Never A Bride-24/2(7)

[the_bluesuede]

Author: BlueSuede
Title:  Never a Bride
Rating:  NC17
Genre: Romance/Humor
Pairings/Characters: primarily Chloe/Oliver
Summary:  When a newspaper prints a false engagement announcement for Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan, and all their friends are thrilled, Chloe and Oliver decide to stage a fake engagement and breakup to prove to their friends how wrong they are for one another.  Because, they will break up, won't they?
Warnings: completely Alternate Universe; also, sexual content and occasional language



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dandiandi22

First Chapter

Previous (Chapter 23)
Next (Chapter 25)



-24-

"Chocolate syrup?"

"What?" Chloe asked, shocked. "Oh…uh, no thanks, Lo."

Lois shrugged. "Suit yourself." She passed Chloe a bowl of plain vanilla ice cream, before squeezing half the bottle of chocolate syrup-or so it seemed to Chloe-onto her own bowl. Grabbing a couple of spoons, she joined Chloe on her way to the sofa. "So what do you think? What should we watch? God, I'm so glad you could come stay for the whole week, cuz. I have missed you like hell."

Chloe smiled. "Lo, of course I came to stay for the week. I've had this marked on my calendar since you set the date. Now what should we watch? This is the most important Sullivan-Lane movie night of all time. We need an appropriate film marathon."

The girls looked at each other and simultaneously agreed. "HANGOVER!"

"I've got the DVDs," Lois said, lunging from the sofa to her entertainment system. "God. I get married in seven days, Chloe," she paused. "I can't believe it. It feels like seven years."

"But it's gonna go by in seven minutes, just wait," Chloe said, heart aching. "Lo?"

"Mmhmm?" Lois asked, scanning her DVDs until she found The Hangover parts I, II, and III.

"Will you promise me something?"

"What?" Lois asked, looking up and meeting Chloe's eyes.

"That we'll still do this when you're married."

"Do what?" Lois frowned.

"Movie night. Sullivan-Lane night." Chloe shrugged. "I don't want to lose this."

"Chlo," Lois frowned, dropping the DVD cases and coming to sit by her cousin, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "Of course we'll still do this. Nothing's changing."

Chloe sighed, exhausted from being told that. "Of course it is, Lois! You're getting married! How can everything not change?"

Lois's brow cinched. "Have things changed between you and Dinah? Or any of our other married friends?"

Chloe shrugged. "I just don't spend that much time with her one on one anymore. And it seems like we don't even see that much of each other to begin with."

"Cuz, you're a busy person. So's Dinah for that matter. I mean, she's filming right now. We've always known that if we wanted to spend time with each other, we were gonna have to make it. And we still will. Sullivan-Lane Movie Nights are sacred business. No way in hell am I letting them fall to the wayside." She made a scoffing noise but then saw the relieved tears forming in Chloe's eyes. "Aw, Chlo," she said, concerned and reaching forward to hug her. "What's up? Is this-" she hesitated. "Is this about Oliver?"

Chloe felt like she'd been doused in ice water. People had been avoiding saying his name around her, and frankly, she'd been grateful. For the past month it had been so much easier to try to get on with her life by pretending nothing had happened. Slowly, things were getting back to normal. Normal before Oliver. "No," she insisted immediately. "It doesn't have anything to do with…anything. I just don't want to lose what we have."

"We won't," Lois promised. "This," she gestured between them, "is never gonna go away. We're way too awesome for that."

Chloe gave her a half-hearted smile, still feeling the impending loneliness of the rest of her life. But for once, she really believed someone who was telling her that nothing had to change.

"I'm not saying things won't change," Lois continued, not realizing what Chloe had just been thinking. "I'm just saying that they're only going to get better."

Dropping her head to her cousin's shoulder and smiling, Chloe sighed. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Lois looked at the top of Chloe's head and chewed on her tongue anxiously. "Listen, while we're on the subject…I just wanted to check on how the whole 'Oliver' situation is going."

Chloe stiffened next to her. "What do you mean?"

