As I weaved through the mass of tables and people back to my seat, I found my table with a full crowd waiting on me. Selena, Kate, Jesse, Erica, and three other people who I didn't recognize were seated, talking and laughing.

"Hey, where have you been? I've been looking for you," Jesse smiled sweetly when I returned to the table.

He got up to help me into my chair, a gesture everyone around the table took note of. I tried to make it appear as though I was shrugging it off, like I really hadn't even noticed, but Erica wore a knowing smile. This just made me more uneasy. I'd been so worried about what would happen if Erica knew about Jesse and me, and I'd thought we'd been good about keeping everything a secret, but here we were, showing up to a fundraising dinner as each other's dates, completely ignoring our previously agreed upon rules.

Damage control scenarios started barreling through my mind. Should we not have been each other's dates? If someone asks us about it, should we pretend like we both just agreed to attend together because we simply couldn't find other people? That actually didn't sound like a terrible cover up excuse, but I had a hunch that Erica wouldn't buy it in the least bit. Especially since Jesse could probably have his pick of any runway model who glanced his direction. Why would he pick me over them? Surely, someone would wonder that.

I caught sight of Haley across the room and she gave me a supportive smile, but I couldn't help the twinge of jealousy rippling through my muscles when her doctor date put his arm around the back of her chair and she leaned into him. I wanted to be able to do that with Jesse, too, but I was too caught up in the mix of worrying what my peers would think and still being irritated over how happy he'd looked talking to Kate earlier.

Just when I was getting up the nerve to ask Jesse if we could talk privately like Haley had suggested, the opening speaker, Mandy Cartwright, took her place at the podium and introduced herself as the editor-in-chief of Satisfaction Magazine, the event's largest sponsor. She was Kate and Selena's boss.

"Good evening, friends," Mandy smiled, glancing over her nearly five-hundred-person audience.

This was the first I'd heard of Ms. Cartwright, but she commanded the room like the Queen of England. Every table fell silent as soon as she spoke, as if everyone but me knew her and was anxiously awaiting her speech. I felt like the odd person out since I wasn't exactly one of Satisfaction's adoring readers. Magazines had never been my thing.

I don't know what I'd been expecting, but Mandy's timeslot ended up quite a bit longer than you'd think, what with her telling jokes and stories of her trials and tribulations breaking into the world of journalism. She was a great storyteller, which I could tell was part of what made her a great editor-in-chief. I was enjoying hearing about her remarkable career along with everyone else – but I also really wished her speech would end soon so I could eat something and make an excuse to call it a night.

The longer I sat beside Jesse, the more awkward I began to feel. It was like there was this nagging urge in the pit of my stomach, begging me to speak up, to tell Jesse my frustrations, but the words just didn't want to come out. And how was I supposed to sneak off to chat with him anyway? I'd expected everyone would be too wrapped up in the event after his speech and it wouldn't be hard to slip away; but fifteen minutes into Mandy's tell-all had me wondering when the hell it would even be Jesse's turn on the stage. The more I let my mind race, the longer the night started to feel. By the time Mandy finished speaking, I'd managed to convince myself that the entire table would notice Jesse and me leave to talk, and no doubt, think up all kinds of wild ideas about why we were both disappearing.

Flooding back to the forefront of my mind were the horrific memories of my nearly career-ending reputation that blazed through the gossip community like wildfire back in Dallas. It wasn't a far reach to suspect that the same rumors would swirl if anyone at the fundraiser saw Jesse and I sneak away together. So I made up my mind that if I was going to talk to him about how ridiculous I was feeling, tonight would not be the night for that conversation.

Maybe Haley was right. Maybe I'd just overthought the entire thing.

I knew damn well, somewhere in the back of my mind, that I was letting my subconscious make excuses. Some naïve and timid part of me was looking for a reason to part ways with Jesse. Between the mess I'd made at my soon-to-be-former job – only a week in and right in front of him, nonetheless; the gorgeous women hanging around him that had me digging my nails into my palms; and the shower of odds against me, whether regarding employment or my love life; it made sense to me to start easing myself out of the equation with Jesse. Really, I was beginning to think that my continued presence, at this rate, would only make things harder in the long run, and I didn't want to cry any more than I already knew I would when the time would come for us to separate.

