreamed of him every night and her guilty feelings of desiring him were starting to fade. Austin had put her and Stavros’ mind at ease that night when he had expressed his joy and blessings that Jennifer had found someone who was only her friend, but her future. He wanted Jennifer to know that he loved her, always would and that finding true love again would be a way of honoring his memory. She had cried as Stavros had held her, Stavros nodding and thanking his best friend before Austin left with Barry.

Now she was hosting a wedding, with Stavros by her side as her partner, she glanced at him and smiled when she saw he was looking at her again. As the music began to play and people returned to their seats, she and Stavros quickly made their way to the front of the archway, Stavros standing beside Rick while she crossed opposite of them and stood next to the priest.

Rick, dressed in black tails, looking as nervous as a man on his first date, anxiously looking around, barely acknowledging friends that waved and tried to reassure him. He knew that they thought he was nervous about getting married a third time but they were wrong. He was elated to marry Anastasia, his third soul mate. What he was worried about was how she felt, if she was as sure as he was and if there were any residual concerns from Barry. He believed that Barry felt the shame that Ana had unleashed on him but did he really pass over? His misguided desire for her was so displaced that maybe he decided that he should have her and came back. He hadn’t seen her for over twenty hours and though Jennifer assured him she was dressed and loving absolutely stunning, he felt unease with her being by herself in the bedroom, finishing getting ready.