"I just wanted to, uh, well, know if you'd spoken at all."

Sitting up again, Chloe's facial features were suddenly closed off. "No."

"Has he tried to talk to you at all? Or…you to him?"

She bit her lip. "I…yeah. He's called twice in the last two weeks, but I…missed the calls," her eyes darted away. It wasn't exactly a lie. She'd been at work both times he'd called, and she told herself she was too busy to pick up the call right then. She couldn't admit that she was just too scared to talk to him. And he hadn't left a message, so she'd just assumed it wasn't important. So no need to call him back.

"Oh." Lois seemed to be choosing her words carefully. No one had been able to get either Oliver or Chloe to explain what the breakup had been about, but to no one's surprise, the tabloids had been abuzz with wild theories, each one more scandalous than the last. If anything had ensured Chloe's silence on the matter, it was that. Lois felt for Chloe. Her own relationship with Clark was sometimes abused and violated by the media, but fortunately, Clark interacted so well with his fans that they rarely got overly invasive. Oliver and Chloe, though? They weren't celebrities like Clark. They were just a couple of people whose family's and social standings thrust them into the public eye constantly. So as much as Lois wanted to push Chloe to confide in her, she understood why Chloe was so closed off. "Well…mainly I just wanted to check in with you about how you're feeling about the wedding."

"What?"

"I just mean…you haven't seen each other, but…you're going to be, y'know, seeing a lot of each other this weekend. The rehearsal dinner, the wedding, the reception…" she trailed off, eyeing Chloe nervously.

"Oh." Chloe was in shock. Honestly, she'd forgotten all about it. She'd had so much else on her mind regarding Lois's wedding that she'd completely failed to realize she was going to have to see Oliver there.

"But don't worry," Lois rushed to reassure her, sensing the beginnings of a panic attack, "Bruce is the one walking you down the aisle. And it's a big wedding party, and all the family is there, and Lucy'll be happy to run interference for you-she's super-pissed at Oliver for you, by the way, and-"

"Why is she pissed?" Chloe interrupted sharply.

"Well…she just…you know how Lu gets, she actually reads all those stupid articles-"

"It's all complete fiction, you know that, Lois," Chloe snapped.

"I know, I know!"

"Tell Lu to stop reading that bullshit."

"I will. I just mean she'd be more than happy to help you out for her own misguided reasons."

"I don't need Lu to run interference for me," Chloe said firmly, although she knew it was a lie. The last thing she wanted right now was to see Oliver, let alone talk to him. She didn't think her heart could take it.

"Of course not," Lois agreed readily. "Just…let me know if you change your mind, okay?"

Calming herself down, Chloe sighed. "I will. But stop worrying about me and my failed relationships. I don't want you fussing about that this weekend, okay? I just want you to enjoy every second of this."

Lois grinned, grabbing her ice cream bowl and taking a bite before returning to the DVD player to finish setting it up. "I will. I'm especially looking forward to my bachelorette party, by the way." She wiggled her eyebrows. "Any hints about what we're doing?"

Chloe grinned back. "Just one. I got you a superhero cape to wear."

Lois pumped her fist. "Sweeeeet," she joked and they both laughed.

Well, Lois thought, at least she's laughing again. From what Dinah's been telling me, that's a major improvement.

"I just don't get it, Ollie," Mia sighed for the hundredth time, stealing a french fry from him. "What happened?"

"She got spooked, Mia. That's the best I can explain it. And she's a tough woman to talk down from a cliff."

They were both in their gym clothes, sitting in the middle of his home gym, hot and sweaty from a sparring session and indulging in some well-earned fast food delivery for lunch. Oliver was relieve that Mia was finally talking to him again. She'd been furious with him for weeks. ("WHAT DID I TELL YOU, OLLIE? Don't screw this up because if I have to pick sides, I will choose hers! That is what I said on the very first day of this!")

