Author Note: Hi! Sorry for the late post, It's been a week at work, and I've been really nitpicky with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. I would love it if you could review it!

Chapter VII

Today was the day—the charity gala—the event that everybody was working towards during the past few months. It was a busy day at the office since everyone was in motion to get ready for the night with their final preparations. Ilse had barely seen the two men in her life since she dealt with the gala's arrangements relating to the label's young artists. The past few weeks, she had seen Deacon trying to help steer the event in the right direction while Jedd was off doing his own thing.

Now, she found herself getting ready with the last hours that she had before the event. Ilse stared at herself from the mirror as she waited for Jedd to pick her up, and of course, he was already late. Her dress shimmered from the gold stars that were bouncing off the lighting in the room. She nervously picked at her dress as she waited with knots forming in her stomach. This was the first gala she would be attending for the label, and it is a big night to network and pitch ideas in the music industry because there would be people who wanted to listen to them. The dress hugged every curve that she wanted to expose, and the girls were right that this dress was going to turn heads. She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the car turn into the driveway; a knock at her door shortly followed it.

Ilse opened the door to find Jedd all suited up, and there was a cocky smolder upon his face. The suit did fit him though; it a black suit jacket and slacks paired with a white button-down shirt and gold tie. Even though it was a well-pressed suit, she still had to adjust the tie. She followed him to his car as he opened the door for her; they shared a kiss. It was okay.

The two rode in silence until they reached the expo center, where Highway 65 held their event. Almost everyone was there and dressed to their very best because of all the top-notch people going to be there. She looped her hands with Jedd's arm as he guided her towards the staircase that leads to the main party. She carefully watched her step as they made it down the stairs since there were many tripping hazards due to weather and dresses. When they reached the staircase's bottom, they checked in their coats with a valet to manage with less at the event. She took a glance out the big glass windows watching the snowfall against the cold winter night sky.

"I just wanted to let you know. You look gorgeous tonight." Jedd told her in a seductive tone. "Every man here is gonna be jealous that you are my date."

"You don't look too shabby yourself." Ilse smiled as she watched Jedd make a little move to show off his suit to the crowd surrounding him.

Ilse's eyes began wandering the halls for Deacon, but he wasn't there, which was disappointing. He must still be working on the final touches, so he must have already been in the main hall where all the tables were. All of a sudden…

"Ilse! You are simply radiating!" Daphne gasped as she approached.

"I have to agree." Maddie nodded in approval.

"But you girls are beauties too. You remind me so much of Rayna at all those awards shows I watched. Rightfully so since you are her daughters." Ilse gave them a tight hug.

"Dad's inside." Maddie gestures towards the door, and as soon as the girl mentions that, Ilse saw Jedd's fists clench. He never liked Deacon's name when it was referenced around her.

"I better go in and say hi." Ilse smiled as she followed the girls in. She opened the doors, and as they entered, that's when she saw him.

He looked so handsome tonight. It only took him a second to turn, but as he turned around, it felt like time slowed.

Deacon was discussing with some board members about what needed to happen tonight, which, thankfully, they were all in agreement. He heard the doors open, which generally he didn't pay much attention to because many people would be in and out of this room tonight. But this time, his board members were distracted by what came in through the doors, so he decided to look at what caught their attention. When he turned around to see what it was, that's when he saw her make her way to him.

As their eyes met, he was caught breathless and swore that she was too. Ilse wore this beautiful blue dress that was sprinkled with gold stars, which made him believe that she was an ethereal goddess. All he could think about was how beautiful she looked since it was the first time they had to dress up for something. Deacon couldn't take his eyes off her, and he noticed that she was doing the same thing.

Deacon excused his board members to their tasks so he could get some time alone with her.

"Hi, D..." Ilse smiled as she got closer.

"Hi..." Deacon only said since it was the only word that he managed to get out of his mouth. "Ils, you look beautiful tonight." He swallowed hard, trying to hide how jealous he was that she wasn't the one on his arm.

"Thank you. You clean up incredibly well. You look handsome in your suit." Ilse looked down and let out a small laugh.

"I'm delighted you could come. It's going to be an entertaining night tonight." He laughed with her.

"Hey, babe. I found our table." Jedd walked up to the two with an icy glare. " Let's head on over."

"It was nice seeing you, and hopefully we will see each other later tonight." She smiled, turning to walk with Jedd. He noticed Jedd's icy glare continue as he walked away with her tightly in his grasp. This made Deacon furious inside, although he had to keep himself composed during this event.

