~~~~

Dedicated to cinnamon_cherry for her support the other day when I was faced with a particularly vicious hater on my account (for those who missed it, a lovely account sprung up that was dedicated to telling the world how truly shocking I am as a writer and as a person). The lovely user above and several more of you sprung to my defense, and I owe you the world for the support. You guys are what make writing on Wattpad worth it, even when the odds were against me. Thank you to those who sent her messages, those who posted support on my message board, and those who messaged me privately with messages of support. It’s nice to know that no matter what, you guys have my back, just as I’ll always have yours.

            Thanks for reminding me why I started on this website and why I continue to write on here. Because no matter what the haters say, my friends like you guys have got my back. Love you guys for always and for ever. :)

            ~~~~

Soundtrack:

            Budapest by George Ezra – the yoga class with Ava and Candice

            If You Ever Want to Be In Love by James Bay  - When Will and Candice talk

“Tell me again why I let you drag me to Buddha central?” Ava asked, groaning lightly as she twisted into the downward dog and braced her hands on the yoga mat beneath her.

            At the front of the room, my yoga instructor, Bonnie, chimed in a soothing voice for us to switch down into the striking cobra.

            “Because it’s good for calming nerves,” I told her, moving into the position with ease. “And considering how much you’ve thrown yourself into the position of self-appointed wedding organizer, I figured I should give you a place to let loose before you go gray.”

            She huffed and struggled to lift her legs behind her and hold her weight at the same time. “I didn’t realize you’d become some kind of zen master.”

            I shrugged. “It helps a lot. If I’m ever feeling overworked or stressed, it calms me down. Stops me from wanting to punch a hole through the wall.”

            “And I’m guessing now is a stressful time for you?”

            “Sure,” I told her, standing up and brushing off my yoga pants as we were instructed to resume the tree position. “Everyone knows wedding planning is a stressful time.”

            Ava chuckled ruefully and held her hands out as she wobbled off-balance. “Oh, come on. You and I both know that’s not the stress I’m talking about.”

            I breathed out a breath and pushed my hair back, trying to feign innocence in order to ignore the awkward conversation I knew would eventually arise.

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ava,” I told her.

            “I believe it involves a certain chestnut-haired boy and his impromptu exit two days ago?”

            “You know, I admire your self-restraint,” I told her. “I knew it was only a matter of time until you brought it up, but two days must be some kind of a record for you.”

            “Candice, Ava,” Bonnie said in a melancholy voice from the front of the room as she checked the form of the two elderly ladies in the front. “This is a relaxing room. Please remain quiet and don’t disturb the atmosphere.”

            Bonnie was about forty, with frizzy platinum hair, a lean, golden body and a soft voice. She was also more flexible than a contortionist and pretzel combined. I shot Ava a quelling look and continued with the pose, clasping my hands together over my head in order to center my chakra. All around the room, I could hear the sounds of strained breathing mixed with the noise of the relaxing yoga music playing from the speakers.

            “I’m just saying,” Ava hissed, obviously bursting with the need to talk. “If you ever need someone to talk to about your little love triangle dilemma, you’ve got a drama-loving friend whose shoulder is totally worthy of crying on.”

            “That’s comforting,” I muttered, my voice straining as we pulled a new, particularly hard pose.

            “I mean it,” Ava said. “I’m your best friend. You can open up to me. I’ll even buy you some mocha-mint ice cream to cry into—you know it’s your favorite.”

            “Ava, Candice, please. If you can’t be quiet, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Bonnie chided, sounding frustrating.

            Ava stood up and dusted off. “Well, that’s my cue, then. Thank you for your assistance, Miss Bonnie. My chakra is feeling positively cleansed.”

            “Ava!” I hissed, but she was already rolling up her yoga mat and more than ready to leave the peaceful confines of the room.

            She shrugged. “What? We’re not welcome here anymore, Candi. Let’s just cut our losses and buy some frozen yoghurt—my treat!”

            Knowing that she wasn’t going to stay any longer, I sighed and resigned, standing up and cleaning everything before following Ava out the doors of the tranquility center. “Well, that was a waste of twenty dollars,” I muttered. “We didn’t even get to the meditation.”

            “You and I both know I wouldn’t have been able to make it through that with a straight face, anyway,” Ava replied, unruffled by the fact. “I think I’ve heard enough ‘om’s to last a lifetime.”

            “Well those might be the last ‘om’s I hear in a lifetime,” I replied. “I’m not sure Bonnie will ever let me back in.”

            “Yoga’s not for everyone,” Ava said shrugging. “I prefer my muscles still attached, thanks. All that stretching was making me dizzy.”

            I sighed, but knew that she was right. Yoga wasn’t for everyone, and just because I enjoyed it, doesn’t mean she had to.

            “So, now that relaxation and exercise is off the table, what do you want to do?” I asked, zipping up my jacket as the chill of the air set in.

