“We got the dress!” Juliet and Halle announced as they barged into the master bedroom where Lady Jane and Joanna awaited them.

     Jane could only imagine what kind of a new fangled funky wedding dress Juliet and Halle, true cutting-edge young women, had chosen.

     “All right, ladies, let’s see it,” she said, bracing herself.

     The dress was absolutely lovely. It was from the Randy Fenoli Diamond Collection and it was simple yet striking. It was snow-white satin with a tastefully low cut front delicately sprinkled with pearls, and a sensually low-cut back. The satin area around the waist was not white, but mist silver and it was embroidered with silver roses and raised pearls. The short, white satin gloves were lined at the cuff with delicate silver roses. The dress was sleeveless and very body flattering and the accompanying headpiece was the true flash of the outfit. It was a lovely, brilliantly sparkling, silver tiara to match the silver middle of the gown and attached to the tiara was a medium length veil of misty, shimmering white with sparkling silver.

     It was definitely for the hip and fashion conscious young bride. It was the perfect combination of princess and pizzazz and Jane Jacks was very pleased.

     “Girls, I love it! Now, how on earth do we get Brenda to wear it?”

     Halle rose her hand. “I’m going to ask Brenda to wear the dress as a favor to help me promote my new line of clothing that I’m thinking of producing,” she said. “I’m sure she’ll buy that.”

     “Oh you’re brilliant, darling. All right ladies, let’s get this show on the road.” Lady Jane said hustling them all out of her bedroom.

     Several minutes later Brenda walked back into her own bedroom with the dress in her hands. Jax had just come out of the shower and was standing by the dresser with a dark green towel wrapped around his waist and glistening beads of water still visible on his chest and arms.

     “What’s that?” he asked looking at the dress in her arms.

     “Oh, Halle asked me to wear this tonight. She’s going to be doing her own line of clothes, did you know that?”

     Jax looked at her. “Really?” he asked thinking that Halle was very smart to have come up with that excuse.

     “Hey if Elizabeth Taylor can do it . . .” Brenda said turning her back towards Jax so he could help her unzip the black-fringe suede summer dress she had on. “Don’t you think this looks kind of like a very hip wedding dress?” she asked gazing at the lovely dress with its silver and pearl accents in admiration. She just loved it.

     “Wedding dress? No, not to me,” Jax fibbed as the suede dress was fully unzipped and fell to the floor.

     Jax turned Brenda around so that she was facing him and he looked at her for a long time saying nothing.

      “What’s wrong?” she asked.

      “You do really love me don’t you?” he asked her, his eyes seemingly trying to catch her in some kind of lie.

     “More than you’ll ever know,” she told him wondering why he was doubting her. “I mean if you knew the things I . . . uh . . never mind . . .”

     “And when did you know this?” he asked her. “That you loved me?”

     “When? Well . . . . . . I think it was after the very first time you kissed me,” she said. “But I knew it for sure just before we made love for the first time.”

     “The first time I kissed you was before we were married.”

     “I know,” she said not sure why that made any difference.

     “So you’re saying you loved me before we were married?” There was a look of surprise in his blue eyes.

     “Oh, definitely,” she said putting on the beautiful white stockings that Halle had given her to go along with the dress, an then slipping into the dress itself. It was a perfect fit and Jax noticed that it looked absolutely ravishing on her as he zipped her up.

     “So you fell in love with me and then you knew you wanted to marry me?” he asked.

     She looked at him curiously. “Why do you want to know?”

     “I’m just trying to figure out a time line.”

     “A time line?” she asked in confusion. “For what?”

     He brushed his lips wonderfully against her cheek. “Just humor me, love.”

     “Okay,’ she capitulated. “I knew I wanted to marry you when you were flirting with me on the plane on the way to Jacks Isle,” she said with a grin. “You made me so mad and yet also so happy. It made no sense but I knew than an there that I wanted to marry you someday,” she told him.

     He smiled. “And ‘someday’ was a week later?” he murmured softly in amusement.

     “What?” she asked, slipping on the ultra fashionable white satin ankle boots and short white satin gloves that completed the gorgeous outfit.

     “Nothing,” he said, but a kind of peace seemed to settle over his blue eyes and he suddenly grabbed her in his arms and gave her a kiss that took her breath away. “You look absolutely beautiful,” he told her as he began to get dressed. As she watched him change for the family’s outing, she wondered what that outburst of spontaneous passion was all about?

     When Jax was fully dressed, Brenda was entranced by the sight of him. He wore a Perry Ellis tuxedo with a silver-gray paisley vest and matching tie that just illuminated the gray-blue aspects of his eyes in a way that would leave any woman weak kneed and following him to the ends of the earth. And his silver vest matched the lovely silver center of her gown too. They looked like they were made for one another.

     “Wow, Jax you look . . . amazing,” Brenda breathed her eyes wide with appreciative wonder.

     His eyes flickered over her like a caress. “So do you.” He took her hand and kissed it. “You make me very happy, Brenda,” he told her sincerely. “And no matter what, I wouldn’t trade you for all my pirate ancestor’s gold at the bottom of the sea.”

     She laughed and hugged him. “Ditto, J squared.”

     He kissed her lips softly and brushed his fingertips beneath her chin. “Are you ready?” he asked her

     “Yes! I think we’re going to have a lot of fun tonight,” she said excitedly.

