Even though Felicity was incredibly wary of her sister reuniting with Tommy, she couldn't argue that Laurel looked happier than she'd seen her in a whole year. And as much as she hated giving Tommy any credit whatsoever, she grudgingly admitted that maybe he deserved at least some of it.

But no matter how happy Laurel was, it still didn't fully distract Felicity from her own longing.

She didn't have a lot of experience with love and boys, but Felicity thought for sure that she'd get over the whole Oliver thing in a few weeks at the most. After all, she'd never even kissed the guy, much less been on a date with him. How long could she possibly be hung up on him?

The answer, unfortunately, seemed to be a pretty long time.

Oliver had long since stopped coming to the bookstore every other afternoon — like he had the summer before — but that didn't stop Felicity from seeing him around town. Sometimes she'd spot him at the grocery store and she'd wave, but he'd just nod in return. Or sometimes she'd see him sitting outside the Mud House underneath a huge umbrella, reading a book.

In those instances, Felicity desperately wanted to go up to him and ask what he was reading, or what he planned to cook for dinner that night. But then she'd remember the look on his face the night of the dinner party when she inquired about Thea, and then she'd pull back and continue doing whatever it was she had been doing.

This was her own fault, Felicity had to remind herself. She had no one to blame for this but herself.

Knowing this, however, didn't stop her from pining after him.

On a rare Friday afternoon off, Felicity was sprawled across the couch in the living room, the remote in her hand as she flipped through the channels. There wasn't much on, considering it was a weekday afternoon, but she wasn't really paying much attention anyway.

Five o'clock eventually rolled around and Felicity was still on the couch, bored out of her skull, when Laurel walked through the door. The minute she spotted Felicity on the couch, the older girl beamed widely and ran to her.

"Please tell me you're not doing anything today," she begged.

Felicity raised her eyebrows. "Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because it's a gorgeous day and I want to have a picnic on the beach," she answered. "Come on, it'll be fun! We'll grab sandwiches from Alexander's, a bottle of wine from Place One and we'll get drunk on the sand! Please? It's been forever since we've had a picnic."

Felicity considered it for a moment. Why not? she thought to herself. It wasn't like she had any big plans for the rest of the evening anyway.

"Sure," she shrugged.

Laurel clapped excitedly then jumped up to make her way up the stairs. "Great! I'm going to change, and I'll meet you in a couple of minutes."

Hauling herself off the couch, Felicity followed her sister up the stairs to her own bedroom. She threw her messy hair into a ponytail without bothering to even run a brush through it. Then she pulled her black one-piece swimsuit out of her dresser and tugged it onto her body before throwing an oversized tie-dye T-shirt and a pair of boardshorts over it.

When she emerged from her room, Laurel was already waiting outside her bedroom, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet from excitement. But when she spotted Felicity, her expression turned into one of scrutiny.

"What?" Felicity demanded.

"Where's your swimsuit?" Laurel asked. "We're going to the beach!"

"It's under this," Felicity answered, gesturing to her casual outfit. "I'm not going to walk down to the boardwalk in just my bathing suit."

"Which bathing suit are you wearing?"

"The black one."

Laurel made a face. "Your granny suit? What happened to the electric blue bikini?"

Felicity shrugged. "It's in the wash."

Laurel pursed her lips as she regarded her little sister for a moment. Then she grabbed her hand and dragged her into her room. "Come on," she said over Felicity's protests. "You'll wear one of mine."

Laurel started digging through her dresser drawers, picking through the tons of swimsuits that she owned. Finally, she emerged with a deep pink two piece. The top was strapless with a gold hoop between the breasts while the bottom had gold hoops on the hips, attaching the front and the back.

"Here, change into this," she offered.

Felicity quirked an eyebrow upward. "Why?"

Laurel just shrugged. "I think it would look good on you."

With a sigh, Felicity took the bikini, then dipped into their shared bathroom to change. Once she emerged, Laurel gave a tiny clap of approval. Then she marched forward to wrap a gauzy blue and gold sarong around Felicity's hips.

