All is fair in Love & War

Chapter 15

The next bridesmaid arrived as the four girls sat in front of the cabin, talking and laughing. Claire was Vivianne's oldest friend, as they met when they were only three years old. When Vivianne was three years old, new people moved into the house next door, one of them being Claire. At the time, their mother was pregnant with Katy, and Vivianne spent quite a bit at Claire's house. 

Almost from the second they met, Claire and Vivianne became best friends. Katy had always thought that it would be Claire who was the maid of honour, not her. But she had not factored in Claire's anxiety. Clair hated it when all the attention was on her, so much so that when Vivianne had approached the subject of a speech at her wedding, she had already started sweating. 

So in order to make things easier for Claire, Katy would be the maid of honour. The thing was, however, that due to Katy's job, she wouldn't be able to do much of the planning, which is where Claire stepped up. In the end, Katy and Claire made a nice arrangement. Claire would do most of the planning, filling in Katy every now and then, and Katy would do the more public things at the wedding, such as give a speech. 

At first, Katy was worried about his arrangement, but Claire loved it. Admittedly, the fact that Claire owned a flower store did help, as she and her team made all the floral arrangements. 

As Claire approached the cabin, Katy was the first to spot her. She wore a long floral skirt with a white button-down top and her long blonde hair in a ponytail. "Claire! You finally found it!" Katy said, getting up to hug her. 

"I did," Claire chuckled, hugging her back, "With no help from the driver, though..."

"What happened?" Vivianne asked, getting up to hug her friend as well.

"The cab driver couldn't find the hotel..." Claire said, hugging Vivianne. 

"We had the same problem," Melissa said.

"Only we didn't have a driver," Cassie added. 

Claire also gave a quick hug to the two college girls before sitting down on one of the empty seats. "So I heard we were getting a dance class?" She asked.

Katy nodded, "You'll be dancing with either Andrew or Eric, your choice." 

Claire pulled a face, "And the third option?" The girls laughed before she added, "No, Eric will be just fine." 

"When will Miles get here?" Vivianne asked. 

Claire sighed, "Depending on whether he has to work overtime or not, either tomorrow or the day after that." 

Miles and Claire had been dating ever since high school. They had been each other's firsts for everything, and now over a decade after high school, the two were still together. For a brief moment, when Miles went away to college, they went on a break. But eventually, they got back together again. 

Originally, Miles and Claire were supposed to arrive at the hotel together. But due to some problems regarding a deadline at Miles' job, they decided it would be best if he came in later. 

"Should we go and get some lunch?" Katy said, checking the time on her phone, "If we go and eat now, we will still have time to finish lunch before we have to be at the dress thingy." 

Vivianne chuckled, "You're right; let's get going, gals." 

Cassie groaned, "Please don't say that ever again." she said as the rest chuckled. 

Together they went to the hotel restaurant and had lunch. 

Once the girls were nearly done with lunch, they realized that they should get going. "So, how are we getting there?" Cassie asked as Vivianne paid for lunch, "We've got a car, but I don't think all of us will fit comfortably..."

"We go with two cars; take my rental as well." Katy said, getting up, "I'll need to go and get my ticket for the valet, though; it's in my room." She said, getting up, "I'll meet you guys outside."

She didn't wait for a reply as she walked out of the restaurant and over to the elevator. Her phone buzzed in her pocket the second she pressed the call button. Grabbing her phone, the doors of the elevator opened, and she stepped in.

It was Thea, who said that she was about two hours away. 'Perhaps then she can still get to the dress fitting.' Katy thought as she pressed her floor button.

Right before the elevator doors closed, they opened once more, and a man stepped in.

She didn't need to look up from her phone to know who it was; she could tell by the presence and cologne alone. She texted Thea back and told her the address of the dress store when Liam spoke up.

"I heard there were some changes to the itinerary." He said, looking at her through the elevator mirror.

Katy didn't look up from her phone, instead finishing her text to Thea, "There are." She acknowledged.

He nodded.

Katy glanced at the text conversation with Phillip. Would Clark really represent Johnson? Or was it just a rumour?

Biting her lip, she debated whether or not she should just ask him. Perhaps not directly ask him, as he didn't need to know she represented Mira, at least not yet.

Curiosity got the best of her, "So are the rumours true?" She asked, putting her phone away and turning to look at him directly.

"Depends on the rumours," He said, smirking at her, "Why did you want to find out?"

"Oh, come on," Katy replied, "Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about."

"I won't," He said, raising his eyebrows, looking slightly confused.

"Didn't you hear about the thing?" Katy said, hoping he would understand what she meant as the doors opened.

"Again, depends on the thing; you'll need to be more specific."

Katy sighed, "The thing with Mira Corderoy-"She started as realization dawned on him.

"Ah, the divorce of the century, I may not be working, but I still watch the news." He said, crossing his arms as he stepped out of the elevator, "Now, exactly what rumours are you referring to?" He said, leaning against the wall.

Katy debated her response for a moment. Should she just straight up ask him?

"And couldn't I be asking you the same thing?" He added.

"I'm sorry?" She responded, meeting his gaze.

"If you're asking me what I think you're asking me, I could be asking you the same thing, couldn't I?" He replied, pushing himself off the wall and stepping closer to her. "But they couldn't be true, could they? As we're not supposed to be working this week...." He said, looking her directly in the eye.

Katy didn't know what to say as she stared back at him, 'Was this a yes?' she thought, looking back into his eyes.

She decided not to push it. Further, he was right; she shouldn't have, "I think I knew enough," she said as she was about to turn around.

"Wait," He said, grabbing her shoulder and turning her back around. Using the thumb of his other hand, he removed a crumb from her face, "I couldn't just let you walk around with crumbs on your face, now, could I?" He spoke before walking away and over to his room.

Katy was stunned for a moment as she felt herself turning red. Quickly she moved to her room, by now, she had almost forgotten why she had gone there in the first place.