The wind breezed through the open window and her hands came up to push the hair out of her face, a smile playing across her lips.

Olivia bobbed her head to the faint beat coming from the radio, breathing in the fresh air as the scenery flew by, changing every now and again into a totally different landscape.

Buildings gave way to trees.  Flat land rose up into hills, dipped into low plains.  Fields flowed into lakes, streams and the occasional beach.

A sigh escaped and she settled herself back into her seat, her eyes sliding closed as she lost herself in the luxurious feel of the smooth leather.

Behind her closed eyelids, in her self-imposed darkness, she concentrated on embracing the exhilaration of just being here, in this car, in this moment.

There was just something about riding down the interstate, no destination in mind, no set time to be anywhere.  Just getting out and going.

It was relaxing, soothing and refreshing.

It felt free.

She felt the gentle shifting as the car automatically switched gears, the silent thrumming of the engine traveling through her body almost in time with her pulse, becoming part of her.

Quiet humming carried over the rushing wind, and she opened her eyes, turning to look over at him.

A soft grin graced her features as she thought back to that morning.

She growled as the doorbell rang yet again.  “All right already!  Give me a second!”

Shaking her head with a scowl, she pulled the door open, only to freeze in surprise.

“Hey, beautiful.”

The smooth voice flowed over her in waves, making it impossible to focus on anything other than the man in her doorway.

His fingers came up to lift the sunglasses from the bridge of his nose and he stepped forward, leaning down to brush his lips over hers briefly, not caring that she still hadn’t said anything.

She broke out of her shock at the touch of his lips, a brilliant smile lighting up her face as she practically threw herself into his arms.  “You’re back!  When did you get home?”

“Late last night.”  His arms tightened around her and he grinned when he felt her sigh against him, her fingers tracing lines on the back of his neck.

She leaned back to look at him.  “I didn’t think you were coming in until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yeah, well . . . plans change.”  He leaned down once again, pressing light kisses to her cheeks before pausing over her lips, his eyes clashing with hers.  “I got out of there as soon as we were done.”  His thumbs brushed back and forth along either side of her jaw.  “I missed you.”

“You did, huh?”  An eyebrow arched playfully as her fingers moved upward, sliding into his hair.  “How much?”

“This much.”  His hands came down, grasping her waist and lifting her up against him, catching her lips with his own as he carried her through the doorway and into the front hallway of her house.  He kicked the door closed and turned them around, pressing her back against the smooth wood and leaning even further into her, kissing her so deeply, so thoroughly that each and every bone in her body melted.

She clung to him, helpless to do much of anything else as his fingers moved just underneath the fabric of her shirt, his fingertips brushing against her stomach and leaving chill bumps all along her skin.  The only thing holding her together was the delicious pressure of his lips, moving against hers in a maddening way that she wouldn’t soon forget.

Finally, she pulled away and rested her forehead against his shoulder, gasping for breath as his hands moved over her back, gently massaging the muscles through her shirt.  “Mmmm.  I missed you, too.”  A deep breath filled her lungs.  “Wow.”

He laughed lightly at her breathless sentence, moving back and away from her, his smile almost blinding.  “I’m home.  And I have absolutely nothing to do for the next two days.”  His hand reached out to take hers.  “Let’s go.”

“Go?  Go where?”

“Anywhere.  Nowhere.  It doesn’t really matter as long as I’m with you and away from here.”  He brought her hand up to his lips.  “Let’s just get in the car and go.”

She bit her lip, thinking of all the things she really needed to get done and how she was supposed to go in to work soon.

“Come on, babe.”  His head ducked so that he could meet her eyes, a pleading expression on his face.  “Just think about it.  Nobody but you and me, cruising, the wind in your hair . . .”  He grinned playfully.  “Not that anything matters but the part about you and me.”  His hands came up to frame her face and he leaned forward to kiss her lightly.  “Come with me, Livvie.  Please?”

Never before had she been able to deny him a request . . . and this time had been no exception.  Just one look at his face, at those eyes and she would give in at the drop of a hat.

So she’d called in to work, feigning a migraine.  She’d left behind all the bills and house cleaning and grocery shopping . . . everything took a backseat when it came to taking the time to feel alive.

And right now . . . feeling alive meant sitting here in the car, watching him as he drove.

Her eyes moved over his frame, silhouetted in the brightness of the blue sky outside his window.

He was relaxed, almost slouching in the driver’s seat, his elbow resting on the edge of the window’s opening so that he could prop his head up with his hand, his dark hair – just long enough to allow movement – blowing with the wind.

