He jostled his way through the throng of people, eyes scanning the crowd in search of her. He sighed with relief when he saw her familiar frame, perched high on the stool at the end of the bar.

His relief was quickly replaced with a wave of pain as he saw what he'd done to her. She was staring into the bottom of a half empty bottle, her body leaning precariously. He knew she'd been there for a while.

Closing his eyes briefly, he gathered the courage to go speak to her. It was something he should have done two weeks before. But no, Danny Messer rarely did what was best for him, complicating things was his speciality.

He stepped forward and slid onto the seat beside her, watching intently as her sad eyes finally met his.

"Hey," he whispered, his hand reaching out to clasp hers, entwining their fingers tightly. "I've been looking for you."

She blinked as though trying to clear her vision, a small frown of confusion knotting her brow.

"Been here the whole time," she replied, her speech slurred.

"I see that," he said, eyeing the empty bottles that lined the bar in front of her, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Not here," she said, her frown deepening in annoyance as she gestured aimlessly in front of her, "Here!" she added, slapping the palm of her hand against his chest. "The whole time Danny . . .," she sighed, dropping her hand as she lurched sideways.

His arm snaked out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her against him, fingers brushing against warm skin where her shirt had ridden up.

"You just didn't see me," she said quietly, her voice now breaking with tears.

"Montana . . .," he began, "I . . . ."

"Don't try and deny it," she said, her cheeks damp with the tears that fell from her eyes, "you didn't see me."

He cupped her face in his hands, thumbs brushing away her tears as quickly as they fell. He dipped his head so they were only inches apart, eyes locking with hers.

"Maybe not," he answered honestly, "But I felt you, every second of every day I felt you with me."

She tried unsuccessfully to choke back the sob just as he closed the gap between them, his lips capturing hers in a gentle kiss that was designed to convey what his words couldn't.

Her body leaned forwards, arms reaching around his neck as she clambered from her own stool into his lap, unaware of the attention they were getting from those around them.

She pressed her body closely into his, letting her head fall against his chest when they finally broke apart. His arms wrapped more tightly around her and he thanked whatever force had deemed him worthy of her, even though he himself could not see it.