My smart girl 3. Rewriting our stars

We really did make it to the city hall before lunch, but the ceremony itself passed by in a blur. All I could see was Jay. I think he even signed the registry for me because my hands were shaking too much. I only came back to my senses when we were back in his car. My newly-minted husband turned to me, stroked my cheek, and didn’t rush to pull his warm palm away from my face. “So, how does it feel with your new last name?” he whispered with a light teasing smile hiding in the corners of his beloved soft lips. Hearing that, I couldn’t hold back the smile that stubbornly crept onto my own lips. I covered his hand with mine and confessed: “I haven’t gotten used to it yet, but… I think I’ll manage.” Jay chuckled and pulled me closer by the back of my neck, burying his fingers in my hair. He whispered right against my lips: “Of course you will, baby. Don’t even doubt it…” His tender warm lips pressed against mine again. I sighed softly and wrapped my arms around his neck, having absolutely nothing against it. But Jay pulled away far too quickly for my liking. In an unusually serious tone, he gently stroked my cheeks with his thumbs and said: “I’m sorry, sunshine. I know it all happened spontaneously and unexpectedly for you. You probably wanted a grand wedding with a white dress, all your relatives and friends, but…” I didn’t let him finish. I pressed my palm to his lips and shook my head, whispering with a smile: “Silly… I don’t need any grand wedding. I only need you.” “Really?..” He looked so touchingly lost and shy, as if he had never expected to hear anything like that from me. I couldn’t help but laugh and shook my head, hugging him tighter and moving closer. “Really, my love. You are everything my soul has ever wanted. And believe me… I don’t need anything else…” His eyes suspiciously glistened. For a second I was even afraid he would cry, but my Romeo pulled himself together, took a deep breath, and hoarsely exhaled as he authoritatively pulled me onto his lap: “Come here, Mrs. McFell…” *** …Why don’t people know how to stop time? I was ready to give everything I had just to stay in this moment forever — the moment when my beloved husband was kissing me, holding me on his lap and hugging me so tightly that I couldn’t even breathe, let alone pull away from his lips. We were completely lost in each other and in time, forgetting about the whole world. But somewhere on the edge of my consciousness, a red warning light kept flashing: my brother was definitely going to kill us now. We had already been gone much longer than the half hour he had given us to bring me back to the clinic, and we were still an hour’s drive away — not counting traffic… …And quite predictably, as soon as we crossed the threshold of the clinic, Ten literally swooped down on us like a furious dark whirlwind. I was ready to swear I had never seen him this angry before. The moment I met my brother’s worried eyes, I unconsciously stepped back, feeling like a guilty child. I squeezed Jay’s hand so hard my knuckles turned white. He immediately stepped forward, shielding me with his body. But seeing that I was safe and unharmed, Ten seemed to calm down a little. Still, his tightly clenched jaw and fists showed he was barely holding himself back from tearing me away from Jay by force and beating him right there in front of everyone for what he had done. Even though I was actually the one responsible for all this chaos and the escape from the clinic, Jay decided to cover for me until the end. He nobly took all the blame when Ten approached us almost right up close and hissed, eyes flashing: “You finally decided to show up! Had a nice celebration, did you?” His icy tone made me flinch and shrink back, but the warmth of my husband’s palm firmly squeezing my hand (God, I still wasn’t used to thinking of him that way) gave me courage. I whispered reproachfully: “Ten, please, just listen…” But, predictably, my brother wasn’t going to listen to me. He almost growled: “Be quiet, Rose! We’ll talk later. Right now I need to have a very serious talk with your boyfriend. Jisoo, take her to her room. Now!” Then he turned his cold gaze to Jay. “And you — come with me!” A guilty-looking nurse immediately hurried over to me, but Jay wouldn’t be Jay if he obeyed anyone’s orders. Completely ignoring the crowded clinic lobby and Jisoo standing nearby, he turned to me. Cupping my face in his palms and looking seriously into my eyes, he whispered softly: “Don’t worry about anything, darling. Go with Jisoo. Your brother and I will talk, and I’ll come to you right away. Okay?” Looking into his eyes, I saw an ocean of tenderness and love. As long as my beloved was near and holding my hand tightly, I wasn’t afraid of anything. Right now, drowning in his gentle bottomless eyes, I completely forgot that we weren’t alone and weren’t in his bedroom — we were standing in the middle of a crowded hospital lobby. All I could do was smile and nod. Jay whispered the now-familiar words: “My good girl,” and gently touched his lips to mine before letting me go.