Here comes a whole lot of sap. Just a friendly warning.

Sami smoothed her dress again and took a deep breath, preparing herself to knock. Lucas had called about two hours ago. All he had said was to dress up a little and then meet him at his door at seven.

It was 7:03 now and her heart was pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it through the walls. From his voice Sami could tell that he'd put a lot into this evening. She knew what he was expecting, and truth be told, she was kind of expecting the same thing.

This was going no where. It was just dinner with Lucas, nothing to be nervous about. Just because he had the power to bring down all her defenses again, didn't mean that this had to be a big deal. Finally, with another calming breath, she knocked.

Lucas almost ran to the door when he heard the knock, but he fought down that urge because that would be too desperate. He was going for charming love-of-her-life, not pathetic loser who didn't know when to stop.

He opened the door and quickly stepped into the hallway, before she could see into his apartment. She shot him a quizzical look, but he missed it. He was too busy taking in the sight before him.

She was dressed in a deep blue that brought out her eyes and accented her pale skin. Her hair was flowing down her shoulders and in that moment he wanted nothing more than to touch it. For a minute he had trouble finding his voice, "You look amazing."

Sami smiled at him nervously, "You don't look too bad yourself."

And it was true. He was wearing a dark suit that fit him just right. The white shirt under the jacket was a sharp contrast to his tan flesh and she suddenly had the insane desire to rip it open and watch the buttons fly.

To shake away that too tempting image she attempted to focus on the evening ahead, "So, what are we doing tonight?"

"Huh?" Her voice pulled Lucas out of an intoxicating fantasy involving Sami and the elevator, "Oh, right, dinner. Well, I had a hard time deciding exactly where I should take you and what we should do, but I finally got it. Come on."

He took her hand in his and led her across the five inches that were separating them from his apartment door. Hopefully she liked the compromise he had come up with.

"We're going to your apartment?"

"Just trust me. You'll see in a minute."

"You know, we didn't have to get all dressed up for this. I would have been fine with…" She didn't get to finish her sentence because the living room had been turned into a wonderland that took her breath away.

The room was bathed in the soft of glow of countless candles. The lights were off and white Christmas lights were hanging around the room, gleaming like little fairies off in the distance. There were tons of white roses in vases of all shapes and sizes. Soft, melodic music was playing in the background. It looked absolutely magical.

"Lucas, I…wow…I don't know what to say."

He glanced down sheepishly, almost as if he was embarrassed at her awe. Sami could see the slight blush in his cheeks, which was quite a feat considering his complexion. He lifted his head to look at her and the smile on his face could only be described as the definition of a perfect smile, "Does that mean you like it?"

"I love it. Everything is so beautiful. If we could bottle this for retail, we'd be millionaires."

"Hmm, I don't know. I don't think I'd want anyone else to have our moment. It's ours, only ours."

The warmth of a love and contentment filled her body. Lucas always had a way of saying just the right thing to make her feel all gooey inside. She couldn't believe anyone would do something this incredible for her. Then again it was Lucas, and he always managed to make her feel like the most important person in the room.

"I can't believe you did all this." Her voice was filled with wonder.

"I had some help. Maggie and Julie came over to give me some advice. They even helped cook."

"Remind me to thank them later."

It was a simple statement that not many men would have read very far into, but Lucas saw hope in that sentence. She was completely enamored of the room, which was good. She was grateful for this evening, which was good. She was even asking him to remind her to do something later, like she expected him to be around. Okay, maybe he was analyzing a little too much, but it was something.

Sami smiled as he took her hand again to bring her to her seat. He even pulled out her chair before she sat down. It was too good to be true and she couldn't think of a single reason why this could be bad. Her plan was no where near her mind just then.

The food smelled amazing and tasted even better. Somehow they slipped into a comfort zone of light stories and plenty of laughter. It seemed to be an unspoken agreement to leave the heavy stuff for after dinner.

