“Jax, on the day that we got married I had this plan to . . .ow! Ow, ow!” Brenda cried out, as in the midst of her getting ready to confess to him the truth behind the circumstances of their marriage, she got a cramp in her leg and fell against him.

     “Are you okay?” What ‘s the matter?” he asked, lifting her into his arms and carrying her out of the pool.

     “Cramp,” she said gritting her teeth. “Ow, ow, ow!”

     “Okay, okay. Just straighten your leg and point it forward,” he instructed her.

     “I can’t,” she said shaking her head as the pain made her dizzy.

     “Brenda, you have to or it’s going to get worse.”

     She tried to straighten her leg. The pain of doing so was excruciating.

     “Oh God,” she groaned, crossing her eyes and digging her fingernails into his arm. “Sorry, Jax.”

     “That’s what you get for all that jubilation and jumping around,” he teased her. “You’d think no one ever told you they were in love with you before.”

     She tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace.

     “It’ll be better in a little while,” Jax promised her as he kissed her forehead and carried her back inside and upstairs to their suite.

     He set her down gently on the chaise lounge by the terrace so she could be near to the phone. Then he went downstairs to get some hot towels from housekeeping.

     Alone in the room, Brenda started to wonder about the peculiar timing of this painful leg cramp of hers. Why had it happened just as she had been about to tell Jax everything? Was it some kind of cosmic warning for her not to say anything to him? Not to jeopardize this phenomenal happiness they had found together by telling him the truth behind how she had maneuvered him to the altar with her?

     Oh she was so confused! She decided that before she said anything to Jax she would have to talk to somebody objective like Juliet or Lady Jane and get their advice.

     When Jax came back into the room, Brenda pretended to be asleep.

     Jax looked at her curiously. She could actually fall asleep that fast with all that pain?

     He lifted her from the chaise lounge and carried her up to the bedroom, placing her gently onto the bed. Then he removed her clothing to get her into something appropriate for sleeping.

     Brenda had to fight off the mad feelings of arousal that his touch generated as he gently slid one of his shirts over her naked body, kissed her forehead and tucked her into the bed.

     Her eyes were open just enough that she could see him staring down at her in what appeared to be fascination. The room was quiet. The air soft like solitude, and Jax placed his head in his hands and slowly raked his hands through the waves of golden blonde hair.

     “My God, I really do love her,” he said as if the words were utterly profound. As if he was still astonished by the fact that he was in fact madly in love with this girl.

     He got up as if the entire thing baffled him. He walked over to the window, stood there gazing out at the dark, moonlit beach and then went back over to the bed where his hands gently brushed against her cheek.

     She had done the unthinkable -- stolen his well guarded heart. Jax never thought that anyone could do that and do it so effectively.

     He knew that his heart was safe inside of her now. He would never take it away from her, which was just as well because he knew she would never give it back.

     On the early morning plane ride back to New Orleans, Jax could not help but notice that Brenda had never told him what she had, with such trepidation, been trying to tell him back at the pool yesterday. She had not brought it up since her getting that leg cramp had stopped her mid-sentence and he, although very curious as to what was troubling her, had not brought it up either. But he could plainly see the confusion in her beautiful eyes and would have loved to alleviate any of her concerns or worries, but this being in love routine was new to him and he didn’t know if he should push a little by asking her what was wrong or wait for her to feel comfortable enough to tell him on her own.

     She sat next to him looking alternately happy and worried and baffled and it was all completely mystifying to Jax.

     “Hey, I almost forgot. I have something for you,” he said standing up and retrieving something from out of his jacket pocket.

     “What is it?” she asked eagerly, her hazel eyes alight with anticipation of a surprise.

     “Oh not much, really. Just something I found in the sewer,” he responded handing her the box wrapped in silver paper and tied with a red string.

     “Oh, you didn’t!” Brenda said excitedly as she tore it open to reveal a rectangular black velvet box containing an amethyst tennis bracelet of dazzling brilliance.

     “Jax!” she whispered, touched to her very heart by this gift.

     “I tried to find one made of plastic and rhinestones, but all they had were these ridiculous things called Peruvian amethysts embedded in some metallic substance called gold,” he said with a shrug.

     She laughed and then hugged him tight, her heart full of love for him.

     “Do you have any idea how much this means to me?” she asked him.

     “I think I do,” he responded. “I know it’s not a replacement for the one you lost when you were five. But I just wanted to give this to you so that you know that your days of losing things that you love are over. If that bracelet ever breaks, I’ll fix it. If it ever falls into a sewer, I’ll break the concrete apart just to get it back for you.”

     She wanted to cry. She had always seen the playful Jax, the witty Jax, the flirtatious Jax, the sinfully sensual Jax. She had seen the wild and crazy Jax, the heroic Jax, the charming and cocky Jax and the corporate raider Jax. But now she was seeing a side to him that was so sweet and sensitive and so in tune with her very soul that it was almost surreal. She was seeing the husband Jax. The man in love, Jax.

