“This is a huge step you know?”
“Yes I know that and I want to take it with you, nobody else”, Jack replied.
Rainn loved how he placed an assuring hand over hers and she didn’t worry anymore.
“Ok” she said before melting into his embrace and letting him have his way with her. She felt all her doubts melt away and her fears dissolved. She wondered what Jack’s mother would be like; in her mind she painted a picture of an elderly woman who was as tall as Jack. Rainn pictured her stylish and fashionable with a pleasant personality.
“It will all be alright”, she said to herself a few times. The words soothed her and made her hopeful.
Chapter 14
Rainn sat in the restaurant with Jack by her side, her palms intertwined. She could feel a nervous sweat break on her forehead. Jack had reserved a booth for them so they could have privacy with his mother. He placed a reassuring arm around Rainn and felt her letting out nervous gasps from time to time.
“It’s all going to be fine.” Jack said comfortingly.
“Easy for you to say, she is after all your mother” Rainn answered. Her senses were much more alert and she listened to the various sounds that were going on around her.
“Relax!” Jack said again for the millionth time that day.
“What if she doesn’t like me?”
“She will love you that I am sure of.” Jack answered and placed a reassuring arm around her.
“How do I look?”
“Dazzling, nothing short of amazing,” Jack answered as he went on to throw a look at Rainn’s outfit. He had picked out the outfit for her and loved that he was spot on with the color that he had chosen.
Rainn had on a royal purple chiffon dress that was strapless and looked very stylish. She had a light shade of make up on that Jack had asked a makeup and hair stylist to take care of, with her hair up in a tight bun. She had a platinum low heel shoe to match, with an equally platinum purse to complement the entire outfit. He was also equally nervous about Rainn meeting his mother. Jack was all nerves but hid it very well. The waiter walked in and Rainn could tell from the distant footsteps and from the low heel manly shoe that it was not Jack’s mother.
“Can I take your order now?” he asked. He had his hands to his chest and humbly waited for the couple’s response.
“We are still waiting on someone but you can have the duck breast prepared, she should not be long”, Jack said.
“Any wine? Champagne perhaps?” the waiter went on to ask.
“Yes please.” Jack nodded “Champagne should be a wonderful fit for the occasion”.
Rainn heard the waiter walk out of the private booth slowly and held her breath. She was still nervous and felt her throat go dry, she was just about to suggest to Jack to order some stilled water before she heard them; strong feminine steps walking towards the door. From the short strides that she was taking, Rainn could tell that she commanded attention from the room. She could hear Jack freeze once the steps halted on the doorway. The attitude in the room suddenly changed and so did Jack’s demeanor.
“Good afternoon, mother.” Jack said and walked towards the door. For the first time in their relationship, Jack thanked God that Rainn was blind and could not see the dirty look that his mother threw her way.
“Good afternoon, son” she said. Rainn could tell that they had exchanged warm greetings and a slight peck was planted on her cheek. She automatically scrambled to her feet and waited for the introduction. She could feel her looking her way and was not so sure if she liked her.
“Good afternoon, ma’am.” Rainn politely greeted and was sure that she had let out her most dazzling smile. She was so humble that she had to stop herself from curtseying.
She heard Jack’s mother walk over to her and accepted the handshake that she had offered.
“Good afternoon.” she replied and pulled back the seat that had strategically been placed opposite them.
Jack was by her side in a minute and helped her to take her seat as well.
“Jack has told me so much about you.” Rainn began “I was really looking forward to meeting you ma’am”.
“Funny, Jack has mentioned nothing about you to me.” she answered “And you can call me Selina, all this ma’am business is making me feel old”.
“Ok.” Rainn answered meekly and placed her sweaty hand on her knee under the table.
“I am mentioning it now, mother.” Jack retorted. He did not like how his mother was on Rainn’s case and wished that she could stop badgering her.
“Is that what we have come to Jack? We don’t tell each other anything anymore?”
Jack was saved by the waiter who walked in at the right time and he decided to evade his question.
“Should I bring out the meal now, sir?” he asked politely.
“Yes please.”
Jack then turned to his mother as he watched the waiter leave the room. “I ordered your favorite, mother. The duck breast.”
“I am not hungry, Jack.” she answered curtly and watched as the waiter walked in with a bucket of ice and a champagne bottle in the middle of it.
“But I will certainly have a drink,” she answered once she spotted the champagne and smiled up to the waiter who was pouring her a glass.
Rainn had by now gotten the message from the mood in the room all too clear now. She knew that Selina did not like her and Jack was trying all in his power to neutralize her words and her nasty demeanor.
Selina all of a sudden turned her attention to Rainn and this caught her unawares.
“So Rainn, what do you want from my son?” she asked after downing a flute of champagne and offering the waiter a smile.
“I beg your pardon?” Rainn answered timidly.
“I thought blind people listen better than everyone else.” she said rudely.
“Mother!” Jack shouted, obviously appalled by his mother’s harsh words “Why are you so harsh to Rainn, you’ve only just met her”.
“Son, you will thank me I did this one day,” she said as she pointed to Rainn outwardly “This woman does not love you, she is only taking advantage of your success”
“Mother, please”, Jack was about to confess his undying love for Rainn before his mother cut him short.
