"Well…what do you think?" asked Kirsten self-consciously as Sandy came into the bedroom. She turned slowly, allowing him to survey her slender figure in its Jimmy's-wedding attire. It was a slip of a dress, smooth green silk with a crisscross back and a knee-length skirt that twirled when she walked. She had draped a floaty blue scarf over her bare shoulders and done her blonde hair in a slightly messy, half-up fashion.

"You look gorgeous," he said, and she did. He paused as he looked at her. "Have I seen that dress before?"

"I don't think so. I showed it to you when I bought it, but other than that…I've only worn it twice, and once was in the dressing room." She decided not to mention that the auburn-haired girl next to Jimmy in the wedding picture had been wearing a dress the exact same shade of green.

"Well, it looks ravishing on you." Sandy turned and placed his hands on Kirsten's waist. The fabric was so fine that it felt as though he had put his hands on her bare skin. "You are the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Thanks." Kirsten's own hands idled their way up her husband's back, fingertips reaching for his shoulder blades. "I see you tied your tie." He smiled.

"The first challenge. I'm getting there, baby." She kissed him affectionately. He had to be the most kind-hearted man she'd ever known.

"How much longer 'til we have to go?" she murmured in his ear. Sandy's left hand came up behind her back, and he glanced over her shoulder at the time.

"Half an hour?" he guessed.

"And…uh…how quick can we be?" came Kirsten's silky whisper.

"Quick enough."

Some time later, a heavily flushed Kirsten Cohen stood up. Panties down around her ankles and dress bunched around her waist, "disheveled" was the only word that quite did her justice. Her husband was doing up his pants, and he looked at his watch.

"I think we need to get going, Kirsten," he said, glancing at her feet in their little, strappy, sexy sandals.

"Wait, Sandy, I need to fix my makeup," she said worriedly, checking out her face in the mirror. She rubbed the mascara from under her eyes and reapplied her lipstick. Then, brush in hand, she examined her hair.

"You look gorgeous," Sandy repeated. "Let's go."

They arrived at the wedding with just enough time. Kirsten greeted her parents while Sandy stood awkwardly, trying to determine just how much Caleb Nichol hated him. Oh, well, his mother didn't exactly care for Kirsten. This was just paying his dues.

"Kirsten, darling, you look incredible," gushed a tall, thin woman with long light brown hair that had been swept cleanly off her face.

"Mrs. Cooper, hi," said Kirsten guardedly, kissing the woman's cheek.

"Oh, don't call me 'Mrs. Cooper,' darling, just because you and Jimmy aren't together any longer. 'Danielle' is still fine." Kirsten smiled. Danielle Cooper was such a nice woman, if she was a bit smothering. She almost always knew the right thing to say in a tough situation.

"Oh, look at you," she fussed. "So grown-up! I don't think I've seen you in, what, three years?"

"You saw me at my wedding, Danielle," reminded Kirsten.

"You know, I don't think I did," said Danielle pensively. "I mean, of course I saw you—you were a stunning bride—but we didn't talk. It's been too long, dear. I hope we can still be friends; that was the saddest thing about you and Jimmy's breakup. I always wanted you for a daughter-in-law."

"I'm sure Julie's nice." A dark look crossed Danielle Cooper's face.

"She's trash, dear. Nice enough, I suppose, but not nice. Her manners are appalling…I mean, she tries, at least around Jim and me. But it's a shame, I'll tell you that. Maybe Jimmy's in love with her now, but if he hadn't gotten her pregnant, he would have eventually found someone else. I blame Jim, personally. He told Jimmy that we'd disown him if he didn't end the affair with Julie, and, well, you know Jimmy."

"I certainly do," said Kirsten vaguely. She suddenly didn't want to talk to Mrs. Cooper anymore, which was sad, because she'd always liked Jimmy's mother. Their relationship, however, seemed to be completely unable to survive Jimmy's and her marriages to different people.

