"You and Warren are going to look so good walking down the aisle together," Hazel says. "You don't understand how happy I am for you guys."

I smile as I pick at the appetizers we ordered. It's been ten days since my birthday, and there are only two days until the wedding. Minus the process of setting up the beach house, we've basically completed everything else. All we're doing now is some last-minute double-checking.

Shaking my head, I say, "No – you are going to look stunning walking down that aisle. Warren and I are just another couple that is honoured to be part of the experience. Besides, the best man and maid of honour are supposed to walk down the aisle together – I'll be walking with Levi."

"About that," Hazel says, putting her purple-ink pen down. "Grey and I were discussing the walking arrangements. He doesn't mind going against tradition and letting you and Warren walk together, and Levi is okay with walking alone."

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Really?" I ask, unable to hide my excitement.

"Yeah," she shrugs. "Although it's our day, we still want everyone to be happy. So, if walking down the aisle together is what will make both of you happy, then so be it."

I stare at Hazel. The words I want to say can't seem to find their way to my tongue. I want to thank her for everything – welcoming me into the family even though she knew the truth, comforting me when need be, supporting my choices, for the free tattoo her fiancé gave me, and, well, for being a great friend.

"Thank you," I finally say, "for everything."

She reaches over and squeezes my hand. "Although I was upset with my brother at the beginning, I'm glad things turned out the way they have. Nova, I've never seen him so happy until now. And you..." she trails off and looks me over. "You seem happier too. There's just something about you that wasn't there before. Do you know what I mean? There's a light in your eyes again."

I slowly nod – I know what she's talking about. I've seen the change in myself. First of all, I'm starting to open up to people about my past a little bit more – their parents know my backstory now. I'm also, as Warren would say, friendlier. Apparently, I had this chilly vibe coming off of me at the beginning. Now, it's mellowed out a little and I'm more approachable. Happier.

However, my happiness doesn't mean I've forgotten about Carter. I still think about him sometimes, but I tend to no longer think about that specific day. Instead, I think about the good memories we had together and how proud he would be of me for moving on but not forgetting. It's a complicated dimension of feelings to understand, but it does get easier to deal with as time passes.

"Well," I smile. "I'm glad he's as happy as I am."

"So what did Julia say about cancelling your room request for next semester?"

I frown. I never said anything about that to her, and I wasn't going to until Julia confirmed that she was able to schedule Warren and I staying together.

"How do you know that?" I ask.

She laughs. "Wipe that concerned frown off your face, Nova. I'm not a stalker – my brother and I have always been close; he told me about the new plans for the fall semester. And" – she eyes me carefully – "I heard somebody lied about her birthday."

My cheeks heat up a little. I hate that I lied to Hazel about my real birthdate, but it's just like what I told Warren – this summer is about Hazel and Greyson. My birthday means nothing compared to the wedding.

"I..." I trail off. "I just didn't want to steal any of the attention."

"Please!" Hazel laughs. "I think taking some attention away from the wedding would've be a good thing to do. On top of that, you're dealing with the Ashfords – we celebrate birthdays like us Canadians celebrate Canada Day."

I laugh, remembering the picture of her and Warren covered in icing from a birthday cake when they were younger.

"And," she adds, poking me in the arm. "I heard someone had a very, very good birthday."

I almost fall out of the booth, my eyes widening and my mouth dropping open. Did Warren tell her what the two of us did? And if he did, how much did he tell her? By the look on her face, I think she knows the basic facts of the events that took place. As for the details...Oh, God.

One look at Hazel is all it takes for her to start laughing at me and my reaction. "Oh, my God," she says through her spurts of laughter. "I figured Warren was leaving out some details – he always gets this mischievous grin when he's lying or failing to mention everything. All I heard was that you two spent a few hours kayaking down at Peggy's Cove before you had a wonderful dinner. Clearly, that's not all that happened."

I drop my pen and cross my arms over my chest, glaring at her. "That was low for you," I say.

Her smile broadens. "I know," she says. "But you have to understand by now that not a lot gets by me – I am a lawyer, after all."

I sigh and drop my arms back to the paper-covered table. "Okay, yes," I say. "Warren and I slept together. For real this time. That is all I'm telling you though, because the fact that I'm talking about my sex life with my boyfriend's sister is making me uncomfortable."

Hazel scrunches her face up. "Yeah, okay, I can see what you're getting at. Sorry. I'm just so happy that the two of you are giving this a shot that I can barely contain myself. I love seeing both of you happy."

I smile to myself, shaking my head as I look down at the scattered papers. Hazel, even though she's five years older than me, sometimes acts like the little sister I never had. Most of the time she's the older sister I never had, but it's times like these that make me think she's younger than me at heart.

"So," I say, changing the topic. "Are you excited for the wedding?"

She sighs happily, and then looks down at her ring finger. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I've been looking forward to this day since I was a little girl."

I take a sip of my drink. "Did you ever want to do that whole "something old, something borrowed, and something blue" thing?"