"There," Laurel nodded. "Now let's do something about your hair and makeup."

Felicity's eyes immediately narrowed. "Why? I thought we were going to the beach. The water's just going to mess up my hair and wash away any makeup you put on me."

"I'm not going to put on much," Laurel insisted as she steered her sister into a chair next to her vanity. "I'm just going to put on some waterproof mascara and maybe a little liner and gloss. Nothing big. And your hair looks like a rat's nest, and seawater would only make it worse."

Felicity grumbled, but didn't physically protest her sister's attention. Once the impromptu makeover was finished, she turned to look at herself in the mirror. It wasn't a dramatic look, but she still looked way more done up than she expected to be for a picnic at the beach with her sister.

"What are you trying to do?" Felicity asked as Laurel started digging through her closet for a pair of flip flops. "Why are you trying to make me all pretty for this?"

"No reason," Laurel said. But a bit of redness crept up into her cheeks, which was her tell when she was lying.

"Seriously, Laurel."

The older girl sighed before straightening up to look at her sister. "I don't know, I guess you've just been so bummed lately. I wanted to do something to kind of boost your self esteem. I thought maybe if you felt pretty, you'd feel better or something."

Felicity didn't fully believe her. There was something about Laurel's tone of voice that sounded a little guarded, like she was still concealing part of the truth.

But instead of calling her on it, Felicity decided to go along. She'd find out her plan soon enough — Laurel wasn't very good at keeping secrets.

Once they were both ready, Laurel and Felicity left the house, armed with their towels and a cooler for their food. The first stop was Alexander's for sandwiches, then the liquor store for the wine. Then they made the short trek down to the boardwalk.

It was a Friday afternoon during the summer, so the beach was fairly crowded with tourists and townies alike. Felicity started to walk toward the west end of the beach, where there were fewer people, but Laurel grabbed her by the wrist and started to drag her toward the opposite end.

"Let's set up by the volleyball nets," she suggested.

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "There's barely any space there."

"We'll wait for some to open up."

Sure enough, a group of teens from the high school decided they were finished playing a few minutes later and left behind a prime spot of sand. Laurel and Felicity immediately laid down their towels to claim it for their own.

"Perfect," Laurel beamed happily.

Felicity shook her head. "What's with the need to be so close to the volleyball nets?"

Her sister shrugged. "No reason. Just thought it might be nice, in case we wanted to join a game or something."

Once they were settled in, they unwrapped their sandwiches and Laurel uncorked the wine. As they ate and drank, they chatted a little bit, about Laurel's work and about Sara's recovery and other things. About half an hour into it, Felicity could feel herself relaxing, almost forgetting about how weird Laurel had been acting.

Then she heard a voice in the distance calling her sister's name.

"Hey, Laurel!"

The girl in question whipped her head at the sound of her name, and her face lit up when she saw Tommy walking toward them. Seeing Tommy there made Felicity want to roll her eyes, but her annoyance was soon forgotten — because Tommy hadn't come alone.

Trailing a few feet behind him was none other than Oliver Queen in his dark green swim trunks and nothing else.

Felicity's throat immediately went dry at the sight of him. The reason for Laurel's ministrations became all too clear. The younger girl turned to glare at her older sister, who adopted an innocent expression that wasn't fooling anyone.

"Did you plan this?" Felicity demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Laurel said, not meeting her sister's eyes. "I just wanted to spend some quality time with my sister. I had no idea that Tommy and Oliver would show up."

"My ass," Felicity muttered. But she could only be annoyed with her sister for so long, because Oliver was getting closer and closer. Panic was starting to rise up in her at the thought of having to be so close to the guy she was seriously obsessing over. She idly reached for her wine and downed the rest of it in a single gulp.

"Hey," Tommy said with a wide smile as he came up to the two girls. He immediately took a seat on Laurel's other side and pecked her on the cheek. "Fancy seeing you here."

"What a pleasant surprise," Laurel beamed. It made Felicity roll her eyes.