Luckily for him, all the while that he had been insisting that the breakup had nothing to do with Chloe, Chloe had been insisting that it was a mutual split. So Mia had finally been forced to accept that he hadn't 'done anything wrong,' not that Oliver necessarily felt that that was true, but…he needed whatever allies he could get right now. Plus, he was desperate to hear from Mia how Chloe was doing. ("I mean, she's fine. She's still the most awesome boss ever-can't believe she promoted me-she's just really distracted. And I accidentally walked in on her crying the other day, which was super uncomfortable.")

"Well…un-spook her, Ollie. You know you're in love with her! How can you just let her get away like this?" Mia huffed, taking a frustrated bite of her burger.

He chuckled wearily. "It's more complicated than that, Mia."

"Not the way I see it. Dude loves chick; chick loves dude. Dude and chick get married and make cute little blonde babies and cause all their friends and family to gag because they're so disgusting together. End of story."

Oliver barked a laugh. "Yeah, well, that makes it sound pretty cut and dry, but the thing is, I don't know if Chloe's actually in love with me or not."

Mia choked on a fry. Coughing and sputtering, she beat a fist against her chest before gasping for air. She looked at him and smacked the back of his head. "Are you kidding? YOU MORON, OF COURSE SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU! JEEZ!"

"Ow! Stop yelling!"

"Are you serious? God, you're so useless. I mean, have you even seen you two in a room together, Ollie? You're both so in love it's pathetic." She muttered something to herself about 'morons' and love being 'wasted on idiots.'

"Look…really, Mia, there's a lot that happened that you don't know about."

"Doesn't mean I don't know love when I see it. I mean, you should hear Edward talk about what she was like before she met you. She was SO happy when she was with you." She shook her head. "I just don't get it. Seriously, what happened?"

Oliver heaved a tired sigh and rubbed a hand across his face. He only wished he could explain. It was one thing to tell Hal. But he was not going to run around telling everyone what had really happened, especially to people Chloe interacted with on a daily basis, and especially without Chloe's permission. "It's a long story."

"Well what are you gonna do about it? Aren't you even trying to win her back?"

"Right now I'd settle for getting her to talk to me. She hasn't returned my last couple of calls."

Mia snorted. "Oh come on. You're Oliver-fucking-Queen. Go scale a wall, climb her balcony, ride in on a noble steed and sweep her off her feet, for God's sake!" She pushed herself up and stormed off to the kitchen to raid his fridge, and Oliver distinctly heard her say something under her breath about what a useless disappointment he was.

"Hey! I'm gonna see her at the wedding this week, okay! And I'm just trying to give her her space!" he called after her.

"She doesn't need space; she needs you to kiss her senseless, numbskull!"

Oliver rolled his eyes, though even he had to admit that perhaps the idea had some merit.

It wasn't possible. It simply. Was not. Possible.

Chloe still held Diana's cell phone in her hand, her face pale with horror as she did the math. Not only was it possible, it was happening.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe. I can't believe this is happening. I even phoned the private airport-there's nothing anyone can do. I swear we'll be on the first flight out of here, whatever it takes, but…I just don't know what else I can do."

Realizing there was nothing to be done for it, Chloe pulled herself together and took the reins. "I completely understand, Bruce. I know you'd be here already if you could. Don't worry, I'll explain it to Clark and Lois. They'll understand, too. We just want you to be safe. So don't do anything reckless, okay?"

"I'll try," Bruce said grimly, but she suspected he was still calculating how long it would be before the private airport would be willing to let him pilot his own plane out into the storm.

"Bruce," she said sternly. "Don't. Diana will never forgive you."

"All right, all right, I promise. Bye, Chloe. Hopefully I'll see you soon," Bruce consented before hanging up.

"He's going to do something stupid, isn't he?" Diana said as Chloe returned her cell phone to her.

"I warned him not to," Chloe sighed. She couldn't believe this. Of all the days for their to be a tornado warning in Gotham, grounding every flight out, it had to be the day of Lois and Clark's wedding. Diana had been able to fly out the day before, in time for the rehearsal dinner. But Bruce, like certain other business men that Chloe was trying very, very hard not to think about, had had to stay behind for work reasons, planning to fly out the day of the wedding. "I'm sure it will be fine. Hopefully it will blow through and Bruce can charter a flight out in time for the reception at least."

