It's been well over a month since I've last updated! But as I've promised, I was doing my final exams and couldn't spare much time to write the chapter. WELL, my final exams are done for the time being, and I'm basically free to write for four months!

So to make it up to my fellow readers: dawnleaf1234, Blazeboss, InfernusXS, the honoured Guest, falconadventurer, nnnyeeees, and Dr Bound, enjoy this next chapter, with a delicious plate of croquembouche to go with it! This is a considerably long chapter, so savour it well.

nnnyeeees you greedy! You snuck a plate of croquembouche from the restaurant without asking! Oh well, have another!

And yes, the reviewers have the guess spot on. I mean, the guess was too obvious...

Oh, and to dawnleaf1234 and falconadventurer, I've never thought of those ideas! Thanks! Have an extra plate of croquembouche on me, and Cynthia.

Chapter eight: From Auburn to Turquoise to Red

Of all people, of any individual in the world, and he had to come here, didn't he? Who better than… Wallace.

"This is a beautiful place you've chosen to set up shop, my friend," Wallace said cheerfully. "A first-class restaurant set against the ocean. That's perfect. I like it."

"Uncle? Who's that?" said the girl sitting with the man Steven was not so pleased to see. This girl somewhat resembled Wallace, mostly because of either the face or the hair (in Steven's opinion, it was definitely the hair).

Clearly, Steven was not in the mood for greetings. If he had come at another time, perhaps not during a wedding, and most certainly perhaps not when Cynthia was here, Steven would have been more adaptable.

"You should know who he is, Lisia," Wallace replied, although his eyes were still fixed on Steven's. "He's the one man in Hoenn who has captured the hearts of everything female, human and Pokémon alike, and never bothered to get a girlfriend or a partner –"

"Hey," Steven warned. "Wallace, I'm not ready yet. And what are you doing here?!"

The question was completely ignored, where Wallace turned away to look at his niece. "Lisia, this is Steven, the former Hoenn champion who held onto his crown for too long and had to retire! You see, don't try to be like him if you can help it. He retired while young. Anyway! Steven, this is my niece, Lisia. You might have heard of her."

Wallace looked straight into Steven's eyes with his own twinkling eyes. If Steven's eyes were as furious as all the Blast Burns in the world combined, they were met with the unstoppable icy but charming stare of Wallace's.

"You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling," he replied. "Don't worry. You were standing up there and… ooh-la-la! You were staring away at someone for a while. Everyone knows!"

Steven was well aware that the eyes of half the tables around him had their ears close to listen to the conversation. However… this was awkward.

"You have an eye for a pretty girl, don't you now?" Wallace added, and before Steven could even think of a single reply, Wallace added, "Don't worry, don't worry, your secret will never be safe. After all, why not take a look at the magazine?"

Steven's eyes briefly darted to Wallace's niece, namely Lisia, and to his horror he saw her holding up the cover of the previous edition of the popular Kalos magazine. Yup. Apples and oranges.

"This was supposed to be private…" he mouthed. "I didn't know you had a niece."

"I can already imagine what this would be like!" Lisia said enthusiastically. "Come on, you! You're Steven, right? Let's begin the first chapter of your love story: I'm calling it, "Love at first sight!" Don't you see? You seem to have found a matching partner already –"

Steven cleared his throat, but not before briefly wearing an annoyed face.

"What you're saying rests on a false premise that I have any feelings for her, whoever she is," Steven tried to keep his voice cool. "You're only building your theory on gossip."

Lisia looked offended. Steven, though, was interrupted by a heavy, heavy, sigh from Wallace.

"Steven, my friend," he stood up and put an arm on Steven's shoulder (much to the latter's discomfort). "Like I said, you mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger! It's time you stop thinking like the logical businessman you were and embrace the big picture! You have a chance! A chance to repair your isolated life forever!"

It appeared that Steven wanted to disagree.

"It's not logic!" he said hotly. "It's the truth! Stop building lies –"

Wallace sighed again.

"Steven, you must think smoothly!" he insisted, though Steven felt like facepalming. "I thought working near the seaside would have been an improvement at last! But no, you still are refusing opportunities for love. I know you very well, Steven. Don't lie."