There it was. I'd convinced myself that retreating was the better option than sticking it out. After all, who could blame me, seeing as the last time I'd attempted to weather the storm, all I'd emerged from the dust with were a tarnished reputation and a broken heart.

"And now I'm thrilled to introduce to you our next speaker, the C.E.O. of one of our big program sponsors, Advantage Republic, Mr. Jesse Reese!" Mandy Cartwright happily announced, holding out a hand toward where Jesse sat.

A small spotlight in the ceiling migrated a beam from Mandy to Jesse, cloaking our entire table in blinding light. I thought he said something to me before making his ascend to the stage, but I was too busy shielding my eyes from the light to notice.

I blinked a few times, my eyes readjusting to the lighting as Jesse took control of the microphone.

"Friends, colleagues, donors, ex-spouses," he started off with a joking introduction, earning a laugh from most of the room. "It's great to be here with you all tonight. As Ms. Cartwright said, my name is Jesse Reese. Along with my wonderful business partner, Erica Hernandez, I'm the proud co-owner of Advantage Republic, and we are so excited to be a sponsor tonight for such a worthy cause."

I was in awe of how easily Jesse commanded such a large group of people. Looking around the room, I couldn't spot a single person who wasn't paying attention to his every word. It was amazing to me.

"First, I'd like to say that despite the stigma surrounding these events – the common idea that companies like to be sponsors to benefit themselves more than the cause – I can honestly say that that couldn't be further from the truth when it comes to Erica's and my dedication to this fundraiser. Advantage Republic is not taking a single cent from tonight's event. Absolutely all proceeds will go directly to St. Jude and the Boston Children's Hospital."

His words generated an enthusiastic roar of glee from the audience, and he waited a while for the clapping to cease before he continued.

"I want you all to know that this is a cause that I care so, so deeply about. Honestly, words can't do it justice how I feel about fundraisers like this one. You see, when I was ten years old, I remember my big sister, Lillian. I remember her playing a flute in the school orchestra, and cheerleading for the basketball team. I remember her being such a brilliant painter. She could paint a scene comparable to Kinkade, and her art teacher even submitted her work to galleries. I remember Lillian being this vibrant, bright soul – someone who everyone enjoyed and admired – and then, suddenly, all that light and happiness just faded away one day."

The audience, completely captivated by Jesse's words, didn't utter a peep. Everyone was anxiously awaiting more of the story, most of them probably thinking the worst. I knew better because I knew about Jesse's sister, but even I hadn't heard this story, and the concern in my chest was growing with every passing second. Was Lillian sick and I just hadn't heard about it?

Jesse continued, clearing his throat loudly as his own words were visibly striking a nerve. "I watched my sister become a completely different person. She totally shut down, withdrew from all extracurricular activities, stopped playing the flute in her bedroom after school... Then my parents decided it would be best to withdraw Lillian from school and homeschool her because her many absences due to doctor visits were beginning to frustrate the faculty. I remember my dad telling me one day that my mom and sister would be moving to Boston and that we wouldn't get to see them as often as we'd like. We ended up driving to Boston most weekends to visit, and mom would occasionally come back for a day to keep things straightened out at home, but there was this huge void without my sister there. Everyone felt it, but I always thought that no one felt it more than I did, because we were so close. You see, I was too young to understand what was going on at the time, but Lillian had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia at age fourteen. Over the next several years, my comprehension of the situation grew with time and I did my best to support my sister, despite the initial grim predictions. I never gave up on her. She was and still is a fighter, and now, a survivor. And my family owes a lifelong debt of gratitude to the Boston Children's Hospital for every tireless second that they worked to save the life of such a beautiful soul. I cannot thank their staff enough for everything they did for my family. My sister would not be here today without the doctors, nurses, radiologists, and everyone else at Boston Children's Hospital."

