It had been a week, a whole week. Neither Ric nor I had managed to muster up the courage to tell Tessa about what happened between us, partly because she had been called away at short notice, to a business trip in the city. Instead, we had spent the week hanging out with Lucas and Cassie, just getting back into the routine it used to be before we got together, best friends and nothing more. Wedding preparations were well under way. I was lucky enough to have missed the real organisation, as I was still in France at the time. We were sat in the Diner, contemplating the colour of the bridesmaid's dresses, they couldn't clash with the men's shirts and ties and definitely not Cassie's carefully planned flowers, everything had to be organised with the most precision.

Lucas had managed to stay patient with Cassie, how he did I will never know. Ric and I had lost it a couple of times, nothing major, we were just sick of the main topic of every conversation being the wedding.

"But Luc! If you're wearing turquoise shirt, how are the bridesmaids supposed to wear red!" Cassie cried, her face was tired and slightly pink with stress. Her eyes still stayed determined though.

"Cassie, honey. Have you never heard of contrast?" Uh-oh, wrong move, Lucas. Cassie's face now went fully red with rage, and I watched as Ric took a deep breath, bracing himself for Cassie's reply.

"Contrast! Lucas, please. That will not be contrast! It will be a flipping disaster!"

"Cass, just calm down, okay? Luc was just trying to help," I tried to reason with her.

"Yeah Cass," Ric decided to help. "Listen, why don't Luc and I head back to ours and you girls can follow once you've talked about the dresses by yourselves."

"I hate to admit it, Cassie, but Ric's actually got a good idea there," I smirked at him. "Anyway, guys aren't really supposed to have any input on what the girls wear, so they're no use to us here, are they?"

Cassie nodded and both Ric and Lucas made a quick exit. I tried not to stare too much at Ric as I watched him leave; there was just something about him that I was still very much attracted to.

-x-

"What about this one?" I asked, cautiously as I pointed to a beautiful lilac dress in the catalogue. My last ten suggestions had been quashed before I could finish telling her about them. I watched Cassie, patiently; she seemed to be considering it.

"Yeah, I like it."

"What? You're actually agreeing with something I'm saying?" I mocked.

"For once, yeah."

I studied the dress that seemed to outshine the others on the page. It had a certain air about it, a glittery presence that made the colour even more interesting. It was strapless and ankle-length.

"It'll suit Martha and Belle, perfectly," I added.

"That's the one, Mattie! You found it!" Cassie shouted while pulling me into a hug.

-x-

"Wow! That only took you guys two hours, we weren't expecting you two to come back until at least dinner time." Ric commented, sarcastically as we both walked through the door to the Van Park House, with huge smiles plastered on our faces.

"Haha Dalby! Very funny." I threw back.

"Did you find anything?" Lucas asked as he got up off the couch and wrapped his arms around Cassie, kissing her.

"Yep, the perfect dress for Mattie, Martha and Belle. They'll look beautiful."

"No one could look as gorgeous as you will though, honey." Lucas said to Cassie. He loved her so much.

I looked at Ric uncomfortably from across the room. We had been fine over the past week, apart from when we had to endure the displays of affection that Lucas and Cassie shared, that was when the awkwardness started.

-x-

"See you guys!" Cassie and Lucas called as they left the house. They were off to the jewellers, some business about the rings. Now it was just Ric and I left. It hadn't really been like this since we were at the safe house.

A sense of vulnerability overcame me. I felt open and readable, it was hard to explain exactly what he did to me, I don't think I even knew.

"So…" Ric said slowly, while getting up from the couch. "A drink?" he asked.

"Yes, please." You got any OJ?"

"Oh, I've always got OJ!" He laughed.

-x-

"So when are Belle and Drew getting back?" I asked. They hadn't been there when I arrived back in Summer Bay and I was told they were on holiday.

"Probably sometime in the next few days, maybe a couple of weeks at the most. Cassie made them swear to come back before the wedding, if they didn't, she said she'd kill them."

"Yeah, well that's to be expected," I laughed.

"Mattie?" Ric's face suddenly turned serious.

"Yeah?" I stopped laughing.

"We've put it off for a week now. Shouldn't we tell Tess? I can't keep lying to her. She's been on her business trip so we've not had a chance, but I don't know how much longer I can take this." Ric sighed.

"I know, Ric. I feel the same. I just don't know how we're supposed to tell her."

"Tell who, what?" We both turned round to see Tessa standing at the door, suitcases at her sides. She had obviously come back from her business trip early and she needed answers. It was now or never…

-x-

A/N: I'm sorry nothing seems to be happening in these chapters, I have serious writer's block, I've not managed to write a whole chapter in ages! Oh well, it's the weekend tomorrow, I might be able to get something done then. Thank you for the reviews again, I know their hardly exciting chapters to give feedback on, so thanks! Another thing - any ideas for future storylines will be very much appreciated, I am in the middle of writing my latest one, but there are no more ideas after that :( There's one thing I can promise though, it's a huge twist!!