     If she only knew how much Jax thought with a smile as he took her hand in his and led her out of their bedroom and downstairs.

     Juliet, Halle and Joanna were in the long hallway by the front door waiting for the rest of the family when Jax and Brenda arrived. Brenda was stunned to see that Juliet, Halle and Joanna all wore the same beautiful emerald green dress with deep velvet, off the shoulder top and satin skit.

     “Don’t ask,” Joanna said, holding up her hand. “Somehow we all wound up having the same taste in clothes.”

     Brenda found it hysterical how they had all shopped separately and picked out the same exact thing!

     “That is wild!” she said. “You guys are not actually going like that are you?” she laughed.

     “We have to. It’s really too late to change. Devon would kill us if we were late, especially me since I’m his date,” Juliet said.

     Brenda thought this was just too funny.

     John and Jerry came into the hallway looking striking in their elegant suits, but Justin, who was right behind them, looked particularly striking in a tuxedo similar to the one Jax wore. Lady Jane was last to enter the hallway and she wore a beautiful blue gown and had two boxes of tissues in her hand which Brenda found odd. Tissues? Who took tissues to a restaurant?

     “Ready to go troops?” John said as he opened the door and marched everyone out to the waiting limos.

     The minute they were gone the household help scrambled to get themselves ready for the big, happy event.

     A striking sunset was visible in the west as people began to arrive on the dock of the Jefferson Parish Marina where they climbed aboard the impressive riverboat restaurant called Sea Castle - a restaurant right on the water boasting the best waterfront view of them all.

     Inside, Devon happily greeted the Jacks clan, with a special kiss for Juliet, as he led them to their table.

     “Hey the governor’s here,” Brenda pointed out, impressed.

     “Yep and several food critics too. This opening is by invitation only,” Devon told her. “Hey, you look beautiful, Brenda. You look like a . .” he was about to say bride when Jax clocked him on the head and Juliet pinched his arm. “Excuse me, I think I heard somebody call me in the kitchen,” Devon said rubbing his arm and his head as he went to the kitchen.

     The family sat down at their table and Jax was teasing Brenda about the specialty of the night being Rubber Octopus in Squid sauce. She was laughing at his teasing and at the wild, suggestive things he was whispering to her, when all of a sudden she panicked when she saw Iris enter the restaurant with Chad, Ava and Amber behind her. It was the smug look on Iris’ face, Amber smiling cattily and making the sign of the hangman’s noose and the way Chad was simply avoiding making eye contact with her altogether that gave Brenda a feeling of foreboding. Iris being here and looking so pleased with herself was bad news and Brenda knew she had to get all of her secrets from Jax out in the open without delay.

     She tugged on Jax’s sleeve urgently.

     “Jax, I have to talk to you,” she whispered.

     Jax shot her an enigmatic glance as Iris and company approached.

     “About what?” he asked, pushing the lovely dark tendrils of her hair out of her eyes and kissing her forehead.

     “It’s about the wedding, I have something really important to tell you,” she said speaking very quickly, her eyes darting from Jax to the approaching troll brigade.

     “What wedding? Our wedding?”

     “Yes. Can we please go outside or up on deck or into Devon’s office or in the kitchen or storage room or something? I really need to tell you this now and I’d like to do it privately, okay?” she said.

     Jax did not move. Brenda felt a bout of hyperventilation threatening to overtake her as Iris got ever closer to their table.

     “Would this be the same thing you wanted to tell me when we were in Mexico?” Jax asked her curiously, seeming oblivious to her sense of urgency.

     Brenda nodded her head vehemently and got up from her seat, thinking he would follow her lead.

     He didn’t.

     “And would this be the same thing you tried to tell me the morning after that thunderstorm that scared you silly?”

     “Yes. Will you please come with me, honey? Please?” she said yanking at his arm in vain.

     “And would this be the same thing you were apologizing for right after we said our I do’s?” he asked thoughtfully.

     She wanted to strangle him!

     “Yes! Yes! Jax, please come with me. I have to tell you something now,” she whispered frantically as she pulled on his hand to get him out of his seat before Iris was upon them. Geez, this man was pure, lean muscle! She couldn’t budge him.

     And alas, Iris was upon them.

     “Oh please don’t rush off on our account, Brenda darrrrling,” Iris drawled sarcastically, bringing the attention of everyone at the table to herself and her ‘posse of ghouls’ as Niles would call them. “Unless of course you’re simply running for cover,” Iris added with a venomous smile.

     This was obviously a woman who felt she had all the nails she required to nail shut Brenda’s coffin, and the troll’s confidence made Brenda feel ill.

     “Jax, I really need to talk to you alone,” Brenda tried one more time, once again tugging on his hand and freaking out at the fact that the man refused to move.

     “What are you doing here?” Jax asked of Iris. “This is a private opening.”

     “We were invited,” Chad said producing his invitation which Jax tossed back at him as if it were worthless.

     “An obvious oversight,” Justin and Jerry muttered in unison.

     “We have business with you, Jax. An urgent matter which, you, dear boy, have been kept in the dark about long enough,” Iris announced, taking an unoffered seat while Chad chose to play a more subdued role not wanting Brenda to think of him as part of this lynch-mob out to get her.

