The Wedding Date

Chaotically Ever After

"Christmas coffee, my dear?" Joe's silly voice she'd come to recognize as meaning he was in an exceptionally good mood caused her to turn around from her place next to the Christmas tree they'd all put up after the wedding, and pause her gift wrapping.

"Thank you," she grinned up at Joe, who was peering down at her with a quizzical expression through his floppy morning hair.

"What...may I ask...are you doing to those presents?" Joe tilted his head.

"Wrapping them?" Dianne replied casually, intentionally avoiding eye contact as she stared down at the conglomeration of wrinkled paper and tape in front of her.

"Are you sure?" Joe quirked an eyebrow, sitting down next to her as he gently pried the box of Lego for Billy out of her hands.

"Yes," she huffed, leaning back on her hands as she watched Joe unwrap the box, tossing the wrinkled paper over his shoulder while shooting her a less-than-impressed look.

"Billy wouldn't have cared," she muttered, though she couldn't help but be impressed by his very methodical and careful wrap job as he re-did her work.

"There," Joe's nose wrinkled as he held up the box in front of him to inspect it. "Just needs a bow."

Dianne couldn't help but giggle, watching as he moved on to the next one without so much as a complaint.

Will never used to help me wrap my family Christmas presents.

Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she realized that was the first time she'd thought of Will since the fateful wedding night.

It was now Christmas Eve, and she'd spent the last several days in a complete haze, being utterly consumed by the presence of her family and a certain male escort named Joseph Sugg...who also happened to now be her real boyfriend.

They'd spent every day exploring her hometown, telling each other more about their lives that up until this past week, had been separately lived in the same city. She had met Joe's family over FaceTime, including his grandparents who she'd immediately fallen in love with, and his sister Zoe, who she was pretty sure was her new best friend.

Joe had spent more time wooing Rina, of course, but had also spent time really getting to know the rest of her family. She didn't know it was possible, but when she watched Joe play games with Billy and Mia and shout at the TV with her dad like he'd always been part of the family, she was pretty sure she felt her heart double in size.

The rest of her family - including Penny - had steered clear of the Buswell clan and Dianne couldn't help but feel relieved. She wasn't sure she was ready to confront what had happened at the wedding over the weekend...or what happened two years ago.

But that comfort of being in her little bubble was about to be burst at the annual family Christmas Eve gathering at her Aunt Caroline's house, where she'd no doubt come in contact with all of the faces that had stared at her as she'd run away sobbing at the winery.

"You okay?" Joe asked, breaking her out of her deep thoughts as he put the finishing touches on the wrapping paper around the set of mixing bowls they'd bought for her mum.

"Yeah," she murmured, shaking her head to try and get back into the Christmas spirit. "Just thinking about today."

"Worried about Penny?" Joe asked, his voice muffled as he held the tape dispenser between his lips.

"I guess," Dianne shrugged. "I mean...I did ruin her wedding."

"She ruined her own wedding," Joe muttered, and Dianne couldn't help but grin. One thing had become exceptionally clear the last few days...Joe always had her back.