Anything But Mine (23 page)

The next morning, Jen woke up to find that Vince had quietly filled the master suite with large bouquets of white, yellow and peach roses. She sat up in bed, and called out for Vince, who emerged from his bathroom. “What a great surprise! Thank you for the beautiful flowers. How did you get them in here without waking me up?”

“I have my ways,” Vince replied as he walked towards the bed and climbed back under the covers. “Happy birthday,” he said as he leaned in and kissed Jen.

“Thanks, Vince. You’ve really given me a great birthday.”

“And it’s only just begun.” When Jen looked at him quizzically, Vince continued, “How about some breakfast? Or do you want your present first?”

“Oooh…I guess it depends on the present,” Jen cooed, as she reached out to caress him.

Vince backed away from her, something he had never done before. “Is something wrong?”

He grinned. “Nothing is wrong, my love. Everything is fine, and I want to make love to you, but that will have to wait until after you open one of your birthday gifts. Maybe we should eat breakfast first.”

“Oh…um, okay,” Jen agreed, puzzled.
He’s never refused sex before. I wonder what he has planned,
she thought, as she quickly showered before pulling on a cream satin and lace chemise and matching robe.

When Jen entered the kitchen, she found him seated at the table, sipping a cup of coffee and reading the New York Times. “What can I get you for breakfast?”

Vince jumped up, and said, “It’s your birthday, so you shouldn’t have to cook. Since Mary is off today, I’m going to make you breakfast.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely, my love. Let me pamper you a little,” he said, as he poured her a cup of coffee. “Just sit and relax.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Jen sipped her coffee while watching, fascinated, as Vince set about preparing their breakfast of scrambled eggs, whole wheat toast, and sliced strawberries.

“Wow,” Jen said as she tasted her first forkful of eggs. “This is delicious. I never knew you could cook!”

Vince laughed, “I have many talents. Cooking is just one of them.” They ate quietly, and after a few minutes, Vince said, “I’m glad Mary is off today, so we can be alone.”

“Me too. We’re not alone that often, and it’s nice, for a change.”

Vince nodded in agreement. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask you, where would you like to go for dinner tonight? I’m sure you want to go someplace nice for your birthday.”

Jen bit her lip, trying to hide her disappointment that Vince had not yet made dinner plans or reservations. “Umm…I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter.”

Vince was surprised by her reaction. “Jennifer, I want you to have a great birthday. We can go anywhere you want to go.”

“It’s hard to get a reservation at the last minute, though.”

“No, really, it isn’t. Not for me.”
I’m Vince Moscolo, not one of those college boys you dated,
he thought. “Name the restaurant, and that’s where we’ll go.”

Jen thought about her options before replying. “I’d really like to go to Almond. Can we fly out east later on?”

“Al is off for the weekend, so we’d have to drive out,” Vince responded. “And I have some other plans for us for the day.”

“Then how about Almond in Tribeca? I’ve been dying to go there since the guys opened the new location.”

Vince smiled, approving of Jen’s decision. “Excellent choice, Jennifer. I’ll make the reservation as soon as we’re finished with breakfast.”

When they finished eating, Vince insisted on cleaning up the dishes. “Why don’t you just relax, my love,” he said.

Jen was curled up in a chair in the library, and smiled as Vince entered the room a little while later. “I hope you like this,” she said, holding up the navy blue cashmere yarn. “I’m knitting a sweater for you.”

Vince reached out and touched the yarn. “It’s so soft. I know I’m going to love it,” he said. When Jen reached the end of the row she was working on, Vince gently took the knitting needles and yarn from her, and placed them on the side table next to her chair. Taking her by the hands, he asked, “How would you like your present now?”

“I’d love it. I’m dying of curiosity,” she said, as Vince led her into the master suite.

Once inside, he directed her to sit on the love seat, then went into his dressing room and retrieved a large velvet box. “Originally, I had something completely different planned for your birthday, but a recent event changed my mind,” he said as he handed her the box. “I hope you like it.”

