Always Then and Now

Chapter 34

HANNAH

Liam's father, Martin, was thankfully, getting married here in town, so we wouldn't have to travel today or rent a hotel room for the night. After a night of interacting with countless strangers—something I was not even remotely looking forward to—at least I'd be able to sleep in my own bed. I'd need the familiarity of my own surroundings after being uncomfortable for several hours. I imagined that, being the date of the groom's estranged, very successful and perfect-looking son, I wouldn't be able to maintain invisibility tonight. Eyes would be on him, and so to some extent, they would be on me as well. The thought made me want to hide under my covers and never come out. What had I been thinking when I'd agreed to do this? Had I been crazy?

No. Liam had said he needed me to be there with him, to help him get through the night, and I'd do anything for him, so that was what I was going to do. I'd help him through this, like he'd helped me through countless situations over the past few months, because he was important to me. I could put aside my own anxiety for one night to help him with his own, right?

God, I hoped so.

I stared at myself in the mirror critically. I'd gone with a minimal amount of makeup in natural tones—sparkly beige eye shadow and a soft nude lip colour with just a hint of dusky rose, plus mascara—and my hair fell in soft, natural waves down my back. I wished I could look better for Liam. I didn't want to embarrass him tonight, but short of suddenly and miraculously losing fifty pounds, I wasn't sure how to do that.

I resettled the girls in my expensive bra and then smoothed out the bodice of the black dress I wore. If they were going to be the focal point of my outfit, I had to make them look as good as possible. One more quick look in the mirror, and then I took a deep breath and headed downstairs.

Liam stood in the front entry hall, looking mouth-wateringly gorgeous in his expensive suit, holding a pink princess dress-clad Emily. Butterflies warred in my stomach, and I chewed on the inside of my cheek nervously as I watched him take me in, hoping he wouldn't completely hate how I looked. His mouth dropped open a little, and his eyes darkened as they roamed my body, and as usual, I felt myself blushing.

"You look...breathtaking, Sunshine," he said reverently, his eyes meeting mine now and holding my gaze.

I smiled, touched by his words. I could almost believe he meant them. "I—thank you." It was hard to accept the compliment without babbling and dismissing his words as I was so used to doing, so I just shut my mouth before I could say anything else.

He just looked at me for a few moments longer, as if he couldn't look away, and then he held out his arm to me. "Shall we, my lady?" he asked, taking on a perfect British accent.

I couldn't help the little giggle that escaped my mouth. "We shall," I responded with an accent of my own, then took his arm and exited the house with him.

*****

LIAM

I couldn't take my eyes off her, she was so beautiful. How was it that, just a few months ago, I'd thought her completely forgettable, and yet now she was the most beautiful woman in the world to me? The fact that she didn't even see her own appeal made her even more special. I was so glad to have her by my side for this. I needed her.

The wedding was being held on the gorgeous grounds of my father's hotel. It'd been years since I'd last been here; I hadn't wanted to rest my eyes on the place that had received more of my father's attention than Kate or me growing up, but here I was again, and as a businessman myself, I could see that all of his hard work had paid off. Not that that made up for the lack of attention from my father over the years, but I could see that at least something had benefited from our shitty childhood. It was better than nothing, I supposed. Not that my father was off the hook though. I still hadn't forgiven him.

They didn't have much of a wedding party—just my father's business partner as his best man, and a handsome older woman as the maid of honour. I guessed a huge wedding wasn't needed for a second marriage at such an advanced age.

Still, it was a nice wedding. I hadn't seen my father in years, so for some reason, it surprised me, how much he'd aged. His hair was fully grey now, and he was thinner too, more lines drawn on his face. It made me feel even more disconnected from the old man.

But as he'd said his vows, his words and his voice brought back vague flashes of memory from my childhood, both good memories and bad, and I began to connect the father I'd known as a child to the man standing at the altar today. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

Hannah, of course, grew a little teary as my father and his bride said their vows. She didn't even know either of them, but here she was, affected by the emotions in their words. It was so her, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I smiled as I watched her for a moment, and then I reached into my pocket and pulled out the tissue I'd known she would need and handed it to her. She took it gratefully and gave me an embarrassed little smile, then dabbed carefully at her eyes. I reached over and took her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together and giving them a little squeeze to let her know there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

I caught Kate glancing down at our intertwined fingers and then giving me a knowing look, raising her eyebrow and smirking, but I ignored her. She could think what she wanted. I was just comforting my best friend; that was all.

She had been right though—I did need Hannah here with me. With all the bad blood between my father and me and not seeing him for years, having her by my side, having her support, meant everything to me. And the fact that she'd agreed to be around all these strangers with me, for me, even though we both knew how hard it would be for her, made me even more grateful to her. I needed to feel her touch. I needed to feel her right here beside me, to know that I wasn't alone, and I needed her to feel that she wasn't alone either. I needed her to feel how much I appreciated her. She was helping me get through this difficult day; I needed to help her get through it as well.

After the ceremony was over, the guests were escorted into one of the big ballrooms inside the hotel while my father and his new bride took a few pictures and changed into their reception wear. Now came the test. I knew a lot of the other guests—colleagues, friends, acquaintances, even some family of my father—but I hadn't seen most of them in years. Now came the time to mingle, and I was not looking forward to it. I was an extroverted person, but these people were all here for my father, a man I hadn't spoken to in more than ten years. They were going to have questions, and I didn't have all the answers.

We entered the ballroom together, Emily on my hip, Hannah holding my other hand tightly. I could feel her anxiety in the slight tremor that ran through her body, though I knew she was trying her hardest to tamp it down, and I appreciated the hell out of her for it, knowing she was doing this for me. She was trying to put aside her own discomfort in order to comfort me, and I would forever be grateful for it.

For her.

We found our table quickly and settled down, and Kate and her family joined us a few minutes later. Hannah had never met James or the kids before, so introductions were made. She smiled warmly at James as she shook his hand, but of course, she was taken with 9-year-old Oscar and 6-year-old Evan. I smiled as I watched her interact with the two of them. She really was the definition of "kid person," and it was a joy to watch her bring shy Oscar out of his shell.

Various people joined us briefly in conversation, introducing themselves to Hannah and James and greeting Kate and me. I hated every second of it, but every time someone would start asking questions about where we'd been all these years, Hannah would slip her small hand into mine, offering me the strength to paste on that smile and give polite answers. No one needed to know the truth, though there was an immature, vindictive part of me that wanted to scream out about how horrible a father he'd been to us. Hannah gave me the strength to keep my cool. I didn't know how I'd have been able to do this without her.

Naturally, everyone thought that Hannah and I were together, which wasn't surprising, since we sat close to each other and held hands and shared friendly looks as we entertained Emily and the boys. After a few attempts at explaining that we were just friends, we gave up. We weren't going to see most of these people again after today, so who cared if they thought we were a couple? 

*****

A/n: I just wanted to thank everyone for reading this story so far and for voting on the chapters!  It means so much to me!  I promise to try to keep going at this steady pace as long as I've got chapters to put out!