Sasha hadn't been inside a church in years. It smelled the same, wood polish and floor cleaner, mixing with the fresh scent of flowers hung strategically on the pews and windows. He and Austin moved steadily through the gathering guests, until they reached a man dressed in a suit, holding what looked like programs.

"What is this? A play?" Austin asked, taking the program.

"Bride or groom?" the stuffy looking man with a thick mustache asked.

"Bride," they both said together, quickly before looking at each other and laughing. Neither one of them wanted to be associated with Steve Tanner.

"This way, gentleman," the usher said, leading them to the left side of the church. Sasha caught sight of Kim and Mark Keeler, sitting with Becca. Kim raised her hand in greeting, though Mark glared right through him. Sasha had a fleeting moment of panic before he realized that Mark was glaring at Austin.

"Yeah, he hates me," Austin muttered from between clenched teeth.

Sasha laughed humorlessly and clapped him on the back, "Give it a couple of months. You'll be his favorite." They moved into the pew. "Kim, Mark, Becca," he said, shaking hands with Payson's father firmly before kissing the cheeks of both the Keeler women.

"Sasha," Mark said with a nod, but ignoring Austin completely.

Austin stood there awkwardly. "Hi there," he said, before planting himself down on the bench.

Becca moved down quickly, sitting next to him, allowing Sasha to sit next to Mark. He heard Becca mumble something to Austin about Damon Young, Emily's boyfriend, but for the most part, the silence was overpowering. Then several Rock families filed into the pew behind them and struck up a conversation about gym scuttlebutt.

Sasha checked his watch. It should be starting any minute now and just as the thought passed through his mind, the organist, accompanied by several violinists struck up Pachabel's Canon in D. The gathered crowd turned in their seats as the back doors of the church opened and Kaylie, the first of the bridesmaids began walking down the aisle.

Each of the girls wore a different dress; that much he knew, but they were all of a similar color, a light green she'd called celadon. It was actually odd to see Kaylie out of her usual pink. Next to him he heard Austin take in a sharp breath. Kaylie studiously avoided looking in their direction, but that was telling in itself. For a moment, despite all the secrecy, he was grateful for his relationship with Payson. Everything was so very simple for them. They loved each other, they'd known it before either of them voiced it and they did what they had to do to be together.

He saw a flash of motion back by the doors and his eyes focused on Payson as she walked down the aisle. It was his turn for his breath to catch. The dressed hugged her body beautifully, the soft material flowing gently from her waist. The makeup was understated and her hair was pulled up into some sort of design, but the loose blonde curls that framed her face where what caught his attention. All he could think about was tonight when he would be able pull the pins from it one by one, letting it fall down around her shoulders. It was rare for him to see her dressed this way. The last time she'd been dressed up in his company had been at Thanksgiving and then before that the night they'd called a halt to their relationship in Istanbul. Hopefully, this day would be better than those.

Her eyes flickered over their row. She smiled just behind him at her parents and then her gaze met his and her smile softened a touch. He watched her, even when Lauren and Emily appeared, even when the music shifted and Chloe walked down the aisle, radiant and glowing, like all brides, he never took his eyes from her. Maybe he was being obvious, for some reason he couldn't bring himself to care. He depended upon everyone's distraction. She looked absolutely beautiful.

So while the rest of the gathering watched Chloe and Steve, the most unlikely couple imaginable vow to love, honor and cherish each other, he simply watched her. The minister's words echoed through his consciousness, a sense of contentedness washed through him, words like love, honor, cherish, for as long as you both shall live, he knew he would ask her soon, sooner than she probably expected. It was what he wanted and despite her age, what she wanted as well. He'd been told to ask her properly and he would. She smiled as the minister pronounced them husband and wife and then as guests stood to watch the happy couple proceed out of the church, their eyes met again. Then she was gone again and the crowd was pressing forward, everyone moving out of the aisles, the ushers, handing out cups filled with rice.

He and Austin found Payson on the stairs, waiting with the rest of the bridal party and guests for the bride and groom to emerge from the church doors.

The Keelers were just behind them, but he risked leaning forward just a few inches and whispering, "You look stunning." She turned back towards him with a bright smile.

"You clean up pretty well yourself," she said, taking in the tuxedo. There was one thing Sasha knew about formal dress, men might feel like idiots, but women loved the way they looked in a tux. "It was a nice ceremony, don't you think?"

He shrugged, "I wouldn't know. I was distracted."

Emily was next to Payson and she looked at him, her eyebrows raised at how open they were being. Sasha was unconcerned; they were surrounded by a large group of people emitting a buzz so loud it was hard to hear the person next to you.

Payson finally turned to look back at him; glancing quickly to their sides to be sure no one was near enough to hear. "Why's that?" she asked.

"Still thinking about this morning. I had a hard time getting out of bed," he said casually. "I knew I had to get up, but something was keeping me there."

