July, Wednesday 28th

Addison stood in front of her floor length mirror and looked at herself stood in her black dress. She had decided to go for the strapless one that stopped a few inches above her knee and showed just the right amount of legs. She smiled slightly before she turned to look at her friend.

"You look pretty." Naomi smiled back. "You just need to smile a little more."

"I've decided I'm going to show him what he's missing out on."

"Think that will work?"

"Yes." Addison nodded before she walked over to her shoes. Naomi nodded as well and watched her quietly. "After tonight he'll wish he never just left." Addison picked up her shoes and slipped them on.

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right." She nodded and grabbed her shawl. Naomi just watched her, surprised at how confident she sounded, but she knew that deep down she didn't feel that way at all. "Right, are you ready?" Addison grabbed her clutch bag and looked at her friend.

"Sure." Naomi nodded and got up from Addison's bed.

"Good, let's go." They turned and left the apartment.

Half an hour later they got out of Addison's car in front of the building where the event was held. Addison looked up at the building before she took a deep breath and they walked inside.

"He'll probably be sitting on the same table as us." Naomi glanced at her friend as they walked in.

"I know." Addison nodded as they walked into the large hall where tables were set up and people already were. Naomi nodded as well and looked around for Sam and Pete. "There's my parents." Addison waved back as Bizzy waved at her.

"Oh, yeah." Naomi smiled at them as they looked at them.

"Let's go sit down." They weaved their way through the tables before they sat down with Bizzy and Edward.

"Where are your men?" Bizzy smiled as they got nearer.

"They'll be here soon." Naomi smiled.

"Oh, okay." She nodded.

"How are you and dad?" Addison asked.

"We're great, thank you." Bizzy smiled. "How are you?"

"Good." Addison nodded before she poured herself a glass of water from the water jug on the table. Naomi was sat next to her and looked around at the other guests around them.

"Hey." Sam smiled at his girlfriend before he kissed her as him and Pete approached the table.

"Hey you." Naomi grinned and kissed him back while Pete greeted Addison's parents before he sat down.

"How are you, Pete?" Bizzy smiled at him.

"I'm alright." He gave a smile and nodded.

"Good, good."

Pete smiled before he turned to Sam, not looking at Addison once. Naomi glanced at her boyfriend and gave a small sigh. He shrugged lightly and watched Addison and Pete out of the corner of his eyes.

"Are you two free on Friday?" Bizzy looked between Addison and Pete.

"I, erm, I have school until late." Pete looked back at Bizzy.

"At seven?"

"Oh, erm, I don't know..." He glanced at Addison slightly.

"Well, we'd like you both to come round for dinner." Bizzy smiled.

"We're both kind of busy, maybe she can give you a ring."

"Oh." Bizzy's face fell slightly. "Okay then." Pete nodded and took a sip of his water. Addison sat quietly and didn't look up at her mother. Pete was looking down at his drink, not saying anything either. "Is something wrong?" Bizzy asked them.

"They're just tired, I think, school's stressing us all out right now." Naomi smiled.

"Okay." Bizzy nodded and studied her daughter. Naomi gave a small sigh and watched them. "So, how are you Naomi?" Bizzy turned to her daughter's best friend.

"I'm great, thank you." Naomi smiled widely.

"That's good." Bizzy nodded. Naomi nodded as well and took hold of Sam's hand. "You two seem happy." Bizzy smiled softly.

"We are." Naomi grinned and kissed Sam's cheek.

"Is their marriage in the future for you two?"

"I, erm, we haven't talked about that yet." Naomi smiled shyly. Bizzy smiled and nodded before she sipped on her wine. Pete looked up at Naomi and Sam and saw how happy they looked together before he glanced at Addison next to Naomi.

"Addi?" Bizzy started. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" Addison looked up at her mother. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She nodded. "Just a little tired."

"Oh..." Bizzy nodded slightly.

"What were you saying about Friday night? I'm free."

"I wanted you and your husband to come over for dinner."

"I can make it." Addison looked at her mother.

"Okay. Would be nice if you'd get Pete to come, too." Bizzy smiled. "I'm sure he won't say no to you."

"Yeah…" Addison trailed off. "Who else is joining us tonight?"

"A few friends."

"Okay." She nodded. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom." Addison stood up before she walked away from the table. Pete looked up and watched her before he gave a small sigh.

"Is something wrong?" Bizzy asked Pete.

"No..." He shook his head lightly.

"Okay then." Bizzy sighed. She knew that neither of them would tell her what was wrong.

"I thought we'd sort it out before tonight." Naomi whispered to Sam.

"He said he'd talk to her." Sam whispered back.

"Probably just to make you shut up." Naomi rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Well, Addison's not exactly doing anything either."

"I told you she wouldn't. She's just trying to make him realise what he's missing."

Sam sighed at his girlfriend. "They're both idiots."

"If they won't do anything until we're leaving here I'll kick their asses."

"Me too."

Naomi nodded and leaned her head against Sam's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close.

