Eric glared at his reflection as he adjusted his hat before fiddling with his bolo tie. This was why he hated the damn things: no matter how many times he attempted to fix it he still couldn't get it to sit right.
"Need some help with that?" Pam asked, emerging from the bathroom.
Eric turned to look at her and blinked; his gaze ran appreciatively over her figure. He'd known the dress would suit her but he hadn't realised just how stunning she'd look in it, even with the dark veins marring her otherwise flawless skin.
"I need some help, covering up the veins," she admitted, holding up a pot of concealer and not quite meeting his eye.
Eric nodded as he came over to join her, "You look beautiful," he murmured, taking another moment to ogle her as he took the concealer from her.
"You scrub rather nicely yourself, Mr. Northman," she teased, straightening his tie.
Eric tilted her face so that she was looking up at him, "I mean it, Mrs. Northman, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
Pam felt tears prick the corner of her eyes, "You haven't called me that in a long time."
Eric smiled and cupped her chin, "I think we both knew it was only a matter of time until we-"
"-were on again," they said in unison, smiling.
Shifting his hold on her, Eric moved to close the distance between them, but Pam broke away at the last moment.
"We can't," she insisted, hugging herself, "I'll infect you," she explained at his hurt expression.
Eric sighed and pulled her into his arms, "I always said you'd be the death of me," he said softly, resting his cheek on the top of her head.
"It's not funny, Eric," Pam replied, fighting off a smile in spite of herself.
"You're right, it's not," Eric agreed as he pulled back to look into her eyes, "but I refuse to let you go without a fight, we will find a way to fix this. I promise," he told her, kissing her on the forehead.
Tentatively Pam planted a kiss on his chest, above where his heart would be, "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," Eric replied, pulling her close once more.
...
A/N: Oh, I forgot to mention - I'm from Australia so if I got the lingo wrong in regards to the tie I do apologise! Will update again soon, thanks for reading!