Steven shook his head. "I've been down that road before, Wallace, and I'm perfectly content living by myself for now. By the way, where's Winona? Is she with you?"

Wallace could detect the expression in Steven's eyes that betrayed his words. Nevertheless, he'll let it go for the time being.

However, it was Lisia who answered, "She's with us, but she wasn't invited to the wedding. Don't worry, she's staying with us at –"

Wallace clamped a hand over his niece's mouth. "Now, now, there's no need to rush into where we're staying. What matters is that you've found a partner, and I'll be here to help! By the way, this croquembouche is delicious. You're fortunate to have a prospective partner like her who could make simply the best food in the world!"

Steven covered his face with his hands. Why did he have to mess up the situation, when it was already bad enough? Worse, he just had Wallace comment that the croquembouche was the best, so did that mean the other efforts had gone to waste?

"Hey! Check it out! It's Lisia!" someone in the crowd called.

Immediately, a lot of people gathered around Wallace's table to see the Contest idol. Lisia didn't seem surprised, and on the contrary welcomed the people to take pictures, or get her to sign autographs.

"Now, now, I didn't think that my popularity would go this far into Kalos," she said. Nevertheless, she seemed very pleased to have fans all the way here, and even though this was a wedding reception. How coincidental.

Wallace, on the other hand, took advantage of the distraction to pull away from the table. Unbeknownst to Steven, Lisia was watching – at least until Wallace said, "We'll be back. We don't want to distract you from your fans."

He dragged Steven with him – to Steven's reluctant horror – straight to Cynthia's table. On the way there, Steven eyed Cynthia's Garchomp happily – but slowly – eating away at the delicious cheeses leftover from the cheese course. At the same time, Cynthia was enjoying a small dish of croquembouche with a coffee, never mind how attractive she looked with the curled hair and business suit.

No. No. NO! Steven thought.

Quickly as he could, Steven broke away from Wallace's iron grasp and darted away from the route. There was not a single place that was safe now. No thanks to Wallace reminding him that he (Steven) had made the front cover of the popular Kalos magazine, everyone was bound to be suspicious. Oh wait, they had seen him and Cynthia pose together with the wedding couple. Now everyone was bound to know what was going on.

It felt like the world was crumbling around Steven, or at least in his world. Like the previous time, he ran away to the stairs and would – within seconds – be back in the sanctuary of his kitchen.

Or so it would have been, had not Martine Grenadine been standing in the way blocking the stairs. As she was holding a tray of drinks, Steven immediately halted so as to not crash into her.

"Hey boss, going back already?" she said smartly.

Steven did not answer, but he stood aside to let his employee walk by. The latter eyed Steven suspiciously, but she went on walking, and began to serve the drinks to the respective guests. Steven stayed where he was for a few seconds before he quietly retreating to his office.

However, before he could even think about heading to his office, he felt a firm hand grasp the collar of his chef jacket from behind and pull him back into the banquet.

"Now, now, we don't want you to be missing out, my friend," he heard Wallace say in a light, amused, tone. "It's a wedding! This is the time to socialise! Not locking yourself away from the party! Come on, it's like you haven't changed since Hoenn."

Steven grumbled. "Maybe I like it that way for now. Anyway, Wallace, how are you even here?!"

Wallace ended up pushing Steven back into the banquet floor, never mind catching the eyes of some guests, before saying, "My niece Lisia is a close friend of the bride's cousin. Since they found out she was related to me, they couldn't resist the opportunity to invite me as well!"

"But enough about me," Wallace grinned, his smiling such that it could rival an Aipom's, "let's introduce you to your future partner, who will bring joy into your life –"

Steven struggled to free himself from Wallace's surprisingly powerful grasp. Had Brawley been teaching Wallace resistance training? There was no way Wallace had such strength the last time Steven saw him. Ironically, the more Steven struggled, the faster Wallace could drag him to her.

"She's my business rival!" Steven hissed.

"She was also a fellow Champion," Wallace said casually, as he kept dragging Steven closer to her. "Come on! Be a man! You never know if she'll be your partner, but I'm staking my Milotic on it that she will. On the other hand, that was good food you make, Steven. Why couldn't you have told us about this sooner?"

