It was hard for Brooke to leave Ethan there, but she knew he was in good hands with Lucas. And the meet and greet with the visitors went over well. She was happy that he had bonded well with his grandparents. They quickly had won him over with gifts, and he was slowly warming up to Peyton.

So was she. She was relieved that Julian saved the day and he was the one who asked Peyton questions about herself. It was surprising how much she and Peyton had in common with each other. It was more surprising how friendly she was to her, but Brooke was willing to make an effort if she was.

Over the next week, she focused on her attention to helping Millie and Mouth with the final details of the wedding plans. Brooke was so busy that she felt bad for not spending more time with Ethan. Although, she was grateful for the extra help from her parents and friends in taking care of him while she worked overtime.

The wedding rehearsal went smoothly. Both Ethan and Zoe took their duties seriously and they couldn't wait to do it for real.

On the morning of the wedding, Millie's stomach was full of butterflies, and Brooke attempted to give her advice to help calm her down. But when the distant memories of her own wedding was held against her, Karen and Haley stepped in with their own wedding stories to help. Millie was able to calm down enough in order for Quinn to take photos.

"I'm so sorry we're late," Shelley said, poking her head in the room. Zoe was holding her mother's hand.

Everyone gave them a wide smile.

Karen was the one who spoke up. "No, you're just in time. Come on in. I don't think we have been formally introduced. You must be Shelley. I'm Karen Roe-Scott."

Shelley gave her a return smile. "I know who you are. I have watched your show," Shelley said. "It's nice to meet you. And this is my daughter, Zoe."

"I'm the flower girl," Zoe said proudly. "Aunt Brooke, can you do my hair?"

Brooke laughed. "Absolutely." Zoe released her mother's hand and grabbed Brooke's hand. "Come on over to my beauty shop."

"Did you want to join us?" Karen asked.

"Thanks, but I'm going to find my husband and take our seats," Shelley said. "I just came to drop Zoe off with the wedding party."

"Don't worry about Zoe. We'll take good care of her," Brooke said. They exchanged goodbyes as Brooke began to work on Zoe's hair. "You are going to look so pretty when you're done. You will almost look as pretty as the bride."

"I don't know about that," Millie said as she glanced at herself in the mirror.

"Are you kidding? You're the most beautiful bride I ever seen," Brooke complimented. "And I have seen a lot of brides."

"Brooke's right. You are a beautiful bride," Haley agreed. "Mouth won't know what to say when he sees you. Just focus on him. Don't worry about everyone else."

Millie's face fell. "Maybe we should have done it at the courthouse. I hate the thought of doing it in front of a lot of people."

"Hey, I would be happy to drive you and Mouth to the courthouse if you really want to take off," Haley offered.

"If you're worried about Victoria, she's not coming to the wedding," Brooke said.

Millie's eyes were filled with hope. "Are you sure?"

Brooke nodded. She paused for a moment as she approached Millie. "Yeah, Paul and Sam are coming to the wedding while Victoria and Sylvia are looking after the store." Millie let out a relieved sigh. "So you can walk down the aisle with pride. You're getting married." She embraced her in a tight hug.

Millie pulled away from her. Tears formed in her eyes as she gave her a wide smile. "Thanks Brooke."

Brooke smiled in return. "That's what a maid of honor is for. Now let's finish getting ready. We don't want to keep your fiancé waiting."

Karen and Haley exchanged smiles before Karen spoke. "I think that's our cue. We'll see you out there."

Brooke stopped them before they could leave. She went to the bag she had brought with her. She pulled out two small items and showed them to Karen and Haley. "Before I forget, I wanted to give you guys something. I had extra fabric leftover and I made us little matching purses."

"That's very sweet of you," Karen said. Brooke handed one to her and Haley took the other one.

"Did you make one for me?" Zoe asked anxiously.

Brooke kept the smile on her face. "Of course I made one for you. I wouldn't forget my goddaughter."

Zoe smiled happily as Brooke handed her the little purse. They waved goodbye to Karen and Haley as they exited out of the room.

Brooke finished up with Zoe's hair as there was another knock at the door. The wedding planner poked her head in, and told them that it was time. Brooke made sure Zoe had her flower basket before she was ushered out.

