"Who will you dress as for the ball tomorrow" Blake called to ask a few days after Holly threw Roger out.

Holly stuck the phone between her shoulder and her right ear. "What ball?"

"The masquerade ball, you know, for Cedars' foundation. Don't tell me you're not coming!"

Holly cursed under her breath. She vaguely remembered receiving an invitation a month ago but since she did not have a date, she had not planned on going and had eventually forgotten about it.

"Honey, I am not going there by myself."

"Oh Mom, don't be silly. Everyone is going to be there. I'll be there." Blake added sheepishly.

"Well, that's sweet of you but you hardly qualify as a date."

"No one will know if you have a date or not, it's a masquerade, remember? Greek mythology, gods, heroes. Did you even bother to read the invitation?"

"Sounds lame."

"Sounds great! Besides, you're coming and that's that."

Holly sighed.

Josh adjusted his mask before entering the country club's ballroom. His reflection in the mirror made him smile in satisfaction. Not too bad, he thought. He had decided to dress up as Heracles, better known as his Roman alias Hercules. Half god, half mortal, bold and courageous, Hercules had seemed like a good character to portray in the mind of the Lewis golden boy.

No one could deny that the costume made Josh look striking. His armor caught the chandelier lights and displayed his strong shoulders and wide back. Several women tried to catch his eye as he made his way across the room, but he did not notice. He was looking for someone himself, but the masks made it hard to recognize anyone.

By looking very closely, he did manage to his amusement to place most of his family and acquaintances. Billy came as Zeus, which was to be expected. Vanessa stood by his side as his wife Hera in a fleeting blue dress.

Fletcher Reade walked swiftly by as Hermes, messenger of the gods and bearer of good and bad news. Mindy winked at him as she walked to the bar as Helen of Troy, wearing a white dress and gold bracelets.

Alexandra, dressed as warrior goddess Athena, was in earnest conversation with Alan, or her warrior brother Ares, and Alan-Michael, handsome as ever in his Apollo costume.

Josh's heart leapt when he saw Blake come in as the beautiful Aphrodite. He looked around her but could only see Ross, dressed as Poseidon, god of the seas. He did not want to admit it to himself, but he had showed up mostly because he had hoped to see Holly again, and now she was not there.

Disappointed, he slowly walked out the opened patio doors and headed towards the garden. The chatter from the crowd reached him dimly, muffled by the trees. It was after wandering deep into the garden that he finally saw her. It was so sudden that it knocked the breath out of him. There she was, her back turned to him, oblivious to his presence. Her hair bathed in the moonlight, shining like copper, the delicate lines of her neck and back disappearing into her red dress. Even standing still, she was one of the most graceful creatures he knew, Josh thought. A true goddess.

And a wild one at that, Josh smiled to himself when he noticed the bow and arrows at her feet.

Finally sensing someone's presence, Holly turned. "God, you startled me!"

"I was just admiring the view," Josh quickly retorted, "I didn't mean to scare you. Would you care to join me for a stroll in the garden?"

He could see that she hesitated and seemed to be internally struggling about something. At last, she silently extended her arm for him to lead her along the gravel path. After a few minutes where neither of them spoke, Josh broke the silence.

"I should have known."

Holly looked at him sideways. "Should have know what?"

"That you would come dressed as Artemis."

"Really? You think you know me that well already?" Her tone was teasing but he could feel a warning underneath.

"I know that you share a lot of similarities with her. You're just as wild, mysterious, strong-headed…and you keep men at arms length."

Holly stopped, indignant. "I do not!"

Josh took her hands in his and replied softly. "You sure keep me at arms length. I didn't hear anything from you since the night we spent together. Why is that? Was it so bad to you?"

Holly looked down, fighting to keep her composure.

Without warning, Josh's lips were upon hers. With no time to think, she let him pull her toward him in a tight embrace. When he finally let her go, they were both breathless. Somewhere in the distance, they could hear the deep rumble of thunder.

Josh broke the silence. "You see? It must be sign from the gods," he whispered with a smile.

"Josh, you shouldn't…" her voice trailed off.

"Shouldn't what? What is it, Holly?" He took a few steps back, raising both hands in frustration.

"You know, I'm not the type of guy who's going to impose himself on a woman he likes. And I haven't done that, I let you plenty of space to come back to me. After a while I even thought that I had imagined the sparks between us that night. But, seeing you tonight, the way you look at me, the way you kissed me back, I know I wasn't wrong. Just look me in the eyes Holly, and tell me you don't want me. See if you can do it!"

Holly buried her face in her hands and turned away. "I can't say that. You know I can't."

Josh's arms closed around her waist and he rested his cheek against her hair.

"Then why are you fighting this? It is because of Roger?"

The rain started to fall.

"I don't want to hurt you, Josh. I am so confused, and Roger is always around and he won't let go…You don't want to get into this, believe me. I am a mess".

"Will you please let me be the judge of that?"

He lifted her chin and wiped the water drops from her face. "Just one more night. That's all I am asking."

She could feel her resolve weakening. Why did she feel like she was betraying Roger? She looked at Josh again and made her decision.

"One more."

Ares, god of the underworld, came out of the shadow and stood in the rain, right where the two lovers had been moments ago. He looked stunned. Lifting his hand to his cheek, he realized he was crying.

Roger could not remember the last time he had cried.