December 2015

After Rufus proposed to Lisa it was she who turned inward to her work, her studio and apartment, which lay covered with sketches and samples. Some nights he joined her in the loft, watching her create as he filled her in on the outside world. They'd arrived at the stage in their friendship where it was possible for them to eat side by side by side in a comfortable, communicative silence once more. Yet he never stayed over, no matter the time and the presence of spare beds.

"I have a garage door in my bedroom if its privacy you're worried about," she joked. He rolled his eyes, rising to leave.

"You need sleep and if I stay we'll end up debating the virtues of Twilight and Harry Potter."

"I regret the vampire phase of my life."

"As do we all." He kissed her on the cheek, ignoring the fact that she jumped a little at his touch.

One evening he walked into her studio and found her alone in a wedding dress. It was floaty, feminine and he could not quite discern the thin barely there straps on her already pale skin. It only hit her mid thigh.

"Wow." She turned crimson at the sight of him and instantly disappeared to change, her face still glowing when she reappeared clad in ordinary clothing. "Is that the dress?"

"No, Lisa wanted something more non traditional – it's not her first wedding. Or you know, Dad's. That was just a possibility we considered early on." She paused. "I was bored."

"Uh huh."

At the wedding he danced with her as much as possible, marvelling at how her burgundy bridesmaids dress served to make her appear even taller than she was. He wondered when he'd become so pathetic.

"You'd think it was tenth grade again, watching those two," Blair nodded at Nate and Jenny, who were trying to keep a respectable amount of space between their bodies. Chuck pressed his lips to his wife's forehead.

"They need the space to fit all of the sexual tension in." The two singletons wound up with another bottle of champagne at Lily's table. Jenny's former stepmother looked oddly radiant, considering she was sitting at her ex husband's wedding reception.

"It's almost enough to get you to believe in love again." Jenny frowned.

"Or not. This is Dad's third wedding."

"That's really not all that many." Nate choked a little on his drink. "Look, I know it's hard for you two kids to believe but...sometimes you have to throw lots of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. And you just go with it, even if what sticks is the craziest, most unexpected thing, because finding your soulmate is not about fate or destiny. It's about being brave enough to try again." Her gaze lingered on Rufus as she spoke. And Nate and Jenny found themselves incredibly aware of each other.

He gave her a ride in his town car, Robert his driver not asking why he felt the need to go out of his way to Brooklyn. They walked up to the loft together, Jenny turning to face him at the door. Her lips parted.

"Nate." His phone rang. He glanced down at the screen.

"It's one of my reporters." Her long, lithe fingers wrapped around his wrist.

"Don't answer."