Brooke was about to follow them when Millie pulled her back and embraced her in a tight hug. "Thank you so much for supporting me. You have no idea what it means to me to have you stand next to me."

"Anything for you," Brooke said. "Now are you ready to walk down the aisle?"

Millie nodded, and she followed Brooke out into the hall. They followed the wedding planner and Zoe to the door that would lead to the room where the wedding was being held. Julian was already waiting there with Ethan.

The music started to play, and the children eagerly waited for their cues before they began to walk down the aisle.

Brooke gave her friend a wide smile before she took her turn. She kept the smile on her face throughout the whole wedding. She was so happy for her friends that they found their way to each other, and they were willing to go the distance.

Yet, it made her think about her own relationship with Lucas. Or should she say friendship? Was it always that way? She had pushed those thoughts about that weekend out of her head, but Millie's wedding brought up past memories.

Brooke attempted to keep her focus on the bride and groom. She did her best to keep a smile on her face as Quinn took photos of the wedding party. It wasn't until after she arrived at the reception that both Julian and Rachel checked up on her. Mouth and Millie were out on the dance floor, taking their first dance as husband and wife, and Brooke was staring off into space.

Julian was the one who spoke. "Are you alright? I don't think we have seen that look since Shelley's wedding. What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Brooke said, brushing him off. "This is Mouth's and Millie's wedding. I don't want to ruin it." She paused for a moment as she spotted a familiar face behind the bar. "What's Owen doing here?"

"Owen didn't tell you? Your new friends hired him as a bartender for the club," Rachel said. "I have seen him in action. I forgot how attractive he is."

Julian frowned. "You know, I'm standing right here. I'm your date, remember? Because I can always go ask Alex to dance."

"Yeah, I don't think you will pry her away from Chase," Rachel said, gesturing to Alex and Chase across the room. Chase and Alex were staring deep into each other's eyes. "But don't worry. There's nothing going on between me and Owen. In fact, he was asking me about the custody arrangement with Lucas."

Brooke raised her eyebrows. Owen was asking about the custody arrangement? Why was he asking about the custody arrangement?

Brooke approached the counter and Owen's smile disappeared. "Hey Brooke. What can I do for you?"

"I think we need to talk," Brooke said.

Owen sighed. "I don't know what Rachel told you, but it's not what you think. And I really don't want to talk about it while I'm working. Do you think you can wait until after I get off?"

Brooke was quiet for a moment. What was she doing? Owen was right. This wasn't the right time or place. "Just promise me you won't give Lucas a hard time."

"I will if you do the same for Peyton," Owen said. "She stopped by last week and we started talking. She really wasn't sure how she fit in Lucas's world after finding out he has a long lost son. I told her that I knew what that felt like. That's why I suggested she should talk to you." There was silence from Brooke. "What's wrong? You don't trust her? Who are you? Victoria? Because one Victoria is hard enough. I don't need two."

Brooke laughed. "Don't worry. As I told Lucas, I'm open to giving her a chance as long as she doesn't exploit Ethan. Then all bets are off the table."

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Owen said. "I can see she's really wants to try and be friends with you."

Brooke didn't answer as it was announced that it was time to sit down and eat dinner. Brooke left Owen to sit with the rest of the wedding party. After toasts and dinner, the dance floor was open for everyone.

Ethan eagerly wanted Brooke to be his first dancing partner and Brooke happily accepted. She twirled him around and he laughed and giggled with joy. His smile made Brooke smile in return.

After a few songs and dance partners, Brooke went to join her friends at a table. They were in a deep conversation, and they stopped once Brooke approached the table. Shelley gestured her to sit down next to her. "Good. You're here. We need to talk. Rachel here was telling me that you're still planning to throw me a baby shower when I told you it's not necessary."

Brooke glanced at Rachel, who turned red. She quietly took a sip of her drink.

Brooke's gaze went back to Shelley. "I know, but I didn't have a chance to do it last time, remember?" she moaned. "Rachel hosted our double baby shower. So I feel like I need to make up for it. And I know you aren't planning to find out the gender, but I can work with that. Just tell me the theme you're planning to have your nursery, and I'll make that theme as your baby shower party."