The event started to begin with everyone taking their seats. Deacon was seated with the girls and Scarlett. Scarlett's fiancé was sitting on the other side of her. He had a couple of donors at his table that he and the girls were conversing with to help raise money. He would occasionally look past the donor that he was speaking with to glance at her from across the room. He noticed that she was a natural when it came to networking with donors and other artists since her table was well engaged in conversation. This was a perfect night for her to make more connections outside the people at Highway 65. Deacon quickly turned as he caught eyes with Jedd, who was starting to become more and more unsettled by his little glances.

They would now and then catch glimpses of each other throughout the night as they mingled on with other guests. The only reasons stopping them from hanging out together were the donors, other artists, and Jedd stepping between. It was this simple attraction that was undeniable, but both had to ignore it for now.

The best time to get a good glance at each other was when a performance was on stage because Jedd was not paying attention to her. They would get to make the other smile and would make faces so the other would quietly laugh.

Ilse's eyes caught some movement from the other side of the room, finding Deacon making a face at her. She tried to hide her amusement by looking down to smile and shake her head slightly. This moment did not go unnoticed by Jedd, whose face curled into disgust as he glared at Deacon, who nervously looked away. She felt her own guilt creep up her body as she felt his rage turn to her.

Ilse noticed that Jedd was distracted by the act on stage, once again, so she could steal another glance at Deacon. The two had their most prolonged interaction, but…she ruined it by making an audible laugh that had everyone at her table staring at her. Jedd looked at her furiously as he stood up and stormed out of the ballroom. Her smile fell; she took one last glance at Deacon, apologized to the donors, and left in a hurry as she followed Jedd out the ballroom.

"Jedd! Wait! I'm sorry!" Ilse said as she finally caught up to him in the middle of the empty hallway.

"You were flirting with him while you are on a date with me!" Jedd yelled with a tone she had never heard before. "Why the hell are you even dating me."

"I like you..." Ilse stammered back. "You seemed like a great guy."

"Are you just using me to make him jealous?" He looked disgusted with her as he grabbed her wrist, squeezing it hard.

"No. Never. I truly liked you." Ilse spoke more confidently, breaking out of his grasp.

"But you are using'' liked in the past tense. Because you have feelings for him." Jedd's voice turned to sadness. "I like you, you know, in the current tense."

"I do have feelings for him. And I like you too. There is no lie. But dating you, I think it made me realize the connection between Deacon and me is undeniable. I don't know if he shares the same feelings I share for him, but I have to try."

Both parties were in tears. Jedd gives the final gut punch line as she sees his face turn with this nasty snarl.

"Maybe I just used you for your fame. You've given me what I needed." Jedd stormed out, and he was out of sight. Ilse took this sigh of relief as she felt the weight off her chest lift. She found the closest bench to sit down on and immediately started crying.

Deacon witnessed the whole scene, and he desperately wanted to follow her out the door, but he saw the girls all shake their heads no. Maddie even leaned over, telling him to give her some space because Ilse and Jedd needed time to talk things through before he should get involved with anything. He knew that Maddie was right, so he decided to wait as he nursed his club soda, but it didn't mean that he wasn't restless.

As many sets had passed, she still hadn't returned to the ballroom, which was making him think that she had left without saying goodbye. Scarlett decided that she would be the one to go check in to see how she was doing. Deacon knew that she was doing this for his sanity since he had been glancing at doors for the past ten minutes.

He stood up as soon as Scarlett entered the ballroom, his face full of fear.

"She's okay, Deacon. Daphne, if you could grab her things at her table and sit with her, that would be great. She's right outside the hall." Scarlett gently said.

"I can go." Deacon interrupted Daphne collecting her things from the table.

"Deacon. I think you would make the situation worse." Scarlett patted him on his shoulder. "Give her some space." Daphne hurried out of the ballroom to find Ilse.

"But she's okay?" Deacon looked at her again to double confirm.

"She's fine. If you really want to see her, maybe offer her a ride home because it seems she arrived with Jedd, and he's nowhere to be seen." Scarlett gave him an idea to play with.

The rest of the night, he just charmed his way through all the donors he needed to speak with. The event ended; the board members were happy about how well the night went. He listened to them speak, but he was just distracted by the fact that Ilse was upset, and he felt the urge to comfort her.

Ilse, still sitting at the bench, saw Daphne enter the hallway with her stuff.

"Thank you, Daphne." Ilse retrieved her stuff from the teen. It wasn't much at the table, but she couldn't go back into a room full of people. Not that she couldn't, but she was still shaken from the events that had occurred moments ago. Then Ilse took another swig of champagne from a glass that a waiter had offered her. It was her fourth glass for the night, and she was beginning to feel it.

