A/N: Before you begin reading this, please take note that it has been QUITE awhile since I've written for this story. Please excuse any errors in the storyline. Personally, I'm just very happy to be picking it up again!

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Scarlett's POV:

The next few days passed without event and Ellie's wedding was coming along quickly. What happened with Brian in the parking lot weighed heavily on my mind and I tried dismissing it with nonchalance, but it was difficult. I often found Tristan with a dark, pensive expression on his face. It worried me to think of what he was thinking. My past with Brian was a violent one, with only a few good memories, and I wanted to leave it in the past. I began to doubt my decision in coming back for Ellie's wedding, but put a halt to them. I was not going to let some class A asshole like Brian interfere with my best friend's happiness. No, siree.

Today I found myself sitting in Ellie's living room with Tristan by my side -- with the remote. It was a man thing, I guess, to always have the remote in hand. He had some sports channel on and I tried to keep my expression interested, although I was more interested in his body beside me. He was incredibly warm and it was all I could do to stop myself from snuggling into him for a nap. The past few weeks, months had been unbelievable. I look back prior to my trip to Ireland and I realize how immature…how selfish I had been all for some inheritance from my father. Since then I had matured and I know Tristan was a main cause for that. I was falling in love with him. No. I was already in love with him. His confession on the plane had shook me with fear and something else -- delight. And what had happened in the room a week before was amazing. I cherished that memory, knowing it had helped erase the tainted memories from my past.

"Yes!" Tristan shouted and I snapped out of my reverie to notice some football team had scored. His face was lit with good humor and it made me smile. He noticed.

"What are ye smiling at, lass?"

"Just your intense enthusiasm at a game," I said, a laugh falling after my words.

Tristan frowned, "Aye, and I'm sure your enthusiasm for shopping is just as fierce."

I smiled, "Probably," not delving into his bait.

Tristan shrugged and returned his attention to the game on the screen. It was football and although Tristan had not watched a lot of this American sport in his life, he was fast becoming a big fan.

Ellie launched herself in the room, laughing at something that Donovan had said in the other room. I had to admit she looked positively beautiful. The excitement of the wedding was flushing her cheeks, with it only being two days away. I could see the excitement in her eyes, giving them a fire I began to envy. I glanced at Tristan from beneath my eyelashes and sighed lightly. Tristan heard the sigh and cast a look down upon me. I shrugged.

"Scarrrrrletttt," Ellie drew out my name in a singsong voice, "do come here."

I smiled, sensing something behind those words. I patted Tristan on the thigh and he came to attention -- mostly noticing where my hand had been -- and cast me another look. I nodded in the direction of Ellie and he sank back into the couch. Men.

I walked over to her and she latched onto my arm, dragging me back into the laundry room.

"Yesss?" I sang back once she dragged me into the small room with walls painted a pale pink. So like Ellie.

"I was thinking…you and me should go out for a bachelorette night!"

The thought hadn't occurred to me before.

"Oh, Ellie, you're right! I didn't even think of it…I'm sorry! What kind of best friend I am!" I said, frowning to myself.

"No, no, dear, it's fine," Ellie said, "I don't mind. I hadn't even thought of it either, to be honest."

I plopped down on a laundry basket and placed my elbows on my knees.

"Well, what do you wanna do?" I asked, contemplative.

"Hmm…this requires thinking. I was hoping we could just go out tonight for a spur-of-the-moment thing. How about it?" Ellie suggested.

"Sure! But that still doesn't solve what we could do," I said, now placing my hand underneath my chin.

Ellie leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her purple T-shirt.

"Nothing too crazy…we're just not that type, but I do know of a tiny club that isn't too wild and crazy. What do you think?"

I shrugged, "It's worth a shot. Just the two of us?" Some natural worry crept into my mind. I was always the one to worry about creepers.

"Of course, silly. It's a bachelorette party. We'll do that tonight, then the rehearsal dinner is tomorrow, and then the wedding is…the next day!" Some of Ellie's excitement streaked in her voice and I smiled.

