It was late September and William was working in his office, waiting for Lizzie in order to have lunch with her.
After Charlotte's wedding and their engagement party, they both had gotten very busy with work and with their own wedding preparations.
The second season of Lizzie's miniseries had been a success, and that opened new doors for opportunities for Lizzie's department and for Pemberley.
William was equally busy, running the company and overseeing all the different projects, in particular the project at Sanditon. He was reading the final report when his cell phone rang.
"Hello William," Gigi said on the phone, "How are you?"
"I'm fine, Georgiana," William replied, "Are you ready for this weekend?"
Pemberley's project in Sanditon had come to an end, and Gigi was moving back to San Francisco, on her own. She had looked at different places with her brother and Lizzie, and had finally decided for an apartment in the city. It had a very nice view and it was so close to Pemberley that Gigi could actually walk to work.
"Yes, I'm actually very excited," Gigi replied, "You and Lizzie are still helping me, right?"
"Of course. We will meet you at your new place at noon. Is Sidney coming as well?"
"Yes, he is. He's staying a couple of days before heading to LA."
Sidney had gotten a job in a company in Los Angeles, and he and Gigi had agreed to have a long distance relationship and were planning on visiting each other during the weekends.
"Maybe we can do something with Fitz and Brandon. They will be back on Sunday."
"That would be nice. Thank you William," Gigi replied, "By the way, what do you think of our report?"
"I was just reading it. I'm very impressed, it surpassed all our expectations. We might have similar projects in other towns."
"Oh, that sounds like something I will be interested in," Gigi said, "I have to continue packing but we'll talk more on Saturday. I just wanted to say hi, to you and Lizzie."
"I'll tell her. See you soon, baby sister."
"Okay. Bye, big brother!"
William hang up and was about to keep working when Lizzie knocked on his door.
"Hello, love. Ready to eat? I'm starving," she said.
"Yes, let's go. Gigi just called, and she says hi."
"Oh, thanks! How is she?," she asked, "Wait, you can tell me all about it while we eat."
William just smiled and went with his fiancée to their favorite restaurant and he summarized Gigi's call.
Lizzie was excited to have her future sister-in-law back in the same town. She loved her as a sister and William was just happier to have his sister near them.
Also, after their successful engagement party, Gigi was working with them on their wedding. As maid of honor, Charlotte was helping too, but with her equally busy schedule, she was happy to know that Lizzie had some extra help.
When William had told her about their decision to get married in Lake Tahoe, Georgiana was very happy. She had very fond memories of that place and was looking forward to add a new one.
At first, he and Lizzie had thought of getting married at the family cabin, but quickly realized that, despite being big, it did not provide enough space for their guests. So, they had started looking for other options and, with Georgiana's help, they had decided to have the ceremony and the party at one of the lakeside hotels.
They had also set a date, March 5th. That was the latest date William would accept, and the earliest Lizzie wanted because of the weather. As Lizzie had compromised, William promised her that he would not let her be cold and would keep her warm. Lizzie knew what he was talking about and could not refuse.
When the weekend arrived, she and William spent most of the time helping Gigi and Sidney, cleaning her new apartment and organizing her stuff. It took them two days to have everything ready, and as reward, they went out with Fitz and Brandon, who were returning from a quick visit to Brandon's sister.
When Sidney left to Los Angeles, Gigi's sadness was obvious. When she saw that, Lizzie promised to herself that she would keep her busy so that she would not be sad. Gigi had done the same with her when William had been away, and now it was Lizzie's turn to return the favor.
"And we are done!," Lizzie exclaimed, putting the last envelop on the table.
"At last, my hand hurts," William complained, closing and opening his right hand.
It was the weekend before Thanksgiving and they had worked all morning on their wedding invitations.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you do have a better handwriting than me," Lizzie replied, "I don't think you would want our wedding invitations to look ugly."
William chuckled before answering her, "I just wished I had taken a break."
"Think about it as one more thing that we get to cross off from our to-do list. We'll send them Monday morning."
"All right," William sighed, "So, what is next on the list?"
"I'm having my first dress fitting next week, but you are not invited to that," Lizzie said playfully, "And Gigi wants to go over the dinner details with us."
Keeping her promise, Lizzie and Georgiana had been occupied, and there were advancing quickly on all the preparations.
"Very well," William replied, "You know, there is something else that we haven't decided about."
"Yes?"
"Our honeymoon."
"Oh, yeah! Too many options!," Lizzie said.
