Oh guys I'm so sorry for the mistake. I promise it won't happen again.

Enjoy.

When Steffy woke up, though her eyes were still closed, she immediately felt dazzled by the bright beams of sunlight shining through the curtains. She let out a moan of displeasure and stirred a little in the bed. She reached out with her right hand for Liam, but instead of the warmth of her lover's skin, she was met with the coldness of the sheets.

She opened one eye, but didn't spot Liam, so she closed back her eye and got on her back. She straightened herself before fluffing her pillows to the wall against which she leant. She stretched her arms and her mouth opened in a yaw.

Just when she was about to call him, she saw Liam come out of the bathroom in one of his work suits.

"Oh, good morning. Did I wake you?" he asked her going in front of their mirror to stare at himself while he did his tie.

"No." She answered with a monosyllable observing him through the mirror. "Are you going somewhere?" She asked him, though she already knew the answer given his clothing.

"Yes, to the office." Liam responded.

"Excuse me?" she asked him to repeat raising his brows at him in incredulity. "Today?" she asked him, her expression a mixture of disappointment and disbelief.

"I know. I'm sorry. I really can't do otherwise." He assured her apologetically. "Dad has already called me four times." He told her.

"It's Valentine's Day, Liam." She reminded him in a voice that was supposed to be uncompromising but came out much softer than intended.

What the hell was going on? Valentine's Day was a holiday! And though Steffy never made a big deal out of it, spending it with the man she shared her life with was a requirement! What was the matter with Bill? His marriage being a complete disaster and him being the least romantic spirit ever didn't give him the right to ruin this special day for those of them who were actually in a healthy relationship!

Besides, weren't he supposed to be on her side? Indeed, Bill cared about her relationship with his bigger son a great deal –sometimes even more than Steffy herself.

"I know. I am sorry." Liam apologized once again. "I don't have a choice, Steffy: I have to go." He said and finished doing his tie.

He grabbed his attaché-case on the canapé in the corner of their bedroom. He walked to Steffy, who was at the other end of the room. "I will call you during the day, okay?" He told her.

She nodded slightly, sadly, her eyes staring at the void. "Okay." She said in a small voice still not looking at him.

He tilted his head to the side in apology. He leant towards her and cupped her chin to raise her head. "Hey." He waited for her to steady her gaze on him before he continued. "I will make it up to you." He promised. "I love you."

"I love you too." Steffy reciprocated.

Liam gave her a satisfied tight-lipped smile and kissed her softly on the lips before making his exit.

Steffy sighed and fell back onto her bed.

Now, what was she going to do with her day?

/

Hope was in a lying position on her front on the couch in her living room, her eyes focused on her computer screen before her when someone knocked at the door.

"Don't worry; I'll get it, mom." She yelled to Brooke who was upstairs getting off the couch.

She went to the door and opened it, only to find Oliver standing behind it. "Oliver! Hi." She said, surprise dripping from her voice.

"Hi." He greeted her back before coyly taking in her appearance.

Noticing Oliver's eyes wandering over her form, Hope took a look at her clothing: she was wearing a small white top that barely covered her skin, and matching shorts. "Oh…" She let out. "I'm sorry; I wasn't expecting anyone." She apologized, embarrassed.

Oliver laughed softly, obviously amused by her discomfort. "Oh, I'm not complaining; I don't mind." He told her only half-jokingly.

At his words, Hope opened her mouth to match the appalled look she gave him. She pushed him playfully on the chest and started walking back in the living room. She didn't bother inviting him in knowing he would get it and follow her.

"So what are you doing here?" She asked him turning her face and body back to him.

"It's Valentine's day." Oliver responded, raising his shoulders, in a tone that insinuated that the answer to her question was obvious. "Go get dressed up; we're going out." He announced.

At first, Hope raised her eyebrows at him. Then, her expression turned into a quizzical one as she creased her brows in confusion. "I'm sorry; I'm confused: did we have plans?" She asked him.

"No… It's called a surprise." Oliver responded.

"Oliver, you didn't have to do that." She told him tilting her head to the side.

"I didn't want you to be alone on Valentine's Day." He declared.

