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Chapter 3 – Life is a Parody


1 Year Later


Walking through the building, Buffy tiredly tucked the loose tendrils of hair behind her ears that managed to escape her elegant chignon.

“Will you stop?” Willow said with a smile. “Your hair looks fine, Buffy. You always play with it when there’s something on your mind.”

“I guess so,” she replied with a sheepish grin, smoothing out her navy blue silk shirt and white dress pants. “Just a little bit overworked, I guess.”

“You should take a vacation.”

“No time,” Buffy said with a sigh. Smiling when she saw Willow open her mouth to say something else, Buffy shook her head, cutting off her friend. “There’s no reason to be ‘voice of reason’ gal, Wills. I really don’t have the time.”

“But it’s what I’m best at,” the redhead replied with a playful pout. “Alright… I guess I can leave you alone, for now. So, what do you need me to do, boss lady?”

Glancing around the offices, Buffy smiled as an idea came to her. “You can be in charge of Cordelia.”

“What? No. Please tell me you’re kidding,” Willow pleaded.

“Come on, Wills,” she continued, wrapping an arm around her friend’s shoulders and walking her through the halls of her building until they came to Buffy’s spacious office, closing the door behind them to give them some privacy from the prying eyes and ears of the other women in the building. “A girl’s wedding is supposed to be the most beautiful, idyllic day of her life. You don’t want Cordy to go without that, do you?”

“But she works here. Wouldn’t it make sense for her to do everything and then have someone else coordinate it all on the big day?”

“She wants an authentic wedding experience,” Buffy replied with a shrug. “Besides, she’s been bugging me about starting on it and I just don’t have the time.”

“And what are you doing?” Willow asked skeptically.

“Meeting with a new client, Anya Jenkins,” she said, holding up a photo of the young woman, standing next to an older man. “Her father is some big Hollywood exec who wants his daughter to have everything she wants and she’s his financial consultant.”

“We talking rich?”

“We’re talking millions… possibly a million-dollar wedding.”

“And that commission alone… Buffy, you’d be set for life! What are they doing getting married in Sunnydale?”

“I believe her exact words were- ‘We want a quaint, little out of the way place and I want a wedding planner who doesn’t take any crap from anyone and can give me the wedding of my dreams’.”

“Yikes,” Willow said with a sympathetic smile.

“Yeah, I know. Total Bridezilla alert, but I’ve dealt with them before.”

“Cordy’s starting to look better and better. When are you meeting with the new client?”

“Hopefully new client,” Buffy corrected, looking at her watch. “Damn it, I’m late. I’m supposed to be downstairs in five minutes.” Quickly grabbing her notes and filing them away, she collected her cell phone, pager, and palm pilot off the mahogany desk and threw them in her purse. Picking up her file and scattered notes, she made her way toward the door. “Just get the basic rundown from Cordy and I’ll talk to you later.”

* * * * *

Looking around the lobby, Buffy was relieved to see that she had made it on time. Nervously brushing the hair out of her eyes as she sat down and flipped through the files she needed, pulling out the appropriate information, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice behind her.

“Elizabeth Summers?”

Quickly standing up, Buffy turned around with a bright smile. “Yes. You must be Anya.”

“Nice to meet you,” the young blonde replied, shaking Buffy’s hand with a chipper smile. “I can’t tell you how excited I am. I have a very good feeling about this. Over here!” she yelled, waving her arm above her head, effectively startling Buffy with the abrupt change in topic.

“Elizabeth, I’d like you to meet my fiancée.”

Turning around, Buffy’s eyes widened when they settled on the man she thought she’d never see again. She felt her mouth go dry as her lips parted in shock. Seeing his eyes widen after a moment, Buffy knew that he remembered her as well.

“Elizabeth Summers, this is William Crawford,” Anya said, walking over to him and wrapping an arm around his waist.

Perfect end to a perfect day.