"Do I need to give you the…talk, Ellie?" I asked in sarcastic seriousness.

Ellie flushed, "I think I'm good."

I laughed and heard Donovan call out from the other room, "What IS going on in there? I swear you two just lose your heads around each other."

Ellie rolled her eyes, "Just go watch football with Tristan. I think we've definitely lost him."

"Definitely," I said and involuntarily peeked out from the room to see him lounging in front of the TV. I admired his body for a second, sighed, and leaned back into the room.

"Well, when are we going? It's," I checked my green watch, "3 o'clock now."

"Seven? Trust me, Scarlett, it'll be really low key. Just us hanging out, having a bit to drink, and safely going home," Ellie seemed to sense my slight anxiety.

"Sounds good. Oh, I know. I guess I'm just a bit of a homebody?" I threw out the word, not even quite sure what I meant by it myself.

Ellie just nodded and a minute later Donovan swept in, scooping Ellie up. Ellie gasped in surprise and then lapsed into laugher. Donovan winked at me and stalked out of the laundry and threw her onto the recliner.

I followed them out shortly after, smiling behind them. Donovan was always amazing with her and knew how to literally sweep her off her feet.

"So what were you two girls talking of doing tonight?" Donovan probed, a clear hint that he had been listening in on our conversation but didn't want to be obvious.

Ellie eyed him, "We're having a girls' night out, if you must know. Maybe call it a bachelorette party."

Tristan perked to attention, "Doing what?"

I entered the conversation, "Just going to a low key club for some drinks."

Tristan and Donovan looked at each other.

Ellie rolled her eyes, "Come on! Don't look at each other like that. We are grown women and perfectly capable of handling ourselves."

Donovan laughed, "Just like when…" he started into another story, but Ellie cut him off with a stern Donovan.

I agreed with Ellie, "Really. It's going to be one of our last times together like this and we really want to make it fun. Okay?"

I sensed Donovan was caving. I sort of guessed he felt some guilt in separating Ellie and me. I wasn't upset about it -- I mean, I would miss my best friend considering the new responsibilities a married woman would assume…and eventually children. But there was a time for that for every woman and above all, I wanted Ellie to be happy.

"Well…," Donovan sighed.

Tristan looked alarmed, "Ye're giving in like that?"

Donovan frowned, his pride pricked a tad.

"Boys," I cleared my throat, "there is nothing you can do to stop us from going out tonight. We are not children and shall do what we want." Tristan raised his eyebrows at my sudden determination and then he shrugged.

"Alright, lass," Tristan sighed, "I'll not be steppin' in your way tonight."

I nodded, trying to keep up my determination appearance. Ellie looked pleased and cast a look at Donovan, who held up his hands.

"You got me," he said, "Tristan and I will have a guys' night out then."

That made me frown. I glanced at Ellie and saw she was frowning now, too.

"Like what kind of guys' night out?" She inquired, but the message was clear: strippers? I smiled to myself, but was inwardly suspicious as well.

"Guy stuff girls wouldn't understand," Donovan said, obviously enjoying having the tables turned. Ellie's look of pleasure dissipated into suspicion. She stared at him.

"Yeah….guy stuff," Tristan backed up. He was standing now, crossing his brawny arms across his chest. I looked at him, almost forgetting why I was displeased.

"What kind of guy stuff?" It was my turn to ask.

The guys were clearly enjoying baiting us. I decided it was time to bite back. Before he could answer, I shrugged.

"It doesn't matter," I sighed, fluttering my hand in the air as if to shoo a fly, "we're going to.. Sassy Lady club anyhow."

Tristan looked confused, Donovan looked suddenly thunderous, and Ellie -- out of Donovan's sight -- started to grin.

"What's Sassy Lady club?" Tristan asked, looking at Donovan for clarification.

"A male strip club," Donovan ground out.

