"You want a beer?" Cress heard Cinder ask as she rummaged through the fridge. "There's also, uh, coke and orange juice. There should be some wine too ..."

"A coke is fine," Cress quickly replied, taking in the home Kai and Cinder had made for themselves.

Cinder closed the fridge, handing Cress a can of coke and keeping one for herself. "You want to eat here at the table? We also have a balcony and some really nice recliners. I don't know about you but I'd love to just put up my feet and relax. What do you think?"

Eating outside in such great weather sounded amazing, actually. Together, they grabbed their boxes and went for the balcony. They had each picked a pizza with a few appetizers and easily shared pizza slices, mozzarella balls and bread sticks between them. Cress hadn't realized how hungry she had been.

The balcony was spacious enough for the two recliners and even a few potted plants. Tomatoes, peas, cucumbers and a few herbs - as Cinder pointed them out, Cress learned that they had been presents from their friends Scarlet and Ze'ev. Apparently, they also came by as often as they could to look after the plants, otherwise, Cinder explained, neither she nor Kai had the time or knowledge to really care about them.

It was cozy, and they both leaned back after they had eaten with a contented sigh. Unlike the awkward pauses they had endured in the car, Cress felt this was silence was more relaxed as they both soaked in the sun.

It was Cinder who broke the silence. "I'm so stressed out."

Cress raised an eyebrow. "Stressed out? Because of the wedding?" Because as far as Cress could tell, Cinder hadn't done anything for the wedding so far that would warrant her being stressed out.

Cinder nodded, her eyes still closed. "I know I haven't done anything yet. And you and Thorne will handle most of it anyway. Maybe stressed isn't the right word."

"Nervous, maybe?" Cress supplied. That seemed more likely in Cress's opinion.

Cinder considered. "I think so. There's just so much to take into account. I usually tune out when Thorne starts talking about his job but boy, did I underestimate it. Iko -that's my maid of honor- is already badgering me about everything. If not for her, I wouldn't have the guest list or my dress at this point. She basically dragged me from shop to shop the week after Kai proposed."

Cress was eager to hear about the dress—what kind of gown would a bride like Cinder pick?—but it was more important to allay Cinder's fears first. "But that's why Thorne and I are here for. There's no need to worry. You already picked a great concept and you have a beautiful venue. Thorne knows what he's doing."

"I know. And I was really mean to Thorne today," Cinder confessed, suddenly looking guilty. Cress hadn't expected that. "Thorne has the great talent to both anchor me in stressful situations so I get through them but also rub me the wrong way with his jokes. He's super supportive but also so, so annoying."

Cress had assumed that this was how Cinder and Thorne generally interacted as friends, so she wasn't surprised by Cinder's words. She chose her next words carefully. "I'm sure Thorne knows that. Not only because he's your friend but also, as a wedding planner, he is used to working with stressed-out brides."

"Seriously, who would ever want to have a job where they work with snappy brides 24/7? No offense," she quickly added.

Cress laughed. "No worries. Believe me, there are days when I ask that myself. But it's always worth it when you see everything come together on the day of the wedding. When the bride sees everything for the first time and knows it's her wedding, with all the little details that make it special for her and she tells me it's the best day of her life - then I know I did my job well. And then it's worth everything that came before. Those are the moments I remember."

"You know," Cinder started as if a thought occurred to her as she leaned over to look at Cress, "it's a bit like when I design a building? I sketch and design and it's stressful in the beginning because sometimes the clients change ideas and sometimes tenant's associations have all those regulations and stuff. But then I visit during the construction and see it coming together and when it's finally done, I'm so proud that the rest doesn't matter anymore. It's kinda similar, right?"

"Absolutely."

"I doubt that Thorne feels the same way about it, though."

"Ha, no." Only two days ago Cress had been convinced that Thorne shared her passion for their job. Now it seemed laughable. "But still, you're in very good hands. Thorne knows what he's doing and he knows you. He'll make sure everything goes smoothly. You don't need to worry."

"I guess." Cinder took a sip of her coke, changing the topic. "By the way, Iko is so excited to meet you."

Cress was puzzled. "Me? Why?"

"Oh, she's convinced your life is exactly like ... who was the actress in The Wedding Planner?"

"Jennifer Lopez?"

Cinder nodded. "That's the one. Iko thinks your life is just like in the movie and she wants to see you in action - preferably on the arms of that hot guy in the movie who swept you off your feet," she added with a roll of her eyes.

