Page 7

6

JAMIE

Arriving in Quebec had to be one of the highlights of her year. Seeing the buildings, the lights shining up at them giving it an omnipresence that was inspiring was truly something. The old city that overlooked the St. Lawrence River was a mix of old buildings, cobblestone streets, and so much history you could taste it – and despite the setting sun and darkening skies, she could see the culture from her vantage point, pointing at things for Zachary, as they descended, and Kenneth was quiet.

Oh gosh, was he quiet.

They had shared a glass of champagne on the flight, but no romantic toast, no comment on their marriage or anything. The attendant brought her a few chocolate-covered strawberries that she immediately shared with both of them, but the strawberries were still slightly frozen – not that she was complaining.

Oh – and Zachary bit her.

Yeah, that was fun.

She really didn’t expect that, but when the child got nervous, antsy, overwhelmed, or scared – he really did not know how to let it out, doing the only thing he could. She was so shocked that it took her a second to respond, but the moment she opened her mouth to say something, she met his eyes, and saw he already knew.

“Sorry,” he whispered, his eyes glassy.

“Let’s just hold hands – and not bite them,” she whispered immediately. “I get nervous, and it makes me feel better… how about you?” – and sure enough, Zachary clung to her. He was just a little boy, a child, and she would need to be patient and understanding with him.

“You okay, Zach-Attack?” Kenneth said quietly, and Zachary nodded, now both hands clenching her one.

“You know, when I get nervous, I like to sing nursery rhymes. It makes my ears pop and makes me feel better,” she whispered. “We’ll be landing in a few, so it has to be a short one.”

“Like ‘ Row, Row, Row Your Boat’ ?”

“Oh, that’s my favorite,” she fibbed – and immediately, the two of them began singing the nursery rhyme as loudly as possible together. Sure enough, it distracted him, and Kenneth stared at her like she’d sprouted horns on her head.

Whatever works, right?

They caught a taxi, checked in at the hotel, and now they were here in some fancy building overlooking the city. The room had a king-sized bed and a fold out child-sized Murphy bed from the wall that looked like a cabinet. The inside of the Murphy bed had a Disney scene that any child would love. The king-sized bed was facing the window with the sheers pulled back, allowing the beauty of the lights to weave their spell, and she wanted to look but couldn’t take her eyes away from the pink elephant in the room.

The bed.

This wasn’t a honeymoon, according to Kenneth, but my goodness, that bed said otherwise. It was massive, with cream colored sheets and six pillows fluffed and propped against the padded headboard. There were chocolates on the pillows, a few rose petals, and everything screamed ‘romance’ – except him .

Kenneth didn’t say a word still.

‘Mr. Mute’ put their bags down on the luggage caddy and the table like they were nothing, unzipping one and getting out pajamas for Zachary. It was almost like he was ignoring her, but he had invited her to come with them. She had no idea what to do, what to expect, and couldn’t read him at all and then she heard a knock at the door.

“Can you get that?” Kenneth asked. “Zachary, let’s go brush your teeth.” And he walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

No explanation.

No nothing.

Opening the door to the room – she stared.

“Madame Salas?”

“Oui?” she replied, grateful for all the French she took in high school and in college because touring France had been on her bucket list that had zero checkmarks on it due to poverty.

“Ceci est pour toi et felicitations pour ton mariage…”

Eh?

Jamie stepped back and allowed room service into the room with the rolling cart. He put an ice caddy on the bureau along with two glasses for the champagne – and each had a raspberry waiting in the bottom of the glass. A silver tray was there, and he set it beside the champagne before withdrawing something from underneath the roll cart that was covered with a linen cloth, and she caught her breath.

Roses.

A dozen long-stemmed red roses.

“What’d we get, Daddy?” Zachary asked, coming out of the bathroom.

“Jamie got a little something special…” Kenneth replied quietly behind her as the attendant put the roses on the counter. He leaned forward, handed him several bills, and thanked him. Minutes later, the door was closed, the bell-hop was gone, and she was alone with an excited child, a quiet man, and all the makings for a romantic evening.

