Chapter 2:

The wedding reception had started two hours ago now. Jack hadn't met the couple yet and was avoiding it as much as possible. Normally, he'd be at home with a bottle of bourbon in his hand, sitting on his couch and reading the paper, if his want for revenge wasn't stronger.

He wouldn't even be here if it wasn't to show her how well he was doing with a beautiful lady on his arm, how happy he was without Louise. He wanted her to see that he had moved on with another woman, a better woman. Jack shook his head to clear his mind from all these thoughts and started paying attention to his actual date.

She was smiling at the unknown crowd, her arm clutching his left one. She was stunning and beautiful; Jack had a hard time trying not to stare at her when he picked her up. She was wearing a long black dress down to her feet where you could see her heels. She was divine. The dress was backless which allowed Jack to catch sight of her beautiful curves despite the fact that he tried like hell not to look at her.

Her lips matched the color of her finger nails, a bright dark scarlet red. Her lips were so tempting, but not as much as the pale skin of her back. He tried to focus on the party that was going on. He turned to his right, to the bar and asked for a whiskey.

"So where is the married couple?" Peggy asked after a while, sipping her champagne. Jack turned to her and looked around.

"Haven't seen them yet." He said, taking a sip of his own drink.

"So what's the story?" She finally asked.

"What story?"

"Why did you need a fake date to attend your ex-girlfriend wedding?"

She'd been waiting to asking him this question since he asked her but she hadn't dared to at the time. Now seemed a good opportunity.

Jack didn't look at her as he replied, "We met, we kissed, we fell in love, it didn't work, and we broke up. End of the story." Simple as that. He didn't want to talk about it.

Just then the bride and her new husband arrived. "Jack! You came!" The fake blond shouted, stepping forward and hugging him with a wide white smile on her face.

"Thanks for inviting me."

She backed up and gripped her husband's arm, pulling him closer into the conversation. "Jack, this is Dominic."

"Pleasure to meet you." Jack said, shaking his hand.

"Likewise."

"Louise, this is Margaret, my fiancée." Jack's arms were around Peggy's waist and he was smiling. Had to keep the cover up. Peggy's shoulder was pressed against Jack's chest, her right hand just above his heart. She had put on her most devastating smile. The game WAS ON.

Louise was taken aback by that statement. She obviously didn't expect that, which made Peggy even more confident and happy.

"I didn't know that you had found the one, Jack." The bride responded, looking Jack up and down. She seemed to enjoy the view a little too much in Peggy's opinion.

"Everything happened so fast, didn't it, sweetie?" Peggy said with her fake accent, her hand stroking his chest. Jack enjoyed the feeling of her hand, but the situation made him feel uncomfortable. Peggy couldn't tell if he was nervous because of the conversation, or because their bodies were so close together.

"How did the two of you met?" Louise asked with a fake smile, but Peggy could see in her eyes that she wasn't that interested.

This time, Jack took the lead. "We met at a diner."

"Actually," Peggy interrupted, "It was in front of a diner."

"It was a rainy day." Jack kept going.

"I was late for work." Peggy gave a shy smile, looking up at Jack. I am just keeping up the cover, she reminded herself.

"I saw her running. Her hair was wet and her clothes were damp. I was so dazzled by her, she was so beautiful. I gave her my umbrella without a thought."

Jack was actually impressed how good they were keeping up the cover story without consulting each other.

"I saw this amazing man giving me his umbrella and everything around us just froze." Peggy said, trying to be as cliché as she could.

Jack saw what she was doing and continued. "Everything else just didn't matter. I got lost in her eyes. I knew I couldn't let her go, so I asked her if she wanted a coffee from the diner."

"But I prefer tea." Peggy replied.

"But she prefers tea, of course." Jack told himself to remember that detail for next time.

"I gave up. I was already late anyway." Peggy finished smiling.

Louise made a friendly smile, but her eyes were saying another story, the way she looked at Peggy wasn't how a newly married woman should look. The men weren't aware of what was going on between them two.

"Well, we have other guests to meet so we'll see you later." Louise said, taking her husband's hand and leading him away. "Oh by the way, we expect to see you tomorrow for breakfast."

Peggy and Jack looked at each other, Jack shrug his shoulders. Peggy looked back to the couple they were now talking to a group of friends; Louise was monopolizing the conversation, her husband only nodding. The man doesn't see what he got himself into, Peggy thought.