Her stomach still rolled and her legs still felt shaky as they carried her out into the gallery. She knew that if she stayed hidden in her room it would only raise suspicions, so she slowly descended the stairs, finding her parents and joining them. From there she moved to her brother Quinn and his wife Dana, who were laughing at something that a portly gentleman was saying.

She spent the next half hour moving from group to group hoping to blend in and look as if she was enjoying herself.  When she could no longer take the pressure, she slowly slipped back up the stairs and out onto the roof. Whether Mason had been serious or not she needed the fresh air.

She wasn't there long before Mason, Cassie, and Rainer joined her.

They were all silent as they studied the grounds and listened to the foxes call each other.

"Where's the beer?" Rainer finally asked.

The next five minutes were spent in an argument about who was supposed to bring the beer.  Caleb and Davis eventually showed, but neither of them had thought to bring the beer either. Normally, the whole thing would have amused Lizzy to no end, but at the moment it was setting her teeth on edge.  She needed peace not bickering, even if it was good natured.

Eventually, Quinn and Dana showed up carrying the beer. Quinn rolled his eyes and said something about poor preparation as he passed around the drinks. Lizzy took one but she wasn't really interested in drinking it. All she wanted was her bed and quiet.

"To Bryce and Grace." Mason raised his bottle.

The others all followed his lead and then there was a companionable silence as they were all lost in their private thoughts.

"Why do y'all insist on doing this every time?"

They all spun around to see Elizabeth, Doug their father, Bryce, and Grace watching them.

"I don't think we have enough beer," Mason said looking down at the empty cartons.

"I brought more," Bryce said with one of his rare smiles as he held up an extra carton.

The others took a bottle as Lizzy did her best to fade into the background.

"To Bryce and Grace," Mason repeated and they toasted again.

"This really is swill Bryce," Caleb said, looking at the brand of beer.  "With your money, why don't you get some good stuff?" They were off again, but before it could get out of hand Elizabeth ordered them all back to the party.

Lizzy hung back as they all filed back into the house and down the steps. She set her beer aside and leaned against the waist high wall, looking up at the stars. The evening was a little chilly so she rubbed her arms to generate some heat.

"Here."

She looked up startled, as Bryce laid his jacket over her shoulders. "Are you all right? You seem a little out of sorts this evening." He put his arm around her shoulders holding her close. Bryce was not one for a lot of physical affection so she didn't want to reject what little he offered.

"Yes, I just have a headache that I can't seem to shake." She smiled up at him.

Bryce had been raised for most of his childhood in England, where their father was from.  The Earl of Pennington, Lord Douglas Stevens, was true British aristocracy. Bryce had already taken up the mantle that he had started training for at a young age.  Bryce had been a natural at it, and he had even picked up the accent in a short time, a fact that the family loved to tease him about.

"Are you happy Bryce?" Lizzy watched him closely.

Her big brother, whom people thought cold and abrupt, smiled the first contented smile she had ever seen him smile. "She is everything."

Simple and to the point.  No fancy words needed.

"I really am happy for you." Her voice broke on the last word and she had to look away as she tried to contain her emotions.  It was part honest happiness for her brother and part sheer misery for herself.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice breaking a little too.

"What on earth for?" She pretended ignorance.

"For not being the understanding big brother I should have been."

Lizzy really didn't know what to say to that. She could pretend to be clueless as to what he meant, but that would only demean what he had said, so instead she just smiled a sad smile.

"Things tend to work out for the best, don't they?"

"Do they?"

"Sure they do." She put on a brave face.

"Did you take something for your head?"

"Sure, it should start working soon. Shall we go and join the others before they send out a search party."

They both turned to see Brian standing and watching them.

"Looks like we're too late." Lizzy removed Bryce's jacket and handed it back to him. She had no clue as to what Brian was thinking. He looked from one to the other then stood back to let them pass.

Bryce went in front of her and Brian behind her, and as they passed Brian she smelled his cologne, and it was like a slap in the face.

Brian caught her arm, holding her back while Bryce went ahead.

"You two coming?" Bryce asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Not yet, we have a few Best Man and Maid of Honor things to discuss."

Whether Bryce bought it or not, he didn't question it as he went around the corner and down the next flight of steps.

Brian released her arm and leaned against the stone wall behind him. He took his time letting his gaze travel the length of her body from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Lizzy felt it as if it were a caress and it was all she could do to keep from whimpering. When his gaze finally travelled back up to her face she had one eyebrow raised in question and what she hoped was a haughty look.

"How have you been Elizabeth?" he asked, watching her closely.

"I've been fine, Brian. How have you been?" She cut her statement off at that.  What she really wanted to say was; how have you been since you left me in your bed without a word or a real goodbye, knowing that you were not going to return.

"I've been busy."

She nodded, hoping that it would spur him to say what he wanted to say. Conversation was not desired or, as far as Lizzy was concerned, needed.

He pushed off of the wall and stepped towards her, Lizzy automatically took a step back, her way blocked by a wall that was freezing cold against her bare shoulders.

"What do you want Brian? Why are we here now, alone?"

"I just wanted to make sure that we were going to be able to get through tomorrow without..." He paused, studying her for a moment trying to gauge her emotions.

"Without...?"

His eyes met hers. "Drama, ill feelings, I would hate to ruin Bryce's day."

Well that definitely did the trick.  She no longer felt sorry for herself, she felt angry. Did he really think that after eight years she was going to go the drama route?

"Drama? Ill feelings?" Her voice was deceptively calm. "If I were the type to take that route, don't you think I would have done it years ago?" She pushed off the wall entering his personal space. It was time to lie through her teeth and make him believe that she didn't care.

Lizzy was no innocent thanks to Brian.  She had been on the dating scene for enough years and she knew how to play all of the games.

She was shorter than he was; which was a novelty for her since most of her dates were either right at her height or shorter.

Lizzy got as close to him as she could without touching him. Taking a deep breath so her breasts brushed his chest, she leaned her head back to look into his eyes. It was killing her. She could feel the heat radiating off of his body, see the stubble on his chin and smell his cologne.

She looked from his eyes to his lips biting her own. She wound her arms around his neck as she pressed closer.  Her body had a will of its own, and now that she had started she couldn't have stopped if she had wanted to.

It was like coming home after a long trip. She just wanted to curl into him.

She brought her hand around and pulled at his bottom lip with her thumb. "A kiss maybe, but no drama?" She was so close she trailed her hand down his shirt feeling the muscles underneath. "No, we had better not, my big brother might object." She shook her head, and with everything she had she pushed herself away from him, but before she could take two steps he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"So you've learned a few games, have you?"

She smiled. "A few." No not really, she wanted to scream. It had only ever been him and no one else.

"That's a shame.  I liked the old Elizabeth better."

"You liked her so much you couldn't bear to leave her right? No wait, that's wrong. How about...you had so much respect for her that you made sure that when it was time to say goodbye she knew exactly how wonderful and special it had all been. No, that's not right either."

Lizzy pulled her arm free and stepped back shrugging, afraid that she had said too much, knowing that she had let him see her weakness. "Oh dear, was that too much drama?"

Turning she walked away, keeping her head up and her eyes forward.