Jen was somewhat puzzled by the large size and weight of the box when Vince placed it in her hands. “I really can’t imagine what this is. It’s so heavy,” she said.

“Just open it. I hope you like it,” Vince quietly replied.

Jen gasped as she opened the lid of the box, revealing the glittering diamonds and rubies on the bra and garter set she had worn in the finale of the Desiree’s Desire fashion show a few weeks earlier. “Vince, I don’t know what to say. I’m completely overwhelmed,” she said. She shook her head, knowing the two million dollar price tag of her gift. “It’s so beautiful. Thank you.”

“When I saw you modeling this, I knew right away that I had to make it yours,” he said, running his fingers over the gemstones. “I told you that night just how much you turned me on while you were wearing this set.” He smiled as he watched Jen blush and nod her head. “Go put it on,” Vince said, in a low voice. “I’d love a private fashion show.”

When Jen emerged from her dressing room, it was Vince’s turn to gasp. She had taken her time changing, applying some makeup and finding just the right pair of heels to wear with the diamond and ruby lingerie. “You look like a million dollars,” Vince said, as he hungrily ran his eyes up and down Jen’s body. “But the truth is, you are priceless to me.”

He stood up and gazed at her a moment longer, then beckoned her to come closer to him. Vince lightly ran his fingers over a bra strap, and then traced the outline of the strap down to where it reached the curve of Jen’s breast. His fingers continued down into the valley that was formed by her cleavage, and then they worked their way back up the other side of her chest.

Jen’s breathing grew shallow at Vince’s touch. Electricity coursed through her body as his fingers moved along her skin, and she found it difficult to remain steady on her feet. She reached out for his shoulders, and Vince caught her hands and held them in a tight grip.

He pulled Jen towards him and kissed her, crushing her mouth with his, before leading her to the bed. “I can’t make my mind up about what I want to do with you, Jennifer,” he said. “I don’t know whether I want to undress you, or make love to you while you are still wearing your jewels.”

“Then why choose? We can do both,” Jen suggested, as she reached for the buttons on Vince’s pajama top, slowly opening them one by one. Vince’s eyes were dark and blazing heat as she slipped the open top from his shoulders and let it drop to the floor. She ran her hands over his bare chest, and when they reached the waistband of his pajama pants, Jen slipped her fingers inside. She caressed his buttocks, before moving her hands towards the front of his body, where she found his manhood, rock-
hard
and ready for her. As Vince moaned with desire, Jen slid the pajama pants down his legs, and eased him backwards onto the bed.

Vince lay face-
up
on the bed, and hungrily watched Jennifer as she pulled out the single clip that held her hair up in a messy bun. She shook her head and allowed her long, golden locks to cascade down her back. Next, she moved her hands towards her hips, and slowly slid her red satin underpants down her legs while leaving the garter belt fastened around her waist.

Jen joined Vince on the bed, and as she lay down next to him she found herself enveloped in his arms. Vince spoke her name as he ran his hands through her hair and covered her lips with his, and when he attempted to climb on top of Jennifer, she stopped him, instead guiding him onto his back. “It’s better this way,” she said, straddling him. “Let me give you your own very special, very intimate, very private fashion show.”

If only the bullies in the schoolyard could see me now,
he thought, as Jen took her time lowering herself onto his manhood, taking him all the way inside her. Waves of pleasure overtook his body as Jen began to slowly rock her hips up and down, and back and forth, causing a low moan to escape from his lips.

Vince reached up and ran his hands over Jen’s breasts, fondling both her and the jewels that covered them, before slipping his hands inside her bra. When his fingers found her nipples, he teased them until they were hard and erect.

The more Vince played with her nipples, the more her gyrations began to pick up speed. “Come for me, Jennifer,” he urged, as he watched as her back arch and then her body convulse forward in wave after wave of pleasure. Once she reached her climax, Vince called out her name as he found his own release.