Knowing that a handful of staff from Boston Children's Hospital were present for the event, the audience rightly applauded them along with Jesse's happy-ending story. While most of the rest of the crowd were smiling widely at every doctor they could spot in the ballroom, my eyes were fixed on the man on stage who had just poured his heart out to room full of complete strangers and managed to keep his composure despite the difficult subject.

Jesse's eyes caught mine and he offered a sweet smile, though I could tell he was really torn up inside having recounted the story of his sister's battle with cancer. I couldn't imagine being in his position up there and telling a story like that. I would've been bawling all over the stage and probably not even made it halfway through. But there he was, standing strong, smiling through obvious painful memories and clapping right along with the audience.

When the cheers finally died down, Jesse resumed his speech. "As you can tell, this cause means a great deal to both myself and my family, as well as my colleagues who are all good friends with my sister now. We've seen the amazing work that these incredible people do and we can't begin to thank them enough. There's no way to repay first responders and healthcare workers for all that they do for us, but I know they dearly appreciate when we all come together for events like this one and honor their courage, sacrifice, and commitments by celebrating their work and raising funds to help them in every way possible. Tonight, we have a fundraising goal jointly set by Advantage Republic and Satisfaction Magazine of five-hundred-thousand dollars each to Boston Children's Hospital and St. Jude. We believe that with your generous support, these lifesavers, these heroes – the same people who saved my sister – can acquire more of the equipment they need; can conduct more crucial testing; and with your financial aid, they can save more lives, and hopefully, someday find a cure, not only for cancer, but for every disease plaguing the lives of children."

I'd been so fixated on Jesse speaking, I hadn't noticed Mandy Cartwright had ascended to the stage again. She walked across the small platform and stood beside Jesse, a big smile on her face as she handed him a huge print of a check, one of two she'd been toting.

"With that said, Ms. Cartwright and I would like to officially kick off this fundraiser with our own donations of fifty-thousand dollars each from Advantage Republic and Satisfaction Magazine!"

The pair held up the two giant checks, one signed by Jesse and the other signed by the owner of the magazine. One prominent doctor from either hospital took the stage alongside Jesse and Mandy and the media present had a field day snapping photos and filming them shaking hands. It was really a wonderful way to start off the evening.

"That was such a nice speech," Selena beamed beside me, watching a couple reporters from the local news stations conduct quick interviews with everyone as they stepped off the stage.

Kate agreed from across the table. "Jesse really outdid himself. I wasn't emotionally prepared for that, even though I already knew the story. Lillian's such a precious person, it's hard to hear about her battling cancer."

Still not comfortable around Jesse's ex-girlfriend, I chose not to comment, but I nodded in agreement, hoping that'd make me look like a team player. I really didn't want to talk to her at all, but since we were at the same table, I felt obligated to play nice.

The lights dimmed as music began to drift throughout the room. Couples were starting to leave their seats for the dancefloor, swaying gently to whatever Sinatra song had caught their attention. I was too busy gulping down my water to notice that Jesse had returned to our table and was chatting away with Erica about how his speech had gone over.

Selena said something to Kate about going to talk to an old friend and she departed the table, followed by Kate, who was going to go make her own donation.

Eventually, everyone left but Jesse and me.

"You look incredible tonight, Vanessa," he smiled sincerely at me, rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand as he held it between our seats. "I'm glad you decided to come with me."

The sincerity in his voice and the emotion of the speech he'd just captivated my heart with had my conscience singing a different tune than before. I'd been wrong to think it'd be okay to leave, or that tonight would even remotely be a good time to let him down. After seeing the pain in his eyes from recounting his sister's story, I couldn't bear to say anything that would hurt him more. He deserved better than that. I knew I still needed to talk things out with Jesse, but that conversation could wait for an appropriate time.

"I'm glad I did, too. Your speech was perfect, Jesse," I told him. "And if you're wondering, yes, I'd love to dance with you."

Screw what anyone else would think. That was a worry for another night.