Coveting Love (Jessica Crawford) (23 page)

“
What’s wrong?”

“
I want to marry you,” she blurted out, before giving herself any more time to think.

Had she really said that? From the look of glee on Brandon’s face, she knew she had. He pulled her tightly against him, burying her face in his chest. She closed her eyes, reaching far inside herself, drawing on her reserves and seeking inner strength.

She loved Brandon deeply and was tired of being alone. Whether she was doing the right thing remained to be seen. Because of her love for Brandon, she knew she could make it work.

She met Brandon’s smile with one of her own. She surrendered completely to his hungry kiss. He was a wonderful man, and above all else, he loved her completely. She found solace in that thought as he gently stroked her body, arousing her to unlimited heights. She would be his soon, and with his love, she would be able to overcome her greatest fears.

They made love for the first time that night, carrying their love to a sweet crescendo. It was tender passion, as she had never known before.

They talked well into the night, sharing their hopes and their fears for the future. They both agreed they wanted to start a family soon, but Jessica stressed her need to continue working. Brandon agreed. How they would accomplish this was a concern, but it was not going to bring them down.

Jessica’s spirits were much too high for her to be tired the following morning. They worked until mid-afternoon finishing the session that had been abandoned the previous day. The morning went by without incident. Jeffrey had not been spotted the entire day, even though Jessica had kept a watchful eye out.

Later in the day, she commented to Brandon that perhaps Jeffrey had taken his advice and decided to leave.

“
Don’t count on it,” he said and walked away.

Amy was overjoyed at the news Jessica shared with her. “I know you’re going to be as happy as Randy and I will be,” she exclaimed with glee.

“
I know we’ll be happy. It’s right; I feel it.” She flashed her ring. “Just look at this ring.” The sun hit the enormous gem, making it glisten.

“
Wow, I’m jealous.” Amy laughed, flashing her own large stone.

Soon it was time to leave for town. Tonight they would finish off the session with a night out on the town. Dinner was planned at the country club, where Brandon had planned a special farewell celebration. They would follow with a dance.

The limousines arrived to transport them. They felt giddy with excitement. Jessica kissed Brandon exuberantly. “Thank you so much for making this a special time.”

He returned the kiss. “It has been my pleasure.”

As they gathered in the ballroom, Brandon jumped upon the stage and took a microphone from one of the musician’s stand.

“
Please, everyone. Can I please have everyone’s attention,” he called, tapping the microphone lightly with his finger. Within a few moments, they had all settled down.

“
I’d like to have just a moment of your time, and then we can get on with the celebration.” They all cheered.

“
As you are all aware, tomorrow ends the photo session that has brought us all together.”

A sound of boos and moans filled the air. Brandon raised his glass high above his head until all the noise died down.

“
Yeah, man, I’ll have some more,” someone in the back yelled, waving his glass back and forth in the air.

Brandon chuckled. “I think you’ve already had enough, Tom.” Roars of laughter filled the room. Brandon continued, “I would like to say thanks to all of you for being my guests these past few days and, I would like to add, I think you are a terrific bunch of people. I’ve had a lot of fun.”

They all applauded. Jessica swelled with pride, pleased that Brandon fit in so well with her friends.

“
I also have an announcement to make.”

Jessica tensed. She didn’t know Brandon was going to do this. She wasn’t sure she was ready to let the world know about her engagement. They all turned to look at her. She smiled and blushed.

“
I’m sure you’ve all noticed the rather special diamond Jessica is sporting on her left hand tonight.” More cheers rose. “Yes, that’s right. I have asked Jessica to marry me, and she has accepted my proposal.”

This time, whooping and whistling exploded through the room. Those that were close enough to Jessica to hug her did so. All the women picked up her finger to admire her engagement ring.

“
The waiters are circling the room right now with trays of champagne. So please, everyone grab a glass, and raise it with me in a good luck toast to Jessica’s and my future.

“
All right,” Tom roared from the rear of the room again. They all laughed.

“
Yes, Tom, even you can have one,” Brandon said.

Brandon held out his hand to Jessica. She joined him on the stage. When the waiters signaled that they had finished serving, Brandon raised his glass. Around the room, glasses began ascending into the air. Brandon looked into Jessica’s eyes.

“
To the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I promise to love you always and look after you for the rest of my life. I’ve waited a lifetime for you, and I—”

“
Hey, wait for the preacher!” someone shouted from the rear, interrupting his speech. More laughter erupted.

Brandon laughed good-naturedly. “To my beautiful bride-to-be,” he said. He kissed her hard on the mouth.

“
To Jessica and Brandon,” the crowd roared in unison.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Jessica’s glance swept around the room, admiring the people she loved, the people who wished her so much happiness. She saw Jeffrey leaving the room. She glanced quickly at Brandon, wondering if he had seen him as well. She jumped when he kissed her on the cheek.

“
What is it, darling?”

She turned, trying to smile at him. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m just not feeling like myself right now. Too much excitement for one day, I guess. Would you mind getting me a glass of water?”

“
Anything for you. I’ll be right back.”

As Brandon left, Amy joined her. “I saw him, too,” she said, hostility dripping in her voice. “Please be careful, Jess,” she pleaded. “I’m telling you, he means trouble for the two of you.”

She smiled at her. “Don’t worry. He can only cause trouble if I let him.”

She escaped by using the excuse she wanted to find out what happened to Brandon. “He should have been back by now,” she said, leaving Amy standing there as she fled.