Steven shot Wallace a death glare, but Wallace ignored him.

"Us?" Steven's voice was one of surprise and shock.

"Yes! I mean, there's me, Lisia, and Winona. We're all rooting for you!" Wallace said, proudly. He looked to his niece, who was still busy signing autographs and taking pictures. "Although I admit, bringing my superstar niece might have overdone it, but no matter. She knows how to make stories, my friend. She knows."

Elsewhere, but not too far away, Martine was serving a round of smoothies to her table, at the request of the renowned Contest idol. Even Martine knew who she was: none other than Lisia. Lo and behold!

Lisia alone was not sitting, but had to satisfy a lot of fans' needs for memorabilia and autographs. In fact, Martine had no way to serve Lisia's smoothie without pushing away at the fans, and there were too many fans crowding around Lisia.

"Excuse me, excuse me!" Martine demanded, using one hand to hold the tray of glasses and the other trying to push the fans away. At first they didn't get the message, but soon they let Martine through to serve Lisia the smoothie – a blend of Lum and Kelpsey berries. Lisia took the glass, thanked Martine, and sat down on her seat.

Moments later, some agents – personal staff, from the looks of it – began clearing the fans away, and the fans respectfully fell back to their tables. Martine meanwhile started clearing the finished dishes of croquembouche away.

"Did you enjoy your dinner?" she asked her table.

"The dessert was fabulous!" Lisia was first to answer. "By the way, have you seen that Steven of yours? I need to give my compliments to him! Besides, I wonder if he could find a girlfriend!"

That. That was it.

"We need to talk," Martine said to Lisia, whilst extending a hand to her and sitting down at the vacant seat (which, incidentally, was Wallace's). "My name's Martine. You're Lisia, right?"

"You bet," Lisia replied, happily. "Okay, Martine, what is it you want to talk about?"

Before Martine answered, she waved to one of her fellow co-workers for a glass of water with a slice of lemon.

"Cynthia! How wonderful it is to see you here!" Wallace greeted her, with nothing held back as he released Steven from his iron grasp. Steven, not wanting to embarrass himself as he was in the midst of the guests again stood where he was. "Your presence here is much admirable, and especially after that dessert you have made –"

Cynthia held up a hand, while Garchomp looked up from her plate of croquembouche and eyed Wallace and Steven suspiciously.

"I understand, Wallace," Cynthia said, and flashing that unique smile that captivated so many…

Steven grimaced.

Wallace bent down on one knee, took Cynthia's wrist, and kissed it. "Now, now, my dear, you flatter me. Such a ridiculous imitation, your smile is, but mistaken… You have a smile that's enough to capture my heart. If only I had a way of capturing yours…"

Cynthia smiled, but Steven stared at the scene with shocked eyes. Cynthia didn't notice this, but Wallace certainly did. Well, it was part of his plan to have a little fun with Steven, after all.

Nevertheless, Steven regained his composure, and said, "You seem to be making a scene, Wallace. Don't you think you're embarrassing yourself a little bit here, in a wedding? You look like – you look like you're trying to propose to her. Don't – don't forget Winona's here!"

Wallace stood up. He clapped a hand on Steven's shoulder. "Now, now, I'm only greeting Cynthia as an old friend. There's nothing personal about it, you know. But hey, your cheeks and ears were red as a Moltres' wings."

Steven swallowed, but he retaliated quietly, "Don't say that! I've nothing personal either!"

Wallace grinned. He turned back to face Cynthia again, "But as Steven said, yes, you could say I'm in a relationship with my fellow Gym Leader, but that's another story."

She picked up her coffee to sip it, like she was accepting the message in the acceptable manner. Steven had to admit, though, that her curled hair certainly complemented the environment, as well as her striking beauty –

"Boss! Boss! Check it out! Ooh… what are you doing?"

What better time than to have Martine Grenadine show up in this conversation? Not the best, let alone poorly timed.

"I – Martine!" Steven stared at his employee, as if he saw her for the first time. "What did you do to your hair?! You're supposed to be working!"

Martine grinned. There was really nothing special she did to her hair, except for the fact that she changed her hair colour from auburn to red. Granted, for a 19-year old, she would look pleasantly attractive with red hair, but still.