His head nodded just the tiniest bit and his upper torso made slight, fluid movements – the trained body of a dancer performing unconsciously to the beat coming from the stereo.  Every now and again, his lips would move as he quietly sang along with the music, the soft sound traveling just far enough for her to hear its whisper before he resumed humming again.

The long, lean fingers of one hand were loosely, surely wrapped around the steering wheel, tapping out one rhythm or another before tightening, flexing the muscles in his hand as he changed lanes.  For just a moment, she could almost imagine that he was playing one melody or another for her, his fingers so adept at moving up and down the keyboard, creating a beautiful piece for the piano to sing back to him.

Her eyes trailed down, following the lines of his wrist until they fell upon the thin threaded bracelet tied there.  Such a small, seemingly insignificant thing, but he kept it on unless he was forced to remove it.  It kept him grounded, he said, reminded him of the people back home, his family and what the group had gone through to get to where they were.  The bracelet had been around long before she’d even come into the picture, but she cherished it just as much as he did.  The memories attached to it had molded him into the man he was today, the man she loved with all her heart, and she was most grateful that he craved the reminder.

He shifted, raising his head up straighter before settling back down in the seat, both hands now on the wheel.

Despite the coolness of the wind coming in the window, a bead of sweat worked its way down his cheek to the underside of his jaw.  She watched its slow progression, memories of the day they’d met leaping to the front of her mind.

She barely looked at the guy stepping out of the car next to her, concentrating only on her thirst as she made her way into the gas station.

He was directly behind her as she pushed through the door and she could feel him following her to the open cooler in the back of the store.  By the time they’d reached the display of cold drinks, they were side by side, scanning the bottles and jars in front of them.

Her eyes landed on the last Snapple Peach Iced Tea and she reached out to grasp it at the exact same time he did, his fingers trapping hers against the cool glass bottle.

“Oh, sorry.”  His hand came back quickly and she turned to look at him as she pulled the drink from the cooler.

He was taller by a few inches, her eyes coming level with the area just beneath his nose, and looked as though he’d just gotten finished running a marathon.  His hair was matted with sweat underneath his ball cap, beads of the liquid running down his face.  His clothes were dry, clean, but they clung to him where perspiration made his skin damp.

She met dark blue eyes for just a second before he turned back to scan the drinks again, mulling over the remaining options, his fingers making the change in his pocket jingle as he fidgeted.

The coolness of the drink in her hand broke through her study of him and she looked down at the glass bottle before bringing her gaze back up to him.  “You know, peach is the best flavor when you’ve had a hard day.  You look like you could use this more than me.”

He turned to look at her, an unsure expression on his face when he saw her holding the bottle out to him.  “It’s the last one.  You should take it.”

“Nah.”  She shook her head, gesturing toward the cooler with her free hand.  “There’s something like five other flavors in there that I can take.” Her eyes ran over him again and she laughed softly.  “And you look like you need the rejuvenation of a Peach Iced Tea.”  She shook the drink slightly.  “Go ahead.”

“Well . . .”  He looked at her again, as if trying to read something into her kindness.  After a moment, he broke into a smile.  “All right.  Thank you.”

“No problem.”  She offered him a grin as he took the bottle.  “Enjoy it.”

“I will.”

Her eyes followed him as he walked past her, stopped at the register to pay, then moved toward the door.

Shaking her head, she turned back to the display in front of her, trying to decide on a flavor before just pointing a finger at the bottles and reciting softly.  “Eenie.  Meenie.  Miney.  Mo . . .”

Finally, she took a bottle from the cooler, turning just in time to see him pulling out of the parking lot.  Her eyes froze on the car, following it as it turned right into traffic and moved out of sight.

For only a moment, she thought about him.  What was his story?  Where was he from?  What was his name?

Just as quickly as the thoughts surfaced, they vanished, escaping to the rear recesses of her mind with a shrug, and she moved to the register to pay for her own drink.

She’d walked out of the gas station without a second thought about him, but when they’d bumped into each other again the next week – at the exact same time and place – he’d come rushing back to the front of her mind.

He hadn’t said a word, just reached out for two Peach Iced Teas and passed her one with a smile.

The next week, she’d found herself stopping just to see if it would happen again.  And it had.  Only this time, they actually talked for a few minutes.

It had snowballed from there.  Chatting had led to actual conversation.  Conversation had led to a friendship of sorts.  The friendship had led to a date – and she was more than quick to remind him that she’d had to ask him out to dinner.  That date had led to the most serious, open relationship she’d ever experienced with another person.

