Previously…
– The day of Samantha and Tempest’s wedding approached.
– Alex was shocked to discover that Trevor has been secretly covering half of Finn’s rent payments.
– Spencer hired Sarah to look into the payments that Loretta had allegedly made to Sonja to impede Spencer’s recovery. Sarah reported back that the payments actually originated with Natalie.
– A furious Spencer presented Natalie with a new, much less favorable divorce agreement and gave her 48 hours to accept it, or he would go to the police with the information about the payments.

Inside the King’s Bay Maritime Exchange, Samantha Fisher studies herself in the mirror. She turns slightly to check the fall of her flowing white dress. She seems to be at a loss for words.

“You know, if you keep looking at yourself like that, you’re going to be late to your own wedding,” a voice declares.

Samantha turns to find Tempest Banks in the doorway, looking radiant in a slim-fitting black suit with straight tie, and just a little amused.

“I’m trying to decide if I look like somebody who’s about to get married,” Samantha says.

“Take it from me: you look like somebody who’s about to get married to me,” Tempest deadpans.

Samantha laughs, and some of the tension leaves her shoulders. Tempest crosses the room and takes her hands. “You look beautiful.”

“So do you.”

For a moment, they simply look at each other. It’s a rare opportunity to be alone together before the day gets away from them. The space all around them hums with the energy of arriving guests, of soft music already playing, of the excitement and anxiety that comes with a momentous day like this. Even here, in this private room, they can feel it radiating.

“Are you nervous?” Samantha asks her fiancée.

Tempest hesitates. “A little.”

“Good. I’d hate to be the only one.”

“I’m not nervous about marrying you. I’m nervous about everything else. The people watching us, the damn schedule, the chance that something’s gonna go wrong–“

“Something always goes wrong.”

“Thanks. That’s reassuring,” Tempest says with a frown.

Samantha laughs. “When you’ve been to the weddings I’ve been up to… you just assume.”

“Like when your Aunt Natalie wound up rolling around in the grass begging Jason not to leave her at the altar?”

“That, and the time my Aunt Sarah got locked in a freezer before her wedding… twice…”

“I remember the second time.”

“And when Claire was supposed to marry my Uncle Ryan, and Nick Moriani showed up and–” Samantha cuts herself off with a shudder. “Let’s not. Nothing like that is going to happen. Whatever does, we’ll deal with it. Together.”

Tempest smiles as a knock at the door interrupts them. Claire Fisher steps inside, her face lighting up when she sees Tempest.

“Oh, Tempest.”

She takes in the sight of her foster daughter, and for a moment, the years between the frightened young woman she once welcomed into her home and the confident woman standing before her seem to fall away.

“Look at you.”

“Don’t start crying,” Tempest says. “If you start crying, I’m gonna start crying, and then Samantha’s going to start crying, and we’re all going to be a mess.”

“And you know my mom is going to remind you how much she paid for the make-up artist,” Samantha cracks.

Claire laughs through the emotion gathering in her eyes and embraces Tempest carefully.

“I’m so proud of you,” Claire says.

Tempest holds on to her for a moment longer than she intended. “I wouldn’t be here without you.”

“You did the work, Tempest. You got yourself here by building a life.”

“Maybe,” Tempest says. “But you gave me somewhere to start.”

Claire kisses her cheek. Samantha watches them with affection, understanding that this is a moment the two of them need.

A moment later, Isaac Banks enters with Chase, who is looking decidedly uncomfortable in his formal clothes.

“How much longer do we have to stand around?” Chase asks.

“Until the wedding starts,” his older half-brother tells him.

“I know that,” Chase says with a roll of the eyes. “I mean, how much longer?”

“That depends on how many more questions you ask.”

Tempest catches Isaac’s gaze and smiles. He returns it, the warmth between them still carrying the wonder of having found each other again after so many years apart.

For all the people who have helped bring her to this day, Tempest thinks, there are still people missing. Her mother, Yvette, will never see this. Maybe Tempest wouldn’t even want her to. Or maybe she would. But the family she has now is here, and that matters, too.

Samantha slips her hand into Tempest’s. “Ready?”

Tempest looks at Claire, then Isaac and Chase, then back at the woman she’s about to marry.

“You better believe I’m ready,” Tempest says.

—–

Diane Bishop surveys the main hall of the King’s Bay Maritime Exchange with satisfaction. The restored waterfront building is a far cry from the commercial space it once was, with tall windows overlooking the bay, exposed timber beams, and warm lights reflecting off the polished floors. The room has been transformed for the occasion, elegant without being stuffy, and the water beyond the windows provides a spectacular backdrop.

Alex Marshall stands beside Diane, taking it all in.

“Admit it,” she says. “I did good.”

“From an author to a former publishing exec… I’ll tell you did well,” Alex says with a grin.