Later that night Sam, Naomi and Pete were stood at the bar, getting drinks while Addison stayed at the table with her parents. She sipped on her wine as she looked around the room at everyone else.

"Hey." A guy in a suit smiled at her as he walked closer to her table. "I was wondering if you'd want to dance."

"Oh, erm, yeah, sure." Addison nodded and put her glass down before she took hold of his hand.

The guy smiled and led her to the dance floor. "I'm Paul, by the way."

"I'm Addison." She placed her hand on his shoulder before they began to dance.

Pete glanced around the room as they waited for the drinks and spotted Addison on the dance floor before he tensed slightly. Sam glanced at his friend before he turned and watched Addison dance with some random guy.

"Well, didn't take her long to get over me, did it?" Pete spoke sarcastically before he turned back to the bar.

"She's looking at you." Sam commented.

"Probably making sure to rub it in properly."

"She's not." Sam shook his head. Pete just sighed and kept his back to her. "I thought you were going to talk to her, sort things out."

"It's clearly not in her interest."

Sam sighed and turned to his best friend. "She loves you. She really loves you. She wants you back."

Pete sighed and looked back at him. "Fine."

"Just go and talk to her."

"I'll make a fool out of myself."

"No, you won't." Sam shook his head. Pete sighed and turned to Addison on the dance floor. She quickly averted her gaze from him and settled it on the floor. Pete looked at her before he placed his drink down on the bar and walked towards the dance floor. She could sense him walking towards her but she still didn't look at him.

"Excuse me." He placed his hand on the guy's shoulder. "May I dance with my wife now?"

"Oh, erm, sure." Paul nodded before he placed Addison's hand in Pete's and walked off. Pete took hold of her hand and placed the other one on her back before he began to dance with her. She placed her hand on his shoulder as they danced together. Neither of them spoke as they swayed over the dance floor, their bodies close to each other.

"Finally." Naomi smiled at Sam as she watched them.

"He just needs to tell her." Sam looked at them as well.

"They need to tell each other."

"She won't do the first step though."

"No, she won't." Naomi sighed.

"How can she be so stubborn?" Sam looked at his girlfriend.

"I don't know. She always has been."

"If she loves him, how can she not fight for it? I mean Pete is trying to do the first step here. Pete. "

"I know." Naomi sighed. "I know." Sam gave a sigh and looked back at the couple on the dance floor.

Suddenly, Addison pulled away from Pete and walked back to the table where her parents and Pete's parents were sat. Pete stopped moving and watched her walking away before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The music stopped playing before a guy started talking into the microphone on the small stage. Pete just looked at Addison before he heard someone saying his name and he turned to the stage. Everyone started to clap as he made his way towards the stage. He walked up the few steps before he made his way to the microphone to do his speech.

"Pete Wilder everyone." The older gentleman smiled and stepped back so Pete could talk. He gave a small smile and took hold of the microphone. Naomi and Sam made their way back to the table and sat down as he started his speech. He started telling everyone about the little project he and a group of people did over the last months to raise money for the charity event. Addison glanced up slightly as Naomi squeezed her hand.

"You alright?" Naomi whispered to her friend.

"Yeah." Addison nodded. "Fine." Naomi nodded as well but she knew she was lying as she looked back at the stage. They sat and listened to Pete's speech as he described the project he had started. Naomi kept glancing at Addison and watched as she looked at Pete, the look in her eyes almost breaking her heart. Naomi squeezed Addison's hand even tighter and she was sure Addison was going to start cry. She ran her thumb over the back of her hand and tried to calm her down. Addison took a deep breath and bit down on her lip as she tried to block Pete's words out. She was glad that she was sitting with her back to her parents to look at the stage and didn't have to face them. Addison squeezed Naomi's hand back and could feel her tears stinging her eyes. As Pete's speech came to an end he started to thank various people for their support.

"Nae, can we go?" Addison whispered. "Please."

"Why? He's nearly done." Naomi looked at her.

"Just, please."

Naomi sighed. "Fine, let's go." Addison nodded and stood up before she froze at Pete's words.

"And, the most, I want to thank my wife." His voice floated through the room. "Addi." Addison froze and just stared at him on stage as he stood looking at her and she felt eyes turn and gaze at her as well. "I...I just wanted to tell you, that I love you." Pete looked at her. "And I don't want to lose you." Her flood gates burst open and tears started to roll down her cheeks as she heard those three words that meant so much. "You...you want to come up to me?" He held a hand out towards her slightly. She glanced around at all the eyes on her before she slowly starting moving towards the stage as her tears continued to flow. Pete swallowed slightly as he watched her walking closer. A loud cheer started throughout the room as she walked up the few steps to the stage. Pete's eyes were fixed on her and he was still holding his hand out.

Addison slowly reached her hand out towards him and wrapped her fingers around his. He took her hand in his and looked at her as he lightly pulled her closer and they could hear the people cheering.

"Kiss her!" Someone shouted.