A silent laugh escaped as she considered how she’d never imagined that, out of everything in this world, a Snapple would lead her to her soul mate.

The droplet of sweat had worked its way down his neck, disappearing underneath the collar of his shirt, and she shifted her eyes, taking in the image of him yet again.

It occurred to her that she had an equivalent to his bracelet . . . in him.

Just looking at him, watching him, brought memories rushing to her every time.

The only difference was that she couldn’t take him with her everywhere she went.  Not physically, anyway.

But right now, he was with her – within arm’s reach – and she couldn’t help but sit back and let her thoughts wander.

Her gaze moved over his face, resting briefly on his lips.  A small smile graced her features as she remembered their first kiss.

The lights came up in the nearly deserted theater, leaving them blinking as their eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness.

“Okay . . . that wasn’t anything like I was expecting.”

“It wasn’t?”  He arched an eyebrow at her before standing and gathering their trash.  “What more could you expect from a horror movie?”

“I was kind of hoping for more suspense than horror.”  She shuddered as scenes from the movie flashed in her mind.  “There’s no way I’m going to sleep tonight.”

“Nah.  You’ll sleep fine.”  He grinned as they walked back up the aisle and out into the lobby.  “You’ll just have some really weird dreams.”

“You mean nightmares.”  She groaned.  “I hate nightmares.”

“You should have thought of that before suggesting that we see a horror movie.”  He laughed as they made their way to the closest trash can.  “It’s not like you actually saw all that much of it, anyway.  Or was the picture better with your eyes covered?”  He paused, and she watched him look around cautiously before tossing the popcorn bucket and cups in the trash.

From the minute they’d entered the building, his eyes had continuously moved from side to side, discretely keeping a watch for a surprise mob.  The theater wasn’t that crowded, which was a point in their favor, since he’d ventured out without his usual mountain of a body guard, something that he obviously didn’t do very often.

Finally, he turned back to her with a smile.  “Ready to head out?”

“Sure . . . unless you want to stick around and see if they’ll let us watch it again.”

“No, that’s okay.”  He laughed again, his arm going around her waist and pulling her to his side as they moved toward the exit.  “I don’t think you could handle it again.  I know my hand can’t.  That’s some grip you have.”  His fingers flexed against her side and she had to laugh.

They were just stepping onto the tiled area of the floor when she heard his voice next to her ear.  “Be careful.  The floor’s . . .”  He wasn’t even finished with his sentence when she felt her feet sliding out from under her.  Her fingers automatically came up to grip his shirt and she felt his arm tighten around her, pulling her even closer to him to keep her from falling.

It was a valiant effort, but all it did was send them spinning twice on the wet tiles before they both went down, sprawling across the floor in a mess of arms and legs.

“Ow.”  His soft groan broke through her shock, and she felt him raise up as far as he could with his arm trapped beneath her.

She’d landed on her side, facing away from him, and tried to gather her senses to take inventory of any possible breaks or sprains.  Her hip ached from being slammed against the floor and her arm was a little sore, but she thought she’d survive.

She tried lifting her leg, but found that she couldn’t, one of his legs being draped across her, pinning her down.  Her hand was still fisted in his shirt, keeping him against her, and she could just imagine how ridiculous they must look.

“Well, that wasn’t one of my finer moves.”  She shook her head and tried to roll over onto her back, but stopped when she heard him groan again.  “Jace?  Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be okay.”  He shifted a little when she released his shirt, moving back and away from her so that she could roll over.  “Can I have my arm back now?”

“Only if I can have my legs back.”  She turned to face him and they stared at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.

Minutes later, they had worked themselves free of each other and he was sitting up, watching her with a smile as she continued to laugh.  He’d already waved off the theater staff, assuring them that they were all right and didn’t need any help.

“Are you sure you didn’t knock anything loose in there?”  She looked up at him when she felt his fingers in her hair, moving across her scalp as if checking for injuries.

“Everything’s where it’s supposed to be.  I think.”  She shook her head with a grin.  “There’s no telling what was out of place in there to begin with.”

He laughed softly, his fingers tracing the area below her temple and next to her eye.  “You’re going to have a bruise.”

“It’ll fade, so I’m not too worried about it.”  His hand stayed with her as she sat up and looked down with a laugh.  “Thank God I’m wearing pants.”

“Mmmhmm.”  Her gaze came up to him when she heard the odd tone in his voice, catching the way his eyes were moving over her face as his fingers came down to touch her cheek.  “Thank God.”

Then he was moving, leaning closer to her until his lips met hers, tentatively at first, then with more confidence.