Cress hesitated for a few seconds, choosing her next words carefully. "I hope she won't be too disappointed then. My life isn't really like that. I doubt it's any wedding planner's life really." Cress had to explain that a few times already. Most people only saw the decorations and thought that was the whole job. Instead the job had many less than glamorous sides which most people didn't see: From climbing on chairs during rain just to lift up a canopy to repairing clogged toilets. Fixing holes in the wedding dress (or altering it altogether), hot ironing jackets and quickly putting together boutonnières and hair ornaments out of the flowers from the center pieces. Booking last minute fireworks or hot air balloon rides. Counting the linens, chair covers, napkins and more. Long after the party was over and the guests were gone. No, Jennifer Lopez hadn't shown the real-life experience of a wedding planner in her movie - the high heels alone were a joke. Flat shoes were a must if you were on your feet all day.

"Be sure to tell Iko that because otherwise she won't believe it."

"Uh, sure?" Eager to change the topic, Cress decided to ask about the dress instead. "So, you found your dress already? What does it look like?"

"Iko could describe it way better than me. She would know the names for the cut and fabric. But wait, I have pics." Cinder scrambled from her recliner and went inside the house. Cress heard her rummaging for awhile, happy that Cinder was willing to share pictures of her wedding gown with her.

Cinder came back, not only carrying her phone but also a stack of photos. She took a seat on Cress's recliner rather than on her own. "Kai and I had planned to make a photo album for our wedding—"

"How wonderful!"

"—except that we really don't have time. And talent. Seriously, those scrapbooks people post online look like professionals did them."

"I could send you some websites that help you with that. It's not as hard as it looks."

"Cool. But we still don't have the time. And I doubt I have the patience for it anyway. Let's see ...," Cinder looked through the stacks of photos. "The seamstress is my friend's mother, so I could tell her what I wanted and she adjusted it for me. I wanted it to look like the dress I wore for the engagement party—"

"What is that?" Cress pointed to the picture of a car. What did that have to do with the wedding scrapbook?

There was a proud glint in Cinder's eyes. "That's my car. Or, it's going to be my car when I'm done with all the repairs."

Something clicked in Cress's mind. "That's the car you got from the junkyard, right? Kai told me you found it and are working on it to get it running again." Cress looked at it again. It was a funny looking, bright orange VW Beetle. Not the car Cress would have picked for Cinder. Between her and Thorne, Cress wondered if all of Kai's friends had such a peculiar taste in cars. "Did Thorne help you with the restoration?"

Cinder laughed good-naturedly until she realized that Cress's question had been serious. "Wait, you're joking, right? Why would you think Thorne helped me with the car?"

"He told me he's good with cars as we were driving back to L.A." Several times, actually, even after he had unsuccessfully tried to fix the Rampion. But Cinder's reaction told her that it was another of Thorne's cocky lies. Figures.

Cinder snorted. "Of course, he would. Thorne think he's good with everything. Cars, women, whatever. No, Cress, believe me Thorne is not good with cars."She sighed as she looked the picture. "I really love how it's coming together. I saw it and I knew right away that this is the car I wanted to have. I sold my old one and soon I can drive this one around. Thorne thought I was crazy. He says it looks like a pumpkin on wheels."

Cress had to admit, Thorne wasn't exactly wrong about that. She still liked the car; it had personality. "And that's the car that will get you to Artemisia Hall?"

"What? Oh no, it really doesn't fit. I'm sure people will be weirded out if I stepped out of it. Maybe I'll rent something. And old-timer or a simple sports car. Whatever."

Cress could hear that Cinder was hardly enthusiastic about that prospect though. "But ... why not? You clearly love this car, so why shouldn't it be the one you drive in on your wedding day?"

"I don't want to agree with Thorne more than once a day but he really has a point. It does look like a pumpkin on wheels. And bridal cars should be more elegant and not look like a driving vegetable. Or are pumpkins considered fruit?"

"Fruit," Cress answered absent-mindedly. She didn't agree with Cinder but didn't quite know how to word it. After mulling over several options, she decided to say it how she saw it. "I don't know but I don't think you have to have a certain kind of car if it doesn't mean much to you. But you're clearly excited about your own car."

Cinder sighed. "I don't know. I also don't want anyone else to drive my car, you know? Even I haven't driven it yet."

"Call me crazy but ... why don't you drive yourself then?" Cress proposed.

Her eyes becoming almost comically huge, Cinder stared at Cress in disbelief. "On my wedding day?"

"Sure. I don't see why not?"

"Cress, that's a fun idea, but I really don't think our guests will get why I'm driving my own weird car on my wedding day."

"They don't have to?" It was strange for her to think that a bride would really try to deny herself everything she might want from a wedding on the off-chance that her guests disagreed with it. Usually, the day was all about the bride and her wishes. No, that wouldn't do. "Cinder, it's your wedding. You should be able to have the things you want. Believe me, most guests are just there for the food and the music. The ones who are there for you, don't you think they want to see you happy?"

