Accident Prone

Before dinner, Liz (aka the maid of honor) and Mike (the best man) gave a short speech each about the newlyweds and wished them all the best in their future.

Mia visibly enjoyed the food, and she was not happy that she had to stop eating in order to cut the cake. The only thing that prevented her from eating an enormous amount of food was the tight wedding dress she was wearing.

The good thing was that after the cake-cutting, the official part of the wedding was over, so Mia got to change into her second gown for the evening.

Mia returned from the bride's room in a gown that was not restricting her in the waist area. As she made her way to her seat, Mia had a big smile on her face and her eyes on the food.

No one interrupted her, and Hunter was passing her dishes while feeding her lovingly.

Mia looked amazing in her wedding dress, and Hunter appreciated her sacrifice (aka the diet) so that she looks perfect. Of course, for him, it was not about the dress, but how Mia glowed in it.

With cake being cut and distributed by the staff, the remainder of the evening was for chatting, dancing, eating, and drinking.

Hunter went to catch up with the guys, leaving Mia with Liz and Brianna for some girl-time with snacks and wine.

"I am happy for Angie. Look at Derek hovering around her…", Mia said dreamily. "Do you think there will be another wedding soon?"

"She is the one who ended up with the wedding bouquet.", Brianna reminded them. "That means she is the next one to get married."

Liz didn't believe in superstitions. Who gets married only because they caught flowers? There were more than a dozen unmarried ladies who were eyeing that bouquet. Will Angela be the first one to marry? Maybe, but not because of the flowers. Seeing that Angela and Derek had eyes only for each other, it was natural to assume that if Angela gets married soon, it will be to Derek. However, Liz had her concerns.

"What's the rush? Angela and Derek only started dating, and she will start college in September."

Mia responded between bites of food: "True, but… they are both grownups with jobs, madly in love… and if she is like her brother, she will get pregnant first, then everything else."

Liz and Brianna paused and exchanged glances before resuming to sip their drinks in slow motion. They remembered that Ashton got Sabrina pregnant as soon as they started dating, so Mia has a good point.

Liz wondered if she should talk to Angela about contraception, but she gave up on that idea. Liz is not Angela's doctor, and they are not so close to engage in intimate talks. If Liz goes to Angela and initiates talk about contraception, it will be crude and nosy and probably unwelcome. Even if Angela is clueless, Derek should know what he is doing. Maybe.

"She came to Seattle in order to go to college, but maybe her priorities changed.", Brianna said. "I am an example of how the right relationship can change one's perspective. If she gives up on pursuing college, we should not look down on her because the path to happiness is different for everyone."

Mia and Liz agreed. College does not guarantee happiness (or a good job).

As for changing priorities because of love, Brianna is a great example.

Brianna left New York so that she joins Harper Investments in San Francisco, thinking that she needs to pursue money. However, because of Quentin, she ended up moving to Seattle, and now she left Harper Investments in order to work as the financial director at Reynolds Media. She chose love, and everything else fell into place.

Joseph (aka Brianna's father) was not happy when Brianna handed him her resignation, but she agreed to stay as a part-time supervisor for the branch in Seattle until Joseph gets full trust in the person who took over Brianna's role. With that, Brianna now works two days at Harper Investments, and three at Reynolds Media. If they respect the previously set timeline, within the next six months, Brianna will be able to completely focus on Reynolds Media. It's not that there are no qualified people at Harper Investments, but Joseph does not trust them and because of that, Brianna's job is to approve all major transactions.

Because of Quentin, Brianna who detested relationships and clingy guys is now married and fully devoted to her husband and their company. Who knows? Maybe even baby-Qs are in the near future.

Max found a good opportunity to call Hunter to the side, for a private talk. Max informed Hunter about Suzy and left it to Hunter if he will tell Mia or not.

Hunter was surprised to hear about Suzy's attempt to sabotage his wedding. He wished that he knew about it right away, but he understood the reasons why that information was kept from him.

Max told Hunter details how Suzy came as a +1 with Julian Temple and knocked out a server in order to get access to the kitchen. The toxicology reports showed that the drinks were spiked with a potent aphrodisiac and that she was aiming for the girls. All of them.