A moment later, she pulled back with a sigh, opening her eyes to find him only inches away from her, his fingers still against her cheek.  “Sorry for being such a klutz.”

“It’s all right.”  He grinned, his other hand coming up to run his fingers through her hair.  “That just means you’ll get to fall for me over and over again.”

“Nice.”  She shook her head at the corny line, her eyebrow rising sharply before her eyes moved pointedly over the floor.  “Are you going to try to catch me every time?”

“Yeah, I’ll catch you.”  His eyes moved down to her lips before coming back up to meet hers, his own eyebrow arching playfully.  “Either that, or I’ll just fall with you.  Whichever works.”

He pulled on her until she was practically in his lap and leaned down so that he was smiling against her lips.  Then he was kissing her again and her arms came around his neck, her fingers sliding into his hair as she lost herself in the cinnamon flavor of him.

She grinned, remembering how cinnamon had suddenly beaten out peach as her favorite flavor.

After that night at the theater, it hadn’t taken very long to prove his words right.

She’d fallen for him . . . and, somehow or another, she’d dragged him right on down with her.

Her smile dimmed at the path her thoughts were taking, knowing that these memories weren’t her favorites.

Just like his bracelet . . . among the many wonderful memories she found in him, there were also a few bad ones in the mix.

Growing to love him had been a blissful, exciting ride . . . until that day she’d looked at him and realized exactly how deeply she was losing herself.

He’d become her world.  His touch, the looks he would send her way, his kisses, the sound of his laughter . . . everything about him had become a necessity to her. 

She’d found that she needed him, depended on him.

Whether he’d known it or not . . . he’d been holding her heart in his hand.

She hadn’t been sure if she was ready for that dependency, ready to give her heart away.  She hadn’t known if she could handle the pain that would come if she lost him.

All she’d known was that she couldn’t take that risk.

So she’d turned tail and run, breaking her own heart so that he wouldn’t have the chance.

The next three months had been the darkest time she could remember.  She’d been miserable without him, her days mechanical and lifeless.

It had taken a long phone lecture from her sister to get her to admit that she needed him, that the idea of needing him wasn’t as scary as she’d thought and that what she was putting herself through had to be worse than what would happen if he ever walked away from her.

The next day, she’d laid her pride aside and gone to see him, hoping that, by some miracle, there might still be a chance for them.

She fidgeted, taking a deep breath to gather her nerves before reaching out to press her thumb against the button, wincing as the doorbell rang loudly through the house.

Footsteps moved closer to the door and she closed her eyes, saying a quick prayer before she heard the lock turn.

The door was pulled open to reveal a pretty blonde woman standing in the foyer, peering out the door with curiosity written all over her face.  “Hi.  Can I help you?”

“Umm . . . I . . .”  Shock left her dumbfounded, and she couldn’t even remember why she was standing there to begin with.  “I . . .”

“Who is it, Mel?”

His voice carried from the direction of the kitchen, laughing, happy . . . just as she remembered it.

The blonde – Mel – turned to yell back into the house.  “Hang on a minute!”  Then she faced her once again.  “Sorry about that.  Now . . .”

Liv shook her head, her eyes moving quickly from side to side as she tried to figure out what to say.  Her gaze fell on the black car parked on the other side of the driveway, on the lace heart shaped pillow lying on the dashboard – seemingly identical to the one that he’d given her, that she still had lying on her couch.

One look at that pillow . . . and it finally clicked.

She had no reason to be here, no right to want him back after she’d screwed everything up.

She’d let him go physically.

Now she needed to release him emotionally.  She needed to move on, leave him alone . . . let him be happy.

“Are you all right?”

The words broke through her thoughts and she turned back, facing Mel with a small smile.  “Yeah, I-I’m fine.”  She swallowed hard.  “Just . . . just please tell Josh that Liv stopped by to say hi and that . . . well, that I hope he’s doing well, that he’s happy.”  She stepped away from the door, turning to head back to her car, only to have to stop as she remembered.  “Oh . . . and I have a few of his things.  At my house, I mean.  I didn’t think of it before, but he can . . . well, I guess he can let me know what he wants me to do with them.”  She began moving again.  “Sorry to bother you.”

“You know, you could always just come in and talk to him yourself.”

Turning back, she met an arched blonde eyebrow and knowing blue eyes.  “No . . . I wouldn’t want to interrupt anything.”  She looked over her shoulder at her car.  “I should go.  Sorry again.”

