"Laurel?" Emily asked, breaking the silence.

Her friend Laurel stood before her in a squat hold, grazing Emily's skin with a soft brush to give it a healthy glow. She was a makeup artist for a few years now, and Emily knew she loved everything about it.

While Laurel had decided to follow her dreams, Emily didn't dare to; that kind of thing wasn't for her. Her future was set in stone and allowed no changes or dreams. Today was a perfect example of that: she had to marry Jason, save the business of both their families and be the perfect wife.

Even if she allowed herself to dream, she didn't know what she'd want to do with her life. It seemed like her life had frozen in place for three years and now everyone expected her to move on, but it didn't come easy to her. If she could have chosen herself, how would she have planned her future? She didn't graduate from high school, so she probably should go back to finish school and move on to college or university. Jason was currently taking business classes and his father was introducing him to the business world, something Jason had always been passionate about. Emily sometimes felt jealous of him because he knew what he wanted and what he needed to do to get there.

What wasn't perfect about Jason King?

The British accent, the sleek clothing style and the passion for business: he had it all, while she felt lost. She hadn't been able to pick up her life where she'd left off like he had after Those Three Years. He was an example for her, someone she looked up to, and somehow her parents had taken that as her wanting to marry him.

But she didn't.

"Yes?" Laurel asked, fully concentrated on the makeup. She did not let her eyes let go of her masterpiece.

"Can I trust you?" Emily asked. She felt guilty for asking, but she had to; everything had changed after Those Three Years. She'd known Laurel since they were five, but vanishing for a long period of time had had an impact on their friendship.

"Of course," Laurel said. Her eyes were still fixed on Emily's cheeks. "What's the matter?—Darn, that pimple is still peeking through the foundation. I need a little more."

Emily didn't let herself get sidetracked, unlike Laurel. She needed to stay focused. "But can I trust-trust you?" she asked again.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Laurel asked. She stopped her search for the foundation and instead let their eyes meet. Hers were full of energy whereas Emily's were tired. She'd been thinking and stressing a lot.

"I need to tell you something," she said.

That caused a look of concern to appear on Laurel's face. "Tell me, girl," she said, letting her hand rest on Emily's shoulder. Emily felt a shock racing through her body from that touch, but tried to ignore it. It was just Laurel. She should know she could trust her by now.

"And you promise you won't tell anyone?" Emily asked, just to be sure.

"So, not Graham?" Laurel asked. Graham was her boyfriend, they'd been together for two and a half years now—a fact Laurel needed to remind everyone of constantly when she was walking hand in hand with him.

"Not Graham or your grandma when she's on her deathbed," Emily said. She didn't move at all while saying this, wanting Laurel to know how serious she was by continuing to stare her into the eyes.

"Got it," Laurel said. "I promise."

Laurel always did what she promised.

"So, you remember..." she began. Then she realized she didn't even know how to start this story. "Back in February, I disappeared, right?"

Laurel nodded. "You said you'd been to Miami for a break," she said. There was no judgment in her words—unlike Emily's parents, who had been mad at her for suddenly leaving like that and causing them to have a heart attack—and she was listening closely to what Emily had to say.

"Yes, Miami," Emily said. "There's something I haven't told you about that trip..."

Naturally, that sparked some curiosity.

"Girl, what?" Laurel laughed as if she couldn't believe it. "You've been keeping secrets from me?"

"I didn't have a choice," Emily said, but she knew it was a lie. She should've told this story way earlier, back when it happened and she'd returned to San Francisco. It could've saved her from a lot of trouble.

Laurel jumped up then. "We should probably close the door." She hurried to the door and shut it, and when she turned to Emily again, Emily continued.

"When I was there, I met someone," she began slowly.

"A guy?" Laurel said, followed by a shriek.

Emily rolled her eyes. "No, an alien—of course, it was a guy!" She sighed, but couldn't hold back a chuckle either.

"A hot guy?" Laurel whispered.

Emily chuckled. "You could say that, yes."

"You like him?" Her friend had a sparkle in her eyes. She was a fan of this type of girl talk.

Emily nodded. "A lot."