"But Chloe…he's the Best Man," Diana said. "What do we do?"

"Just…tell me something, and tell me the truth, Diana: Does he have the rings? I didn't have the stomach to ask him on the phone."

"No, he gave them to Richard a few days ago for safe keeping. I think he must have had a small inkling that this might happen, because he mentioned it to me. He really hated waiting until the last minute to fly in like this, and I just know he's kicking himself now," Diana groaned. "I should have put my foot down. I should have insisted he fly in with me yesterday."

"Bruce has a lot of demands for his attention," Chloe comforted. "This isn't his fault. Things happen. Right now, I need to talk to Clark."

"The men should all be here by now," Diana said, checking the time on her phone. I think they're changing down by the fellowship hall in one of the sunday school classrooms. Room 922," she said slowly, guessing.

"All right, I'll talk to Clark. And you go check on how Lois's hair is coming along."

"Do you want me to tell her about Bruce?"

Chloe bit her lip, hesitating. She wanted to say no, that Chloe would do it, but she figured the sooner Lois knew the facts, the better. "Yeah, you'd better go ahead. Just…brace yourself."

Diana smiled bracingly. "Oh, don't worry. I know Lois."

Chloe nodded. "All right. Synchronize your watches, ladies," Chloe joked weakly. "Back in fifteen minutes to change into our dresses. Then we get our hair done. Then helping Lois get into her dress in forty-five."

Both women looked at their phones and set a timer. "Got it," Diana said, snapping it shut and taking off down the hall toward the pastor's office, where Lois was having her hair put up.

Chloe watched her go, steeling herself and stalling for time. She was dreading telling Clark for all the obvious reasons, but she also knew what the most likely solution was to this scenario, and she knew what that meant for her.

Stop being selfish, she told herself firmly. This isn't about you. So she trekked around the long hallway of the church until she found the classroom that had paper taped over the window, and "Groomsmen" scribbled onto a sign on the door.

Holding her breath, she knocked. It cracked open and her heart sunk when she saw Oliver blocking the doorway.

"Chloe," he said, caught off guard and opening the door a little further. Then, seeing her expression, "What's wrong?" He started to reach for her shoulder in concern, but she stepped back automatically, and his hand dropped awkwardly.

"I…um…" she swallowed, trying to remember what she was doing there. She hadn't seen Oliver since the day he walked out of her office…since the day she sent him out of her office. "There's a tornado."

"What?" Oliver asked, confused. He checked over his shoulder to make sure everyone was dressed before opening the door the rest of the way for her.

"I need to talk to Clark," Chloe remembered, searching the room and finding him fumbling with his cufflinks.

Trying to ignore Oliver's eyes on her, Chloe approached her childhood friend, who appeared to be shaking with nervousness.

"Chloe!" he said, surprised. "What's up?"

Chloe allowed herself a moment to smile. He looked so handsome in his suit, and so happy. If she'd thought Lois was glowing that morning, it almost didn't compare to the brilliance radiating from Clark like the sun. A few tears formed in her eyes and she blinked them back. "Clark, I have bad news. The weather in Gotham's only gotten worse. There's a tornado now, and everything's been grounded for the indefinite future. Bruce isn't going to make it. He's so sorry. But he says that he gave Dick the rings, so when he gets here, I'll collect them from him. I'm going to call him in just a second," she assured him hurriedly.

Clark's face was crestfallen. "There's no way he'll be here on time?" he asked desperately, not wanting to get married without his best man. "We can delay the wedding for an hour or two if we need to."

Chloe shook her head sadly. "I'm so sorry, but the weather reports are saying the storm will last all night. There's no telling when he'll be able to get out of there, even on his own jet. And if we delay for too long, we might lose the reservations for the reception, which is the last thing we need."