The blonde briefly looked away, and though it only lasted a second, Oliver noticed this sad, haunted look settle on her features and it pained his heart.

It was true that this was the first Valentine's Day Hope would spend in a very long time. She and Liam had always made a big deal out of this kind of holidays. That explained why she was lounging around on her couch watching a heart crushing movie on her computer, as if she needed any more drama or sadness in her life. She quietly huffed at her thoughts. Seriously, couldn't she just have gone to the theater with a girl friend or something? Truth was she wasn't that desperate for company.

Normally, when she got this depressed to the point that she didn't want to see or talk to anyone, she would call Bridget, the only one she felt like would understand her. For obvious reasons, right now, she couldn't do that.

"I'm not alone." She countered in a voice which let her incomprehension show through.

"No?" He asked creasing his brows slightly. Now, he was the confused one.

"No." She denied shaking her head. "My mom and RJ are upstairs, and I have a movie, chocolate, candy…"

"Handkerchiefs?" He completed for her, leaning forward, having sight of everything that was disposed on the blonde's table.

Hope let out a half-chuckle half-sigh.

"Okay… maybe, I'm not doing that great." She admitted.

"Maybe?" Oliver repeated raising his brows at her clearly making fun of her, but in a funny way, not wickedly.

The blonde sighed once again closing her eyes.

"And… oh my goodness is that Titanic?" Oliver asked narrowing his eyes to take a closer and better look at the movie paused on her computer screen.

Thank God he had come to her rescue. He had a feeling she may need some cheering today. This was a tough day when you just got out of a relationship. He should know… He didn't want her to feel lonely or be alone today –or any other day for that matter, but especially not today. He wanted to make sure that she knew he was there for her –always.

She reached out and closed her computer. "What was I supposed to watch?" she asked him.

"A romantic comedy!" He answered her pointedly. "Something that would make you laugh! Not a tragedy that would only make you cry!"

She merely rolled her eyes, her arms crossed beneath her chest.

"Come on, go get dressed. We're going out." He told her.

"Oliver, you don't have to this." She told him.

"I know…" He moved closer to her before leaning forward and adding: "I want to."

"I don't want to bother you with my problems." She said.

"You are not bothering me." He articulated every word so she would finally hear him. "And we are not talking about your problems today. Today is about you enjoying yourself!" He corrected her.

"Oliver, seriously, you…"

"Okay, that's enough." He cut her off. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Your choice." He said to her. "This isn't a request; this is an order: go and change, we are going out."

She tilted her head to her left and pursed her lips knowingly giving herself the air of someone deep in thought, still hesitating, pondering.

"Well, I mean, if you'd rather simply resume with your movie…" He started. "…and prefer Leo DiCaprio's company… I'd understand." He said to her. "It would break my heart…, but I'd understand." He said faking a sad expression.

He looked up at Hope: she was smiling and fighting not to burst out laughing. She completely failed and let out a damped laugh.

She looked back at him. "Where are we going? What should I wear?" she asked him.

"Anything you wear will be perfect." He told her.

She gave him a look in response.

"Something casual." He eventually gave her an actual answer.

She nodded. "Give me ten minutes." She asked him.

"Um.." Oliver mumbled and gestured at his head.

She brought her hand inside her hair getting what he was silently saying. She was quite a mess. Like she said, she wasn't expecting anyone.

"Make it twenty-five." She said and headed towards the stairs.

Oliver chuckled watching her go up.

Once she was out of sight, he turned and walked to one seat where he sat to wait for Hope.

/

Hope and Oliver had been walking along the beach for about ten minutes alternating between small talk and total but peaceful silence when suddenly Oliver walked past Hope and turned to her to keep her from going further.

"Hum… what's going on?" She asked him looking around them in confusion.

He smiled at her with a smile that screamed 'trouble' as far as Hope was concerned and which made her lean her head backwards in apprehension.

"Close your eyes." Oliver told her.

"Pardon?"

"Just do it." He insisted growing his eyes at her.

"Fine." She accepted raising her hands, and closed her eyes.

Oliver got behind her and covered her eyes with his hands for more safety. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hope: it was just that he happened to know her.

