Later that afternoon, the shuttle bus rolled up to a regal scene.

Manicured gardens led to a sculptured fountain encircled by a gravel path. The focal point was more than worthy of the sprawling 17th century château.

Neela's friends and family spilled out of the bus, and once the arm stretches and yawns were out of the way, the feeling was universal:

Wow.

Mom took it all in and nodded in approval. "None of my friends have castles."

Neela stood behind her and sighed. "I'm not actually marrying into the castle though; we're just renting it for a heavily discounted rate."

Mom was immune to the logic. She breathed in the country air and smiled. "Harjit only has a time share in Orlando."

Neela shook her head and shuffled down the gravelly path, stopping in front of Dante who was admiring the fountain. In a rare move he removed his big dark sunglasses.

"Pretty grand, ain't it?" Neela said.

He nodded. "It sure is..." He became distracted by an attractive member of the château staff who was helping unload the bus.

Neela followed his gaze and smiled. "He's pretty cute; does this mean you're feeling better?"

He shrugged. "Not better exactly, just looking for something to do." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Fake it 'til you make it, right?"

"Yep!" Neela exclaimed. Fake it 'til you make it...

***

Later that day, as the sun sank behind the rolling hills and a perfect summer evening flowed in, the château staff set to work transforming the rear gardens for the main event, an engagement party for the ages that was scheduled to take place in twenty-four hours. One worker diligently arranged white chairs, while another hung flowers over a gazebo. A third focused her efforts on the universal hell of untangling a string of mini twinkle lights.

Neela watched them intently from a corner of the sprawling terrace, her flowered dress swaying in the breeze. "Wow..." she exclaimed. Luc approached her in a crisp shirt and the most perfectly creased khakis that had ever existed. He put his arm around her. "This is so extravagant," she remarked with a sense of wonder. "All this for an engagement party?"

He smiled. "It is not that abnormal in my world," he said. "And many of my friends and family will be here tomorrow, so why not make it special?"

She turned to him and smiled. "Thank you for arranging all of this," she said.

He squeezed her hand. "It was my pleasure." He noticed the serving staff coming out with trays of food. "Ah, it is time for the apéro."

Neela's friends and family emerged onto the terrace, their bellies rumbling for something delicious. There was a clear divide between who was excited by the oysters, charcuterie, cheese and paté, and who was decidedly not.

Tiff and Xavier made a beeline to the oysters and champagne, wasting no time in feeding each other like a couple of kids in love.

Neela came over and interrupted their oyster-slurping giggle fest.

"Really?" Neela said. "Tiff, you're the last person I would expect this from."

Tiff shrugged. "I mean what do you want from me? I'm already a half a bottle of champagne in."

Neela smiled and squeezed her shoulders. "I want exactly this for you." She really meant it too, but it was almost strange to be the wise one who'd seen it all, while her friends busied themselves with the beginnings of love. It was a strange feeling indeed, a feeling that could've easily bordered on disturbing, but she convinced herself that it was nice. She gave Xavier a nod. "Treat her well, my friend."

Xavier gave Neela a firm salute. "Nothing less."

Neela meandered over to Dante, but when she noticed him having a secret flirty convo of the eyes with one of the servers, she meandered right back. Have fun, my friend.

She next considered having a chat with Chloé, but she could see that she was having a pretty intense conversation on the phone with Jinhai, whose arrival had been delayed until the following day. Forget THAT...

This only left her original clan, and when she looked over to consider this final option, she saw her entire family huddled together several feet away from the food, with Dad and Mom in particular eyeing it suspiciously.

"Why aren't you eating?" Neela whispered to Maneet. "You love cheese."

"What about Mom and Dad?" Maneet said coldly. "What are they supposed to eat?"

With Luc having insisted on being in charge of the planning, Neela had forgotten to consider her parents' judgmental palette, particularly Dad's persistent need for all things Indian when it came to the topic of food.

"I'm sure there's other stuff coming," Neela said, not feeling sure at all.

