Lizzy stood on the second floor landing looking down at the party below.  Slowly she scanned the room for anything amiss that needed to be corrected or fixed.  She had put her heart and soul and all of her money into the interior of this one house.  If this design was not a success then she would have to go back to work for her old boss at his interior design firm.

She knew starting up her own business would be challenging, but she was glad that she didn't know just how challenging it would be otherwise she may not have made the leap.

"Relax Lizzy.  The design is a success.  I've been making the rounds and you're generating some real buzz. Come Monday we should be swimming in jobs," Janie said softly, handing her a glass of wine.

"From your lips to God's ears," Lizzy whispered as she looked towards the heavens.

Janie Miller had been Lizzy's right hand for the past six months.  She had put in as much time as Lizzy and never complained. It was amazing that this woman, who had answered and advert for a personal assistant and bookkeeper, was now one of Lizzy's closest friends. They had clicked right from the beginning.

"I overheard talk that BAES Construction is interested."

Lizzy's heart stopped at Janie's words and she caught her breath, Brian.

"There are some serious names here tonight," Janie continued as she scanned the crowd. "It seems this is the place to be."

The owner of the house had been a roommate of Lizzy's in college and was one of her best friends. Trisha Livingston had done well for herself.  She had married right out of college to Anthony Livingston who was the head of one of New York's oldest and wealthiest families. 

The first call Lizzy had made, after starting her own business, had been to Trisha.

She smiled to herself as she remembered Trisha's squeal of pleasure that Lizzy was striking out on her own and was ready to design her new home.

Suddenly, Trisha appeared next to Lizzy. "Lizzy why are you hiding up here, all of the action is downstairs. You should be networking.  I called in all of my favors to fill this room tonight."

Lizzy turned and looked at Trisha, raising an eyebrow in a show of disbelief.

"Oh all right, I called only a few the others just showed up," Trisha admitted with a wicked grin.

Lizzy couldn't help herself, she busted out laughing, and she was oblivious of the heads that turned in appreciation of her sexy husky laugh as she shook her head.  "You were always good at stretching the truth."

"Well, any story that is worth telling is worth telling well, and a few embellishments always makes any story better." She patted Lizzy's hand and smiled at Janie.  "Don't let her stay up here to long.  I know for a fact that there are loads of people that are waiting to talk to the genius who designed this place."

Lizzy watched as Trisha moved down the stairs making her way back to the party. She was a striking woman.  Her hair was jet black and straight. It was a perfect foil for her porcelain skin and hazel colored eyes.  Heads always turned when she walked into a room.

"Oh my gosh, there is Mason Stevens." Janie hissed, practically jumping from foot to foot like a school girl, and losing all her professionalism in a single second.  "Who is that with him? He is uber sexy."

Lizzy's eyes zeroed in on Mason and Bryce. "Which one is uber sexy?" Lizzy asked, watching the two men as they reached the top of the stairs.  Their heads were close together in discussion.

"The tall, dark and handsome man, the one that is not Mason Stevens," Janie sighed wistfully.

Lizzy was dumbfounded that her competent secretary, who had shown nothing but grace under fire, had lost all of her self-control. 

"They're coming this way Lizzy." Janie tried to whisper in her ear but in actuality is came out more as a high squeak.

"Should we make a run for it?" she responded with a faux whisper and a smile.

Janie looked as if she was considering it.

"Please don't, I have had a really long day and it was hard enough tracking you down," Bryce said giving Lizzy a kiss on the cheek.

Lizzy accepted the kiss and then turned to Mason for a kiss as well. Mason complied with a big loud smooch on the lips "This is wonderful Lizzy.  Cassie will want you to do our place next."

Janie gave a little squeak behind her. All three turned to stare at the quivering woman. Both Mason and Lizzy were doing their best to hold the laughter back, but Bryce looked bored as usual.

"Janie, may I present my brothers, Mason and Bryce Stevens." Lizzy leaned over to Janie "I'm sorry to tell you they are both happily married," she whispered in her ear.

Janie turned bright red.

"Now sister, you know how Mom feels about secrets.  If you can't share with the class you shouldn't share at all." Mason looked a Janie and gave her wink.

Lizzy did not think it was possible for Janie to turn an even deeper shade of red, but she did. "E-e-excuse me, I think there is something that I forgot to check," she said as she scurried down hall behind them.