     “I don’t know what you’re deluding yourself with now, but I don’t have any business with any of you,” Jax responded. “So you can take your urgent matter and catch the next broomstick back to New York.”

     Iris’ eyes narrowed dangerously. “I think you’ll change your tune after you’ve heard me out,” she assured him, her confidence unwavering.

     Jax glanced over at Brenda who was still standing, holding onto the back of her chair looking ready to pass out.

     Jax looked like he had a headache, himself. “All right, what is this all about?” Jax asked.

     Brenda grabbed his hand. “No, Jax. Don’t listen to her! Come with me. Right now!” she insisted, thinking that perhaps her tone of voice would somehow get him to listen to her and do as she was asking.

     He noticed her pacing from his chair to hers and back again, something she always did when she was nervous and unsure of herself.

     “Sit down, Sweetie,” he said calmly. “Don’t you want to hear what nonsense your stepmother has to say to us?” he asked looking at his wife with ambiguous blue eyes.

     Brenda shook her head wildly, as a child would, and continued to tug on his hand in the hopes of somehow moving him.

     “Of course she doesn’t want to hear it,” Iris said silkily. “She knows that after I tell you what I’m about to, you won’t want anything to do with her ever again.”

     “That will never happen,” Jax stated.

     But Brenda felt sicker than she ever had in her life. She was certain now that somehow Iris knew everything. Oh why hadn’t she told Jax sooner like she had planned! Damn that leg cramp!

     Amber stepped up to face Jax. “Remember when I told you we had proof that Brenda tricked you into marrying her?” Amber reminded him. “Well I think we’ve just about figured out how she did it. Every detail. The least you can do is hear us out, Jax.”

     Jax looked at Brenda, who, for the first time since he had met her, actually looked as if she would faint. He moved his chair slightly so that he could catch her if the need arose.

     “I’m listening,” he said to Amber and Brenda looked that much closer to succumbing to the urge to do what all women who were in a pickle did - faint dramatically to distract the man.

     “Her plot was to trap you into marriage all along,” Iris claimed. “I believe it was the sole reason she befriended your sister.”

     “Oh poppycock!” Jane dismissed, thoroughly annoyed by this woman.

     “That’s a lie!” both Brenda and Juliet exclaimed at the same time.

     “Then she schemed her way into getting your sister to invite her to spend the summer at your home so that her plan to seduce you could begin,” Iris continued, ignoring the previous and continuing outbursts of denial from Brenda and Juliet. “How exactly she seduced you, I’m not sure. But she’s been with so very many men, so you see her skills of seduction are quite sharp and cunning.”

     Jax rolled his eyes in annoyed disbelief. Brenda looked ready to commit an act of homicide.

     “Jax that isn’t true!” Brenda told him.

     “I know that,” he assured her.

     “None of what she said is true!” Juliet added, furious at the old troll.

     “Well is this true?” Iris challenged, licking her thin lips in anticipation of dropping her bomb. “Brenda never intended to marry Dr. Stanton. That entire thing was an elaborate ruse to manipulate poor, heroic Jax into marrying her himself as a way to ensure that she would not marry Chad. And you helped her orchestrate this entire sordid farce!” Iris accused.

     Juliet looked stunned that the woman had actually hit upon some truth in the midst of all of her outrageous lies.

     Jax took in his sister’s reaction. “Something wrong, Pest?” he asked her.

     Juliet sank back into her seat. “Ummm . . .well . . .”

     “And the conspiracy does not end with your sister,” Iris continued, enjoying the fury in Juliet’s blue eyes and the anguish in Brenda’s dark hazel ones. “We have every reason to believe that your nefarious butler was a part of this too. We even have reason to believe that they had some inside source on the police force who assisted them in this underhanded, elaborate sham.”

     Jax rose an eyebrow and gazed briefly over at Devon and then at his cousin, Police Officer Will Sway, who was at an adjoining table chatting with some members of the press.

     Brenda knew that her husband was connecting the dots and she looked as if she couldn’t take much more of this.

     “Jax!” she whispered, urgently.

     He looked at her but didn't say anything and still did not move.

     Iris continued on with her revelations. "It was Brenda who somehow deliberately arranged for poor Dr. Stanton to be arrested on his way to the wedding in order to ensure that he never made it to the church on time and thereby forcing you to step in and save the day for her. My own daughter and Miss Stanton heard your wife confessing this very manipulation to your own sister down at the Riverwalk a week ago. It is clear that the two young misses were in cahoots in this despicable scheme to dupe and entrap you, young man."

     "Why are you doing this to me?" Do you really hate me that much?" Brenda asked, staring at her stepmother who had suddenly sprouted horns and a pointed tail and was more devil than troll.

     “Don’t tell me you’re actually going to have the audacity to deny this?” Iris said. “How pathetic of you. But then what else would we expect from a girl who is so undesirable that she has to con a man into marrying her?”

     “You horrible old woman!” Juliet said angrily, upset with the misery Iris was gleefully causing Brenda.

     Jax looked at Brenda expectantly. “What is she talking about?” he asked her.

     Brenda swallowed. “I was going to tell you. I tried to tell you. Jax, you know I did.”

     “Ha!” Iris laughed, enjoying herself immensely and ignoring the frosty looks she was receiving from every member of the Jacks family, especially Lady Jane.