"Business is slow, boss," Martine said in her defence. "I thought – well – my new friend though I would look better with red hair, and she noticed our staff weren't doing much either except serving drinks."

Oh, wait, was that Lisia who was standing with her? How much worse could it get, than to have the very two people who were nosing into his personal life? Well, Wallace didn't count.

"Anyway!" Martine continued. "What are you doing, boss?"

"And uncle, what are you doing?" Lisia added.

Wallace beat Steven to the response. "My dear children, I'm helping out a certain someone's love life in an hour of need. This is none of your business, of course, but you're free to intervene."

Cynthia rolled her eyes. "You're just as paranoid as always, Wallace. I'm perfectly capable on working my love life on my own, and that won't come anytime soon."

Wallace stood up whilst releasing Cynthia's hand. "I'll admit that that was the best dessert I have ever eaten in my life. How you managed to do it in such a small timeframe is beyond me, and how you could do it as a former Champion makes me flattered."

Cynthia smiled. "You make me blush, Wallace!"

Martine and Lisia looked at each other briefly before flashing smiles and they looked at Steven, the head chef. Clearly, he kept his gaze away from the scene, and his ears went pink. Wait, was that hard breathing Martine and Lisia were hearing?

"Indeed…" Steven muttered under his breath.

"Hey, Martine," Wallace then turned his attention to his red-haired waitress. "This calls for a toast between friends. Two glasses of that delicious Kalos champagne, please? I'm sure your rich establishment is perfectly suited for tonight –"

Steven quickly covered Wallace's mouth with his hand before he could speak any further. Martine shrugged, but nodded, and went off to retrieve what Wallace had ordered.

"Er… how's business at your end, Cynthia?" he casually asked, however awkward as it may be. Steven was glad that Martine was well away from this question, but then again, it didn't help that Lisia was standing before him, and listening in.

Wallace's eyes narrowed, and he fruitlessly tried to pry Steven's hand off his mouth, but the hand was stuck on like glue. It appeared Steven was effortless at managing this, but that was false.

Lisia, though, noticed. Grinning, she posed, and pointed in Wallace's face. "Is there something you want to say, uncle?"

Then, before Steven could react or register what happened before him, Lisia helped her uncle pry Steven's hand off his mouth. Now, with Lisia playfully holding Steven's wrist at her side, Wallace was free to speak.

"Business? Is that really the best you could do, Steven?" Wallace, from the looks of it, was close to laughing. "For one like Cynthia, I think you'd be better off talking about food and life. You know, I was more like thinking of asking about her personal life…"

Steven could detect the glint in Wallace's eyes directed at him, but Lisia prevented Steven from fleeing by tightening her iron grip on Steven's wrist. It hurt.

"Come on, Steven," Lisia whispered. "This is part of the first chapter of your love story! 'Love at First Sight', remember? It's a wedding! Get to know your potential candidate, for once. You'll understand."

Now, Steven was almost, almost, beside himself.

"No, no, no! I won't have this!" he hissed back to Lisia, so that neither Cynthia nor Wallace could hear. "I – I'm part of no love story! It's not like there's some author working away at his computer and deciding what my love life will look like. I'm not yielding to your dark predictions, Lisia. Also, this author at the computer doesn't control who I love, and now is not the time for a relationship!"

Lisia rolled her eyes.

"Okay, then has there been anyone on your mind?" she asked. "I think my uncle Wallace mentioned you are 25-years old, right? You're still young, but marriage is near, now. Pretty soon, you're going to be 30, and Cynthia here is about your age –"

"Lisia," Steven said abruptly and sharply. "How old are you?"

Now this earned a laugh from Cynthia. How Steven wished this conversation wasn't so awkward already, as he was aware that Wallace was listening in. Why would Lisia be asking about marriage when he alone hadn't had time to consider a relationship? Business, after all, was important. He needed to ensure the survivability of the business before thinking about finding a partner.

The point was that Cynthia's business threatened the survivability of his business. If he didn't get competitive, he would have to lay off workers. Cynthia was the last person he would consider a partner, as she was the very reason his job, and his business, was under threat of exiting the restaurant market!

