"Wait... Echo?" George repeated in disbelief. "and Luke Farina?"

Alice and Michael exchanged glances before turning back to him and nodding in unison. 

"How did I miss that..." George mumbled, trying to sort it out. It was true that they had dance a couple of times... George frowned. Actually, it was probably more than just a couple of times. The truth was that George was much too caught up that evening to even think about the fact that Echo was being a lot more sociable than usual. 

"We all did." Alice said with a shrug. "Echo is just so quiet, she keeps to herself and she doesn't like to call attention to herself at all. I think if it was any of the other girls, we would have caught one sooner."

"You keep saying that but I don't doubt that those girls knew something was going on." Michael said with a frown. It was obvious that he was still not happy about the situation. Then again, it was only natural for a father to dislike the idea of 'giving' his daughter to another man. But this... this was Echo, the one that made him feel he had to protect her so much more, the one he thought he could count on to never leave home. 

"There was the flowers." George added. 

"Yes, but Echo is a secretive person. I wouldn't be surprised if she kept those girls guessing." Alice added, "And even if they did know, that's a sisterly privilege. We wouldn't want our girls not to honor the bonds of sisterhood." 

"If this was about Ben, they would have told us." Michael said.

"If this was Ben, it wouldn't have been a secret for so long. Ben is not Echo, not like her at all." Alice said.

"Have you two told Ben yet?" George asked with a grin. "I'm happy to break the news to him."

Alice laughed. George really did look at Ben like a little brother and so he liked to tease him quite a bit. 

"We did." Michael said, "He actually called us the very next day to ask if we had seen what he saw."

"And what did he see?" George asked nervously. He really HAD been distracted and unfortunately, he couldn't blame his bride.

"The same as me, Luke and Echo dancing together all night." Michael said, rolling his eyes. "He didn't let anyone else near her."

"They'd just had a romantic moment, it was only natural they would want to spend time together." Alice said. 

"I'm not sure about this. He seems like the possessive, over protective sort." Michael said. 

"Says the over protective dad." Alice said. "You were just talking about how much you liked him last week. 'seems like a hardworking guy... very clever.'" 

George had to sustain a chuckle as Alice mimicked Michael's voice. 

"That was before I knew he was dating my daughter. That's sneaky." Michael said, "Shaking my hand and lying to my face." 

"That was Echo's doing. You know that." Alice said. 

"I like him. I don't like the way they did things either, but I like him. I'm curious to see those two together." George intervened. "Echo's always been shy and quiet and he's the exact opposite."

"We all are. You'll get the chance on Friday. Can we count on you guys for dinner? I know it's cutting close to your honeymoon but we'd like to have the whole family there." Michael said.

"I'll talk to Karen but I'm sure it will be fine." George said, "Besides, our flight isn't until Sunday and I know she'll want to see this first hand." 

"Great." Alice replied. "Friday."

George stepped out of Michael's office and crossed the open office floor silently, pensively. He didn't bother to turn at the people around him, nor did he hear anyone who was calling his name. Instead he just walked on, trying to clear his mind. It seemed that a lot more happened at his wedding that anyone expected. He frowned as he had a sudden image of the night. That was certainly not a reaction one should have when you think about what should of been the happiest day of his life. 

George shook his head. He thought of Karen. Karen who was always trying to please her, always agreeing to anything he said, and always thinking of him before anyone else. He promised himself he would make her happy, she deserved it. 

"George!" He turned and watched as Ben approached him.

"Hey." George said, opening his office door and holding it open for him. 

"Hey... So you talked to my parents?" Ben said as George closed his door behind him. George watched Ben take a seat and lean back carelessly. Ben was 17 when George first met him. He was in graduate school and had come seeking an internship, unaware that he was about to dedicate 15 years and growing to this company. He learned so much working on Alice and Michael, both of whom were younger than he was now, and when the internship ended they'd offered him a job and he never looked back. How could he when they'd embraced him from the first day? 

"Yep." George said, sitting down and smiling brightly at him. He and Ben had bonded from the first time Alice and Michael had invited him to dinner. He'd become just like a real brother. 

"And???" Ben asked. 

"And what?" George asked, playing dumb.

"You're the worst." Ben said with a sigh. 

"Lighten up." George said with a chuckle. 

"Oh come on, this doesn't bother you?" Ben asked.

"I'm still processing it." George said with a nod. "I mean... Luke Farina... and Echo?"

"I know. Isn't he too old?" Ben asked with a frown. "How old is he?"

"I don't know... like 20?" George said. "No, he's not too old. "

"But come on this is Echo." Ben said, "Our sweet, little Echo. Doesn't talk to anyone outside her family Echo, doesn't go out, doesn't ever dress up..."

"I suppose she's gotten better about it lately." George said thoughtfully. 

"Oh god... it was him." Ben said, standing suddenly. 

"What?" George asked. 

"It was Luke I saw with Echo." Ben said. 

"When did you see them?" George asked. 

"A while back, at the Italian restaurant across the city... with the screens." Ben said and George leaned forward in his chair. 

"Echo was at THAT restaurant?!" George said. The restaurant was very exclusive and a known spot for romantic rendezvous. Of course, the food was amazing, but you didn't take a woman there unless you didn't want to be seen.

