April gradually awoke from a deep sleep. She stretched her legs and raised her arms above her head and sighed.
“Wake up, sleepyhead!” came a deep voice beside her.
April’s eyes fluttered open and Matthew smiled. He was leaning on his elbow, looking down at her with an adoring look in his eyes.
“It’s 11:00,” he said softly. “Are you going to sleep all day? We’ve missed breakfast. They served it at 9:00.” He smiled at her as he watched her yawn. “I think we both overslept.”
She smiled back but said nothing as she noticed the way Matthew was gazing at her.
He looked at her messed up hair strewn across the pillow. He smoothed it with his hand as he said, “Women are such curious creatures. Such marvelous human beings!”
“We are?” she asked with surprise.
“Well, take your hair, for instance. Why is it so soft?” He took a deep breath and smiled as he played with her hair. “And why does it smell so good? It smells like green apples or something like that.” Then he tenderly touched her cheek. “And your face…why is it so smooth?”
April giggled.
“But that’s not all. Your hands are extra soft. Mine aren’t. What’s your secret? Do you have special lotion?”
She laughed softly as he pulled her into his arms and held her lovingly. Then he gave her a lingering, tender kiss that filled her soul with joy.
After a moment, she whispered against his lips, “How did you know I would elope? You had everything planned right down to this honeymoon suite.”
With his lips touching hers, he answered, “Hey, this place cost me a pretty penny.” He kissed her and smiled. Then he leaned back and said, “From here on out, it won’t be this nice but I guarantee that I’ll get the best there is wherever we go. I promise. I’m going to make this honeymoon something you’ll never forget.” He smiled confidently. “I have everything planned out.”
“Plans don’t always work out the way you like. Remember my flowers and invitations, Matthew?”
He nodded. “But this is different. I don’t have to order stuff.”
She laughed and then said curiously, “You didn’t answer my question. How did you know I would elope?”
“Actually, I was just taking a chance. I couldn’t stand the way you were stressing out. I had to do something. Personally, a man wouldn’t have put up with all the crap that company dished out to you. That’s another thing that’s different between men and women.”
“How would you have handled it?” April said with laughter in her voice.
“Well, a man would have gotten angry rather than sit on the floor surrounded by mutilated flowers and cry his eyes out. I would have called up the company and demand they send me a fresh batch of flowers within the week or refund my money immediately. And if they gave me the runaround, like they did with you, then I’d tell them that my lawyer would be in touch.”
April gazed at him curiously as she asked, “You have a lawyer?”
Matthew laughed as he kissed the tip of her nose. “No. But they don’t know that.”
She laughed and then looked down at her silk nightgown and fingered the soft lace at the neck. “So this was in that pink package, huh? How did you know the right size?”
Matthew grinned. “That was easy. I asked your sisters. But I forgot to ask about your favorite color so I chose this one. Actually, the saleswoman said it was mauve. Do you like it?”
April nodded. “It’s beautiful. You have very good taste, Matthew.”
He leaned forward and smelled the nightgown and then looked at her questioningly. “But it didn’t smell this good when I bought it.”
She laughed again. “I had some perfume in my purse, so I sprayed it in the air and then walked through the mist.”
“You did? Why?”
“Just a trick I learned.” April touched his cheek lovingly. “Hmmm, you need a shave.”
“Yeah, howdy!”
“By the way, where are we going on our honeymoon?”
“Wherever your little heart desires,” Matthew said as he laid back on his pillow. “You choose. Are you in the mood of a beach? The California coast is only about eight hours away.”
“No.”
“How about a ski resort? That’s even closer. About five hours.”
“No.”
“Disneyland?”
“Oh, that sounds tempting.” She hesitated and then looked pensively into his eyes. “Well…” She bit her lip. “You see… uhm…”
Matthew nodded. “I understand. Since your family didn’t attend the wedding and Thanksgiving is just around the corner, you would like to go to Arizona. Right?”
She smiled shyly. “How did you know?”
“I know you, sweetie.” He pulled her into his arms and spread a few whispering kisses along her cheek and nibbled her neck a few times, which created goose bumps down her arms. Then he pulled back and gazed at her neck as he whispered, “Now where was that ticklish spot?”
“Matthew!” April said in a warning voice. “Stop it. That makes me crazy…”
Before she could say another word, she burst into laughter when he found the ticklish spot on her neck.
Seeing her reaction to his kisses made Matthew grin as he said with conviction, “Man! Being married is awesome. We should have done this sooner.” The corners of his mouth turned up as he said teasingly, “I’ll have to remember to throw you over my shoulder a little more often.”
She giggled as he continued spreading loving kisses all over her neck.
What ecstasy! What rapture!