Part 5

As Ephram had predicted Delia was happy for her brother. She was happy that he was happy; happier than she had seen him in a long time. For that reason alone she liked Liv, although she did like the idea of having a sister. Especially one who had agreed to take her back to school clothes shopping before they returned to England.

That was probably the only part of Ephram and Liv getting married that Delia didn't like. If Ephram was married, then that meant that he wasn't going to come back and live with them. He was going to stay in England.

Ephram was ecstatic that Delia was happy for them. If only he could be sure about his dad. Sometimes Andy seemed fine; happy and accepting. Other times he looked like he was going to start lecturing them about what a mistake he thought they were making. Hopefully, his father would be able to refrain himself for a few more days, then they would be heading home.

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Ephram silently opened the door to the studio and glanced around the empty room. Without looking back he reached for Liv's hand, and smiled when he felt her small hand wrap around his larger one. He led her into the room and closed the door behind them. For the first time since arriving in Colorado they were alone; Andy had gone to the office and Delia was over at a friend's house. This was also the first time Ephram had ventured into the studio since selling everything and leaving the year before.

"So, this is it," he stated quietly, as he looked around sadly. The room looked so big without anything in it.

Watching his expression of sadness, Liv stepped in front of him, took both his hands, and led him into the center of the room. "Describe it to me. Tell me where everything was," she insisted.

Ephram removed one of his hands from hers and ran it through his hair. "Okay, the piano was here," he began. "It was a black grand piano. The keyboard and computer were over in that corner," he said pointing towards the corner. "Uh…and the couch was over there."

Ephram released her hand and continued staring around the room, while Liv walked to where the couch used to be, and leaned against the wall, watching him as she tried to picture the room as Ephram had described it. "You said your dad soundproofed the room?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, so I could practice whenever I wanted."

"Do you ever regret it? Giving up Julliard?" she asked quietly.

Ephram looked at her for a moment. How was it possible for someone to look that beautiful in worn jeans and a sleeveless black button-down shirt? But, he wondered, not for the first time, if she was really that beautiful; or was it just because he was completely in love with her. He shook his head, trying to remember what she had asked. "You're a hell of a lot better than Julliard," he finally answered.

Liv smiled and looked around again, thinking about the fact that the room was soundproofed. "So, did you and Amy ever…?"

Ephram looked at her questioningly. "Here?" he asked. "No, but Bright brought a few girls here."

Liv laughed. "That sounds like Bright." She put her hands behind her back and gazed at her future husband. "Ephram?"

"Yeah?" he answered glancing at her.

"We're alone…in a soundproofed room…" Liv pointed out.

Ephram looked around the room again, realizing that she was right. "You make an excellent point," he said smiling, as he walked towards her. He leaned against the wall with a hand on either side of her. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," she whispered back.

Ephram leaned over and gently kissed her. He pulled away and brushed a curl out of her eyes. Liv smiled and raised her left hand to grab his. Ephram adjusted his grip on her hand and ran his thumb over her engagement ring before leaning over and kissing her again. She released his hand and ran her hands up her arms, resting her arms on his shoulders, as Ephram wrapped his arms around her waist.

Ephram ended the kiss and rested his forehead against Liv's. "Are you sure?" he whispered. "We're still in the house."

Liv nodded. "Your dad and Delia won't be home for hours," she reminded him.

Ephram's smile grew. "Also an excellent point," he said as he leaned in to kiss her again. He moved his arms from around her waist and ran his hands up and down her sides. Then he slowly unbuttoned her shirt without breaking the kiss. Liv ran her hands down Ephram's back and underneath his t-shirt.

Reaching down, Ephram ran his hands along Liv's jean clad hips and lifted her up, pushing her against the wall as their kisses became more passionate. Liv wrapped her legs around his waist, and gasped when Ephram's mouth shifted from her mouth to her neck and the skin that was exposed by her open shirt.

Then, as adjusted his hold on Liv, he lost his balance and fell over backwards with Liv on top of him, groaning when his head hit the floor.

Seeing his pained expression, Liv rested a hand on either side of his head, holding herself above him. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Ephram grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. "Thank God my dad had the room carpeted."

Liv laughed and moved one of her hands to the back of his head. He grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked still concerned.

Ephram nodded and released her hand. He reached up, put a hand behind her neck pulling her mouth to his. They quickly returned to where they had been before falling down. After a few minutes Liv pulled away from Ephram, kneeling with one leg on either side of him. She began pushing his shirt up, and he sat up just enough to pull the shirt over his head and toss it to the side.

Liv pushed him back down and began kissing her way down his chest and stomach as Ephram's breathing became more ragged.

"Oops, sorry."

