Author Note: Apologies for this chapter being later than my usual schedule. Work has been a little hectic since Septemberish, so I really have had no time to write or even edit. I hope you enjoy this latest chapter, and please review!

Chapter VIII

The two remained standing in the falling snow with their lips sealed for what felt like hours, but it was only a matter of minutes. When the two finally broke apart, they gasped for air like they had been holding their breath for all their life, which was followed by a shared smile.

"Wow." Deacon placed his forehead on hers as he tried to catch his breath, letting it settle into a regular pace.

"That was amazing." Ilse gave a short laugh as her own nose nuzzled his, her breath hitched as it still labored. Both of their blue eyes stared at each other as they searched for signs of enjoyment. Ilse and Deacon were both still in disbelief that this moment between them happened; they also acknowledged that their relationship had changed. It was only a matter of months when it started as a professional business relationship that quickly bloomed into a wonderful friendship. Now taking a turn into a romantic one.

They let the silence sink in for only a moment till Deacon managed to collect the courage to ask her something.

"Can I ask you a question?" Deacon spoke up as he got an idea pulling back from their embrace.

"Of course." Ilse looked at him with anticipation and wonder. She wanted to know what he had in mind as her hands were twitching since she was already missing the contact they had just shared.

"Ilse? May I have this dance." Deacon bowed slightly as he extended his hand for her to take. He looked up to see her expression, which was this look of love.

"Yes...yes, you may," Ilse said breathlessly as she curtsied, accepting his hand. Their bodies pulled together, once again, like magnets, as they were both missing that contact from one another. The pair began swaying back and forth as they sang one of the new songs they wrote together. They leaned into each other once again as they swayed and shared another passionate but tender kiss. It wasn't as long as the first kiss, but it was equally if more passionate. Both gently sucking the other's lip, they took the time to explore each other with their hands. As the kiss winded down, it became a quiet moment. Ilse shifted her body within his grasp as she positioned her head against his chest. She could hear and feel the thumping of his pulse, which matched her own racing heart. They stayed like this until they could feel the cold and snow begin to affect them.

"I don't want to, but I think it's time for me to say goodnight." Ilse released her body out of the embrace and began to walk back towards her house."I'm starting to feel the cold, and you got a business to run early today." She laughed, realizing it was 1:57 am. They had been out there for over 15 minutes.

Ilse reached her door as he arrived at his own door to his vehicle; they shared one last glance before he reversed out of the driveway heading down the road to his house. She watched from her door until the car was out of sight. The door shut behind her; she let out a sigh, followed by a smile, and laughed as she leaned against the door. Her hand touched her lips as she could still feel the heat of the kiss linger on them.

She remained there for a few more minutes before heading off to bed, where her dreams were filled with him.

Deacon was making his way down the road when he suddenly pulled over to the side of it with his face full of panic. The car was almost home when he had to do this stunt. Thankfully there were not many people around at this time of night to cause an accident, and the ice wasn't as bad as the road conditions closer to the city. He couldn't believe it. He kissed her. He, Deacon Claybourne, finally kissed her, Ilse De Witt, and he very much enjoyed the passionate kisses. Somehow deep down, he knew that he was gonna kiss her sooner rather than later.

The moment was all kinds of perfect until his memory was flooded with his feelings about Rayna as the adrenaline rush that coursed through his veins winded down. Deacon had to admit that he didn't even think about her, once, when he and Ilse shared that kiss. He never wanted to forget about his wife, and he just did. He betrayed her. Deacon felt so stupid. How did he let this happen? It made him think back to Rayna and his first kiss with her, where it changed his life. The guilt began to set in. Is this what it feels like to move on as a widow? He had so many questions run through his head that it began to overwhelm him. He finally was able to calm down as he decided to pull back onto the road and head back home.

As he pulled into the driveway, Deacon looked up, confused to see his house with the lights on. Strange...he was the only one supposed to be home tonight since the girls were with Scarlett. He entered his home cautiously as he was expecting it to be an unwanted houseguest.

