There's a niggling part of my brain that's worried now that Lottie and I are engaged, that's it; she finally has the dazzling ring she's coveted since childhood, so why actually go the whole hog and get married? My biggest fear is that she'll never become Mrs Flether, and worse still, she never had the intention of doing so. 

Evidence?

The complete lack of bridal magazines. Since I popped the question, her excitement has cooled and she hasn't talked about any wedding planning apart from when I raise the subject. As far as I know, she'd much prefer a long engagement, waiting a few years until Sera's grown a little more before taking our vows. I, on the other hand, wanted us to become legally hitched sooner rather than later. Else, what was the point in getting engaged? 

"She regrets it," Mick grumbles. 

Frowning, I look over at him as he talks to the ceiling. We're both experiencing women problems thanks to our individual situations. I was worried about Lottie, and that was a valid concern, however, what Mick was experiencing was wholly different and probably needed more attention than my own issues. "Well, what did you expect?" I challenge him. "You were practically forced to kiss the woman you hate by the woman you love and you actually thought that the woman you hate would be ok with that?"

When Mick text me to tell me all about his 'situation', I'd been confused about what exactly he wanted me to say and do. One minute he was rationalising the kiss he and Lyanna shared, stating that it was just a Christmas thing because they were stood under some mistletoe- which, I must add, he strung up- but in the next moment, he was reading far too much into it, wondering why Lyanna hadn't spoken to him about the 'encounter' and wondering if she regretted it. At this point in time, Mick's of the opinion that she's regretting it.

"Or maybe she's in denial," he suggests, his facial expressions changing ever so slightly to mirror his confusion. "I mean, that kiss was... you know?"

"Strange yet sensual?" I ask, cocking my eyebrow in his direction. A shit-eating grin spreads across his face. I can't help but laugh. "That's how my first kiss with Lottie went."

Mick sighs heavily, that smile of his disappearing as quickly as it appeared. Man, was he overthinking the whole thing. "But we hate each other so really, we shouldn't be kissing. She's just pretending it didn't happen because we have to work together, too. And anyway, I overheard her on the phone to someone called Max earlier, saying that she loved him and that she'd see him when she got home. I think she has a boyfriend."

"Why do you sound disappointed with that?" I comment. I wasn't expecting an answer and from the way Mick chewed his bottom lip, I wasn't going to receive one anyway. Seeing an opportunity to change the subject, I decided to fill him in on the events of my life these past few weeks, knowing that he'd much rather take the piss out of me than vice versa. "My mother and I are on better terms now."

I explain how a day at the spa was a huge development in our relationship but all Mick wants to know is what treatments I got so he could call me a girl. I told him to get fucked. He was a little more sympathetic about May and what she'd been through and how that had impacted her life for all these years. He liked my sisters and treated them as if they were his own family, but with May, he was always more protective and until recently, I didn't understand why he was like that around her. 

"She always looked so sad all the time," he says, shrugging his shoulder. "Like a bird with a broken wing. "

When I go on to give him the lowdown on our trip to Dublin, Mick makes the effort to sit upright in his chair and give me his full, undivided attention. I start with the fact that I had invited my family and that Harlow Delaney and my mum got on like a house on fire. It legit scared the shit out of me that they became friendly that quickly. After that, I tell him about mine and Lottie's sexcapades in the bathroom but Mick doesn't seem interested in that. His eyes, however, grew ten times their normal size when I mentioned that Martha and Sam emerged from one bathroom, holding hands. 

"Ah, fuck," Mick sighs. "That's it. I'm going to have to hate Sam now."

I scoff. "Why?"

"You know I think of Martha like my own," Mick tells me. "And if they're having sex, I can't be his mate. I have to hate him. As should you."

"I'll hate him if he hurts her," I reply, shrugging my shoulder. "She says they're not a thing, anyway. They're testing the water, is what she said yesterday."

Mick looks sceptical. "If that's what she says. Doesn't change the fact that I've decided to hate him, though."

Rolling my eyes, I drop the Sam and Martha topic and move on. I can't help but gush as I recount the enormously romantic proposal. Of course, it's not at all romantic but it was quintessentially us and that, to me, was the most important thing. Mick, of course, laughs at the fact that Martha walked in on me naked, telling me that I was about to pay for a lifetime of therapy. 

"When's the big day, then?" Mick casually asks before then adding, "Who will your best man be?"

I feel the side of my mouth quirk upwards. "Would you get jealous if I said that it wasn't you?"

"Absolutely," he answers, feigning hurt at the prospect that I may ask someone else. "But since you asked, I'd be happy to be your best man."

"You know I didn't ask, right?" I point out, not that it's much use. We both know that Mick will end up being my best man. "You might be eighty by the time the wedding happens though."

