James nearly lost his breath when Jennifer stepped out of the bathroom for his inspection. She was the image of Aphrodite in her sleek form fitting black evening gown. Her hair was worn in a classy up do that he was amazed she had been able to do herself. Normally a stylist was needed in order to achieve the sort of look that she had going on. The even more amazing part of all this was that she had only been in the bathroom with the door shut for half an hour. From his experience with women that was record time for getting dressed for something as mundane as a trip to the grocery store. Getting ready for a special night out generally required at least two hours.
Her red hair was offset by her always bright green eyes that seemed to reach inside his soul and hold him captive. It was very easy to be cast under a hypnotic spell well gazing into the deep emerald pools. Her outfit was accentuated with a simple, yet elegant diamond necklace, and black high heels that made her almost as tall as him. All in all, she was mesmerizing.
"Well?" She asked. "How do I look?"
"Doesn't the fact that I had to pull my jaw up off the floor to answer you speak for itself?" James asked her. "You remind me of a song."
"What song is that?" Jennifer asked, fighting off the urge to blush. She was aware that she was attractive, but she was not stuck up. She usually felt embarrassed whenever she was given a compliment about her looks. When James looked at her like this, she almost felt like a silly school girl on the verge of giggling because the high school quarterback was winking at her.
"Wonderful Tonight, by Eric Clapton." He said. "I know it sounds cheesy, but that is all that comes to mind. You look absolutely wonderful tonight."
"Thank you." She said, feeling her cheeks warm up as her cheeks reddened exposing the blush she had been trying to hold back. That was one of her favorite songs of all time and to have him apply it to her was very special. "You don't look so bad yourself."
James grinned and tugged at the lapels of his double breasted suit coat. It was one of the nicest suits he owned, and he couldn't think of a better use for it. They were going out to celebrate their commitment to each other as indicated by the move. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, so why wear his best clothes.
"Are you ready, love?" He asked.
"Absolutely." She replied, turning toward the door. James would have just about preferred to take her straight to bed, but he knew that it was important to make a woman feel special from time to time. Keeping her on her back and sweaty was a sure fired way of making her feel like nothing more than an object. He stepped ahead of her and opened the door.
"Wow, you are even holding the door open for me at our own place." She said. "You really are feeling like quite the gentleman tonight aren't you?"
"Now why should my lady have to open a door for herself?" He asked.
"Don't you forget it." Jennifer laughed as she headed toward his black Mazda 3. She couldn't wait to get dinner over with so she could tangle the sheets up with him. She was so in love with James that she could hardly contain herself. She never wanted to be apart from him. She only hoped that moving in was one step away from actually tying the knot.
They went downtown to the Winery to eat their dinner. James had made reservations early in the day, so they were sat down immediately. As they sat and talked about their day, Jennifer began to hope that James might be leaning toward asking her the big question. She knew that might be rushing things a bit, but she couldn’t help hope for it anyway.
James was considering this possibility as well, but he held back. He could not deny that he was head over heels in love with her. There was no arguing with the fact that he cared more deeply for her than anybody else on the planet. He would have been willing to lay his life on the line for her in a heartbeat. Still, the darkness on the peripheral threatened to ruin everything. He needed to conquer whatever it was that haunted him first. If only he knew what it was.
"I love you." He said to her out of the blue. He was so into his own thoughts that he was not sure if she had even been talking or not. He just blurted it out before he could stop himself. He really hoped that he had not interrupted anything important.
"I love you too." She said.
"I know, but I mean I really love you." He said. "More than anything else in the world. Do you know what I mean?"
"I do." She said, feeling her hopes rise. "That is how I feel about you. I have been on cloud nine ever since I found you. It feels like we were meant to be together because life without you just does not seem right at all."
"Exactly." He said. "I want you to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I would even drop down on one knee right here and now, but there is something I need to take care of first."
"What is it?" She asked, trying not to let her disappointment show. For a minute, she had gotten so excited that she nearly lost her breath.
"Well, that is just the thing. I don't really know." He couldn't believe that he was telling her this. He was afraid that it would sound crazy. He was so in love with her, though, that he trusted her to accept what he was going to tell her. "It may sound crazy, but there is a darkness that I have to conquer first."
"Darkness?" She asked, not comprehending. Now she was beginning to get worried. She had never heard him talk like this before. Whatever it was, though, she wanted to be there to support him.
"Yes." He said. "I don't know what it is, but it seems to hang out at the periphery of my awareness. Every time I think about settling down and having a nice happy life, I can feel it threatening to tear everything apart. I don't know what it is, but I need to find out and overcome it before I can totally commit to you."
"Whatever it is, we can work through it together." She said.
"I don't want to drag you into it if it turns out to be something truly awful." He said. "I want to find out on my own. If it turns out to be something silly, you will be the first to know about it."
"I understand." She said. In truth, she did not, but it was important to him. She loved him enough to trust his judgment. In the mean time, she would tide herself over with the knowledge that she had his heart as much he had hers. Life was about small victories. He may not have proposed, but at least he had said that he wanted to when he had his personal demon taken care of. She could handle that.
"Thank you." He said. "I know that I must sound crazy. I am sorry for even bringing it up, but I don't want to keep anything from you."
Wraith had just finished performing his favorite activity. Killing.
All in all, it was a refreshing activity that helped him to consider his target with renewed enthusiasm. James was an odd character, and he felt he really needed to understand him better. Perhaps he needed to have some face to face contact with him. He was not ready to strike yet, but an up close and personal encounter might help him figure out who he was really dealing with. He wanted to learn what it was that drove this man that had not only stolen his money, but also his identity.
Wraith had called himself by his self-assigned name for so long that he had almost forgotten that his real name was Jim Harper. Now it seemed this arrogant jackass thought he could step right in and fake being Wraith. The idea was asinine at best, but anybody this brazen needed to be understood. While Vixen went about mailing the packages, he would find James and have a little sit down in a public place with him. It was time for Wraith, aka Jim Harper, to meet with James Harper. He really wanted to know what sort of game James thought he was playing, and why he thought he could win.