Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

The next morning, her phone rang early in the morning, and Mercedes startled and woke up immediately. Cursing, she grabbed it from her nightstand- and noticed that it was an unknown number.

"Mercedes? It's Sergio."

The deep voice with the strong accent sounded soft.

"Oh, hi", Mercedes said, trying not to sound as if she just woke up. "Sorry about…you know, the wedding."

"Thanks", he said. "But I feel sorry for you ladies. What a horrible blow of fate for the entire family. My wedding is not important anymore."

When Mercedes thought about her mother, tears welled up again and her chest hurt. "But I know exactly", she said, her voice was wavering "How bad Coralee wants to be married to you. As fast as possible."

At the other end of the line, it was weirdly silent for a while.

"Mercedes, I need your help", Sergio finally said.

"Of course", she answered "I'm sure there is a lot to do in Venice."

"I am not in Venice", he said.

What? "Uhm…and where…?"

"I'm at a hotel, not far away from you."

"Oh!" Mercedes wondered whether she hadn't noticed because of the chaos yesterday.

"But Coralee is…"

"Coralee doesn't know."

Mercedes sat up in her bed.

"Would you please come and meet me here? It's important."

"Of course." She sounded more casual as she felt. Mercedes took a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down the address he told her.

"Can you please come as soon as possible?" Sergio sounded concerned.

"I will just take a quick shower and after that, I will drive off immediately.", Mercedes answered. "At the moment, my…hair is a mess." She bit her lower lip. After all, she wanted to prepare a powerful businessman for seeing a woman whose hair had been styled properly days ago.

"The Jones-women are all beautiful." She heard the devotion in his voice and noticed that she started to like him – what surprised her. What a flatterer! "And please, don't tell Coralee."

"I will be as silent as a grave", Mercedes promised and hung up. After that, she took a short shower, hoping that Sergio didn't want her to tell Coralee that the wedding was history.

…

Thanks to Google Maps, Mercedes quickly arrived at her destination with her small rusty car.

"Hotel Drusilla, Family Establishment since 1910."

That mansion looked cozy from the outside, and she needed to smile. The stone walls had been painted bright pink, and made it look like one of those vintage houses on postcards. She parked her car in front of the house and got out, cursing herself because she only wore jeans and flipflops to her tanktop. But to be honest, that place was not what she had expected. She thought that Sergio belonged to those people that preferred glamorous five-star resorts with butlers. But that hotel looked kind of modest – even though the nature setting in the middle of nowhere was kind of romantic.

Sergio was nowhere to be seen. But she knew exactly she was at the right place, there was only one hotel called Drusilla at Verona.

Hesitating, she entered the building. "Hello?"

Nothing. The lobby was dark and deserted, but a warm fire was burning at the fireplace and illuminated the room slightly, beautiful flowers were decorating the lobby on the ceiling. It looked stunning. Coralee would love that place, Mercedes thought when she spotted a red cat lying on a sofa, sleeping. That place was so cozy, and she felt at ease instantly. She went to the dining room, looking at the vintage black and white family portraits on the walls and hoping that Sergio would bring her sister to that place one day.

"Hello?", she shouted.

Still nothing.

That was weird. Sergio knew that she was here, right? Mercedes watched out for hidden cameras. Actually, she didn't deem him a joker, but on the other hand, she didn't even know him, so everything was possible.

She left the dining room again- when she noticed a sheet of paper that was hanging at the door:

Private event today:
Wedding of Coralee Jones and Sergio Bellucci

"Oh!"

Mercedes was so overwhelmed that a tear ran down her cheek. Suddenly, she knew what Sergio was planning. And she knew where to find him. She wiped away the tear and ran back inside, crossed the dining room, and opened the door with a smile.

A tall, attractive man was standing on the top of a ladder and was trying to hang romantic, Venezuelan festoons on the lamps.

Sergio.

Mercedes had seen him on photos in magazines and on Coralee's phone. But in reality, he looked so much more stunning than she had thought. Like a younger version of Hugh Jackman… she could understand why Coralee fell for him.

She was about to greet him, when she looked around in the room: They were in a spacious, cozy dining room. A long table with white linen, all set with elegant cutlery. The entire room was decorated with colorful flowers, a flag that was a mix of the American and the Italian one, and over there was a chocolate fountain. Chocolate was Coralee's biggest passion…apart from that man on the ladder.

"Careful!", Mercedes shouted when the ladder started to sway dangerously while he tried hanging up the last flower arrangement. "Can I help somehow?"

"Mercedes!"