When Mick questioned me about my comment, I share with him my worries that Lottie may already have changed her mind about the whole idea. Or worse still, she never thought about going through with it in the first place. Mick tells me not to be so fucking stupid. He then tells me to give Lottie time; she'll start to make plans soon enough, he assures me. She probably just wants to get Christmas out of the way, and then survive New Year's and make sure everything with Sera's heart is ok before putting her mind to something else. On top of that, the new venture was about to get off the ground now that she and that American arsehole had stopped fighting and sorted out their differences. 

"They've asked Saunders and Taylor to take on the project," Mick announces happily. "I landed us the contract and if all goes well, Clark Reiss might ask us to get involved with future projects."

I nod. "That'll mean maybe going to America," I remind him. "Is your dad thinking of opening an office out there?"

"It's something they used to talk about but now, not so much," Mick mutters. His eyes linger to the office across from his, where Lyanna is busy at work, her assistant handing her concept boards to approve. "Expansion is still on his mind. I think he's waiting to see how we handle Charlotte's venture first and then decide whether we're trusted enough to take over the reins."

"You're using the term 'we' a lot there, Mick," I can't help but tease him. He deserves it for some of the comments he made about Lottie and me and our bathroom sex in Dublin. "Do you like the sound of you and Lyanna being a 'we'?"

He flips me off. "There are times when I seriously wonder why I'm still friends with you."

The banter continues for a few minutes until a knock comes at the door. A beaming Lyanna barely fills half the doorway, her face looking strangely beautiful with that smile on her features. You could swear her eyes were jade in colour when she was like this, compared to the intense, penetrating forest green that they seem when she's angry. It's a huge contrast to what I'm used to. 

"Hi, Isaac," she greets me politely. When she looks over my shoulder at Mick, her smile falters slightly and her eyes dart to the floor. "Sorry to disturb but I'm heading out now-"

"Hot date?" Mick's words cut her off, some hostility in the way he asks his question. Even I want to kick him. 

Lyanna shakes her head and rubs her temple. "No. I have some last minute Christmas shopping to do, that's all."

"Really?" Mick snorts. Yes, he's being a total arse right now. "Well, I hope you and Max have a lovely time shopping. You can go. I'll finish checking the boards with whats-her-name."

"Her name is Amanda," Lyanna reminds him, her shoulders sagging slightly as they fold in on themselves. Her arms wrap around her waist comfortingly and her hardened stare lifts from the ground. "You know her name, Michael, so don't pretend. And since I have your permission to leave- not that I need it- I'll go. Isaac, Merry Christmas to you, Charlotte, Martha and Sera. I hope you have a lovely start to twenty-eighteen, too."

I say the same in return and watch as she leaves, heads into her office and shrugs on her coat. She places her bag across her body and pats the pockets of her coat, pulling out a pair of gloves and a woolly hat. The temperature wasn't so mild now that winter has descended on us. When Lyanna is sure she has everything, she exits her office, waving at me as she heads for the stairwell and disappears from view. Once I'm sure she can't see me anymore, I pick up a paperback book and throw it at Mick, missing his head by a fraction of an inch. The book knocks over a photo frame that sits on the windowsill behind my best friend. 

"That was for acting like a major fucking twat," I explain when Mick pointedly looks at me. "She was being perfectly nice-"

Mick growls. "Nice? She's the devil."

"I don't think-"

"She kissed me and then hasn't spoken to me since," Mick raises his voice, earning the attention of a few staff who start to stare into the office. He glares at them until they scuttle back to do their work. Lowering his voice, he mutters, "She infuriates me."

I nod in agreement. "I can see that. By the way, I'm pretty sure you said that you were the one that kissed her. Something about wanting to make Lydia jealous. With that reasoning, I don't think you can claim the moral high ground on this. Just accept the fact that you like her. Do us all a favour."

"I don't like her," Mick lies. While I'm sure he wholeheartedly believes that he's telling the truth, I can see past this. I predict that, by this time next year, they're going to be together. Mick's eye twitches as he continues to watch me, knowing that I'm probably on the verge of lecturing him about his situation. So, he does the one thing that guarantees to stop that from happening. "What if Charlotte really doesn't want to get married? What'll you do then?"

Here's the midweek update! I hope you enjoyed it. 

If I have time, I'm going to write a short (like, 1 chapter) story about Emma being in Paris with Hugo. It'll be a bit different to the usual. The working title is Paris After Dark. Want to guess what the content may be?

There isn't much left of this story and I feel like it's just crept up on me! This makes me super sad. I'll be updating on Sunday and there'll be an extended A/N- for those of you who want to know what I'll be doing after BoB (the finer details), you may want to read that because I'll be discussing timelines and deadlines for my next projects. 

IN THE MEANTIME, if anyone fancies being in with a chance to create a character for a story of mine, please go and read my chapter in A Wattpad Chrimbo (via my reading list on my profile) and suggest a title for the story (think of it as a chapter name suggestion). The last time I let my readers create characters, we ended up with Keira! And she's amazing. 

Will we find Keira 2.0? I hope so!

See you on Sunday, my peeps.