It was Tristan's turn to assume the dark look and I couldn't contain myself. I started laughing, and then Ellie joined in.

"That's what you get," I said in between peals of laughter, "for teasing us like that!"

Donovan rolled his eyes, "Mature, Scarlett, mature."

I leaned against the wall for support, the last of my laughter fading, but my grin remaining.

Tristan muttered underneath his breath, "What am I going to do with you…"

I caught it and shot him a speaking look that I had plenty of ideas.

Tristan looked shocked, and my smile widened. I tossed him a wink and he just shook his head.

"Well, when are you girls going out?" Donovan asked, unaware of my exchange with Tristan.

I glanced at Ellie, "Umm, seven tonight."

"Well, Donovan and I will leave around then as well," Donovan looked at Tristan, who nodded. I didn't quite trust the look they gave each other.

Ellie shrugged, "Okay."

Ellie and Donovan went out later to pick up her wedding dress and my maid of honor dress -- something I was very much looking forward to seeing. The wedding was going to be very low key from my understanding, with just Ellie's mother, her mother's boyfriend, Donovan's parents, my father and stepmother -- gag -- and some friends. I was really hoping Tristan wasn't going to feel too excluded. I mentally frowned at the idea of my stepmother. She was known for being a drama queen and I sincerely hoped she didn't stir trouble for Ellie and Donovan's wedding. I do not know how my father tolerated her.

So it was just Tristan and myself left in the house. I was in the kitchen and Tristan was in the room, trying on the tuxedo Donovan gave him. A little flare of excitement raced through my veins at the thought of us being alone in the house and I tried to be stern with myself. Don't let this get to your head, Scarlett, I told myself as I finished tossing a salad. I briefly remember my last encounter with a kitchen, and the fire that nearly consumed the whole place. I smiled to myself and shook my head.

I wiped my hands on my flower print apron -- well, it was actually Ellie's -- and untied it. I tossed it over a chair and headed out of the kitchen, and through the living room, to the stairs. I had just made a simple salad for lunch and was going to fetch Tristan. I supposed I could have just called his name from the kitchen, but something was pulling me to the room. I bit my lower lip as I climbed the stairs, my nerves basically bouncing off of each other, and headed down the hall. I could hear some rustling in the room that Tristan was in.

I cleared my throat and gently knocked on the door.

"Come on," Tristan gruffly called from the inside. He sounded frustrated.

I entered the room slowly, straightening my blouse. I raised my green eyes to look at him and a smile crept along my face.

"Don't…" Tristan said in warning.

"You look so great!" I said, taking in his appearance. Tristan sighed, obviously uncomfortable in the tuxedo. It fit snugly, but not too tightly, across his broad shoulders. The black meshed with the darkness of his hair and the gray tie contrasted with the sharpness of his blue eyes. He looked amazing. Tristan fussed with his hair, trying to relax his stance.

"Ye think so?" Tristan asked tentatively and I smiled.

"Of course! How dashing, Sir Tristan," I said playfully, inflecting the notes of our blast to the past incident. A slight smile touched Tristan's lips and a soft sigh escaped from me. The air seemed to thicken with tension and I cleared my throat as if trying to clear away the sudden realization of where we were and alone.

"How does it fit?" I asked innocently, stepping further into the room.

Tristan shrugged, "It fits snug, not too tight, though." He stretched out his arms to emphasize.

I noticed his tie was a bit crooked and strolled over in front of him. I reached up tentatively and Tristan watched me, "Your tie is crooked," I justified.

He simply nodded as my hands, as if on their own accord, lifted and neatly adjusted the knot of the tie correctly. I smoothed out the fabric and then my fingers drifted over his shoulders and down to the lapels of his tuxedo jacket. I could feel his heart beginning to pick up the pace underneath my fingertips and I slowly raised my eyes to meet his. His eyes were a smoldering cobalt blue and I caught my breath. My hands slid back up to his shoulders and his arms reached out to encircle my waist. My blood began to really race then as his arms linked around me and began to pull me closer.