Sergio jumped off the ladder without looking while Mercedes came running over to him. "You came!" He wheezed and pulled her in a hug. "Thank you so much. Great to meet you, finally. Coralee told me so many things about you."

"Nice to meet you as well.", Mercedes answered against his chest.

"Sorry." He released her from his hug sheepishly.

Mercedes stumbled back, not knowing what to say. She was very well aware how battered she must look with her swollen eyes and her outfit.

"I am so sorry about your mother", Sergio said compassionately. "How is she today?"

"Not worse, I guess", she answered. "But thanks."

He nodded and they went silent. Mercedes decided to change the topic. If they talked about their mother, she would burst into tears sooner or later, and she had no idea whether she had the strength to do so.

So she looked around. "Have you done all of that? That's so beautiful!"

"You think so?" He seemed to be genuinely happy about her praise. "Do you think Coralee will like it?"

Mercedes was glad that she had some handkerchiefs in her purse, those darned tears were burning in her eyes again.

"She will love it, she whispered.

Sergio had so less in common with the powerful businessman in the tabloids; it was ridiculous. His hair was ruffled, he wore jeans to a modest shirt, nevertheless, he looked so attractive while he wiped his sweaty forehead. When she had seen him on a TV show, at a media event in London, he looked so sovereign with all the celebs around him. But this man was entirely different.

"Everyone would love that place", she added. "How did you find it?"

He ruffled his hair and said: "A couple of years ago, an old friend of mine celebrated his wedding at this place. I still know how happy the two of them were, and that's when I realized I would be a happy man if I ever got what the married couple got that day."

"Hmm", she agreed. "The atmosphere here is so peaceful."

"When I got over the shock of your mother's condition, I wondered whether Coralee would be happy with a small wedding within the closest family members."

Mercedes was speechless.

Sergio seemed to misunderstand her reaction. "Of course, it would be okay if she didn't want to.", he added quickly. "I just want to marry her."

His words touched her to the core. "She said the same yesterday", she muttered. She slowly started to realize that she had judged that man without knowing him.

"Yesterday evening, I talked to Signor Dario – the owner. Much to my relief, he was okay with all that. So I drove to Verona without telling Coralee. She doesn't have to worry about that, too. Sadly, Signor Dario's staff is absent the entire week, that's why I am working here since five am. How do you find the flowers?" He nodded to the wheelbarrow. "I needed to pluck them, and I only picked those I found beautiful."

"It's perfect", she answered. And it really was. The arrangement could use some improvement, but the flowers were perfect.

"Nice of you."

"Not at all. Coralee is so unhappy because the wedding got cancelled…"

"I was, too", Sergio answered. "But that's just a suggestion. If she wants to wait until your mother is fine again, we can just celebrate a big wedding later, of course."

Mercedes looked around again and knew that he didn't need to worry about that.

"The priest is already on the way from Venice. His brother lives here, and he was happy about the trip to Verona. So were my parents, my sister, and my grandmother- she is a little weak, but there is no way she wants to miss that event."

"Really?", Mercedes asked. "I thought you were so…"

Suddenly, all the prejudices against Sergio felt so mean. So dumb.

"What?", he asked curiously. "What did you think of us?"

She looked at him. "Swanky.", Mercedes eventually said.

He laughed shortly. "Seriously? Well, I try to act like that for publicity, but that usually fails."

She wasn't sure whether she could buy his self-irony. "Sergio, can I be bold?"

"Sure."

"I thought that you were such a jetset guy with a yacht, surrounded by supermodels. And that you had an affair with some of them. At the same time."

To her surprise, he didn't laugh, but didn't ignore her words, either.

"Thanks for your openness", he just said.

"Sorry", she stammered. Her openness was outdated, obviously. She wished she had kept her mouth shut.

"Of course, I had other girlfriends before Coralee. But when I met her…"He searched for words. "It felt as if she was the reward for all the good things I have achieved in life."

"Sergio, you don't need to…"

"Did she ever tell you what the first thing was she said to me?"

"No", she said, thinking. Coralee never told them about that man. Maybe because Mercedes had thought all those bad things about him?

"She said that I reminded her of her grandfather."

"And that didn't disturb you?", Mercedes asked, confused.

"Why should it? I heard that he proposed to your grandmother after he walked to her house for three days."

"I heard about that story, too" Mercedes smiled. "Real devotion, right?"

"I learned that he was the only man with a tractor at his town, but instead of getting rich, he shared it with the other farmers to make sure nobody needed to go hungry."

"He was such a special man."

