Thanks so much to my wonderful reviewers and for pointing out my little typos.

I have a feeling you'll like this chapter...

Thirty full minutes had gone by, and Alice was anxiously waiting outside of the game room for the meeting to be over. Alice needed to explain the whole thing to Jasper, afraid that he'd taken it the wrong way. Oh bother this stupid meeting! she thought, exasperated. She started pacing the hallway and was relieved when the talking inside the room grew louder, signalling that the meeting had ended. The door opened and they all stepped out one by one, politely raising their hands to Alice. Had Alice been in a better mood she would have waved back, but she was too busy waiting for Jasper.

Jasper finally stepped out of the room, and once Alice saw him she grabbed him. "Come walk with me now."

Jasper's face remained as blank as it was before. "Ok then," he answered her, and they walked out the front door into the woods again. The first part of their walk was silent. Alice didn't know how to bring the issue up, and Jasper was just quiet, waiting for her to say something.

Alice stopped, and took a deep breath. "It isn't what you think at all. Officer Williams sent his cousin a letter all about me and I guess they now want me for their son because they came to see how I looked and they were pleased with me," she rushed all in one breath, trying to get it over with.

"Sit," Jasper commanded, motioning to one of the forest benches. Alice nodded nervously, afraid that he'd become angry.

Jasper looked at her for a moment before he spoke again. "You were pleased."

Alice looked down, shamefully. "He was... very handsome, and was also very sweet to me," she admitted. "He complimented me."

Jasper's face went from blank to angry. "Is that all you need to assure yourself that he loves you?" he asked her, bitterly.

Alice said nothing. She continued to stare at the ground.

"I thought you were deeper than that, Alice," Jasper finally said, extremely disappointed.

"I am, I really am, it's just that in this case I have no choice, so I made the best of it," she said, trying to defend herself.

"Alice, I rarely do this because I believe that a person's emotions are meant to be private," he began, and continued. "I'm going to tell you what he was feeling."

Alice listened intently as he explained. "He... well, let's just put it this way. He looked at you like you were food. Very tantalizing, delicious food," he spat out, angrily.

Alice shuddered. So that was the look in his eyes- lust, she thought, remembering the unexplainable look he had on his face. "I... I thought something was strange but I didn't notice..."

"Well, now you know. Now you know why I'm so upset, too," he told her, enraged. "You're more than that. Way more than that."

Alice finally gathered the courage to look up at him, but instead of seeing an angry expression on his face she saw that his face shone with compassion. "I know that..."

"No." Jasper told her. "You're more than that to me. Not to anyone else, but to me," he explained.

Jasper's sudden confession brought flutters to Alice's stomach. "I am?"

"Yes, Alice. A lot more than you know..." he said, taking her hand in his.

Alice blushed and looked down again, this time out of embarrassment instead of shame. "I... I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything." And with that, he tilted her chin up and kissed her.

Everything in the background seemed to fade for Alice in that one moment. Even the sounds of the forest seemed to pause for during that instant. The flutters in her stomach had increased, and Alice felt like she was flying.

Alice sighed quietly when he broke the kiss. "Why?" she whispered.

"Why do I care for you so much?" he asked her. "Or why did I break the kiss?" he asked again, amused.

"Both," she said, entirely serious.

"Well, I broke it off because it's improper for a young man to kiss an unmarried lady in the first place," he answered her. "As for me caring... it's just you, Alice. I love you."

Alice stood there quietly, a million different thoughts going through her head, most of them centered around Jasper, her recent engagement, and her own feelings. The thoughts swirling in her head were almost dizzying. But the thought of his warm, sincere eyes and the way he gently took her hand in his stood above all the others, and then she knew that she loved him too. She sighed at the thought and simply laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm guessing the feeling is returned, then?" he asked, his voice hopeful.

"You've guessed correctly." she answered him, smiling.

He smiled, planted a quick kiss on her forehead, and put his arms around her. The late afternoon sun was warm against their backs as they remained in the same position for a while. Neither of them seemed to be keeping track of the time. Alice didn't mind at all. She felt something she hadn't felt in years. She felt truly happy, not the kind of happy that tended to dissolve in a matter of minutes, but a happy that would last anything. She wished she could just stay there forever, feeling this kind of happy always.

"Alice..." Jasper said, letting go of her and gently nudging her after a while. "The sun is setting." Alice looked up and saw that the sunset had spread different hues of red, pink, and purple across the sky. "It's beautiful," she murmured softly.

"Dinner," he quietly reminded her. "We need to go now." He saw her crestfallen expression. "We'll have other walks, I promise," he assured her, helping her up.

"Not like this one," she answered, still upset.

"I promise, one more just like this one," he answered, taking her hand.

Alice smiled again. "I trust you." Her hand in his, they headed back to the house.

Well... review. And if I had any more tiny typos, let me know! :)