When they finally arrived at the tea house she was already almost a half hour late. Elle thanked David kindly before rus.h.i.+ng into the store.

Elle found Abby waiting for her at a table by the window on the second floor. The two girls hugged as they greeted each other for the first time in almost a year.

"I'm sorry I'm so late!" Elle apologized as she looked through the menu. "You didn't order anything yet?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to wait for you."

The two girls ordered tea, and more snacks than they needed, happily catching up with each other.

"How's your father?" Abby asked casually as they ate.

"He's fine." Elle said, gripping the cup in her hands tighter. It wasn't Abby's fault, she didn't know what had happened yet. No one did. But Elle felt her chest tighten, the way it always did when the topic of her family came up.

"Is something wrong? You look pale?" Abby asked. Elle saw the concern in her friend's eyes.

"Actually..." Elle said hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"My father remarried." Elle confessed.

Abby sat back in her chair, shocked. "When?" She asked startled.

"Earlier this year. I'm not sure exactly when either." Elle said, looking pointedly into her tea.

"What do you mean you're not sure?"

"He didn't tell me. The media doesn't know yet either. One day he just came home with a wife and son. I didn't want to ask."

There was a moment of silence. When she realized Abby wasn't going to say anything Elle looked up and was met with pity in her friend's eyes. Suddenly she regretted saying anything.

"Never mind it. Let's talk about something else." Elle said, eager to get off the topic. "You're staying for a month this time right?"

"Almost. Just three weeks." Abby replied, willingly going along with her.

"Are you going to Sarah's birthday party?" Elle asked. Sarah was another cla.s.smate of theirs. They had all gone to the same prestigious high school. Although neither of the girl's had never been particularly close to Sarah, they still ran in the same social circles.

"I completely forgot about that." Abby groaned. "Did you get her a gift already?"

"I'm just going to give her a perfume set from our new line."

Abby groaned again, dropping her head on the table miserably. "I'm jealous. You're the heir to a perfume empire it must be so easy for you to prepare gifts."

"Your parents own one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Don't tell me that never comes in handy." Elle teased.

"It never comes in handy! It's only useful to take people to eat at, but I'm hardly ever in the city. Plus it's useless in this situation."

"Want to go shopping then?" Elle asked with a grin. "I'll help you pick something out."

"Yes!" Abby exclaimed. "Help me pick out a new dress too."

With a new found energy Abby rushed Elle to finish so they could go to shopping. As they got up to leave Abby saw the MK bag Elle was carrying. "You went to MK?" She asked.

It was an innocent question, but Elle felt a light blush creep up her face. "I ruined my dress on my way here. I thought it would be easier to just buy something else to change into." Elle explained. It was only a little lie.

Elle didn't mean to hide what had happened, but she felt like she couldn't tell Abby she had met Adam. It was a sweet moment for her, like something from a dream, and Elle wanted to keep it to herself.

The two girls had a fun day of shopping. Elle felt a little guilty for lying to Abby, but she quickly forgot all about it. Little did she know that Abby was keeping a secret of her own.