"And what are you lovely ladies up to on such a beautiful afternoon?" Tommy asked, though his eyes never left Laurel's face.

While Tommy had taken a seat the minute he got there, Oliver remained standing, looking a little bit uncomfortable. Felicity could feel her heart pounding painfully in her chest as she waited for him to sit down or turn away.

"We just wanted to have a little picnic on the beach," Laurel answered. "What are you doing here?"

"We were thinking of getting in a game of volleyball," Tommy replied. "Lucky for us, we happened to run into you two."

It was like watching the really bad skit before a sales pitch. Laurel and Tommy kept acting like it was some huge surprise to run into one another when Felicity was beginning to suspect this had been the plan all along.

And if Oliver's stony expression was any indication, he was thinking the same thing.

Felicity was torn between wanting to reach for his wrist to persuade him into sitting down with them and retreating to the far corner of the towel. Luckily, Tommy made the decision for her.

"Ollie, would you sit down instead of towering over us like some predatory bird?" he demanded. "Jesus Christ."

Oliver heaved a sigh, but did as his best friend asked. Once he was seated, he nodded in Felicity's direction.

"How are you?" he asked quietly.

Felicity's pulse sped up. "I'm well," she answered, hoping like hell her voice wasn't shaking.

Tommy and Laurel talked a little bit about starting a game of volleyball, but all the nets were already taken and there was a long line for who would get to play next. In the meantime, the two sisters had polished off the bottle of wine they brought with them.

Laurel immediately seized the opportunity.

"Hey, Lissy, why don't you and Oliver go down to Place One and get some more wine?" she said in a tone that made it very clear that it was not a suggestion.

Felicity briefly considered strangling her sister right then and there, but there were far too many witnesses.

With nothing more than a weary sigh, Felicity got to her feet. Oliver followed her lead.

"Any requests?" Oliver asked.

Tommy shrugged. "Surprise us."

Oliver's eye twitched, like he was itching to reach forward and punch his best friend in the face. But he refrained and instead turned on his sandal and started walking toward the boardwalk. Felicity had to jog to catch up with him.

The liquor store wasn't very far from the beach, but walking in painful silence next to Oliver made it feel like the distance had doubled. There were just so many things Felicity wanted to say to him, but how could she start? What exactly could she say without sounding or looking like a total idiot?

Just as she was about to resign herself to spend the entire walk in total, miserable silence, Oliver surprised her by breaking it.

"So how have you been?" he asked.

Felicity blinked twice, trying to overcome the shock she felt at Oliver actually speaking to her of his own (kind of) volition.

"I've been good," she answered a little cautiously.

He slowed so he could glance over at her and the expression on his face almost floored her. There was a softness around his mouth and his eyes...well, his eyes almost held something that looked like concern.

"Have you really?" he asked quietly. "Or are you just saying that?"

His question undid something in her. It was like he unlocked all of the walls she constructed to hold in her sadness, and before she knew it, all of the truth she'd been holding back tumbled out of her.

"Actually, I've been kind of miserable," she admitted, keeping her eyes on the ground as she put one flip flop in front of the other. "You see, I made this huge mistake almost a year ago and I've been paying for it ever since."

He didn't answer for a long pause, but Felicity didn't have a clue what he might be thinking because she kept her eyes trained on her bright green toenails.

"As a man who's made many mistakes, it's been my experience that most of them can be fixed," Oliver answered slowly. "What was your mistake?"

Her heart started thumping furiously in her chest as her brain started to work up to the words to answer him properly.

"There was this guy," she whispered, "and at the time, I barely knew him. All I really knew was something I overheard and he made...well, he didn't make a great first impression. But then a few months later, he told me he loved me and I was...I was cruel. I was really cruel."

Oliver didn't say anything as she spoke. It was just as well, because Felicity didn't know if she'd be able to continue if he interrupted.

"But then I kept running into him over and over again, and I started to get to know him more. And I...I realized he was so much more than that terrible first impression. He was — is — a good person. A kind employer, an amazing brother and just...just one of the most generous people I've ever known. He's been there for me when I didn't deserve it, and he's been there for my family in ways they'll never really understand, despite all the terrible things I said to him."