"I guess." But Cress could see that Cinder wasn't entirely convinced.

"You can do whatever you want, of course. But I really think you should have the wedding you want and not care what everyone else thinks. Sometimes you have to put yourself and your wishes first."

There was a strange expression on Cinder's face that Cress couldn't place. She hoped she hadn't overstepped some boundaries when Cinder took out another pic from the stack. It was faded with worn corners like it had been held a lot and showed a young teenage girl smiling excitedly at the camera.

"This is my half-sister. What you just said sounds exactly what she would tell me over and over again." Despite the obvious fondness of her smile, Cress could hear Cinder struggling to get the words out. There was a story there that Cress had no idea about and that made her cautious of what to say next.

"That sounds like great advice, especially for someone so young." The girl in the picture didn't look as similar to Cinder as Cress would have assumed from their relationship. Her hair was much darker, especially against the paler skin. But she did have the same raise of the eyebrows as if to challenge the person taking the picture. "What's her name?"

A long pause. "Peony."

Peony. The name rang a bell even though Cress couldn't tell why until it hit her. Cinder had been vehemently against peonies when Cress had suggested them. Then there had been this awkward pause ... oh.

Peony, Cinder's half-sister, must have died at some point. That was the only explanation for it. No wonder Cinder didn't care much for flowers that reminded her of that. Cress really wished Kai had told her at some point - she never would have suggested peonies if she had known.

Cress didn't know what to say when Cinder broke the silence. "She was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after this picture was taken. I never had a good relationship with my step-mom and step-sister. My father died years before and I didn't know him all that well to begin with. He was often gone and was mostly focused on his work. I only ever had a good relationship with Peony after I came to live with my dad. For the longest time, she was the only family I'd ever known."

"You didn't grow up with him?"

Cinder shook her head. "It's a long story and I don't really know enough of it since I was so young. But my father had an affair with my mother even though he was already married. My mother became pregnant but my father obviously stayed with Adri - that's my stepmom." Cinder's clipped tone made it clear that they probably didn't have the warmest of relationships. However, Cress remembered seeing the names of Adri and Pearl Linh on the guest list. "Anyway, shortly after my birth, my mom died and I ended up in an orphanage until my father came for me and I started living with his family."

Cress was surprised to hear all of that. It was obvious why Kai wouldn't share something like that over the phone. Cress knew it was her turn to say something but had trouble coming up with something. She had the feeling Thorne would know exactly what to say in any situation. "Your new family didn't make it easy for you?"

A harsh laugh. "No, not really. Except for Peony, as I said. She and I were really close. But then she started to feel sick and never got better. The doctors diagnosed her and referred her from specialist to specialist but nothing they did worked. I don't think they cared all that much. She always told me about the things she wanted to do and reminded me to always go for the things I wanted no matter what anyone thought. Because she wouldn't get a chance to do any of it."

Watching Cinder caressing the corners of the photo, Cress knew she had to open up too to find the right words. "Cinder ... I'm sure you know how Kai and I met? Like, he told you that I was sick too? For a really long time?" It was not something Cress usually shared on her first one-on-one with a stranger. But Cinder wasn't a stranger, not really. Especially not after sharing so much of herself with Cress.

It was easy to see the conflict on Cinder's face: she didn't want to lie to Cress but also didn't want to say anything that would make it seem like Kai had shared something that wasn't his to share. If Cress were in her place, she would struggle all the same. She smiled encouragingly. "It's okay. It's no big secret."

"I don't know much," Cinder hurried to say. "Just that you were in a clinic a lot because of cancer as a kid. The same clinic where Kai's mother was treated."

A few sentences that outlined Cress's childhood in the simplest terms. Cress knew, of course, that it hadn't been quite so simple. It was one thing to know about it, another to have lived it.

Cress looked at the picture in Cinder's hands, feeling a strange kinship with the girl. Peony, who hadn't known what a drastic turn her life would take; meanwhile Cress couldn't remember a time from her childhood when she hadn't been confined to a hospital bed. The endless examinations, treatments, therapies - one more drastic than the one before.

And yet, Cress had made it while Cinder's sister hadn't. Like so many other kids Cress had shared the children's ward with. But Cress was here, living and breathing and healthy. Her hands went to her long locks, twisting them between her fingers for reassurance.

"I spent years in the clinic, mostly alone. My mother left the family soon after the diagnosis and my dad obviously had to work. I shouldn't have been happy that Kai's mother was sick and they had to visit the clinic so often but it was nice having him around. Someone who was healthy and was allowed to go to a regular school and do regular stuff." Cress remembered the times she had convinced Kai to let her do his homework for him. No matter the subject, Kai had come back with the best grades on his papers. It had made Cress proud especially since he was two years older than her. "But I always told myself that whenever I would get healthy again, I would only do the things I'd like and always dreamed about doing."

