Harvey's big hand shot out from underneath the covers. He placed it on the polished wooden nightstand by the side of the bed as he fumbled around for the offending object. Eventually his fingers wrapped around the cordless phone. With his eyes still closed and his head still half underneath the pillows he brought it to his ear.

"What?" he barked into the receiver. Harvey wasn't a morning person and certainly didn't appreciate being woken especially on the weekends.

"That's not a very nice way to greet your mother. I had hoped I'd brought you up better than that."

Harvey groaned at the sound of his mother's voice as he threw the large cream pillow to his side and rolled onto his back. The mattress creaked underneath him and the sheets tangled between his legs as he attempted to open his eyes. The bright sunlight instantly burned them and he immediately snapped them shut as he brushed his fingers through his hair.

"Hey Mom." he replied, his voice thick with sleep. His mouth felt dry and he licked his lips to wet them as he slowly opened one eye again, letting it adjust to the light.

"Your lazy ass should be out of bed by now, you know." his mother scolded.

"Why? What time is it?" he mumbled as he looked towards the alarm clock beside him. He peered bleary eyed at the green digits in front of him and his brow crinkled with his scowl as soon as the eight and two threes came into focus.

"Mom! What the hell are you doing calling me at eight thirty on a Saturday morning?"

Lily's tone was bright and breezy as she tried to feign innocence at the other end. "Is that really the time? I could have sworn it was later than that."

"Don't tell me you're going senile on me already." Harvey joked, smiling. He shifted his body as he pushed himself up the bed and his head rested back against the soft pillows as he let out a yawn, lifting his hand to rub at his eye.

"Why? Are you worried you'll have to look after your old mother?"

"Nah. I'm rich, Mom. I can employ plenty of other people to look after you for me."

"Smartass." she retorted.

Harvey chuckled as his hand fell to rest against the crisp cotton sheets. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your early morning wake-up call?"

"Where were you last night? I tried calling you but you weren't home."

"I had a business dinner."

"Business? You work way too hard, you know."

Harvey smiled fondly as he shifted the phone to his other ear, scratching his head absently. "Well I have to work hard especially if I'm going to have to pay for someone to look after you in your old senile age."

But his teasing fell on deaf, concerned ears.

"I'm being serious, Harvey. You're young. You should be out there enjoying yourself instead of working yourself into the ground."

Harvey sighed in frustration knowing his mother meant well but it was the same thing every time she called and it was starting to wear extremely thin. "I'm fine, Mom. Honestly. "

Lily frowned at the other end but knew better than to pursue the subject for now. She didn't want her son getting mad at her which he seemed to do every time she pushed him about his social life. It wasn't that she wasn't proud of him for working hard. She was. She was so proud of him at times she could burst. But she worried about him like any normal mother would. She hated the thought of him rattling around all alone in that big house with no-one to go home to at night. There was no-one to share his day or cook him a nice meal. Her son was a wonderful man. He deserved to be happy. He deserved to be loved although she knew he was wary of relationships after being hurt in the past. His past was also the reason for her early morning call. She wanted to warn Harvey before he saw the invitation that had arrived in the mail. She had received hers today and she had no doubt his was on the way.

"So, are you going to tell me why you called?" Harvey asked.

Lily bit down on her lip anxiously. She looked at the white and gold invitation in her hand and knew she had no choice. "Harvey, Nick and Andrea are getting married."

Her words were followed by silence at the other end and her brow wrinkled with her concern as she waited impatiently for a response. She knew the news would have shocked him. She just needed to know he was okay.

"Harvey?"

His soft sigh crackled down the line.

"Yeah, I'm still here."

Harvey's expression was thoughtful as his brown eyes stared straight ahead, unsure how he felt about the news that his younger cousin and his ex-fiancée were getting married. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't really surprised. After all they had been together a while. It had been at least twelve months since…..well, since he had discovered their relationship. God knows that night was still firmly engrained in his mind.

"Your father and I got our invitation today. You'll probably get yours soon." Lily informed him, pausing for a second. "Harvey, the wedding is in two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Harvey scoffed as he sat upright in bed. He rubbed his hair in disbelief. "Why so soon? What's the rush?"