They had talked about where they wanted to go; the Caribbean, Europe, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, and many other places, but had failed to decide on one. In spite of that, they had cleared their schedules for at least three weeks for their honeymoon. Lizzie felt a little guilty for taking that much time, but William had convinced that everything was going to be fine, and they deserved that time to celebrate the start of their marriage.
"Well, I want to know if you would mind if our honeymoon destination is a surprise? For you, I mean," William said.
"Oh…"
"I had… we had a lot of fun during the surprise trip you planned for us," William noted.
"Very good things happened during that trip," Lizzie said and caressed his cheek.
"I know," William replied, "I just thought I could surprise you this time."
Lizzie was silent for an instant, thinking about William's proposition.
"Will you at least tell me what to pack?," she finally said and William's face illuminated.
"Does that mean you agree?," he asked, "I promise you will love it."
"I trust you, William, and I know that you will make an exciting decision for both us."
"Thank you, Lizzie," he replied and kissed her softly on the lips.
"Can I get a hint?," she asked, batting her eyelashes.
"Not now, but eventually. Now, we have to cross another thing from our to-do list," he said and wrote down on Lizzie's pad.
"What did you write?," she asked as she read. She blushed and looked at William.
"Make love to my fiancée is definitely something you have to do," she said, "And now."
"Oh, I will," he answered as he led the way to their bedroom.
The following Wednesday, Lizzie and William flew to New York to spend the holiday with Jane and Bing, as well as Lizzie's parents and Lydia.
After Charlotte's wedding, Lydia had moved to New York to work on the musical. She had stayed a couple of weeks with her oldest sister and her husband, until she had found a new place and a roommate. Lydia had quickly become friends with another girl that worked at the theatre, and conveniently, this new friend needed a roommate.
Lydia had been working for months, getting ready for the big opening, just after Thanksgiving. The theater company had had a couple of previews in Boston, and the reviews had been good, but not as good as the director had expected, so Lydia had been extra busy, rehearsing.
Jane had taken the opportunity to invite her parents and middle sister to spend the holiday with her and Bing, and see Lydia's musical.
The Thanksgiving dinner was really nice and calm. Fran cooked some of her signature dishes with the help of her family, including Bing and William. Thomas had been the only one banned from the kitchen because his wife knew of his null cooking abilities, but he was happy to help with the table and the drinks.
Lydia appreciated having all her family in town to see her on stage, and could not wait them to see the show. The dinner conversation had been divided between Jane's plans for a new fashion line, Lizzie's wedding and Broadway.
Having lived in New York for two years, Lizzie served as tour guide to her family for the rest of the weekend. There were a couple of places that she had not had the chance to visit in her previous visit, and was more than happy to be there with her love and her family.
Finally, Lydia's big night arrived. She had been all day at the theatre, getting ready, but managed to see her family an hour before they entered the building.
Given that Lydia was the star of the show, she had very good seats for her family. Notably, Fran was the most anxious of all. She was very much looking forward to see her "baby" on stage. When the lights went off, she let a deep breath out, and took her husband's hand.
"I may be biased, but the show was very good," Thomas said, "And Lydia…"
"She was magnificent!," Fran completed, with tears on her eyes.
Lizzie agreed with her parents. She already knew that her sister was a good actress, but the show and her role allowed her to show her dancing and signing abilities. Sure, there had been a couple of glitches, but not big enough as to distract the public of what was happening on stage.
"Your sister is very good," William said on her ear, "It's a good thing that we had her first before she became a VIP star."
Lizzie laughed, "I know, right? Now I'll be lucky if she returns my calls."
"Lizzie, should we go out?," Jane asked, "I want to see if there is any people waiting at the stage door."
Lizzie nodded and left her seat, and with her family, walked to the stage door, where a group of people was already waiting to see the actors.
They waited until they saw Lydia exit and receive the approval of the public. When she was finally free, everyone congratulated her, in particular Fran, who was very excited.
The theatre troupe was celebrating that night, and Lydia invited her sisters and parents. They all went to a bar, where they spent most of the night, until William and Lizzie had to leave because were flying the next day back to San Francisco.
"Thank you for being here, Lizzie," Lydia said as she hugged her sister.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Lizzie answered, "We are all very proud of you."
"Aww, thanks!"
"We will be in touch, okay?," Lizzie added.
"Of course!", Lydia said, "I love you."
"I love you too. Have fun here," Lizzie finished and then it was William's turn to say good-bye to his sister-in-law.
"Georgiana sends her regards, and she hopes to come see you soon," he added.
"Great! Tell her thank you and that she will be welcome," Lydia answered, "Have a nice trip home, and we will see each other soon."
