Prom was usually a symbol of the end of things. It was the time for farewells and, like most, I thought that this might be the time we all gathered together for the foreseeable future.

I wouldn't have predicted that we'd be invited to a wedding that very summer.

The announcement of Mr Bennett's upcoming nuptials with Jenny's mother had been a surprise to me, but Beth and Jenny, it seemed, had suspected that there might be something between them for some time. Given her mother's nature for remarrying wealthy men, I felt sure that this event would cause her some anxiety, but her longstanding relationship with Jenny and her mother ensured that this was not the case.

Indeed, that she and Jenny would finally be real sisters seemed to offset any nerves she may have otherwise had.

My own mother had a hand in arranging things and offered them Pemberley as a location for the wedding. I'd thought there might be more to it than that, given that she spent a great deal of time on the phone to the pair of them, but I wouldn't pry. They weren't my parents, and it was none of my business. As long as Beth was happy, that was all that mattered to me.

It was only the second time I'd seen Beth in a dress and, in my personal opinion, she outshone the bride. I knew better than to say as much, but I made no secret of the fact that I couldn't keep my eyes off her throughout the ceremony. I couldn't help but hope we might be able to sneak away during the reception and I could tell her just how beautiful she was without anyone to hear us.

The wedding party retired to the house immediately after the ceremony to take a breather and ready themselves for dinner, speeches, all the expected things that a bride and groom must do after publicly declaring their undying love for one another. Rather than hang around waiting on Beth like a man who couldn't function without his girlfriend present, I mingled with the other guests, greeting Beth's surfer friends, members of Jenny's extended family, and other acquaintances who wanted to know all about who I was and how I knew the couple.

It hadn't escaped my notice that Freddie had been invited. I knew that this must have been Beth's doing and that there was very little I could do about his presence. It didn't stop me from cornering my cousin and telling him, 'If you flirt with Beth at this thing, I'll punch you again, Freddie.'

'Cousin, would I do such a thing?'

'Yes, as easily as breathing.'

He smiled. 'Beth will always be mon ange, but she was always your amour. I am happy for you.'

'Please,' I scoffed, 'you made it clear enough that you had your eye on Beth at Christmas.'

'Oui, because you were not the man for her. Now, you are. I am glad to see it, cousin. But, I will be here if you do not make her happy.'

'I intend to make her happy for the rest of my life.'

Freddie dropped his hand on my shoulder. 'Then you have nothing to fear, non?'

'Non.'

As he walked away, I couldn't help but smile. At Christmas, I hadn't been anything like the man that Beth had deserved. Had Freddie not taken her out, I never would have told Beth how I felt that day. Naturally, it had been a disaster. It had been too soon for me to understand how important she was, how much more she deserved than the arrogant man who'd stood before her on that driveway in Paris. But, if we'd not shared that terrible moment, I might not have realised my own faults.

We may never have made it as far as we had.

For that, I would be grateful to my cousin.

The party continued on and I soon grew tired of mingling. Missing Beth, I sought her out in the crowd. She and Jenny were together and looking on as Freddie introduced himself to Meg. Apparently, this sight brought them enough joy that they were deep in conversation about how perfect they'd be together. Ignorant of my presence, they enthused about him together as I approached.

'I know!' Beth hugged Jenny's arm. 'How perfect would they be together? He would make her so much more confident.'

'Didn't you kiss him at Christmas?'

'Yeah, and she is going to love that. I mean... if it happens. He was really good.'

'Good at what?' I asked, happy to see that I'd made them both jump in surprise.

'Oh – er – nothing,' Beth backtracked quickly. 'Dancing, or something, I guess? Hi.'

'Jenny, do you mind if I borrow my girlfriend? Charlie's looking for you. He's worried that Eric might steal you away, I think.'

'Really? He's so sweet.' Jenny pecked Beth's cheek. 'I'll see you in a little bit, okay?'

'Okay, have fun!'

'So, what is my cousin good at?' I pressed.

'I told you, I just meant dancing! Anyway, how do I look?'

'Gorgeous, as always,' I said. 'I still want to know –'

'If I kiss you, will you stop asking?'

'I'll think about it.'

'Then I'm not going to do it,' she teased.

We were interrupted by a crash. A waiter had been tripped up by a guest and dropped a tray of champagne glasses. Chrissy was apologising to the poor man while he tried to tell her that it wasn't a big deal. Her dress had been splashed in the accident and another man came to her aid. Henry was on staff and should have been working, but the moment that Chrissy saw this attractive older man, she was quick to claim him for a dance.

'What is it about weddings?' I asked.

'What?'

'Everyone gets it into their heads that they should pair off.'

'Romantic setting?' Beth suggested. 'Or maybe it's just a good place for people to meet. Could be all the booze, though.'

'I'd better not see my sister kissing your friend. I'll need therapy for the rest of my life.'

'Don't be so grouchy,' she chided. 'It's sweet. Look at them! I haven't seen Lisa look that genuinely happy in forever, and Meg is talking to someone besides us. And I mean talking and not mumbling and trying to vanish into a hoodie.'

'Yes, it's all very sweet,' I muttered. 'Just don't tell anyone I said as much.'

