Knight In Shining Armour (The Wedding Series #1.5)

Chapter Seven

Once I got home after dropping Felicity off at her apartment, I sat on my sofa and took stock of the situation so far. I sometimes concluded Felicity and I were getting somewhere, as far as our friendship was concerned. But we'd take a step forward, then I would push it too far and she would put her walls up almost as quickly as they came down. Probably even quicker.

I just needed to take my social cues from Felicity from now on. To find out when I could push it. But it was hard to do so when old patterns were easy to fall into. Because merely being around her brought out that childish, playful side of me. And — correct me if I was wrong — that side of Felicity was slowly returning.

But I couldn't think too hard about that. If I started to indulge myself even a little, I would never stop wondering about all the various possibilities that this fortnight posed. Some were far more fanciful than others, and it usually ended with Felicity and me riding off into the sunset together. However, I knew that the most likely outcome at the end of these two weeks would be that absolutely nothing would change. Felicity would marry James and forget about me once more. And I would go back to my life where we would hardly see each other, and if we did, she would avoid eye contact at all costs.

But I knew I had to prepare myself for that genuine possibility. Instead of believing in the fantasies I had created.

I woke up the next morning with a clearer head and a brand new lease on life. I was in Felicity's life for now — for the next two weeks at least — so I would have to make the most of it and not make her wedding planning horrific and instead, I should encourage her to enjoy herself. Therefore, I would have to refrain from teasing and poking fun at her, as I was so used to doing. Although I would probably just turn back into a teenage-like, annoying puddle as soon as I saw her face again.

The vibrating of my phone on the counter next to me interrupted breakfast. I glanced at it and realised I was on the receiving end of a FaceTime call from my sister.

"Hi Lay!" I said as a form of greeting once my phone connected. I pushed the empty cereal bowl away from me, so all my attention was on her. "How's it going?"

We spoke for a little while about her business endeavours and everything seemed on track, according to Layla. And if things continued the way they were going, she would be back in time for the wedding, thus relieving me of my duties. As was inevitable, the conversation came back around to me and said duties.

"So, how are things going with you?" Layla asked. Her bright eyes told me she was eager for any form of gossip. She must've felt so out of the loop all the way in China. Especially because this was such an integral time of her adult life, and her closest friends (yes, I included myself in that) were spending so much time together. She was bound to be missing out on interesting tales — and she certainly was. A realisation of my selfishness descended upon me. Here I was; pining over a girl who I let slip through my fingers (and it was all my fault). Oh, boo hoo. Big deal. My sister wasn't even on the same continent as her best friend, whose wedding she had been planning since pretty much birth. And Layla was up to her ears in stress from her job. She clearly had the worse deal, so I needed to stop pining and just get on with it. My sister didn't notice my inner monologue as she continued with her line of questioning. "Did Felicity forget about the fitting yesterday?"

"Of course she did," I laughed, marvelling at how easy Felicity was to read. "But I went to her place, reminded her, took her to the shop, and then everything got sorted. I even took her and the girls for a few drinks at lunch to celebrate."

My sister's eyes widened, and I swear I saw her jaw drop an inch. "Really? And Felicity agreed to that?"

"Yeah, she did. After some persuasion from me and the girls, of course."