Page 188 of Don't Leave Me

“How are you doing?” she tilted her head at me slightly, observing me quickly.

“I’m great,” I smiled and nodded.

Billie paused for a moment before she smiled back. Was she convinced now?

“Good,” she put her hand to my arm. “That’s all I could hope for.”

“You made it!” Jack appeared, his whiskey still in his hand; I could tell he was nursing it. He may have even just had it for show for all I knew.

“Of course,” Billie smiled at him then back at me.

“Thanks for coming. We do appreciate you being here,” Jack went on sincerely, raising his eyebrows slightly.

We were suddenly interrupted by Emily and Adam greeting Billie, and Jack had somehow managed to whisk me away again towards the bar.

“I think I should do the toast now, then we can do the cake. Since everyone is here,” Jack said to me quietly before ordering me another white wine. Why was he trying to liquor me up? He already had me right where he wanted me.

“Okay,” I smiled slowly at him, already feeling a buzz.

He leaned against the bar, “Are you enjoying yourself?” he eyed me, my sweet Jack giving me faint dimples and amused eyes.

“I am. I love you so much. That’s the honest truth,” I scooted closer to him, putting my hand on his chest.

Jack took my hand in his and raised my fingers to his lips. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted in this life,” he eyed me sweetly.

Ah, maybe that’s why he wanted me liquored up: I was going to speak the truth to him, and he was going to see if this was all still an act.

“Next round is on us!” Jack suddenly announced loudly, lifting his whiskey in the air. “I am about to make the toast so please, fill your glasses,” he looked around the room with a grin.

Jack took my hand and we strutted towards the banner we had put up, “Just Married” displayed in silver writing, giving a perfect photo opportunity for anyone who cared to take one. Once we stopped and looked out to our guests, I realized that Emily had her phone pointed at us, along with Laura, Jessica and my mom. Jack put his arm around my waist and held onto me; I slipped my arm behind him and held onto him for dear life.

Jack waited a moment for everyone to gather around with drinks in their hands and smiling at us expectantly. I quickly took a sip of my white wine while I tried not to look anyone in the eye except for Emily - she made me feel the most calm out of anyone in that crowd.

“Thank you all for being here,” Jack started, his voice projected loud enough for everyone to hear; I was grateful that he was the one making the toast.

“As you all know, Hana and I got married on Valentine’s Day,” Jack went on - and Emily loudly cheered, making everyone laugh.

“Thank you, Emily,” Jack laughed. “We got married sort of…last minute. I proposed and 24 hours later, we were married. It’s not that we didn’t want to world to know we were getting married, doing it so quickly…it was just that we simply couldn’t wait. We knew that we were in love with each other and wanted to spend the rest of our lives together,” he said, then looked down at me with a smile. I felt a tug in my heart. “I had known that from the very moment I laid eyes on Hana,” he was quiet, as if only to me, then looked back at our crowd. “Hana took some time to win over,” he laughed, and so did everyone else.

I smiled but couldn’t help but look over at Billie; she observed us with her usual head tilt, taking it all in. I hope she didn’t take that the wrong way.Or the right way.

Jack continued. “We had a lovely courthouse ceremony with Adam and Emily as our witnesses,” he pointed over at them. “And it was truly the happiest day of my life. I had never been happier. And then the days with Hana continued, and each day that passed I grew happier, more in love than I ever thought possible. Hana,” Jack turned to me now. “You make my life complete. With you in my life, I know I’ll never know sadness or loneliness again. I love you with my complete heart, Mrs. Hana Maynor, and I will until the day I die,” he said to me, his face more sincere than I’d ever seen it; he was even tearing up.

I couldn’t help it - I had tears streaming down my face. I already knew the way he felt, but hearing it in declared in front of all these people and in my heightened emotional buzzed state, I wanted to weep from the love I felt. Jack seemed pleased by this display and raised his glass.

“To us - Mr. and Mrs. Jack Maynor,” he cheered, and everyone toasted, and before I knew it Jack had his lips to mine and the cheering grew louder.

We paused for pictures and I felt like I was in a dream. We had set our drinks down and stood in front of our banner, Jack’s arm snug around my waist and mine the same around his; my other hand reached for his chest and I pressed my body against his as if he was my life support.

“Another kiss!” Emily demanded loudly as she tapped her drink with silverware, and I could see the flashes go off as Jack and I locked lips; I could feel a faint smile on his face.

We stood for another moment or two, feeling like we were celebrities on a red carpet, and then Jack took my hand and we headed for his mom and brother, Jessica nearby at the bar. I could see her talking to Billie and I started to grow nervous -what on Earth could they be talking about? Didn’t Billie despise Jess?

“You two are so lovely together,” Laura said to me, pulling my gaze from Jess and Billie.

I smiled at Laura – she was so sincere and so happy. “Thank you so much. You’ve raised quite the son,” I raised my eyebrows at her, then turned to look up at Jack.

He paused for a moment before smiling at me and turning to his mom.

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