Chapter 15
"All right, all right a little hush if you please." The laughter around the table faded as Jack stood up and prepared to make his speech.
"Pray silence for the sexy groom." Danny shouted.
"Thank you Mr Taylor." Jack frowned.
"Well I'm not going to say a lot-"
"Thank God!" Martin, Danny and Viv said in unison. Everyone at the table laughed and Jack went red.
"Look, stop interrupting me or you're all fired! Anyway, I just wanted say thank you to you all for coming today and sharing in this with Samantha and I. I'm sure you all know that we've had a difficult time getting here but we made it and I couldn't be happier. So, I gotta make a few thank you's.
Thank you to Paulo for the excellent meal, the great wine and for his friendship. To Martin, Danny and Viv, we put our lives in each other's hands every day and that takes great trust. I hope you know how much you all mean to us. To my beautiful daughters, I'm so glad you're both here today and you look great!"
He turned to Samantha and took her hand.
"Finally I'd like to thank Samantha, My Wife!" He said and everyone broke out into whoops and cheers," For sticking with me and basically fulfilling her vows before even making them! You make me the happiest I've ever been, I love you."
She wiped away tears and hugged him tight.
Everyone cheered and Paulo (who was a little merry from the wine) got up and shouted.
"Now we party! The bride and groom must have their dance?"
Jack took her in his arms and they began to sway slowly to the soft music. He kissed her cheek and looked into her eyes as she stroked the back of his neck.
"So, Mr Malone, now will you tell me where we're going on our honeymoon?"
Jack had decided way back that he was in sole charge of the honeymoon and refused to tell his plans to Samantha until they were actually going. It was totally killing her not to know and he was loving it.
He let out a small smile to her.
"I'll tell you the first part Mrs Malone."
"The first part? You're killing me Jack!"
"When we're done here the car is coming back and taking us to the Plaza for tonight and then tomorrow we're moving on somewhere else."
"The Plaza, wow. What about the girls, who's going to leave them to the airport tomorrow."
"Your mother and Danny. Your mom's staying with them tonight at our place then Danny's taking them all to the airport where they will get on their flights.
"Well, you have been sneaky, I'm impressed."
"I know."
She laughed and leaned in to kiss him which was met with a chorus of wolf-whistles from the table.
"I'm distracted by how hot you look in that dress. I have been all day." He held her a little tighter and her heart quickened.
She reached up so her lips where touching his ear and whispered seductively,
"If you think the dress is hot you should see what's under it."
She straightened up and smiled suggestively. He looked at her and shook his head.
"What are you trying to do to me?"
Their song came to an end. An upbeat song came on and soon they were surrounded by everyone. Danny took Samantha's hand and whirled her around.
It was midnight and the party was in full swing. They were in the restaurant's back room and everyone was on the dance floor except Samantha, the girls and Frank. Jack was dancing with Samantha's mother.
"Will you promise me you're going to look after her? She's been through a lot."
"I know that, I promise, I'm going to dedicate my life to making her happy."
"Thank you Jack. I guess I'm going to have to start liking you now."
Jack laughed and looked affectionately over at Samantha. She was putting coats over the girls who had both fell asleep on long seats at the back of the room. She smoothed Katie's hair back from her face and smiled. When she turned around she saw Frank looking at her.
"You've got a real way with them you know."
She smiled as they walked back to the floor.
"Would you like to dance with your new daughter in law?" She asked.
He nodded and led her to the floor. Samantha wanted to get to know him better. She'd only met him a few times and liked him instantly.
"So, you sure you don't want to change your mind and run away with me?"
"I'll stick with Jack for know but I'll keep the offer in mind just in case."
They laughed and relaxed a little.
"That was a beautiful wedding. Mine was small like that. We didn't want a fuss. Big fussy weddings make people forget what they're actually doing there in the first place."
Samantha nodded. She guessed from the short conversations they'd had that he had not been Maria's number one fan. She had been somewhat unwilling to take much to do with him.
"You know, Jack and I have been looking at houses and I'd love to see a lot more of you. I know Jack would too. However he seems a little reluctant to show it. I wonder were he got that habit from?"
Frank smiled.
"Oh me I suppose. The two of us would have turned into grumpier old men if it hadn't been for you. You blew fresh life into that boy; he hasn't been the same since. He's much happier, laid back. You've worked your magic on him."
"I don't think I brought out anything in him that wasn't already there."
"Well, whatever you're doing, keep doing it. You guys are going to be real happy, I can feel it."
She smiled and looked over at Jack who was now dancing with Viv. He caught her eye and blew her a small kiss as she smiled at him. Amongst all the revellers at that moment they were the only people there.
They checked into the Plaza and the porter carried their bags up to their room.
"I can't believe you packed my bags, I never even noticed."
"See, I do stealth really well don't I." She looked at him and smiled. She loved how pleased with himself he was.
They got to their door and the porter put their bags inside and left. Samantha was just about to step inside as Jack swept her up in his arms and carried her in.
"Jack! Is your leg up to this?" As he swayed, a little tipsy from the reception. They both collapsed in laughter on the floor.
They looked at their plush surroundings in wonder. Samantha went into the bathroom, kicking off her shoes as she went.
"Wow, the tub is bigger than our entire bathroom. We're definitely taking a swim in that before we go." She shouted.
Jack took off his jacket and tie to be more comfortable and opened the complimentary bottle of champagne. He handed one glass to Samantha as she joined him.
"Cheers." They both said, gazing into each other's eyes as they drank. This was the moment they'd been waiting for all day. To be alone and lost in each other. They hadn't really seen each other since the day before yesterday.
"Spin around and let me take a look at you in that dress."
She stepped back and twirled around slowly. He watched in awe at how beautiful she looked. The dress was simple and the only jewellery she had on was her wedding and engagement rings and a pair of stud earrings. He was mesmerised by her. He pulled her close and kissed her slowly, the soft moans they both let out signalling their delight at finally being alone.
His hands moved down her back and tried to gauge the difficulty of getting her dress off. He broke the kiss and gently spun her around.
"What the hell? How many buttons are on this thing, where are my glasses." She laughed.
"In your jacket pocket honey but you don't need them. Do you think I'd do this to you tonight of all nights?"
As he looked at her confused she put her back to him and reached to the top of the buttons. She undid a small clasp at the top revealing a zipper. The buttons were just for show.
"Oh thank God, I thought I was going to have a heart attack before we'd even had sex!" He said unzipping it.
As the dress fell to the floor he gasped in approval.
"Now that was worth the wait." He grabbed her by the waist and led her over to the bed.
The next day they woke up in a daze, unable to believe they had finally got married. As they waited in line at the airport Samantha realised she still had no clue where they were going.
Jack turned around to face her, guessing her question and gleefully gave her the ticket to read.
Her eyes filled with tears as she saw where they were going. Italy.
"Italy, for two whole weeks!" She threw her arms around his neck in delight.
"Yep, that's where you wanted to go right? We're starting off in Rome and travelling around a little, then finishing off with the last few days in Venice. Prepare to be romanced beyond your wildest dreams."
As they took their seats on the plane, Samantha thought back to a conversation they'd had when they'd first started sleeping together. They lay in bed, tangled up in each other talking about unimportant things. He'd asked her if someone gave her a ticket to anywhere where would she go. She answered Italy, straight away. It was somewhere that had always fascinated her and it was her dream to go. It was yet another dream of hers that had come true with Jack by her side.