Pete smiled slightly before he let go of the microphone and slowly leaned down to press his lips to hers softly. Addison closed her eyes and instantly kissed him back. The people around them began to cheer louder and Pete slowly moved his arms around her. She moved her arms to around his neck before she buried her face into his shoulder.

"I love you." Pete whispered against her hair as he held her close.

"Aww." Everyone smiled as they watched the couple. Pete gave a small smile before he took hold of Addison's hand to lead her off the stage again. She gave a small sniffle and let him lead her outside where it was quieter.

"Are you alright?" He looked at her with a worried look on his face. Addison just nodded and looked up at him as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Pete looked back at her and wiped away a few tears with his thumb.

"You love me." she whispered.

"I do." He nodded.

"Why have you never told me?"

"Because I knew you don't feel the same way."

"But I do." Addison looked at him. "I do."

"You do?" He looked back at her.

"I do." She nodded. "I…I love you, Pete." Pete just looked at her and didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected to hear her to say those three words. "I didn't think you felt the same." Addison admitted. "I thought it was just fun for you."

"I punched a guy out because he danced with you Addison."

"I know." She nodded.

"I...I did so many things...didn't that kind of give it away?"

"I was trying not to fall in love with you." Addison whispered and looked down.

"Why?" He watched her. "Am I that bad?"

"No." She shook her head. "We just agreed that it would be for fun, to prove something to our parents. I didn't think you'd ever feel the same about me. You could have any girl you ever wanted. I didn't want my heart to break when we would have gotten divorced."

"I don't want any girl though."

Addison looked up at him slowly through her tears.

"I want you." Pete looked back at her. "I love you."

"Please, don't leave me, ever." She begged.

Pete smiled softly before he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I won't."

"Thank you." Addison buried her face into his chest and closed her eyes. Pete held her against him tightly and breathed in her scent. "I love you." she whispered.

"And I love you." He whispered into her hair. She smiled softly and glanced up at him. Pete looked back at her and brushed some hair from her face before he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Addison closed her eyes and gently kissed him back. He gently cupped her face with his hands as he kissed her.

"I never want to lose you." she whispered.

"And I never want to lose you." He shook his head slightly.

"I'm sorry I told you to leave." Addison looked at him. "I was angry and I didn't think you'd really go."

"I was going to go when you want me to."

"Please, don't. If I ever tell you to leave, don't, stay. Always stay. Please."

"If you want me to stay, I'll stay." He looked at her. "Always."

"Thank you." she whispered. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." He smiled softly.

"I do." Addison nodded.

Pete just smiled and softly pecked her lips again. "I love you."

"And I love you." She smiled back.

"I didn't believe I'd ever hear you say that."

"I never thought I'd hear you say those words."

"Wasn't it kind of obvious I did?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe."

"Why did you never say anything then?"

"I was scared."

"So you kept telling me you can't wait for the other guys once we split up instead?"

"I…yeah…" she trailed off and looked down. Pete just nodded slightly and watched her. "I'm sorry." Addison whispered and looked up at him.

"Just the thought of you with some guy..." He trailed off.

"I'm really sorry. I should never have said any of that."

He nodded slightly. "It's okay."

"I never wanted any of the guys."

"You nearly went off with a few."

"I wasn't going to sleep with them."

Pete just nodded and looked at her.

"I'm really sorry."

"Just forget about it."

"Okay." Addison nodded and watched him. He took hold of her hands and looked down as he linked their fingers together. "I love you so much, Pete."

"And I love you." He looked at her and smiled softly. "So, so much." Addison smiled and nuzzled her nose against his. He smiled and placed a few quick kisses on her lips. She gave a small shiver and cuddled closer to him. "Do you want to go back in?" He wrapped his arms around her.

"Not really, but we should."

"We could also go home." He smiled softly.

"We can't just leave the dinner. Haven't you got to do something else?"

"Yeah." He sighed.

"Come on, let's go in." She rubbed his chest. Pete nodded and took hold of her hand before they walked back inside. Naomi and Bizzy glanced at them as they walked back in hand in hand. A smile spread across Naomi's face as they came closer and sat down next to each other.

"Did we miss anything?" Addison whispered to Naomi.

"Nope." She grinned. "Did we?"

"Like what?"

"You know what." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, we made passionate love against a tree."

"You're mean." Naomi looked away from her and leaned into Sam. Addison grinned and leaned back into Pete. He wrapped an arm around her and looked around the room. She tilted up at him before she tucked her head under his chin. People around them were still whispering and glancing at them. Bizzy smiled at them before she sipped on her wine.

"I think we made quite a show here." Pete whispered to his wife.

"Yeah." She nodded. "We did."

"I just wanted to tell you." He smiled sheepishly.

"And I wanted you to tell me." She smiled back.

"Good." He smiled and pecked her lips softly.

"I love you." Addison whispered.

"I love you too." He whispered back. "So much." She grinned and kissed him again. Pete smiled against her lips and pulled her closer. A small giggle escaped her lips as she snuggled into his chest. Naomi watched them out of the corner of her eyes and smiled softly, glad to see them so happy.