Chapter 1: Prologue

BOOK ONE: SYDNEY

Have you ever had a kiss that breathed life into your soul? That ignited a fire inside you? That sends you into the most beautiful free fall?

Because that happened to me on my wedding day.

Except it wasn't with the man I was meant to marry.

Gabe taps my shoulder, his expressive honey-coloured eyes looking at me. "Sweetie, stop touching your lips. They are as dry as the Sahara Desert."

I really should drink more water, the Xanax makes them dry, not to mention I have a bad habit of stroking them when I'm trying to concentrate. I look up from my laptop and turn to him. We've been on this plane for ten hours, and yet his platinum blonde hair is still perfectly coiffed. His trademark white silk scarf is wrapped tightly around his neck, his nails perfectly manicured.

Only he can still be continually suave and chic twenty-four seven. I, on the other hand, have a thin layer of sweat, and I do not feel attractive in the slightest even with my trusty eyeliner enhancing my wide almond eyes. But it doesn't matter, because I'm trying to get some work done.

"It's the dryness up in here." I feel them. Damn they are parched, like sandpaper.

"You're half Asian, aren't you always supposed to have perfectly moisturised lips?" he asks.

"What? You come up with the funniest crap sometimes," I tease as I reach into my bag to grab my strawberry chap stick, applying a thick layer.

"Okay, maybe it's because you're a female then," he jokes and I grin back.

My best friend, Gabe Sasse, always cracks me up with his dirty and off kilter one-liners and he is the best buddy to accompany me on this plane ride from hell. Not only are we towards the back of coach, the screaming toddler behind me is really not helping my headache and I rub my increasingly aching temples. The seat underneath me is stiff and even though I am reclined back, it does nothing for my comfort.

I hate flying, but especially in economy class. The Xanax is helping me focus on the laptop instead of the fact that I am thirty thousand feet in the air. To think I'm so high upstop thinking about it, Lay. We're only two hours away from landing, back onto normal flat land. I turn back to my laptop and continue typing away.

"Hun, you've been buried in that laptop all day."

"I just have to double check the run sheets; just finishing up the one in case we run into wet weather."

Gabe sighs loudly. Even after all this time, he can't believe how much I over-plan everything. My backup plans have their own backups, I always plan out my projects with track-able milestones and I update and recalibrate my schedule at least once a day.

"Your enthusiasm is overwhelming me!Come on, we're on our way to Italy for god's sake," he says.

Enthusiastic? That is not a word that describes my current state of mind. Jilted, irritated, cheesed off more like. Hmm, cheese and crackers would be nice right now.

"I am excited, but I'm still a bit"

"Under the weather? I guess I can forgive you, it's only been a few days since" he stops himself but we both know what he's talking about. So much has happened in the last few days that I should be excited to get away.

He's right though, I should try and enjoy this. Why should I keep feeling sorry for myself? It's not every day I get invited to stay at one of the lushest and most historic hotels in the world for free, and in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I suppose I could do with a break.

I reach for my bag again and take out my half-finished block of dark chocolate infused with kaffir lime, laying it out in front of Gabe with a grin. Chocolate is my vice. I love chocolate so much that I always have at least one block with me at all times. "I bought this from that shop on Kent Street, try some!"

"I'm getting merlot!" He presses the service button immediately before taking two little squares out of my block and popping it in his mouth. "Mmm, this is good."

I take one square and moan quietly at the sensation of the cocoa melting in my mouth. Just a square at a time is all I need and I feel better already. "I've also packed a block of milk honeycomb crunch, dark coffee crunch, hazelnut milk, dark raspberry"

"Whoa! We're only going to be there ten days, you chocolate whore!"

I laugh quietly, eating another square. I need this chocolate, more than he realises.

I have a reason to bury myself in work and chocolate, a damned good reason. No, I'm not feeling a lot of pressure, as this is my first big international wedding. No, I'm not feeling sad about leaving home; that is, Sydney, Australia. No, my one damned good reason is I'm using work as a diversion. I'm resentful and frankly, I'm pissed off.

This is supposed to be a plane ride of joy and happily ever after. This is supposed to be my honeymoon trip, instead I'm planning someone else's wedding as a means to divert my attention from going off the deep end. Instead of flying to Italy on another assignment, I should be lying on a deck chair sipping a fruity cocktail in the Boracay Islands.

The biggest day of my life didn't happen. I was supposed to marry the man of my dreams, ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after, but somehow it all unravelled like a ball of yarn. I just don't know who pulled the thread.