"Daisy Sheffield, Matthew Shields, Grace Sheldon..."

Florence wrinkled her nose, she knew the first two names on the list, Daisy was an old friend of her Mother's and Matthew was one of the staff member's at Oakwood, she hadn't known him well but she'd invited Levi so it was only right to invite his second in command, the two of them could keep each other company.

"Grace Sheldon?" she asked aloud to Andrew taking a break from poring over the guest list.

He didn't hear her, he had his headphones plugged in and was engrossed in a video, from the sofa next to her Florence picked up a cushion and pelted it at his head.

"Andrew I'm talking to you!"

He looked up with a startled expression, clearly not remembering that he had a crazy fiancee.

"Who's Grace Sheldon? I thought we went through the list and added all the recent names just yesterday, her's is written in your handwriting and our seating arrangements are all done where will she sit?"

He put down his phone looking bemused.

"Grace was in Johannesburg with me, she came on the trip we hadn't talked since so I didn't put her name down but she messaged me yesterday telling me she was going to be around here to visit her cousin so I invited her, is that a problem?"

It was a problem in her overactive imagination.

He raised his eyebrows sardonically.

"Really Flo, you think I have eyes for another girl when I've proposed to you twice and want this wedding more than anything?"

She was being oversensitive, but the girl with the stars on her face who had entered Andrew's room came into her mind, that was Grace, she was slender and gorgeous of course.

But she wasn't going to dwell on that fact, she wasn't going to stray down the path of thinking she was ugly or fat because that would be self-destructive behavior turning back the clock.

"Of course it's fine, I just wanted to know who she was is all, we did confirm the seating with the hall but luckily for Grace there's a seat next to Levi that hasn't been taken!" she projected as much bravado into her voice as she could muster.

"Great then slot her in there, now Marcel's coming over in" he checked his watch.

"Damn it! He's coming over in five minutes we need to go and pick up this specialist shoe polish because he's only gone and got dust on those expensive shoes he's wearing and your Mum mentioned something to me about you helping her make dinner?"

Florence nodded, she wanted to spend some time with her Mum who she hardly saw these days between fittings and scheduling for the big day, she saw more of her Father who joined her and Andrew for breakfast every morning.

She vowed to be home for dinner today.

Cooper looked positively radiant as she twirled around in her blue tuile dress, she'd always been beautiful but in her bridesmaids dress with Amberly at her heels in a chiffon purple dress she looked stunning.

"Wow Coops, it might be my wedding but your certainly going to be upstaging me!"

Madame Fleur's Boutique was the best dressmakers shop in Phillipson, Florence had to admit even after enduring prodding and pins misplaced that she had a way with a needle that no one else did, and prices that didn't bankrupt.

The two of them looked an absolute picture, Florence snapped away as Cooper hugged her daughter to her feeling tears in her eyes as she looked at them, she couldn't remember a time where Cooper hadn't been accompanied everywhere by Amberly it was strange to think that it had only been two years.

Once Cooper was undressed and back in her jeans they all left the shop Amberly clutching Florence's hand with her small sticky one, Fleur had sneaked her a lollipop when she thought nobody was looking.

They ended up at the park, watching Amberly as she ran around crazily and made friends with around twelve different children.

"Sam Franco"

"Sorry?"

"Sam Franco, that's the name of Amberly's Father" Cooper stared resolutely forwards like her resolve would fade if she stopped burning holes in the oak tree with her eyes.

Florence had no idea what her response should be, why was Cooper choosing to tell her this now when everything had suddenly started making sense?

"Do you remember him? It's been a while"

Of course she remembered Sam Franco, there probably wasn't a girl in Phillipson who hadn't had a crush on him when he'd first arrived with his mysterious smiles and tanned skin.

He'd arrived with the fair like he did every year, most of the teenage girls who flocked to Marvolo's Fair didn't go for the dodgems or the candyfloss, they went for Sam Franco, he was a massive flirt and Florence had to admit probably the best-looking guy she'd ever seen though that felt like an insult to Andrew, she certainly hadn't ever lusted after him he was just too perfect all angles and smooth skin.

"I didn't mean for anything to happen, he was so far out of my league and I knew he was the type to just be with a different girl every night of the week but I was stupid and I felt insecure, this was when that loser Dave had dumped me and he was so complimentary and charming, we didn't even do anything at first, you were too busy with your book to be with me most of the time so we went on dates, Mum and Dad had no idea that I wasn't with you when I was with him"

Florence felt guilt weigh down on her, this had been her fault she hadn't been there for Cooper enough when she'd been cruelly dumped by text, she knew that now and she'd known it then as she'd frantically tried to piece together the pages of Dysmorphia.

"Then one night I decided that I didn't want to go home, that he maybe really did love me"

Her voice sounded choked but Florence couldn't tell if she was crying because her long brown hair covered her face, she glanced up to check on Amberly and saw she was on the roundabout.

"So it was that night in the caravan that we you know... and after that we still saw each other all the time but I knew things were going to change, summer was ending and it felt different, he was too good for me and I told him that"

"You did what Coops?"

Florence wanted to scream, Cooper actually thought she wasn't good enough for the likes of man-whore Sam?

But maybe calling him that was unfair, she'd thought this story would lead in one direction only, with Sam dumping her best friend and leaving her to deal with a kid all alone... but it didn't seem that black and white.

"I ended it, he was leaving to move on to the next town and it all just became too hard, he wanted to stay in touch with me and said he'd never felt this way about anyone but I pushed him away, I thought he must have repeated the same well-rehearsed line to every single girl he'd ever met"

Florence put her arm around her shaking friend, heartbreak was in the air surrounding her, utter heartbreak, she felt like weeping on Cooper's behalf, she could imagine her trying to be brave and not stutter on her words as she faced Sam.

"So he doesn't know... Cooper tell me he knows about Amberly"

Cooper shook her head looking distraught.

"I took a pregnancy test three months later and found out, he messaged me alot even when he left and called but I blocked his number, you'd come out of your cocoon of silence and become my friend again I thought I didn't need him anymore and then you left and I was all alone with this baby in my stomach and..."

Florence knew what was coming.

"And I still love him Flo, do you know how hard it was for me do you have any idea? I loved him so hard and in such a short space of time, he came back for the annual fair two years in a row and I left town with Amberly and took her to the beach both times, I can't see him because I was the one who stopped him staying I'm the most thick person to ever walk this Earth"

Florence held her as she cried, Amberly had pricked her head up at the noise and she waved at her goddaughter showing that everything was okay that Mummy was okay even though Cooper was far from okay, she made soothing noises and rubbed her shoulder's like her best friend was a small child.

"Coops, I am so sorry that I wasn't there for you, I was in a bad place that's the only excuse I can offer but I'm here now and you've been so very strong I'm going to take care of everything"

Cooper nestled further into the crook of her arm.

Finding a Sam Franco was proving to be impossibly hard, Florence didn't know anything about him and she couldn't very well tell Cooper that she was planning on adding an extra guest to her wedding, he wasn't the piece of crap she'd thought he was before today Sam, he'd been there for Cooper when she hadn't been, she would find him and pray that it would somehow make up for her past mistakes.

If she'd learned anything from Chase's death it was that two people who loved each other should never be separated.