"It's not a problem." Daphne shrugged. "So you and Jedd are…"

"Through. Broken up. I really hurt Jedd's feelings." Ilse hung her head in shame.

"All because you have feelings for Dad- I mean Deacon." Daphne looked at her with this face of wonder.

"Yes?" Ilse looked up. "I shouldn't… you just lost your mom...and I'm sorry."

"Ilse. You have nothing to be sorry for." Daphne pulled her in for a hug. "You've brought joy to our family's life. Yes, we will always miss our mom, but we know that she would have liked him to move on. Both me and Maddie have discussed this, and we think he's ready to move on...with you."

"Really? You're not mad that I have feelings for Deacon." Ilse looked at her.

"No. Because he's ready and we're ready. We don't want him sulking all his life away as a widow. And we can see it in his eyes that he wants to move on. I think he's just worried that he's going to upset us because he did upset us with Jessie." Daphne hesitated as she explained. "With Jessie, it was way too soon after mom died. She's a wonderful person, but it was too much. And she had so many issues with Brad, as you know. Even if they were to try again, it would just bring up too many old scars. With you, we're all ready now to open our hearts."

"Thank you, Daphne." Ilse pulled out of the hug, and both wiped tears from each other's faces. "I'm so glad we met and were in each other's lives."

"Well, it looks like the event is over." Daphne cleared her throat as the hall filled with people.

"I should go." Ilse looked down as she headed towards the checkout, receiving her coat. "I need to call a Lyft."

"Or I can drive you home." A familiar voice spoke up. As she turned, Deacon approached her-carefully. "The girls are staying with Scarlett to talk about the wedding. But I think we should talk about things."

"I think so too." Ilse hesitantly said before following him to his car.

The car ride was pretty silent as Deacon witnessed Ilse trying to push back the tears from what happened earlier that evening. Deacon knew that he should step up and offer her a ride home since things went south with Jedd, and that man was nowhere to be seen.

They could both feel that the other wanted to make the first move but was too hesitant to do so. There were glances and short nods when the other tried to speak.

Deacon was glad that Jedd was out of the picture with Ilse, but he wasn't prepared for Jedd's contract negotiations that were probably set to happen. But he didn't think about that now; all he cared about was making sure she was okay. He reached over the center console to give her hand a gentle squeeze of comfort, but as he pulled away, she grasped his hand.

"Can I hold your hand for a little longer? It's comforting." Ilse took a small glance as she saw him give a confirming nod.

It also gave him time to examine her dress thoroughly for the first time. The detail was stunning on her; it was matched with tasteful astral jewelry and accessories. He wanted to burn this image into his memory forever. Deacon snapped out of his thoughts when she let go as they were nearing her house. The snow began to fall a little heavier as they reached her house. He heard the snow crunch as the tires rolled over it in the driveway.

The two waited a second before getting out. He walked around to the other side of the car and opened the door for her. He gave her his hand to steady herself out of the car because her shoes mixed with ice, and the alcohol she had consumed was not the right combination for balance.

They felt time slow as the snowflakes landed in their hair.

"Sooooo… Thank you for the ride tonight." Ilse slowly said. "And thank you for being… m- a person in my life." They were still standing out in the cold, just staring at each other.

"I know I already said this tonight, but you looked beautiful tonight, Ils." Deacon looked down and kicked a little pile of snow."You always look beautiful." He looked back at her as their eyes locked. This is where he swore time stopped, and the cold didn't bother him anymore.

"Th...Thank you." She laid her head upon his chest for a hug and sighed. Deacon looked down at her head that rested in the crook of his neck. At that moment, he felt her hand reach for the stubble of his beard and let her thumb graze over his cheek in a calming motion. They both shifted to where both could feel the hot breath coming from the other and seeing the hot breath appear against the cold night sky.

It felt like they couldn't get any closer until her lips brushed against his as their noses gently Eskimo kissed. They hesitated for only a second; he took in the sweet smell of her perfume, which suited her. He closed his eyes and took in her scent once more, not wanting to let it go.

His hands lowered to her hips and then finally approaching the small of her back. One of her hands was still on his cheek, and the other rested on the back of his neck.

This is when they finally closed the distance as his lips timidly met hers. He could taste the snow and the sweet poison of the alcohol on her lips. The kiss was electric. It was perfect, and it felt like the world finally made sense and that he could go on and love again.

TBC