Judy’s POV Nan let herself into the villa like she owned the place. Our butler, Adam, was used to it by now and only rolled his eyes whenever she strolled in. She gave him a wink and a wave before she passed him and went into the back parlor, where Irene and I sat. I could see her from the entryway as she made her way towards us, and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face upon seeing her. Nan had been so busy between her restaurant and helping out at the packhouse that I barely got to see her. I was glad to see that Chuck was handling things for her, and she was able to take a day away from the stresses of her work life. She held up a bag as she strolled towards us. “I made muffins,” she said. “Figured you girls would enjoy them.” She placed them on the coffee table in front of us. I smiled, grateful for her; her muffins were incredible, and I was excited to eat one. “Thanks,” I said with a bright smile. “I’m glad you could get here at the last minute.” She scoffed and took a seat next to Irene. “Please, I all but told Chuck I needed a girl’s night. He didn’t even bat an eye. He told me to have fun, and he will handle everything,” she said, a smirk playing on her lips. “Which almost guarantees a mess tomorrow, but oh well.” This made us giggle; though Irene giggled as well, it didn’t quite reach her eyes, and it was painfully obvious that she was faking it for our benefit. I hated that she was in so much pain; her mind was probably in a thousand different places right now. She had dark circles around her eyes, she was pale; her hair wasn’t done… she wore sweatpants and a hoodie that I knew didn’t belong to her. It was too big, and it had Chuck’s scent all over it. If Erik were to catch wind of his scent on her, it would destroy him. I didn’t want that to happen to my friend, and I certainly didn’t want Irene pining over someone who didn’t care for her. “Jesus, Irene,” Nan said, her brows knitting together. “You look like death. Did you get into a fight with your pillow?” “I guess I’ve been better,” Irene said, running her fingers through her thick mass of hair, looking a bit sheepish. “But can you blame me? I’m grieving.” “Well, it doesn’t help when you wear Chuck's hoodie,” Nan said, folding her arms across her chest. So, she noticed too… I’m glad I wasn’t the only one. “How do you expect to get over him when you wrap yourself in his scent?” Her cheeks flamed red. “We are supposed to be here talking about Judy, not here,” Irene said, folding her arms across her chest. “You know…. Wedding plans?” “I’m okay talking about this too if you need to vent,” I said, shrugging one shoulder. “I don’t,” she said firmly, her eyes narrowed as she looked at me. “I’d rather not talk about any of it. Thank you very much.” I looked at Nan, and she gave me the same look in return. With a knowing glint in our eyes, we both decided to drop it. “Here,” Nan said, handing me a muffin. “You’re eating for two.” I smiled at her as I nibbled on the muffin; the flavors practically exploded in my mouth. It was delicious and I couldn’t help the moan that escaped my mouth. When she went to hand one to Irene, she waved it away. “No, it’s okay. I’m not very hungry.” To that, Nan just shrugged and then started to eat the muffin herself She reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out a notebook, placing it on the coffee table in front of us. I recognized that notebook as one she wrote her recipes and notes in. As she flipped it open, though, it was something different, something unexpected. On the top of the first page, it read: Judy’s Wedding.“When did you write all this down?” I asked with a hint of a smile in the corner of my lips. She shrugged and leaned back in her seat. “A few weeks ago. It’s no big deal,” Nan shrugged. “I mean, one of us has to be organized.” “Um, what is that?” Irene asked, narrowing her eyes at one of the pictures. It was some photos of the bridesmaid dresses. They were salmon pink; they weren’t bad, but not the prettiest either. They were very Nan, though; she liked simple things like that. “The bridesmaid dresses,” Nan said with a pleased smile. “I figured something not too flashy because we don’t want to take away from the bride. It’s simple and comfortable and—” “Not going to work,” Irene said, her brows pinched together. “This is a Landry wedding. The people are going to expect huge and flashy. We can’t wear something mediocre like this. How about you leave the dresses to me, and you can handle the menu.”Nan frowned. “I’m the maid of honor. Shouldn’t I be in charge of this stuff?” She asked. “Just focus on what you’re good at and I’ll focus on what I’m good at,” Irene said, glancing through the other photos. “These will never do. We would look so ordinary. It’s a huge no thanks.” Nan rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever,” she muttered. “Did you choose a cake flavor yet?” I shook my head. “I’m not entirely sure. I mean, we tried some cakes the other day. What did you think?” “I loved the lemon personally,” Nan said with a shrug. Irene crinkled her nose. “Gross, you’re the only one who would want a lemon cake,” Irene murmured. “How about we keep that part simple and go for vanilla. We can’t go wrong with that?” “That’s so boring,” Nan groaned. “Besides, it’s Judy’s wedding. She should be the one to decide.” I shrugged. I was leaning more towards red velvet, but I want it to be something that Gavin enjoys, too, because this day is for him as well.” “I can make some calls and get you in for another cake testing. Please provide me with a list of all the flavors you enjoyed, and I’ll pass it on to the baker for your next testing. You can go with Gavin,” Nan suggested as she wrote that down in the notebook. “That would be great; thanks,” I said with a small smile. “What about a theme?” Irene asked. “We should come up with a wedding theme.” “Wedding is the theme,” Nan said, furrowing her brows. Irene rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Um, no… the wedding itself needs a real theme. I was thinking something like a fairytale, or paradise. It would be so romantic with snow lights and glitter!” “No glitter,” Nan said, crinkling her nose. “A little glitter?” Irene asked. “No glitter,” Nan repeated, stubbornly. “Maybe we can revisit the glitter?” I suggested, not wanting them to argue. “Do you seriously want glitter at your wedding?” Nan asked, raising her brows. “Since when are you a glitter girl?” “I’m not a glitter girl, but if Irene wants glitter…” “It’s your wedding!” Nan reminded me, effectively stopping me from talking. “It’s not about what Irene wants. Just because she’s heartbroken over a guy she has no business being heartbroken over.” “She’s Gavin’s daughter, Nan. This wedding isn’t just about me marrying Gavin and becoming the Luna; it’s about joining his family with mine. It’s about me becoming a Landry and the Landrys becoming part of the Montagues. This wedding isn’t just for me, so if Irene wants a little glitter, then I don’t mind adding some glitter.” Irene’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she listened to my words. She bit her lower lip and looked away, like she was afraid that I’d see the emotions pooling in her eyes. “It’d be so tacky,” Nan whined. “But fine… it is your wedding after all.” I smiled at her, grateful to have her in my life. I was grateful to have both of them in my life. I watched as Nan and Irene continued to plan. Irene struggled against her tears for the next couple of hours, and once in a while, I’d catch her taking a sniff of her hoodie. It hurt me to see her like this, and I wished there was something I could do to help. But then a thought came to me; a siren used magic to compel their victims to love them and believe that they are fated mates. So maybe it’s magic we need to break the hold that Chuck has on Irene. Maybe if we can find a witch to help with that type of magic, Irene would be free from Chuck’s siren hold and then finally see Erik for the mate that he is. But if that didn’t work, then we could find the true owner of the Moon Gem’s necklace and then get them to break that curse. We just had to figure out who the owner was and if they were willing to help.