Michael used all of his free time that Sunday afternoon to read Mia's book. He read it in the cab on the way to his new loft, which he was happy to say he was now the legal owner of. He read it as he made his way down the street to his new office space. He read it while he 3D-printed a Princess Leia action figure USB flash drive (an idea for her birthday gift he had come up with on his way home from the ceremony). He read it as he ate dinner, and between answering emails. He even read it on the commode.

He was honestly really impressed with the book. It was well-written and still sounded like Mia, even though it was in old-timey English. It was also quite hot, and Michael kept getting odd twinges course through his body as he read. A few times, he accidentally let himself wonder if what she wrote was from experience… And even though he knew he had no right, the thought of that skill kind of pissed him off.

A few times, he also ended up envisioning him and Mia in some of the more… Saucy scenes. But every time one of those thoughts crossed his mind, he shut them down immediately (as much as he could).

Even then, he couldn't help but put himself into the story. It centered around a dashing knight who came back home after a long time away, and a woman with a strong desire to care for her people. Although he definitely knew that Mia would not have purposely written a love story about him, there was a part of him that thought, or rather hoped, that he had subconsciously been her inspiration. It certainly seemed like the main characters were going to get back together in the end, and he couldn't help but read into it. Although, of course, there was no mention of a handsome prince the woman was already betrothed to.

He stayed up finishing her book and read the last line just a bit past midnight. He couldn't help his smile; he felt a surge of pride for her as he looked at the cover again. It wasn't just good because it was from her, it was just good. No, he probably wouldn't be picking up a romance novel subscription anytime soon, but he would definitely be reading anything Mia Thermopolis wrote.

He sat down at his desk sleepily and took out a formal envelope with the letterhead for Pavlov Surgical, feeling like it was a nice touch. Carefully, he took out a pen and considered what to write. He needed it to come across as sincere, but still let his praise shine through.

He ended up relating her to the Stephen King of romance novels and being honest in that her book was hot. It wasn't a particularly long note, but it was the truth mixed in with flattery. He also explained the UBS with a reminder to back up her hard drive. And at the last moment, he decided to commit himself to attending her party. He pretty much knew he was going to go after seeing her in the café, but he hadn't actually confirmed it with her.

And then, there was the closing. He knew what he wanted to say, but was that too much too soon? All of their emails over the years had ended with extremely neutral partings, so was this the right time?

He glanced at the clock on his wall; it had already taken him an embarrassingly long time to write such a short letter. Before he could overthink it, he wrote down "Love, Michael" and sealed the envelope with the letter and USB inside. Whatever, he did love her. Who knew exactly how he loved her (he had an idea), but he definitely knew that he at least had love for her.

He flickered off the lights and it occurred to him that it was now officially May 1st, Mia's birthday. He wondered if she was awake, staring into the darkness just as he was, or perhaps staying up to scrounge up whatever she could from their somewhat disastrous interview. Either way, he wondered if she was thinking about him, just as he was her.

He considered sending her a quick text wishing her a happy birthday but didn't allow himself to even reach for the phone. He wanted her to read the letter first, and he also wanted to avoid the risk of looking too desperate, messaging her in the middle of the night. Instead, he lulled himself to sleep with one of the exceptionally impressive illustrative scenes from Mia's book.

Before leaving for the office, Michael handed Lilly the bulky envelope.

"What's this?" she asked, mouth full of some toast as she gingerly took the letter from him.

"It's for Mia. Can you give it to her sometime today?"

"Why don't you just give it to her tonight?"

He rolled his eyes before grabbing a banana, "Can you please just do it?" Truth be told, he knew it made more sense to just give it to her in person. But he wanted her to know how much he liked her book as soon as possible. And he also liked the idea of Mia having a reason to think about him that day.

She mumbled a quick 'whatever' and went back to her breakfast. He was about to head to the door but paused for a moment. "Hey, Lil?" She turned to look at him, "Remember to be nice to her. She's made some mistakes, but so have you, some really crappy ones."

Lilly looked like she was going to argue, but instead just nodded slightly and mumbled, "Already working on it."

He gave her a small smile and headed out the door.

Michael had a long list of things to do that day before he could even worry about Mia's party (although prior to coming into the office, he had already scheduled a limo and dropped off his tux to get pressed). He still had more meetings than desirable, and they were still working on getting the lab set up. His own office was filled with unopened boxes that needed sorting through. He was probably going to have to hire an organizational team at this rate- but he could only do that after he finally got a new full-time assistant (unfortunately for him, his former one had chosen to stay in Japan). And he had to call back the business manager he had chosen from the interviews the week prior.

His task list just seemed to grow longer as the day went on. It also didn't help that although he was trying not to think about it, he felt nervous about the party. He was pulling out all the stops because he wanted to impress Mia, to finally get her to see who he was now. Even though he knew he had nothing to prove, especially not to Mia herself, he still wanted to show Mia's family, particularly her grandmother (bleh), and everyone else who had doubted his worth, what he had made of himself.

And there was a part of him that was hoping that she had broken up with her boyfriend after their meeting in the café. His mind kept wandering to the hug that seemed to go on for ages, and the familiar feeling of her breath on his neck (she had never told him, but he knew there was something about his neck that just did it for her), and how her two main characters did end up getting together at the end. He hoped that it had all meant just as much to her as it had for him.

