‘I’m planning a relaxing romantic weekend away for us this weekend. Tell me you’ll come, and I’ll book it right now. I literally have it open on my screen in front of me,’ I lied to her, but the hope and excitement I felt was real.

She paused, ‘I don’t know…’

‘Do you have plans?’ I asked her, a bit frustrated that she was being hesitant, and also worried that I might be too late, perhaps she did have plans. A bachelorette party, even though I had made it very clear that under no circumstances was she permitted one, at least not in the traditional sense.If it were just plans with friends, I was pretty confident she’d cancel them for me—at least in the past, I would have been. Nevertheless, she was different now.

‘Not that I know of.’

‘So, what’s the issue?’

‘I just want to check with my parents.’

I sighed and took a deep breath to calm my nerves.Back to this fucking shit again.

‘Matt?’ Jessa asked when I didn’t speak.

‘I’m still here,’ I replied through my teeth. ‘Do you have plans for the weekend after next?’ I asked her.

She laughed. ‘Um, yeah, unless you’re bailing on me, I’m pretty sure we both do.’

‘Oh yeah? What’s that?’ I prompted, playing dumb and asking in a carefree manner.

‘Our wedding…’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ my anger was rising. ‘So, seeing as six days after I’m asking to take you away to relax before the biggest day of our life, the day we get married—to each other—I hardly think your parents have much of a say in the matter.’ It came out sounding mean, and angrier than I had intended it to, but it was honest.

She was silent on the other end of the line; I knew she knew I was right.

‘Look, Jessa,’ I breathed out. ‘I’m not trying to start something, but we need this time away. If you are really going to check with your parents, then don’t bother calling me back, I’m done playing second fiddle.’

There was a long pause. ‘Where are we going?’

‘I wanted to make it a surprise for you,’ I replied in a disheartened voice.

‘Ok, when do we leave?’ she asked in a low nervous voice.

‘I was thinking Friday evening, but now that I look, Saturday morning might be best, and come back Monday morning or early afternoon.’

‘Alright, that works for me, but if you’re not going to tell me where we’re going, you at least need to tell me what to pack for,’ she protested, but I could tell she was warming up to the idea.

CHAPTER 3

MATT

For the rest of week, Jessa and I chatted more, mainly through text messages, and a few phone calls. Each time she tried to get me to tell her where we were going, I told her to pack two bags, just to play with her.

I asked her to meet me for breakfast at a restaurant near the marina, under the pretense I had to drop a contract off for a client before he left for the weekend. She didn’t complain when I mentioned it, as I told her after that I would be hers all weekend long.

I was standing beside my car when she pulled up next to me. As she got out, she asked me, ‘Shall I just wait here?’

She looked sad, as if she had been crying. I was sure she had a fight with her parents, likely they weren’t happy she was spending the weekend with me. I obviously wasn’t their favorite person at the moment. That was too bad, they were stuck with me; at least for the next few years.

I shook my head. ‘No, come on down.’ I took her hand, as I led us to the pier where there were a bunch of boats docked, and walked to the end, where the largest was docked. It was a medium-sized yacht, and it was our getaway for the weekend.

‘It’s my client’s, come have a look,’ I encouraged, knowing she wasn’t going to resist, she loved boats.

‘That one?’ she asked, admiring the size as we walked to the end.

‘Mr. Wilson,’ the captain addressed me as we walked up the plank, onto the yacht. ‘Welcome aboard.’ He shook my hand and then turned to Jessa. ‘And you must be Miss Cahill.’