“Nice to meet you,” Buffy said in a choked voice, holding out her hand. Gently taking it in his own, Spike brought it up to his lips, leaving a tender kiss on the back of it that sent her memories spiraling out of control.

“Pleased to meet you… Elizabeth.”

Looking away under his strong gaze, Buffy practically jerked her hand out of his grasp, turning around to gather her things. Taking a deep breath, she looked around the lobby, resisting the urge to worry her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Elizabeth,” Spike said slowly, letting the name roll off his tongue and drawing her attention toward him. “Seems a little stuffy to me.”

“Maybe so, William,” she replied through gritted teeth, unable to make eye contact with him as she looked over his shoulder. “If you feel more comfortable, call me Buffy.”

Looking up at Anya as she said it, Buffy tried to remember that this woman was a potential client, no matter what she might feel toward her fiancée.

“Buffy,” Anya said with a nod. “That’s more you. But honestly, I thought you’d be older. Owning your own business that’s so successful.”

“Well, Something Blue was started by my mom. She was ready to retire a few years ago and I took over.”

“You must have extraordinary monetary sense,” Anya said with wide eyes and an appreciative smile. “You have to be the most successful wedding coordinator in California.”

“I don’t know about that,” Buffy said sheepishly, trying not to think about the man whose eyes had never left her. “It’s not like I live in Hollywood, so I rarely get a lot of people from the industry.”

“Yes, but the cost of living here is so much lower,” Anya said, her gaze turning to the large file that was sitting in front of Buffy. “So, what are the plans for my big day?”

“Our big day,” Spike muttered, unheard by his fiancée.

“That’s really up to you,” Buffy replied, trying to shake off the case of nerves that she had. “I’m here to make sure everything runs smoothly. Would you like to sit down?” she asked, gesturing to the comfortable lounge with its plush, white leather furniture, glossy black tables, and vases of lilies scattered around the area.

“Lovely,” Anya said with a smile, grabbing Spike’s hand in a firm grip and leading him toward the loveseat.

Buffy shifted nervously as they sat down before sitting across them, spreading the package offers out on the coffee table. “These are some of the weddings that I’ve planned in the past,” she said, gesturing toward the table. “All of them have a different and unique theme. If there’s something you see that you like, we can easily plan based on the prior wedding. If you’d like to mix and match several ideas, that’s fine, as well. Or we can build the idea from scratch, based entirely on your ideas.”

Buffy wasn’t sure that the other woman had heard a word that she’d said as Anya was already flipping through one of the folders, studying the ‘Passion’ wedding that was more popular with Valentine’s Day weddings with its vibrant splashes of pink and red throughout the ceremony.

Unable to resist the temptation to look up, Buffy leaned back slightly when she saw Spike’s strong gaze watching every move she made.

Were his eyes always that expressive?’ she asked herself. ‘No… you were just drunk most of the time.

She couldn’t tell what was running through his mind as he continued to watch her, but Buffy found that she couldn’t look into his eyes.

“Can you tell me about some of these?” Anya asked, now flipping through the ‘Hell’s Bells’ package, specializing in a more chaotic theme for the wedding.

“Sure,” Buffy agreed, pasting a bright smile on her face as she nodded. “As you can see, there are several to choose from. These are just the most popular. We have ‘I Was Made to Love You’ which is one of the most popular. It’s a little flashy for some people, but it’s definitely a memorable wedding. ‘Once More, With Feeling’ focuses mainly on the musical aspects. That one is generally an outdoor wedding, complete with harpist, full band, grand piano, soloists. And the ‘Fool For Love’ package is for the whimsical romantics. Lots of flowers, candles, netting draped over every surface, usually wrapped in ivy or flowers.”

“What are these?” Spike asked, pointing to the small pile of folders that Buffy set on the chair next to the coffee table.

Buffy heard the question but focused on the man who asked as she swallowed. “Um… they’re mainly for the grooms.”