"Yeah, I called her on it the next day... you should have seen how she was dressed." Ben said, "They ran out the back door the moment she noticed me."

"How was she dressed?" George asked, beginning to get upset. "What did she say when you asked her?"

"She denied she was on a date, and she wouldn't tell me who she was with." Ben said.  "I can't believe he's the guy she's been dating."

"Well, the restaurant makes sense if she wanted to avoid being seen." George said, putting a hand through his hair. 

"I'll kill him." Ben said. 

"What for?" George said, "I don't like it either but he proposed. His intentions are clearly good and besides, up until this happened, there was no complaints about it."

"I know." Ben said, "I just hope she can handle it."

---

---

"I still can't believe it." Marco said with a chuckle, making Luke frown.

"Why not?" He asked. "She's perfect."

"I won't argue with that..." Marco said, clearing his throat as soon as he said it. "What I meant was, I can't believe she agreed. She's too good for you."

"Yeah, I guess she is." Luke said, "But she's got a lot to learn."

"That's true." Marco said. "It's going to be a very big adjustment for her. I always figured you'd pick a girl from here, one that knows how things work. You know, like Grace."

"Don't mention her. You know I don't appreciate that. Things don't always work out the way you think they will. She's smart, she'll learn." Luke said. "But I'll need help."

"Are you thinking of Nadia... or maybe Adelia?" Marco asked, "You know Adelia would love it... although she's still pretty young."

"I know but she knows the rules." Luke said, "and she'll be easy for Echo to visit. Besides, they should get to know each other."

"That's true." Marco replied.

"Although, maybe I should ask Nadia to help too." Luke added. 

"Couldn't hurt." Marco agreed.

"She has summer break coming up too." Luke said.

"I can't believe you're about to leave your wife's education to a 15 year old." Marco said with a grin.

"That's where Nadia will step in." Luke said.

"Are you sure Nadia will agree? You know how she is about all these things." Marco asked. 

"She will, I'm her favorite cousin." Luke said in his usual cocky mood.  "Besides, it's just getting her up to speed and teaching her how things work. I'm not asking her to give her philosophy lessons."

"They did seem to have a pretty good rapport going." Marco added.

"I thought so too." Luke replied.

"Does Echo even know about Adelia?" Marco asked with a raised brow.

"Why would she know about Adelia?" Luke asked.

"Most women like to know about their future husband's family." Marco said.

"I wasn't planning on hiding her." Luke said, "It just hasn't come up yet. Someone will need to pick her up. I should bring her to dinner and introduce her this weekend."

"I'll go get her myself." Marco replied.

"Assign a permanent escort if you haven't already, and I'll need you to help me keep tabs on them- make sure she gets what she needs." Luke said and Marco nodded.

"Benny?" Marco asked and Luke seemed to think about it.

"Yes, that's fine." Luke said.

"How do you think the family will take to her?" Marco asked and Luke shrugged.

"They'll take to her because I want them to." Luke said. "That's the end of that."

"Is there anything else?" Marco asked.

"We'll need to get the accounts in order. I don't want Echo to have any trouble getting what she needs." Luke said.

"We both know she won't. She has a considerable income." Marco said.

"We both know I'm not touching it." Luke said. "Set up whatever we need to."

He looked, down, it was his phone and Marco could tell it was her by his smile.

"I'll get on that." Marco said, turning to step out of the room. Luke didn't even turn to look.

"This is a nice surprise." Luke said, answering the call.

"Hey, You busy? I don't want to bug you if you are." Echo said.

"Baby, you never bug me." He said, grinning.

"Thanks... ummm... You're coming Friday?" She said.

"I said I would. I'm bringing someone." He said and she raised her brow.

"A date?" She asked, making him laugh.

"I will if you're cool with it..." He teased.

"Well, I don't mind but my parents might." She said nervously. She was trying to be playful and lighthearted but, truthfully, she had so many questions... and she wasn't sure how to ask them and get answers. What was going to happen now? How were things going to work? Was there a specific set of rules...

"Well, I don't have a date for dinner at my fiancee's house but I do have a sister to bring." He said.

"a sister?" She said.

"Yes, my younger sister. She's 15." He said.

"15?" She said.

"Yes. I actually have custody of her." He replied.

"Custody of her..." Echo repeated.

"Wow, your name really suits you." Luke said with a chuckle.

"Okay well, that was a lot of information in a few seconds." Echo said.

"I know." Luke said. "I'm sorry to drop it on you like that, I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk before Friday."

"Yeah me too. That's why I was calling." She said. "I'd like to come over and see you."

"Really?" He said with a grin. That was nice... to hear her say she wanted to see him.

"Yeah, well there's a couple of things I'd like to go over to make sure we're ready for dinner." She said.

"Oh right." He said, a little bit disappointed. "Well, I'm free any night."

"Great, I'll come tomorrow night. See you then." She said.

"I can pick you up..." Luke began but she hung up. Luke sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Echo wasn't the most affectionate woman he'd ever met but... he'd get her to himself tonight. That was just another thing he'd have to teach her.