As Jen collapsed on top of him, Vince said, “That was the best fashion show I’ve ever been to.”

Still breathing hard, Jen laughed, and agreed. “It was the most fun I’ve ever had in a fashion show, too.” They held each other for a little while, before Jen asked if Vince was ready for another round. “You mentioned that you wanted to undress me,” she said. “I’m ready when you are.”

Vince brushed back her hair from her face, and lifted her chin up so he could look her in the eyes. “It’s not that simple, Jennifer. I’m not a teenager anymore. I need time to recover before I can do it again.” When she looked away, Vince directed her to look at him before continuing, “That’s one of the reasons why I want to have children as soon as possible after we’re married.”

Not knowing what to say, Jen simply leaned in and kissed Vince. “I’m glad you’re not a teenager anymore. I fell in love with an amazing man, and I love you just as you are.” Jen snuggled against Vince, laying her head on his chest, and within a few minutes she heard him snoring. Gently, she kissed him on the chest before quietly extricating herself from his arms so as not to wake him.

Jen lay down next to him on their bed, staring up at the ceiling, recalling her father’s concerns about her and Vince’s age difference. “It might not seem like 17 years matters now,” her father said, not long after they were engaged. “But when you’re 40 and he is 57, and when you’re 50 and he is 67, it will seem like a much bigger difference than it does now.” She looked over at her sleeping fiancé, wondering, not for the first time, if she was doing the right thing in going forward with the wedding.

Later, when Vince woke from his nap, they made love again, and he took his time removing the jewel-
encrusted
bra and garter from Jen’s body. When they were spent and their naked limbs were entwined around each other, he said, “Thank you for allowing me to act out one of my fantasies, Jennifer. There are so many other scenes I want to act out with you, and I’m looking forward to the day when we can cross some more off of my bucket list.”

“What are some of your other fantasies, Vince?” she asked, nibbling at his ear. “Tell me. You know I just want to make you happy.”

“I know that, Jennifer, and you do make me happy, every day. But for now, I’ll keep my fantasies about you to myself.”

“But, Vince…”

“Shh…,” he said, as he grazed his lips against hers. “One day, I promise I’ll share them with you.”

Vince reached over to his night stand and opened the drawer. He removed a small velvet box, and handed it to Jennifer.

“What’s this?”

“Just open it,” he said, sitting up in bed.

Jen opened the lid, and extracted a diamond and platinum bracelet. “Oh, Vince, it’s beautiful. Thank you,” she said, as she leaned in to kiss him. “You’ve really gone overboard. You’re spoiling me.”

“I’m not through spoiling you yet. I want you to know just how precious you are to me, my love,” he said, as he fastened the bracelet around her wrist. “Besides, you can’t show off your other birthday present to the rest of the world. It’s for my eyes only.”

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

W
ith only four weeks to go before the wedding, Jen turned her attention to ironing out all the final details, filling her calendar with dress fittings, tastings for the rehearsal dinner, wedding reception and day-
after
brunch, and shopping for the honeymoon.

Vince repeatedly refused to tell her where he was taking her for their honeymoon, insisting that he wanted to surprise her. The only details he divulged were that they would be away for two weeks “someplace warm”, that they would have complete privacy the first week of the trip, and that she had to pack everything she needed for the first week of the trip because she wouldn’t have anywhere to shop.

On her way to the St. Regis to meet Vince and her parents to go over the final menu details for the wedding reception, Jen’s phone rang. She smiled when she looked at the caller i.d. “Hey, Cath!”

“Hi, Jen! How are the wedding plans going? It’s getting close,” Catherine replied.

“Hard to believe,” Jen replied, looking out the window as Pablo navigated the limo down Fifth Avenue.

“It’s one of the reasons I’m calling, actually. I want to organize a girls’ night out for you.”

Jen smiled. “Thanks, Cath, but you know that’s not really my thing. I’m not one to go out and party.”