Clark nodded, understanding. "I'll take care of it. Will you let me know when Dick gets here? We're going to have to move some things around. I'd like to ask him to stand up with me."

"Of course. I'm sure he'll be honored," she had already been anticipating this, knowing they would need to shift the wedding party and make sure there was still an even number. "I have to go see to Lois, but don't worry, Clark. Everything else will be fine. And," she flung her arms around him for a hug. "Congratulations, Clark. I'm really happy for you." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks, Chlo," he said warmly, and she felt a tiny bit of the tension he was holding release as he hugged her back and planted a brotherly kiss on top of her head. "Go take care of my future wife, okay?" he instructed her as he released her.

"You got it," Chloe mock-saluted him, turning to go. She caught Oliver watching her, but he quickly looked away even as she diverted her eyes.

"Oliver," Clark said over her shoulder as she made her way to the door, accidentally bumping into Victor as he was pulling up weather reports and flight listings on his tablet. "Can I have a word?"

Cringing internally, Chloe fled the room, knowing exactly what Clark was going to do next.

She pulled out her phone and dialed Dick. He picked up before the first ring had finished. "You heard," he said grimly.

"Yeah," she affirmed.

"Don't worry, I'm already on my way to the church and yes, I've got the rings."

"Dick, if you weren't dating Babs, I would definitely kiss you."

He chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm bringing my suit with me, and I'll just change when I get there. Anything else you guys need? Was there anything else Bruce was supposed to be in charge of?"

"Not that I think you need to worry about, but listen: Clark wanted me to ask if you'd stand up for him. I think he's going to ask Oliver to stand in for Bruce, but we still need t-"

"To balance out the wedding party," Dick finished. "Of course. I'd be honored."

"I told him you would be. I'm calling one of my contacts from the bridal store next and we'll get you the appropriate tie and vest for your suit, and everything else will just have to do," she said, thinking ahead. "I don't suppose your suit is black, is it?" she asked hopefully.

"You're in luck, Sullivan," he said, laughing lightly. "Listen, I'm pulling onto the interstate, so I gotta pay attention here, and I know you've got plenty on your plate, so I'm gonna go. But I'll be there in less than fifteen, and I'll give Bruce a call in a minute to make sure there's nothing else we need to cover, okay?"

"Fantastic. Seriously, you're the best. Thanks, Dick."

They hung up, and Chloe immediately called the bridal shop and explained who she was and what the situation. Silently thanking her stars that her name carried so much weight in the fashion world, Chloe gratefully thanked them when they assured her they would do their best to send over the closest possible match for Bruce's suit and tie. She gave them Dick's measurements, again, silently thankful for her job and that she could give them such a close estimate to his sizes. With any luck, they would have the necessary pieces at the church within the next hour or two.

She reached the Bride's dressing room, and Lois immediately snapped her head up, much to the distress of the hairdresser working on Lois's up-do, who seemed to be having a rather difficult time of keeping Lois still.

"Chloe," Lois reached out her hand for her. "What's going on? Is Bruce really not going to make it?"

"Sorry, Lo, but no. It's okay, though," she added quickly. "We've already sorted it out. I just spoke to Dick, and he's going to stand in as a groomsman," Lois showed visible signs of relief, "and I think Clark's going to ask Oliver to be the Best Man now."

The two cousin's eyes met across the room, and Lois said flatly, "Girls, can I speak to Chloe for a minute?"

They all nodded and Chloe sent the hairdresser away for a moment, as well, much to the woman's frustration.

"Chloe," Lois said seriously when the door clicked shut. "Are you okay with this?"

Chloe kept her face closed. "With what?"

"I know it's gotta be hard seeing Ollie, and now you're going to be walking down the aisle together and…just…do you think you can handle it?"

"Lois, of course I can," Chloe lied. "It's your wedding. Don't worry about me."

Lois wasn't convinced. "I won't be happy if I think you're uncomfortable."