As she made her way down the walk, she heard the front door closing behind her, and she couldn’t help but equate the sound to the closing of a chapter of her life.  Biting her lip, she tried to remind herself that the closing of one door led to the opening of another . . . but right now, it was all she could do to keep from falling to her knees in his driveway.

She stopped, her gaze moving to take in the house – his house – one last time, shaky fingers combing through her hair as she blinked back tears.  Her shoulders straightened as she took a deep breath and focused on her car, intent on getting away as quickly as she could.

No more than two steps later, the door was pulled open again.

“Olivia.”  She heard a breath.  “Liv.  Wait.”

The voice sent chills down her spine and she stopped, but didn’t turn to face him.

She heard footsteps, then he was in front of her, his body tense, his hands on her shoulders, holding her in place as his eyes moved over her.

“Don’t go.”  His fingers tightened on her, and it would have hurt if she hadn’t been so wrapped up in the fact that he was there.  “Please.”

“You . . . you shouldn’t be out here, Josh.”  She couldn’t raise her eyes to his face, couldn’t focus on anything other than his khaki pants, unbuttoned violet dress shirt and the white shirt beneath.

"You drove all the way over here.  The least you can do is come in and talk with me.”

“No . . . you have company and I don’t want to intrude.”

His shirt moved with his breath, his fingers gentling their hold on her.  “Fine.  Then we’ll talk out here.”

He shifted, drawing her eyes down to his shiny black dress shoes . . . and it dawned on her that he’d been getting ready to go out.  “No.  Go on back and finish getting ready.  I’m sorry.”

She shrugged his hands away and tried to move past him, but his touch on her arm stopped her.

“I miss you, Livvie.”

She thought of the blonde – Mel.  She had to keep reminding herself of the woman’s name. Mel.  – waiting inside for him, and those images coupled with his words sent a pang through her.  A tear escaped to roll down her cheek, quickly followed by another.  “Josh.  Don’t . . .”

“We were so good together, Liv.  You know we were.”  He moved back in front of her, his hands coming up to cup her face so that he could brush her tears away.  “What happened?  I thought things were perfect . . . and then you were gone.  What happened to us?”

“I . . .”  She sniffled, cleared her throat and tried again.  “I started thinking too much.”

“About what?”  The tears continued to stream down her cheeks, only to have his fingers brush them away.

“About how close I was to losing myself to you.”  She swallowed back a sob.  “I’d already lost my heart to you . . . and I just couldn’t see myself as being ready for that.  I couldn’t handle knowing that you had the power to destroy everything in my world with one sentence, one word.”  Her shoulders rose as she breathed deeply.  “And I didn’t know if you had any idea . . . if you felt the same . . .”

“I thought you knew that we were in it together.”  His brow furrowed as his gaze skipped over her face.  “You had just as much power over me, if not more.”

“I . . . I didn’t know for sure.  I kind of thought so . . . but I just wasn’t positive.”

“I wouldn’t have hurt you, Liv.  Not knowingly.  I couldn’t do that to you.”

“I tried to convince myself of that, Josh.  I really did.  But I just couldn’t.”  She bit her lip.  “I didn’t think I could handle it if I let it go further just to wind up hurting in the end.”

“So you thought it would hurt less if you just dropped the whole thing and ran?”

She nodded.  “That was the idea.”

Her eyes came up just high enough to see him swallow.  “Did it work?”

“No.”  The tears were moving too quickly for him to catch them now.  “When I left . . . I was trying to save what was left of me.  Instead, I ripped my own world apart.  I’ve never been more miserable in my life.”  Swallowing hard, she forced her gaze up, her heart rate doubling when she saw the look in his eyes.  “I miss you.  So much it hurts.”  She took a deep breath.  “And . . . I still love you, Josh.  No matter what my head is telling me . . . I just can’t let go of that.”

She heard him exhale, then his arms were around her, holding her to him tightly.  The familiar touch, his familiar scent surrounded her and when he began to sway from side to side with her, just like old times, she couldn’t keep her arms from going around him, pulling him even closer.

He kissed her cheek, his hand coming up to thread his fingers in her hair, moving his head so that he could speak softy to her.  “I didn’t know what had gone wrong . . . but I prayed that, if I waited, you’d come back.  I need you to come back to me.”  He turned his head, kissing the sensitive skin below her ear.  “I can’t stop loving you, either, Livvie.  Come back to me.  Please.”

Her breath caught at the pleading tone in his voice and she raised her head so that she could see him.  Before she could say anything, his mouth was on hers, his arms tightening around her until she could feel his heart beating in his chest.  Instinctively, she relaxed against him, letting him take whatever he wanted, forgetting everything except how right this felt, how she suddenly felt as though she’d finally found her way home.