Sergio shrugged. "You know why Coralee told me that?"

Mercedes shook her head.

"Everything I have done was a small gesture. I shared my reward one of my enterprises got, with the other contestants. Nothing special. I was convinced that the ideas of the other firms were just as good as mine. Whatever, Coralee said she admired what I have done. And that's when I decided to spend my life to make the belief that woman had in me reality."

"Gosh!"

"I love your sister so much", Sergio whispered, he had tears in his eyes as well.

Mercedes smiled. "I know." She could have stayed silent, but she couldn't help but add teasingly: "You know Coralee, Sergio. She can be impulsive sometimes."

He threw his head back and laughed loudly. "You noticed as well?"

"I am her little sister – what do you think?"

Sergio threw her a compassionate glance.

"How about you hold on to the ladder and I try hanging the flowers to the ceiling?"

Mercedes was good at those things. They were done in no time.

"Great.", Sergio commented and looked at their achievement.

Mercedes looked at the dining table. On the backs of every menus were hearts out of chocolate, wrapped into golden paper.

"Did you do all that by yourself?"

He nodded. "Today, only the cook is available. Do you think she will like it?"

"I am convinced she will." Mercedes pictured Coralee's face when she saw all that, and grinned.

And Sergio looked relieved as well.

Mercedes nodded to the wheelbarrow. "Can I help you with that?"

"Could you? I already realized that I am not that good at that."

"No problem, I can do it."

His grateful glance showed her his approvement. So she went over to the wheelbarrow and looked at the flowers. "They smell great."

Sergio had already filled more than a dozen of vases with water, and she started with the arrangements of the flower bouquets.

"When will you tell Coralee?"

Sergio ripped off the prize tag of the champagne bottles. "I already called Kurt. He will distract the ladies so that he can pack their wedding dresses and take a taxi to bring them here."

"Oh no!", she exclaimed. "My dress is still at the hotel!"

"Kurt told me so as well and promised me to take care of it."

"Phew", she said "Otherwise, I would have to sew a new one with the curtains."

"I'm sure you will look pretty" Sergio smiled earnestly.

"Sure. So Kurt will tell Coralee about the wedding?"

"I don't hope so, but if he wants to, I won't object. He is going to lie to them and tell them he has planned a trip to the mountains so that they could enjoy the fresh air. Coralee said that she wanted to spend a calm day with her mother. She still didn't want to think about reorganizing the wedding as long as your mother is not fine. If she doesn't change her mind, we can just spend a relaxing day with the family."

A relaxing day with the family. Mercedes knew now that her family would be happy to welcome Sergio as their new family member. They kept working in silence; she arranged the flowers while Sergio carried the chairs around and set the table neatly.

"You just sounded as if you knew Kurt longer than just a couple of days – have the two of you been friends?", she asked.

"No, Coralee didn't really want to talk about the wedding preparations. But I feel like I know him, Coralee told me about him before I called the people at the airport."

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her surprisedly. "In Sion. When he got into trouble with the police. I talked to the security when they wanted to arrest him because of the incident during your flight."

Mercedes' eyes widened. "It was you?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Yes, I thought you already knew it."

"You helped him?" Mercedes facepalmed. "That never made sense to me." She was such an idiot.

"I was happy to help the family", he answered modesty.

Mercedes was stunned. And she used to think that he was a stuck-up celebrity… Whether he needed to pay a fortune to convince the authorities to let Kurt go?

"Was it expensive?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Getting him out of there."

"You think I payed them off?", he hissed. "Mercedes! Who do you think I am?"

She immediately realized she had made a big mistake. "I am sorry… I just assumed… " She had watched way too many Netflix series lately.

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'm afraid my so-called popularity was crucial. I merely talked to the police captain and begged him politely to let Kurt go because I needed him for my wedding. I told him he was a nice guy and if he let him go, Kurt would leave Switzerland immediately and not be a Swiss problem any longer."

So Sergio just talked to them. That was all. After Kurt and she freaked out at the airport, the Swiss authorities must have been so relieved.

"I feel terrible", she muttered. "I was so wrong about you. I am sorry."

"Forget it." He smiled. "We got to know each other now."

"Yes." She smiled as well, even though her cheeks were still burning with shame. "I think so."

They continued with their respective works until they were done, and the groom was tired.

"Thanks", he said and kissed Mercedes' hand. "The flower bouquets are beautiful. You are indeed a great artist."

"Thanks", she answered. "Maybe, arranging bouquets and fashion are more alike than I thought.", she commented. "It's going to be nice for me to show something to Coralee I am good at. She normally puts my name on an equal footing with disasters."