“You didn’t have to do this…” she whispered nervously, looking at him. Instead of answering, he moved slightly and pulled the cork that had been already popped by room service. He poured the two glasses, handing her one, and looked at Zachary.

“Get into bed, buddy, and you can watch cartoons before bed. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

As Zachary climbed into the child’s bed, Kenneth took the remote and put it on the Disney Channel, before moving closer to her. He picked up his glass of champagne – and lifted the lid, giving her a soft yet nervous smile.

“Every bride should have cake on their wedding day… but I’m a little late.”

Her eyes flew to his.

He’d gotten her cake so she could feel like a bride? How incredibly sweet was that? She felt a burning in her nose as the image of him before her suddenly grew watery. Clearing her throat, she sniffed and looked at the cake. It was a chocolate-cheesecake-looking thing.

“It’s not a normal cake because we didn’t have a normal wedding, but…” he began softly, his voice trailing off as she continued to look at him in utter disbelief and joy.

“What is it? Is that a cheesecake?”

“Flourless Belgian chocolate cake – with chocolate sauce.”

“Forgiven,” Jamie replied easily, picking up a fork and hearing his soft chuckle beside her - and then she did a doubletake as he took the fork from her hand. “Hey, wait a second…” her voice trailed off as she saw him scoop up a bite of the chocolate cake and look at her.

“First bite,” he said softly, looking at her. “I’m supposed to give the bride the first bite, and then you feed me one.”

“It’s chocolate, though… do I have to?”

“It can be a really small bite,” he chuckled softly, looking at her. “Open…”

And Jamie complied, waiting and bracing herself to end up wearing cake or something – and none of that happened. Instead, Kenneth gave her a bite of the cake and withdrew the fork, his eyes watching her, drinking her in as she experienced what could only be called ‘Chocolate Nirvana.’ Her eyes drifted shut as the flavors swirled in her mouth, overwhelming everything including the sound of him catching his breath.

“Jamie…”

She heard her name but there was an inflection that wasn’t there before – a yearning, a rawness, a husky tone that spoke to her. They say that when the right frequency hits glass it can break or shatter, and that singular word did it for her.

‘Hot’ or ‘Handsome’ just became ‘Need’ or ‘Want’ – and she wasn’t ready for the overwhelming sensation as it rolled over her when she opened her eyes and met his. His dark eyes were blazing with awareness and something else that caused her to hesitate.

He was… upset?

Was he upset with her? Himself? The situation?

“Kenneth…” she whispered, and he flinched. He flinched – and she flinched. Both were staring at each other with a new awareness that there was something between them, and he wasn’t happy about it.

What-in-the-actual-floppy-eared-bunny was going on with him?

“Gimme the fork,” she muttered, scooped up a big bite of chocolate, and wielded it like a weapon. “Open.”

“Jamie…” – and she shoved the bite in his mouth, nearly gagging him.

“Eat it. Deal with it. Suck it up, Snack Cake, because if you’ve got a problem with me, you’re gonna have to get over it – and quickly,” she hissed, trying to keep her voice down so Zachary didn’t hear them. She looked at his shocked face with the spoon hanging from his lips – and kept going. “We’re gonna share a bed, but to sleep . We’re not doing that because Zach is in the room. Whatever that look was, it is another reason we’re not doing that . You have issues, but I’m not one of them. If you think you married some pushover who is going to just do what you say, then think again.”

“Jamie…” he started, removing the spoon from his mouth, and she didn’t want to hear it.

“You picked me . You asked me . I’ve literally laid down my guard and welcomed you both into my life, but you don’t get to hold your skeletons against me . Wipe your mental slate, gimme a chance to make a mistake, and untwist your britches, big boy, because I’m not giving up on this, and I’m no quitter; but I’m also not taking crap because of your past. Got me?”

