Sorry for the lack of update yesterday – it was my nephew's birthday.

I have to dedicate this chapter to Ninja, who read all 377 chapters of this in three and a half days and to lumos175 who did the same thing in five days! Thank you for so much dedication and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

My next update will be a new story called 'Baby Mine', set after Charlie and Joey's break up. But I might not update until Tuesday so please bear with me!

Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy Eight

It had been a long few days. Charlie couldn't help but feel concerned about how hard Joey was working to get the restaurant ready for opening. She was out of the house early and back late. She wasn't sleeping all that well and she couldn't seem to stop panicking that she was going to fail.

"Okay, I'm abducting you," Charlie decided, arriving at the empty restaurant.

Joey spent all her time there at the moment, getting everything ready. She had decorated and bought some nice art prints for the walls. She had received her stock of beverages and was expecting tables and chairs to arrive in the morning. She had also bought a selection of ingredients to start practicing her dishes in a bid to make them perfect.

"I've got to look through these application forms tonight," Joey protested tiredly.

"Nope," Charlie insisted, spinning her around in her seat and looking her in the eye. "We're going for dinner with Ruby at the Diner."

"But..."

"If you don't take a break, you're going to break," Charlie stated. "So, no arguments."

Joey managed a smile.

"I'm very grateful to have you to rein me in when I go a bit crazy," she said.

Charlie grinned and kissed her.

"So, ready to go?" she asked. "After you've shown me what you've been working on."

Joey beamed at her and stood up.

"I have a lot to show you!" she declared.


Xavier was nervous as he sat down in the Diner with April and Bianca. 'Meeting the sister' was a bit scary but he was hopeful that he would be able to impress.

"Hi, Xave," April greeted.

Xavier stood up as April and her blonde, older sister arrived at the table.

"Hey," he greeted warmly.

Then he turned his attention to Bianca and introduced himself politely.

"Hi," Bianca said, accepting his handshake.

"Pleased to meet you," Xavier said, as they all sat down together.


"And this is where the magic will happen," Joey declared, showing Charlie her spotless, perfect kitchen.

"Wow," Charlie said. "I'm impressed."

Joey turned round happily and allowed Charlie to draw her into her arms. They kissed tenderly at first before passion took over. Charlie nudged Joey up against the counter, her heart rate picking up.

"We really shouldn't christen this place," Joey murmured against Charlie's lips.

Charlie just grinned and kissed her harder.

"Why not?" she wondered.

"Because it's all clean!" Joey said. "And we really need to learn to control ourselves."

Charlie drew back, looking amused.

"No fun," she complained.

"If I'm not working tonight, I might have some energy later."

She raised her eyebrows suggestively, making Charlie laugh.

"I look forward to it," she replied.


Ruby sat near the entrance to the Diner, waiting for her parents to show up. She spied Xavier and April sitting with Bianca at a nearby table from behind her menu. Although she knew she and her ex-boyfriend didn't belong together, she couldn't help but feel a little bitter that he had so swiftly moved on when the one person she was pining for, was clearly only interested in Bianca now.

"Hey, Rubes," said a familiar voice.

Startled, Ruby dropped her menu and looked up to find the object of her affection standing over her.

"Hi, Liam," she said. "Do you want to sit?"

She frowned when she realised his attention was now on Bianca, who looked like she was putting Xavier through her paces.

"Liam?" she said, trying to get his attention again.

"Sorry, what?" he said, snapping back to her and looking a little flushed.

"Do you want to sit down?" she asked.

"Oh…"

He was interrupted by the arrival of Charlie and Joey, who also looked a little flushed. Ruby dreaded to think what they might have been up to. She already knew far too much about her parents' sex life.

"Hi, Charlie!" Bianca greeted loudly. "Hi, Joey!"

The two women turned and waved. Bianca grinned at both them and Liam. Forgetting all about Xavier, she invited them and Ruby to join them for dinner.


Over in Yabbie Creek, Sid and Marilyn were enjoying their date, although Sid was still a little anxious about his night with Veronica rebounding on him. He had been honest with Marilyn about it and she didn't mind but he had a sinking feeling that the nurse wasn't going to take no for an answer.


Back in the Diner, April and Ruby were not happy. Oblivious, Bianca and Liam were flirting with each other. Not quite so oblivious, Charlie, Joey and Xavier were observing proceedings with interest.

"Bianca," April finally said. "You do realise the point of this evening was to get to know Xavier, not Liam?"

She didn't care if the musician was offended or not.

"I'm new in town," Bianca replied without as much as a cringe. "I'm trying to get to know everyone. Speaking of…"

She addressed Charlie and Joey.

"I'm pretty eager to make friends with women around my age that I might have a smidgen in common with," she said. "Any help?"

"Well, we haven't had a good night out in a while," Charlie mused. "We could organise something."

"Do guys get invited too?" Liam asked hopefully.

The more time he could spend with the enchanting newcomer, the better, as far as he was concerned.

"Girls Nights Out are pretty specific," Joey said apologetically.

"I guess you'd know," he smirked.

Joey pretended to be offended but laughed instead.

"Anyway," April interrupted. "Can we please not make this entire night about you?"

She looked accusatorily at her sister, who merely shrugged.

"She's never happy with me," she remarked, looking at Liam.

Having had enough, Ruby abruptly stood up and said she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home. Turning, she attempted to march away from the table, only to ram straight into Irene, ending up covered in a milkshake. The teenager burst into tears and fled.

"We should go after her," Joey said quickly, also standing up.

Charlie tossed some money on the table to cover their part of the bill, apologised to Irene and hurried out of the Diner with Joey. Bianca resume flirting with Liam.


"I have to say I am extremely impressed," Sid commented as he walked Marilyn to her front door.

As he had feared, Veronica had indeed shown up at the restaurant. But rather than getting to cause a scene, Marilyn had intercepted her and sent her on her way in no uncertain terms.

"Life's too short not to get to the point quickly," she replied pleasantly.

They paused at the front door.

"Can I kiss you goodnight?" Sid asked politely.

She smiled and took his hand.

"You can do more than that," she replied, permitting him to follow her inside.


Charlie and Joey sat on either side of Ruby on the beach.

"It wasn't that bad," Charlie tried.

"I ran out, got covered in milkshake and cried!" Ruby said desperately. "How is he ever going to notice me in a good way after that?"

Charlie and Joey exchanged worried glances.

"Sweetheart, I know this isn't what you want to hear but…"

"But he's never going to be interested in me anyway," Ruby concluded bitterly.

Both women put an arm around her.

"I know it hurts," Joey said gently. "But in time, you'll be in a much better place. You'll forget all about Liam and you'll find someone wonderful."

"How do you know that?" the teenager wondered, genuinely seeking an answer.

"Because that's what people do," Joey told her.

"Look at me and Roman," Charlie added. "You know how cut up I was over him and now look at me."

"But what if Liam and I aren't like you and Roman?" Ruby asked. "What if we're like you and Joey?"

"You're not," Charlie said as gently as possible. "If you were like us then you'd be together. There's no way forward for you and Liam so you will recover from it and you will heal. I promise."

Ruby sighed heavily and sank against her mother, desperately hoping she was right.


Next time… Charlie vows to help Joey get the restaurant started, Mr Oddly causes more problems and Xavier receives conflicting advice after Ruby makes a move on him…