"What happened?"

She bit her lip. What hadn't happened? "We had a great time together," she told Laurel. "We went shopping—"

Laurel's jaw dropped. "You had a guy that likes shopping?" she asked. "He isn't getting any more perfect than that."

Emily closed her eyes, the memories flashing before her eyes. "I let him go, Laurel," she said. Her voice was quiet. "And it was so, so stupid. But I let him go."

Laurel let her hand fall to her side. "But..." she said, disbelief apparent in her eyes. She was a believer in fate, so to hear her friend had finally fallen in love but had given up on it so soon, didn't sit well with her. "Didn't you exchange numbers or anything?"

"Yeah, but we never did anything with it," Emily rushed out. "We said goodbye at the airport—and he'd brought flowers, Laurel, yellow flowers!—and never saw each other again. And then that thing with the wedding happened and suddenly there was a whole plan for me and Jason..."

"Girl, you're talking too fast," Laurel said, and her interruption allowed Emily to breathe again. "What's wrong?"

"He's here, Laurel."

"Here—you mean—"

"Here as in here."

Laurel took a deep breath. "Wow. Haven't seen that one coming."

And despite the situation, Emily smiled. "Quite the turn of events, huh?"

Laurel sighed and stared at the light blue fabric of her bridesmaid dress that contrasted her dark skin. "And, what now?" she asked.

"I was gonna ask you that."

Laurel folded her hands together. "D'you really like him?" she asked her, her accent becoming more apparent. She tried to hide it when she was in the company of Emily's parents, wanting to make a good impression, but Emily knew it was hopeless; her parents had never liked Laurel for no apparent reason, and Emily hated it that her friends felt obligated to change their behavior around them. The only person who didn't have to, because he was already perfect in her parents' eyes, was Jason.

So, Emily liked it when Laurel showed her true self and didn't try to hide who she was, and despite the situation, she smiled when she recognized her friend again.

She nodded. "I do."

"Well..." Laurel began. However, she didn't seem to have the answer either. "That's a tough one, girl."

Emily breathed out, reminding herself to remain calm even though she had the tendency to freak out. This wasn't just a choice she had to make under pressure, it was a choice that would change everything—and she didn't even know if she had a choice or if it was already too late. The only thing she knew for sure was that if she waited too long, the choice would be made for her and she'd walk down the aisle.

"You know, Mil," Laurel said then. "I once had this girl. She was pretty, had a cute face, allowed me to go all out."

Emily chuckled. Of course, Laurel would tell her a story about one of her clients now. She had enough stories to talk for weeks on end and it would never bore Emily; somehow, Laurel always got the craziest and funniest clients.

"And we talked, y'know, like I always do," she continued. "She was going to prom—the poor little thing was so nervous, you won't believe."

"Why are you telling me this?" Emily asked her. The reminder of prom just made Emily feel bad because she'd never been to prom and the story didn't seem to be related in any way to today. She couldn't waste any time listening to Laurel's stories if she had something more important to do.

"Just let me talk, girl!" Laurel said, picking up her brushes again. No matter what would happen today, at least Emily would have her makeup done. "She told me about the dress shopping with her dad and how they both liked it—and it was a gorgeous dress, lemme tell you—and who she was going to prom with, some guy named Liam from her school. She'd known him forever and her dad was fascinated by the boy, constantly fawning over how perfect he was for her."

Emily closed her eyes for Laurel to do her makeup, but found herself being mesmerized by the story.

"But then, when the father left, I asked the girl what she thought of the boy," Laurel continued. "She answered she hardly knew him, even though she saw him every week at church that she and her family went to. She didn't know him, but she was going on a date with him for prom!" Laurel picked up a bright red lipstick and painted her own lips with two quick strokes. "She was way too cute for that kind of thing to happen, so I told her: 'Honey, today is your day, and I don't want anyone taking that away from you.'"

Emily opened her eyes to look at her friend, who'd let a silence fall, and she waited for her to continue.

"And now I want to give you the same, simple advice," Laurel said. She took Emily's hand and looked her straight into the eyes as she concluded, "Follow your heart."

* * *