Danielle Steel - the Wedding (2000)

You're a monster, he scolded her, knowing what she was doing.

Honest. We were just sitting here and we decided to get married’ . Yeah, sure, she said when he said he'd just gotten engaged too. Needless to say, he didn't believe her. Really, it's not April fool, it's for real. But she sounded as though she were putting him on, and she was laughing.

Well, be sure to invite me to the wedding, was his final sarcastic response. She had totally spoiled his annual call, by the pretense that she was getting married. And he had to get back to his classes at Stanford.

He didn't believe a word of it, I'll bet, Jeff said and laughed.

Nope. He's going to croak when he realizes I was telling him the truth, or have you changed your mind yet? she asked, pretending to be worried, as he kissed her.

Give me a day or two. I've never been engaged before. I'm kind of enjoying it for the moment.

Yeah, she said, me too. And then as they kissed, they forgot their engagement and thought only of each other. He stripped her slacks and silk shirt away, and she stripped away his shorts and T-shirt. His legs were long and brown. He lay on the beach sometimes in the middle of the day when he was thinking and needed a break from his screenplay. And she looked very white and thin and graceful as she lay in his arms. It was dark when they finally stopped making love on the living room carpet. And she laughed as she looked around them.

Can we still do this when we're married?

I'm counting on it, he said, sounding very sexy. They stood up finally amidst the debris of their clothes, and went back to his bedroom. And it was late that night before they thought of dinner, or going anywhere, or even their engagement.

I like being engaged, Allegra said, as she brought a bag of Oreo cookies back to bed, and he opened a bottle of champagne in honor of their engagement.

Shouldn't we call anyone? he asked. Should I ask your father for your hand? he asked formally, toasting her with the champagne a moment later.

Eventually. Let's enjoy it first, before everyone goes crazy. And then she began to think of the logistics. When do you want to get married? she asked. This was really fun. She'd never been engaged before either.

Isn't it kind of traditional in June? I like traditions. I'll still be shooting the movie then, but we can probably fit it in. As long as you don't mind waiting till September for the honeymoon. Would that be too terrible? I'd rather not wait that long to get married. Even two months seemed too long to him. He couldn't wait to be married to her. And the idea of marrying Jeff in two months didn't scare her at all. She loved it. They were almost living together now anyway. Why wait any longer? She had waited long enough with all the people who had never been there for her. She didn't need a waiting period with Jeff. She would have married him right then, if he'd asked her.

We could go to Bora Bora for our honeymoon. Maybe we'll get as lucky as Alan and Carmen, he said, smiling.

Do you want kids that soon? she asked, looking surprised, but she didn't mind that either.

If you do. I'm thirty-four, you're twenty-nine. I wouldn't want to wait a hell of a lot longer. Anytime you feel ready. It would be nice to have them while we're still relatively young, though you're younger than I am. But I think having my first kid at thirty-five would be terrific.

Maybe we'd better get started right now then. Your birthday is in six months. It could take a while. She was teasing him, but she liked everything he had said. In fact, she loved it. My parents invited us to dinner tomorrow night, by the way, she said. Maybe we should tell them then. Or do you want to wait a while?

Why wait? I don't need a due diligence period in which to change my mind, counselor. As far as I'm concerned, it's a done deal, if that's all right with you?

Maybe we should try it out again, she teased, to make sure everything works, kind of like a test drive. She leaned over and kissed him again, getting cookie crumbs all over their bed, but he didn't seem to mind it.

I plan to test drive it a lot over the next several years, he said, kissing her again. And he set his champagne glass down on their bedside. And a moment later, they were making love again. By midnight, they were happy and exhausted. I think you're going to wear me out long before the wedding, he complained. Maybe we should reconsider.

Don't you dare! she warned. You can't take it back now. It's one minute after midnight. It's not April Fools' anymore. You're stuck with me, Mr. Hamilton.

Hallelujah! he said, and kissed her.

Do you want a big wedding or a small one? she asked, lying in bed, smiling at him.

I don't think we have time for anything very big, if we only have two months, don't you think?

I agree. Forty or fifty people in my mom's garden would be perfect. That's all I want. Maybe even smaller. She looked at him, embarrassed that she hadn't asked him. Unless you want to invite a lot of friends. I didn't mean to just announce what we were doing.

That's all right, he smiled at her. The only one I really want is my mother. I have a few friends out here, but not many. And the rest of my friends are pretty spread out all over the East, and Europe. It's a lot to expect them to come all the way out to California. I think forty people sounds just fine. I'll have to call my mother and tell her. She goes to Europe in June every year, and she likes plenty of warning if she has to make changes.

Will she be pleased? Allegra asked seriously, a little bit worried. The photograph of the woman she had seen in the apartment in New York had terrified her. She had looked so austere, and so cold, so unlike Jeff or his late father.

She'll be fine. She finally stopped asking me about four years ago if I was ever going to get married. I think she gave up when I turned thirty. That, and the fact that she had hated all his girlfriends for the past twenty years. But he was sure she was going to like Allegra. Who wouldn't?

I can't wait to tell my mom. Allegra beamed. She's going to be so happy. They really like you.

I hope so. And then he turned to Allegra seriously, and kissed her very gently. I'm going to take very, very good care of you, for the rest of my life. I promise.

So am I. I promise, Jeff ‘ I'll always be there for you.

And then as they lay side by side in bed, holding hands and talking about their plans, Jeff suddenly chuckled. Why don't we go to Vegas on the bus we could wear wigs again and you could toss a bouquet of white plastic orchids. His mother would have croaked. But it had actually been fun at Carmen and Alan's wedding.

There's something to be said for that, Allegra said. If my mom can jazz this wedding up, she will. Count on it. We may have to go to Vegas.

They both laughed, and they cuddled into their bed, like two kids, planning an enormous adventure.

And when Allegra left for work the next day, she was so excited she forgot her car keys, and had to come back sheepishly to get them. She collected another kiss instead, and Jeff almost had to force her out the door so she wouldn't be late for her first appointment.

Go on ‘ go! he called after her. Get lost! Go away! He waved her away down the short driveway and she was still laughing as she turned up the road. She had never been so happy.

She smiled all the way through her morning, and looked like the proverbial cat that swallowed the canary. But she didn't want to tell anyone until she had dinner with her parents that night, and she and Jeff told them. It was particularly hard to look Alice in the eye, and not say anything to Carmen when she called her. Carmen was still in seventh heaven about the baby. But Allegra thought her own news was even more exciting.

She tried to get Jeff to come into town to have lunch with her, but he said he couldn't. He had too much work to do on his screenplay.