'Yeah, your life would be so over if they knew you had feelings,' she joked.

'I know. It would ruin my reputation as a dashing, stoic hero sort, don't you think?' I flashed a charming smile.

'I thought your reputation was as a miserable git?'

'Cute. Very cute. Why do I love you again?' I asked.

'My upbeat personality and perky butt?'

I had thought a great deal about her butt when we'd first met, but I'd never told her that.

'Hm... I might need to reconsider this relationship.'

'I mean, if you insist. Eric and Freddie are both here. I can just –'

'No.' I pulled her into a possessive hug. 'Absolutely not.'

Beth laughed against my chest. I knew that she was joking, but it didn't mean that I was any less nervous about her realising that I was still that guy who'd been so nasty to her. I knew that there were many men who'd do a better job of making Beth happy than me, who could maybe love her just as much. But, for whatever reason, she loved me. Without her, my heart felt incomplete. We balanced one another. We made each other better versions of ourselves. We were, for better or worse, meant to be together.

'I meant to ask,' I said. 'Where are you going to live?'

'Uh, above the garage. At my house.'

'Is there room?'

'Room for what?' Jenny arrived with Charlie. 'We noticed you weren't dancing. We were going to tell you to stop being miserable. Are you actually talking about something important?'

'You guys are coming to live at our house, right?' Beth asked. 'I know your place is bigger, but we have a beach.'

I couldn't believe that they'd not talked about this yet. It was typical of Beth, but still, I was certain that their parents would have discussed the new living arrangements with them before the wedding.

'I wondered when you girls were going to start thinking about that,' Mr Bennett said. His arm was around Madeleine's waist and she leaned into him comfortably.

She smiled up at him. 'Can I tell them, now?'

'Go ahead.'

'Mrs Darcy – uh – Harriet,' Jenny's mother said upon realising that my mother had approached us and could hear her, 'has kindly agreed to sell us this place.'

'What, here?' Beth asked. 'This house?'

'Seriously?' Jenny asked. 'We can live near the beach?'

'I know it's smaller than our current house. But there's only the two of us in that place, and I thought it might be time to downsize. This way, Greg can still go to work, and we can all live together.'

'And we're going to get a smaller house in the town,' Mum added. 'Just in case you kids were worried that we were going to stop visiting this part of the country.'

I had been worried, but I was also happy. Mum had clung to Pemberley for so long because it reminded her of Dad. It was a beautiful house and it held happy memories, but it was time to let it go. The house deserved more joy and attention than we could give it. I was certain that Beth's family would make it into the home it always should have been.

'Is that okay, girls?' Mr Bennett asked.

Jenny hugged him tightly. 'Thank you!'

'Well,' he held her tight, 'your sister won't have space for a piano in our current place, anyway.'

'What would I need a piano for?' Beth asked.

'Don't be mad,' he said, 'but there was a phone call for you this morning because, apparently, you're terrible at checking your emails. I took a message. You got into the Royal Academy of Music. I thought you might need a place to practice when you came home to visit.'

'I – I what?! I got in?! Oh my God!'

Beth flung herself onto me with such force that we both almost fell over. I held onto her while she shrieked and laughed excitably.

'I guess that means we're going to see a lot of each other,' I said. 'I got into the London Business School. So, you can't get bored with me and find someone else. I'll be studying around the corner from you.'

'You're joking!'

'No, you really can't find someone else.'

'You know that's not what I meant,' she laughed. 'I never thought that I would – I mean with my exam – I can't even imagine it right now, I am freaking out!'

Jenny pouted. 'Now I wish I'd gotten into a university closer to you both.'

'You're going to Oxford, it's not that far away. If I had brains like yours, I'd totally go there. We'll see each other at weekends.'

'Maybe we should have waited to buy a house,' Mr Bennett said. 'You girls are only going to enjoy it for a few weeks.'

'Or we should have a few more kids,' Madeleine suggested.

'Oh, ew.' Beth covered her eyes. 'I didn't need that image.'

'Me either,' Jenny agreed. 'Charlie, let's go dance, okay? I need to get that visual out of my head.'

'Yeah,' Beth agreed. 'Will, I have to get away from them before I puke. Wanna dance?'

'With you? Always.'

'What are you smiling about?' I asked once we had found our friends on the dancefloor and were surrounded by couples.

'How proud I am of us,' she said.

'Isn't pride a fault?'

'It depends on what you're proud of,' Beth reasoned. 'It's a fault if you're conceited, but I'm proud of how far we've come, and who we are now because of what we've been through together.'

'And what we'll continue to face together,' I said.

Never in my life could I have imagined that I would find myself here. With a girl from a poorer background, at a wedding for people I'd never otherwise socialise with, surrounded by friends I might never have known, feeling happier than I thought it possible to feel.

The world had a funny way of making things come about, of putting them right. Although the path we'd taken had been complicated, winding, fraught with danger and emotional turmoil, I didn't regret a single step that I'd taken on it.

Every step had led me here.

It had led me to her.

As we sank into another wonderful kiss on that dancefloor, I knew then and there this was all that I needed for the rest of my life.

For her to be my Beth, and for me to forever be her Darcy.