He nodded silently.

“You’re stuck with me until I’m done with you – period.”

“Are you finished?”

“I’m not sure,” she hissed back, crossing her arms and looking at him with a glare. “It depends on your next words.”

“You’re right,” he replied quietly. “And it’s not fair to you.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Look,” he whispered silently, handing her back the spoon, to which she immediately took another bite because – well, chocolate. “I’m glad you feel like you can talk to me and put me in my place because I need to know where I mess up for this to work.”

“Well, it’s a two-way street,” she hesitated and met his gaze. “I think you’re cute, but it would be nice if the inside matched the outside.”

He gave her a slight, lopsided smile.

“I think you’re ‘cute’ too,” he admitted and then grew serious. “So, let’s take our time with this, get to know each other, and figure this marriage out between us.”

“Agreed.”

“Can I have the spoon back? That’s really good.”

“Yeah,” she hesitated and glanced at the cake before shoveling up another large bite – and then handed him the spoon while chewing, cheeks completely puffed out, and trying not to let any crumbs fall from her mouth. “Mere ew go…” she mumbled, mouth full.

And he laughed.

“Seriously?” he exclaimed in a hushed whisper. “There’s one bite left.”

“Just fer ew…” she managed, swallowing a bit and covered her mouth as a laugh escaped, sending a crumb flying at him. It bounced off his nose, causing him to laugh again, as they stared at each other.

“You’re not right,” he chuckled.

“Nope,” she agreed. “You’ll have to be a really nice husband to top where chocolate sits on my list.”

“Well, your nice husband will share the champagne and polish off this last bite so we can get some sleep. We’ve got a big day tomorrow looking at houses, stopping by the arena to meet the coach, and…”

“We’re not going to do touristy stuff – with Zachary?”

And he stiffened, hesitated, and then nodded.

“Thank you. I think maybe I can go to the arena alone – after we do something with Zachary first. If he gets tired, we can split up.”

“Now that sounds like a plan,” she smiled, tipping up her glass and finishing it. “You go ahead with the champagne since I practically finished the cake. I’m going to get in my pajamas.”

* * *

T en minutes later, feeling languid from the champagne and cake, Jamie smiled as she turned off the television. Zachary was completely asleep, curled in a ‘C’ and breathing deeply. He really was a sweet boy who took to her right away. Things could have been so much worse. He could have cried, screamed, or gotten angry at being saddled with a stepmother, but none of that happened.

Climbing into the bed, she closed her eyes to keep from gawking at her husband when he emerged from the bathroom. Okay, maybe she peeked just a bit as the bathroom door opened, and a pair of muscled thighs and the curve of his backside encased in running shorts silently walked past her.

I need a quarter to bounce, she thought, swallowing, and mashed her eyes closed. She listened to him move around the room, heard him set down his watch on the bedside table, and then felt the bed sag. Ohhhh gosh…

“Good night,” he whispered.

“Good night.”

She lay there for several minutes and then hesitated – before rolling over.

“Uh, hang on…” Kenneth began, and she shushed him.

“I normally sleep with a body pillow, and frankly – you’re a body, a heckuva body all warm and snuggly, but I need something,” she whispered quickly, tossing an arm over his stomach and a leg over his knee. “Don’t make this weird.”

“Jamie…”

“Shhh. Sleeping.”

“You’re all over me.”

“And you like it – now shush,” she replied, setting her head on his shoulder and sighing happily. “Okay, maybe there is something to being married. My pillow is usually cold, and you are so toasty.”

He chuckled softly and tentatively wrapped his arm around her as well.

“That’s new,” she volunteered, opening her eyes – and he immediately removed his arm like he’d been burnt. “No, I like it. My pillow doesn’t hug me back, and that’s nice. Put your arm back.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he whispered again, relaxing under her cheek. “Sweet dreams.”

“You too, Snack Cake.”

And again, he chuckled softly, and she smiled.

Yeah, this might be really nice indeed.