She had to get fresh air or she would faint. She was beginning to think Amy and Brandon might be right about Jeffrey, but she had liked him well enough when she had met him up in the hills. He seemed like a perfectly charming person. Perhaps it was the anger that Brandon felt toward him that frightened her most.

She spotted him standing against a tree, back in the shadows, slowly inhaling a cigarette. He blew the smoke softly into rings. He grinned when he saw her.

She couldn’t control the excitement that surged through her. What was it about this bad boy that intrigued her? Perhaps it was just that. She had read somewhere about the “bad boy” syndrome. She could never imagine someone like Jeffrey in her life permanently, but there was no denying the fact; he fascinated her.

They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity. Finally, he slowly faded back into the shadows. She held out her hand to wave. As she did so, Brandon caught it and kissed her fingers lovingly.

“
Who were you waving at?” he asked, squinting into the moonlight.

She blushed deeply, grateful for the darkness to hide her lying eyes. “No one,” she said, “I was just shooing a bee.”

He nodded his head, looking at her with concern. “I thought you were going to wait for me. I have your water.”

“
I was, but I needed some fresh air. I was feeling faint, so I came outside. I’m sorry. Are you angry?”

He took her into his arms. “Of course, I’m not angry. Do you want to go home?”

“
I think we should stay awhile longer. It wouldn’t look right if we left too early. Let’s join the party now. I’m feeling much better.”

She took his arm and followed him back to the ballroom. She glanced over their shoulders as they walked through the door. Jeffrey was nowhere in sight.

When they arrived home, Jessica said she was tired and wanted to go straight to bed. Brandon left her to do so, while he finalized their plans for leaving the next day.

Slowly and wearily, she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. As she passed down the hallway, she noticed the door to a room, which none of the guests had occupied, was standing ajar. In fact, she remembered specifically, this room had been kept locked the entire time they had been there. As they were touring the house, she had asked Brandon to show her the room. He had been adamant that this room was to remain locked. He said it held bad memories for the family, and no one used it any more. She felt her heart thump wildly as she stared at the open door.

She walked to the doorway but hesitated before going inside. The room drew her to it, as if someone wanted her to see it. She walked slowly inside. There were pictures in the room, mostly of Brandon. Some of the pictures included the woman whose portrait she had seen hanging in the hall. They looked happy together. She wondered who this woman might be. She ran her hand over the face, as if this would tell her the answer she sought.

“
Quite pretty, isn’t she?”

Jessica started. She spun toward the voice coming from beside the window. She had not seen him when she entered the room.

“
What are you doing in here, Jeffrey? Brandon told me this room was off limits to everyone.”

He chuckled. “I see, but yet here you are, aren’t you?”

She blushed, started to protest, and then decided she didn’t owe him any explanations; she said nothing.

“
Well, aren’t you the least bit interested in who she is? But of course, you are, or you wouldn’t be in here.”

She felt contempt at that moment. Heat rose to her face, brought on by his taunting. She threw back her shoulders.

“
No, as a matter of fact, I am not. If Brandon wanted me to know who she is, or was, he would have told me.”

“
Oh, come now,” he replied, walking over to where she stood, taking the picture from her hand. “It’s obvious to me from the way these two are looking at each other, they’re in love. Wouldn’t you agree?” he asked, thrusting the picture back at her.

“
As I said,” she spat, snatching the photo from his outstretched hand. “If Brandon wanted to talk about it, he would have done so. It is none of my business until he does.”

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “Well, if I were going to marry someone, I would certainly want to know everything there was to know about her. Don’t you agree?”

She didn’t answer him. She didn’t want him to know he was right. Instead, she turned to leave the room, before Brandon could catch them together again. That was the last thing she wanted.

Before she could reach the doorway, Jeffrey said, “Jessica.”

She stopped, although she didn’t know why she felt compelled to do so, but she did not turn around. She hated to admit it, but her curiosity had been peaked. When she didn’t move on, Jeffrey began speaking.

“
I think you should reconsider your decision to marry my brother. He doesn’t know how to treat a wife, just ask him. I’m sure he’ll tell you; after all, he tells you everything, right?”

He started laughing then, and Jessica, unable to stand it, ran from the room. She ran all the way to her room. She was relieved to find that Brandon had not yet come upstairs. She didn’t want him to know that she had a confrontation with Jeffrey again.

She quickly undressed and slid into bed. She stayed awake for several hours. Her ruminating mind made it impossible for her to fall asleep.

When she finally did manage to sleep, images of Jeffrey filled her dreams. In every dream, he taunted her with his frightening laugh. She could not escape him, and every time she ran to Brandon for help, he just stood there, arms folded in front of him, scowling at her. ”I told you not to talk to him,” he continually repeated.

When she woke, the sun was shining through her window and she was trembling. She showered and dressed quickly, then went downstairs to breakfast. As she passed the locked door, she paused, trying the handle. To her relief, it remained locked, just as tightly as all the other times she had tried it.

**********

CHAPTER 9

The next few weeks passed quickly for Jessica. They had not set a date for the wedding; they would wait until both Amy’s and Sarah’s weddings were over and they settled into their new lives.

When she had told Brandon of her desire to wait, he said he understood and agreed it would be best to wait.

It was now nearing April and Amy was making plans to start her new life. The wedding preparations kept them busy, leaving them little time for anything else. She was thankful her mother was waiting until June for her own wedding.

The big day finally arrived for Amy. She had chosen a simple cream dress over a formal white wedding gown, stating that because she was pregnant, it wouldn’t be proper for her to walk down the aisle in white.