And besides, since when did he have to be the one answering questions? Cynthia was supposed to answer, right?

"That, Steven, is something the fans already know," Lisia replied. "If you're concerned, just go ahead and ask them!"

Wallace figured that was a waste of time, in his opinion, so instead he cleared his throat to get Steven's attention.

"Now then, it is time I begin to formally introduce you to each other!" Wallace said overexcitedly. "Since the wedding couple has informally introduced you just now –"

"Didn't we just talk to each other?" Steven raised his eyebrows. "You're becoming more forgetful day after day, Wallace."

However, after Steven had said this, he felt a chill down his spine and could feel the presence of someone in his midst. Well, lo and behold, Martine Grenadine had returned with not two, but three glasses of champagne in her hands. This was more than Wallace had asked for!

Before Steven's eyes, Martine distributed one glass to Wallace, and another to Cynthia.

The third…

"Martine," Steven raised his eyebrows. "I distinctly heard Wallace asking you for two glasses."

"You don't want it, boss?" Martine slightly swirled the glass in front of Steven's eyes. "Come on, now! At least be the host you are for tonight! You can take it personally, if you want, but remember! The more you hate –"

Steven snatched the glass out of annoyance, and it was enough to make Martine happily silent. Wallace seemed very close to laughing, but all the same pleased, and Cynthia figured something about Steven was odd. Oh well.

"You seem to be a little jumpy tonight, Steven," Cynthia muttered. "Is something the matter?"

Being addressed by Cynthia wasn't what Steven had expected in his current state of mind, so he had no idea how to reply immediately. So instead, Wallace spoke in place of Steven's silence.

"Alright, my friends!" he held up his glass between the two former Champions. "Let me propose a toast to the two of you. To your success, and to your promising relationship! Here's to the success of both worlds!"

Steven glared at Wallace for what felt like the tenth time. What – the – what? I'm not toasting to this!

Nevertheless, he saw Cynthia stand up and heard the clink of her glass against Wallace's, and then the two of them held their glasses to Steven. Submitting to peer pressure just this once, Steven joined the toast, but very, very, reluctantly.

"Cheers," he said.

The champagne tasted unusually bitter this time when he held the glass up to his lips. Meanwhile, Cynthia appeared to be drinking the champagne indifferently, whereas Wallace happily downed the whole glass. There wasn't a lot of champagne in the glass, after all.

Between Lisia and Martine, it was an amusing scene to behold from the not-so-long distance.

"Do you think they're made for each other?" asked the older red-haired waitress.

"You bet," said the younger turquoise-haired Contest idol.

They gave each other looks of parallel surprise, and then the two broke down into fits of laughter.

"Anyway!" they heard Cynthia say to Steven. "Going back to your question, Steven, I'll say that business is very good. I'm slowly getting better profits with every passing day. It's only a matter of time before I can expand, and I'll have enough extra supplies to invite you more vouchers to dinner! I even had a critic who dropped by as I was making the croquembouche this morning."

Steven was about to reply at the mention of a critic, but he was uncomfortably interrupted by a mischievous smile from Wallace's direction directed at him. In a matter of seconds, Wallace took hold of Steven's jacket collar and pulled him aside, and this provoked both Martine and Lisia to listen in at their discretion.

"She gave you vouchers?" Wallace said in surprise, as if the entire thing was a revelation to him, if not the relationship. "That's… perfect! That clearly displays the affection she shows for you. You won't be young for too long, my friend! Very soon, the two of you will be married when –"

"No! It's not like that!" Steven protested. "I don't have time to pursue a relationship!"

Wait… Didn't he have this conversation before?

"Well said, uncle!" Lisia added in, and striking another attractive pose.

Oh. Right. The conversation was with her.

"Don't be too caught up in your business world, Steven," Wallace playfully warned. "Business is one thing, but a relationship is another. Haven't you even bothered to pick up that article of apples and oranges? That's the way to go."

"Yeah, you ought to listen to the advice of your best friend, boss! He's your best friend, right?" Martine added in, and was rewarded with the most awkward glare she had ever seen from her boss. Normally, the glare usually contained traces of fury, but this time the glare was painted with embarrassment and awkwardness alone.

