Blair couldn't understand why she had started to feel so agitated when she was in Dan Humphrey's presence. He had always been so safe; even enough to kiss without compunction.

He was the first person she had contacted when she arrived in New York. Of course, that meant nothing. Serena, Nate and Chuck were in California and Eleanor was still in Paris. She had no errands she wanted her minions to run, yet, so she didn't give it a second thought when she texted Dan to meet up with her. She had changed her clothes three times before settling on new season Miu Miu to wear. She had to look good in case she ran into the paparazzi…God forbid.

She had felt so on edge before she had met up with Dan; she downed several drinks before he even showed up. She cursed him for being late, until she realised she was 45 minutes early. So she ordered a double and waited. Dan had showed up precisely to the second.

The evening had proceeded more comfortably than Blair could have imagined, until they got kicked out of the bar. It had definitely been a mistake to go back to his loft, whatever else she had thought at the time. But that was the problem. It should have been completely safe heading into Humphrey territory. It had never been a consideration before. When had their friendship had stumbled into dangerous territory?

Blair had more fun than she'd had for a while, for most of the night. They had giggled their way through the first movie they watched at the loft. She smiled as she remembered Dan's laughter at her translations of the dialogue.

("She doesn't say that to him!"

"She does, I swear, scout's honour."

"You were never a girl scout!"

"I was! You have never seen anything so cute as Serena and I in our uniforms.")

They had made a serious dent into the vodka, when Blair had picked the directors cut of Betty Blue for the next movie. It had been warm and comfortable and cosy. She had missed this simple camaraderie so much in Monaco.

They had been intently discussing something, when she had completely lost the thread of their conversation. Out of the blue, his dark eyes and deep voice had overwhelmed her.

She had been sitting so close to him she could hear his voice rumbling in his chest. She had felt an urge to lay her head on his shoulder to feel the baritone cadence of his words.

Dan had looked at her, concerned. "Blair? Are you ok? You're looking at me very oddly. Is something wrong with your martini?"

She wasn't able to answer him immediately; she had felt so perturbed. The lock of dark hair that always curled over his brow, no matter what he tried to do with it. She imagined curling it around her fingers and the desire to touch it had become so all consuming, she had wanted to sit on her hands.

She took a deep breath. "I think maybe the olives were bad. Did you check the use by date? The jar was dusty. They've probably been on that shelf in the 7-11 since martinis were invented." Blair felt herself babbling and her face flushing pink. "I'm going to lay my head down on this cushion."

She had lain there, acutely aware of the warmth seeping up from Dan's leg to her brow and his hand resting on her arm, fingers thoughtlessly caressing. Watching the movie became even more perilous. She had forgotten how sexy Betty Blue was. Every time Dan had stroked his thumb across her arm, she had felt her temperature rising. As the movie progressed, she had had to shut her eyes and pretend she was asleep, afraid she would betray the shameless thoughts in her head. She hadn't been able to get up and leave. She'd just lain there, trying to subdue the conflicting emotions of panic and desire tormenting her.

It's not Humphrey. It's the alcohol and the movie. It's not him.

Waking on the sofa in the grey dawn had been like déjà vu. Dan lying asleep, with his hand resting on her shoulder as her head lay in his lap. She had not wanted to move but forced herself to slip out of his hold without disturbing him. After writing a quick note, she let herself quietly out the door.

I won't call him, despite what I said in the note. The best cure for physical infatuation is denial. Don't call him. Just ignore him and he'll go away.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the numbers, looking for any name that she could take reception hunting instead.

Kati, Iz... hopeless. Serena...in California...but she would be almost as useless as the minions. Eleanor…No. Nate…same problem as Serena. Lily…Still on house arrest. Nelly Yuki would be even worse than Chuck.

It was impossible to go alone and it couldn't wait until Louis arrived in two weeks. There was no one but Humphrey.

Blair realised that was the first time she had thought of Louis that day.

xoxoxoxo

Blair had made Dan go to half of the possible reception venues in New York and then proceeded to show him the detailed itinerary she had made to ensure they could cover the remainder the following day.

