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“No,” she’d replied firmly, hands against my chest. “Out, quick, before anyone sees you,” she’d added, pushing me out of bed.
I grin at her. “You’ve always been a terrible liar Lulu Somerville.”
She pinches my side. “Lulu Wilson now,” she says, before kissing me again.
We go for photos in the grounds ofApple Jacks,the orchard and cider house I now own. I’d bought this place not long after I saw it driving back from Napa one afternoon, the day that fuckhead ex-fiancé of Lu’s had walked in and tried to get her back.
Seeing this place for sale that day had started an idea in my head. It wasn’t wine making and I’ll admit, I’m new to the whole brewing thing, but I had a great team behind me and I still got plenty of opportunities to make wine atSomerville’s.
So I’d gone for it and this became the other half of my plan to convince Lu that staying here with her was something I was very serious about.
It had taken the better part of the last eighteen months to get it up and running and even though we didn’t open for another month, having our wedding here felt like the perfect way to get things started.
Afterward, we all move into the newly created tasting rooms for the reception. A band is playing music from the eighties and people are already dancing, others laughing over drinks as we walk into the room.
It’s informal and relaxed, exactly the way we wanted it to be and we both move around the room talking to all the people who’ve come to share this moment with us.
Sometime toward the end of the night though, I lean over and whisper in Lu’s ear, “Come with me,” pulling her over to the doors leading out to the back.
We walk down the steps from the balcony overlooking the fields of fruit trees and over to the boundary line, the fence that separatesApple JacksandSomerville’s.
“We should take this down,” Lu says, running a hand along the fence.
I chuckle. “Yeah, I was kinda thinking the same thing,” I tell her. “Cause you’re really stuck with me now, Lu, you know that right?”
Lu turns to face me, her arms slipping around my waist as she steps closer. “Good,” she replies.
I lean down to kiss her, the two of us alone in the dark, surrounded by nothing but rows of apple trees and grape vines. “So, you gonna tell me where we’re going?” I ask, referring to the honeymoon we leave for tomorrow afternoon. I’d let her decide where it was, not caring about anything except the fact that it would be just the two of us, alone somewhere.
She grins, excited about whatever it is she’s planned. “Nope,” she says, and I haven’t the heart to tell her I know she’s taking me back to Australia, the email alert I got reminding me of my upcoming flight to Sydney ruining the surprise.
It’ll only be the second time I’ve gone back since I got here two years ago. The last trip a quick four-day thing so I could pack up my house and get things squared away. Lu hadn’t come with me and I know she struggled while I was gone, wondering if I’d change my mind and never come back.
This time though, we’re both going and it’s going to be Lu’s first trip Down Under. But I know that’s not the reason she’s done this. A small part of her still worries that I’ll miss living there now I’ve committed to being here with her.
And I will, but I know we’ll go back there from time to time and in any case, I’ve made a life here now, a life with her that I wouldn’t give up for anything.
“Okay,” I say, feigning ignorance as I lean in to kiss her again. “How about we sneak off and go have sex somewhere then, really christen this place?”
Lu bursts out laughing. “Of course you’re thinking about sex,” she says, swatting my chest.
“What?” I ask. “It’s been so long since we have, baby,” I whine.
Lu shakes her head at me. “It’s been twenty-four hours, Jack,” she says, the smile not leaving her face.
“Twenty-four hours too long,” I tell her.
A cheer rings out from the reception and Lu glances over. “Come on, we should go back,” she says, grabbing my hand.
I pout, pulling her back to me. “This whole getting married thing better not mean the sex stops,” I say.
“Oh Jack,” she says, pushing up on her toes and kissing me. “You know I only married you for the sex, don’t you?”
I grin, smacking her on the arse as I say, “Yeah and I only married you for the green card.”
She laughs now, her mouth once again finding mine. I pull her closer, deepening the kiss as she melts into me. “Come on,” I whisper. “Let’s go do it.”
She smiles, lips against mine. “Fine,” she says. “But you better order me some more Tim Tams,” she adds.
Now it’s me laughing. “Oh and now the real reason you married me comes out!”
Lu winks, her fingers weaving with mine as she pulls me further into the darkness, an enticing look in her eye and a cheeky grin on her face.
“They were always my biggest weakness,” she says. “And the love of my life.”
“I know what you mean, baby…”
I know what you mean.