Lizzy slid her arm through Bryce's, and Mason just gave a wicked grin as he took her other arm. The three of them looked down at the party.

"You really out did yourself Lizzy.  I'm quite impressed," Bryce said

This was high praise coming from her big brother.  "It's a shame the rest of the family couldn't be here to see it." Just then a flash went off below them. 

"Don't worry they'll have a picture," Mason assured as he lifted his glass in salute to the photographer below.

"Is that Davis?" Lizzy only saw the back of the photographers head, but it looked very familiar. 

"I believe it was." Bryce took a sip of his drink as he scanned the crowd

"Well, I'm off there are too many ex's here for this to be comfortable," Mason said as he gave Lizzy a hug.  "Besides I told Cassie I would only stop in for a minute." He patted Bryce on the back.  "Lunch Monday?" he asked them both.

"Fine, but I am picking the place this time," Bryce threw over his shoulder as Mason began his descent down the stairs.

"It will take him at least a half hour to get out of here." Lizzy shook her head as she watched Mason get stopped. "It really was good of all of you to come.  I'm sure Mom told Davis to get photos of everything," she said as another flash went off below them.

"I don't doubt it," Bryce agreed. She hadn't picked up on his tension earlier because with Mason present things always seemed lighter than they were.

Lizzy studied him.  "Is Grace all right?"

Bryce gave a soft and secret smile as he thought of his wife.  "She's fine, she sends her love and regrets she had to teach a class tonight." Bryce waved at someone below. 

Lizzy followed his gaze and saw Trisha first.  Trisha was warily watching someone in the group she was talking with. Lizzy followed her gaze and saw a tall broadly built silver haired man looking up at her and Bryce. 

She went numb. Brian, it was Brian.

"I hope you don't mind, I invited Brian," Bryce stated the obvious, taking another sip of his drink. Lizzy's gaze swung up to Bryce's face which was its usual mask.

Lizzy decided to play it cool. "Of course not, he's family." She slowly removed her arm from Bryce's taking a drink of her wine.  She was glad to see that her hand wasn't trembling. 

"I see he's brought Heather with him." Bryce nodded down at a strawberry blond who was hanging onto Brian's arm waving up at Bryce.

"I better go and say hello." He drained his drink and placed it on the table behind him. "Are you coming?"

He looked at Lizzy expectantly. Lizzy knew her brother well but was unable to read his current thoughts. It seemed odd to Lizzy that he had invited Brian since he had always been concerned about her and Brian's 'friendship'.

"I'll be there in a bit.  I need to use the ladies room." Lizzy really didn't want to see or talk to him, and maybe with a little luck Brian would have left the party by the time she made it downstairs. She pushed Bryce towards the stairs.  "I won't be a minute."

Lizzy walked calmly down the hall behind her and then went into one of the bedrooms where she sat heavily on the bed and allowed herself to feel the stab of pain that had shot through her chest and stomach at her realization that she was about to see him again. Not a word for eight years and now two meetings in as many months.

They had managed to survive the wedding and had both even managed to be civil to one another.  She had carefully avoided his gaze during the ceremony and he had walked her up the aisle, her arm in his. The reception had been similar to the rehearsal party so there was no need for them to dance, and the photos had been brief since there had only been one of the entire wedding party.

Overall, Lizzy had thought she had managed well. Not giving anyone a clue as to just how miserable she really was. The only thing that would have made it worse was if Brian had had a date.

But tonight he did have a date named Heather. Had he known he was going to see her, was that why he brought the woman, to warn her off?

Trisha...Lizzy moaned at the sudden thought.  She hoped she was being civil.  Trisha was the only one who had ever guessed, other than Bryce, that she had fallen for Brian, but even she didn't know all of the details. She had no clue that they had had an affair and that he had been her first lover. Lizzy had been unwilling to share that with anyone.

If Trisha let on that she knew, it would make everyone uncomfortable.  She was going to have a hard time pretending not to care as it was. She had no choice but to join the party and see if any damage had been done.  She hadn't spent the last eight years pushing back the memories while surviving the ordeal of her brother's wedding to allow them to surface now.

Taking a calming breath she stood up and looked at herself in the full length mirror, adjusting her long gold dress.  It was a beautiful silk dress that clung to her and made the most of her tall lithe figure. The color of the dress brought out the gold highlights in her blond hair which she had pulled into a knot at the nape of her neck, leaving her shoulders bare and giving her backless dress the drama it needed.  At 5'8" in her stocking feet she could carry off the stunning length.