She had talked non-stop all afternoon. Dan didn't really mind as it kept his thoughts away from what he really wanted to say to her. Having her condemn every wedding venue they had looked at as completely inappropriate was satisfying enough. It had bought to mind a short story by W. S. Maugham, where a man had escaped marriage by never finding the perfect house. He had followed her in amused silence, while she delivered her scathing opinion on décor, staff, street access, lighting and hygiene respectively.

Blair was still resolute. "Today was not a failure. We managed to exclude everything south of Central Park. I am determined to confirm the reception venue by tomorrow. Invitations have to be sent out by the end of the month but I can't even confirm numbers until I have the reception venue. But I have great hopes for the French Embassy, so that's first on the list tomorrow."

Dan rolled his eyes, not quite sure how he was going to cope with another day of tagging behind Blair, explaining to helpful staff that he wasn't the groom. By the fourth venue that day, they had both given in and played along. Blair playing the dominating bride and Dan, the bored resigned groom. It had been kind of fun, in a nihilistic kind of way.

After she had condemned the last venue of the day, Dan had felt his amusement waning. "OK, Blair, you have to look at this logically. November is the month you are getting married in. You have 4 weekends to choose from. Where is the ceremony going to be? Get your calendar and look at your options using a process of elimination."

"You can't plan a wedding with just rationality, Humphrey! I will not choose a reception venue based on just convenience. It has to be perfect. Louis and I have to get married in St Peter's Cathedral so I've booked it to cover the whole month. Don't ask me what that took. Louis's mother said that if we aren't marrying in Monaco, we have to be especially careful of following protocol."

"Why are you marrying in New York? I wouldn't have thought the royal family would have let you do it."

"I pleaded with Louis and Sophie. I start back at Columbia on Monday and need to have everything in place so I can completely concentrate. Princesses do not fail classes or get fired from internships."

"So, that's why you're having the wedding in New York. So you can complete your studies here?"

"It was an agreement Louis and I made. I'll probably transfer to a university in France for my final year. I will not be a mousy, uneducated princess."

"I didn't realise princesses even did internships."

Blair snorted and then blushed.

Dan laughed at her. "That's not a very lady like sound. But seriously, are you sure you can manage this, Blair? Remember what happened last time? You don't want to show up to the church with two different shoes on."

"Please! I have so many minions now; I could stay in bed for the next 6 months. I'm going to prove that a princess can do internships and anything else she pleases."

"That's a very noble sentiment, Waldorf."

Blair made an outraged exclamation. "You know what I mean, Humphrey! Don't twist my words."

"I don't need to. You're doing an excellent job of that already."

They found themselves at Veselka at dusk.

The memories of the last time she had been there crowded into Blair's head. She thought about the emotion she had felt when she saw Dan sitting at the counter, the day she had come to meet Louis. She had dismissed it as fear at the time, that he would expose Louis, but she now recognised in it an element of elation as well. It might have faded quickly, but it had been there, nonetheless. Elation at the idea that he might have followed her to tell her that the kiss had meant something; that she was making a mistake with the Prince; that there were other options.

But he hadn't. Which was good wasn't it? She didn't need romantic yearnings from Humphrey complicating their friendship. He felt just as platonically about it as she did.

Blair couldn't understand why this didn't feel as good as she thought it should.

Her desire to verbally joust with Dan faded as she disconsolately peered at him over the top of her menu.

Dan fell silent as she looked at him. He returned her gaze seriously, his eyes darkening as he looked questioningly at her. "Blair, there must be something bothering you. You've talked incessantly all day and now you're silent, you're not even listening to me."

"I have to go… I've just remembered. I have a meeting...a fitting…"

He looked at her quizzically. "On a Friday evening? I thought you just had a fitting this morning?"

