A/N: As usual, my big thank yous goes out to my betas somehearts and love token for their ideas and suggestions and of course, for correcting my grammar P For all you guys who have taken the time to review, thank you so so much!

A/N 2: All mistakes are mine and no one else's

Disclaimer: Everything in Chapter 1

CHAPTER 4

Looking at the expression on her face now, he didn't know whether to smiled or scowled. Here he was, pissed off than ever, and she wasn't a tiny bit scared. Even if she was, she hid it very well. Instead she looked just at pissed as he was…and hot. Damn, if he knew she look this hot when she was pissed, he would make her pissed off a long, long time ago on a daily basis. He almost grinned at that thought. Almost.

He had so many things he wanted to say to her. So many unanswered question. But standing before her now, he didn't know where to begin. He raked his fingers through his hair and sighed with frustration.

"Lindsay," he started, as calmly as he could muster," You said you wanted time, I gave you that. You said you wanted space, I gave you that too. I'm not happy with it, with any of it, but big fucking deal. If that is what you wanted, then I give it to you."

She nodded but didn't say anything. So he continued, "So what's the problem here, Lindsay? What's with all the fucking walls and bricks between us? When I invited you for a drink, I meant it as friends. That's what you wanted, right? For us to remain just as friends? I'm trying to do my part of the bargain here, Linds."

She turned her head away from him and bite her lower lip, as if she's trying to hold back from speaking out. Or tears. Perhaps both. And that made him feel like a real jackass.

God, what's with this woman? How in the world has she managed to make me feel hopeless and a first class asshole, all at the same time? What magical spell has she cast on me? He shook his head a little to cleared back his thoughts and focus on what he wanted to say.

"I messed up. I know it now. Maybe if I didn't ask you out, we wouldn't be in this situation." She shook her head but still didn't turn to look at him.

"Help me out here, Linds. I want to fix this…this thing between us. I want to go back to the way things were. I may not like it because that would mean I have to settle with something lesser than I would have wanted for us but hey, anything's better than this."

He knelt down on the floor so that they were on the same eye level. His left hand was on her cheek, his thumb rubbing in a circular motion softly. She closed her eyes, as if to savor his touch.

"Meet me in the middle, Lindsay," he said softly. His face, so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath when he speaks. "I know you don't like being stuck in this mess anymore than I do. But I can't fix this alone. Not because I don't want to but it's because I don't know how. There are so many things that I still don't understand. Things I desperately want to know but I don't know how to ask."

Her lower lip and chin trembled, a sign that shows she was indeed, on the verge of bursting to tears. She covered her lips with shaky fingers and closed her eyes tight, trying desperately not to cry.

His heart break at the sight before him. Making her cry wasn't part of his plan. He wanted to apologize but knew he wouldn't. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. He needs to get to the bottom of this for the sake of his own sanity. So he just waited there, on his knees, patiently and brush the curls from her face; waiting for her to get herself together.

She took a deep breath and let it out.

"What do you want me to say, Danny?" she asked, her voice shook.

"Anything. Everything. Hell, I don't know, Montana. I just want to make some sense of this hell that we're going through right now. You gave me the ultimate cliché 'It's not you, it's me' line," he made the quotation sign with his fingers. He knew he look remarkably silly doing that but he didn't give a damn.

He continued, "But guess what? I don't buy any of that crap. I'm dying here, Linds. And tired. So damn tired of trying to figure things out. Trying to figure you out. So please, put me out of this fucking misery and give it to me straight. Whatever it is, I can handle it. I'm a tough guy," he pleaded, trying to make eye contact with her but she kept evading his eyes. He tried to make her turn her face by placing his fingers under her chin but she wouldn't budge.

I cannot believe that I'm on my knees, begging a woman to talk to me. What happen to those days when I had to begged them to shut the hell up and leave me alone? God, I'm so whipped! He cringed that last thought. Thank goodness Lindsay wasn't looking at him. Otherwise she would have notice his facial expression and an explanation would be in order.

He collected himself just in time to see her turn her head, bowed down, looking at the floor. She lifted her eyes to look at him, only to turn her gaze away a few seconds after that. But that was all the time he needed to read the troubled look in her eyes.

He took her right hand in both of his. It felt icy cold but still, a perfect fit. He unconsciously stroked the back of her hand and plant a soft kiss on the tip of her middle finger.

She closed her eyes and sighed. His tender gestures moved her and a tear rolled down her cheek without her realizing it.

He wiped the tear away with his thumb. "Lindsay," he breathed out her name.

She wet her lips with her tongue; a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Danny, as she gazed into his beautiful blue eyes. With two fingers, she touched his stubbled jaw and traced the corner of his lips.

He closed his eyes, relishing the feel of her hand, her skin on his.

There was a moment of silence shared between them before Lindsay felt the bubble of air trapped in her throat pop, and the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could shut it.

"I'm engaged."