Her toenails went fuzzy, and Felicity realized that tears started to pool in her eyes. Hastily, she wiped them away.

"Somewhere along the line, I fell in love with him," she admitted. "But now I'm worried it might be too late."

Though she kept staring hard at her feet, she noticed when his sandals stopped in the sand next to her. She finally gathered the courage to lift her head and look him in the eye, and what she saw there made her heart pound even harder than it already was.

He was looking at her — more like staring at her — with the fiercest hope she'd ever seen.

"Oliver," she whispered. "Is it too late?"

Instead of answering, Oliver closed the distance between them, wrapped his arms around her and pressed his mouth to hers.

Ever since Felicity had come to the realization that she was in love with Oliver, she had imagined in so many ways how it would have felt to kiss him, but the reality far exceeded any expectation she ever had.

It was like his lips lit a flame underneath Felicity's skin, and as his fingers grazed over the bare skin of her back, her nerve endings hummed. Then Oliver's tongue pressed against the seam of her lips, like a gentle question, and she answered it by opening her mouth and inviting him in. Their breaths quickened simultaneously, and Felicity clinged to him like she was afraid he might disappear at any moment.

All too soon, Oliver pulled away. Felicity's eyes slowly drifted open, like they were fighting through a haze, a spell that his kiss had cast upon her.

"So does this mean you forgive me?" she whispered.

Oliver smiled softly down at her, and she felt herself melt all over again.

"Felicity," he murmured, his hands traveling up to cup her face. His thumbs ran over her cheekbones, and she felt herself flush under his attention. "There was never anything to forgive."

The news that Laurel had forgiven Tommy and they were subsequently back together had caused quite a stir in the town's gossip mill. But that was nothing compared to buzz caused by Oliver and Felicity's seemingly out-of-the-blue relationship.

Sara and Iris, for example, couldn't quite wrap their heads around the fact that Felicity was now dating someone they considered her worst enemy.

The three Smoak-Lance girls sat down to coffee and doughnuts with Iris one Saturday at the Mud House. As usual, they went around the table to talk about what was new in their lives. Since it was the day after she and Oliver kissed, she had been buzzing with excitement to share, and when it was her turn, she blurted it all out in a rush, like she could hardly hold it in.

Laurel, who hadn't seen her sister at all since she sent her on the liquor run with Oliver, was not at all surprised. Instead, she was practically bouncing with Felicity's shared excitement, squealing over every single detail she shared of the kiss.

Sara and Iris, on the other hand, couldn't have been more shocked.

"You what?" Sara demanded.

"Felicity Megan Smoak, please tell me you are joking!" Iris practically shouted.

"I'm not," she insisted, her smile lighting up her entire face. To her younger sister, she said, "Don't worry, Sara. This is a good thing, I promise."

And with that, she explained the whole story, from the very beginning. Iris and Sara sat and listened, the shock on their faces blossoming with every word. When Felicity got to the part about Oliver arranging for McKenna to take over Sara's case, the young woman herself practically stiffened.

"That was him?" she whispered in awe.

It seemed that Felicity's story had completely softened her tone.

"Yes," Felicity nodded. "That was him."

"I can't believe it," she whispered, her eyes glazed over. "That's...that's just…"

"Amazing?" Laurel finished for her.

Sara just nodded.

"He kind of gets it, you know," Felicity said quietly. "Because Thea went through a lot of the same things you went through. We have a lot more in common than I ever could have imagined."

Iris had recovered from her shock as Felicity related the story. With a soft smile on her face, she reached over the table to take her hand.

"For a long time, I didn't think there was ever anyone, in the world, who could deserve you, Lissy," she smiled. "But if there's a guy in the world who's up to the challenge of deserving you, I think Oliver might be it."

Felicity beamed at her friends. Surrounded by the cocoon of her friends' love and support, she finally realized that right there, in that moment, she was the happiest she'd ever been.

