“This is our home and the start of our life together.” I smiled.

“It sure is and I love every bit of it,” Jake said as he picked me up.

“What are you doing?” I laughed.

“Taking you into the bedroom so we can test out our new bed.”

“I like the sound of that.” I smiled as I brushed my lips against his.

We lay in bed and Jake held me against him. He softly ran his finger up and down my arm while kissing the top of my head.

“I can’t believe we’re finally getting married,” he said.

“You’re not getting cold feet, are you?” I asked.

“Hell, no. I can’t wait to make you Mrs. Julia Jensen. Then, in a couple of years, we can make baby Jensens.”

“I love the thought of making babies with you. You’re going to be an amazing father.”

“You’re going to be an amazing mother.”

“Somehow, I get the feeling that my parents will see our kids more than we will.” I laughed.

“Yeah, no kidding. They’ll be kidnapping them.”

“We need to spend some time together first as a couple before we start having kids.”

“I agree, babe. I want you all to myself for a while first.”

I lifted my head and kissed Jake on the lips. “You can have me whenever you want.” I smiled.

A low growl came from the back of his throat as he flipped me on my back and we continued to break in our new bed.

****

My wedding day. What can I say? It was absolutely perfect. Everything turned out as planned and only a few tears were shed. I was no longer Julia Rose Black. I was Mrs. Julia Rose Jensen and I couldn’t be happier. My dad gave us an all-expense-paid trip to Europe for our honeymoon. We were going to be gone three weeks. I think that was the longest I’d ever gone without seeing my parents. Two weeks into our honeymoon, while we were in Paris, we received a call from a restaurant telling us that reservations were made for dinner as a celebration of our marriage. I thought it was odd that the restaurant did that, but it must have been something my dad arranged when he booked the trip because I remembered him saying that we had to go there because it was his and my mom’s favorite restaurant.

Jake and I shopped all day and then went back to the hotel room to get ready for dinner. I put on my little black dress and put my hair up in a twist.

“You look so sexy. Let’s just skip dinner and make love the rest of the night,” Jake said as he kissed my shoulder.

“That sounds amazing, but we have to go to dinner first. That would be rude of us not to show since reservations were made.”

“You’re right, but plan on an all-nighter the minute we get back here.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Jensen. I’ve already planned on it.” I turned around and looked at him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I miss my mom and dad. Isn’t that terrible that I’m thinking like that on our honeymoon?”

“No, I don’t think it’s terrible at all. You love your parents and it’s natural to miss them. Don’t worry, babe; one more week and we’ll be going home.” He smiled as he kissed me. “Why don’t you try and call them. You’ll feel better once you talk to them.”

I smiled back and picked up my phone. I dialed my dad’s number first and he didn’t answer. So I dialed my mom and she didn’t answer. “Neither one of them are answering their phones,” I said with irritation.

“They’re probably having wild and crazy sex and don’t want to be bothered.” Jake smiled.

“Don’t say that!” I said as I covered my ears.

Jake laughed and handed me my purse as we left the hotel and headed to the restaurant. We walked through the door and gave the hostess our name. She smiled softly and showed us to our table. I stopped in the middle of the restaurant when I saw my mom and dad sitting at the table that was ours. Tears started to fill my eyes as my dad got up from his seat.

“Julia,” he said as he hugged me tightly.

“Dad, what are you doing here?”

I turned to my mom and hugged her. “It’s so good to see you both.”

“We just thought we’d have dinner with the two of you. No big deal,” my dad said.

“You flew all the way to Paris to have dinner with us?”

My mom looked at me and smiled. “Yes, we did.”

“I love you both so much,” I said as I hugged them both one more time before sitting down.

My mom announced that she had to go to the restroom and asked me if I’d join her. I got up from my seat and, as we walked into the bathroom, she looked at me and hugged me. “It’s so good to see you, Julia.”

“I tried calling you and Daddy about an hour ago because I was missing you guys and you didn’t answer.”

“That’s because we didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” She smiled. “Your dad was going crazy not being able to see you. He was driving me crazy, so I suggested a quick trip to Paris for one dinner so he could see for himself that you and Jake were okay.”

“Thank you, Mom. You have no idea how happy I am to see the two of you. I’ve missed you.”

“We missed you too. Now, come on; let’s get back to the table before your father comes looking for us.”

I laughed as we made our way back to the table. We had one of the best nights in Paris with my parents. Some might think it’s weird to see your parents while you’re on your honeymoon. But for Jake and me, it wasn’t. We welcomed it, and we were happy they came. A couple of days later, they flew back to New York, and Jake and I continued our honeymoon for one more week.

****

Life returned back to normal after our honeymoon. Jake and I were settled in our new home and settled in our jobs. I saw my dad every day and he couldn’t have been happier. We had dinner with them twice a week. One night at my apartment and one night at the penthouse. Sometimes, we made it three nights a week and we out to dinner. My life was perfect and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I was married to the love of my life and had the best family in the world.

A few months after our honeymoon, I discovered that I was pregnant. It certainly wasn’t planned, but it happened, and Jake and I were so happy. I waited to tell my parents when we were having dinner one night at the penthouse. My dad was pouring the wine and handed me a glass.

“Oh, no thanks, Dad,” I said.

“Why? You always have wine with your dinner.”

“I just don’t feel like having any tonight,” I said as my mom looked at me and smiled.

“Julia Rose, is there something you want to tell us?” she asked.

Jake walked over to me, took my hand, and smiled. “Mom, Dad, we’re having a baby!” I said.

My mom put her hands over her mouth in excitement. “Oh my God, Julia,” she said as she walked over and hugged me. “Congratulations.”

I looked at my dad as he stood there with tears in his eyes. He held out his arms and I went to him. He hugged me so tightly, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“Congratulations, Princess. I can’t believe it. I thought the two of you were going to wait?”

“We were, but it just happened.” Jake smiled.

“Are you happy, Dad?” I asked as I looked at him.

“Of course I am. I couldn’t be any happier. The thought of a child running around here again makes me very happy.” He smiled.

This was my life. From growing up as Julia Rose Black, daughter of millionaire, Connor Black, to being Mrs. Jake Jensen, wife and soon-to-be mother. My life was fulfilled and now it was time to start my own family and teach my children about life and the world, the same way my parents had taught me.