"I've changed my mind, I hate the colour, everything's wrong… I don't want to be in some frumpy Kate Middleton dress but I can't seem to talk them out of the sleeves. I'm going to end up looking like an Edwardian nurse. Apparently the rules of how much flesh a royal bride can show are very strict. The people may revolt if they see more than my fingertips." Blair said, gushing out her words to cover the awkwardness she was feeling.

"Ahh, that's what made you look like the bottom had just fallen out of your world a few moments ago. Hmm, emergency, I can see the headlines now, 'Bridezilla hits New York.' Reputations tumble in the blink of any eye. At least eat some pierogies before you go."

"You can't eat pierogies before a dress fitting!"

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow. The Polanski festival is starting at MoMA on Wednesday. Are you keen?"

"Maybe."

Blair had nearly run out of the restaurant, heart pounding and cheeks flushed. Why was Humphrey having this effect on me? He should be safe, safe, safe. I have Louis. I've forsworn Chuck. I can't feel this now!

Her phone beeped as she tried to flag a taxi down.

Welcome back Upper East Siders. Queen B has been spotted with none other than our own Lonely Boy in her first appearance back in NYC. Looks like he's playing wedding adviser and body guard in the absence of her other Lady and Lords-in-waiting. I wonder what Serena is going to think when she see B using her old handbag?

Blair sighed, she had hoped to get more done before Gossip Girl realised she was back on the radar. And she felt vaguely resentful that someone was referring to Humphrey as her handbag. There was nothing for it. She would have to find someone other than Dan to accompany her on her mission to find the perfect reception venue.

xoxoxoxo

Dan felt a mixture of relief and despair when he received Blair's text, calling off the next day's plans. It had been sweet torture seeing her but he doubted he could keep it up much longer, without doing something stupid. He probably wouldn't see her much after this, as classes were starting again for both of them and royal protocol probably demanded that she not hang out with nobodies from Brooklyn.

He knew she wouldn't have liked the Gossip Girl blast that he'd received shortly after she'd left Veselka. It hadn't been that bad. It had just made him look like an idiot.

As he arrived back at the loft, Dan collected his mail. A letter marked in Spanish with an A. Abrahms scrawled on the back, followed by an illegible address; his Internet bill and a notice to pick up a parcel at the post office, as it wouldn't fit into his letterbox.

He looked at it more closely as he walked up the steps to the loft, wondering why Vanessa hadn't just sent him an email instead. Maybe she thought that he would just delete it before opening it, but he wouldn't be able to resist a hand written letter. She was right, but it didn't necessarily mean he would read it.

He grabbed a beer from the fridge and opened the letter as he stood in the kitchen. Something fluttered to the floor as he unfolded the single page.

Dear Dan,

I hope this doesn't ruin our friendship forever and that you'll come to understand that I did what I did with your best interests at heart. There is no way of easing this to you so I'll just come out and write it. I found a publisher for your book and it's going to be released in early November.

I had to do it. It's too good, Dan. You would have let it moulder away until it was irrelevant or edited into meaninglessness. I know what you said to me, but you cannot sacrifice your art for these people who, despite what you think, are not your friends.

I hadn't finished the ending when I spoke to you on the phone that night but I was certainly surprised when I did. I don't know how you can possibly feel the way you clearly do toward a person you used to despise. But no woman could read words like these addressed to her and remain unmoved, prince or no prince. Unless she's entirely made of ice, which could definitely be the case here.

Dan read the rest of the letter with a growing sense of dread. The publishers basically thought that Vanessa had ghost written it for a New York socialite, which is why they had agreed to publish it with anonymous as the author. She had included copies of the contracts and royalty payment details with the advance book copies she had sent by registered mail. The advance cheque enclosed in the letter was everything left over after Vanessa had covered her costs. Which were also detailed in papers she had sent with the book.

I doubt you could stop the book release now unless you burnt down the printers. The release date for the book is the 1st of November and they're apparently about to begin the marketing campaign.

Enjoy it, Dan. The reviews from the test audience have been incredible and the publishers think it's going to be a number one this winter. You should step up and take ownership.

With love (even if you don't want it)

Vanessa