The rain pounded on the windows. It was fitting, that it would rain the morning of Steve Tanner and Chloe Kmetko's wedding. That was a match Sasha hadn't seen coming. Emily and Lauren had been at each other's throats for months because of it. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with them on a day to day basis once they were living in the same house.

Payson shifted in her sleep. Her feet, ice cold as usual, pressed up against his calves. He shivered in response and pulled his legs away, but her feet followed and he knew she was awake.

"That's not very nice," he whispered, wrapping an arm around her and pulling the rest of her body into his.

"But I'm cold and you're like a space heater," she mumbled into the skin of his shoulder, pressing a kiss there. He entwined their legs together, allowing her to draw whatever warmth she could. "Thanks," she said, snuggling closer.

"We have to get up soon. You're supposed to be at your parents' at seven and Austin is coming over here to get ready," he said after glancing at the clock, but his head cleared as her hands began slowly exploring his chest. She leaned into him and he rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Their bodies pressed full length against each other. For a moment they just lay there, her legs straddling his hips. He cupped her cheek gently and brought her lips down to his.

"Whoa! Hey, you two!" a voice echoed through the room. Payson pulled away, rolling her eyes.

"Serves you bloody right for just walking in here," Sasha grumbled as Payson slid out from under the covers.

"What, you said, six thirty, it's six thirty," Austin protested, laughing now.

"Get out," Payson said, laughing too, pushing him back through the door.

Payson laughed at his vague reference to their morning and then turned away from him again. The doors to the church flew open and a cheer went through the crowd as rice flew through the air, raining down on the happy couple as they raced to the car waiting for them on the street.

It was all so exciting. Becca knew she was lucky to be invited. She was one of the few from her group of friends that got to go. Lily, her best friend, had been green with envy when she told her that she was going to the wedding. She and Payson had gone shopping for a new dress and she felt really grown up in it. The soft, silky fabric swayed gently around her knees and the blue fabric matched her eyes almost exactly.

All the way from the church to the St. Julien Hotel, one of the ritziest places in Boulder, she was practically bouncing in the back seat of the car. Her parents both shook their heads at her, but it was impossible to contain her excitement.

"This is going to be so much fun," she said as the train of cars that they'd followed from the church pulled into the parking lot.

They got out and her dad handed the keys to a valet. Even her parents, regular, everyday Mark and Kim Keeler looked like movie stars tonight. When she got married, she was going to have white tie formal. Everyone looked so….elegant.

"Where is the wedding party?" she asked her mom as they entered the hotel, following a sign that pointed them towards the Kmetko-Tanner wedding.

"They'll be around," Kim said. "They're probably taking some pictures right now. Oh, wait there they are."

Becca caught a flash of the light green bridesmaid dresses and was off in a flash. She vaguely heard her mother calling out to her, but she ignored her, seeing Payson's blonde hair standing next to two men in tuxedos.

"Payson," she said and her sister turned to her with a smile.

"Becca," Payson said, waving her over. "The dress looks great."

"Thanks," Becca said, suppressing the urge to twirl around. She looked up and saw the two men standing next to her were Austin and Sasha. She smiled at them quickly, but then looked urgently at her sister, "Is…"

Payson smiled knowingly, "He'll be here soon, Becca. He rode over with Brian and he's helping Brian with his chair."

"Little Keeler have a thing for Damon Young?" Austin asked, smirking at her and Becca felt her entire face flush in embarrassment. "You didn't mention a crush when we were at the church."

"Ignore him, Becca," Payson said and Austin snorted.

"Don't worry about it," Austin said, throwing an arm over her shoulder lightly. Becca looked up at him strangely. She knew he and Payson were friends, but never knew if she was supposed to take what he said seriously or not. He was just extremely confusing. Payson seemed to understand him well enough, but she just didn't get him. "It must be genetic, having a thing for older men." Payson narrowed her eyes at him.

"Shut up, Austin," she muttered. Becca looked up and saw Sasha glaring at Austin as well.

Confused, Becca opened her mouth to ask what they were talking about, when Emily stepped over to them, "Come on, we're going to go take pictures," she said, grabbing Payson's hand.

"Becca, do you want to watch?" Payson called over her shoulder as she was dragged away. She didn't have to be asked twice, slipping out from under Austin's arm and racing towards her sister and her friends.

After what felt like the hundredth group shot, dozens of poses and the photographer asking for serious faces and then smiles and then pensive, Becca was bored out of her mind. She couldn't imagine why someone would need this many photographs of what looked like the exact same thing. She was sitting in one of the chairs that lined the small garden, her chin resting wearily in her palm, when someone's shadow passed over her.

"Hey, how long have they been at this?" a raspy voice asked.

"Almost an hour," she responded not looking up.

"You're Payson's sister right?" the voice asked and she finally looked up in the deep, soulful, amazing eyes of Damon Young.

She nodded, though she wasn't sure how she managed it. "I'm Damon," he said, taking a seat on the chair next to her. "Emily's boyfriend."

Becca nodded again, this time finding her voice, "I'm Becca and I know who you are."