"Really, Lo," Chloe took her cousin's hand comfortingly. "I can deal. It's not my favorite idea, I'll admit, but I would never ask Clark to pick his third choice for best man all because I have some silly feelings to deal with. Don't worry about me."

"If you're sure…."

"I am."

"Okay."

"Just promise me one thing?"

"What's that?" Lois asked.

"Don't you dare make that man shove a garter up my leg at the reception."

They both laughed, remembering how it had all started, and Lois grinned. "You got it."

Chloe hugged her briefly then pointed out, "Listen, I love you, but your hair looks ridiculous right now, we need to get that woman back in here to finish it."

Chloe was shaking. Actually trembling. With every fiber in her being, she was avoiding making eye contact with him. She would not look at him. She would not. She wouldn't.

She looked. His eyes met hers, burning into hers with questions that she decidedly did not want to answer: Have you figured it out yet? Do you still think you don't have feelings for me or did you realize you do? Do you miss me? Can you sleep at night all alone? Because I can't.

She knew he wanted to say something, but she was grateful that they had to be quiet because the ceremony had begun. The small string orchestra had struck up the appropriate music and any minute…yes, it was happening. She wondered whether it were possible to be electrocuted from human touch because as scared as she was to take Oliver's encouragingly offered arm…she really thought she might. Terrified, she very gently rested the tips of her fingers in the crook of his elbow and wished she could die. Touching him was painful, like breaking her heart all over again.

If he can break your heart, that little voice inside of her asked, doesn't that mean it's real?

Not necessarily, she reminded herself. Because how could they ever know if any of it was real? He might think he was in love with her now, but he could just as easily wake up one day and realize what a farce it all was. She wished he would stop looking at her. As she kept her eyes firmly focused on the alter, she was painfully aware of the fact that he was firmly looking directly at her, and not keeping his eyes ahead of him like he should.

Oh, Oliver, why do this to us both? she asked him silently. It's awful enough walking down an aisle together like everyone expected us to in a couple of months.

In one horrible moment she saw it, saw what everyone else had been picturing: her and Oliver, looking into one another's eyes as they took their vows, professing their love before friends, family, and loved ones. And with a horrible ache in her very bones she realized how much she wanted it, but she couldn't tell if it was the scene that she wanted, or Oliver, or both. Did her happily ever after depend on Oliver being there, too? She didn't know how to tell.

There were mutters and whispers and knowing looks following them all the way down the aisle, and Chloe was starting to think that for all her well-meaning speeches to Lois, maybe she really couldn't do this. She was seized with a wild urge to turn around and run the other way.

Oliver obviously sensed her distress and finally took his eyes off of her. Instead, he placed his free hand over hers, pressing them in a comforting, and-for once in his life-non-flirtatious gesture that reminded her that at the end of the day, whatever had happened or perhaps was happening between them, he cared about her, and wouldn't let her get hurt if he could help it.

After what felt like a lifetime, they finally made it to their appropriate places at the altar, and Oliver stepped away from Chloe. Not, of course, without pressing a handkerchief discreetly into her hand, which Chloe clung to gratefully. However much she hoped she wouldn't need it, that she wouldn't need him, she knew that Lois was her cousin, her best friend, and also reciting original vows to her long-time childhood best friend and that was going to be far more than Chloe and her unstable emotions could take.

Or so she thought. The most surprising thing about this wedding, Chloe realized, as Lois walked down the aisle and met Clark's eyes, was how utterly happy it made Chloe. Where was the sadness? Where was the forlorn conviction that everything was changing and she she was going to be left all alone? She believed it was all still true, but she simply couldn't bring herself to be anything other than divinely happy for Lois and Clark, and when one, lone tear finally trickled down her cheek, it was a tear of joy as Clark and Lois kissed as man and wife. Heart full, Chloe found herself squeezing the handkerchief tightly in her hand, rather than using it to blot away the tear.

Unable to help it, she chanced a look at Oliver. Once again he was looking at her, and his eyes said it all: he still wanted her, he still thought he was in love with her, and given the chance, he wanted to marry her and kiss her like Clark was currently kissing Lois.