“Do not ‘mother please’ me!” Selina barked, before turning to Rainn’s direction one more time. “I gotta hand it to you, Rainn. You are an actress who never hit the screen. Hollywood is surely missing out on a gem here.”
Selina was on her feet before Jack could come up with a defense. She clapped her hands together as a sign of applause in Rainn’s direction before saying “You deserve an award, dearie. Even I could never think of such a con.”
“Mother, for crying out loud!” Jack said angrily. He was ashamed by her mother’s behavior and the rudeness that she was displaying at the lunch.
“Jack, I will tell you this and I will only say it once.” she said as he fixed her glance at Jack “This, whatever you think that you have going on here, is not good for your career”.
“I decide what is best for my career, not you!” Jack roared, slamming down his fist on the table. “As a matter of fact, I had planned to do this the right way. I only thought that you would be happy for me, but I was gravely wrong”.
“Do what, Jack?”
In response, Jack took out a small box from his jacket pocket and walked over to where Rainn was silently seated, listening to the mother son feud.
“Rainn my love, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
He was now on bended knee. He held out the ring in his hand as he stretched it out to Rainn.
“Oh my God! Jack, is that a ring you have in your hand?” Rain asked with both a feeling of confusion and excitement in her voice.
“Yes my love it is, what say you?”
“Of course I will marry you”.
The two huddled together in a tight embrace and both could feel Selina’s gaze on them as they shared their happy mome
nt together.
“I can’t stand this!” Selina said disgustedly and stormed out of the room in a fiery rage.
“Wait, I need to know, are you being serious or were you just doing it to get back at your mother?” Rainn asked, curious and slightly shaken by the drama that was unfolding.
“I bought the ring about two months ago,” Jack started and from the smile that formed on Rainn’s face, he was glad that he had answered her question.
“Does that mean that you’ll move in with me now?” he asked.
“Do I have a choice?”
The two locked each other in a tight embrace and Rainn could feel tears of joy swell up in her eyes. She had never for once thought that she could be that happy in life. The warm feeling that caressed her heart sent more tears down her cheeks. Rainn however, did not ignore the fact that the media would have a field day with that information and knew that they were about to hit a very huge storm in their relationship.
Chapter 15
Jack looked at the few newspapers that they had gotten that morning, the press had been camped outside their apartment for the last two days and there was nothing much they could do about it. Jack had tried to get his lawyers to get the press off their backs but there was only so much they could do. As long as they were not trespassing, they were allowed to take pictures and gossip about Rainn and Jack’s relationship.
“This one sounds friendly,” Jack announced, he held up the newspaper that was in his hands as a reference and looked at Rainn’s direction. They were at the dining table having breakfast and Rainn was nibbling on her buttered toast.
“Read it to me please,” Rainn pleaded and sat patiently waiting for Jack to read out to her.
“It says, ‘The press should stop hounding the two love birds. For the first time in the history of mankind, Jack and his blushing bride to be have literally proved to us that love is indeed blind.’”
“You’re right, that is the friendliest the media has been to us. Which paper are you reading from?”
“Early bird,” Jack answered back. He threw a quick glance at the other newspapers that were carelessly sprawled on the table.
“Love or sham”
“The con of the century”
“Rising blindly up the social ladder”
These were only some of the many headlines that had made the front page of other newspapers that week. He thanked God that Rainn had not seen any of them.
“So the wedding planner is coming over today.” Jack announced, after taking a sip from his coffee cup.
“About that,” Rainn said “You will not believe the number of calls that I have coming my way from wedding planners.”
“These people are vultures!” Jack said and let out a small chuckle after mentioning this.
“If it is ok with you, I would like to choose my own wedding planner.” Rainn said as she made a mental note of a few potential candidates that she thought were a good fit for the job.
“That’s fine,” he agreed before another sip of his drink “Are you settling in well?”
“I honestly miss my old house. Sometimes I knock into things around here,” Rainn admitted “I guess it will take time getting used to the change.”
Rainn could hear Jack butter his toast as he made approving sounds to her concerns.
“I hope the staff are not giving you a hard time?” Jack went on to ask concerned.
“No they are not.” She answered quickly when she remembered how Stewart, the butler had been very helpful to her.
“I might have to force them to take leave for the next two weeks.” Jack said.
“Why?”
“The press might want to get them to speak of the things that happen behind closed doors. I’ll only have a few of them over to do the cooking and cleaning until this blows over.” Jack replied.
“They would go to that extent?” Rainn asked shocked.
“You have no idea how far these people are willing to go,” Jack replied before letting out a sarcastic chuckle.
“Do you want me to sit in on the interviews that you’ll conduct with the wedding planners?” Jack offered.
“I think you are the first groom who has ever offered to lend a hand to the bride’s wedding planning!” Rainn answered before letting out an amused laugh.
“Well, it’s my wedding too,” Jack also laughed.
There was an awkward moment of silence that followed and Rainn wondered how she would address the elephant in the room.
“Have you talked to your mother since?” she inquired. Her plate was almost empty now and she took a sip of orange juice as she waited for Jack to respond.