“Okay, you got me there.”

Alex smiles, but his attention drifts across the room to Trevor Brooks, who looks impeccable in his black suit as he speaks to one of the venue staff near the entrance. Diane notices.

“You’re distracted,” she says.

“Am I?”

“You keep looking around like you’re waiting for someone to jump out of a cake,” she continues. “And I promise, that will not be happening today.”

“Maybe I’m just… taking in the atmosphere,” he says.

“You can do that without looking like you’re casing the place for an escape route.”

He turns back toward her, making an effort to be more present. “I’m fine. Really. This is a wonderful day. Samantha and Tempest deserve it. And my son gets to be ring bearer.”

“And your husband is officiating,” Diane reminds him, clocking his omission. “Are you sure everything is okay?”

Alex bobs his head up and down in what Diane can tell is a forced nod. “Everything’s fine.”

Across the hall, Spencer Ragan watches as Elly Vanderbilt enters the venue. She is dressed for the occasion in a floor-length jade-green dress that contrasts beautifully with her warm red hair.

“You look amazing,” he says as he approaches her.

“Thank you, Spencer.” She feels her lips curling into a smile, despite herself. “You look pretty good yourself.”

“Pretty good? I was hoping for a better review than that.”

“I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”

“Too late,” he says.

“You’re impossible,” she says, though she cannot conceal her amusement. “Have you spoken to Natalie yet?”

“Not yet. I’m waiting for her to arrive.” He checks his silver Patek Phillippe watch. “She’s 24 hours into her window already.”

“So you’re planning to hold her to your deadline.”

“I think 48 hours was extremely generous, considering what she’s done to me,” he counters, his eyes taking on a harder edge. “After tomorrow, the offer changes.”

“Spencer,” she says, drawing a breath. “I understand why you’re doing this. I do. But you know that woman isn’t going to take this quietly.”

“Natalie doesn’t take anything quietly. That doesn’t mean I have to give her whatever she wants. She should be in jail, Elly.”

“I don’t disagree. But Peter is in the middle of this.”

“I’m trying to make sure he doesn’t lose his mother entirely,” Spencer says, glancing toward where Peter is showing TJ something on his Nintendo Switch. The two boys are seated on chairs in one of the back rows set up for the ceremony. “It’s up to Natalie whether she lets that happen.”

Elly nods. She knows better than to argue with him when he has settled on something, although she is always tempted to try. “Just be careful. This has the potential to start a war.”

“She’s the one who started the war behind my back. Now it’s up to her to call the ceasefire.”

—–

Guests continue to filter into the Maritime Exchange, greeting one another and finding their places. Near the windows, Tim Fisher observes as TJ looks on at Peter’s Nintendo Switch, awaiting his turn to play. For the moment, the boys seem content to entertain themselves, but Tim’s attention keeps returning to his youngest son.

Claire approaches from the room behind the ceremony space.

“He’s doing okay,” she says, immediately catching Tim’s distraction.

“I know.”

“You don’t look like you know.”

Tim exhales, glancing down at his hands. “With Samantha getting married today, and Travis having a new baby of his own… it feels like everything is changing at once. And TJ keeps asking when he can see Sonja.”

Claire’s expression softens. She knows that Sonja’s sentencing is approaching soon, and when it happens, they will have a better idea of how things will look going forward.

“I know Sonja hasn’t wanted TJ to see her in prison,” Claire says gently, “but she’s fooling herself if she thinks she’s going to be released any time soon. She committed premeditated murder.”

“She’s still hoping the judge will show leniency or give her time served or something,” Tim replies. “I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of that, but…”

“But we’ll face the reality when it comes time.” She takes his hand. “I’m here with you every step of the way.”

Tim looks at her, a warm expression of gratitude saying everything that he needs to convey.

Across the room, Sarah Fisher Gray joins Diane, who is still admiring the results of her planning efforts.

“I can’t believe we actually pulled this off,” Diane comments.

“You say that as if you haven’t been obsessing over the details for months,” Sarah tells her friend.

“Talking about it and actually getting everything done are two very different things.”

Sarah sighs, a small action that gets Diane’s attention.

“All right. First Alex, then you. What’s up?” she asks.

“What’s going on with Alex?” Sarah counters.

“Something. But I don’t know. And that’s made me notice the same thing in you.”

“It’s a wedding. I’m allowed to have thoughts.”

“I’d be a little worried if you didn’t have any,” Diane jokes. “But you look like you’re mentally assembling a case file.”

Sarah hesitates. She can’t tell Diane everything, at least not yet, but the knowledge she has been carrying weighs on her.

“Spencer asked me for some help with the divorce,” she explains cautiously, “and there’s something I uncovered that could put Natalie in a lot of trouble.”

Diane’s eyebrows rise. “What did my idiot sister do now?”