"Coralee?" He looked surprised. "She is so proud of you."

"Of course", she answered sarcastically.

"Yes, she is! She told me so many times you were the creative one among the two of you and how great your designs were. Seriously."

Mercedes wondered whether Coralee's opinion about her had changed. "Really? But why is she so…?", she said, but changed her mind and let it be. "Nevermind."

"No, say it", he ordered.

"Why didn't she let me design the dress for the wedding? Sorry, Sergio, but she has hurt me that way."

Sergio took a seat and looked at her. "I'm afraid that was my fault"

Now, she was kind of irritated.

"Well, I'm the son of my mother. Coralee initially wanted to ask you whether you would design the dress."

Mercedes was shocked. Was he telling the truth? "She told you so?"

"Yes. But my mother talked to me and convinced me it was essential for the bride to wear a dress of a luxury brand…" He paused and shook his head about his own words. "I know, it sounds terrible, but my mother insisted that such a celebrity dress must be designed by someone well-known." He sighed. "I thin my mother did it for me without talking to me about that. I was mad she got involved. When I found out, I talked to her."

"Really?"

He nodded. "She is nervous, Mercedes. My family was not always wealthy, and my mother said that the world needed to see the bride wear the dress of a popular fashion designer."

"I see." Made sense.

"She knows all the things about fashion only thanks to those magazines she reads at the hairdresser and all the reality shows of celebrity weddings she watches, just like Coralee."

"Okay, I got it", she said, even though it sounded unlike her sister.

"Coralee is so nice to my mother. The wedding is a big deal for my entire family. I just think my mother wants it to be perfect."

Mercedes nodded. Mothers had the talent to get involved in their children's lives. It was their vocation.

"Coralee objected when my mother wanted Chanel to design the dress, though."

Mercedes looked up. "And why?", she asked. "It's Chanel we are talking about!"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Nope."

"Because she knew that Antoine Décoste was your favorite designer."

She gaped at him.

"Of course. Didn't you write your thesis about him?"

She couldn't believe that Coralee could remember and told Sergio about him. She groaned and nodded. "Oh my gosh! But yes, I loved Décoste's pieces."

"That's why Coralee insisted to go to him. She trusts you and your taste."

Mercedes shook her head. "I hear that for the first time."

Sergio smiled at him. "Siblings, hm?"

"Do you have some?"

He nodded. "Aurora. She lives in Florence. And her toddler Vittoria is the cutest baby girl I have ever seen."

"Have you told Coralee what you think?" Mercedes smiled.

He nudged her. "Of course not."

She looked down the flowers. "I was hurt she didn't involve me in the planning. It felt as if she would withdraw from me."

"But no, no way", Sergio answered her back. "Of that, I am sure."

"And I didn't know you. I was convinced you were superficial and shallow, like every celebrity."

"Just because Coralee is important to you", he answered softly. "It's better to be safe than sorry. Our relationship is still fresh and new, and I never had the opportunity to fly to the USA and get to know you."

"That would have been weird." Mercedes smirked. "You in my tiny apartment."

"Why not?" He looked serious.

"Because…you are rich and glamorous. And my apartment is just…average, just like my life."

Sergio smiled. "Maybe, but the Jones-women are more than just average."

"Is it your experience in the limelight that always lets you say the right things?", she teased him – before she realized that he could misunderstand her sentence. "Sorry…I mean…"

"It's okay." He shrugged. "You and Coralee are so alike."

"I guess that's a compliment." She looked down sheepishly.

"It is." He checked his watch. "Is it okay if I got lost to dress up? There is a room for you upstairs, and as soon as Kurt has brought your dress…But I think you already look pretty."

"In ripped jeans and a sweaty tanktop? Thank you, Sergio, but I guess you can stop that now."

He smirked. "At the reception, you will find a key with your name on its tag." He turned around to leave.

"Mercedes?"

"Yes?"

"If Kurt didn't tell her...will you explain everything to her when she comes here? I'm afraid my nerves wouldn't take that."

"Me?" Mercedes was appalled. "Sergio, you can't do that to me! She is my big sister!"

"And she loves you", Sergio reminded her. "You are the right one to tell her."

He hurried up the stairs, and she looked after him, still bewildered. There was no way she was going to be the one who told Coralee about Sergio's wedding plans – what if Coralee didn't like the idea? After all, she always considered Mercedes a partner in crime or a traitor!

She sighed. Why was life so complicated lately? And, more importantly, why the hell didn't Sam still call her back?