"Hey Echo, get in here."

Echo walked down the stairs and immediately caught sight of George and Karen hanging out in the hall. She stood back for a bit, noting that they were frowning and she seemed to be scolding him for something. 

"Here you go." She heard her mother say and the two of them turned with a smile as if they hadn't been just arguing.

"Echo! Lena!" her mother called out and Echo turned behind her to find Lena coming out of her room, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Hey, what are you lurking around for?" Lena said as she spotted her. "Don't tell me you can't stand her either?"

"She's nice enough I guess." Echo said.

"I can't believe we have to be her bridesmaids." Lena said, watching from the same spot Echo stood.

"I suppose some brides like to have their fiancee's sisters as bridesmaids." Echo said, wondering if Luke had any sisters. Then she shook her head, annoyed with herself for the thought.

"We're not his sisters." Lena said firmly with a frown. Echo turned to her.

"You've known George all your life- he might as well be another big brother." Echo said, thinking it was unlike Lena to be this cold about George. They had always welcomed him like part of the family.

"He's not." Lena insisted, staring down at him quietly.

"Well, I don't know about you but I want him to be happy." Echo said. "Don't you want him to be happy?"

Lena sighed.

"I do." She said.

"There they are..." Alice said with a smile as Lena stepped out from behind the wall with Echo a few steps behind. "Come on, we're all in the living room celebrating."

"Celebrating?" Lena asked.

"The new account." Echo said, moving past her into the living room.

"Oh? So you guys got it?" Lena said.

"Yes, we actually had lunch with him after." Michael said, "Even Echo joined us.""

"Wait, wait, wait... SO everyone but me got to meet him?" Maru asked, jumping up from the sofa. "That's not fair."

"Ughhh I didn't." Lena said.

"Us either." George said, looking at Lena who was now looking at the ground. Maru, on the other hand, was staring straight at Echo with a grin.

"He's very nice." Vera said.

"He's smart." Romy added, "Got to see the scar up close ."

"I swear it gives him a dangerous look." Vera said.

"I like it." Echo said, without meaning too, making everyone turn to her. "I mean, he stands out."

"Well, I suppose we'll be seeing more of him now." Michael said.

"Yeah, I have a meeting with him on Tuesday." George said, "Plenty of work to do."

"Let's toast." Alice said happily, handing Echo a glass and then turning to hand another to Lena.

"Wow, they're letting us drink." Lena said to Maru, pretending to be impressed.

"I know." Maru replied with a grin.

"This guy must be a bigger deal than we thought." Lena said and Maru once again glanced at Echo.

"I have a feeling he is." She said, making Echo bite her lips nervously.

"To Mom and Dad." Ben said with smile, raising his glass.

Echo watched as everyone laughed and talked, celebrating their success. She walked towards the double doors that led to the terrace and stared out quietly. Usually, when these types of family gatherings happened, she'd slowly move closer and closer away until she found the right moment to slip out unnoticed. She loved her family, loved them all but they could be very intimidating and her anxiety was easily triggered. So she waited, deciding that in another 10 minutes she'd move towards the back door that connected this room to the study. From there she could move into the hall and up the stairs.

"Don't think you're getting away that easily." Maru said, appearing beside Echo and making her frown.

"I could if you just let me be." Echo said but Maru smiled.

"Oh come on, stay. It's not fair of you to abandon us with her..." Maru said, looking over to Karen who was laughing loudly. It was a strange sight, she really did seem nice enough but she just didn't fit in with the room. Of course, one could argue that Echo didn't fit in but there was something that didn't click.

"No one will notice if I go." Echo said and Maru frowned.

"Of course they will, we always do. It's always 'When did Echo leave?' Or 'How does she do that?' Or 'we're going to have to nail her feet to the floor.' " Maru said, making Echo giggle with her imitation of her father's voice.

"Yeah right." Echo said, rolling her eyes.

"You might as well stay- you'll be forced to interact when we go get fitted tomorrow." Maru said, making Echo raise her brow.

"Get fitted?" Echo asked.

"Yeah. Appointment at 2 for our fancy bridesmaids dresses." Maru said.

"Why didn't anyone tell me this?" Echo asked.

"We were just talking about it- see what you miss out on when you're always trying to leave the room?" Maru said.

"There's no way I'm doing that." Echo said.

"It's going to be tough getting out of it. You're going to have to get fitted for that dress sooner or later, might as well be tomorrow." Maru said with a shrug.

Echo sighed, that was certainly annoying. She might have put up more of a fight when it was suggested if she'd known that she'd have to go through all this. Fittings, bridal showers, bachelorette parties... couldn't she just show up the day of the wedding and be done with it? She looked at her phone. It was only 8pm but it was also already 8pm. Still nothing from Luke.

Not that she was eager to hear from him but she somehow had figured he'd text her after having seen her today. Echo bit her lip. Maybe after he'd seen Romy he'd realized just how forgettable Echo really was. She thought of that moment in the elevator when she felt his hand graze hers and tried not to shiver. She was sure that was his way of reassuring her about his intentions... whatever those were.

"Oh stop it." Echo said aloud, making Maru turn to her.

"Stop what? I'm just stating the truth." Maru said. Echo turned to her and smiled nervously.