     “Tried to tell me what?” Jax asked looking remarkably calm about all of this which actually made Brenda more nervous.

     “Why don’t you ask her about her inheritance check,” Iris suggested folding her hands in her lap. “Ask her when it came. Ask her what she did with it.”

     Brenda’s mouth dropped in shock. My God, Iris really did know everything!

     “She didn’t get the check,” Jax said giving Iris a look that could have frozen the blood cold.

     “Yes, I did,” Brenda murmured staring down at her hands in great distress. “I got it a week ago, Jax. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! I really was going to tell you. You have to believe me!”

     “What did you do with it?” Jax asked her, still so clam that it made her extremely agitated. Shouldn’t he be angry and hurt about now? This was not normal! Was it the calm before the storm?

     Brenda’s eyes continued to have a staring contest with the floor. “I . . .hid it.” she told him.

     If she was looking at him she would have seen him smile.

     “Why did you do that?” he asked her.

     “You know why, Jax,” she said softly.

     “And what about all the other things your stepmother just told me. Are they true?”

     Brenda nodded miserably. “I tried to tell you, Jax. So many times . . .”

     “She did,” Juliet verified loyally. “Just this morning she was going to tell you everything Jax, I swear. I’m the one who stopped her and I only did that because,” she leaned forward and whispered to him “ . . .well you know why,” she said giving her brother a look.

     “A likely story now that you’ve both been caught!” Iris barked, having a grand old time, her shrill, gruff voice making everyone’s ears bleed.

     “Will you just shut up!” Jax said to Iris and she was taken aback by the fact that his contempt and disdain were directed at her and not at his duplicitous wife and sister.

     Jax turned back to Brenda who was wringing her hands every which way and spinning her wedding rings around and around in her state of agitation.

     “Brenda, in light of these revelations there’s something I’d like to do right now. Something I’d like to ask you,” Jax said taking her hand.

     Her eyes widened with worry. Something he needed to ask her? Oh, no, this couldn’t be good, could it? What if he wanted to ask her for a divorce?!

     “Brenda, will you . . .”

     She gasped and glared at him. “Don’t say it! I won’t listen to this!” she told him, covering her ears and then changing her mind and covering his mouth.

     This could not be happening! They loved each other, how could he do this? She could not let this happen and she wouldn’t, damn it! No way would she ever agree to a divorce! She would give him time to calm down and then he would realize that he loved her far too much to let her go simply because of a little romantic trickery on her part.

     Yes, she decided, he needed time to calm down and forgive her, that was all. Then she picked up the hem of her beautiful white gown and raced out of the private dining room.

     “Brenda, wait!” Jax called out to her, baffled by her knee-jerk reaction.

     Iris smirked with satisfaction and folded her arms as she watched the beautiful fleeing girl, looking like some mystical runaway from Mount Olympus.

     Chad was smiling too and he immediately went to race after Brenda seeing his chance, at long last, to comfort and seduce her. But Jax grabbed his shoulder and slammed him down into a seat.

     “Don’t you go near her. Don’t even think about it or else you’ll be operating on yourself,” Jax warned him in no uncertain terms and the looks of his brothers and father backed him up. Then Jax raced out of the room to find Brenda. That crazy girl! Why hadn’t she let him finish asking his question? Women!

     “Well,” Iris said, getting up and brushing her hands together with delight. “My work here is done.”

     “You tiresome old bat,” Justin murmured with a shake of his head. “Are you truly so daft and ignorant that you don’t realize that you’ve told Jax nothing he didn’t already know?”

     “I knew it!” Amber groaned. “I knew he was far too calm about it all! Oh God he hates me now for being a part of this! Oh God! Oh God!”

     “Oh be quiet you insipid Scarlet clone. This young man is obviously just lying to try and make our victory less sweet,” Iris said brushing off Justin’s claims with a haughty shrug.

     “Yes, how on earth could Jax have known?” Chad injected. “It was very clear from the way he questioned Brenda and the way she ran off that she didn’t tell him.”

     “Niles is the one who told him,” Justin informed them.

     Chad’s eyes grew large as if the mention of Niles’s name was so horrific.

     “Niles? Niles! That damned Niles! It’s always Niles!” Chad ranted.

     “And after Niles told Jax, Jax told me and I’m sure you’ll be disappointed to know that he wasn’t in the least bit angry. He was laughing when he told me. He was very impressed by Brenda’s daring and her ingenuity in concocting something so outrageous then pulling it off perfectly, taking all the right gambles and winning. He asked me if I thought she ever intended to confess to him and I told him I was sure she would. He then told me she had tried to do just that on three occasions so he was sure she would eventually get around to it and he would have fun teasing her when the time came. So you see your efforts, disgusting always, were in vain – as always,” Justin was delighted to tell them.

     Juliet breathed a sigh of relief, as did the rest of the family, to learn that Jax was not in the least bit upset with his wife and sister for their mischievous matchmaking shenanigans.

     “All’s well that ends well,” John said taking a grateful sip of wine and looking at Iris as if she were something he had scraped off of the bottom of his shoe. “And now I believe it’s time to take out the garbage, boys,” he said indicating to Devon, Jerry and Justin that they should assist him in kicking the ghouls out of the restaurant.

     “My sentiments exactly,” Devon agreed, taking Chad’s invitation and ripping it in two.