On the other hand Donna and Quentin — both of whom had been fairly insulated from all the drama — were nonplussed for the most part, though Donna was pretty thrilled at the fact that her daughter was dating a billionaire. And when Quentin found out that Oliver was responsible for securing McKenna as Sara's lawyer, he started treating him like the son he never had.

Tommy was as unsurprised to learn about his best friend's relationship as Laurel was. And, much like his girlfriend, he was absolutely ecstatic.

"So you and Ollie," he winked one afternoon at the bookstore. He came by the Monday after the staged picnic intervention under the guise of looking for something to read when Felicity suspected he probably came just to talk to her.

Felicity blushed at Tommy's smirk, but tried to cover up her embarrassment with a roll of her eyes. "Like you and Laurel hadn't already planned it," she retorted.

He laughed at that. "Yeah, but seriously — I'm really happy for the two of you. I always suspected he might have had a thing for you, but was too shy to say anything about it."

"Oh?" she answered with a raised eyebrow. "How could you tell?"

He shrugged. "Ollie has a series of tells when it comes to women he likes. Basically he acts like an oversized second-grader with a crush — first he looks for any excuse to be around her, but when he's in the same room with her, he forgets how to function like a normal human being. With you, though — he took his awkwardness to a whole new level."

Felicity grinned. She started to feel a lot more warmth toward him, now that they were seemingly on the same side now.

Oliver and Felicity became a fixture of the Hertfordshire social scene, but while Felicity was happy to spend time with her family and friends with Oliver at her side, she most looked forward to the hours they spent alone, far away from Laurel and Tommy's well-meaning looks or Sara and Iris' giggles.

One Friday evening, after dinner with Laurel and Tommy, Oliver took Felicity to the Hertfordshire planetarium. After subtle nod and a wink to the guard, they were allowed in.

For obvious reasons, the planetarium was the tallest building in town. But while this meant it was at a perfect position for stargazing, it also had the best bird's eye view of Hertfordshire. It was especially stunning as they looked out onto the western horizon, the sun melting into the ocean.

Oliver laid down a blanket for the two of them and Felicity immediately settled into his arms, sighing contentedly as she watched the sunset.

"What are you thinking?" he murmured into her ear.

Felicity smiled. "I'm thinking how lucky I am to be here right now with you. What about you?"

She felt his chuckle reverberate in her body. "I'm thinking the same thing."

They spent a few more moments in contented silence. Then, as Felicity thought about the chain of weird events that led to where they were right at that instant, she got a little curious.

"So tell me something," she began. "That first night when we met and I overheard you telling Tommy you weren't interested in me...when did that change? How did that change?"

Oliver grimaced at the memory. "Well, I guess it changed after that first dinner at The Place with Tommy and Laurel. When you told me off for being so pessimistic about technology."

She thought back to that night. At the time, she'd been furious with her sister for forcing her to go on that ridiculous double date. Now, though, she was retroactively grateful.

"That's when I realized that you were far more than what I thought you were. And that's also when I couldn't stop thinking about you.

"I started seeking you out after that. When I learned that you worked at the bookstore, I looked for every opportunity I could to go there. I spent so much time at the coffeehouse, hoping you'd show up and maybe I'd get to talk to you. Basically, I stalked you."

Felicity laughed.

"I watched you all summer, and the more I watched you, the more I couldn't look away. The more I didn't want to look away. When I convinced Tommy that it was time to leave town, it was as much for him as it was for me. I thought I was losing my mind."

"Why?" Felicity asked with a frown. "Was I really so bad a match for you?"

He shook his head. "No, that wasn't it at all. I wanted very much to date you, but I didn't want to be like Tommy. I didn't want to form a relationship with you and just have it be a summer fling. My mother had fallen in love with someone here in town in her youth, but he was the kind of guy who could never leave and she was the kind of girl who could never stay. I was worried that we'd be the same."

He suddenly laughed. "Of course, had I known how you felt about me at the time, I probably could have saved myself the angst."

Felicity rolled her eyes, but she still smiled. "So then what made you change your mind? What made you want to pursue a relationship with me?"