"Can you see?" he asked her.

"How could I see with your hands covering my eyes?" she asked him in return as though his first question wasn't meant to be.

"Then how do you know my hands are covering your eyes?" He teased.

"Because I can feel them, silly." She answered him in a playful pointed tone.

He chuckled. "I'm just messing with you." He whispered in her ear before he started leading her forward.

"Where are we going?" Hope questioned giggling and walking in a clumsy way.

"We're not far." Was what he gave her as an answer. "Just trust me." He told her.

"I do trust you." She said and realized how much that was true when the words came out. There were only a handful of people in her life that she felt like she could trust and who made her feel safe and protected…, and Oliver was one of those people.

They walked for about two minutes more until Oliver stopped and brought his mouth closer to the blonde's ear. "Are you ready?" He asked her in the shell of her ear.

"Yes." She said nodding once.

"O-kay." He said and removed his hands from her eyes. "Open your eyes!" "

When she did open her eyes, Hope widened said-eyes and her mouth opened in a stunned gasp at the sight before her: there was a romantic table set on the beach right before the ocean, and Hope could make out a picnic basket underneath the tablecloth. On the thin sand were scattered pink roses petals. She shook her head in disbelief, what Oliver misinterpreted.

"You don't like it?" He asked her and she instantly turned at him, her brows knit together. "At first, I thought I'd take you to dinner at a nice restaurant, but then I figured out nothing too fancy, something casual might be good for a change." He finished in a questioning matter. "Do you like it? We can go to the restaurant if you don't like…"

"Shhh…" she shut him up. "Let me enjoy this." She said raising her hand before her as she spoke the words, giving a theatrical aspect to the whole scene.

She closed her eyes and let the soft wind caress her face and surround her like a warm embrace.

"Are you cold?" Oliver asked her immediately as he noticed her shiver lightly. "Do you want my…" he started to ask walking to the table probably to get his jacket covering the basket and offer it to Hope when she stopped him.

"Oliver… relax!" she ordered him. "Take a breath. Enjoy what you did… Alright?"

She turned to stare at the wide ocean before them. "I mean, look at this." She said following the area with her eyes.

Their surroundings really were idyllic. They were beautiful, they were sublime; they were -

"Perfect." Hope suddenly declared turning back to this wonderful man by her side. "This is perfect, Oliver. Thank you so much." She acknowledged, grateful.

"You're welcome." He paused. "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters." He told her sincerely.

/

Not long before noon, Taylor called her daughter to invite her for lunch, and since her boyfriend's father had had the great idea to make the latter work on Valentine's Day, Steffy said yes. What did she have better to do anyway? Not that she didn't revel in her mother's company of course.

After a satiating lunch at one of Steffy's favorite places, they went for a little –that soon turned into a huge –shopping spree.

Liam interrupted them for a while during the afternoon by calling Steffy, just like he promised. Unfortunately, it was a good thing for a bad thing, really, because at the end of the conversation, Liam told her that he wouldn't even be able to make it to dinner. Her first reaction was: 'Liam!' But then, he explained and promised to make it up to her, and she let it go. She knew he would do otherwise if he could: Bill must have really insisted. Besides, she knew all too well the disadvantages that came with having the same name as the Big Boss: one had to be all that more hardworking to avoid the gossip –not that they could ever completely escape it.

After she hung up, she returned to her mother and announced that perhaps, they could spend all day together after all –like Taylor had suggested moments before the phone call. Taylor started to rant about how it wasn't right and not delicate of Liam to ignore such a significant day as Valentine's Day especially after they everything that Steffy and him had been through and with them just getting back on track. Steffy cut her mother right off by telling her that she wasn't mad at Liam and that Taylor shouldn't be either. She explained to her that this wasn't Liam's doing: it was his father's whom she'd have to deal with later.

Besides, it wasn't like she cared that much about Valentine's Day. She had never made a big deal out of it and there was no reason to start now.

That's how what was supposed to be a mother-daughter afternoon turned into a mother-daughter day.

/

"What?" Oliver asked the blonde opposite from him as she stared at him with an undecipherable glint in her deep blue eyes.