"Oh, look, there's Marissa," Kirsten awkwardly pointed out. "I should go say hi." She quickly crossed the room to say hello to Jimmy's beautiful older sister.

Marissa Whitman, née Marissa Eleanor Cooper, had been like a sister to Kirsten practically since she and Jimmy had met. Like her mother, she was tall and rail-like, but in a good way. She had long hair of the same shade of light brown as Danielle, and big eyes and effortless grace. At thirty, she was seven years older than Jimmy, and her six-year-old marriage had produced so far a daughter named for Kirsten. Marissa had been the one to teach Kirsten about kissing, about sex, about boys and life in general. As Kirsten caught her eye, she smiled the heartbreaking smile that had made her famous among Newport society.

"Hey, Kirsten," she said softly, offering her a glass of champagne. "We probably shouldn't be drinking before the ceremony, but what the hell, right?" Kirsten took the glass.

"Drink up. Anything to forget that my brother's marrying Julie Macabre."

"You don't like her, either?" asked Kirsten, surprised. "I mean, I know Danielle thinks she's trash, but you, Marissa?" Marissa shook her head and tipped the contents of her own glass back down her throat.

"She's not you, Kirsten. She's about a million miles away from you."

"Jimmy doesn't have to marry a girl like me, you know, as long as he's happy."

"He's happy, all right, at least for now. But…I mean…it's too soon. He hasn't known her long enough. He doesn't even really know his own heart, you know? If you ask me, he's still rebounding from your wedding. Don't tell him I said that," she warned.

"I won't," Kirsten said quickly.

"Jimmy…he…I mean, he says he loves her, and I believe that he does. I just wish that he'd had more time. He wouldn't be marrying her, not yet and maybe not ever, if she weren't going to have a baby."

"What, you don't think it's his?" Marissa picked up another glass and downed it quickly.

"No, I know it's his. Julie loves him; that's her one true saving grace. I just never envisioned this for my brother, you know? He's still my baby brother…he shouldn't be knocking girls up and having to marry them before he's ready."

"Mmm," said Kirsten, taking another sip of champagne. "What has it been, five months?"

"Yeah. Your wedding, I think that was maybe the second or third time he took her out. She's only eighteen."

"Eighteen?" asked Kirsten, shocked.

"Well, eighteen and a half, maybe," amended Marissa with a smirk. "And about four months pregnant."

"Jimmy made quick work of her," Kirsten noted dryly. "So how's your life?" She abruptly changed the subject.

"It's good. It's really good, actually. Kirsten is…oh, she's so beautiful."

"Where is she?"

"Rob has her, somewhere," answered Marissa vaguely. "Oh, wait…we need to go now, I think. The wedding's starting." The women exchanged smiles and hugs, and Kirsten went off to find both Sandy and a seat.

It was odd watching Jimmy come down the aisle in his tuxedo, and even odder when the parade of bridesmaids in pale blue followed. The church rose as a whole when Julie came, and Kirsten craned to get a look at the now-infamous Julie Macabre.

She was about average height, and though Marissa had said she was four months pregnant, Kirsten would never have guessed if she didn't know. She had quite a nice figure, and while the dress was not to Kirsten's taste—too streamlined and not romantic enough—it certainly wasn't in bad taste. Julie had reddish-brown hair that had been pulled into a French twist and beautiful green cat's eyes. She looked nervous but happy, and Kirsten decided that she probably wasn't as bad as Danielle and Marissa seemed to think. Jimmy said he was in love with her, after all, and Kirsten knew if no one else did that Jimmy didn't take those words lightly.

Sandy squeezed her hand.

"You okay?" he asked. Much as it pained him to think that Kirsten would be hurting at Jimmy Cooper's wedding, he wanted to be there for her if she was.

"Yeah, actually," she realized. "I'm happy for him." She turned to her husband with a disarmingly sweet smile. "I have you, and you're all I want. I can't wish him anything more than that Julie makes him half as happy as you're making me." She took his hand in her lap and rubbed the knuckle as the ceremony started.