            “I’d vote for ice cream, but this weather is making even the mere thought of anything cold seem cringe-worthy. I’d settle for a cappuccino instead.”

            “I know a place,” I told her, and led her into my favorite café, Shiver Blitz. Will and I had shared many coffees—not to mention kisses—in the warm walls of the café, and it always smelled of coffee beans and lavender and everything fresh and wonderful.

            “Nice place,” Ava murmured, looking around at the walls and the apron-clad waitresses and the general buzz of conversation and laughter.

            I ordered the coffees and took a seat, and Ava sat across from me. “You know, I see why you like England so much,” she told me. “You’ve really made a life for yourself. Cute fiancé, yoga classes, you’re on a first-name basis with the waitress—you finally seem at home.”

            I shrugged. “I think I was just destined to come here, you know?” I replied. “Like fate drew me here. Everything’s so great. I really lucked out.”

            “The warm apartment and cozy fiancé are an obvious bonus,” Ava said, thanking the waitress as she bought our steaming mugs of coffee over. “Which is my not-so-subtle segue into your conversation with Chance the other day. Wanna tell me what’s up?”

            “Why am I not surprised that that’s the first question on your lips?” I asked her, sipping my coffee.

            “Because you know I’m extremely inquisitive and also dying to know what went down between you two.”

            I shrugged and took a long swig of coffee, trying to focus my thoughts and string a coherent sentence together. “Honestly, Ave, there’s not much to tell. We talked, he told me why he really came here—”

            “Oh, you mean because he’s in love with you and wants to win you back?” she asked nonchalantly, watching me over the rim of her apple-green mug.

            I paused in my retelling. “How did you know that?”

            She rolled her eyes. “Candi, everybody knows that! Will probably knows that. Chance hasn’t exactly ever been subtle with you. Come on, you are not that dense.”

            “I just don’t know what to do,” I admitted. It was good having Ava back in my life. I had become good friends with Will’s closest confidant Shae, but she could never match up to the impossible standards set by my best friend, Ava Donoghue. “I mean, I’ve moved on, and I’m truly happy with Will. But I can’t have Chance hanging over me.”

            “You wanna know what I think?” Ava asked.

            “God, yes,” I responded, desperate for some advice. It was nice to have someone else call the shots and make the decisions for me—saved me a lot of hard thinking.

            “I think that you two need to overcome this, grow a pair, and act like the adults that you are. Whether you want to accept it or not, you and Chance are the past. But you’ve got a wedding to an extremely hot billionaire coming up, and I want you to get married with no stresses on that day. So I think it’s best we clear the air and move on from this little problem before it snowballs and you end up even more frightened on your wedding day than you’re already going to be.”

            I cocked an eyebrow. “And how do you suggest we get over this?”

            She smiled mischievously and whipped out a few leaflets of paper from her purse. “Why, Candice, I’m glad you asked. I made a few appointments yesterday, and talked to some people. We have two appointments at the possible venues for the wedding. Maybe Chance and you could check out one while Jamie and I check out the other?”

            “Why don’t we all just go together?”

            She nibbled on her lip. “That’s the thing. They were only available at one specific time tomorrow. And unless you have a time machine we could use, I think we’re running short on options.”

            “You’re off by one factor,” I told her.

            She looked mildly horrified, as if the thought of leaving out something imperative was a concept unknown to her. “What?”

            “I have a fiancé who might want to be involved in the wedding planning,” I told her. “Isn't Will going to come along and check out the venues, too?”

            “Ah, about that,” she said. “I talked to Will this morning about everything, and he actually needs to meet up with some girl called Shae tomorrow and can’t make it. He’s really sorry, but he trusts our judgment. In his words, ‘As long as you’re the one walking down the aisle, he doesn’t care where you are. It’ll be perfect, anyway.’ However I would be a little worried about the whole going out with another girl thing. I don’t have time in my busy schedule for infidelity.”

            “It’s okay,” I promised her, smiling at how protective she was. “Shae’s his best friend. Nothing going on there.”

            She looked relieved and sunk back in her chair, as if all the weight on her shoulders had been lifted. “This is really happening, huh?” she asked. “You’re really getting married.”

            I nodded. “Yeah. Who knew we’d end up in a foreign country planning my wedding to a sexy billionaire when we first met?”

            “Sounds like a badly written fan fiction,” Ava responded with a grin.

            “Except it’s real, it’s good, and it’s mine,” I reminded her.

            She winked and held up her coffee mug. “Here’s to you and Will, Candice. And here’s to the happily-ever-after you two deserve.”

            I bit my lip and clinked my mug ceremoniously, unable to contain my grin, “I’ll drink to that.”

            ~          *          ~

            Unfortunately, our happily-ever-after did not come that afternoon as Will breezed through the apartment, a solemn look adorning his handsome features.

