"I'm glad I can meet you in person, Miss Gilbert," Rose said the fourth time. "I'm impressed with your work at the Mystic Falls Daily."

"Call me Elena," Elena said quickly. "I'm thrilled to meet you too. I have seen some of your work at the NBC. It's very impressive."

Rose, a robust, athletic-looking woman in her late twenties/early thirties with lively eyes and short honey-coloured hair. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at Elena.

"Damon should have introduced you to me earlier," Rose confided to Elena. "Who would guess such a fantastic reporter like you would stay in a small town like Mystic Falls?"

Elena shrugged casually. "It's home for me."

"But someone with your talent should work in big cities," Damon added.

"Yes, Damon's right," Rose agreed. "You two lovebirds can also spend more time together if you work in New York."

Damon felt Elena stiffen next to him. He slid her a sidelong glance and was amused to see the barely veiled panic in her gaze. She was apparently not accustomed to subterfuge. She was on the verge of coming unglued at the first mild probe into their relationship. Gallantly, he stepped in to fill the breach.

"We are friends, Rose," Damon explained. "Not lovebirds." Yet, he thought.

Rose chuckled. "I'm sorry. Anyway, it's none of my business. You two will know when is the right time, won't you?"

Damon heard Elena's fork clatter loudly on the wooden table. He glanced down at the chunk of halibut that sat squarely in the middle of his plate. "Elena wants to focus on her career at the moment. I don't mind spending more time on the family business as well."

"Well, you have spent a lot of time in your family business." Rose waved that aside, as if it were common knowledge. "You are a workaholic. That's why your ex-fiancée couldn't stand you."

Elena shot Damon a quick glanced but said nothing.

"We separated on good terms," Damon said.

"Both Katherine and you were always busy," Rose continued. "You should spend more time with Elena if you want this relationship to work."

Elena turned pink. "Uh, well, Damon and I are just friends."

"Well, why not you talk to Elena about your proposition?" Damon said dryly. "I can deal with my own relationship."

Rose made a face at him. "Sorry about that. You are a big boy now. You can deal with your own stuff."

Elena swallowed a giggle. "Do both of you always interact like this?"

Damon raised his brows. "Like what?"

Rose grinned. "Like I'm the big sister?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "I'm older than you, Rose."

Rose laughed softly. "But sometimes you still act like a child and that's why I treat you like my little brother."

Elena laughed. "Have you two known each other for a long time?"

"We were neighbours for many years," Rose explained. "We grew up together. But don't worry, Elena. We have never been lovers."

Damon winced at her less than casual tone. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

Rose smiled. "No, you aren't bad, Damon. We just don't have the chemistry." She shifted her attention back to Elena. "I'm sure you agree that there must be chemistry for two people to fall in love, right?"

Elena began to look anxious again. "Right. Hey, how long will you be here, Rose? If you are interested, I can show you around Mystic Falls."

"I'm flying back to New York tomorrow," Rose said. "I'm here just to meet you, Elena. But I hope you can come to NBC. There are a few people I want you to meet."

Elena's eyes widened. "Are you serious about this?"

"Of course I'm," Rose said. "I want you to work for NBC."

"Elena is worried that I'm the one who persuaded you to employ her," Damon said flatly.

Rose looked at Damon and then Elena. Then she shook her head. "No, no. He can't interfere my decision, especially when it comes to my work. You are a great news reporter, Elena. You should have more confident in yourself."

Damon looked at Elena. "Rose is not lying. You know that, right?"

Elena shifted uneasily in her chair and cleared her throat. "I'm really glad to meet you, Rose. But I think I need some time to think about this."

x x x

Two hours later Damon pulled up to her house, Elena unfastened her seatbelt and opened the door. "Thanks for dinner and the ride."

"Elena." He reached out and took her hands, so gently and carefully that Elena's heart ached with longing. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," Elena said, holding his gaze steadily.

"Am I the reason you didn't want to accept Rose's offer?"

She looked away and in a quiet voice asked, "Want to know a secret, Damon?"

"Hmm."

"Are you sure? If I tell you, I will have to kill you."

He smiled. "You don't have to kill me to protect a secret."

Elena smiled back. "Just in case."

"Well, whatever it is, it's safe with me."

He said it in all seriousness. Meeting his gaze full-on, she said, "I'm certain of that."

She took a deep breath as she leaned back onto the seat. "My secret is that I have had job offers in larger TV markets. One was even a network job. A contributing reporter on weekends, but it would have been a good start. I have turned them all down."

"How come?"

"Fear of failure."

She glanced at him but quickly cast her eyes back toward the windshield. "The truth is, I'm a coward. I'm afraid to leave my small pond here, where I'm a big fish. In a larger market, the competition would be tougher. The expectations would be greater. What if I couldn't hack it? What if I made a colossal fool of myself? So every time my agent came to me with an offer, I turned it down."

"You're no coward," Damon gave her his quick, devastating smile.