Hope shrugged and lightly shook her head. "I'm… trying to find the catch." She explained.

"Find the catch?" Oliver repeated not understanding.

"Yeah, I mean no one can be this perfect." She said in the most serious tone gesturing with her hand, but Oliver knew she was joking and laughed at her words. "And I mean you can't possibly have gone through all this trouble to please me." She added. "There has got to be a catch." She said with emphasis. "So what is it? What's the terrible news?" She interrogated him. "Did you sleep with my sister? Did you accidently damage my car? Did you ruin something for Hope for the Future?" She threw questions at him playfully.

Oliver chuckled, amused. "No, I did none of that." He reassured her playing along. "I just wanted to put a smile on your face." He declared flashing her a smile of his own that made Hope feel grateful that she was sitting: if not, she probably would have fallen because of the sight.

"Well, mission accomplished." She congratulated him smiling at him after she got a grip on herself.

He smiled back at her. "Seriously, though." She spoke with a grimmer expression. "Thank you for this. You really went through a lot of trouble." She acknowledged looking conspicuously at the food displayed on the table.

He really had gone through a lot of trouble. He had cooked them lasagna –that's right, he had cooked them himself, Hope knew that for sure for he used to make her that specific dish when they were together –he had bought a bottle of very expensive champagne, and he had got them strawberries with whipped cream for dessert! In all honesty, could the afternoon have been any more perfect?

"Of course." Oliver responded. "Anything for you." He added.

Hope genuinely smiled at him, and then fell back on her chair. "Ah…" she let out a sigh. She looked all around them and turned half so she could admire the blue paradise behind her. She turned back to her friend. "You're amazing, you know that?" she let him know and he didn't respond. He merely stared at her and smiled at her with his eyes. "I needed this; I really did. I don't know what I did to deserve you." Hope commented only half-jokingly.

"Stop it. You deserve all the love in the world." He told her.

Hope looked up at him and saw by the look in his eyes, by what they held, just how much he meant his words.

"And you don't have to thank me. I'm here for you… always."

"You have always been there for me, haven't you?" She asked rhetorically. "Ever since that night at the Insomnia." She added, thoughtfully, going back in time in her mind.

"Hey, what's your name?" Hope asked the handsome young man who had caught her eye sooner in the evening.

The man didn't answer her anything. Instead, he removed a card out of his jacket's pocket and handed it to her.

She took it and inspected it. "Oliver Jones, professional of entertainment?" she said the last bit in a questioning tone as she read.

"I thought it sounded better than part-time DJ at the Insomnia." Oliver justified half-jokingly causing Hope to laugh light-heartedly.

"What did you first think of me when we met that night?" Oliver inquired, and fought to repress a smile when a tint of pink invaded her cheeks.

Hope looked at him sideways and she couldn't help the embarrassed, happy tight-lipped smile that appeared on her face before she lowered her head sheepishly chuckling. "I thought that you were good-looking." She eventually answered with a smile on her face, not looking at him though.

"Really?" He asked with more than a hint of amusement in the voice. "Well, that's not superficial." He commented making sure she caught his irony.

"Oh right, because the first thing you noticed me about is how smart I was." She commented as ironically nodding.

"Yes!" Oliver exclaimed. "Exactly!" He said the most seriously possible before both he and Hope burst out laughing at the look she was giving him.

"No, but seriously…" she started after she managed to calm her laughter down. "My point is we've been in each other's lives for about five years now, and you have always been there for me." She acknowledged. "…since day one. And I don't feel like… I appreciate you enough for that." She self-depreciated.

"Don't say that. You do appreciate me." He countered. "And you are there for me too." He reminded her.

"Am I?" she asked skeptical, clearly not believing that.

"You are." Oliver assured her. "And you really don't have to thank me. We're friends; that's what friends do: they're there for each other. And you better get used to it because I'm going to keep being there for you… always." He declared and earned a smile in response.

"You remember what I once said to you?" He asked and she lightly frowned and moved her head questioningly. "Our lives are entangled: our paths are destined to never separate." He said and the first time he spoke those words immediately echoed in Hope's head: it was after the fashion show they advanced after she found out that Amber had stolen her designs. She was dating Liam back then, and Oliver was still trying to win her back.

