His eyebrows furrowed together and he pursed his lips. "Wait, what?"

"I want you to leave," she repeated. "You can't be here."

He narrowed his eyes. "But—"

"I don't have time to talk," she said—or more accurately, whispered frantically. "But you can't be here. It's my wedding, River."

He nodded, pointing to the decorations. "I figured as much."

She sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. Didn't he understand how serious this was? She was about to get married to Jason in a few hours and she didn't want River to be there.

Okay, if she was honest, there had been a slight hope of seeing him again when she was picking out a venue in Miami, wanting to bump into him again during the weekend she and Jason stayed here, but now that it actually happened, she realized it was a mistake.

"Don't you get it?" she asked. "A wedding, River, as in I'm getting married." But saying it to him sounded wrong. A wedding? What was she thinking—she was just twenty-two! Although her parents had said it was necessary, she thought that spreading rumors about her and Jason dating would've been enough to save the companies too, and she wished she'd done that now that she was talking to River. However, she hadn't, and with Jason not standing far from her while she was discussing this with River didn't feel right. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, and the only solution she could think of to make things right again was to get rid of River—even though it pained her to tell him to go. "I want you to leave," she repeated.

She wanted him to stay.

He bit his lip, not saying anything.

"If it's about money, I can pay you triple the salary you'd make today," she said.

He opened his mouth slightly when he heard that, and he was speechless for a second. "You're paying me to get away from you?" he asked.

Emily then realized it had really come to this. She knew it was mean of her to make that offer, but didn't want him to know that. Besides, she still needed him to leave.

Coming back to Miami was wrong, she knew that now, and River couldn't be here. If he was watching when she walked down the aisle or when she was holding Jason's hand, she would be reminded of her mistakes again. She didn't want to marry Jason, but she didn't have any other choice. When her mother had said, "There's no one else you love, anyway," River had crossed her mind, just like it had when she'd said yes to the proposal—which hadn't come from Jason, but was an offer made by his parents—but she hadn't told her parents about River and she wasn't about to either. She also had never imagined them meeting again or having a chance of getting together.

But now he was here, everything started do dazzle her. She wasn't even sure if she could say 'I do' to Jason if River was in the same room, watching.

"What are you doing here, Emily?" he asked her. "Who are these people?"

She shrugged her shoulders; it was the least of her worries. "Family," she mumbled. "And family-in-law-to-be." She glanced around, but most of the faces were unfamiliar to her. The family she was marrying into were strangers to her.

But she was letting him get to her, something she wanted to prevent. She couldn't change her mind and had to let herself be guided by her brains and not her heart.

"I can't talk right now, River," she said then, standing up straight to give herself some well-needed confidence she didn't at all possess in that moment. In reality, she began having doubts, but she wasn't about to let him know that. "I have to go, and so do you."

"Can we just talk?" he asked. "Maybe not now, but in a moment? When you're ready for it."

Something in his voice made her feel guilty. She realized he didn't have any idea of what had happened the past few months and seeing her here, holding someone else's hand, must have shocked him.

They both knew something happened during the day they met in February; the sparks were clearly there. They shared the same feelings, but they'd just been too afraid to act on it and it had cost them everything.

"When I have time—if I have time, I'll find you," she said, and with that, she turned around and headed back to Jason.

She tried to forget about River as she welcomed guests for a little while longer, but her head wasn't in it; she was thinking about River, about Jason, and the moment she'd walk down the aisle. She, Jason and their parents had been planning this day for three months, but everything had changed in a matter of minutes, and suddenly, Emily didn't know what was awaiting her today while everything came crashing down.

*

"River!"

She'd decided she was done with handing guests champagne and with the excuse of needing time to get ready for the wedding, she'd told Jason she was leaving. But instead of going to her room that was located in the small tower at the front of the castle—she still shook her head at the thought of getting married in a castle; this would be the last venue she'd pick if she had been in charge—she went to the kitchen to look for River.

"Ma'am," she heard instead. "Is something wrong?" It was someone from the crew and the embroidery on his uniform said his name was Mason.

"No," she said, smiling softly. "I'm just looking for someone." She let her eyes take up everyone in the room, before she asked, "Do you happen to know where River is?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "Did he do something wrong?"