     “Let go of me this minute!” Iris protested, aghast at the way they were manhandling her in full view of the other patrons.

     Ignoring her, Justin yanked her arm to drag her along while Devon grabbed both Ava and Amber while Chad was shoved by towards the exit. Then they threw them all out with Justin giving Iris that extra shove that landed her flat on her rump on the sidewalk which was crawling with paparazzi. They got an eyeful and an earful of the outraged, foul mouthed Iris who’s fancy dress was torn in the rear exposing sagging stockings and floral underpants.

     Iris’s face turned beet red as she fled from the scene with the laughing pack of paparazzi snapping pictures of her as she tried to make her escape.

     Up on deck Brenda was frantically searching for a place to hide because she knew that Jax was following her. The man was relentless!

      Jax could not believe that he had to chase this woman all over the damned riverboat as she continued to intentionally elude him for what purpose he could not even fathom. Brenda, however, fully intended to give him time to cool off and rethink what she assumed was his ridiculous and unacceptable decision to end their marriage and she was damned if he was going to find her before he had changed his mind!

     After fifteen minutes of his chasing her around and around the boat, he finally caught her by the railing on the top deck and he entrapped her in-between his arms.

     “Alone at last,” he said, blue eyes holding her in a captive gaze as he caught his breath.

     Her eyes were darting about seeking a means of escape. “Jax, listen to me,” she panted.

     “No, I don’t think so. I have something to say to you, Brenda, and you’re going to stand right there and listen to me,” he told her. “I can’t believe you made me chase you like that. You’re bloody fast,” he murmured.

     “But, but . . you shouldn’t speak in anger,” she said quickly.

     “I’m not angry.”

     She looked at him with skeptical hazel eyes. “You’re not?”

     “No. Well not anymore. I admit I was a little angry when Niles initially told me, but I got over that hours ago.”

     “Niles told you?” she asked puzzled. “What did he tell you?”

     “That you had gotten your check from the insurance company over a week ago. He was worried that Amber would tell me first. When he told me about the check I figured out the rest.”

     She chewed on her lip nervously, still trying to think of a way to get past him. “You did?” she asked. “You figured it out?”

     “Well you tell me,” he said blocking her in closer as he saw her trying to slide away from him. “Here’s my scenario. First you dropped that piece of paper detailing the so-called wedding to Chad on purpose so that I would find out “accidentally.” Extraordinary clever of you, by the way. You counted on me going ballistic, coming after you, confronting you, seeing the wedding dress, going even more ballistic and stopping you from marrying him by any means necessary - an accurate calculation as it turned out.”

     Her eyes blinked in wonder at his dead-on deductions.

     “Niles mentioned that he’d heard you asking Devon about his cousin Will, who lo and behold is a police officer, so I assume that Will was responsible for Chad’s impeccably timed arrest,” Jax continued. “You got Dr. Dull out of the picture, you pulled me into the picture and then you crossed your fingers and hoped that I would actually say “I do.” You figured that once we were married I would fall in love with you and it would be a love of such enormity that I would never let you go no matter what you had done. Is that about right?”

     She was speechless at his astonishingly accurate break down of events. He had not missed a thing.

     “You must hate me now,” she said miserably.

     “I could never hate you, Brenda.”

     “You must be disappointed in me then.”

     He shook his head.

     She looked confused. “But when we were inside you said that because you now knew the truth you would have to ask me something?” she reminded him.

     He nodded. “Oh yeah, that. Well I do still have to ask you.”

     “Why?! Can’t we just forgive and forget now?” she pleaded.

     His eyes looked amused by her unnecessary fears. “I’m afraid this has to be done, Brenda and neither one of us is leaving here tonight until it is.” He looked around. “But we need a little more privacy than this,” he said pulling her back inside with him. Once inside, he made eye contact with Justin and nodded to him.

     Justin in turn whispered something to everyone at the table and they all gleefully got up as Justin quickly ushered them into the private dining room.

     “Jax, don’t do, this. Don’t do this. Don’t you think this is a bit rash?!” she demanded angrily as she continued to try to stop him from taking her into this other room where she was sure the big kiss off awaited her.

     “Brenda stop struggling, sweetheart, you’re going to mess up your dress,” he advised her.

     Her dress?! Did he think she cared about this stupid -- but all right, yes, very beautiful -- dress now that her marriage might be about to bite the dust?

     She continued to resist him, going so far as to grab onto a table to prevent him from taking her into the private dining room. He finally had to physically pick her up and place her up over his shoulder and she in turn picked up the table cloth from the table she’d had a death grip on, knocking over silverware and stemware and then mouthing an apologetic “Sorry” to the passing waiter who was looking at her and Jax in bewilderment.

     Jax carried her inside the dark room and set her down.

     She heard him shut the door with one hand while holding onto her with the other in case she tried to make a run for it again.

     “Okay, Brenda,” she said. “I have something to ask you now and I really think you should let me finish the question this time.”

     She put her hands over her ears.

     He removed them. “Will you cut that out?”

     Butterflies swam in her stomach and she felt that now was as good a time as any to try this fainting thing. Perhaps it would gain her enough sympathy from him to change his mind?

     She felt his hands on her face. “Brenda, will you marry me?”

     She was sure that it was her state of denial that had caused her to hear him incorrectly.