Hope half-smiled half-chuckled.

She looked at him, then took her glass from the table and raised it to him. "To destiny then." She toasted.

Oliver took his own glass and raised it to her as well. "To destiny."

With that, they both brought their glass of champagne to their respective mouths and drank from them, their gazes locked with each other.

/

After lunch and their shopping spree followed by a stop at Dolce Vita for frozen yogurts, Steffy and Taylor returned to the former's house for dinner.

"Oh, I'm so tired. I can't believe I have to cook now." Steffy said to her mother. "I don't regret anything though: I had a great day." She quickly added.

Taylor smiled at her compassionately. "Do you want to order some food so that you don't have to cook?" she suggested.

"You don't mind?" Steffy asked, clearly thrilled at the idea if her imploring eyes were any indication.

"No." Taylor said. "Go keep all those clothes in your room while I order." She said gesturing to the bags Steffy was carrying.

"Uh... wait." Taylor stopped her daughter from leaving the room. "Chinese or Japanese?" She asked her.

"Japanese." She answered. "I got Chinese not long ago." She explained.

As she opened her bedroom door and she discovered what had been done to the place where she slept, Steffy stopped moving, and the next second, the bags she had been carrying dropped to the floor.

Her bed was decorated with petal of red roses scattered all over. The feather bed had been changed and replaced with a red and black one with a heart at the center, and there were petal of red roses over it too. The lighting had been subdued, and two candles had been lit up on each night stand. It was the perfect sight.

Liam appeared out of nowhere –he was hiding behind the door –with a single red rose in one hand and a box of chocolate in the other. He advanced towards Steffy and stopped right before her.

"Happy Valentine's Day." He wished her giving her the rose.

She readily took it. "Thank you." She appreciated. "When did you do all this?" She asked him referring to the change of décor in their bedroom, her contentment showing through her voice. "How?"

"It took me some time, but…" He said.

"But didn't you spend all day at the office? You even called me to tell me you wouldn't be home until very late." She remembered.

"True. Well, I had to get you out of here to do all this, right?" He said showing their room.

Steffy half-smiled half-laughed. She shook her head in amazement, a blissful smile on her face. "I love you so much." She told him and lightly got on her toes to kiss Liam. She wrapped her arms around his neck and wound her left hand in his soft hair while taking care of not hurting him with the rose she held in her other hand.

Liam immediately responded by grasping her hip tightly to hold her in place as he savagely devoured her lips. He pulled her closer to him until there was little to no space left between them.

It was Steffy who reluctantly pulled away remembering something. "I, I need to go get rid of my mom." She said gesturing behind them.

"No, that's not necessary. I think she's already pretty far away from here." Liam told her.

"What? What do you mean?" She asked him, confused.

He raised his brow conspicuously at her delivering a silent message to her with his eyes.

"Wait. She wasn't…"

"Yes. Taylor was in on the whole thing." He confirmed what she already suspected.

"I cannot believe…" She started in an outraged tone.

"…that I have such a perfect boyfriend?" He completed for her with a sly, charming smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "That is not what I was going to say." She paused. "But yes." She agreed and smiled back at him.

Liam's smile broadened and he surrounded her waist with his arm once again before he moved closer to her and closed the gap between them.

/

Liam was lied down on their bed with Steffy's head resting on his chest recovering from their latest intense physical activity. He could hear her breathing slowly slacken and feel her moving slightly against his chest. She was clearly tired but was fighting to remain awake.

Liam ran his hand up and down her raven hair in a soothing movement. "You're tired. Go to sleep." He whispered to her.

She complied and snuggled deeper into him. "Liam?" She called in a sluggish voice.

"Mmmhh?"

"Happy Valentine's Day." She declared half-asleep.

He smiled and raised himself a little to kiss her head. "Happy Valentine's Day, Steffy." He wished her back. "I love you." He told her in a small voice.

"I love you too." She said in a state of semi-consciousness, the words flowing naturally out of her mouth.

Again: I'm so sorry for the confusion earlier.

Thank you for reading.

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