It was over a simple, but delicious dessert that Lucas decided to take the plunge and start to veer the conversation towards the point of the evening. He watched her carefully in the muted light, enjoying her cake and the words slipped out, "I've really missed you."

The direct statement was like a gentle caress. There were no fancy words or little embellishments to make her feel more special. It was a sentiment spoken in a moment of honesty. Sami felt a tug at heart and was slowly being pulled into his eyes.

"I missed you, too."

"I can't tell you how many times I've dreamed of us being here, ever since February. It was torture being away from this."

She frowned at the sudden and painful mention of their time apart. On some level she had known it would be mentioned tonight, but with it brought all the insecurities to the surface, "It didn't have to be like that. Why couldn't you believe me?"

"Sami, I really don't want to start making accusations." His answer was tight and warning.

"I'm not trying to accuse you of anything. I'm just trying to understand. Can you help me do that?"

She smiled at him encouragingly and linked their hands together over the table. He recognized the placating gesture and searched his mind. He owed her this.

"I guess, at first I just couldn't get past the image, you know? I really wanted to believe you, but every time I started to… I could see the two of you in bed together and it killed me. I…uh… I felt dead inside. And when the image finally started to fade, I forced myself not to think about you. If I thought about you for too long, then I'd want to talk to you and I wasn't supposed to want that. I really am sorry."

He looked so mournfully sad, that Sami didn't have the heart to hold it against him. His pain had been as great as hers. Still, something was holding her back that she couldn't explain.

"Do you want to dance?" she had to take the gloom out of his eyes by some means and this seemed as good as any. It didn't hurt that she'd be wrapped in his arms, either.

Lucas stood and she stepped into his arms. He held her close and she put her head on his shoulder. They swayed leisurely in time with the music. His hand made a slow journey down her back and then up again. Every time his hand would brush her silky curls. With Sami so close to him, he felt like he could tell her everything and anything.

His voice was a gentle whisper as he began, first by pressing a kiss to her forehead, "Can't you see how much we need this. We need us. When I lost you…God, Sami, it felt like time had stopped. My world was put on hold and everyone else kept going. Do you have any idea how hard it was to try to catch up, even though I knew I couldn't?"

She felt tears trying to escape her eyes and she tried, in vain, to keep them from falling. He was baring his soul to her and it was just as hurt and confused as her own.

"I know exactly how you feel, because I felt it, too. You don't know how many times I had to stop myself from running to you. I tried so hard to respect your feelings and stay away, but I… was so lost. I kept telling myself that I'd find out the truth eventually, but I couldn't find any proof. It felt like I had nothing."

Lucas could feel her silent tears wetting his neck and gently pulled back. He smoothed the golden curls away from her face and then wiped away her tears, "Please, don't cry. We have another chance here, Sami. It's what I want. All you have to do is say that you want it, too."

She stroked his cheek, enjoying his smooth skin, before making a decision. As if in slow motion, she moved forward and initiated a kiss. It was the only sign he needed to pull her close enough to make her knees weak. She sighed faintly and gave in to her feelings.

When, finally, they separated their mouths, their bodies stayed in close contact. She had her body pressed tightly to him and his arms held her securely. They had kept the slow rocking motion of the song and Sami lightly kissed his collarbone, "Make love to me?"

Lucas drew away to look into her eyes, somewhere in the back of his head he was thanking God for this good fortune, but he had to make sure.

"You do realize, that if we make love tonight, then there's no more running. You would be agreeing to give our relationship another try, there's no backing out of this. You and I would be together for real."

Sami touched his cheek tenderly, "I love you, Lucas. I know what will happen after tonight. It's what I want."

Joyfully, he moved in for another kiss. She could feel her head spinning and a familiar rush of love wash over her. Without breaking their kiss, he lifted her into his arms and started the suddenly very long journey to his bedroom.

He was almost there when the front door opened and a very unwelcome voice rang out, "Don't you dare even think about taking another step. What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Lucas rested his head on Sami's forehead in a grudgingly disappointed gesture, "I should have locked that door."