"Is that why you became a wedding planner?"

"Yes. Many people told me not to do it. That I was smart and should learn something practical and sensible. But I loved weddings and so that's what I went for. I didn't want to compromise just to please others." Cress stopped herself before she rambled on about her life. She didn't want the mood to become sad and depressed because of her. She just wanted to make a point to Cinder. "Anyway, that's just my opinion. You know best what works for you. I just mean, it's your day. You should get what you want." She smiled encouragingly at Cinder before pointing at the stack of photos. "Now, I'd love to see the dress."

"Oh, sure." Cinder went searching through the pics. "And Cress?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Cinder handed Cress a picture of her in a wedding dress. "Iko insisted on taking that pic. She said it was good practice for the wedding photos," Cinder told Cress with a laugh. "Not sure about that but you can't say 'no' as fast as Iko picks up her phone."

The dress was beautiful. Cress had assumed that Cinder would go for something very simple and sleek and in a way, it was - no ruffles, tulle or sparkling beads or sequins. But it was a stunning dress in an A-line silhouette; silk shimmered through the delicate lace, none of it overbearing. The most prominent detail was the mandarin collar and the capped sleeves, giving the dress a sense of sophistication. It wasn't playful but still young and modern.

Cress instantly loved it and more than that, she loved how Cinder looked in it. It was obvious she didn't feel comfortable posing but she still had an easy smile on her face. Cress knew then that the dress was perfect for her.

"I love that you took the time to print it out. Especially if you come around to making that wedding album." The more Cress looked at the photo, the more she felt that the dress looked oddly familiar. She was sure she had never seen the dress itself but something about it ...

"Yes, I thought it would go well with images from Kai's parents."

"Kai's parents?"

Cinder nodded, handing Cress another photo, this one clearly older than the ones before. Cress instantly recognized it. It was an image of Kai's parents at their engagement party. She had seen the image a lot when she had visited Kai's mother in her hospital room sometimes. Mrs. Prince had always been happy to have Cress visit and showed her the photos on her nightstand.

Yawen Prince had been stunning, her smile inviting the eyes to linger on her. She wore a beautiful dress with a mandarin collar and capped sleeves. The skirt was shorter and the colors of the fabric a wonderful mix of sea-foam green, teal blue and sunset orange, but it was still clear that Cinder had been inspired by the dress for her own.

"I wore her dress for my own engagement party. Kai's father gave it to me as if he was welcoming me to the family." Cinder's tone revealed how much that must have meant to her. "The same way his father's family had welcomed his wife into the family."

She offered Cress two more photos: One of Kai and Cinder's own engagement party where Cinder wore the dress. Kai had emailed it to her and Cress should have recognized the dress then. And one image with faded colors of Kai's grandparents.

Three generation of women, all of them wearing the same beautiful dress on their engagement party. Three families using a dress as a family heirloom to welcome the brides into their new family. Three happy couples.

Cress felt her heart rate picking up as the wheels in her head slowly started turning. She only half-listened to what Cinder was saying, her own thoughts racing.

"... and I never would have worn a dress like that. But it fit me so well and I felt ... I know it sounds stupid, but it didn't make me feel as if I was just dressing up. But as if I belonged in that dress. I'm sure you know what the dress means to Kai's family."

"I do." There was meaning in that dress. Cress could feel that she was on to something

"So that's why I asked Mrs. Hayle -that's my friend's mom -to use that dress as an inspiration for my wedding dress. See, the collar and the sleeves are the same." She pointed on the details. "You think Kai will approve?"

"He will love it," Cress said absent-mindedly. And even that was an understatement. Cress was sure Kai would instantly recognize that Cinder had based her wedding gown on the dress his mother and grandmother had worn and which his father had given to Cinder.

"I hope so." There was a pause. "It's nice to have you here, Cress. It means a lot to Kai and I'm glad too."

The words left her lips without thinking. "I have to go."

Cinder startled. "Wait, what?"

"I have to go," Cress repeated, standing up from the recliner.

Cinder was confused and Cress couldn't blame her. But now wasn't the time to explain. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No! You were great. But I need to go. And I need the photos." Cress scrambled to pick up her purse and carefully stuffed the photos into it. "And I need a car. Nevermind, I'll call a cab." Cress quickly waved at Cinder before stepping inside the house, leaving a thoroughly befuddled Cinder behind.

Cress ran through the house and quickly made her way towards one of the bigger streets she had seen upon her arrival. She could easily find a cab there.

There was something else she had to do though. Looking through her phone, Cress called her newest contact. She heard the dial tone, once, twice, before the call connected.

"Hello, Thorne."