"Nick has got a job opportunity in Europe for a year. They wanted to get married at home before they move over there next month." Lily sighed as she placed the invitation on the small table beside her. "Harvey, I know this must be hard for you. I'll understand if you don't want to go to the wedding."

Harvey swallowed hard as his mom's words lingered in his mind and he pushed back the covers getting out of bed. His bare feet padded across the thick carpet as he walked across to the large sash window.

"I'm sure Aunt Jane would understand too if you decided not to come."

Harvey frowned at the mention of his aunt's name. The last thing he wanted or needed was his family's sympathy or pity. He wasn't some sad case pining over a lost love. Maybe it was his stupid pride getting in the way but he was going to show them that quite frankly, he didn't give a fuck who Andrea married. They were over. She had made that blatantly clear when she had made the decision to screw his cousin. And he had dealt with it and he had moved on. He was going to go to the damn wedding and he was going to take great pleasure in making sure she was out of his life for good.

"I'll be there." he told her, his mind made up.

"Are you sure?"

He heard the surprise in his mother's voice and his facial expression softened, knowing she was only looking out for him. She always did.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, you know your sister will be there, looking out for you. So will your father and I."

Harvey smiled at the thought of his sister. He knew Lynn would be overly protective of him. She still blamed herself for introducing him to Andrea in the first place. She was his sister's best friend. Or at least she had been until Lynn had discovered she had screwed around on her younger brother. She hadn't spoken to her since despite Harvey assuring her he was more than happy for them to be friends.

"We won't let you go through this alone, Harvey."

"I know but it's okay because I won't be alone." he shot back, instantly grimacing at his words as he cursed himself silently. Damn. That lie had just slipped out. It appeared his stupid pride was getting in the way yet again.

"You're bringing someone?" his mother asked curiously.

Harvey knew he should say no and he could stop this lie before he dug himself an even deeper hole. But there was something preventing him from the truth. Maybe it was the thought of the sympathetic looks from everyone as they watched him attend the wedding alone. Or maybe it was the satisfaction he would get from the look on Andrea's face when she realised that he wasn't as broken hearted as she liked to imagine he was. God knows he was sick and tired of his family thinking he was "poor Harvey". This would be his chance to prove to everyone that he had moved on. That he didn't give a damn about her any more.

He closed his eyes as he strengthened his resolve, leaning against the window frame and silently apologising to his mother before he spoke. "Yeah, I'll be bringing someone."

"Who?"

"You'll find out when we arrive."

"Well can't I at least get a name? Aunt Jane will need to know her name anyway for the wedding reception."

Her face entered his head and her name fell from his lips before he had a chance to even stop himself. "It's Donna."

Harvey winced, mentally cursing himself. Christ. His lie was growing by the second.

"Well I'll be looking forward to meeting her." replied Lily with a happy lilt in her voice. "You know, we're travelling up on the Wednesday. We're going to make a little vacation out of it. You should come with us then. It will give us a chance to catch up and get to know Donna before the wedding."

Harvey scratched his forehead trying to figure how the hell he was going to get out of this one. "I'll think about it Mom. I'll need to check and make sure I can take the time off work."

He heard his mother scoff at the other end of the phone.

"Harvey, you own the company. I think you can allow yourself a little time off."

He sighed wearily rubbing his stubbled chin. "Look, I'll see what I can do."

"You'd better or I'll come over there and personally drag your ass to Worcester."

Harvey couldn't help but smile at her familiar threatening tone. "Point taken. I'll make sure I'm there."

"Good. Now I've got to go. I told Lynn I'd go shopping with her."

"Well, enjoy yourself. I know how much of a drag it is for you women to trail round that mall."

"Don't be so smart."

Harvey chuckled. "Take care Mom."

As he hung up the phone, his smile quickly faded and he shook his head as he walked back to his bed. How the fuck he was going to pull this one off?! Sitting down on the mattress, he placed his head in his hands as his arms rested on his legs.

"You're screwed, Harvey." he told himself. "You are totally screwed."

With a loud groan, he threw himself backwards onto the bed, the mattress creaking underneath him. Grabbing a pillow he covered his face and shut out the entire world as he tried to figure out just what the hell he had done and how on earth he was going to pull it off.