She closed her eyes and felt the silk as it swirled around her legs.

She checked that her earrings were in place with trembling hands, and then with one last glance over her shoulder she quickly left the room before she could change her mind. Her stomach rolled and her legs felt shaky as they carried her down the hall.

She took a deep breath as she reached the end of the hallway and then Janie was at her shoulder.

"Why didn't you mention who your brothers were?" she hissed, her cheeks still a little red.

"Janie, those two are just the tip of the iceberg." Lizzy smiled.  Wait until Janie found out about her mother, Rainer, and that Bryce was an Earl.  She still wasn't sure if she had figured out that her sister-in-law was Cassandra Stevens.

Janie looked at her with round eyes.  "What do you mean, 'the tip of the iceberg'?'"

"Google it," Lizzy laughed as Janie's eyes got bigger. "Now, I have to go say hi to some friends of my brothers. How do I look?" She smoothed out the skirt of her dress.

"You look amazing as always, but that isn't what I came to talk to you about." Janie looked around as if she was going to reveal a huge secret and didn't want anybody else to here.

Lizzy's interest was piqued, and for a moment she forgot about Brian.

"Your brother," Janie began.

"Which one, the tall dark and handsome one or Mason?" Lizzy couldn't resist teasing.

Janie flushed again. "Not Mason, Bryce, he is talking to Brian Alexander." She grabbed Lizzy's arm and drug her back to look down on the crowd. "Look."

Lizzy's eyes easily found Brian and Bryce's figures.  There was no doubt about it, they were two of the handsomest men in the room, and they were getting approving looks from many of the ladies as they generated their own energy.

Lizzy had a moment to study Brian.  He was a commanding figure. He had lost his tie somewhere along the way and his collar was open at the neck.  The white shirt was a dramatic foil for his tan skin and silver hair. The dark suit was impeccably cut.

He was wearing wealth just like he had been at Bryce's wedding.

As if he sensed that he was being watched he looked up and caught Lizzy's eyes with his. For one brief second she was back eight years ago and it was just the two of them, but the moment was broken when Bryce caught her eye and gave her a disapproving look.

"I'd better get down there," Lizzy said turning.

"Wait! Brian Alexander is BAES Contracting!" Janie said, grabbing her arm.

"Yes, I know," she said, looking back over her shoulder to see Brian leaning down to listen to what the strawberry blond, who Bryce had called Heather, was saying. She watched as he threw back his head and laughed at the joke. Lizzy saw Bryce frown at what he had heard.

"You know him then?" Janie asked, following her gaze, looking down.

"Yes, he is one of Bryce's closest friends," Lizzy whispered.

She balled her hand into a fist her finger nails digging into her palm.  The pain of her nails was easier to feel than the pain in her heart.

"Shall we go network?" she said, turning her brightest smile on Janie. 

Janie blinked in surprise. "Lead the way, boss."

Lizzy started her decent down the stairs.  She was stopped several times to talk to people along the way who were full of compliments for what she had accomplished.

As she approached Bryce she noticed Trisha eyeing her over her glass of wine. Trisha was not going to miss any of the drama, and Lizzy couldn't help but smile at the thought. Trisha was a good friend despite her penchant for meddling, telling tall tales, and enjoying a little drama.

When Bryce and Brian turned to her, her smile was genuine. She held out her hand to Brian. "Brian, it's good to see you again."

Brian took her hand in his. There was nothing in his eyes or face to say that he was meeting anything other than an old acquaintance, the same as it had been at the wedding.

She did feel like her hand had been burned.  Even after he released it she still felt the imprint of him.

"Elizabeth," he greeted, his whisky voice saying her name had the same effect on her that it always did. His voice had always affected her just as much as his touch had, especially when he had used it to describe what he had planned for them. Forcing her brain to think about something else before she gave the game away, she briefly let her eyes travel his face, noting that he looked a little tired, and she couldn't help letting her gaze linger on those lips for just a second before she turned to Janie.

"May I introduce my assistant, Janie Miller? Janie you know my brother, and this is Brian Alexander an old friend of our family," she introduced Janie without skipping a beat, pulling her into the circle.

Janie shook Brian's hand briefly, not saying a word.  The poor girl looked a little overwhelmed.