     “I’m sorry, will you . . would you mind repeating that?” she asked, feeling disoriented.

     “I asked you to marry me,” he confirmed. “You see I never really got to ask you the first time and you never got to give me an answer. It just sort of happened. The first time I married you it was because I had to. Because I would have done anything to keep you from marrying anyone else. But this time - this time I’m marrying you because I want you and I need you and I absolutely adore you. And because you are like the very blood running through my veins. And because I love you to distraction.” He kissed her hand. “So I ask you again; Will you marry me, Brenda? And your answer is . . .?”

     “Jax if this is a joke I . . I . . I think I’ll have to kill you!” she said breathlessly, too scared to hope this could really be happening.

     “And make yourself a widow? In front of witnesses , no less?” he said and then he turned on the lights and everyone yelled. “SURPRISE!” startling Brenda half out of her wits.

     It was the whole Jacks family plus honorary Jackses like Devon and Halle. The entire household staff was there too, except Niles who seemed to be missing.

     The room was decorated for a wedding. There were white wedding bells attached to white satin streamers, white candles in frosted glass votives and white rose petals sailing in crystal hearts of water on each table. Little gold boxes of Godiva wedding favors wrapped with pink satin ribbon and hand crafted little flowers were also on each table. The pink satin ribbons had the words Brenda and Jax July 4, 1997 etched in gold lettering on them. A flowing champagne fountain cascaded the dazzling golden nectar down spirals of ice and into a giant gold-rimmed champagne glass.

     The wedding cake was not to be believed. It was a four tiered creation, each tier on it’s own pedestal, with white icing done in an amazing quilted pattern and pink roses and white-chocolate doves decorating the center of the tops. Surrounding the cake were more white candles in prismed gold votives casting an almost magical amber colored glow about the cake.

     Brenda screamed in delight as she realized what was going on and she threw her arms around Jax unable to contain her euphoria. “My wedding!” she squealed.

     “Yes, Brenda Barrett Jacks, this is your wedding,” Justin said into a microphone in the voice of a game show host. “Come on down!”

     Jerry took the microphone from him. “Since we were all so rudely not invited to the first go ‘round, this is your shot at redemption sista Brenda! ” he said in the voice of a Southern Baptist minister. “Can I get an amen?” he looked around at the family and household staff.

     “Hallelujah!” John called out raising his hand in the air.

     Jerry scowled at his father. “I believe I asked for an amen?”

     Justin rolled his eyes and grabbed the microphone back from his brother and Brenda was laughing watching them both ham it up. There was no family on earth like this family. Her family, she thought happily, her heart flooded with warmth.

     “Hold it, hold it. This wedding cannot proceed. We never heard you give Jax an answer, Brenda,” Justin reminded her.

     “Oh -- Yes! Yes everybody! Yes!” Brenda piped up immediately. And then she turned to Jax who was grinning at her. “Yes, yes, yes” she repeated for him alone, her eyes a kaleidoscope of love and he knew she was restraining herself from leaping up into his arms again.

     “My favorite word to hear from you. Especially over and over like that,” Jax murmured sexily, kissing her and then taking her hand to slide off her white satin gloves and then slide her wedding rings off and pocket them while handing her his.

     “Oh splendid!” Lady Jane said with delight as she reached over for something laying on the table. “Here’s your head piece darling,” she said going over to Brenda and placing the gorgeous tiara-style head piece and the attached medium length veil onto her head. “Oh, my darling girl you are so very lovely,” Lady Jane breathed, gazing at Brenda.

     “And here are your flowers,” Halle said, coming over to her and smiling, giving her a kiss on the cheek and handing her an exquisite bouquet of white tulips, orchids, lilies and baby’s breath.

     “This dress isn’t from your ‘collection’ is it?” Brenda giggled.

     “Nope. Girl, I couldn’t design a pair of socks,” Halle admitted.

     “That’s the truth,” Justin said, earning him a playful swat on the rear end from his girlfriend.

     “Now, now. How does it go again? Oh yes, you need something old,” Lady Jane said. “I suppose that would be me.”

     Brenda laughed and hugged her. “Not on your life!”

     “Oh bless your heart, luv. All right well then here’s something truly old,” she said snapping her fingers in the air and calling out. “John! Oh, John!”

     Everyone laughed at that while John shot his wife a look of mock vexation.

     When the laughter subsided Jane turned back to Brenda. “Here it is,” she said placing a delicate string of flawless pearls about Brenda’s neck. “They were part of my pirate ancestor’s stolen loot!” she exclaimed proudly, to which her children and husband all groaned in amazing unison, and Brenda laughed.

     “Your something new can be the bracelet Jax got for you in Cancun, and here’s something borrowed,” Juliet said, handing Brenda her favorite pearl drop earrings as they exchanged kisses on both cheeks and a great big hug. “I knew everything would turn out perfectly! The troll has been defeated and love has been restored to the kingdom,” Juliet whispered happily.

     “And here’s something very blue,” Joanna said whipping out a sexy baby-blue satin garter which Brenda slid on over her iridescent white stockings.

     “Okay, that’s everything. I think we’re ready!” Juliet said.

     “Finally,” Jax murmured. “Now can I please marry this girl before Zeus realizes she’s missing?” he said kissing Brenda’s cheek.

     Brenda responded by passionately kissing his lips, which had his brothers smiling. Such an aggressive little goddess was she.

