With the warm breeze blowing freely in my long, caramel locks and the loud click of my heels against the concrete floor; I make my way up the church steps with a fake confidence surging through me.

Pulling, once again, at my baby blue dress; which just so happens to want to rise up past dangerous territory, I take a few deep breaths in.

"Jesus, you look good enough to eat in that dress." comes a voice I know all too well.

Turning around and locking eyes onto snow-white-pale skin and fiery copper hair, I can't help the huge smile that stretches across my face.

"Arghh, You're back!" I squeal, wrapping my arms around a very glowing, very gorgeous looking Chloe.

She's wearing a deep red dress and I must say; the colour suits her perfectly.

"I am! I couldn't stay away from you a second longer, obviously." she states, smiling from ear to ear.

Pulling away but not leaving go of her shoulders, I stare back at my best friend who I've not seen in over five months.

"...and where is that beautiful fiancée of yours?" I ask, sending a wink her way.

Chloe beams at me and I notice a slight blush settle in her cheeks.

"Oh Dylan, he's just parking the car. He said he'll meet us inside." she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me over to the giant arches that signals the entrance of the church.

An uneasy feeling settles through me as I realise the last time I was here was for Jane's funeral but I'm quick to push those thoughts aside.

Smiling at Chloe once again, I can't help but squeeze her hand as a way of reassuring myself that she is indeed, actually here.

"I can't believe you're here. I thought you guys weren't due back until next week?" I ask, taking in the beautiful scenery surrounding me.

White lilies decorate each pew and lilac ribbon drapes beautifully over the platforms. The entire place looks amazing and the whole thing screams 'Dream wedding'.

"Yeah, we weren't supposed to come back until next Wednesday but we decided to cut our travels short for the wedding." she explains, waving frantically at a very surprised looking Drew.

As we near him, the smile on his face grows bigger and bigger and I can't ignore the excitement that clouds his features. He instantly takes Chloe into his wide arms and squeezes her tiny frame.

"Look whose back!" he smiles, flashing his pearly white teeth.

He moves his head so he can look her in the eyes and raises both eyebrows.

"Congratulations soon to be Mrs Jackson." he says, a slight buzz of happiness lacing his voice.

Chloe pulls away; laughing at him.

"Please, neither of us has any money left after travelling; I think the wedding is a while off yet." Chloe explains, looking at the both of us.

Drew smiles before his eyes travel to mine and he pulls me into a brotherly hug.

"I see you almost every day but I suppose I can't leave you out." he jokes, squeezing my body tight.

His tough grip leaves me feeling slightly light-headed and my lungs reeling for oxygen.

I swear this man doesn't realise his own strength half the time.

"Aren't I lucky?" I say, sarcasm dripping through my voice.

Drew laughs and the sound echoes throughout the entire church. Leaving go of me, his eyes land on Chloe again and he begins to shake his head smiling.

"I can't believe you're here; Aidan is going to be so happy to see you two." he states, before suddenly tensing at his own words.

Their smiles instantly drop and they both cautiously move their gazes to look at me. A sickening wave of fear washes over me but I soon push it down before they can see it.

"It's fine. You're allowed to mention his name around me, you know." I say in an amused tone; determined to lighten the mood.

They don't seem fooled and instead of dropping the subject, like I so desperately want them to, they carry on looking at me with pitiful expressions. Their faces make my stomach twist with unsettling knots but I don't let my emotions get the better of me.

Ever since I found out Aidan would be back in the Country, attending his brother's wedding, I've been practising how to react and deal with every situation that can possibly be thrown at me throughout today.

The plan is simple really; just keep smiling and pretend everything is okay.

Thankfully, the awkward moment is interrupted by Anna's voice cutting through the air as she struts over to us in her six inch heels.

"Sorry! I know, I know. I'm late. Blame Brad, I couldn't get rid of hi- hey Chloe, you're back!" she says, interrupting herself before finally wrapping Chloe into a bone crushing hug when she reaches her.

"I am and who is this Brad, hmm?" Chloe asks, wiggling her eyebrows at Anna suggestively.

Anna throws her head back, giving her waist-length-hair access to roll smoothly over her back and allows a soft chuckle to escape her lips. She's wearing a painfully tight, navy blue dress and I find myself questioning whether her outfit is appropriate for church.

That being said; mine's not much better.

"Just some guy I met at a club last night. Amazing body, huge coc-"

"Okay, I think we get it." I say, interrupting whatever God awful profanities she was just about to let slip.

Her ocean-blue eyes land on mine and slowly, they travel down my body.

"Well look at you. Any particular reason why you're dressing so breathtakingly irresistible today?" she asks, shooting me a knowing smirk which has me wanting to punch her square in the face.

Chloe allows a slight giggle to fall from her lips but soon shuts up when I send her a stern look. Her lips settle in a straight line and her eyes send unspoken words of apologies my way.

I am going to gut Anna for that comment, later.

"Are you all just going to stand there after five months of not seeing this beautiful face?" Dylan suddenly asks from behind us in that cheeky voice of his.