     How could she ever give him up knowing what it felt like to be loved by him? It would be like giving up food or air or sunshine. She simply could not do it. And would not let it happen.

     “I’m never going to take this off,” she said as Jax placed it on her wrist and kissed her hand. “And I am never going to lose it, Jax. Never.”

     “I know,” he said giving her a little smile because he knew that she was talking about him and not the bracelet. Then he held her close in an embrace of love that would have melted even the wicked, cold heart of Medusa.

     In that moment Brenda felt more loved than anyone else walking the earth. And she swore to herself that she would never lose this wonder that was called Jax. If he ever decided he wanted a divorce, she simply would not give him one, she vowed.

     When they got back to the mansion it was a few minuets past 10 a.m. and Brenda had filled Juliet in on all that had transpired between her and Jax in Cancun.

     “Oh this is so romantic!” Juliet gushed in delight. “I knew he loved you all along,” she boasted with a happy smile as she and Brenda exchanged hugs and did a little version of ring around the rosie before falling onto Juliet’s bed in laughter.

     “It was worth the wait to have him tell me the way he did,” Brenda said staring dreamily up at the ceiling. “I know he loves me, Julie. I know he meant it from his heart.”

     “And then you almost told him the truth about the wedding, but then you stopped?” Juliet remarked as she examined Brenda’s gorgeous tennis bracelet.

     “Well I think maybe fate stopped me,” Brenda said propping herself up on one elbow. “I mean I got that cramp the minute I opened my mouth to tell him,” she mentioned thoughtfully.

     “Oh Brenda it was just nerves,” Juliet said with a shrug.

     “Jax said it was because I was jumping around in the pool so much.”

     “That too.”

     “I really wanted to tell him, Julie. I was all set to do it. But now I’m thinking, what if I’m not supposed to? What if my doing that sets in motion some horrible chain of events that culminates in him not loving me anymore? I would die!” Brenda said in a panic.

     “He said he would always love you, Brenda. My brother never says anything he doesn’t mean.”

     “But he doesn’t know what I did though. That could change everything.”

     “Jax isn’t that fickle. He’s very discriminating in his choices in life, but he’s never fickle. Trust me he’s going to love you forever, no matter what, even if he lives to regret it,” she said poking Brenda’s stomach and smiling. “Anyway if you want my opinion, I think you should definitely tell him. he may be a little bit upset with you first, but he’ll get over it. His love for you certainly won’t change.”

     Brenda hesitated and then nodded. “You’re right. He loves me. I know that now and that was all that I was waiting for in the first place, right? So nothing should stop me from telling him now,” she decided. “In fact I’m going to do it right away,” she said as she started to walk out of the bedroom to find him.

     “Wait, wait, wait. I didn’t mean today,” Juliet amended, grabbing Brenda’s arm to stop her. “Ummm . . today is not a good day. Just wait until tomorrow,” she suggested.

     Brenda looked at her strangely. “Why?”

     Juliet scratched her head trying to think of an excuse. “Well . . .” she pursed her lips. “Have you read the horoscopes today? Jax’s says that he won’t react well to shocking news because umm . . .Jupiter is aligning with Mars or some such astrological phenomenon,” she said, making it up as she went along.

     Brenda looked at her best friend skeptically. “What?”

     “Trust me Brenda. I think you should just wait until tomorrow. Come with me into the kitchen all right? I’m starving.”

     Brenda looked at her friend in confusion and then followed her downstairs into the kitchen where Vince was singing “My Way” and setting out ingredients on the counter.

     As they entered the kitchen, Juliet motioned to Vince and he nodded.

      “Well hello there you two. So can I interest either of you young ladies in a cooking lesson? I’m about to make some of my special sweet potatoes to serve with lunch later,” Vince offered.

     “Oh no, not me. I am the anti-cook,” Juliet said bailing out of the kitchen for dear life while Vince and Brenda laughed at the speed with which she vanished.

     “I thought she said she was starving? Boy she is acting weird today,” Brenda mentioned with a puzzled look on her face.

     “Well why should today differ from any other day?” Vince joked. “Anyway, now it’s just you and me, kid so pull up a chair and put on an apron,” he instructed her as he set his ingredients down, handed Brenda an apron and took a quick peek at his watch to see how long he would have to keep her occupied.

     “Just to warn you, I think I might be the anti-cook too,” she told him, laughing.

     “Nonsense. You just never had a teacher like me before to show you how to do it right. All right now, those are the potatoes right over there.”

     Brenda looked at them strangely. “But they’re . . .orange.”

     “That’s all right. They’re supposed to be orange. Now next to the yams are the other ingredients we’ll need. These things here are for the sugar sauce. We have pineapple juice, cinnamon, fresh ginger root and brown sugar. Now you go on ahead and put all that together in that sauce pan so we can melt it down into a syrup.”

     As Brenda busied herself with that, Jax came into the kitchen and watched her in amazement.

     “You’re cooking?” he exclaimed in shock.

     “Shut up, Jax,” she laughed.