“Not really,” Jack answered before clearing his throat and explaining “She left a couple of messages on my cell phone about the wedding and the media”
“Have you replied to them?”
“Some.” Jack went on to explain she knew that it was a very touchy subject for Rainn and treaded very softly on it. “She sounds concerned, for both of us.”
He sounded slightly alarmed when he said the last bit and Rainn could detect it in his voice.
“What about your father?” Rainn asked.
“What about him?”
“Does he know about the news? Will he come to the wedding?” Rainn probed on.
“I don’t know and I honestly couldn’t give three shades of a monkey’s arse.” Jack replied.
“You sound angry,” Rainn pointed out.
“I am not angry at the man who abandoned me and didn’t want anything to do with me for the last God knows how many years”,
“You don’t have to be sarcastic to prove your point,” Rainn chided and she could hear Jack scuffle to his feet, heading over to the liquor cabinet. She listened to the clinking of glass and the soft thud of bottle meeting the rim, before feeling the whiff of gin play on her nostrils.
“Too early to drink, don’t you think?” Rainn asked when she heard Jack resume his seat after serving himself a drink.
“Well, it must still be nightfall somewhere.” Jack pointed out and went on to sip from his glass.
“You must notice that you get really sensitive about this subject all the time,” Rainn pointed out. She could hear Jack gulp down the drink like water and he got to his feet a second time. She heard him pour some more liquor into the glass. This time it was whisky and he walked back to his seat.
“I don’t think you should be mixing such hard stuff this early in the morning,” Rainn warned as she heard him resume his seat, listening to him taking yet another gulp from his glass.
“Rainn my love, I am a grown arse man. I can do whatever the hell I damn well please at whatever time of the day or night!” Jack shouted. He was both angry and defensive at the same time.
Rainn knew where the conversation was bound to head and got to her feet. She felt through the different furniture in the room and wished that she was back at her apartment where she would be able to storm out, without the need to feel through the room.
“I think you should go for therapy”, Rainn started “You need to sort out your daddy issues.”
Jack was about to say something else in his defense when he was stopped mid sentence by Rainn.
“It brings out a dark side in you every time you talk about him. It makes me have second thoughts about the man that I thought I fell in love with,” Rainn cried before walking out the door. Jack was left in the room pondering about what Rainn had just said, he knew she was right but he did not want to admit it. He took another swig from his glass and loved how the drink burnt his throat, gliding all the way to his stomach. He thought of what lay ahead and knew that he would need to step up for the sake of Rainn and their future family. His thoughts however, were diverted when he heard a distant clutter coming from downstairs followed by a slight stifled scream.
Jack hurriedly got to his feet and went to see what was going on. Rainn was seated on the floor next to a broken vase in the hallway. Stewart the butler was at her side in a second and was tr
ying to help her to her feet.
“Are you ok, Rainn?” Jack asked worried “What happened?”
“I walked into the vase, I must have forgotten that it was placed there”, Rainn explained “I am so sorry.”
“No need to be sorry!” Jack cautioned “Are you ok?”
“I’ll go and get the first aid kit, sir.” Stewart said as he turned his attention towards Jack “It’s not a deep cut.”
“Thank you, Stewart” Jack replied gratefully and watched as he swiftly moved through the hallway.
He turned his attention back to Rainn and Rainn bowed her head.
“I am sorry,” she mouthed again and a few tears welled up in her eyes.
“It’s ok.”
Stewart walked back with the first aid kit and Jack accepted it from him before leading Rainn away to a living room sofa. He dressed the wound and watched as Rainn winced at the touch of disinfectant on the cut.
“I need time to get used to the house,” Rainn said after Jack was done placing a bandage on the cut. Rainn had cut herself on her foot and she directed her hand to feel if Jack had done a good job on it.
“Thank you,” she mouthed and offered him an approving smile.
“We need to get you a walking stick.” Jack said.
“I do not need a walking stick,” Rainn said defensively. She could feel the liquor on his breath as he moved closer to her.
“I insist,” he said and from his tone, Rainn decided not to argue with him. The two sat in the living room, comfortable in each other’s arms and both took solace in the other’s presence. Rainn however, felt a fear at the pit of her stomach but decided to ignore it.
Chapter 16
Rainn sat on the balcony on a lovely Sunday afternoon and went through the events that had unraveled in the previous few weeks. She felt the ring on her finger and used her right hand to take it off and feel it with her palms. It was the perfect fit and the fact that it meant something to her made her feel excited and warm inside. She listened to her surroundings as she did this and enjoyed how the birds sang in the nearby trees. Her mind thought of the few wedding planners that she had interviewed so far and her mind was decided on a couple in particular. She raced back to the songs they had suggested for her but had declined them all. There was a piece that she had been working on and she knew that it would be perfect for the walk down the aisle. She also had the perfect dress design and wished that she had the eyesight to see how lovely it was. Familiar distant footsteps disturbed her thoughts and she felt excited knowing that it was her lover approaching. She however felt disappointed when she listened more keenly, knowing he must be drunk from the staggering steps that he was making towards her.
Kane (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 1) Page 18