He struggled to find what words to say. His heart was beating fast. He could feel a heartbeat pulsing from within his temple. His hands were shaking.

"Uh… Martine, come see me at my office. Now," he said.

Steven felt a hand gently hit his cheek, and realised it was Lisia who had done it. On instinct, he saw this as an act of aggression and responded by readying to slap Lisia back. However, Martine intervened by restraining Steven's arm.

"No! This is a wedding, Steven!" Martine reminded. "At least try to be a host, yeah? Don't forget that Cynthia is still sitting right over there, and don't embarrass yourself!"

Lisia smiled at Steven in a way that was so identical to Wallace's, that Steven felt badly embarrassed, as if he had embarrassed himself in front of Wallace already. Well, there was always the splitting image of Wallace who was actually smiling in the same way.

Cynthia shook her head, and continued to sip more coffee in a dignified manner. Every time she did this, though, Steven found that it perfectly complemented that business attire she wore. Perhaps, then, that would explain why he asked himself he even thought that way. Was it the hair?

"You have a very fine young woman here to keep you in check, my friend," Wallace said to Steven, even though he was partially ignored. "Martine, do me a favour and give me that glass of champagne, if Steven's not having it."

But Martine was in the middle of examining her boss, and being the one employee closest to Steven, apart from James d'Arc, she could kind of tell what sort of emotions were showing on his face. After a pause, she acknowledged the order and gave Wallace the half-finished glass of champagne that was supposed to be Steven's. Wallace, of course, finished the glass.

Cynthia turned her attention to the view of the ocean. In her opinion, the clear night sky hovering above with the waters mirroring its stars was perfect for a wedding occasion like this. Garchomp, meanwhile, helped herself to another plate of croquembouche. Dazzled by the view, Cynthia was in no mood to talk. Wanting to ignore the world a little, she watched the view in peace.

At least until she felt Lisia tap her shoulder.

"Hey, Cynthia," she said.

"Oh…" Cynthia stared off for a bit before returning her gaze. "Lisia, right?"

Lisia ended up taking the seat opposite Cynthia (much to Garchomp's suspicion). With a glass of water in hand (courtesy of Martine Grenadine), she engaged in a small conversation with the former Sinnoh champ. Even Martine joined to listen in in the conversation with a glass of crushed Nomel berry and lime juice, with ice.

"Yeah, you got it!" Lisia replied, before looking to Martine by her side. "Now, to be polite, this is Martine, my server."

"We've met," Cynthia cut in, before Lisia could go any further, and held her coffee to her lips. In response, Lisia looked pleased as punch.

"That's… that's great! Then we can talk!" Lisia said, and then she leaned in closer on the table. "So… Cynthia, how's looking for a partner going? Did anyone come here with you? Or are you on your own? Any dates with anyone?"

Cynthia accidentally choked on her coffee, and some coffee splashed on her cheeks, but fortunately not on her business suit. Garchomp, alert, stared at Lisia, but Lisia released her Altaria in response. ("Suppose you can talk with Garchomp a bit, Ali," she said).

"Wait, what?" she replied, as she held a napkin to clean her face and set down the cup. "Slow down, Lisia. Let's talk one thing at a time. For one thing, I have thought about looking for a partner, but I think I still have time, and there are… (she paused) a handsome few I can think of, but they're either… I don't know, I can't think right now. On the other hand, I haven't dated anyone lately, and I'm on my own here in Cyllage City."

Martine added, "It's true. Steven and I were there when she first arrived to set up shop in the restaurant across, and boy, she is driving up the competition in the price market around."

Lisia looked confused, as if she hadn't made sense of what Martine had said. Cynthia, though, understood well.

"I wouldn't think of you as an economist, Martine," she said, half-amused. "But enough about business for now, as I'm sure Lisia here has no idea what we're talking about."

"You got that right," Lisia affirmed. She sipped her glass of water and set it down. "By the way, from what you said about 'a handsome few', who were you referring to?" (By saying this, Martine became keenly interested and carefully watched Cynthia's expressions.)

Cynthia was taken aback. Surely she wasn't expecting to be pushed this far! Still, she answered appropriately, anyway. "Oh, well… special people. If you've ever read the magazines, which I assure you are partly true but mostly false, I have certain tastes for people."