"At this point, it seems that she was working on her own, and she used Julian to get in. Our men are going through her phone records and emails, but there is a lot to go through and it might take days for any meaningful data to resurface. What do you want us to do with her?", Max asked when he finished with the details.

"Honestly, I would like to get rid of her, but I know that Mia will not forgive me if I do anything without her. Suzy targeted Mia on the first day we met, and it escalated to the point of Suzy plotting to ruin our wedding…"

Hunter hoped that Suzy gave up, but instead of getting a hint, she made her situation worse. It's not that Hunter felt sorry for Suzy, but he feared that it will ruin Mia's mood.

…

Derek and Angela were at the table like two lovebirds, oblivious to anything and anyone around them.

Angela had a plate filled with several types of cakes and she was feeding Derek. Without complaining, Derek opened his mouth obediently for whatever Angela offered, even though he felt the sugar rush two slices of cake ago.

"How is it?", Angela asked.

"Mmm…", Derek hummed. "It's sweet, but you are sweeter."

Angela smiled until her cheeks hurt.

She glanced at the plate. "Oh, we almost finished this. Let me get some more…"

"Don't...", he said while holding onto her hand. He didn't want to spoil Angela's mood, and he loved that she was feeding him, but he felt that he is going to pass out if he takes one more bite full of sugar.

"I've had enough of cake.", Derek said and kissed the back of her palm. "There is only one dessert I want to have from now on."

Angela stared at him and his heated gaze told her that the dessert he mentioned was her. Her cheeks turned crimson and she was unable to look away.

"We-we can leave early…", Angela stuttered.

Derek's lips lifted into a smile and he leaned closer so that no one overhears them. "I want to dance with you, baby. And then we can sneak out."

"OK…", she breathed.

Derek grabbed a glass of water and downed it before taking Angela's hand in his and leading the way to the dancefloor.

Roberto was sitting at the bar and he watched Angela and Derek dejectedly.

"Wrong girl, Roberto…", Andrea said in a singing voice as she sat on the barstool next to him.

"What girl?", Roberto pretended that he didn't understand, hoping that Andrea will drop the topic.

Andrea took a slow sip from her glass while eyeing Roberto who squirmed under her keen gaze. "First at the rehearsal dinner, and now at the wedding. I see you looking at Angie, but if you look just a bit on the side, you will see a big guy next to her. Derek. Boyfriend."

Since Andrea was so blunt, Roberto realized that Andrea was onto him and there was no point in pretending. Roberto exhaled forcibly through his nose. "It seems everyone knew she is taken, except for me." But if Andrea thinks that she is the only one observant, she is gravely mistaken. "I guess I'm joining your club.", Roberto said and clinked his glass with Andrea's.

Andrea was confused. "My club?"

"Mhm…", Roberto hummed knowingly. "I saw how you were looking at Max.", Roberto said smugly and gestured with his chin toward the table where Max and Liz were sitting next to each other.

Andrea blinked a few times before dissolving into a puddle of laughter.

"What is funny?", Roberto asked dryly. It seems that everyone was treating him like a joke, and he couldn't wait to go home.

Seeing how dejected Roberto was, Andrea decided to answer him. "I'm not looking at Max, but at his partner."

Roberto's mouth was half open and it took him a few seconds to find his voice. "You are looking at Elizabeth?"

"She is an amazing woman, don't you think so?", Andrea said dreamily.

"But she is Max's woman."

"Unfortunately.", Andrea said sadly. "But that does not mean that I will give up. You never know what the future might bring."

"What…? How…? I mean…", Roberto was unable to finish any of his thoughts.

"I know. I know… But I'm not losing hope. You see, I know that Liz is brilliant and amazing in every way possible, but I will not settle for a role of a mistress. I told her what my intentions are, and I am waiting for that big buffoon to mess up so that I can make my move. He also knows that I am watching them and waiting for my chance to step in. I can see that he is uncomfortable, but I don't care because this is about what I want."

Roberto understood that the big buffoon is Max and Roberto admired Andrea very much. Maybe that was the kind of courage he was missing in his life.

"Thank you.", Roberto said solemnly and bowed toward Andrea before making his way toward the dancefloor.

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