He went through the motions of the day, trying to keep her grey eyes and tempting lips out of his thoughts. Just a few more hours, and then he could go get ready at his new loft.

It was about just a bit after six when he pulled up to his parents' building, almost feeling ridiculous in the long, black limo. It reminded him so much of the mornings when he would wait to see Mia's limo come around the corner to pick him and Lilly up for school. He wondered if that's what Lilly would think when she came out.

People kept looking at the car as they passed as if waiting to see some celebrity emerge. It made him wonder how embarrassed Mia felt riding around in limos constantly. Michael stayed seated and texted his family group chat that he was outside waiting.

He waited for them for about five minutes, and during that time, Michael couldn't stop squirming in his seat. He was pretty much used to suits now, but he still never enjoyed wearing tuxes. The only times he had really worn them were for Bar Mitzvahs and the occasional school dance, which he had only forced himself to attend when he was courting (what a word, guess Mia's book had some sort of influence on him) Mia. At this moment, his bowtie felt too tight and he kept pulling on it.

His family finally came down and he forced his leg to stop shaking. His parents looked like a million bucks, his dad also in a tuxedo and his mom in a long red dress. She looked like she had spent hours on her hair alone. Michael also noted the loving look his father gave to his mother and how he whispered something in her ear as he held the door open for her. It was nice to see both so happy together.

As they slid in, Michael caught sight of Lilly and Kenny (er, Kenneth). She also looked very pretty and wasn't wearing anything remotely close to her general grunge. She was also holding a camcorder bag that matched her dress. Why she had a camera, Michael had no idea. But just as he was about to ask her, she snorted,

"Trying to lay-low, Michael?"

He could feel his cheeks get a bit hot, but it was too dark for anyone to notice. "Ha-ha. I just wanted to make the night a bit more special. It's not every day we go to parties on royal yachts."

Lilly didn't answer, but he could tell that she was eyeing him. His parents, however, cheered in agreement and each grabbed a glass of champagne. Michael grabbed one as well, mostly just to have something to keep him from fidgeting under the watchful eye of his sister. That confidence he had held the day of the ceremony was now fully depleted.

They got to the yacht right around 7 pm, and Michael ended up being last out of the limo. This was good, because it gave him a few moments to collect himself before stepping out. He could see the paparazzi lining the entranceway and honestly wasn't sure what to expect.

Somewhat unsurprisingly (although he was always still somehow shocked whenever he got recognized), there were a few photographers that called out to him. He could hear "ex-boyfriend", "tech genius", and "millionaire" being thrown around, which made him both self-conscious and smug at the same time. He didn't pose for any photos alone or stop to speak to anyone but smiled politely when he joined his family for a photo. Luckily for him, Mia's grandmother arrived with the captain almost immediately after him, which quickly made him invisible to the flashing cameras.

As he moved further inside the yacht, he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Not only was the ship grand in itself, but it seemed like all of Hollywood's elite was attending this party. Not only them, but Michael kept recognizing his old teachers everywhere he looked. It was kind of funny, seeing Brad Pitt with a hoard of children about 5 feet from his 10th grade trig teacher. It was nice to know that Mia had gone out of her way to invite the AES faculty.

He was still following his parents (Lilly and Kenneth had disappeared into the crowd almost instantly) when they randomly stopped. Michael had been so distracted by Nicolas Cage eating a cocktail weenie that he ran straight into his dad's back, muttering an apology. It took him a second to realize why his parents had stopped and that he was face-to-face with Helen Thermopolis.

She looked the same (obviously, it had only been two years), but was looking at him with an expression he had never seen before. He realized that it was a one of pleasant surprise, similarly to how his mom had reacted to seeing Mia at the ceremony.

"You look very handsome, Michael," she smiled at him, nodding at his tux in approval. God, it felt good that she always seemed to be on his side. He gave a somewhat bashful smile and said thanks as she gave him a quick hug. Mr. G, who had been watching the exchange, grinned when Michael turned to him, giving his hand a friendly shake.

"You both look great as well," he said politely and looked around them. "I'm guessing Rocky couldn't make it?"

They both laughed and shared a knowing look. Mr. G replied, "Well, you know, as much as he likes his whiskey sours, we felt it might be better if he stayed home." The entire group shared a chuckle and then his parents began speaking, which allowed Michael to excuse himself.

He began wandering around the deck, not really wanted to get stuck speaking to anyone just yet. He kept glancing up at the staircase that towered them, clearly where Mia would be making her entrance. It seemed to be a tad delayed because guests were starting to get antsy, but then everyone was then informed that the boat would be staying docked in order to accommodate all of the guests.

Better for me, Michael thought, because then he would be able to make a quick exit if necessary after he talked to her. Without meaning to, he had been thinking about it all day and resolved that tonight would be the perfect occasion to tell her what he wanted to tell her. He wasn't sure what that was exactly, but he was certain it would come to him the moment he looked into her eyes.

Finally, the idle chatter had stopped, and Madonna began singing. Everyone's attention was brought to the top of the staircase. After a few moments of waiting, time for Michael seemed to cease because he was looking at the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.