“Mum said you had finally found a girl and yet part of me didn’t believe her…” said Wesley in a voice that was an attempt to mock Jude. “So lovely to meet you Ashleigh…insufferable prick” Wesley continued to mutter under his breath as he stood in the main hall, outside of the sitting room door that he’d slammed shut behind them, more in an act of frustration than anything else.

“Families huh…?” said Ashleigh with a slight giggle to try and relieve some of the tension, as it looked like Wes was ready to explode at any time. His face was now as red as the carpet that run along the floor from the main entrance to the stairway, his right eye was also twitching, a trait that Ashleigh had often noticed as a clear indicator that Wesley was losing his cool.

“Hmmph…” grunted Wesley in response, “If it wasn’t for Pip…I would…I would…I would instruct James to take us home,” he continued.

“Exactly Wes…” said Ashleigh in a calming manner, stepping in front of her friend to look him in the eyes. “You’re here for Pippa…Not your father…not your mother…and most certainly not Jude…you’re here for Pippa…your little sister…it’s her big day Wes…do you honestly think she’d be happy if one of her big brothers weren’t here on her big day?” she explained with a smile.

“I…I…I guess you’re right…” mumbled Wesley, glancing down at the floor as he did so, whilst also allowing the slightest hint of a smile.

“Besides…” started Ashleigh, “I think both you and I went to an AWFUL LOT of trouble to be here… don’t you think,” she said with a giggle, gesturing at her new body before pushing up her new, rather large assets as she smiled.

“Yeah…I guess we have,” stated Wesley, looking up at his best friend with somewhat of a smile on his face.

“This bastard is undressing me with his eyes…I don’t know why…but I can almost feel it,” thought Ashleigh as she felt her face beginning to blush.

“STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!,” she barked as she scowled at Wes.

“Stop…stop what exactly?” mumbled Wesley, as he quickly looked away from her, indicating he knew exactly what she meant.

“You know what I’m talking about…just…stop that right now,” Ashleigh grumbled.

“Mum,” stated Wesley.

“No Wes…I’m not your mum,” replied Ashleigh with a rather bemused look on her face.

“Not you…hey Mum…Aunt Bridget…how nice to see you,” Wesley responded.

Ashleigh spun around, only to notice Vivian approaching the pair, along with a lady who she’d never met before. The lady was clearly Wesley’s Aunt Bridget, as per Wesley’s announcement. She was slightly taller than Vivian, yet not quite as tall as Ashleigh. She was of a slightly larger build than Vivian whilst also looking slightly younger. Her hair was rather thin-looking, yet was jet black and fell just over her shoulders. Her rather large, dark brown eyes peered out from behind the thick frames of her glasses which perched upon her face.

“Ashleigh my dear, I’d like for you to meet Bridget, my sister-in-law,” stated Vivian, almost blanking Wesley altogether as she spoke to Ashleigh, much to Wesley’s disgruntlement.

“How lovely to meet you,” replied Ashleigh with a smile.

“Yes indeed,” replied Bridget as she looked Ashleigh up and down.

“You can definitely tell which side of the family she’s from,” thought Ashleigh.

“Wesley…be a sweet and fetch the rest of the men to the sitting room. Edward will be here very soon and you will all be on your way when he arrives,” stated Vivian as she tossed a quick glance in Wesley’s direction.

“Mum I…I was about to take Ashleigh for a look around the place…” Wesley began to explain, only to be cut off quickly by his mum.

“Very good…your cousins, Lawrence and William are with your Uncle Jasper in his room next door to my room, run along and fetch them, your Aunt Bridget and I  will take care of Ashleigh, thank you,” sneered Vivian.

Wesley glanced at Ashleigh before making his way across the marble floor, across the red carpet and into the door on the right-hand side.

“Come along my dear, we will show you about the place,” stated Vivian with a smile as she linked Bridget with one arm and Ashleigh with the other. “So as you are already aware that is the sitting room…to the right of there you have the dining hall with the kitchen beyond that,” explained Vivian. “The kitchen can also be accessed from that small door to the right of the dining hall, but there will be no need for you to enter…we have people for that dear, it’s fully staffed between the hours of 6 am and 11.30 pm, we have four members of staff who work a shift pattern. Upstairs on this side, you have the library and Alistair’s study,” she continued as she turned around to face the right-hand side of the hall. “That wing of the house is mostly bedrooms… we have six large bedrooms on the ground floor through that door on the right, each with their own bathroom, there is also one further bathroom on the ground floor which can be accessed via the hallway. The doorway on the left is the recreation room, which since the children all moved out has just been left abandoned really. Upstairs on this side, you have a door that leads to a further ten bedrooms, these are a little smaller than the downstairs rooms but they are still adequate, especially as guest rooms, each of those also has an en-suite bathroom as well as another bathroom in the hallway.”

“Wow…that’s…that’s a lot of bedrooms,” stated Ashleigh as she continued to look around, “What’s through there?” she asked, pointing to a door tucked away at the back of the hall below the stairway.