"Everything's fine, I just—" She didn't see the point of explaining herself to him, so was relieved to see River walk through the doors of the kitchen. "There you are. You said we needed to talk." She ignored Mason and the confused look on his face, and walked out through the kitchen doors again without checking to see if River was following because she knew he was.

She leant back against a wall just outside the kitchen where it was very quiet in contrast to the hectic kitchen and welcoming hall. "Talk." She hated giving him the cold shoulder, but she didn't see any other option for now.

He closed the door behind him and stood in front of her, suddenly limiting her personal space. Her heart began beating faster as she glanced both left and right to ensure an escape and at the same time she told herself that she didn't need to worry—the danger had disappeared months ago, and this was River. He wouldn't try to hurt her.

He was stunned by her question and pursed his lips together as he was thinking of an answer. "Well..." he began. Then he grimaced. "What book do you have with you this time?"

She frowned. "What?"

"What book do—"

"I heard you, but I don't get why you're asking," she said. She hadn't seen the question coming—after not seeing each other for months, that's what he asked?

"You said you always have a book with you," he explained. She knew that, of course; it was the best cure for boredom. "When we were in the shop, remember? So, I'm just curious to know what book it is this time."

"You also said you didn't like reading," she said, raising one eyebrow and taking a step to the left, distancing herself from River and allowing herself more freedom. The feeling of being locked up disappeared and she immediately calmed down.

"Can you just not make this hard and answer the question?" he said then.

She sighed, but gave in. "All The Ugly and Wonderful Things."

He nodded slowly.

"You don't know it, do you?" she asked.

"Nope."

She rolled her eyes, but chuckled. He'd done it again; he'd gotten her to smile one more time.

As the corners of her mouth curled up, she realized she hardly ever smiled. It didn't fit in with her life with Jason—not that it was bad to live with him. It was a steady lifestyle, something they both needed. She knew him well, especially after Those Three Years—that's how she referred to the incident—that she spent with him. He was the calm after the storm, the peace she so longed for. Maybe she didn't smile as often and wasn't as happy as she could be, but she also wasn't hurt. Being with him felt safe, but it didn't feel right.

Jason didn't make her heart dance like River was doing right now as he was standing before her. He probably didn't even realize what he was doing to her, with his dark hair messy and the staining on his shirt. She wondered if that guy could wear something clean for once.

But before she could think any more, she told herself to stop. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be true. She was marrying Jason, so why was she even thinking about River? Jason offered her the world, he could give her everything her heart desired. Maybe it wasn't love, but it was enough.

So, she returned to her cold-hearted attitude again. "I can't be seen here, River."

He noticed the change of tone in her voice and his facial expression changed, the sparkle in his eyes vanishing. "I know," he admitted. "I just thought that..."

"That this could still work out?" she asked. "I have a wedding dress hanging in my room, there are wedding decorations all around and a man is waiting for me at the end of the aisle." She sighed as she remembered Jason. "I know we both felt something, okay? I can't deny that."

He smiled, but there was hopelessness in there too. "Good."

"But we were just together for a day," Emily said, because it was true. It was one day in February that they got to know each other, and it was nothing more than that. He didn't know her or knew what she'd been through—not like Jason did. "You can't know someone in a day."

"It doesn't feel like just one day..."

Her tone didn't change and was still cold as she continued, "It is, and this isn't February, and we're not the same Emily and River." It was the first time she used their names together, and it caused her heart to flutter, even when she told it to stop. "Everything's changed, okay? And I can't do anything about it. I can't just walk out on Jason for a 'maybe'; the chance that we could maybe get together."

He closed his eyes for a second to let the words sink in. "I know."

It were the short responses that got through to her. It was not as difficult as she was making it out to be, but it hurt anyway. "I'm sorry, River." She spoke quietly, almost whispered, but the words hit her like a hammer. "I really am."

*

She thought it was goodbye when those words left her lips, but walking away from him wasn't enough to forget him. He was on her mind constantly: the things he said, the way he moved, his eyes lighting up, and it was a constant reminder of what she was missing out on and what they'd lost.

So, her head wasn't in it when her friend Laurel was doing her makeup and Emily stared at her dress on the hanger, suddenly beginning to doubt everything.

She'd always known marrying Jason wasn't her perfect future; they weren't in love, they had never even been a couple, and marrying each other had always been for business purposes.

But now that River had returned to the picture, saying 'I do' seemed impossible.

* * *