I raised myself on my tiptoes to meet him halfway with our lips. The touch was electrifying, as always, and I linked my arms tighter around his neck. I melted into his body and his arms were my structure, holding me up. Tristan deepened the kiss and somewhere inside of me, I knew this was it. This was going to be everything we had been fighting for, this expression of the love we were irrevocably in. My hands quickly slid from his neck to his jacket and he sensed what I was going to do and aided me in stripping him of his jacket. I broke the kiss to look up at him and he just smiled at me, in that amazing devilish way again and swept back down to kiss me.

The rest of our outer layer clothes were gone within minutes and I was pushing him back onto the bed. Luckily today I wore my matching pink set of lacy undergarments -- usually I'm mismatched -- and I was thankful for it when his eyes grazed down my body in complete adoration.

I was straddling his body and his fingers slowly traced the skin of my thighs. I shivered and leaned down on his chest.

"Scarlett," Tristan murmured, "if we start, I'm not going to stop this time."

A thrill of excitement raced up my spine, "I know," I murmured back.

"And you're completely positive?" Tristan asked, reason clearing through the clouds in his eyes.

"Tristan," I said, tracing my fingertips up his chest, enjoying watching him shiver, "I love you and I want to be with you. This is what I've been waiting for, okay?"

Tristan looked only slightly surprised and I smiled. He nodded and then slowly reached up to pull me back down for a very tender kiss. It caught me off guard. It was such a beautiful, simple kiss and I knew he was returning my message of love only physically this time. I nibbled on his lower lip and then the tenderness was gone, replaced by a savage want and need for me. His hands slid up my back and unhooked my bra and in the next moment, I was flat on my back and he was leaning over me. He braced his elbows on either side of me and slowly nudged my legs open with his knee. My breath was coming in shallowly, all thoughts of lunch and the risk of Donovan and Ellie coming back completely vanishing from my mind.

Tristan leaned down over me and I tilted my head so he would have access to my neck. He kissed and lightly bit my neck, occasionally moving down to my chest, until I had my legs wrapped tightly around him and my nails imbedding his arms. Tristan raised his eyes from my chest to meet my gaze and smiled dangerously. His fingers raced down my stomach, over my lady parts, and tugged down the panties. He flung them to the corner of the room and in the next moment, his own briefs were in the corner as well.

"Oh, goodness..," I said on a sigh, knowing what would happen next…..

A half an hour later, I was in complete heaven. I never thought such heights were reachable and I laid in the bed, lethargic with the remnants of pleasure. Tristan's shoulders shook one last time and he rolled off of me, out of breath. I took in deep breaths, trying to calm my body and he looked at me. He reached out and tugged me into his arms and I could feel his heart still racing.

"Wow, lass," Tristan finally said after a few minutes. I smiled and pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and ran his fingers through my strawberry locks.

I tilted my head back to look at him, my eyes cloudy with satisfaction, "Yes?" I asked.

Tristan laughed, "You look like the cat who just caught the mouse."

I grinned and pressed another kiss to his neck, "I can't help it. That was amazing, Tristan." The amazement went on a few levels. Tristan was now the only other man I had been with since Brian -- and God knows that was a horrible mockery of lovemaking. It was as if Tristan had made me completely clean with his touch and his love. I snuggled deeper into his embrace and he tightened his arms around me.

"I love you, Scarlett," he murmured softly into my hair, "I didn't think this would ever happen.." he finished.

I looked up at him, "I know…I didn't either. This caught me off guard, Tristan. I didn't go into Ireland thinking I'd fall in love with an amazing man." I smiled, remembering how much we had disliked each other at the beginning. Even then, I think we both knew some sort of chemistry was lurking behind the scenes.

"And I didn't think I'd fall in love with a fiery sprite like yourself," Tristan said, smiling.