     “It’s all right, Jax, I’ve got the fire extinguisher right here, there’s some barf bags in the broom closet, a case of Malox in the cabinet over there, plenty of Tums and Pepto in the drawer and I always keep a handy dandy stomach pump under the sink,” Vince ribbed and he had Jax howling with laughter and Brenda shaking her head.

     “This vote of confidence is so very touching, you guys. Why, I think I’m going to cry,” she said sarcastically as she opened up the can of pineapples, struggling with the can opener.

     “Well what do you think we’re going to do when we eat that thing?” Jax murmured which had Vince slapping his knee in mirth.

     Brenda was getting ticked off at them now. “You know, how do you guys know this won’t be the best sweet potatoes ever in the history of mankind?” she demanded.

     Vince doubled over in laughter. “Lord, you’ve got to admit, the girl’s got one hell of a vivid imagination!” he roared in between guffaws.

     Brenda gave both men the evil eye and then turned her back on them, muttering something about insensitive Neanderthals.

     Jax laughed at her and then just had to go and give her a hug. “Sweetie, you are so adorable,” he said kissing the side of her face. “Delusional, but adorable. I promise that no matter how bad it is I’ll eat it, because I love you enough to do something even this potentially life threatening,” he whispered to her.

     She felt warm and happy and with a grin, spun around and gave him a quick kiss to the lips. “I’m going to hold you to that, Jasper. Eating it I mean,” she laughed sinisterly.

     “As long as I get to have you for dessert,” he said in a seductive whisper as he brushed the back of his fingers along her throat and then kissed her there, branding her with the fire of his lips.

     “Mmm. Deal,” she murmured, tossing the can opener aside and pulling him into a passionate kiss in front of the wide eyed Vince. Heavens, he’d not seen a kiss like that since the movies. Those kids were hotter than a firecracker on the fourth of July.

     “All right now, you two. All right. That is not the kind of cookin’ that goes on in my kitchen. Now get on outta here, Jax. You’re distracting this woman and she’s got work to do,” Vince said shooing him away like a fly, the two men exchanging secretive glances.

     “Everybody’s acting really weird around here today,” Brenda whispered into Jax’s ear, giggling.

     “I know,” he agreed. “I’ll have to check the water.”

     She laughed and kissed him again. “I love you,” she whispered. She kissed him yet again.

     “Now do I need to get some danged pliers to pry you two apart?” Vince asked, watching them with one hand on his hip trying his best to look irritated as he mopped the perspiration from his brow with his handkerchief.

     “I love her, you know,” Jax announced to the cook

     Vince raised a bushy salt and pepper eyebrow. “Somebody pinch me. Did I just hear the dreaded “L” word from the lips of Jasper “I laugh in the face of love” Jacks? Well, hot diggity let me go get my heavy sheep skin coat outta storage ‘cause I do believe that hell just froze over!” Then he made great drama of clearing his throat and began to belt out a song in his deep baritone:

      It’s cold. And it’s getting colder
     They’re evacuatin’’ satan, whose waitin’ for hell to freeze over
     It’s cold, like an endless winter
     The moon’s on the run, and even the sun is cold

     Brenda laughed and started to shiver and Vince joined her.

     Jax shrugged at their rather hysterical antics. “Mock me if you must, but God knows I held out as long as I could. I fought the good fight. I ducked those arrows for weeks, but look what I was up against? Me against this little immortal over here,” he said nodding in Brenda’s direction and winking at her. “I was destined to lose. But in this case, I think I actually had to lose to win.” he said echoing Sherra’s prophetic words

     Vince rapped Jax fondly on the forehead with his knuckles. “You always were a damn smart boy. And damn lucky too. I’m happy as the dickens for the both of you, sincerely I am. Now get the hell out of my kitchen.”

     Jax grinned. “See you later, love,” he said, kissing his wife, snatching a piece of pineapple and leaving the kitchen where he ran into a rushing Niles.

     “Oh, Master Jax, thank goodness,” the butler declared with great relief.

     “Hey, Niles. Where’s the fire?”

     “Sir, I need a word in private with you, if you please.”

     “Okay. Is it about tonight? Because so far everybody’s doing a really good job of keeping Brenda in the dark. You, however, worry me since we all know that you can’t keep a secret to save your life.”

     “Oh I can keep this secret, sir,” Niles promised, saluting Jax as if he were his high commander.

     “Has she asked you anything yet?” Jax asked curiously.

     “Yes sir, I must confess that earlier she did ask me if I knew why everyone was acting so peculiar. And I promptly gave her my best stage gasp and responded that if I told her I would surely have to kill her.”

     Jax laughed. “Oh, the subtle Niles strikes again.”

     “Not my strong suit, sir. However what I need to talk to you about is another matter entirely, Master Jax,” Niles informed him. “May I please have moment?”

     With a curious raise of his brows Jax followed Niles into the privacy of the solarium.

Song Credit: "Cold" Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman from the CD "Whistle Down The Wind".