Lizzy turned to look at Heather and waited for an introduction.  Heather had been giving her the once over and her eyes had narrowed as she took in Lizzy's overall appearance. She obviously did not like what she saw.

"Elizabeth, this is Heather Belford. She is an architect that has worked with me for several years." Brian gave Heather a warm smile. She was a petite woman that had plenty of curves that she was showing off in a short little black cocktail dress.

"Pleased to meet you Heather," Lizzy said, holding out her hand. 

Heather took it in her limp one, clearly giving Lizzy the impression that she was only doing it because it was the polite thing to do.

"So Brian, I hear BAES is interested in my design work. That wouldn't have anything to do with your association with my brother would it?" Lizzy took a glass of wine off of the passing waiter's tray, thanking him.

Trisha choked on her drink.  "Excuse me," she said, "It went down the wrong way."

Janie made a small squeak behind her.

"Lizzy," Bryce said, startled.

"Bryce, Brian is an old family friend and I can be direct with him." Lizzy smiled coolly.

Only that's not true, her heart yelled at her. If you were really direct you would tell him that you think of him first thing everyday, and thoughts of the time that they had shared together still tormented her as she tried to fall asleep, in a very lonely bed, every night.

"Yes Elizabeth, you always have been direct, and I can't think of a reason why that should change."

Lizzy met his eyes, wondering if he remembered just how direct she had been eight years ago. "I agree, and it tends to get me what I want." She smiled sweetly.

"We are interested, but only based on the merit of your designs. In fact, Trisha was just telling me about how wonderful you were to work with during her renovation project." Brian turned and gave Trisha a polite smile, including her in the conversation. "And I'm sure that was an honest and unbiased opinion."

Trisha was trying her best to hold back a grin. "Of course."

"Brian was just mentioning that Heather was looking for an interior designer for a project she was currently working on for BAES," Bryce said as Lizzy turned to look at Heather who was shooting daggers at Bryce. 

Bryce was smiling down at her as if he hadn't a care in the world. Lizzy thought that she must look like a bobble head as she looked at everyone, trying to get a read on the situation.

"Oh Heather, Lizzy would be perfect.  Wait until I tell Anthony. He'll be so happy for her," Trisha said, painting Heather into a corner.  Anthony Livingston was someone you wanted on your side.  If Heather said no now it would make Trisha look bad which would make Anthony look bad.

"Trisha, I haven't gotten the job yet," Lizzy said feeling bad for Heather. "I am sure Heather and Brian would like to see some of my other work before considering me."

"I don't see why," Bryce added. "I think this home says it all." Bryce's die hard support threw Lizzy for a moment and the others too it seemed, since everyone was looking at him as if they were waiting for his head to spin around.

"I agree, Lord Stevens." Trisha eventually broke the awkward silence and smiled up at him.  Obviously they were railroading Heather and Brian.

She got why Trisha was doing it, because she was a trouble maker, but Bryce was another story.  She was sure he had something to do with Brian leaving all those years ago, so why would he now be supporting her working for him? Her eyes quickly drifted over to Brian who was looking curiously at his friend as if he was just as perplexed as Lizzy was.

Either way, Heather wouldn't just be saying no to the Livingston's but to Bryce Stevens as well. Bryce was not only Brian's oldest friend, he was also just as important as Anthony Livingston in New York's social circle.

"O.K. everyone, look over here, and let me get a picture," Davis said from behind them. They all turned towards the camera and gave a smile while Davis took the picture.

After he was done he clapped Bryce on the back, shook Brian's hand, and swept Lizzy up in a bear hug, giving her a quick kiss. "It is wonderful sis.  I gotta run though," he said taking a sip of Lizzy's wine. "Mason and Cassie have a red carpet shindig, gotta cover it for Mom." And he was gone just as quickly as he had appeared.

"I really have to Google your family," Janie said, shaking her head.  Everyone but Heather laughed politely at the statement.

"Maybe Heather should Google them as well," Trisha suggested, taking another sip of her wine as she pulled Lizzy away from the circle.  "Lizzy there are a few people interested in your work that I want you to meet." Trisha had always been very good leaving a crowd with just the right line.

"We really need to spend more time together Trisha, I've missed you," Lizzy said, putting an arm around Trisha's waist and leaning into her for support.

"Yes, we do," Trisha agreed giving her a squeeze that offered her back the same support as well as love.