“My favourite place in the world…come dear I’ll show you,” stated Vivian as they began to make their way to the back of the hall.

Vivian opened the door and the trio stepped out into a vast garden that appeared to go on forever. The three of them sat down on a wooden bench that overlooked the garden, a huge, well-maintained lawn sat as the centrepiece with enormous flowerbeds, flanked on either side by a pathway, each with a hedgerow running parallel. At the very end of the garden was a huge pond, as all around the garden, the lights were now beginning to switch on as the sun was starting to set.

“Wow…it’s beautiful out here,” stated Ashleigh as she gazed out across the garden.

“Now you see why it’s my favourite place…Alistair doesn’t come out here very often either… he has his study…I have my garden,” explained Vivian with a huge smile on her face. “This is where Pippa is to be married, the marquee and everything is to be set up tonight, whilst we unwind with a few glasses of wine.”

“Do you…do you maintain all this yourself?” asked Ashleigh her eyes still mesmerized by the beauty of the huge, peaceful garden.

“Here I was thinking you were a rather intelligent young lady…then you ask a stupid question like that,” said Bridget as she began to laugh.

“No, my dear…once over when I was much younger I’d do a little,” answered Vivian with a giggle, “Nowadays I have a gardener that comes every few weeks to look after it all year round…but it also means these days I can just sit back and enjoy its peacefulness and its beauty.”

Just as the three ladies were enjoying the tranquillity of the garden, Wesley emerged from the house now wearing a black suit with a blue shirt and black tie and approached where they were sitting.

“Mum…I just wanted to let you know that Edward and Warren have arrived and so we’ll all be heading off soon,” stated Wesley, speaking to his mother and yet unable to peel his eyes away from Ashleigh.

“Okay, thank you, dear…Pippa has been warned to stay out of the way I presume?” replied Vivian.

“Yes…Pip is upstairs with Tiffany and Rose who are under strict instructions to ensure Pippa remains in her room,” answered Wesley.

“Very well then…” replied Vivian as the three women got to their feet, “Ladies…shall we…” she added, once more linking the arms of both Ashleigh and Bridget before the three of them followed Wesley back inside the house and to the sitting room where the men were congregated.

 “I remember when this was for your wedding…seems like only yesterday,” stated Alistair, nudging Jude’s arm, to which Jude nodded along and smiled as he looked at the slim, blonde lady standing by his side.

“Elle I presume,” thought Ashleigh as she continued to look around the room, however, she quickly stopped scanning the room and her heart almost skipped a beat as she noticed, standing all alone in the corner of the room was James. As Ashleigh continued to almost stare at James, he looked up and realised she was looking in his direction, to which he very quickly tipped his hat and smiled. To Ashleigh, that moment seemed to go in super slow motion, as their eyes met and she smiled back at him. To her, it was like the entire room had emptied and they were the last two remaining in there, yet in reality, they weren’t. Ashleigh’s little thought bubble was soon squashed as she walked straight into the back of someone.

“Hey…watch where you’re bloody going,” exclaimed a rather tall, well-dressed gentleman.

“I’m so incredibly sorry Edward, I don’t know what happened there,” stated Wesley in an unusually apologetic manner.

“Edward….Oh…Pippa’s fiance,”  thought Ashleigh as she began to blush.

“Yes…erm…sorry about that…I was…I guess those glasses of champagne got to me more than I realised…phew,” mumbled Ashleigh before letting out a nervous giggle as she delicately placed the back of her hand on her forehead.

“It’s erm…quite alright…I guess…no harm done and all that,” replied Edward, letting out a slight, forced smile. One that cried out that he was annoyed yet trying to stay in high spirits.

“Ashleigh…what has gotten into you?” whispered Wesley, his voice sounding rather annoyed.

Before Ashleigh could answer, however, she was interrupted by the sound of a glass being tapped rather loudly.

“EVERYONE, EVERYONE, PLEASE LISTEN UP,” shouted Alistair before the assembly fell silent. As everyone’s attention turned to Alistair, a young, blonde-haired lady walked around handing out glasses of what looked to be scotch, to all those in attendance.

“Now that I have everyone’s attention…I would just like to say a few words,” stated Alistair. “Now…before we gentlemen get on our way…I would like to offer a…pre-marital toast to the soon-to-be newlyweds Edward and Pippa,” he continued as he raised his glass.

Everyone followed Alistair’s lead in raising their glasses,

“To Edward and Pippa,” shouted everyone before downing their drinks.

“Wow…that hits the back off your throat…hard,” thought Ashleigh, trying not to cough.

“And Edward…Enjoy your last night of freedom young man…trust me…” stated Alistair as he gave a side-eyed glance to Vivian who stood beside him, much to the amusement of the men in the room.

“Why…why don’t I find that funny anymore…I would have once…” thought Ashleigh, rather puzzled.

“Let the evening commence…” stated Alistair before giving Vivian a peck on the cheek as she began to whisper to him.