But after he pulled away, still holding her to him, she turned her head to rest her cheek on his chest and caught a flash of blonde through the front window, the reminder sending her spirits crashing back around her feet.

“Don’t leave me again, Liv.  Stay.  Please.”

He was still speaking to her, but the woman’s name kept echoing through her mind.

“Mel.”  She hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but it had escaped anyway.

“What?”  He pulled back a bit, giving her a strange look.

She sighed, stepping away from him and out of his arms.  “Mel.”

“Mel?”  He shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he tried to understand.  “What does she have to do with . . .”

“She’s waiting on you, Josh.”  A small smile was all she could manage.  “Go back inside and take care of her.  I’m sure she’s missing you.”

When she tried to move past him again, he grabbed her hand and spun her back around, confusion written all over his face.  “Wait.  What are you talking about?”  His eyes moved over her, taking in the newly formed tears streaming down her cheeks . . . and it dawned on him.  “Oh.”  He shook his head again.  “Oh.  Okay, I get it.”  He laughed softly.  “I forgot that she came around right after we . . .”  He ran his fingers through his hair.  “Liv . . . Mel is Chris’.”

She waited for a minute, expecting him to say more.  When he didn’t, she arched an eyebrow.  “Chris’ . . . what?  Sister?  Cousin?  Cleaning lady?”

“No.”  He brought his hands up so that he could wipe the tears from her cheeks.  “Mel – Melanie – belongs to Chris.  As in ‘hands off, she’s mine’.  He’d kill me if I even thought about it.”  His thumbs stilled for a second, then moved up to trace the dark lines beneath her eyes.  “As if I could think about it.”

“Oh.”  She blinked, her eyes focusing on his chest.  “She’s answering your door?”

“She was closest to it.  Chris was with me in the kitchen.”  His fingers moved, tucking her hair behind her ears like he always did.  “We were just getting ready to head out.”

“Oh.”

“Right.”  He tilted her head back so that she was looking at him.  “She’s an awesome woman – you’re going to love her – but I really don’t want to end up on Kirkpatrick’s hit list.  He’d make my life a living hell.”  He gave her a small smile.  “Or closer to hell than it already has been.”

“Oh.”  Her eyes widened and she bit her lip as he continued to smile at her.  “Oh, God . . . I’m sorry.  I saw the pillow on the dash of the car and I . . .”

“What pillow?”She turned her head to look at the black car parked a few yards away, motioning with her hand.  “That pillow.”

He looked at the car briefly, his eyes widening.  “It does look like yours, doesn’t it?  He’d told me that he was getting her one, but I didn’t think he’d get the exact same one I . . .”  His gaze came back to her.  “Chris was with me when I ordered yours.  A few weeks ago he decided that he wanted to get one for her.  I guess he gave it to her today.”  He shook his head with a short laugh.  “The old man is stealing my moves.  Who would’ve thought?”

“Oh.”  She groaned, closing her eyes.  “Good Lord, I’ve made a mess of this.  I came over to apologize for screwing up and I saw her and my mind went all over the place and I can’t even . . . you . . .”

“Hey.  It’s okay, Liv.  It happens.”  He smiled when she opened her eyes to look at him.  “How about you forget you ever saw her and we go back to the part where you were telling me that you still love me?”

She laughed softly.  “If that works for you . . .”

“It works for me.”  He pulled her back into his arms.  “It definitely works for me.”

“Okay . . .”  Her eyes closed again and she relaxed against his chest.  “I do still love you, Josh.  I can’t stop.”

His fingers moved up her back and into her hair.  “That’s good, because I can’t stop loving you, either.”  She could hear the smile in his voice as he repeated his own words from earlier.  “I don’t want to stop, Livvie.”  He kissed her forehead.  “But you still haven’t said that you’ll stay.  Will you?”

She looked up at him.  “I can’t believe that you’d still want me back after all this . . .”

He arched an eyebrow at her.  “That’s not an answer to my question.”  She felt his hold tighten around her.  “So I’ll ask again.  Will you come back to me, Liv?  Please?”

Her arms came up around his neck and she smiled.  “I’m here, aren’t I?”

His eyes moved slowly over her features.  “To stay?”

She grinned, pulling him down to her so that she was speaking against his lips.  “Yeah, I’m here to stay.”

Her lips met his, but when she tried to pull him closer, to deepen the contact, he raised his head, licking his lips.  “For a minute there I thought I was going to have to drag you inside and strap you down until you listened to reason.”