“I know,” Catherine replied with a sigh. “But I miss you. If we’re not going to do a bachelorette night, then we should try to have lunch sometime soon.”

“Do you want to come with me to one of my dress fittings? We could have lunch afterwards,” Jen replied.

“Sounds great,” Catherine readily agreed. “Let me know what your schedule looks like.”

“Will do,” Jen said, as Pablo pulled the limo in front of the St. Regis. She hurried inside, pulling her Chanel jacket tightly around her to ward off the autumn chill in the air.

She was the last to arrive, and greeted Vince and her parents with kisses before they sat down with the catering staff to taste some of the selections for the wedding reception. After sampling every possible choice, they finally settled on a menu of lobster bisque, arugula salad, filet mignon served with asparagus and roasted potatoes, and a chocolate pot-
du
-
crème
as well as wedding cake for dessert.

When they went up to the rooftop to survey the reception location, Jen found herself thinking about her childhood dreams of a simple wedding at Our Lady of Poland, with a reception under a tent at her family’s Southampton farm.
It’s hard to believe that we’re going to celebrate our wedding here in just a few weeks,
she thought, looking at her future husband. Vince was beaming as he listened carefully to Grace and the catering manager discussing the layout of the tables, the placement of the floral arrangements and the rented trees that would be adorned with tiny white lights.
He’s so happy with all the wedding plans,
she mused.
And if he’s happy, my life is so much easier.

After the tasting, Vince and Peter returned to their offices, and Grace accompanied Jen back to the Fifth Avenue apartment, so they could meet with Mary and the event planner from the catering company to finalize the plans and menu for the brunch the morning after the wedding.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Jen pulled up the checklist on her computer, and by the end of the meeting she and her mother had arranged for the rentals of china, glasses, cutlery, linens, tables and chairs, picked out floral arrangements, determined the menu, and ordered cases of wine, champagne and soft drinks.

“Mary,” Jen said, looking across the table at the older, gray-
haired
woman who she had come to rely on as more than just a housekeeper and cook. “I’m going to put you in charge of the hired staff that day, just like any other event we host.”

“Of course, Miss LaBella,” Mary replied. “Do you need me for anything else right now?”

“No, Mary. Thank you,” Jen replied.

Grace waited to speak until Mary left the room. “I’m really proud of you, sweetheart. The wedding seems to have taken on a life of its own, and you’re doing a really good job handling all of it,” Grace said.

“Thanks, mom. I learned a lot about entertaining by watching you over the years. And if Vince has taught me anything, it’s the art of delegating. I just can’t wait until it is all behind us, though, because I have so much to do out in Southampton.” Jen replied, reminding her mother that Vince expected her to undertake a massive re-
decoration
project at Fair Fields. “I’ll be spending a lot of time out there, which makes me happy.”

“Will Vince be okay with your spending time out there, away from him?”

“I think so, mom. Between Pablo and the helicopter, I’ll be able to go back and forth fairly easily, and we won’t be apart too many nights.”

“And he’ll let you stay out there on your own?”

Jen shook her head. “Oh, no. Absolutely not. Vince is adamant that I not stay alone overnight. He hired Pablo’s wife, Lucy, to be our full-
time
housekeeper out there. Once we’re married, Pablo and Lucy will live there year-
round
and oversee the day to day running of the property.”

Grace nodded her head, belying her concern about Vince’s need to keep tabs on her daughter. Instead of expressing concern, though, she asked, “You’ve always been a very private person, Jennifer. Does it bother you that someone is always with you, and that you never get time alone?”

“I’ll be honest with you, mom, yes, sometimes it does bother me. But the stalker was never caught, and after the incidents over the summer, I know that Vince just wants to keep me safe. That’s why I’m really looking forward to working on the house in Southampton. It’s so big that even with live-
in
staff, we won’t be on top of one another. Vince seems to be more relaxed when we’re out there, and he even eases up on my security. Sometimes he even lets me go out without a driver or bodyguard.”