"I will need your signature here, please," Katie said.They were ordering a lot of new fabric for the new men's line, and Emily signed off on it, trusting that Katie knew what she was doing. Since the whole thing was Katie's idea, Emily let her take leadership of the project. Carter was being brought up to speed by one of the city's top modelling coaches, while Emily and her team of designers brainstormed some ideas for the new clothing line. She decided to call it Freerange Rider to reflect Carter's independent spirit. The studio was buzzing with energy, and everyone was excited to be expanding into this new line."How is the battle for supremacy?" Emily asked. "Who's winning? Is it Carter the rebellious biker with the lackluster career, or Brandon the brilliant businessman with the… does he have any weaknesses?""Doesn't seem like it," Katie said, twirling a pen in her hand. "Maybe I just haven't found them yet. I'm still undecided as to who's winning, but it's fun working with

"So, basically, you have nothing planned yet," Sylvia pronounced. "No venue, no guest list. You don't even know what theme you're going with, if there is a theme."Byron divested himself of Beethoven's jacket, looking relieved to have it off. Despite the family legacy and Sylvia's belief in its lucky properties, Emily thought perhaps he would be happier if he didn't get married in the old jacket. After all, she wouldn't have liked it if someone tried to force her to get married in her grandmother's mothball-scented wedding dress!"I always thought we'd get married on the island," Byron said. "Where we had our first vacation together."Emily hadn't thought of that before, but she liked the idea."Seriously, a remote island in the middle of the Pacific?" Sylvia said. "And you expect hundreds of people to fly there for the wedding and find accommodation?""Uh…" Byron was a bit stunned. "Well, I wasn't expecting to invite hundreds of people."Sylvia's cat settled down on an armchair

Emily needed an ally in the negotiations with Sylvia. If the wedding was going to be in any way less insane than what Sylvia envisioned, someone had to convince her, and Emily didn't want to be that someone. It was too dangerous.Her relationship with her mother-in-law was usually pretty good, but it was like a house built on volcanic soil, always under threat of complete destruction.Luckily, Emily's parents were coming for a visit. They could give her some advice, maybe even talk to Sylvia to sort out the wedding arrangements.The house was filled with their voices and laughter as soon as her parents got in. They praised the house and the décor, and even the dogs, who got lots of affectionate pats. Emily was so proud to show them the place."Is it true that epic weightlifting contests take place here?" her father asked."Yes, and I won the last one," Byron said, his lips curving into a satisfied smile. "He's very strong, but not much in the brains department, I'm afraid," Emil

"I think our parents are learning a lot from each other," Emily said.She and Byron were snuggling in bed after a long evening of observing their parents interacting."That's one way to put it," Byron said, making a slight grimace. "I wish my mom would be more open minded.""She is who she is," Emily said, "That's what makes it so amusing.""You find this all entertaining, do you?" He smirked. "Rotten kid.""If we can't make any decisions regarding our own wedding, we might as well enjoy this meeting of the minds." "I see…" Byron tickled her cheek then ran his fingers down a strand of her hair. "Does that mean you're going to enjoy tomorrow too?""I'm going to try."The next morning they all trekked into the mountains for a day trip in Sylvia's car, a classic restored model from the 1950s, which was roomy enough to accommodate both families."This is why having a car is convenient," Sylvia couldn't help lecturing."I could have rented a car," Emily retorted. Sitting with Byr

Byron's company Christmas party was a fairly boring affair. Emily didn't expect anything different. However, she did have a surprise for one of the guests. Byron had taken her advice and made it more of a mingling party with no assigned seating. People moved around, bringing snacks and drinks back to their tables and chatting with everyone in sight.Emily sighted the woman she had been looking for. Stacie, the one who only dressed in black and white. Even though it was a Christmas party, Stacie wore a typical white collared shirt over black trousers. She was selecting some pieces of cheese with a somber face when Emily came up to her."Hi Stacie," Emily said. "I got you a little Christmas present.""Oh, you shouldn't have." The woman looked terrified and perplexed. "I didn't get you anything.""I know," Emily said, "and that's perfectly fine. I just really wanted to give you this…" She pulled out a cherry red scarf from her bag. "I thought it matched your brown eyes."Stacie loo