"Of course, Lydia. Break a leg!"
Lizzie said good-bye to the rest of her family and took a taxi back to the hotel with William. They slept a couple of hours before going to the airport and back to their lives in San Francisco.
It was December, and Lizzie and William were ready to host a Christmas celebration at their home. Fran, Thomas, Brandon, Fitz, James, Kate and Georgiana were their guests.
Charlotte and Ian were spending the holidays on their own, and Lydia and Jane were staying in New York.
Fran and Kate had become good friends, and worked very well in the kitchen together and so they produced the best Christmas dinner Lizzie ever had.
After the dinner, when they were back in their bedroom, Lizzie and William exchanged gifts.
"Merry Christmas, William," Lizzie said, giving him two boxes that she had kept on her office at Pemberley.
"Two boxes! I feel very lucky," he replied.
"Well, one is for you, and the other is mostly for me."
William rose an eyebrow, curious. He opened the first one and smiled when he saw its contents.
"Thank you, Lizzie," he said as he pulled out a black pair of bike shorts. There was also a matching black shirt.
"I know you have some already, but you look so good on them. I couldn't resist." The image of William, wearing those tight clothes, was one of Lizzie's favorite.
"Then I will wear them, just for your pleasure."
Lizzie smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"And you should see the other one."
"Okay."
This time, William could not guess what it was, until he started reading. Lizzie had written a story for him about their love story.
"Oh, Lizzie...," he started to say but continued to read.
"I love you so much, Elizabeth," he finally said and took her in his arms.
Lizzie had been thinking very hard about what to get William for Christmas, until she realized that she had to do what she did best. Writing about their love story has been so easy, so right. She had expressed some thoughts about their earliest interactions that William was still not aware of, and that she wanted him to know.
She had put the story in a frame, so he could put it anywhere he wanted. When he was finally done kissing her, he told her that he was going to put it on his desk.
"And now, time for you to get your present," William said.
"No need for that, love, just put on your new shorts, and I'll be a happy woman," Lizzie said, making William laugh.
He got up from the couch on their sitting area in their bedroom and went to his dresser. From one of his drawers, he got a box and walked back to Lizzie.
"Merry Christmas."
Lizzie opened the box, looked at the content and could not speak. Her mouth opened but no sound came out of it.
"Lizzie…," he sighed.
"I… I…"
"You don't like it, do you? I knew it was not your style," he apologized, "I'm sorry, I got carried away."
"William, no! It's gorgeous," she finally managed to say.
"Do you like it?"
"Yes, of course," she replied as she looked down again at the diamond bracelet that was on the box. It had two hearts, made of diamonds, connected by more diamonds. She had not seen anything most costly in her life.
"Since your parents and you are paying for your bridal trousseau, I wanted you to have something from me, so you could wear it at our wedding."
"Love, you will be my best accessory," she teased.
"But you know, this will go perfectly with my dress."
"Will it?," William asked with excitement.
"Yes, and I'll be happy to wear it on that day. Thank you so much, William."
"You are most welcome," he replied.
"Merry Christmas again," Lizzie said and kissed him one more time, "Time to go to bed."
"Merry Christmas, love," were the last words that William spoke coherently that night.
After Christmas, Lizzie, William and Giving travelled to Sanditon. During his last visit to San Francisco, Sidney had invited them to his hometown for New Year's Eve.
The couple went there with the idea of having a quiet and relaxing time, especially after hosting Christmas.
But also, it was the opportunity for William to finally meet Sidney's family. His parents had lived in that small time their whole lives and were the owners of the inn where they were staying. Sidney's brother, John, was a geneticist who worked at Stanford, and was taking a break from research to be with his family.
In addition, William had not visited the place where her sister had spent months because of work. Lizzie had been there twice when William had been travelling and Giving had asked her to come over to keep her company.
After one delicious meal prepared by Sidney's father, who was the cook of the family, they all went to the beach to wait for midnight and see the fireworks.
Lizzie laid a blanket on the sand and she sat between William's legs. Gigi and Sidney were close by, chatting about the show that the town had prepared.
More people started arriving to the beach and soon the town clock indicated that the New Year had arrived.
"Happy New Year," William said in his fiancée's ear. Lizzie turned around and kissed him fully on the lips, taking advantage of the darkness.
"I'm looking forward to this year, and to spend it with you," she said, "and the next."
"And the next," William added and was leaning to kiss her again but in that moment the fireworks started and they both returned their eyes to the sky.
All he wanted to tell her at that moment, he conveyed to her when they were back to their room.
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