"Hello?" Deacon announced to the house as it echoed against the walls.

"Oh, hi! We texted you that we ended up back at home. Sorry!" Daphne's head popped up from the couch. "But, I want to know how it went with Ilse since you were at her house for an awfully long time."

"Daphne, you gave me a scare. I thought someone broke into the house." Deacon looked at her face full of relief and fear. "And I didn't receive those texts because my phone is dead."

"Whoops." Daphne blushed. "Maddie and Scarlett are both asleep." As she pointed to the two couches where both girls were sleeping soundly. "By the looks of your face smeared with lipstick, my question is answered. I'm guessing it went well." Daphne giggled.

"Oh, gosh." Deacon wiped the lipstick off his face in embarrassment. "You can't tell anybody about this. I'm still processing it myself."

"Understood." Daphne gave a little salute and nod. "But can I ask you one thing?"

"What?" Deacon looked at her as he took a side hug from her.

"How was it?" Daphne looked at him, head perched on his shoulder.

"The kiss?" Deacon toyed with her interest.

"Obviously!" Daphne said a little louder both heads quickly turned to the couch as they watched Maddie stir. "Whoops." Daphne blushed.

"It was really, really...good." Deacon looked at her with full honesty and rawness to his voice. "But I don't know if I'm quite ready to move on."

"I get it. I think it will just take a little push to help you realize if you are ready or not." Daphne hugged him and kissed him goodnight on his temple. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Deacon moved to his bedroom and sat contemplating what just happened for a while before turning in for the night. He plugged in his dead phone receiving all the messages from the girls and one from Ilse.

Thank you for all you did tonight.- Ils

What did he do, and was he ready for it?

The next afternoon, Ilse walked into the office with this pep in her step from what happened last night. She even caught a glance from Jedd in the lobby, who was already flirting with his next victim. Probably a tactic to make her feel something like jealousy. Maybe it might have worked if the events of last night didn't lead to a kiss between her and Deacon, so she passed him unphased as she met with a client. Ilse had to admit that her head was somewhere else when she met with the young vocalist. Somehow she managed to make it through the session without any clear signs of distraction. After meeting with her client, she found herself in the lobby talking with Max as they were dealing with paperwork, and that's when she saw him enter with Zach from the winter wonderland outside.

"You have this glow about you, Ilse," Max said with this tone of giddy excitement. "Want to dish?"

"Ohhh. It's nothing." Ilse blushed as she saw him enter his office space, looking slightly disheveled with the snow still on his jacket, but she found that incredibly sexy. She was beginning to feel the corner of her lips tug into a smile.

"I have to go...Max," Ilse walked away from his incessant questions about her glow. She wanted to sneak up on him but caught Deacon's eye as she approached him. She watched him quickly turn away as he stumbled to get onto a phone call, almost like he was avoiding her. Weird. Maybe he was just busy, and she just startled him. Ilse shrugged it off.

A little later in the day, she caught him and Zach in deep conversation in an open studio.

"Hey, Deacon. Hey Zach." She smiled. "Last night was amazing. You guys should be proud." She complimented the men as she eyed Deacon, who limited his eye contact with her. She would look away, but hers was trying to be more flirty than Deacon's, who came off rather cold.

It got to the point throughout the day where he would avoid her, whether it was taking a different route or quickly passing her when she approached him or even neared him. And when she had to speak to him for business, it would be brief and to the point.

Something must have happened after the kiss. What did she do wrong? What changed? Was he not ready? She felt like her heart was shattering into a million pieces. She was already so invested in making something work with him before it even really got started. Ilse was crushed.

She entered her small office and leaned against the door and sighed. All physical signs of joy that were there earlier today were gone. And she was just confused and sad about the situation. She just played with her gold necklace as she thought about how perfect that kiss was and what could have gone wrong.

