The next few days we stuck pretty close to home. The boys had decided they were all going to go to the same New Year's party in London, so we'd be together for that. It was apparently the party to attend, all of the A-listers would be there, and invitations were impossible to get.

Management had been trying since November to get the boys to perform at a huge televised event, but once the others had heard from Teddy about the incident with Mitzi, they'd all declined through their reps, their official reason being "previous commitments"; however, they'd made sure that everyone involved knew what the real reason was.

On the 29th, Rebecca, Teddy's new publicist, texted him to ask if we knew what I was wearing to the party. Teddy was the only one of UK Crush taking a date, so her job was relatively easy. He came to find me in the back garden where I was pruning rose bushes, phone in hand, asking if I knew what I was going to wear.

"Um, oh, fuck, no, I don't. That's really bad, isn't it?" I asked him. He texted her quickly. She texted back almost immediately. He read it and made a face.

"It's not good," he said, looking at me. "You need to find something, like today."

"Shit," I said. "Is anything even open? And what kind of dress? A cocktail dress? A ballgown?"

He looked at me and shrugged. "What's the difference?"

I looked at him fondly. "You're so cute," I said, reaching up to kiss him. "A cocktail dress is usually short, you know, showing a lot of leg, like to go out for cocktails? And a ballgown is long, like in Cinderella, what she wore to the ball?"

"Oh," he said. He texted some more, then waited.

A text dinged back. He read it, a smile spreading across his face. "Yes!" he shouted, fist pumping the air. "A cocktail dress it is!" He grabbed me, swinging me around.

"You're awfully excited about a dress, mister," I remarked. He kissed me, hard, bending my neck back.

"I get to see my girl in a fucking cocktail dress," he announced to the rose bushes.

I laughed, kissing him back. "First I have to find one, though."

"Well, let's find one, then," he said. "Go change."

"Oh, but I wanted it to be a surprise," I said. "If you come, you'll see it."

"Well, someone has to go with you," he said reasonably. "You can't just get a dress with no one's opinion but the shop clerk's, can you?

"Wait, I have an idea," he said. "Hold on a tick. I mean, go change, let me figure this out."

I went in, put my hair up, showered off the dirt, and got dressed. Fifteen minutes later I was ready to go, but Teddy was still in his sweats.

"What's up?" I asked, touching his Rolling Stones T-shirt. "You're not ready."

"I'm not going with you," he said. "Came up with something better.

"I talked to Geth, and he asked Janelle if she wanted to go to the party, and she said yes."

I clapped my hands and jumped on him. "Yay!" I nearly screamed. He hugged me, smiling at my joy. "I won't be the only girl, and it's going to be Janelle!" Janelle was Gethin's sister, and very nearly the only female I knew in England.

"She'll officially be Geth's date, and she needs a new dress, too, so the car's coming for you, then you're going to pick her up, and you're going shopping together. Hopefully you'll find something today, get it altered tomorrow, pick it up on the 31st, and everything will be perfect," he said, smiling. "Plus, she's a fashion design major, so she'll know exactly where to go and what to buy, too.

"So who's a genius?" he asked with a grin, pointing at himself with both fingers. I sat in his lap, putting my arms around his neck and kissing him over and over. I hugged him tightly.

"Mmm, I love you, I love you, Theodore Shelley," I told him softly. "You've made my life into a fairy tale, nothing less. Seven months ago I was a waitress at a bar on La Cienega Boulevard, and now I'm shopping for a cocktail dress in London to go to the swankiest New Year's Eve party in England. Because of you." I kissed him again.

"And you know that I wouldn't care if all we were going to do was stay right here and watch TV and drink champagne with the cats on our laps, right?" I whispered into his ear before kissing it.

He nodded, pressing his ear to my mouth. "Kiss me again," he murmured, holding me tighter. I obliged, sliding my tongue into his ear after. He exhaled softly, putting his hand under my shirt.

His phone buzzed. He sighed, checking it. "Car's here."

He kissed me, hugged me, handed me my coat, and walked to the door with me. He gently patted my bottom as I walked out. "Have fun, darling. Have dinner with Janelle, and don't come home until you've bought the most outrageous dress in London."

He waved as I got in the car, kissing his fingertips before turning his hand towards me.

Janelle had cut her red hair into a sleek bob, which suited her sharp features and accentuated her gorgeous eyes, green like her brother's. We had a fabulous afternoon of boutique hopping, a brand new experience for me, where price tags had no meaning, we were recognized everywhere we went, and given the very best service.