A devilish look came into her eyes as her fingers moved into his hair.  “Well, you still can, I guess, if it’ll make you feel better.”  She pulled him down again.  “But there’ll be plenty of time for that later.”

“Right.  Later.”  His hands moved over her back, pulling her tighter against him as she moved to kiss him again.  “Sounds good to me.”

She sighed as the memory faded away, her eyes moving over him yet again as she thought of how fortunate they were to have been given a reunion, a second chance for their happy ending.

It’d been over a year ago, but she’d never forget the months spent without him.  She’d grown to appreciate them for what they were:  a lesson that she wouldn’t have to learn again.

Sitting here, looking at him, she couldn’t believe she’d ever made that mistake . . . but she knew that it would never happen again.

She smiled softly, allowing her thoughts to jump from the past to right now.

Now, when she was perfectly content to sit quietly as he drove, happy just to be with him.

Now, when she couldn’t think of anything she’d rather see more than him in her doorway, smiling at her.

Now, when she craved the feel of him, whether it was a kiss or just holding his hand.

Now, when she loved him so much, sometimes she physically hurt with it.

Now, when she couldn’t imagine herself without him.

“Are you okay over there?  You’re being really quiet.”

His voice jerked her back to reality.  “Oh, yeah.  I’m fine.  Just thinking.”

He grinned, taking his eyes off the road just long enough to look at her as he reached over, taking her hand and lacing his fingers through hers.  “Thinking, huh?  About what?”

“About us.”  She lifted his hand up so that she could kiss the back of it.  “About how much I love you.”

“Hmmm.”  He hummed, still smiling, moving his arm so that their hands lay on his thigh, his thumb moving against her index finger.  “Well, don’t let me interrupt.”

She laughed softly, her eyes moving to the window as he veered right onto an exit ramp, surprised to find that the sky was no longer a rich blue, but turning a light orange color as the sun went down.

“Where are we going?”

His fingers squeezed hers.  “Somewhere.  Just sit back and relax.”

Leaning back in her seat, she gladly obliged, the cool evening air spilling over her through the window.  Her eyes closed, just for a moment, and the next thing she knew his hand was cupping her cheek, his thumb brushing back and forth over her skin.

“Come on, Livvie.  Wake up, babe.”

Blinking, she breathed deeply as she came awake to find him crouched next to her, the car door held open by his body.  She smiled sleepily at him.  “Hey.”

“Hey.”  He grinned back at her, his lips touching hers lightly as he reached across her to unfasten her seat belt.  “Hop on out and watch the sunset with me.”  He stood, pulling on her hands until she was standing with him next to the car, looking around with wide eyes.

Her gaze moved over the horizon, taking in the darkness of the lowlands from their vantage point on top of the hill.  “Wow.  This is beautiful, Josh.”

A smile was his only response as he moved so that he could sit on the hood of the car, pulling her so that she would lean back against his chest, his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder.

She snuggled into him, moving her arms down so that her hands covered the backs of his, holding him in place.

They sat there in silence for a while, watching the color show as the sky turned a pinkish red color and he turned to kiss the side of her neck.  “Liv?”

“Hmmm?”

He smiled at her relaxed, dreamy tone.  “Remember what we were talking about last week?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s do it.”

She turned to look at him and he had to move back so that she could see directly into his eyes.  “You’re serious?”

“Yes.”  His answer was solid, confident as his gaze moved over her face.  “Let’s do it, Liv.”

She stared at him quietly for moment.  “You’re sure that’s what you want?”

“I’m positive.”  His eyes moved away from her to look at the darkening red of the sky, his hold tightening on her.  “There’s nothing I want more than to have you, Livvie.”  He smiled when she turned in his arms to face him, her hands against his chest.  “Let’s do it.  Let’s get married.”

“Hang on, Josh.  There’s so many things to think about . . .”  Her eyes moved over his features and she bit her lip as she considered the idea.  “The guys . . .”

“Have known that this was coming for a while.  I think they knew it before we did.”

“Will it affect the group?”

“If it does, it’ll be in a good way.  Happy people make happy music, babe.”

She arched an eyebrow at him.  “Seriously, Josh.   Will it affect the group?  I’m not going to agree to anything that will wreck what you’ve got going there.  The fans might . . .”

“Since when do you worry about the fans?”  His eyes narrowed on her face.  “Liv . . . if people stop listening to our music just because I decide that I want to marry you, then they weren’t true fans to begin with.  I’m not going to cater to Suzie Fifteen just because she needs me to be single for her to be happy.  I’ve never worked that way and I’m not going to start now.”  He watched as she bit her lip again.  “The group is fine.  We’ve all seen how each other has grown and we respect each other’s decisions.  They all love you and there’s no way that it will hurt anything between the guys and myself.”