Luc hurried over and grinned. "There is definitely other food coming. In fact, since you all enjoyed the food so much from that Indian restaurant in Paris..."

As if right on cue, servers arrived with steaming hot Indian food, perfectly arranged in silver serving dishes.

"There's samosas too?" Gurinder said. He did a celebratory fist bump.

But none of this was about Gurinder. It all about Dad, who was suddenly in love with France all over again.

And maybe even a little bit in love with Luc.

He went over to Luc and put his arm around him. "Very, very good boy."

Neela gasped at the verbal declaration of love.

Luc was going to be the best son-in-law ever, and tomorrow was going to be perfect...

***

Twenty-four hours later, Neela and her best girls gathered in the château's former royal chamber to get ready.

Though somewhat modernized, the ornate excess so beloved by the powdered-wig posse remained within these walls.

Neela finished up her makeup in front of a gilded mirror, while Chloe and Tiff congregated by the four-poster bed as they attempted to decide on shoes.

"These ones have too many sparkles," Chloe said frowning.

Tiff hoisted a duffle bag up onto the bed.

"Try one of these instead," she suggested.

Chloe rummaged through the bag in amazement. "You brought an entire bag of shoes?!" It was very possible that Chloe might wind up spending hours with her head inside the bag full of shoes, but her newfound obsession was halted by a knock on the door.

She kicked off her shoes and hurried over to answer it.

On the other side stood the real-life version of the Instagram hottie: Jinhai.

"You look amazing," he said in a soft accented voice.

Chloe reacted with a pout. "But it is not the same without my special necklace."

Jinhai held up a necklace with sparkling yellow gemstones.

Chloe gasped. "But when I told you I forgot it in Paris you said you had already left! And then your car broke down..."

"Well the 'car breaking down' thing was a lie," he admitted. She gasped but he reassured her with a smile. "It was a lie because I drove back into the city to retrieve the necklace, and since it was too late to come back last night, I drove here today instead. And even though I'm very, very late...you now have your necklace for the party."

Chole's eyes transformed into dreamy goo. "You are so incredibly thoughtful."

Ugh," Neela said as she stared at them through the mirror. "You guys are grossing me out."

They ignored her and kissed.

Neela continued to watch from the reflection in the mirror.

Was she actually grossed out? Nah. Just supportive, and perhaps a little bit voyeuristic too...

***

Neela scurried down a corridor, the glow of dusk bathing her in a pinkish light.

She was all glammed up and ready to declare her love, or whatever engagement parties were supposed to be for. She still had no idea, but it all seemed pretty magical.

She reached the end of the corridor and knocked on the door to her left.

Luc answered.

"Wow," Neela mumbled.

He was head-to-toe suited up like Bond.

It was a welcome departure from the khakis, and it was enough to make Neela full-on leer.

"My god..." she added, her eyes filling up with lust.

He laughed. "Stop! There is no time for that."

Neela made sure the coast was clear before choosing her next words. "But it wouldn't take me long to tear that suit off your body. With my teeth."

He backed away. "Please don't! It's Saint Laurent!"

Neela's very life force immediately escaped from her body, as the words 'Saint Laurent' transported her on a journey all the way back to the briefest and yet most significant moment of métro platform nostalgia.

"Neela...are you okay?"

Neela remained in a trance. "Saint Laurent..." she whispered.

"Yes I know," he affirmed. "Their suits fit me very well." He waved his hand in front of her face. "Is something wrong? Is the CEO of Saint Laurent involved in a 'Me Too' sex scandal?"

His strange question slowly but surely guided her lost soul back into her body.

"No," she said, before struggling to remember what she knew about the current CEO of Saint Laurent. "I mean he might be embroiled in a sex scandal; I'm not sure."

Luc checked his watch. "We should probably go. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I think I was just getting nervous," she lied, before managing her best smile. "Let's go!"

They rushed down the corridor hand-in-hand, heading in a direction that was just one step away from forever...