Ashleigh looked around the room, only to notice that each pair that were coupled off were saying goodbye to their partners and giving them a kiss before they left. Awkwardly, Ashleigh stood in front of Wesley,

“Erm…enjoy your…erm…evening…Wes” mumbled Ashleigh, standing roughly an arm's length from her best friend.

“Yeah…erm..you too Ash…don’t get too drunk,” replied Wesley with a slight chuckle, causing Ashleigh to giggle.

Ashleigh’s amusement, however, soon came to an abrupt end when she noticed Vivian approaching with a camera in her hand, stopping beside Wesley.

“Come on…let’s get a snap of you two,” stated Vivian.

“Erm…no thanks mum…you know I hate my picture being taken…” muttered Wesley.

“Nonsense dear, come on, stand together…” Vivian ordered.

Wesley and Ashleigh moved closer together and stood side by side rather awkwardly.

“No this won’t do…come on Wes…hold her close…I want this picture to show how much you mean to each other,” barked Vivian.

“Sorry,” whispered Wesley in Ashleigh’s ear before he placed his arm around her slender waist and pulled her in close.

“That’s more like it…now smile you two,” stated Vivian as the couple tried their best to smile for their picture.

“Well…that must look awkward,” thought Ashleigh as she began to pull away from Wesley’s embrace.

“Come on Wesley…one more,” stated Vivian, “give your girlfriend a kiss before you leave…I’m sure she wants you too,” she added with a smile on her face and the camera at the ready.

“No…honestly…I really don’t want to thank you all the same…” thought Ashleigh as she stood awkwardly, almost appearing like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

“Mum…I really don’t think so…” stated Wesley as he turned and went to walk away.

“Don’t be shy Wes…when we were your age, your father and I couldn’t keep our hands off of each other,” stated Vivian with a giggle.

“Oh…my…god…not what I wanted or needed to envision…I think I’m gonna be sick…is it the thought of kissing Wes…or the thought of Alistair…and….Viv…I can’t even…just no,” thought Ashleigh.

Upon hearing the words of his mother, Wesley stopped dead in his tracks and looked to the sky momentarily and took a deep breath.

Without warning, Wesley turned back around, grabbed Ashleigh around the waist and pulled her in close to him.

“HOLY SHIT WES…DON’t YOU DARE…DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!” screamed Ashleigh internally as she looked Wesley in the eyes.

Before Ashleigh could even take another breath, Wesley’s eyes were closed and his lips were firmly pressed up against hers.

“OH MY FUCKING GOD! MY BEST FRIEND….WESLEY…WESLEY…IS…is…he’s kissing me…this…maybe…this isn’t…” thought Ashleigh, closing her eyes as she felt Wesley’s hand, firm and yet gently placed on the back of her head, his other arm wrapped securely around her waist holding her close to him. That split second, felt like an hour had passed by as Ashleigh just let herself go with the moment. This was like something she had never experienced before, even as Aaron. Aaron had always been the one in the position that Wesley was in right now. Wesley held her so close to him as he kissed her, so many new sensations flooded her new body, the feeling of her breasts being pushed up against Wesley as he held her so close, it was almost like she could feel his heart beating as well as her own.

Ashleigh was so deep in Wesley’s embrace that she never even noticed the flash as Vivian snapped a picture of the couple, deep in one another's embrace.

Eventually, Wesley broke their embrace and pulled away slowly, leaving Ashleigh still standing with her eyes firmly closed.

“What a beautiful moment caught on camera,” stated Vivian rather gleefully.

Ashleigh slowly opened her eyes to see Wesley still standing before her, now holding her hands so sweetly and tenderly.

“I…I…I…” muttered Ashleigh,

“Shit! I’m…actually lost for words…what…the fuck…just happened,” she pondered as she tried t regain her thoughts. That was when she began to look around, nervously, noticing that almost every eye in the room was fixed upon the couple.

Within a matter of moments, however, the men began to assemble, with Jude taking Wesley by the arm, they left the room with James closely behind them. That was when Ashleigh noticed that James, as he left the room, didn’t quite look his usual, assured self. Instead, he chose to leave the room without so much as a glance in Ashleigh’s direction.

“I…I need a cigarette,” stated Ashleigh.

“Oh…I didn’t realise you smoked,” said Vivian with a rather shocked look on her face.

“Yeah…I get it, filthy habit, it’s bad for me,” giggled Ashleigh, still trying to process what had happened with Wesley.

“Oh no dear, I was simply going to say that the only room in the house that smoking is permitted is here in the sitting room. That is the rule even Alistair abides by with those foul-smelling cigars of his. I don’t even allow him in my garden,” Vivian laughed before the sound of a buzzer could be heard and the blonde-haired lady who had served drinks earlier rushed across to pick up what looked like an intercom and pressed a button before whispering in Vivian’s ear.

 Vivian then turned to look at Elle. “Be a dear and fetch Pippa will you darling, I think the coast is clear now and her nail lady has just arrived” she instructed.