"It was in Central City. Remember when you went to visit STAR Labs and I ran into you there? Dr. Wells told me that you were interested in perhaps working there and you wanted to work in science and technology. That's when I realized that you didn't want to stay in Hertfordshire — that you'd possibly be willing to move. Maybe even willing to move to Star City. I was so excited at the thought of you moving there with me and us being together that I got way too ahead of myself. In all my arrogance, I didn't stop to consider that you didn't feel the same way."

She winced at the memory. "I'm sorry," she murmured, pressing herself tighter to his body. "I can't believe how rude I was."

He squeezed her hand in his. "Don't be. If it hadn't been for your honesty, I never would have realized all the mistakes I made."

Another silence fell over them, and Felicity turned his answers over and over in her head. Finally, with a chuckle, she breathed, "I guess we took the most roundabout way to end up together, didn't we?"

He returned her laugh. "I guess so."

She gently pulled away from him so she could look him in the eye. "So where do we go from here? Once the summer's over? What happens after that?"

Oliver regarded her with the same seriousness. "Is there anything keeping you here in Hertfordshire?"

She shook her head. "No. Not anymore."

He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her. "Then let me take care of it."

They didn't broach the topic again, but far from feeling anxious about it, Felicity was instead peaceful. Oliver said he'd take care of it, and she believed him.

That summer felt like the fastest ten weeks of her entire life and all too soon, August had rolled around. To celebrate the end of the season, Tommy and Oliver once again threw a party that somehow managed to be bigger than last year. Barry even came home for it, much to Iris' surprise and excitement.

As the host of the party, Tommy was gracious and accommodating to all of his many, many guests, but Felicity noticed that there was something a little...off about his demeanor. It was in the way his knee kept bouncing up and down whenever he was seated, or how he laughed a little too loud whenever someone made a joke that wasn't all that funny to begin with.

When Felicity brought this up to Oliver, he simply smiled and shook his head.

"You'll see in a minute," he answered with a wink, and for a full minute she felt her heart go into palpitations.

By nine p.m., the party was in full swing. People were everywhere, dancing, playing volleyball, talking, laughing, swimming — Felicity had practically lost track of how many people there were. And it was at the height of all the festivities that Tommy peeled himself away from Laurel's side and walked up to where the DJ had set up to take the microphone from him.

"Hi, everybody," he greeted with a wave. Everyone within reach of his amplified voice stopped and turned around to look at him. "Thank you all so much for coming. As most of you know, Oliver and I aren't from around here, but you people have made us feel so welcome every time we come, and it has meant so much to us."

Everyone clapped politely.

"I really love this place, from its charming stores to the fact that the beach is literally a five second walk from this house," everyone chuckled at that, "to the beautiful women. And I'm talking about one woman in particular."

Though he had yet to say her name, everyone turned to stare at Laurel who was blushing so hard that the red reached the roots of her hair. He gestured for her to join him on the stage and she did so, albeit a little reluctantly.

"Laurel, in the year that I have known you and in the months that I have had the privilege of dating you, I have never been happier in my entire life. And I want so desperately to hold onto that happiness, if you'll let me."

Then, in front of God and everyone, Tommy Merlyn pulled something out of the pockets of his swim trunks and got down on one knee. Laurel gasped when she realized what he was doing.

"Dinah Laurel Lance, I love you more than life," he announced into the microphone, his voice slightly shaking. Then he pulled open a tiny box in his hand and held it out to her. "Will you marry me?"

The entire party waited on bated breath for her answer.

Laurel started crying. She brought her hands up to her face, covering her mouth like she could hardly believe it. Then she nodded vigorously. "Yes!" she cried. "Yes, of course!"

Tommy's face broke out into a wide beam and he got to his feet and hugged her.

Felicity clapped harder than everyone there, and the minute Tommy got the ring on Laurel's finger, she had pushed her way to the crowd to throw her arms jubilantly around her sister's shoulders.

"Congratulations!" she shouted over the celebratory cheers.