She didn't know how to explain to him that she still didn't know what to think, let alone what to believe.

"Aren't you going to get up?" a voice said in her ear, and her toes curled while her stomach flipped.

"Oh no," she laughed with false bravado. "I've learned my lesson."

The DJ was calling all the single women forward for the bouquet toss.

"Scared you'll end up engaged to someone else by this time next year?" Oliver teased softly.

Chloe looked at him. "You know that's not it."

"I'm sorry. I know…I didn't mean it that way. But I have to tell you, I think Lois is gunning for you. Sure you want to let her down by not even pretending to try?"

Chloe glanced at Lois, who was looking at her with raised eyebrows as the other women gathered in front of her.

"Damn it," Chloe muttered, pushing up from her chair and faking a smile for everyone.

Oliver watched her go, almost wishing she had stayed.

With a sudden feeling of de ja vu, Chloe flashed back to Dinah's wedding, where the decorations had been ivory and pale yellow instead of vibrant reds and blues, but she had been surrounded by a mob of women all vying for the bouquet. Last time, Chloe had 'caught' it by mistake when it fell at her feet and she meant to hand it to the girl in front of her, who touched it first. This time, with determined force, the bouquet came barreling toward her face, and she had to catch it to keep from being pummeled.

Damn it, she thought vehemently even as she lifted it and pretended to be thrilled for Lois's sake.

In a bizarre twist of fate that no one, not even Lois or Dinah, could ever have planned, the garter hit Oliver in the forehead and fell into his hands.

DAMN IT, Chloe thought.

"And would the young lady who caught the bouquet and the gentleman who caught the garter please come forward-" the DJ was saying as Lois raced across the room to try to stop this disaster-already-in-motion "we'd like to ask them to share a dance toge-" he cut off abruptly as Lois practically tackled him. "Or not!" he said quickly after Lois frantically whispered something into his ear, a little too obvious. "Actually let's have all the lovely young couples out there on the dance floor for this next number. Come on, folks, don't be shy! Find that special someone and pull them out here!"

But the damage was done. Even as a few couples and some well-meaning friends headed to the dance floor, dozens of eyes were still turned to both Chloe and Oliver. Chloe was red with embarrassment, and she knew exactly whose shiny black shoes had suddenly appeared in front of her as she refused to lift her eyes.

"Come on, Chloe," he said gently. "For old times' sake."

She looked up at him and her heart throbbed in her chest and she just didn't know what to say. "Ollie…please, I don't want to dance."

Searching her face, he dropped his offered hand. "Chlo-" he began, not sure what to say, "Please."

"Oliver, nothing's changed. We're still the same people who got in over our heads," she said in a hushed voice, not wanting to be overheard.

"I don't believe that," Oliver shook his head. "For one thing, if we were, then you'd be dancing with me just to make everyone else shut up," he gave her an almost pained smile. "I'm actually kind of proud of you, even if I am a little disappointed."

"Oliver, can you honestly tell me it wasn't all for show? Because it was. Everything we did started because we were putting on an act for everyone watching us. We just got so caught up in the lie."

He didn't seem to know how to answer that, so she pressed on.

"Please, Ollie, just go away."

Obviously miserable, Oliver started to walk away, but then stopped short. Turning back to her, he said, "You know what? I can tell you just that. It wasn't all for show. Because here's the thing, Chloe. Way back in the beginning, I might have kissed you at that engagement party because we were pretending to be something we weren't. But I never pretended to enjoy it. And I don't think you did either. Nothing about that was fake," he said seriously in a low voice so none of the busy-bodies straining to overhear them could make out what he was saying. "And I was never pretending when we were alone, either. So unless you were, you should seriously think about that." He didn't say it unkindly, but the words still cut Chloe to the quick, and she was left with a devastating hollowness in her chest as Oliver walked away.

God, I hate weddings, she thought wretchedly, slipping away to the bathroom to hide as soon as she was sure no one was watching her anymore.

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