Leaning back in his chair, Spike smirked. “I think I like the sound of those, already. Do tell.”

“Well,” Buffy said slowly, a part of her not wanting to show them the folders, knowing that it might cut her commission. “We have ‘Same Time, Same Place’ which is basically a hassle-free eloping. We would set up everything so that all you would have to do is pack. The ‘Get it Done’ package is for grooms,” she said, seeing Spike smile a little. “A much smaller wedding, but still very tasteful.”

“And this one?” Spike asked, picking up a folder that had a hotel showcased on the front.

“‘Bring on the Night’,” Buffy filled in. “Strictly for honeymooners. Basically if you wanted to go to the courthouse or justice of the peace, we set up the hotel room for the wedding night. The most hassle-free of the group.”

“There oughtta be a ‘Love’s Bitch’ package,” Spike muttered, earning a smack on the arm from Anya and a slight smile from Buffy that she tried to hide from him.

Hearing the ringing of a cell phone, Buffy quickly grabbed hers, frowning when she noticed that it wasn’t hers.

“Hello?”

Looking up in time to see Anya answer her phone and motion that she would be back in a minute, Buffy’s eyes widened at the idea of being alone with Spike. Watching as Anya walked through the building and stood next to the front windows, Buffy took a deep breath before straightening her shoulders. She was a professional. She could handle a few minutes alone with a man she hardly knew. Whether she’d had a deep sexual connection with him at one point was irrelevant.

“So… how’ve you been?” he asked with a smile that was overly bright. “You left.”

Buffy’s mouth dropped open at the abrupt change in his tone. “Excuse me?”

“What? You don’t think I remember? I remember everything, love. And I remember waking up alone.”

“What are you? The woman in this situation?” Buffy hissed. “It was a drunken night of fun. Not like it was life-changing.”

“Maybe not,” Spike agreed with a nod. “But I think you owed me more than that.”

“I owed you more?” Buffy nearly cried out as she gestured to herself. “You’re the one who was making lewd advances all night long!”

“No,” he replied, tilting his head to look at her. “You’re just the one who tricked me up to a hotel room.”

“So… what? You think I took advantage of you or something?” she asked with a smirk.

“Never said I was complaining, Goldilocks,” he said, returning her smirk. “And I want my shirt back.”

“You’re kidding, right?” she asked with a smile that soon faded when she saw his raised eyebrow. “That was over a year ago! I don’t have your shirt!”

“Funny,” he replied in a low voice. “Because I have yours.”

Looking around quickly, Buffy narrowed her eyes as her gaze settled back on Spike. “Does your fiancée know about this?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“No,” he said with a slow smile. “You and anything belonging to you have remained my dirty little secrets.”

Glaring at him, Buffy opened her mouth to respond seconds before Anya walked back to the couple and sat down next to her fiancé.

“Sorry about that. You have no idea what a hassle it is to be in charge of this fundraiser.”

Not asking the other woman to elaborate, Buffy began gathering her things together, needing time away from the infuriating man in front of her.

“That’s okay,” she said, throwing some things into her bag. “Why don’t you take this?” she added, handing Anya a folder of options. “We’ll see where we can take it from there.”

“Very ‘to the point’,” Anya said with a smile. “I like that in a wedding planner.”

“It’s my job to make this as easy as possible for you,” Buffy said, easily falling into her speech to please her client.

“I find nothing wrong with that philosophy,” Anya said with a smile, standing up with Spike and looping her arm through his, causing Buffy to grit her teeth at the sight. Something that did not go unnoticed by Spike. “When shall we meet again?”

Buffy inwardly groaned at the question. These next few months were going to be excruciatingly long.







Thanks so much to: Cynthia, Cordykitten, spuffette, Franchesca, gotkona, Deborah, BuffyandSpikeForever, Karma, blondiebear, jennybean, Noelle, seraiza, willowmouse, mjspuff, Roz, baby spikes & spikestheman for reviewing!





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