Is this destiny?

~ Seattle ~

(July 13, one day before Sophia's and Felix's wedding)

Early afternoon, girls met in the lounge area of the spa: Sophia, JoAnna, Sarah, Bridgette, Jessica, Brie, Maddie. They are chatting and enjoying snacks and beverages while waiting for Isabella and Leah.

Jessica, Brie and Maddie are Sophia's friends from Harvard University. Jessica and Maddie are living on East Coast, and Brie is in San Francisco. All three are ladies in their mid-to-late twenties, with bright personalities. They seem ready to party and easy to get along with.

"Don't get us wrong. We are not so cheerful usually.", Jessica told Bridgette. "Most of the time we are boring lawyers. But right now, we are in party mode celebrating that Sophia is getting off the market!"

"Yes, yes!", Brie added. "With Sophia off the market, there will be more hunks for us!"

They all laughed.

"Oh, feels like I'm back in college again!", Jessica exclaimed.

"I am curious who is the man who got a hold of Sophia's heart. I always thought she will end up with that… I forgot his name." Maddie tapped her forehead.

Sophia knows that she is thinking about Mark, but she does not want to remind her. And she hopes that no one else will mention him either.

Sarah and JoAnna are also suspecting that Maddie is thinking about Mark, but they are sensitive enough not to bring him up. Not after what he did to Sophia.

"Sorry we are late!", Leah said from the door.

"Not a problem. You are right on time." Sophia smiled. She was happy that Maddie got distracted before she could remember Mark.

Leah is excited that Isabella is with her. Last two weeks two of them were in contact daily. They texted, talked on the phone and video chatted at least one time a day. And both of them were looking forward to this wedding where they finally get to meet each other in person again.

Leah knows that Isabella arrived last night, but it was late, so they didn't see each other. And then Leah had work in the morning, and two of them met when Isabella came to Orion Enterprise around lunch time. Leah worked through lunch, and Isabella waited for her. They grabbed sandwiches on the way to the spa.

As much as Leah is happy that Isabella is here, she is not sure how to behave. Is it OK to hug her? Or kiss her? What will Sophia say? What will Isabella think? Will anyone say anything? Leah's head was buzzing, and it made her nervous.

Isabella has similar thoughts, but more from a perspective that she is on 'Leah's territory'. She is aware that Leah might be constricted by social norms, and if they openly show their affection to each other, maybe Leah's job can be affected. She is waiting for Leah to take the lead, to tell her what all is OK. So far, not much happened.

All ladies went to the dressing room to change into comfy robes and slippers. The whole area of the spa was reserved for this occasion. They had massages, facials, exfoliation, manicures, pedicures… the works. While enjoying pampering, snacks and beverages were flowing continuously.

All ladies agreed to leave their electronic devices with their clothes, so they had no idea what is going on with the guys, but it was a spa pampering with a group of cheerful ladies, so they didn't have much time to dwell on what their men are up to.

Only when Sophia went to the restroom she found herself in silence, not distracted by other ladies, and she thought of Felix. She regretted that she does not have her phone with her.

Sarah and JoAnna also missed their own respective fiancé. If they were not actively engaged in the conversation, they thought what the guys are doing.

Bridgette, with her bubbly personality, easily gets along with others. She was missing Steve, but she thought of this as a great opportunity to spend time with Sarah her friend, JoAnna her boss, and Sophia her sister-in-law. She was entertained by the thought that she has a different personal relationship with each of the Hill sisters.

…

In Sophia's and Felix's apartment, Felix, Jeff, Aiden, Steve and Gustav talked, played cards, spending the afternoon. But other than Gustav, other four were often checking their phones frequently. They were looking at the time while getting increasingly frustrated that their ladies are not contacting them at all. A text or a photo or anything would be fine, but nothing came.

"Relax, your lady is enjoying the spa!", Gustav told Felix for who knows how many times.

Felix was out of it. Not because Sophia is at the spa, but because of what is coming. For the first time since they got together, he will not enjoy dinner with his wonderful Sophia. And then she will go out to a nightclub! And he gets to sleep without her!!! He was really out of it. He tried to tell himself that tomorrow they will get married, and then they will be inseparable. But somehow, it didn't help much. The thought that today he does not get to see her, overwhelmed him.

Steve was missing Bridgette like crazy. Since she moved in with him, they were always together. This was almost physically painful for him. But he cheered himself up when he thought that he will get to sleep with Bridgette tonight. She was not into the whole girl's sleepover thing. Aiden warned Steve not to mention that to Felix, otherwise he will be dragged into that as well.

Gustav thought that if this is what love turns men into, he does not want to have anything to do with it.

"How about we make this interesting. Poker? Real money? Real stakes?" Gustav was obviously getting bored with these four.

Aiden's eyes lit up. He was up for a game. And this cheerful Gustav's attitude was going on his nerves, he wanted to lighten up his wallet as a punishment. Since he is stuck with these four guys for the day, he might as well try to make it interesting.

Jeff gave a side glance at Aiden and then frowned. He was not willing to part from his money. He knows how Aiden plays, and he wins. But everyone looked eager to play in the lack of anything else to do, so he could not refuse.

Guys went downstairs, around the corner to the ATM to get cash, and returned to the apartment for a game of poker.. It should keep them busy until dinner.