Lisia blinked.

She said a lot, but all she really told us was almost nothing useful, Martine thought, and then said, "Have you ever thought of… my boss? He's likeable, right? And he seems to suit your type. He wants to be your future partner, I'm sure of it!"

Cynthia shook her head.

"Him? I don't think so. Steven's been acting jumpy these days."

Martine and Lisia were just about to continue when they were rudely interrupted by Wallace, who kneeled down with his arms on the table, and effectively covering most of the space.

"I got a call from Winona," Wallace said, urgently. "It seems that she's upset at how late we're staying here, and will you look at the time. She says if we don't head back, she'll leave for Fortree City right away!"

Now this brought about some laughs from Cynthia.

"Winona? You're still trying to go after her after so many months, or maybe years, if you will!" she mocked. After seeing the fallen look on Wallace's face (which actually surprised Cynthia, as she only knew him as the flamboyant one), she added, "Sometimes, love hurts!"

Even Lisia found it funny to see her uncle, the usually flamboyant one, to be humbled so quickly at the mention of Winona. Not even Steven, judging from his personality, would have had the guts to use Winona this way.

"Er…" Wallace started. "Lisia, we have to go. Don't worry, Steven my friend. I'll be back tomorrow to help you!"

Lisia stood up to gather her belongings, but not before exchanging contact information with Martine (at their discretion so that Steven wouldn't notice). After that, Lisia was on her way to her uncle's side.

"We can talk over coffee sometime, yeah?" Lisia offered.

"Sounds like a plan," Martine nodded. "Good night."

In minutes, Lisia and her Altaria followed Wallace out of the premises. To Steven this should have been a relief, but however the one person who didn't leave yet was her. Even though the reception was still going on well into the night, and Garchomp was helping herself to more cheese, Cynthia might have been one to have outstayed her welcome.

So, for that reason, she stood up and walked over to Steven, whilst putting her jacket over her shoulders. Facing just a foot away from him, she said, "Thank you for the meal."

Steven didn't know how to respond at first, thus freezing for a moment, before politely replying, "You're welcome."

So then Cynthia walked by Steven, with her beautifully curled platinum-blond hair brushing past, and headed for the stairs that led outside. Garchomp helped herself to just one more plate of croquembouche, however, before she left.

At the same time, Steven saw to many guests taking their pictures with the wedding couple, except for a handful of tables who still wanted photos taken with the scenic ocean view behind. Well, that was what made the Stone Bistro popular. Servers cleaned the remainder of plates and wiped the tables clean. The wedding couple, apparently, were preoccupied with their friends and family. The music soundtrack, controlled by hired audio technicians, began playing in the air.

That left Martine.

Steven went looking around the floor for her, but then he remembered that Martine had changed her hair colour from auburn to red. No wonder it was so difficult to find her when he did. Indeed, she was standing by the stairs and waiting.

In Martine's hand was a plate of croquembouche. Seriously, Cynthia had made way too much to go around.

"Well, it's a good night for everyone," Martine commented. "Now, boss, you said I had to meet you in your office, right? I'm waiting right here."

The furious glint in Steven's eye met Martine's delighted smile.

"If it wasn't a wedding occasion tonight, I would have deducted half of your paycheque away," he grumbled.

"Aw, come on, boss! It's a wedding!" Martine whined. "You should at least have some fun while you're here! It you're not mining for stones or looking for rocks for your museum, or if you're not cooking, then you should live up a bit!"

Steven shook his head. "You know, Martine, that that is not my style. A relationship can wait, and it is most certainly not with her."

Martine blinked.

"You were staring at her awkward like a lovesick Politoed! Come on! The magazine, the wedding couple, and even – I dare to say – James has figured it out! Why can't you!" she cried. "Deduct my paycheque all you want, but that won't stop you from loving her! Just listen to Wallace!"

Steven sighed deeply.

"I do not love her!" he said, such that it caught the attention of some of his staff passing by. "Martine, starting tomorrow, I'll prove it to you!"

So now the now-red-haired Martine is now friends with Lisia.

To any reviewers, a cup of coffee or tea will be served to bring the reception to a closure.