He wrapped me in his embrace again and pressed kisses against my cheeks, my neck, my ears, and finally reached my lips again. I felt his passion stirring again and I adjusted myself to wrap my legs around him. Tristan continued to kiss my neck and whisper phrases in a language I didn't understand, but I assume it was Gaelic, in my ear. We started to begin our lovemaking again when I heard the door creaking downstairs. Tristan stiffened and looked down at me.

"Ellie and Donovan…" I said, my eyes wide.

Tristan shot off the bed in a second and I followed in suit, dressing in a crazed manner that was quite comedic, but in the moment was definitely not. I tugged on my jeans and began looking for my bra.

"Tristan!" I whispered fiercely while looking around the room.

"What, lass?" He asked, tugging on his own black jeans and reaching for his button up shirt.

"Where is my bra!" I quietly exclaimed and began to tear apart the bed, looking for it. Tristan began to grin and despite the seemingly desperate situation, I began to smile as well.

He plucked the lacy pink bra off the pole of the bed frame and tossed at me. Tristan gazed at my body while deftly buttoning up his shirt. I rolled my eyes at me and tugged on my bra, and then grabbed my now-wrinkled blouse from the floor.

"Tristan, Scarlett?" I heard Ellie's soft voice calling for us. I shot Tristan a look and he walked out of the room, catching my idea. He ran his fingers through his hair in attempt to put his look back together and tossed me a wink while walking out.

"Oh, hello, Ellie," I heard Tristan say in his deep, rolling accent.

I combed my hair with my fingers and walked out after him. Tristan had already made it down the stairs and was talking with Donovan and Ellie. I walked down the stairs casually and saw the dressing bags in Ellie's arms. She cast me a suspicious look which I returned with a I'll-tell-you-later look. She smiled, catching my look, and nodded. Donovan looked completely oblivious -- or seemingly so.

"Are those the dresses?" I asked, excitement creeping in my voice.

"Yes, ma'am!" Ellie said, the smile still on her lips.

"Come on, Tris, it's now girl stuff time," Donovan said. He waved to Tristan, "I show you the pool table in the basement of this place." He began to walk off and Tristan followed him.

"Oh, boys, there's some salad in there if you want," I called after them, remembering the lunch I had prepared earlier.

"Salad is not men's food, Scarlett," Donovan said teasingly.

I shrugged, "More for Ellie and me, then!"

Donovan waved his arms in an "oh no!" way and I laughed. Tristan tossed a smile over at me and I smiled back. The look we exchanged was on a deeper level now, something I relished in. We were bonded on a deeper level now and it felt amazing. I couldn't wait for the next time we were alone. I stifled the smile coming to my lips, but sensed Tristan was thinking the same thing.

"Soo…." Ellie said as they left the room.

I glanced at Ellie and grinned, "Yes?"

"What the heck happened?!" She said in a release of excitement and tossed the dresses down.

"I'll tell you when we go out tonight…we want plenty of things to talk about, don't we?" I was thinking of the other things I needed to tell her as well…such as the time traveling thing. It still seemed quite bizarre to me, so I didn't know if she would believe me.

Ellie pouted, "Fine. You are no fun."

I laughed, "Now let's see these dresses?"

Ellie forgot her disappointment in her excitement and seized the first bag, "Now this is your dress. I really hope you like it." I nodded and took the bag from her. I unzipped it and the bag fell away.

The dress was gorgeous. It was a deep forest green -- a color that would accent my reddish hair and eyes perfectly -- and flowed in a lovely way. It was strapless and would hug my curves and flare out at my hips. It looked very 1930s glamour. I loved it. I reached out and touched the fabric -- a light, soft material I couldn't put a name to. It looked like velvet but wasn't. A purple sash accented the dress, a color I didn't think would match, but it actually looked lovely together.

"Do you like it?" Ellie asked, watching my assessing gaze.

"I love it!" I said, my fingers caressing the fabric.

"It's so gorgeous, Ellie. You picked it out?" I asked, looking over to her. She was fiddling with her blonde locks.