"Sorry I was thinking of something else." Echo said, turning back to watch everyone but she was long gone. Her mind was off fighting the constant battle her in mind- No, we're not dating and he needs to just let me be.

Then she looked back at her phone in defeat- why hadn't he texted?

---

"New York?" Luke asked, "Really?"

He was sitting at a cafe with Marco in the city, waiting for one of their informants. It had come to his attention over the last couple of weeks that some of the ex Russo men had become a bit more rebellious and less willing to cooperate with the Farina family. Luke had decided that this was something that needed to be cut immediately. Any sign of resistance or treachery would be dealt with accordingly and in the meantime, he would appear as much as possible inside the city so that everyone who needed to could see that he was watching.

"Hopefully we'll get some confirmation on that shortly." Marco said casually. Luke nodded. The junkie they were hoping to get information from was still in detox and so for the moment, all he spouted was unreliable nonsense.

"I haven't been to New York in a while." Luke said with a shrug.

"Hopefully if you choose to go, it won't be for business." Marco said, "You might even consider inviting someone to keep you company."

Luke smiled.

"Yeah, like she'd say yes to that." Luke said, thinking that Echo was a lot more shy and inexperienced than he'd originally believed.

"There are others who I'm sure would be more than eager to say yes." Marco suggested but it was obvious that Grace was the furthest thing from Luke's mind.

"I wonder if she's ever been." Luke replied simply, thinking it would be great to see her all dressed up and out on the town with him.

"Are you seeing her this weekend?" Marco asked.

"No, we have a lot of work to sort through." Luke said simply.

"Doesn't mean you can't take a break." Marco said but Luke shook his head.

"I'd rather get as much of it done now. Besides, I feel like it's harder for her to get out of the house during the weekend." Luke said, making Marco chuckle.

"How does it feel to be her dirty little secret?" Marco asked, "How the tables have turned..."

Luke laughed, he's always been very discreet with the women he dated and it was an interesting experience to see the other side.

"I think I'm enjoying it." Luke said, "You know she refuses to admit we're dating?"

"I've heard. She insists you're not really giving her a choice." Marco said and Luke shrugged.

"She says that but she continues to show up." Luke said, "Besides, I know she likes me."

Luke thought about all the kisses he'd managed to steal followed by all the kisses that little Echo had given him back.

"And you like her?" Marco asked, making Luke turn to him with a frown.

"That's a dumb question." Luke replied but Marco sighed.

"Let me rephrase that- she's a very innocent girl to be playing with." Marco said and Luke raised his brow. This was certainly new- Marco knew better than to have opinions about Luke's personal life.

"I'm going to let that one slide." Luke said simply, turning to face the traffic across the street. Marco didn't reply. He knew the question had been a risky one but he couldn't help it. That girl had been adamant that she didn't want to be a part of his games but she was very innocent, and it was obvious she wasn't used to men like Luke who could be very manipulative in getting what they want.

Marco had great admiration for Luke- he was smart, creative and very tough. He was steadfast in his decisions and loyal to a fault... but he also knew he was spoiled, selfish and that past experiences made him particularly ruthless and unforgiving. Even if Luke did care for the girl, he might never be able to give her what she needed from a partner. It didn't usually bother Marco, except that Luke didn't usually choose women like Echo to keep him company. Luke was always very careful to choose women he knew could walk away unscathed. For some reason, in Echo's case, her ingenue spirit made him all the more selfish and unwilling to bend. He wanted what he wanted and he didn't seem too concerned with how this could or eventually would hurt her.

"Look at that." Marco said suddenly, noting as a big SUV pulled up across the street. There was a long row of shops down this way as this avenue was known for it's high end boutiques and restaurants. It was a fashionable part of the city that people with high income frequented all the time.

Luke turned, wondering what Marco was looking at... then he smiled.

The doors of the SUV opened and out stepped some of the most impressive looking women he'd ever seen.

"Speak of the devil." Luke said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Marco asked as he looked at the women closely. "Do you know them?"

"That's my little Echo." Luke said, pointing to the quiet one that was sort of hidden away from the others.

"Those are her sisters?" Marco asked.

"Except for that blonde there." Luke asked, "I don't know her."

"Well, she doesn't quite fit in with the others. Wow. The Reid sisters are something else." Marco said, nothing the absolutely stunning brunette that towered above all of them. They were each so unique and so impressive... Even Echo who seemed to be the demure little mouse of the bunch had something special about her.

"I know." Luke said. "They're like fucking celebrities. Those two are the oldest... the stunner is Romy and the one talking to Echo is Vera."

"And the other two? Younger or older than Echo?" Marco asked, amused by how much Luke knew. 

"They're younger and believe it or not, twins. Echo is the middle child." Luke said, watching as Echo nodded along patiently to whatever she was being told. Marco glanced at the twins briefly, noting only that they didn't look a thing alike before his eyes went back to Echo.

"That explains a lot." Marco said, watching as the girls followed the blonde into the shop, most of them seemingly excited enough except for Echo who had her hands tucked into her pockets and just stared up at the building.

"Is someone getting married?" Marco asked after a few more seconds, realizing it was a bridal shop.

"I think one of their associates." Luke said.

"And poor Echo is being forced to be a bridesmaid?" Marco said, unable to contain his laughter. "We have to see this."

"I think we do." Luke replied.