Nodding, Hazel extracts a navy-blue ribbon from her purse. "This ribbon," she says, holding it out to me. "Was wrapped around the first bouquet of flowers that Grey gave to me. I'm going to wrap it around my own bouquet. I know it doesn't really go with the original colour scheme that most brides go with – it's usually baby blue – but I like it because it matches my colour scheme." She pauses. "I already have something new, which is my wedding dress. It's probably not something your average bride would consider to play that role, but that's what I'm going with."

"I totally agree," I say. "It's still blue, and it holds a lot of meaning."

The next item she presents is a pearl bracelet. "This was my grandmother's before it was my mom's," she says.

"Something blue, something old, something new," I say, tapping my finger against my lip. "You still need something borrowed."

She shrugs. "That's where I get stuck – I have no idea what I could borrow, let alone who I could borrow from."

Frowning, I ponder the thought of her borrowing something of mine for the wedding. But I can't think of anything specific at the moment.

Reaching up, I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. And just as I'm bringing my hand down, the skin of my pinkie finger rubs against the lobe of my ear. I freeze, and then look at Hazel. She's wearing simple silver studs.

"Hey, Hazel?" I ask.

"Yes?"

"Do you have any earrings to go with your wedding dress?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing special, anyway. I was going to dig through my old jewellery box and try to find a pair."

"Well," I say, reaching up to pull mine out. They're a simple pair of diamond earrings, but I think they'll go perfectly with her dress. Once they're both resting in the curve of my palm, I hold them out to her. "Borrow mine for the night."

Hazel looks at me, awestruck. "Really?"

I nod. "It's the least I can do. You've been a great friend to me. Consider it my way of saying thanks." I turn my hand to the side so both the diamond earrings go tumbling into her hand. They land in the middle of the pearl bracelet and adjacent to the navy-blue ribbon.

"Thank you, Nova."

I smile, letting the happiness fill me up. "Well, now you have something that's borrowed. I think you're set for the wedding."

She smiles back at me and says, "We wouldn't be here without you. Everything you've done – it's made everything easier for Grey and I." She pauses for a moment. "Warren told me you're going to university for journalism, but have you ever thought about becoming a wedding planner? You're so great at making phone calls and scheduling appointments. You've also got a talent for colour coordinating and stuff."

I contemplate her words. I am fairly decent at planning, but writing is my passion. "I don't know," I say.

She seems to pick up on where I'm heading with this. "Okay. What if you wrote about planning weddings? You have the experience. So, what if you started a blog with tips and basic themes and such? Or maybe tried to get a job with one of those wedding magazines?"

That snags my attention. "You know what?" I ask. "That's actually a pretty good idea. I'll have to look into it after I'm finished the program."

"It's just a suggestion," Hazel shrugs. "You don't have to listen to me. But I'm just saying you'd be putting more than one of your talents together."

I nod, excited about the new ideas that are in my head.

"Well," Hazel says, looking at her watch. "Greyson is going to be wondering where I am, and I'm sure Warren is doing the same. Besides, it's almost eleven – I'm getting tired."

I nod in agreement, and begin to pack up the papers and pens we brought while she signals the waiter to bring us the bill.

Once I have all the items neatly packed into the bag, I grab my purse and pull out my wallet. My fingers have just closed around my credit card when Hazel speaks up.

"Nova, you're not paying for this."

I gape at her. "Hazel! No! You have to stop doing this. I know – I've done a lot and all, but my tattoo had to have been at least three hundred dollars. That is enough to make up."

"This has nothing to do with the wedding or what you've done. This is me taking out my friend for her birthday." She cocks an eyebrow at me. "Next year, we're actually going to do something on your birthday."

I smile sheepishly as she pays. "I'm sorry?"

She laughs, and then gets to her feet after saying thanks to the waiter. "Besides, you can take me out some other time. Just because I'm getting married doesn't mean we can't have our nights out together, right?"

I nod even though she's forgetting the fact that I'm going to be leaving for Vancouver at the end of August with Warren.

"I've always wanted to visit Vancouver," she continues. "So maybe Grey and I can come visit you and Warren at some point. You can give us a tour of the campus, show us the dorm room, and take us out to your favourite restaurant."

I chuckle to myself. Yeah, nothing ever slides by Hazel.

"That would be great," I say as we step out the entrance.

"Of course it would," she says. "Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now." She pulls me in for a hug. "Thank you again, Nova. For everything. I couldn't have done all this without you."

"It was my pleasure," I say, hugging her back. "I've enjoyed every bit of this trip, and I'm starting to wish it wouldn't end."

With that, the two of us split off, me heading for the rental vehicle and Hazel heading for her car.

When I'm sitting in the driver's seat, I smile to myself. I can't believe everything that's happened because of a ridiculous plan I agreed to being part of. Throughout this whole experience, I've made peace with myself, made new friends, explored a new side of my home country, and I now have a boyfriend.

Sighing in happiness, I start the engine, back out of the parking space, and start heading back to the house.