With a huge smile on my face, I turn around and instantly wrap him up in a giant hug.

"Aww, I've missed your 'out of this world' ego." I say, burying my face deep in the crook of his neck.

He laughs at me before taking Anna into his hold and then finally reaches Drew.

"It's good to see you guys again." he states, slapping Drew on the back in a manly manner.

"You too and congratulations on finally growing a pair and asking this beautiful woman to marry you." Anna says winking at Chloe.

She then turns to face Drew and her face loses all signs of playfulness.

"Come on Drew, when are you finally going to put us all out of our misery and ask Jess?" she asks, earning a chorus of laughter to fall from all of us.

He simply responds by shaking his head and winking at Anna.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." he states, proudly.

Anna smiles but it soon drops when she focuses her attention on something happening behind me.

I don't need spoken confirmation to know who just walked into the church and as I realise just how close I am to him, I start to panic.

I'm frozen to the floor and I don't dare turn myself around just yet.

From a short distance away, I hear Kyle's laughter and the entire being of my body tenses with anticipation.

Slowly turning around, I catch sight at the back of Aidan as he walks up towards the front of the church next to a very nervous looking Kyle.

Anna's hand finds mine and she gives me a light squeeze of encouragement which I respond to with a weak smile.

Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without her.

Obviously, I have Jess, Chloe, Drew and Dylan and to say they've been amazing over the years is a massive understatement. After the miscarriage, they individually helped me piece my life back together when I oh-so-gracefully hit rock bottom but the truth is; they don't know the half of how I really feel.

After high school, when Aidan moved to London to study, they all maintained a strong friendship with each other and spoke regularly. I, on the other hand, cut all contact from him and haven't seen him since.

Realising then how unfair, not to mention totally inappropriate it would be for me to discuss my true feelings around them; I decided to keep my mouth firmly shut when it came to the subject of Aidan Richards.

Anna, therefore, is the only one who has actual spoken confirmation about how I really feel. She's the only person I open up to about him and she's the only person who knows the truth.

I'm not over him.

She also happens to be the only reason why I'm standing here right now. A couple of months ago, I had convinced myself to decline the invitation and it was Anna who made me re-think my decision. She simply reminded me that I owe a lot to Kyle.

After all, he is the one who pulled me out of my depression three years ago when no one else could.

While everyone showered me with overbearing amounts of love and kindness, which I obviously thought I didn't deserve, he used a more, 'I don't give a shit Amelia, get the fuck out of bed' approach.

At first, I hated him but eventually it worked and I've since grown to love him like a brother.

I can hand on my heart say that if it weren't for Kyle and Hayley, my life would be a wreck.

I owe it to them both to attend today and if that means pushing my feelings aside for twenty four hours, then so be it.

"Holy shit! Is that Tom?" Anna suddenly asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

Everyone turns their attention to the direction Anna is currently gawking at and I find myself locking eyes on a tall guy with golden hair.

"Umm, yeah. I'm sure that's his name. Works with Kyle I think?" Drew answers, looking back towards Anna who is desperately ducking behind me; trying to hide.

"Why? Do you know him?" Chloe asks, trying her best not to laugh at Anna's obvious discomfort.

"If you call, 'sleeping with him and then leaving the next morning without as much as a goodbye' knowing him, then yes I know him." Anna hisses through clenched teeth.

"Nice!" Dylan states, raising his hand up for a high-five.

Chloe instantly grabs hold of his arm and yanks it down, laughing in the process.

I join her in laughing and before long all of us, including Anna, are doubled over in hysterics.

Our laughter is loud and bounces off of the walls, echoing throughout the church.

I suddenly catch eyes with Tom from across the way and this causes another bout of laughter to fall from me.

I quickly move my eyes away from his and find myself staring into a pair of familiar, forest green-hazel ones instead.

His.

It seems our very loud laughter caught the attention of Aidan and the sudden feeling of his eyes burning into mine nearly knocks me off of me feet. His features, although the same, have aged a few years and his build is much bigger now.

He already had an amazing body and dare I say it's gotten even better.

The way his hair is styled to the side has my hand twitching in the sudden need to have my fingers run through it and I physically have to chew down on my bottom lip to stop myself from actually doing so.

He offers me a lopsided grin and the action has my stomach churning and the area between my legs clenching.

Damn, why does he still have to be so un-humanly sexy?

I subconsciously find myself smiling back at him and in the long moment our eyes stay locked, everything I've been desperately trying to suppress these last four years comes rushing right back.

The regret, the anger, the love. Everything.

"Ladies and gentleman, if you could all take your places; the bride is ready." The vicar comes into view and commands her orders.

With one last smile from Aidan, we both look away and turn our attention back to reality.

Sighing a breath of relief, I absentmindedly rub my sweaty palms against the fabric of my dress; desperately trying to rid the clammy sensation.

Twenty four hours, Amelia; just twenty four hours. What can possibly go wrong in that amount of time?

~~~~

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