Liv quickly sat up and pulled her shirt closed at the sound of Bright's voice. She slid off of Ephram and sat on the floor. Ephram stood up, grabbing his shirt on the way, and then held his hand out to Liv to pull her up.

"Bright," Ephram yelled as Liv buttoned her shirt. "You can come back in now."

Ephram was pulling his shirt over his head as Bright walked back in. "Sorry, guys," Bright apologized. "Should've knocked."

"What are you doing here?" Ephram asked.

"Hannah and I are going to hang out at the lake today. You guys wanna come?" Bright asked.

Ephram and Liv looked at each other and shrugged, silently having a conversation. "Sure," Ephram finally answered. "Just let us go change, and grab some stuff."

Liv left the studio, and Ephram started to follow, but was stopped by Bright. "Just want to warn you, we also invited Amy. She said she didn't want to come when we told her that we were inviting you guys, but…"

Ephram nodded. "Okay, I'll warn Liv."

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An hour later the four of them found themselves alone on a fairly secluded stretch of beach. They had laid down a couple of big blankets, and had a couple of coolers filled with drinks and food. After half an hour of lounging in the sun, Ephram and Liv declared that they were going for a walk. As they disappeared hand in hand into the woods, Bright and Hannah shared a look, knowing that the couple would be doing very little walking. With a shake of his head Bright returned his attention to his magazine as Hannah picked up her book again.

Forty-five minutes later Bright looked up in surprise to see Amy walking towards them. He really hadn't expected her to show up.

Amy set her bag down and looked area the area, not seeing Ephram. "Didn't they come?" she asked curiously. Maybe she had worried about coming for nothing.

"They went for a walk," Hannah answered, glancing at Bright. They had argued about whether or not it was a good idea to invite Amy. Amy was her best friend, but Ephram was Bright's. The situation was made even more difficult by the fact that she genuinely liked Liv. She and Bright had gone out with Ephram and Liv a few times since they had been in town, and Hannah thought that Liv was smart, funny, and perfect for Ephram…and that was part of the problem. She felt like she was betraying her best friend by being friends with her ex-boyfriend's fiancé. Even stranger was the thought that Amy would probably really like Liv is she wasn't marrying Ephram.

"Are you going to avoid them for the rest of your life?" Bright asked quietly.

"I don't get it," Amy exclaimed, ignoring Bright's question. "How can he be planning to marry her? Last year he was talking about being too young to settle down; about not being ready for that kind of relationship. You two have been together just as long as they have. Are you thinking about getting married?" she asked angrily.

Bright and Hannah glanced at each other again. They had discussed it, but decided they weren't ready yet; they wanted to finish school first. "No," Bright answered. "But…they're not us, and we're not them. They are doing what's right for them, Amy."

Amy snorted and crossed her arms; surprised that Bright was trying to be the voice of reason.

"What are you more upset about? That he's getting married? Or that he's marrying the first girl he met after you?" Bright moved closer to his sister; he had finally had enough. He didn't exactly understand why they were getting married so fast either, but Ephram seemed happy and that was enough for him. "Have you been on a date since Ephram left" he asked out of the blue.

Amy looked at him confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Have you tried to move on? He didn't do it on purpose, Amy," Bright continued angrily. "Ephram didn't get to London and think 'hey, I think I'll fall in love and get married while I'm here.' It just happened. They met by chance; they literally bumped into each other one day. And he agonized about the decision to be with her. He almost walked away from her, partially because he didn't want to hurt you anymore than he already had!"

"They're perfect for each other, Amy," Hannah stated quietly.

Amy looked at her best friend in shock. She couldn't believe she was hearing this; Hannah was supposed to be on her side.

"Just watch them; see how they are together," Hannah continued. "Get to know Liv."

Amy looked at Bright and Hannah in disbelief; she had thought that they would agree with her. She grabbed a book out of her bag and lay down. Bright and Hannah shared yet another look surprised that Amy didn't just leave, before returning to their own reading material.

Fifteen minutes later Ephram and Liv emerged from the woods still holding hands. Amy watched the couple walking towards the blankets, thinking about what Bright and Hannah had said. If Bright alone had said those things to her she probably would have dismissed them, because Ephram was his best friend. But if Hannah thought they were perfect for each other…

They walked over to the blankets and Liv sat down and rummaged in her bag pulling out a bottle of sunscreen, while Ephram pulled his t-shirt over his head and sat down next to her. Without saying a word Liv began applying sunscreen to his back.

"Have a good walk?" Bright asked.

"Yeah," Ephram answered, and then looked at Amy. She had avoided him like the plague since he and Liv had gotten to Colorado. Actually, she had avoided him since he had told her about Liv the previous November. "Amy, you remember Liv?" he finally asked.

Amy nodded and attempted to smile, not really succeeding.