"Yes, I was trying to keep in mind your coloring…and everyone knows red-toned hair looks amazing with greens and purples," Ellie said offhandedly.

I began to put the dress back in its bag and set it delicately aside, "You're right. I think the colors of the dress will look absolutely amazing. I can't wait to put it on. Thank you so much, Ellie!" I leaned over for a quick hug. Ellie laughed.

"Now let's see your dress?" I asked, eyeing the other bag up.

She nodded eagerly and reached for her dress bag. Ellie unzipped the bag and set it aside. Her wedding dress was simply beautiful. It had the same sort of 1930s glamour element mind did, except much more beautiful and rightly so. It had delicate sleeve cuffs and a corseted bodice. Tiny lace roses accented the bust and bodice, falling into a delicate line of fabric and flowing into a long, elegant train. It looked to be a close fitting dress, something that would accent all of Ellie's simple curves. Ellie was more on the slender than myself and the dress would touch upon all of the features of her body. I could tell there were maybe two petticoats underneath the dress. I envied Ellie in that moment but I was even more happy for her.

"It's gorgeous, Ellie. Simply gorgeous," I breathed, reaching out to touch the delicate fabric. It was incredibly smooth and felt like I was touching a waterfall of fabric.

"Thank you. My mother helped me pick it out, of course," Ellie said. Mrs. Evans had an eye for dresses and I figured she helped pick out my dress as well.

"I can't wait to see it on. Do you have a veil, too?" I asked, looking around the room.

She nodded and reached over the bag again. She pulled out a lace veil, with the same rose accents along the line of the veil.

"Again, gorgeous," I said, admiring the whole outfit.

"Mmhm. I have the shoes upstairs in my room. I also bought myself a red garter," Ellie grinned. I could see the excitement flashing in her eyes.

"Awesome…I'm sure Donovan will love it," I said, grinning.

We put back the dress and walked up to her room to hang up the dresses in their bags. I didn't notice Ellie glancing into my bedroom as we walked by -- I was chattering about how Tristan looked in his tuxedo -- and didn't see her eyebrows raise at the rumpled blankets on the bed.

"I was thinking, why don't we just go out for dinner?" Ellie asked randomly as we were walking back out of her room.

"You mean instead of going to our wild and crazy club?" I said teasingly.

Ellie laughed, "Yes. We both know you and I aren't made for that sort of stuff. I think it will just be better if we sat down at a nice restaurant and caught up. You have a lot of stuff to tell me, Miss Lady Jane."

I blushed, only slightly, "I know… I have a lot to tell you."

"Great. So how about we bump up the time to 5:30?"

I glanced at my watch, "Well, we better start getting ready!"

I could hear the guys downstairs laughing and I could hear sound of the pool balls knocking against the table, "Think we should tell them?"

Ellie shrugged, "Let's just get ready and then we'll go downstairs and tell them."

I nodded, "Well, I'm going to shower and all of that fun stuff!"

Ellie nodded this time and headed back to her room, "I already took one this morning, so I'm just going to change my clothes into something a tad nicer."

"Okkayyy," I called and strolled into the bathroom.

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A/N: I would have continued writing, but I have a class tonight that I need to start getting ready for! I am pretty pleased in how this turned out and I really hope I have some readers still left out there. I'm really glad I picked this up again and let me tell you, I have big plans for the rest of this story. You can definitely expect more chapters from me! I'm really excited to get writing and I would be sitting here for the rest of the night if it weren't for darn class!

I'd REALLY appreciate some feedback and once again, forgive any errors in the storyline. In the future, I'd actually love to go back and edit all of this -- considering I started this story almost four years ago and my writing style has indeed changed in the past few years. I'll embark on that AFTER I finish this, though!

Thank you so much for the readers staying loyal to this story. I hope I haven't disappointed anyone and I sincerely, sincerely apologize for the ridiculous amount of time I took in updating again. Thank you so much!!

Catee