“Okay.”  She studied him closely.  “What about the label, your management?”

“They have no say over my personal life.”  He shook his head slowly.  “They may have some creative control over our music, control over what images are portrayed of us, but they can’t tell me how to live.  They’ll have to accept and work with it, just like they’ve already been doing, only they’ll have to deal with more attention from the press.”  He paused for a second.  “I’m not going to lie to you, Liv.  We’ve done a good job so far of lying low and keeping under the radar, but the tabloids and papers will find out about this and they’ll all want to get their headlines or news blurbs or whatever.  They’ll be after us – after you – for any kind of information that they can get.  They’ll know your name, they’ll know what you look like, they’ll know your address and phone number and they’ll follow you around, hound you until they get what they want.  If they can’t get a statement, they’ll make one up.  Until it becomes old news, they’ll have you leaving me for Joey one week, then they’ll have us expecting triplets the next . . . as long as it sells, they don’t care.”  He took a deep breath.  “I know it’s a lot for me to ask from you . . . but I want this enough to do just that.  I just hope you think I’m worth the trouble.”

Her nose wrinkled playfully as she bobbed her head back and forth, acting as though she was thinking it over.  “Well . . . I guess you could be worth it.”  She laughed when he attempted to look pitiful and moved to kiss his cheek before becoming serious again.  “What about recording and touring?  You’re gone a lot of the time . . .”

“That depends on how you want to handle it.  I’ll never tell you to stop working, Liv, but if you want to, I’m not going to argue with it.  If you want to stay on as business manager for UniCare, stay at home while I’m gone, that’s fine.  If you want to quit and go back to school, try something else, that’s fine.  If you want to just drop everything and come with me, see the world with me, that’s more than fine.”  He ran his fingers through her hair.  “I know how rough it can be, my being gone so much, and I’d love to take you with me everywhere I go, but I’ll never force you to do something that you don’t feel is right.  I trust that you’ll decide what’s best for you and you know that, no matter what it is . . . I’ll support you, even if I’m stuck on a tour bus a thousand miles away.”  He leaned into her, kissing her briefly.  “I’ll take care of you, Livvie.  I promise.”

“I know you will.”  She gave him a small smile and went silent again as she thought it over, relaxing when his fingers began massaging her scalp through her hair.  Her eyes slid closed and she took a deep breath before looking at him again.  “Okay.”

His eyes were questioning.  “Okay?”

“Okay.  Yes.”

His entire body seemed to light up with his smile.  “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”  She nodded.  “We’ll get married.”

His arms tightened around her, lifting her from the ground and against him as he stood from his place on the car.  He didn’t move, just held her, staring at her for a moment before he finally moved in to kiss her, long and sweet, leaving a smile on her face when he pulled away.  “God, I love you.”  He set her back down and pulled her even tighter against him.  “I didn’t plan this at all.  I just . . . it feels right, Liv.”  A soft laugh escaped.  “I don’t have a ring or anything . . .”

“I don’t need a ring.”  She grinned, resting her head on his shoulder.  “I’ve got you and that’s plenty.”

“No way.  I’m not going to have you throwing it in my face years from now that I was too cheap to buy you an engagement ring.”  His voice was laced with humor as he shook his head.  “Not gonna happen, babe.  We’ll go tomorrow and find one that you like.”

“All right.  Whatever you want to do.”  Her hand came to rest on his chest and she smiled when his came up to cover it, pressing down so that she could feel his pulse through her fingertips.  “I love you, too, Josh.”

“I know you do.”  His fingers squeezed her hip and he moved his head so that he could feel her forehead against his neck.  “Are you sure about this, Livvie?  Is this what you want?”  His voice was quiet, his lips close to her ear.  “I want you to be happy, Liv . . .”

She looked over his shoulder at the car, thinking back over the day, the memories, her time with him . . . and found she couldn’t imagine them any other way.

“I’m more sure about this than anything.”  Her head tilted back so that she could look up at him.  “You make me happy.  I wouldn’t be myself without you.  If I have to give up my privacy for this, then that’s okay . . . because you’re what I want.”

She felt him sigh and as he kissed her once again, she couldn’t help but think about how sweet life with him would be.

It’d be a long, imperfect, wonderful ride, and she was sure that they’d hit a few road blocks and pot holes along the way . . .