She gave him a fleeting smile. "I always had a reasonably valid excuse, but the bottom line was that I was afraid to give up my star status here. Anywhere else, I may discover I'm only average, and then what? My parents died when I was in high school. I'm independent and self-sufficient. When everything is going well, I tell myself I'm capable of anything. But if things were to go terribly wrong, I don't have anything or anyone to fall back on, even temporarily, even long enough for me to get back on my feet and dust myself off and try again. That frightens me."

She sighed. "When I was younger, I could afford a career setback or two. But I'm not so young now. I'm no longer the fresh face. I have got more to lose and can't afford a major setback. So I don't gamble with my career. I stay well within my comfort zone." She took a deep breath and looked over at him, expecting a comment. When he didn't say anything, she said, "That's it. That's my secret."

"You are full of shit."

"What?"

"You are not giving yourself enough credit." He looked almost angry as he tilted her chin up "First of all, your face is fresh enough. You could take it anywhere and become a star. Second, you could have a safety net if you wanted one. You may not want to leave this TV market for a larger one, but that doesn't mean you couldn't, and do it successfully."

She blinked back the sting of tears in her eyes. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm not sure I can trust the opinion of a man who doesn't even watch my programme."

"Who said I haven't watched your programme?" He challenged. "I saw your report on Logan Fell. You had them eating out of your hand. You convinced me of your talent, and I was your most sceptical viewer."

Elena squeezed his hand once, fiercely, and then pulled away. "Thank you," she said, hearing the roughness of almost-tears in her own voice. "But I need some time to figure out..."

"Figure out what you want?"

She swallowed. "Yes."

There was a brief silence.

"Come with me," Damon said suddenly. "I'm flying back to New York tomorrow and I have this strange feeling that I would be making a terrible mistake if I leave you behind."

"Oh, Damon," Elena said. Tears started to pool in her eyes.

Damon looked at her, his eyes dark and more open than she had ever seen them in this time. "Come," he said again. "Please."

"I don't know," Elena said. Damon flinched and, on an impulse, she put out one hand and covered his heart. "I know you care about me," she told him furiously. "But let me make my own decision."

"Elena…"

"It's late now. I need to go back inside. Good night, Damon."

With that, she climbed out of his car and got inside the house.

Elena leaned against the door and just let the tears fall. Every part of her yearned to go with Damon. She couldn't deny that she was grateful for the way Damon had looked after her. She felt something for him but could she ever learn to trust him?

The shrill ring of her cellular phone cut into the air. She wiped her tears and dug her phone out of her bag.

"Hello."

"Hey, Elena. How is it going?"

It was Jenna.

"Hi Jenna. How are you? How's honeymoon?" She tried to sound thrill to hear her aunt's voice.

"It's fantastic. I love every minute of it." Jenna chuckled. "But Alaric is complaining too much because I can't stop buying!"

She smiled briefly. "Sounds like fun."

"Is Damon with you?" Jenna asked.

"He dropped me back home after dinner."

"Oh, how's the dinner with that person from NBC?" Jenna asked. "I can't remember her name."

"Rose."

"Yes, Rose," Jenna said. "How was it?"

"She is pretty impressed with my work."

"That's great, isn't it?" Jenna exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you, Elena."

"But I haven't accepted her offer yet."

"Why?" Jenna sounded surprised. "We are talking about NBC News in New York. I thought it's a dream come true for every news reporter, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," she said. "Rose would like me to fly to New York to meet a few people and we can discuss about the offer."

"You should go, Elena. This is a great opportunity."

"I know." She sighed. "But…"

"Because of Damon?"

She hesitated. "I know he cares about me. But can I trust him? I thought Liam would be the one and it turned out that he was married." She sighed again. "I'm not sure how many heart breaks I can endure, Jenna."

"You are a slave to your heart. We all are, Elena."

Elena squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from falling again. "I know."

"Alaric and I have our problems, but we love each other. Falling in love is a risk. You need to take the risk to find your happiness, Elena."

There was a brief silence.

"Elena, if you feel something for Damon, go for it. Here's your chance. Give him a chance."

Tears filling her eyes, Elena felt a smile appeared from somewhere deep inside her and couldn't stop it from bursting across her face. "Thanks Jenna. I know what to do."

The airport was crowded with hurrying passengers. Fluorescent lighting hummed overhead and the smell of disinfectant was everywhere. She glanced at her watch. There was still two hours before the flight to New York departed.

Heading for the departure area, she saw him, and her whole inside jolted in instant, eager recognition.

Joy flooded through her.

There he was, standing by a magazine stand, looking just the way she remembered him. Strong and graceful and so beautiful, one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen. He was wearing a beautifully cut black jacket, and he held himself like the aristocrat he had been born as. Elena couldn't breathe. Damon would always have this effect on her.

Elena knew the exact moment when he saw her, too, and his whole body stiffened in shock. His eyes were wide and his lips were slowly turning up into a smile of amazement.

And then she was in motion, moving straight toward him, her high-heeled boots clacking on the tiled floor, her carry-on rattling along behind her on its little wheels.

He was coming toward her, too, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on her.

This is it, Elena realized, stopping stock-still in front of him and staring dumbly up into his face. This is who I'm meant to be with, she thought.

"Hello, Elena." Damon's mouth twisted into its tell-tale smirk, and Elena knew this was what she wanted.