"Okay," Bright said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. "I'm going for a swim. Who's coming?"

"I am," Ephram replied.

"Ladies?" Bright asked as he stood up.

"In a little bit," Hannah answered.

Ephram stood up, too, giving Liv a quick kiss as he did. Amy watched as he stretched and began to walk away. At the airport she had thought that the only physical change in Ephram had been his hair, but now she saw other changes. He was also more muscular; his chest and shoulders had filled out. As he walked away Amy's mouth opened in shock as she saw another big change; he now had a tattoo on the back of his left shoulder, but was too far away to make out what it was. Ephram was the last person Amy thought would ever get a tattoo.

Amy looked at Hannah to see her reaction, but she either didn't notice it or wasn't surprised by it. Her gaze shifted to Liv who was lying on her stomach watching Ephram and Bright as they tried to drown each other, and wasn't surprised to see that Liv had a tattoo in the same place.

Liv smiled as she watched Ephram and Bright. After a few minutes she sat back up and pulled a notebook out of her bag. Amy's gaze swept back and forth between Ephram and Liv for a few minutes before returning to her book.

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Hannah squealed causing Amy to look up in surprise just in time to see Hannah hanging over Bright's shoulder as he ran towards the water. Then she looked next to her and saw Ephram standing over Liv.

"Do it and you'll sleep on the couch for a month," Liv threatened.

Ephram smiled and leaned over whispering in her ear so only she could hear him. "You won't make me sleep on the couch. You said it yourself; you can't keep your hands off of me any more than I can keep my hands off you."

Liv pulled back and raised an eyebrow as she gazed at him. "Really? Try it, and we'll find out."

The next thing Liv knew she was hanging over Ephram's shoulder, staring at his back. "Ephram! Put me down!"

"Okay, okay," he replied right before he threw his fiancé in the water. He started laughing as he surfaced, and then choked as she pushed him down. When Ephram surfaced, Liv pushed him down again, and he pulled her down with him. They both surfaced, laughing as they continued wrestling in the water.

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Ephram lowered his magazine to his chest, and glanced at the water seeing Amy and Hannah floating on rafts while Bright swam between them. He then looked at Liv lying next to him, reading some wedding magazine. He had seen the look on Amy's face when Liv pulled out the magazine; a combination of sadness and pain, and he had chosen to ignore it. It wasn't that Ephram didn't care about hurting Amy anymore; he was just tired of apologizing and feeling guilty. He was tired of feeling guilty for falling in love with Liv; for wanting to get married.

Ephram sighed and set his magazine aside as he rolled onto his side with his head resting on his hand, and gazed at Liv. "Liv?"

She lowered her magazine and gazed back at him. "Yeah?" she replied smiling.

Ephram reached out and gently ran a finger over the inch of bare skin that was exposed by her two-piece bathing suit. "I'm sorry about Amy," he apologized quietly.

"It's not your fault." Liv rested her hand on Ephram's as she set her magazine aside.

"Isn't it?" he asked. "I'm the one who hurt her. I'm the one who left."

"You didn't hurt her on purpose. It's been a year, and it's not your fault if she's still upset," Liv explained. "She has to get over you eventually."

Ephram sighed, knowing she was right. He looked at Bright, Amy, and Hannah over his shoulder.

"Besides, I don't see why she's still so hurt. I mean, really, how hard can it be to get over you?" Liv continued.

Ephram quickly looked down at her in shock, and saw Liv fighting to keep a smile off her face. He released her hand and began tickling her side.

She squealed and tried to push his hand away. "Ephram! Stop! I take it back," Liv exclaimed.

"Am I hard to get over?" he asked, laughing now, too.

"Impossible!"

"And if we broke up?"

"I would spend the rest of my life pining for you!" she finally managed to say through her laughter.

"That's all I ask," Ephram said, still laughing as he stopped tickling her.

Liv slowly stopped laughing and gazed at Ephram who was lying over her now. "You know, I probably would spend the rest of my life pining for you," she said quietly.

Ephram reached down and brushed a curl out of her eyes. "Well, we're not going to break up, so we'll never have to find out." He rested his hand on her stomach again as he stared into her eyes.

Liv raised her hand and gently ran it through Ephram's hair. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," he whispered back, and then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling away. He leaned down again and this time the kiss was slow, deep, and long.

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Amy's raft slowly finished its rotation and she found herself facing the shore. She gasped as she saw Ephram and Liv kissing, with Ephram lying half on top of her. Liv ran her left hand through Ephram's hair, the sunlight reflecting off her engagement ring. Amy looked away and saw Bright and Hannah watching her.

"Amy?" Hannah asked, sounding worried.

"I'm all right," she replied as she looked back at Ephram and Liv sadly.