Chapter 6
The next few days in Paris were a dream. Late nights out on the town, spending the mornings in bed, making love to her husband. Kate loved the fact that she now woke up every morning as Mrs. Bruce Stanger. It was a wonderful feeling.
The happy couple eventually returned to normal life. If was not the easiest thing to do, but they knew they could not spend the rest of their life on a honeymoon.
At first, Kate was a bit unsettled about the fact that she would have to tell her parents and her entire family that she eloped. She had no idea what they were going to think. Would they feel left out or disappointed? Even though Kate never spent her time combing through wedding and bridal magazines, she knew her mother always wanted to be the star of the show and coordinate an all out social affair for her daughter’s nuptials.
Kate and Bruce had not completely discussed what they were going to do in reference to any ceremony now that they were back in the states. But they were going to have to share with their families that they had gotten married. Somehow she thought that Bruce’s parents would take it much better than her own would.
As soon as she awoke in the morning, she called to check in with the ladies at the boutique.
“Look who made it back in one piece,” Linda joked.
Kate sighed, still basking in the glory. “Yes. Paris was amazing.”
“Paris is always amazing,” Linda replied.
“True. How are things at the boutique? I will be in as soon as I’m dressed.”
“Everything is wonderful. But your schedule for your personal clients does not start for another two days. Bruce made it clear that he wanted to whisk you away.”
“Linda, when I say that Paris was amazing, it truly was.”
“Well, are you going to tell me or what? I was kind of hoping you would call me screaming in the phone that the two of you had run off and gotten married.”
Kate got quiet. Had Linda already known Bruce’s plans?
“What if we did?”
Linda laughed. “I would tell you that it is about time.”
“We got married.” Kate just blurted out the words.
“Finally!” Linda exclaimed.
“You say that like it took us a million years to do it.”
Kate could here Linda clapping her hands. “No, but I know you. It would have taken you forever to get to the point of even discussing marriage seriously with the man if he had not whisked you away. Now, I need full details.”
“That is not something I will do over the phone. It’s more of a lunch kind of conversation.”
“Hmm, very true.”
“As a matter of fact, I have an idea. I will give you a call a little later. Oh, and keep my schedule clear for those next few days. I will be back to work on Friday.”
“Alright. Call me later.”
An idea had popped in to Kate’s mind. Maybe the correct way to do things would be to gather all of their friends and family together for a dinner party and then they could announce the fact that they had gotten married.
She called Bruce into the bedroom where she had been sitting in the bed with her laptop, reading emails.
He appeared in the doorway, drinking a glass of beer.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I was thinking. Maybe we should have a dinner party with all of our family and friends to let them know we have gotten married. What do you think?”
Bruce stood casually in the doorway. Since they returned to the states, they had been staying at her condo. Bruce had suggested they both start thinking about finding a place together. She agreed.
“Good idea. Let’s get it together. Tomorrow night. But let’s start with the parents first. They may need a little time to process alone before we start adding friends to the mix.”
“You have a good point. But I was thinking this weekend for the dinner.”
Bruce turned the entire beer mug upside down, obviously drinking the rest of the liquid.
“Why wait? It’s just our parents here with us on a weekday night. Besides, I don’t want to wait to tell them. I want to let the world know that you are Mrs. Stanger.”
The more Kate thought about it, the better it sounded. Bruce stood there, eyebrow raised, waiting for her answer.
“Fine. I’ll make a few phone calls tonight and get everybody here, say seven o’clock?”
Bruce nodded. “Yes. That is perfect.” He disappeared from the doorway, only to reappear and peek his head back in. “And just so you know, I’ll cook.”
Kate threw a pillow at his head as he laughed. There was no way that she would try to cook for other people. It would be total insanity and ending up in the emergency room just did not seem like the way to end a celebratory night.
Her first phone call was to Bruce’s parents.
“It’s so good to hear from you, Kate. How is everything?” Mrs. Stanger asked.
“Absolutely wonderful. I hope the same for you.”
“Yes. We are getting along very well. I hope that the two of you will come out to the ranch soon and visit.”
“Actually, that’s why I was calling. Bruce and I thought that it was time to get our parents together to meet. We are having dinner together at my condo tomorrow night around seven.”
“That sounds wonderful dear. You can expect to see us there. What can be bring?”
“Nothing. Bruce and I are taking care of the dinner and dessert. We are just happy that you will be there. We will see you tomorrow.”
They ended the call and Kate immediately called her own parents.
“My sweetheart. How was your trip?” To hear her mother’s voice was comforting.
“It was amazing. I feel like I could live in Paris full time.”
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself dear,” her mother chuckled.
“Well, I called because I wanted to invite you to dinner tomorrow night. Actually, Bruce and I are inviting you and dad to dinner. We thought that it would be a good idea to get our parents to meet.”
“Oh my goodness. Is there something special that the two of you want to discuss with us?”
Kate smiled. “We have a little something to share, but we really want all of you to meet first. It’s about time anyway. Bruce and I have been dating over a year.”