Page 93 of Love Beyond the Illusion
“I understand you two have opted to write your own vows.” The officiant turns away from the fiercely beautiful woman standing before me. “Jack, would you like to go first?”
I don’t have to bring up my notecard to remember what I’ve written, because even in my inebriated state, I know it by heart.
I nod, then clear my throat. “You are captivating and utterly beautiful.”
“So, vows are more like a promise. They usually begin with words ‘I promise to’—” The other person in the room with absolutely no meaning to me begins to say, but my eyes remain locked on Piper and hers on mine.
Both of us ignore his comments. Piper begins to recite the vow she wrote.
“You are magnetic and addicting,” she tells me without glancing at her notecard and without hesitation.
“Okay, those are fine too.” He rests his hands on his oversized belt buckle. “Here at the Tiny White Wedding House, we believe that all unions should reflect the couple’s own personal tastes,” he drags on, sounding more like muffled noises than real words.
I can’t stop staring at the woman standing in front of me, and I can’t wait to get her upstairs and into the penthouse suite I booked.
My mind is slightly foggy about what tower it’s in, but I’m sure we’ll find it.
I affectionately smile at this flashback, even though my heart shatters into a million pieces. Piper and I had no idea what we wrote down wasn’t vows. But it didn’t matter and still doesn’t matter because she is captivating and beautiful.
My dick was fighting with the zipper of my pants the entire ceremony. Too bad, I barely remembered getting back to the room that night. And if it hadn’t been for us both waking up the next morning fully dressed with the bed still made, I would have been convinced that we had fucked.
Looking back now, I’m grateful we didn’t. I would have wanted to remember every moment of it now that I know what it’s like to be with her.
Before I realize it, I’m already pulling up to the outside of our villa. I turn the car off and stare at the brown door in front of me. Letting my head fall against the back of the seat, I rub my hands down my face.I need to get my shit together.I sit in the driver’s seat for a few minutes before summoning the courage to leave.
“Piper, you are going to hurt yourself. Get down!” I call her as she dances on top of a small table to “Rock the Casbah,” the remix from the Solar Twins. An industrial lamp hangs low and slowly sways under the breeze from the air vent above.
“Excuse me, miss, you can’t stand on the tables here,” a man in a tan uniform tells Piper. “If you’re looking for a club, try the third level.”
“I’m so sorry,” I apologize on Piper’s behalf, then lift my arms toward her, and she lowers herself into them.
Then she smiles at the man. “I really like that version of the song, though.”
I laugh, still holding her against me. “I will play it on my phone later for you. How does that sound?”
Her eyes glow brightly. “I would love that. Thank you.”
I lumber up the two small steps to the front door. Opening it, I’m hit with the powerful scent of lavender.
Piper.
My wife.
I never really thought about getting married. I thought I would one day, but having a wife has been one of the furthest things from my mind.
I walk down the hallway, past the kitchen, and into the bedroom. Everything is exactly where we left it. Other than her smell, it’s almost like she was never here. Like all of this was a dream, she vanished as quickly as she came.
I glance over to the side of the bed she slept on and remember lying awake last night, staring at the rotating ceiling fan and listening to the delicate hums of her sleep. Another tear falls, and I quickly swipe it away, lowering myself onto the bed.
I love watching her while she sleeps. She’s so blissfully unaware of how beautiful she is, and it guts me knowing I will no longer be experiencing it.
What the fuck am I doing?
Popping back up to a stand, it suddenly hits me like a wave crashing into my existence. Since I met her, it’s felt like she’s been the only thing in my life that I understand—that understands me. I want to be with her. I don’t want to live without her. I’m entirely in love with her. I’m in love with every single fucking thing about that woman.
Why am I letting her go?I can’t let her go.
The hairs on my neck stand up as I move around this space without Piper here. Pacing back and forth, my mind is frantic with the possibilities of what to do with this information when a small piece of white folded-up paper on the nightstand catches my eye. I snatch the paper and immediately open it. To my surprise, it’s the check I gave her this morning. The money I owed her for being myfakegirlfriend. She didn’t take it.