“I can’t discuss the details.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“I am not.”

Diane considers this before letting out a small, humorless laugh.

“Well, whatever it is,” she muses, “I’m sure Natalie found a way to make it more complicated than it needs to be.”

“You have no idea,” Sarah says.

A few feet away, Diane spots Sienna Ridley approaching with little Noelle, who is proudly clutching a small bouquet.

“There’s our flower girl,” Diane says with forced cheer.

Noelle beams as Diane crouches to admire the flowers.

“You look beautiful,” she tells Isaac’s young daughter.

“She’s been very excited about today,” Sienna says. “And she had a great time at the beach, too. She keeps talking about it.”

“I’m glad,” Diane responds coolly.

“Although she ate about a month’s worth of junk food, it sounds like,” Sienna adds.

“It was vacation. Her father thought it would be okay.” Diane straightens, keeping her smile fixed in place. “I raised a daughter who turned out pretty well, and she’s getting married today. I think Noelle will survive a few extra treats.”

Sarah stands just behind Diane, observing the interaction carefully.

“We should find your dad,” Sienna says to the little girl. She looks at Diane. “Do you know where Isaac is?”

“He’s in the back with Tempest and Samantha. There’s a room back there–” Diane points. “I’m sure he’ll be very excited to see Noelle.”

“I’m sure he will,” Sienna says, a bit pointedly, before leading her daughter away.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sarah asks.

Diane turns. “What?”

“The two of you seemed ready to scratch each other’s eyes out.”

“Oh, please.” Diane waves away the thought. “I’m not giving that woman a second thought today. Talk about minor league.”

Sarah chuckles as they move off to greet more guests.

—–

Near the front of the room, Sophie Fisher pauses beside one of the tall windows. Beyond the glass, the bay is calm, the water catching the light. For an instant, the sight takes her somewhere else: the violent shaking, the awful noise, the sense that the world had come loose beneath her.

She blinks, pulling herself back to the present. She realizes that Bree Halston, wearing a different dress in the same sage green as Sophie and the other bridesmaids, is standing right there.

“You okay?” Bree asks.

“Yeah,” Sophie says. “Just thinking about the earthquake. It’s weird. I don’t actually remember it happening — or I didn’t, until right now.”

“You don’t remember it?”

“I remember right afterward. But I couldn’t remember being in the middle of it until just this second.”

“Maybe you blocked it out because it was so scary,” Bree muses.

“Maybe…”

Sophie stares off into the distance, her own reflection faint in the glass.

“It’s nice to have something good happening for a change,” Bree says brightly. All Sophie can do is nod.

“Now you look amazing,” Marcus Gray says as he approaches the pair and slips an arm around Bree’s waist. “Damn.”

“You clean up pretty well yourself,” Bree says before planting a peck on his lips.

“Thanks. Figured I’d make an effort. Set a good example for the other guys.”

“That was really generous of you,” Bree teases.

“You know…” Marcus threads his fingers together with Bree’s. “All this wedding stuff, it kinda makes me think.”

“About?”

“We’re getting to the end of college,” he says. “We’ve been together a long time. Maybe…”

Bree’s eyes widen with surprise.

“You guys are gonna get married?” Sophie asks.

“First I’m hearing of it,” Bree says. “But I don’t hate the idea.”

“I’m gonna need a little more enthusiasm than that,” Marcus says.

Bree’s expression shifts slightly. “Of course I want to be with you. It’s just, with finishing classes, and graduation, and what’s probably my last season or two of competition… then starting careers…”

“I’m not asking you to pick a date. Just something to think about.”

“It’s absolutely something we can think about.” She squeezes his hand reassuringly, and Marcus is content to leave the topic there for now. Bree sees her maternal grandmother coming toward them in a burgundy dress with a sequined overlay on the top half.

“Bree, my dear,” Claudia Bishop says. “You look lovely.”

“Thanks, Grandma. You look beautiful, too.”

“And Marcus. Hello.”

“It’s good to see you, Mrs. Bishop.”

“I’m gonna go check in with Samantha,” Sophie says before slipping away.

“Where is that mother of yours?” Claudia asks. “Peter and I came over in the car that she called, but she was nowhere to be found.”

Bree shrugs. “I have no idea. I’ll come by the house to spend time with you before you go home, though. It’s just been easier to stay at my dad’s.”

“I understand,” Claudia says, patting her granddaughter on the arm. “What with the divorce and all. I see Spencer over there. Perhaps your mother is trying to avoid him.”

“Maybe,” Bree says, although she has been getting the sense from her mother that something beyond the divorce itself is going on.

END OF EPISODE 1319

Will Natalie show her face at the wedding?
Is Elly right in warning Spencer?
Can Tim keep protecting TJ from the truth?
Discuss it all in the comments below!