     “Oh, I’m going to blubber!” Lady Jane warned, dabbing at her eyes with one of her boxes of tissues while her husband rolled his eyes to the heavens.

     “Wife, we haven’t even begun yet, woman!”

     “Oh hush, John,” she said, waving him away and making use of another tissue

     With Juliet as the maid of honor, Halle and Joanna as the bridesmaids and Justin as the best man, John walked Brenda down the aisle and delivered her into the loving arms of his son.

     Brenda was delighted to see that the revered marrying them was the same jolly man who had married them the first time around! She gave him a friendly wave.

     “Well hello again!” he chuckled as he began the ceremony.

     Niles raced up to the Crescent City Riverboat Restaurant to make it in time for the wedding. As he raced inside he bumped into someone who was hanging about outside. It was Chad.

     “Well, well, well,” Chad said, his tone hostile. “If it isn’t the domestic help who single-handedly ruined my life!”

     “While I do appreciate the compliment sir, I regret to inform you that you are boring me and I’ve a wedding to attend right now. Perhaps you can bore me tomorrow if you’d like? I’ll pencil you in for noon.”

     “I suppose you’re moving on up in your lackey circles, huh? Being invited to a fancy wedding at a five star restaurant like this one. So which chamber maid is tying the knot with which floor scrubber tonight?” Chad sneered.

     “Oh very well sir if you must know, the wedding is Miss Brenda and Master Jax’s. Pity you can’t be there to see it. It might help with your dreadful case of delusion. What are you taking for that, by the by?”

     Jax and Brenda were getting married? Again? Oh this was just too much! Chad had reached his limit.

     “This is all your fault!” he hollered, losing it. “Well those two can go to hell, that that family can go to hell, that entire wedding can go to hell. And most of all you -- you human plague, can go to hell!” Chad spewed as he went to punch Niles dead in the eye.

     With a sigh of irritation, Niles ducked down and then shoved him off the pier and into the water watching him splash around and sputter obscenities as he got his 900-dollar suit ruined I the Mississippi.

     “Oh, that was so very wrong of me, sir,” Niles said contritely. “Can I be of some assistance? Throw you one of those orange lifesavers perhaps?”

     He reached into his pocket and tossed an orange candy at the irate Chad. “Grab onto it sir! Take hold! Oh, and do watch out, I believe there’s a rather cantankerous alligator behind you.” Niles gave him a vulgar wink and then left the pier.

     Several hours, dances, glasses of champagne and pieces of cake later, the family had gone home after a glorious wedding reception which had gone into the wee hours.

     Now Jax and Brenda were alone in the private dining room, out on the terrace area dancing to “I’ve Never Been In Love Before,” while the moonlight encased them in it’s silvery rays.

     Locked in a kiss as sweet as summertime while fireworks went off overhead, Brenda and Jax were motionless, much preferring to concentrate on this amazing kiss than on the music.

     Brenda broke the kiss with reluctance.

     “Oh, baby, don’t do that,” Jax protested softly, pulling her back into the sensuous mouth merger for several more intensely pleasurable minutes before Brenda broke it again.

     “But I want to talk,” she giggled.

     “A terrible vice of yours, that,” he murmured. “But I suppose it’s incurable. All right then, speak if you must.”

      “Julie told me this morning that you would love me forever. Even if you lived to regret it.”

     “She’s right.”

     “Well I want you to know that you’ll never regret it, Jax.”

     He nodded and gave her a smile. “I know.”

     He pulled her into another kiss of delectable passion and after several indulgent moments, she again reluctantly broke it.

     “You feel the need to talk again?” he guessed with a sigh.

     She laughed and nodded. “I was wondering if we get to go on another honeymoon now?” she asked, her arms still encircling his neck, her eyes absolutely alight with her happiness.

     “Well I thought we might go on sort of an extended honeymoon,” he said.

     “Like how extended?”

     “Like four months.”

     Brenda laughed and grabbed his vest. “What?! Four months? Are you crazy, Jax? I’ll miss the whole first quarter of classes!”

     “Well you said you’d be willing to go on adventures with me didn’t you?” he reminded her.

     She crossed her eyes. “Oh yeah, I did say that didn’t I.”

     “Mmm Hmm.” He kissed her. “And so I thought we could intersperse my adventurous lifestyle with your never-ending craving for the endless.”

     “How?” she asked eagerly.

     “My idea was we’d do it for four months - you know, one month we’d be chilling in Fiji and the next month we’d be fighting off ten foot mosquitoes in the Amazon.” His blue eyes lit up as he spoke of his ideas. “One month we’d be getting wild on the beaches in Waikiki, and the next month we’d be wreck diving for ancient ruins in the Mediterranean. Or maybe one month we’d be making love in Mazatlan and the month after that we’d be running from a rhino stampede deep in the Congo. You could miss a semester of classes and just start in the second semester. It’s hardly uncommon. Come on, don’t you wan to cross deserts and race through jungles with me? Climb pyramids and swim oceans and search for Aztec treasures with me?” His smile was devastatingly gorgeous.

     “Jasper Jacks you are such an adventurer,” she murmured enticing him into yet another kiss. “Your mother’s pirate’s blood definitely runs in you.”

