The ceremony was over and I tried to gain a little bit of distance from the crowd.
I didn't really feel like being social right now.
"You know, I know you two are close and all, but something tells me those weren't happy tears" Jess noticed.
I hadn't realized he'd followed me.
"Of course they were" I whispered, drawing in a sharp, shaky breath, wiping a stray tear from my cheek. "Why else would I be crying?" I continued.
"I was hoping you'd tell me. That would save me time of trying to figure it out" he said.
He moved his head around trying to catch my eye.
"I'm fine, Jess. Really" I lied, breaking his stare, and I started to walk away.
"I know you, Rory" his words cut into me, stopping me in my tracks. "And I know when you're lying" he assured me.
I pressed my lips together, trying to compose myself even further, and then continued to walk back towards the group.
**********
"How are you doing, kid?" My mom asked as I walked over to her.
I looked at her and smiled.
"Tonight, mom, nothing is more important to me than you; nothing else exists, nothing else matters" I promised.
She looked at me in concern, but before she could speak, Luke walked over to us.
"Can I steal your daughter away for a moment, Mrs. Danes?" He asked with a smile in his eyes.
My mom smiled and nodded.
"Be my guest" she said, looking after us lovingly as we walked away.
***********
Luke led me to a bench where we sat down and he put his arm around my shoulder.
"Hey, is everything okay?" He asked in concern.
"Of course, why do you ask?" I lied.
"Because we're at a party, and you're not drinking, not eating junk, not talking to hardly any body, I haven't seen you smile all day and for once I'm not the one who is the most stand-offish person of the party. So come on, talk to me. What's wrong?" He asked.
I paused, this wasn't something I could talk to Luke about, was it?
"Are you upset that your mom and I got married? Is that what it's about?" He asked in concern, knowing what that would do to his relationship with my mom.
"What!? Absolutely not! I love that you're finally married, Luke, why would you think that!?" I exclaimed.
"I - I don't know. Things are going so well I was just expecting our relationship to be involved in some sort of conflict by now" he laughed.
I smiled. "No, Luke. I promise you it's nothing like that"
"Look, I know I'm not your real dad, but I just want you to know you can always talk to me. I will always be there for you. No matter what" he promised.
I laughed lightly. "You're more of a 'real dad' to me than my 'real dad' is. As far as I'm concerned, you ARE my real dad. I love you, Luke" I whispered.
The smile on his face was bigger than I've ever seen Luke Danes smile before in my life. He was really touched by my words.
He held on a little tighter around my shoulder. "I love you too, kiddo" he said.
"Was that actual sentiment I heard?" I teased.
"Yeah yeah yeah" he teased back.
I smiled. "Luke, I promise I'll tell you. I just don't want to ruin your big day. Mom already knows, it's nothing that's an emergency or anything. It can wait til you're home from your honeymoon. Unless, of course, my big mouth mother spills the beans before you get back home" I teased.
"That's a pretty good possibility" he joked.
I nodded, and looked up at him with a serious expression on my face. "Thank you for always being there for me, Luke. No matter what" I said.
He smiled and nodded. "Always" he said, with a kiss to the top of my head.