Summer dawned on us, and so ended our eventful final year of school.

I was going to miss the academy. Not just because it had been my home for so many years, but because it had been a sanctuary. There, I had found a family. We were dysfunctional as any should be, but we had loved one another greatly. We'd laughed, teased, fought, cried, and reconciled within those walls.

Packing our bags for the last time had been emotional.

Parting took a long time. Although we promised that we would all keep in touch, we all had different paths to walk in life. I knew that said paths would cross again in time, but it was difficult to wait for that to happen. It might have been mere months or maybe even years. As I travelled home from that place, I realised that even minutes felt like an eternity without them.

It hurt me deeply to know I could no longer wake up in the morning and see Jenny smiling at me.

Never again would I see that Meg had spent the entire night reading and had forgotten to go to sleep.

I would even miss seeing Lisa and Chrissy fight over their nail polishes.

It wasn't always perfect, but those imperfections were what made it special.

As it happened, I didn't have to wait long at all to see the other girls.

Jenny and I had often speculated on the relationship between our parents. Given we were such good friends, it made sense that they ought to be on excellent terms. If they'd hated each other, then neither would have allowed for such a strong bond to form between their children. The true nature of it all was revealed the moment I arrived home.

They were getting married in the summer.

Ridiculous though it seemed, not to mention rushed, things soon added up.

When we were away at school, Dad had often travelled to meet up with Madeleine. At first, it had just been to discuss how we were getting along, and to confirm any plans that Jenny and I had related to them concerning where we might spend our summer breaks. Out of concern for how we may react to the revelation, they'd concealed it from us until we were out of school. Perhaps they thought if we hated it, it might cause a rift between us, and it would make sharing a dorm with one another a total nightmare. Or maybe they'd worried it might cause a scandal that our classmates would spread to their parents. Whatever their reasoning, they'd seen fit to keep their love lives a secret until they couldn't hide it any longer.

To know that at last Jenny would legally be my sister was more than I could ever have asked for. Madeleine already loved me better than my real mother ever had. That she was in love with my father, too, was just a happy bonus as far as I was concerned. It meant that, no matter where life might take us, Jenny and I would always have a bond beyond that of former classmates, and that nothing could tear us apart ever again.

There was only one thing that I didn't approve of; that Will's mother had been in on it.

It wasn't clear whether Dad and Madeline had asked, or if Mrs Darcy had offered, but the wedding was to be held in the grounds of their home. It was a convenient location given how close it was to home for us, and it was certainly large enough to accommodate a wedding reception for all our friends and family, but I had to wonder whether Mrs Darcy had been in cahoots with our parents before or after she'd encouraged me to date her son. If it had been before, then she'd hidden the secret masterfully. If it had been after, then I had to wonder if her desire to see Will and I together had influenced her decision.

Her generosity had earned her family an invitation to the ceremony which, given it was their house, seemed only fair. It also meant that I had my boyfriend close by to be my wedding date and that I wouldn't be forced to dance with any distant male relations or, worse, Lewis. I was exceptionally conscious of giving him the wrong impression now that I had Will's feelings to consider.

So, what ought to have been my last few weeks of relaxation while I packed up my things and waited on news of my university placement turned into a whirlwind of wedding preparations.

In a way, I was grateful. The auditions and recitals at my top choices had been gruelling and I'd needed something to get my mind off them. Madeleine had already taken care of the flowers, wedding favours, her dress, and the music. She'd also found a selection of bridesmaids' dresses but had been waiting on a fitting with me and Jenny so that we'd have some say in the matter.

None of the options were aubergine, and I was eternally grateful that my stepmother was a woman of impeccable taste.

The day of the wedding soon arrived in mid-August. The weather stayed clear and warm, which was a blessing because our silver-grey gowns were made of light, thin fabric which wouldn't have stood a chance against the hardy English rain. As glamourous as they made us both feel, we were nothing to the vision that was the blushing bride.

Madeleine's blonde hair was up in romantic curls and her dress had a draped bodice embellished with crystals. They glittered throughout the sweeping train and flowing veil, making her shimmer like an angel under the midday sun as she made her way to her groom.

I couldn't remember ever seeing my father so happy.

His face lit up when Madeleine walked down the aisle towards him. She was blushing like a teenager, and I wondered how I hadn't seen it earlier. Throughout the ceremony, Jenny and I stood at Madeleine's side. I was trying to avoid eye contact with Eric, who was Dad's best man. He was trying to make me laugh. It wasn't going to work. Nothing was going to distract me from my duties; not as a bridesmaid or a daughter to two of the most wonderful people it had ever been my pleasure to know.

'You may kiss the bride,' the presiding minister announced.

The ceremony ended too quickly. I could have stood there and watched Dad and Madeline vow their eternal love to one another forever. I'd always dreaded the idea of another stepparent in my life. I'd seen the people my mother attracted and, well, I'd seen my mother. I'd spent so much time worrying about the worst sort of woman my father may attract that I hadn't thought about the best. And Madeleine really was the best.

I was so happy for them both.

I followed them proudly back down the aisle, Jenny's hand in mine. She spared a smile for Charlie along the way, while mine was all for Will. I had nothing else in my life left to wish or hope for; I already had everything that I'd ever want or need.

While we took photographs with the rest of the immediate wedding party, the staff rearranged the lawns to make space for dining tables set with silverware and champagne buckets, then instructed the band on when to begin. Guests were encouraged to take hors d'ouevres from trays and to enjoy the free-flowing alcohol while they waited for the reappearance of the bride and groom. By the time we were done with all the formalities and were free to mingle before dinner, conversations were in full swing and everyone was having a good time without us.

Jenny and I took turns to kiss Madeleine and Dad on the cheek before they let us escape to track down our elusive boyfriends. Before we'd made it five steps, Eric intercepted us. 'You know,' he said with a grin, 'it's tradition for the best man to snog a bridesmaid.'

'Traditions were made to be broken,' I said with a sweet smile. 'Like your hand will be if it comes anywhere near me.'

'All right, all right, I get it,' he laughed. 'You're a kept woman, now. You have a boyfriend.'

'Eric, I was always kept. Kept away from you. Not because of a boyfriend, but because I had self-respect.'

'Ouch.' He placed a hand over his heart. 'You know how to wound a man.'

'I do. Try to keep that in mind tonight, won't you?' I asked. 'And, if you insist on hitting on anyone here, remember that they're the guest of your boss, and that you could get fired if you offend them.'

'Good point,' he said. Eric's resolve to behave didn't last long. He looked past me. I followed his gaze. It had fallen on Amanda. 'Excuse me, I think I just spotted someone I need to very respectfully and non-offensively hit on.'

As he left, I considered going after him and trying to save Amanda from his advances but, if experience had taught me anything, it was that I shouldn't intervene in affairs of the heart. Besides, after the way she'd handled Gideon right into a fountain, I trusted that Amanda could deal with Eric if he stepped out of line.

I also trusted that Eric would enjoy it immensely.