He let out a small bark of laughter, but somehow she knew he wasn't laughing at her. "Yeah, I guess a lot of people do now. It's weird, one minute you're just an anonymous nobody and the next everybody knows who you are, even your girlfriend's friends little sister."

She nodded in understanding, though she really didn't understand at all. "Do you have any idea how long this might take?" she asked him, proud that she'd formed a complete sentence in front of the Damon Young, the famous singer. He was just so cute.

"You said they've been doing this for an hour? I can't imagine it'll be much…" he trailed off and nodded towards Kaylie and Payson as they approached, leaving Steve, Chloe, Lauren, Emily and Brian to take family shots.

"Hey Damon," Payson said and he stood, kissing her lightly on the cheek and then moving towards Kaylie as well in greeting.

"What was taking so long?" Becca asked, nodding back towards the photographer.

"The photographer has to take a lot of shots to make sure there's a few perfect ones in the bunch," Kaylie explained. Becca nodded.

"How long do you think they'll be?" Damon asked.

Payson smiled at him, "Not that long. I'm going to head inside," she said and Kaylie nodded following her. Becca looked up to see Austin Tucker approaching them.

"Austin," Damon called out and they hugged briefly as Payson and Kaylie disappeared inside. Becca leaned back on the bench as Austin and Damon sat as well. "That was…" he trailed off.

"She's avoiding me," Austin said, rolling his eyes.

Becca watched Damon's eyes squint at Austin, "Last time I talked to Emily she said…"

"Things change," Austin said quickly, his eyes shooting towards Becca and suddenly she realized that they wanted to talk and they couldn't because she was sitting there.

She bit her lip and tried to be casual, "I'm going to go find Payson," she said, standing up and wiping at imaginary dirt on the skirt of her dress.

"Nice meeting you, Becca," Damon said politely and she smiled back at him.

"You too," she said before spinning around and practically running back inside the hotel.

"Bye Little Keeler!" Austin's voice followed her, but she ignored him as Payson had instructed her to do earlier.

Lily was going to be so jealous when she told her that she'd met Damon Young and he's already known who she was! Her breath came rapidly as she moved back into the room they were holding the cocktail hour in. She saw Kaylie over by the bar, but she didn't see Payson. She wanted to talk to her sister. Twirling around she exited the room and out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of light green and blonde hair disappearing down the hallway into another room altogether.

She moved in that direction, stopping just outside the door. It was shut, but the plaque on the wall read, Library. She turned the knob, shaking her head, but stopped when she heard hushed voices inside.

"You look so bloody incredible," a clipped English accent said. Sasha's voice, she'd know it anywhere. "There I was standing in a church and all I could think about was the way this silk hugged your body."

A female voice laughed lightly and then was silenced. Then followed the soft sounds of their lips meeting. She peaked slowly around the edge of the door and her jaw dropped, her eyes growing wide. There, pressed against a wall of bookshelves, was Payson, her arms wrapped around Sasha as they kissed. It looked like something out of a movie. Sasha cradled the back of Payson's head with one hand, the other resting on her hip. Their breathing was ragged as their lips parted and came together again, until it seemed like their mouths fused together. As Sasha's hand moved lower and then around towards her sister's backside, Becca suddenly came to her senses. She backed out of the room, pulling the door slowly with her, hoping against hope that they wouldn't notice her.

Her mind reeled. Payson and Sasha. Payson and Sasha kissing. Her mind couldn't wrap around it until she remembered what Austin said earlier. It must be genetic, having a thing for older men. Austin was one of Payson's closest friends. He knew about this. Who else knew? Not her parents. She heard them every once in a while talking about whether Payson and Austin were together, but nothing about Sasha. Becca made a face. Sasha Beloff, their coach. He was just so – so old. She shook her head and gave voice to the only thought swimming through her mind.

"Ew."

As soon as Austin Tucker made an appearance, Kaylie Cruz had taken off in the other direction. She had absolutely no intention of being anywhere near that man for the rest of the evening if she could prevent it. She and Payson parted ways as they went back inside the hotel. Kaylie headed straight for the bar. She was about to order herself some gingerale, when suddenly a foolish thought entered her mind and escaped her lips before she thought about it, "Vodka and cranberry," she told the bartender, who served her without a second glance.

She was on her second drink when Lauren and Emily appeared, Emily moving off with Damon to some secluded corner she supposed, while Lauren found her immediately.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Vodka," Kaylie said sharply, downing the last of her glass. "Austin's here somewhere. I really can't deal with this."

Lauren smirked. "You know the Russos are here too right? My dad invited them." Lauren nodded her head towards the other side of the room where Nicky Russo stood with his mother and father, looking remarkably dashing in his tuxedo, just like every other man in attendance.

Kaylie turned towards the bartender, "Another," she said.

The drinks weren't very strong, she could barely taste the vodka in them, but she knew it wouldn't take much to take the edge off. Just a little buzz, it was all she'd need and then she would dance with every cute guy at the wedding, completely ignore both Nicky Russo and Austin Tucker and have a fabulous time.