"Lissy!" Laurel sobbed. "I can't believe it! I can't believe it, I'm engaged!"

Felicity eventually had to give her up and let everyone else at the party offer their congratulations. As she retreated, she felt Oliver walk up to her and wrap his arm around her waist.

"How long had he been planning this?" she asked him.

"Pretty much since she agreed to date him again," he answered.

She laughed, then pulled herself closer to Oliver's side.

The next day, Tommy and Laurel both came over to break the news to Quentin and Donna. Predictably, Donna was thrilled and elated while Quentin accepted the news with a gruff nod and a promise to break Tommy's kneecaps if he hurt his daughter.

In the aftermath of the proposal, Tommy and Laurel decided several things. First, the wedding would be next year. Second, they would host it on the beach, which was only appropriate because it was where they met.

And lastly, Tommy would move to Hertfordshire.

"I mean, it only makes sense," Laurel said the next day at lunch with her sisters. "I have my career here. I'm the district attorney, and it's not like I can just move away from that considering that it's an elected position in most other states. And Tommy doesn't really have a career yet. He was more than willing to move here."

"So what's he going to do?" Sara asked. "Is he going to be house husband?"

"He talked a little bit about opening a nightclub here," Laurel answered, "but that's still very much up in the air. He's still weighing his options."

"Well I think that's pretty awesome," Felicity said.

"Thanks," Laurel beamed. "And what about you and Oliver? Have you guys talked about what's coming next?"

"A little," Felicity admitted. "He said he'd take care of it, though, so I'm not worried."

Sara gave her a skeptical look. "Seriously? Isn't he supposed to go back in a two weeks?"

Felicity shrugged. "Yeah. But like I said, I'm not worried."

And it was true. She'd only been dating Oliver for two weeks, but he told her he'd take care of it, and considering that he'd been doing that for the better part of a year, she had no reason to doubt him now.

A couple of days later, Felicity got a call from an unknown Star City number. When she answered it, she was pleasantly surprised to find it was Curtis Holt.

"Hi, Curtis," she greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"Well I have several things to announce. First, the merger with Queen Consolidated is officially complete! We are officially the applied sciences division of QC. Second, I have been named the official head of operations."

"Congratulations!" Felicity gushed. "That's really great! They couldn't have found anyone better."

"Thanks," he laughed. "Anyway, there's one last reason I called. I wanted to tell you that we never did fill the position that you interviewed for all those months ago. The truth was, we just couldn't find anyone who was as good as you were."

Felicity felt a pounding in her chest when she realized where this might be headed.

"We were about to put the word out that we were looking again, but then we got the call from Mr. Queen a couple of weeks ago saying that you might be interested in the position again, and I wanted to see if this was true."

"It is," she said fervently. "It definitely is."

"I'm really glad to hear that," Curtis answered.

They ended up talking for the next hour, negotiating and renegotiating all the specifics, including salary, moving expenses, start date, et cetera. Once they came to full agreement on everything, Curtis offered his congratulations and promised to email her the employment contract within the next day.

The minute she got off the phone, Felicity bolted out the front door and hopped into her mother's rarely-used car and drove all the way to the Netherfield Beach House. Once Oliver opened the door, Felicity leapt forward and threw her arms around his neck.

Oliver received her attack hug with a surprised "Oomph!" then proceeded to fall backward on his butt. Felicity, however, in all her excitement hardly cared.

"Oliver!" she cried. "Oliver, I'm taking the position at Unidac!"

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Oh really?"

She pulled away and nodded so hard that she looked like a bobble head. "I can't believe it! I'm going to be doing something I love! I'm going to be doing something I'm meant to do! And it's all thanks to you!"

Oliver reached up to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. He smiled into her eyes and suddenly Felicity felt choked up with emotion. "I didn't do anything. I'm just a guy lucky enough to be with someone as brilliant as you are."

She couldn't say anything else — she was far too choked up with emotion.

So instead, she leaned forward and kissed him hard, knowing that it was the perfect beginning to a brand-new life.