     “She doesn’t have any pirates blood,” he said with a grin

     “I’m starting to believe she must, because it’s definite in you, Jax,” Brenda insisted.

     “Yes, but you knew that when you plotted to marry me,” he pointed out.

     “Yes that’s true,” she conceded.

     “And you wanted me anyway.”

     “I wanted you even more because of it,” she confessed with a wickedly cute smile.

     “I know,” he said with a wicked little smile of his own. “So are you with me?”

     “I am so with you. I mean we are here, honey,” she said touching her forehead to his and laughing. “A mind meld. Kindred spirits. Mates of the soul. In perfect sync.”

     “Oh good. Well then you know that right now I’m thinking that you should be the one to tell my mother about our impending trek into the wilds. And you should feel free to tell her it was your idea as well.”

     “Ahh . . .we’ll discuss who gets to tell you mom later,” she said laughing. “Right now I just want to thank you for this perfect night,” she kissed him. “This beautiful surprise,” she kissed him again, “and for marrying me all over again and not looking like you wanted to pass out this time.”

     They both laughed recalling his first time at the altar.

     “And I especially want to thank you for not being mad about the way I got you to marry me the first time,” she finished.

     “I would marry you every single day if I could,” he told her. “But I don’t think there are enough tissues in the world to accommodate my mother.”

     Brenda laughed and caressed his handsome face lovingly.

     “As for me not being angry about the circumstances behind our first wedding,” he continued, “well all I can tell you is that I don’t feel that I was manipulated into loving you. I feel that I was destined to love you. Like nothing could have stopped it.”

     “I feel that way too,” she said softly, marveling at how truly in sync they were.

     “The first time I ever touched you,” he recalled, “which was simply to shake your hand hello, I felt something extraordinary happen to me, Brenda. I ignore it of course, but I think I still knew then that we would end up right where we are now -- one way or another. If you didn’t make it happen, I know that I would have. You just beat me to it, that’s all. So how could I be angry with you for that?”

     “You couldn’t possibly,” she said with a beautiful dimpled smile.

     “Exactly. Because I love you and I’ve waited all my life for you,” he whispered his eyes connecting so deeply with her soul. “And you are exactly what I always wanted. That’s just the way it is. The way it always will be.”

     She hugged him close as the warm sea breeze played with her hair and Fourth of July fireworks continued to go off in the distance.

     “Good because you’re stuck with me, pal.”

     “I know,” he said with soft laughter.

     “Jax, do you know that I love you so much that sometimes I just want to be with you more than I even want to breathe?” she whispered, basking in her feelings of complete happiness.

     He laughed softly. “That’s very sweet. . . .and also somewhat . . uh . . alarming.”

     She laughed. “Are you ready to go home now?”

     “Well actually,” he said his hands stroking her throat provocatively, “I’m getting this sudden urge to go back to a certain rose petal cave right now.”

     She looked at him in disbelief. “Now?” and then repeated “Now?”

     “Why not? You’re here, I’m here. The plane is ready. I’m a pilot.”

     “Jax you are crazy!” she laughed. “You want us to fly to the Caribbean now?”

     “Honey, please stop saying ‘now’.”

     Brenda laughed again. She took his hand and looked at his watch. “Sweetheart, it’s 2 a.m.”

     “We’ll be back by tomorrow . . .sometime . . .” he kissed her deeply. “Maybe . . .” he amended after the kiss. His hands slid to the low-cut back of her dress, his fingers running seductively up and down her spine.

     “It already is tomorrow,” she laughed. “And besides we don’t have any clothes!”

     “We won’t need any,” he assured her.

     She imagined what it would be like to have Jax make love to her beneath those rose scented falls with the cool water running along her body, her arms and legs wrapped around him, his lips tasting like warm roses, setting her lips on fire and then trailing down her body as her fingers would slide through his wet blonde hair and then . . ..

     “Let’s go!!” she blurted out, grabbing his hand and racing out of the doors of the restaurant, her sparkling veil flying behind her.

     As they raced, laughing, past a jazz club it began to rain which, in their exuberant mood, they found to be hysterical. Jax picked Brenda up and swung her around beneath the gentle rain as they made an urgent stop beneath a lamp post a block away from where their limo waited.

     It had been a whole five minutes -- far too long for their lips to be apart. They shared a kiss of passionate splendor in the gently falling silver rain as the lights slowly dimmed one by one in the heart of the Crescent City and a lone saxophonist blew his sweet sounds gently into the soft, dark night.

     I believe in you and me
     I believe that we will be
     In love eternally
     For as far as I can see
     You will always be the one for me

     I believe in dreams again
     I believe this love will never end
     And like the river finds the sea
     I was lost, now I’m free
     I believe in you and me

     I will never leave your side
     I will never hurt your pride
     When all the chips are down
     I will always be around
     Just to be right where you are
     My love

     I will never leave you out
     I will always let you in
     To places no one’s ever been
     Deep inside, can’t you see
     That I believe in you and me

     Maybe I’m a fool
     To feel the way I do
     But I would play the fool forever
     Just to be with you forever

     I believe in miracles
     Our love’s a miracle
     And baby you’re my dream come true
     I was lost
     Now I’m free
     I believe in you and me
     I was lost
     Now I’m free
     I believe in you and me

Song credit: "I Believe In You and Me" from the original soundtrack album "The Preacher's Wife".