I found several dresses that I thought were perfect at the first store, but Janelle nixed them, saying for one reason or another that they weren't "perfect". So the search went on. We actually had tea and sandwiches delivered to one of the shops, which I assumed would be frowned upon; not only was it not, the owner of the shop insisted on paying for our food. I felt nearly compelled to buy something at this store, but no; Janelle grabbed my hand and we sailed gaily out of there, too.

Finally, we found a sparkly magenta dress with a plunging neckline, scalloped hem and an open back that Janelle approved. It clung to me, giving me an hourglass figure that I'd never had before, or at least that I'd never accentuated before. It was a size smaller than I expected, which shocked me. It surprised Janelle too.

"You weren't this small when I saw you in September, were you?" she asked me outside the dressing room. I shook my head.

"I was really sick last month, for a few weeks, couldn't eat anything," I lied. "I know I lost a lot of weight. I've been gaining it back, but not fast enough, I guess," I said with a laugh.

"Well, you look outstanding, if waif-thin is what you're going for," she announced.

"I'm not, but it'll do for now," I said, smiling. "You don't think it's too short?"

She looked at me. "Are you kidding? You should be going at least an inch shorter, but I guess you won't consider that?"

I shook my head.

I asked her, "Have you decided?"

"I think so," she said in her sing-song Welsh lilt.

"The green?" I asked.

She nodded. "You like it?" she asked.

I nodded, touched that my opinion mattered to her. "I think you look gorgeous in it, and it brings out your eyes. You're going to be the prettiest woman there."

She hugged me. "Thanks for that, Tink. You're the sweetest."

She took a deep breath. "Now, for shoes."

"But I have perfectly good shoes," I objected.

"No, no, we need new shoes," she declared. "Come on!"

An hour later, with new shoes, measured for alterations on our dresses, we sat at a pub and ordered fish and chips for dinner, and devoured all of it. While we were eating, I got a text from Teddy, telling me that Melanie had agreed to come and do my hair and make-up on New Year's Eve, and that she'd be at our house at five o'clock. That was very kind of her, as I was sure she had her own plans for the evening. Things were falling into place.

As we were settling into a cafe for coffee and dessert, I got another text from Teddy, telling me that we had dinner reservations at one of the trendiest restaurants in London, the name of which meant nothing to me, for eight o'clock. I mentioned the name to Janelle, who squealed with delight. I told Teddy, and he lol'ed back to me. I told him I'd be home within an hour.

I said good night to Janelle at her house, hugged her, kissed her, and told her I'd see her in two days.

Teddy was waiting for me inside the door. He grabbed me by the jaw and kissed me long and hard, murmuring that he'd missed me. I took off my coat and put my arms around his waist, kissing him back, telling him I'd missed him too.

I realized that this must be what other people felt on a regular basis, going off to work or whatever, coming home and greeting people they'd left all day. What a wonderful feeling, to miss someone and know that you'd see them in a few short hours. Conversely, how awful to lose someone, to death or whatever, and miss him or her, and know that the feeling of return, of homecoming, would never come.

I hugged him to me tighter, jumping up into his arms. In my lightened state, he didn't even stagger, he just grabbed me up. "You always smell so delicious," he murmured into my hair.

"Did you eat?" I asked, lifting my head to look at him.

"I finished the stroganoff," he replied. "More importantly, did you? Hmm?"

"Janelle and I demolished three plates of fish and chips," I answered with a smile. "And we found dresses which are being altered as we speak, and shoes, too. I spent a small fortune of your money, you'll be glad to know." I smiled at him.

"Great," he responded. "Glad to know you can follow directions. Now, you must be chilled to the bone. Go take a shower." He was smiling a huge smile, full dimple treatment, which was weird, and he turned and gave my bottom a squeeze as I left.

I went into the bedroom, and found a trail of rose petals going into the bathroom. I followed them, and found the bathroom lit up with candles, the bathtub filled up, bubbles everywhere, jets gently swirling, more rose petals in the tub, with a bottle of wine and a glass sitting on the edge. I turned to see him in the doorway, hands clasped behind him, grinning.

"Surprise," he said softly.

"Wow, this is a surprise," I said, laughing and hugging him. "What's all this for? Is December 29th something romantic in England that I don't know about?"

"I've just felt like shit since I ruined your last attempt at a bath," he said, releasing me. "I wanted to rectify that, is all. So get your clothes off, hop in, relax, and enjoy, yeah? I'll build a fire and wait for you out there; we can watch some telly or something before bed."

"You mean you're not going to join me?" I asked, surprised. I looked at him.

"No, this is for you, this isn't just about us having a new place to shag," he insisted. "Though I might come and keep you company for a bit, later, if that's all right."

"Okay," I said. He kissed me warmly and left.