Shelley sighed. "We haven't set up the nursery yet. I haven't had the time with taking care of Zoe and running the café. And Marcus has a lot of responsibilities as the mayor. I'm still trying to convince myself that I will be able to handle working until I have to go on maternity leave."

Brooke stopped her right there. "Hey, this is why you have me to help you."

"Yeah, me too," Haley said, speaking up. "I used to waitress when I was in high school and in college. If you need help at the café, just let me know and I'll come right over. And if you need another person to watch Zoe, I'm an excellent babysitter. Besides, I will need all the practice I can get." She cleared her throat. "I'm going to get some more punch."

Brooke's gaze followed Haley across to the food table before she glanced around the room. Everyone was enjoying themselves. The only person she didn't see was her sister. "Do any of you know where Sam is?" she asked her friends.

Her friends shook their heads, and Brooke continued the search.

"I think she's upstairs in the office," Haley said. "She said she had some homework to do, and I told her she could use my office."

Brooke excused herself and she went through the crowd to check up on Sam. She knocked on the door, and Sam, who was sitting on the sofa, glanced up from her work. She turned red. "I know what you're going to say, but I really wanted to go to the wedding. Besides, I needed Haley's help with it." Brooke joined her sister on the sofa. "It's a short story I have to write for my English class."

"A short story? That should be easy for you. You're a great writer," Brooke complimented.

Sam shook her head. "Not with this teacher. I hate her. I can't believe I'm stuck with her all year. I want to be transferred in a different class, but Mom won't let me. I'm trying to get Dad to convince her to do it before the deadline to switch classes is up."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Brooke said as she embrace her sister in a gentle hug. "In the meantime, I'll let you go so you can finish your homework. But don't take too long in here. After all, you came here to have fun."

Sam nodded. "I know. I'm almost done. Tell Ethan to save a dance for me."

Brooke smiled. "I will."

She went down the stairs, and she headed back into the reception. A distant, but familiar voice called to her in the shadows. She glanced around the corridor until a woman with long dark hair made her presence known. "Brooke Davis, you haven't changed a bit."

Brooke frowned. "I'm sorry. Do we know each other? You look vaguely familiar to me."

The woman smiled in amusement. "You don't remember me, do you? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. We only hung out once, and that was right before you took off with the best-selling author for a night on the town. Does that ring any bells for you?"

The memory of meeting this woman four years ago at the bar returned to her. "Nikki. What are you doing here?"

"I heard you have been looking for me," Nikki said as she pulled out a manila envelope from her large purse. "I have something that may be of interest to you and your husband. I not only have your marriage certificate, but I also have some amazing photos of your night together. I would be happy to give them to you if you would do something for me."

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "My marriage license? How the hell did you get ahold of my marriage license?"

Nikki smirked. "It was easy, considering you gave it to me for safekeeping."

Brooke raised her eyebrows. "I gave it to you for safekeeping? Why would I do that?"

Before Nikki could respond, they were interrupted by Ethan running over to them. Rachel was right behind him. "Momma, it's time for cake." His smile disappeared as his gaze went to Nikki. "Who's that?"

Chills went up Brooke's spine as she noticed Nikki's wicked grin. She turned her focus back to her son. "Go back with Aunt Rachel. Aunt Sam and I will be right there, okay?" Brooke said. She glanced at Rachel, who understood the message.

"Come on, buddy. Let's give them some privacy," Rachel said, taking Ethan's hand. She held it tightly as she led him away from Brooke and Nikki.

"Cute kid," Nikki said. "He looks like a lot like his dad."

Brooke furrowed her brow. "Stay the hell away from my son!"

"Is there a problem here?" Owen demanded, entering the hallway.

Brooke was relieved he had arrived. Her gaze never left Nikki. "Yes, you need to escort this woman out of here."

Nikki placed the envelope back in her purse. "Don't worry. I'm leaving." There was a short pause. "I'll be in touch," she said before she headed towards the nearest exit.

"Brooke, who the hell was that?" Owen asked as soon as Nikki was out of view.

"I'll tell you later," Brooke replied before she returned to the office to retrieve Sam.