After that awkward encounter, Deacon decided that it would be best to admire her from afar as she moved around the building. He made sure when he would take his glances; they were unknown to her. There was a moment when it dawned on him that she was becoming his vice, almost like alcohol did to him a few years ago. But it was a good type of addiction, unlike the liquid courage one.

He felt like avoiding her was his only option, and this is when he discovered how his heart really felt, which was that he was falling in love with her. Deacon was scared to interact with Ilse because he felt like he would kiss her in the middle of the office if he ever interacted with her. Announcing to the world that he was head over heels for this woman and really wanted to welcome her into his heart. How would he know when it was the right time to move on. He wanted to love her, but he didn't want to lose her at the same time, nor did he ever want to forget about Rayna. Why was a love so hard to grasp. It took him years to make it right with Rayna; their complicated past made this romance feel so wrong to be so easy.

"Deacon?" Ainsley, one of the receptionists, knocked on his door. "The Coulter's are here to see you."

"Thank You, Ainsley." Deacon waved the band in. "Hey, guys, how are you guys doing." Deacon recently discovered this band and had offered them a record deal.

As they discussed terms and agreements for the contract, his eyes caught her walking with a soundboard mixer sharing a laugh. He gently smiled, returning to the artists and their agreement. Even though his body was physically in this meeting, his thoughts were somewhere else.

Those thoughts drifted into thinking about how he wanted there to be a push to say it was okay to move on and that it was the right time. He questioned if the girls were ready for someone new. Jessie was pushed on them too fast and too soon. They weren't ready, and he could finally admit that he wasn't ready for a relationship. Deacon felt horrible about the outcome of their relationship. But he was happy that he helped make sure that Jake was with his mother.

He wondered when and how this push would tell him that he was ready to move on with a new relationship. In general, he was hoping it would be sooner than later so he could feel what love felt like again, whether it was Ilse or not.

It had been a week since the kiss happened, and the energy between Ilse and Deacon had grown even more uncomfortable. If you could describe the energy in the room when they were together, you could cut it with a knife. Even though it had been a week, it gave Ilse enough time to realize that she couldn't be in the same room as him anymore as they continued to avoid each other. Her heartache was becoming so unbearable that she made up her mind on what she needed to do. She wished that they could go back to how they were, but they couldn't since it went too far.

Her memories flooded back to all the laughter they shared and the stories they told. This man had become her closest confidant and friend in these past months, and she just ruined that relationship. She was thinking about this as she entered the office of Highway 65.

"Hi, Ilse!" A cheery staff member greeted her as they walked past each other. Ilse had become a beloved employee and coworker to many of the staff there. She was always encouraging artists and helping others find their great potential. Unlike other artists and employees at Highway 65 who used the interns freely and had their heads up their asses, she didn't mind helping with the grunt work and loved talking to staff who felt unappreciated. She was one of those coworkers who just loved doing their job, not for the fame but for the passion.

"Hey. It's so good to see you!" Ilse mustered a brave face as she made sure not to run into anyone else.

So Ilse took out from her purse and held the decision in her hand, which was the form of a resignation letter. She was gonna leave a business and people she loved to protect her own heart. It was a late night at Highway 65, where some people were still working, but she knew Deacon would be home with the girls, which gave her the perfect opportunity to slip out and leave her resignation. Her eyes filled with tears because this job was her dream; she didn't want to leave it. Ilse had to because she could not do her dream if she worked with the person she loved but did not love her back.

She walked into his office and set the letter down at his desk, where it would be easy for him to find but not too obvious for other nosey staff members to see. Ilse exited his office and entered her own to clear everything out, which wasn't much. She knew that she wanted to leave one thing behind for the girls, a photo of Daphne, Maddie, and her at the dress shop with their dresses on. She placed another letter down next to the photo frame labeled to Daphne and Maddie. Ilse took one more deep breath and headed out of Highway 65 for what might be the last time to her packed car. She drove to Nashville International Airport and never looked back.

TBC