            “That look’s never good,” I said as I added a pinch of paprika to the stew I was currently cooking up. The whole apartment smelled of the stew and the garlic ciabatta bread I’d been baking, but it did nothing to lighten the atmosphere—well, only for Ava, who was a sucker for garlic bread or anything akin to it.

            He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the counter, picking up a small bit of leftover flour and rubbing it between his fingers. “I just got off the phone with my mother.”

            The metal ladle I’d been using to stir it fell against the pot with a bang, and I felt my heart seize in my chest. Genevieve Winchester had an uncanny ability to drive a wedge between us, and I wondered if she’d been scheming again on how to break up the son who’d decided to marry himself off to a wench (as I was seen in her eyes).

            “Oh, yeah?” I replied, trying to keep my tone light. Will and I had suffered a few too many arguments because of her. “What did she want?”

            “To have dinner with us,” Will responded, taking a seat on the breakfast stool and watching me through his long dark lashes. “She wants to reconcile before the wedding.”

            “The wedding?” I asked, frowning. “How does she know about the wedding? The invitations haven’t even been sent out yet.”

            “Because I told her,” Will replied, shrugging as if the fact he’d told her was no big deal. Which it was. I stayed silent and picked up the ladle, trying to curdle my anger. “Look, Candice, she’s my mother,” Will pleaded, sensing that my silence was not a good one. “I had to tell her.”

            “I haven’t told my parents yet,” I said quietly.

            “And I know for a fact you’re not going to,” he told me. “Not after what…”

            I turned around and watched him, waiting for him to finish that sentence. He clapped his lips together and breathed out sharply, knowing that was probably a territory he best not venture into.

            “I’m sorry,” Will apologized. “But I thought they deserved to know. Whether we want to admit it or not, they’re still my parents, Candi.”

            I sighed, knowing I was acting like a child. If I wanted to have Will, then unfortunately his parents came as an unfortunate addition to the package, and I’d have to respect that. “You’re right,” I told him, rubbing my forehead. “They are still your parents. When are we going?”

            “Friday,” he said, wincing.

            “Friday?” I squeaked. “Will, that’s two days away! You know I need at least a week to prepare myself for the verbal onslaught your mother gives me!”

            “It’ll be different this time,” Will promised. “They only want to make things better. And, plus, Lochie will be there. And you know how much he loves you and protects you, too.”

            Will was right, and knowing Lochie Winchester would be there too did help a lot. Lochie was Will’s older brother, twenty-six and counting. He shared the same gorgeous locks, but took after his mother’s green eyes, unlike Will. He was tanned and lean and, unlike Will, had never gotten over his bad boy tendencies. He was a slick business kingpin with a penchant for partying and beautiful women. He was the boy Will could have been had he not turned his back on that aide of him a long time ago.

            Despite that, Lochie was still a great guy, and he always came to my defense when I was attacked by Genevieve. Unlike her, he was more than willing to accept me into the family, and treated me as if I were his sister. We hadn’t exactly gotten off on the best foot, but now things were great between us.

            I nodded and leaned against the bench, feeling more reassured by the thought of him being there to back me up. It was no secret that both Winchester boys were mildly intimidated by their mother, so I did have a backup there.

            They were just as scared of her as I was.

            “Okay,” I said, nodding and accepting my cruel, cruel fate. “I’ll go.”

            He stood up and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him. I twined my arms around his neck and buried my face in the crook of his shoulder, shutting my eyes and breathing in his boyish scent.

            “Thank you,” he whispered. “And the minute I sense trouble, we’re hightailing it out of there, all right?”

            I nodded. “Okay.”

            “Everything all right?” Ava asked as she wandered into the room fresh out of her shower. Her hair was damp, and she wore a t-shirt and jeans.

            “Sure,” Will told her, releasing me and turning to her with a smile. “We’re just venturing into the lion’s den, that’s all.”

            “Why am I not reassured by that?” Ava joked.

            “It’s fine,” I told her. “We’re just going to pay Will’s parents a visit this Friday night.”

            She didn’t know much about Will’s parents, but the look on her face told me she knew that was not a cause for celebration.

            But I was willing to do it for Will, after everything he’d done for me. Even if it meant spending one night in the rich version of hell.

            And plus, Will would be there to back me up, which he’d done for me on more than one occasion.

            It was just one night. How bad could it be?

            …Right?

~      *     ~

I should probably be sleeping right now, but I'm hyped on sugar and far too excited to bother. Hope you liked this chapter, and please remember to drop a vote and a comment telling me what you think. Also, please add and fan me if you haven't already :) Sharing this book with friends is also appreciated.

Happy Easter to everyone celebrating! Hope you get the goodies you deserve, and hope the Easter Bunny is kind to you all!

Also, I'm officially on break from school right now, which means more time to write, though my time is taken up by Camp NaNoWriMo. However, I will try to write as much as I can for you guys and update as quickly as possible.

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