Five years passed.

Nancy shouldered her duffel bag in a smooth motion, maintaining her balance even in stilettos. She smoothed one hand over her hair, then pulled a pair of sunglasses from her purse and perched them on top of her head, in anticipation of her exit from the Hong Kong airport.

She checked into a hotel she had used before, one which catered to English-speaking tourists, and dug through her purse as the concierge called up her reservation. She made a frustrated noise as she came up empty-handed.

"Something I can help you with, Miss Bellaris?"

Nancy didn't even pause as she answered to her alias. "A pack of playing cards."

He pointed over her shoulder. "Try the gift shop. They'll be open another fifteen minutes."

"Thanks."

After a few rousing hands of solitaire and a white russian courtesy of room service, Nancy went over her files. This job shouldn't take too long, she thought, and then maybe a bit of sightseeing. She glossed over a few facts one more time to make sure they were securely in her memory, then turned off the light. But her television, muted, stayed on all night.

She trailed the businessman through the downtown shopping district, flipping a press ID when she followed him into his club. As she had suspected, it was there that he made his contact; but just in case, because she didn't want to miss anything, she followed him back to his hotel, where he changed for dinner. Then into a restaurant, and once she saw its menu she breathed a prayer of thanks for the company gold card in her purse.

As she sipped her drink she kept an eye on her quarry, who was seated in her line of sight but three tables away. To treat herself for a long day spent on heels she kicked them off beneath the floor-trailing tablecloth and rubbed her stockinged feet together as she ordered a filet mignon and house salad.

The woman who joined him flipped a wing of midnight-dark hair over her shoulder, and her profile clicked in Nancy's head as that of his mistress. Her slender body was presented to advantage by a scarlet sequined cocktail dress. Nancy ran a hand gently over her smooth chignon with a bit of regret. Tomorrow she could ditch the linen business suit for jeans and sneakers, and maybe charge some cheap knockoff of a designer dress to the expense account for a few hundred dollars less than she'd pay back home.

In honor of Valentine's Day, she treated herself to a slice of chocolate mousse cake. The businessman and his date had already left, doubtless with more important things to do. Nancy let her gaze wander as she slowly slid the fork out of her mouth.

Another familiar profile.

An American. Of course she had run into Americans in Hong Kong before; such was the curse of being the daughter of an internationally known attorney. This one, brown-haired, was conferring every now and then with a girl sitting beside him, and then she chattered back to the native businessmen across their oversized table. But his back was to her. It was only when the waitress came over, asking if he cared for another drink, that she caught it again.

Her self-control allowed her only an eyebrow raised in faint amusement.

She was at the coat closet, waiting for a bowing, smiling girl to return with her coat, when she felt a light hand at her back, removed as quickly as it took her to register its presence. "I'm sorry, don't mean to startle you, Miss...?"

She turned slightly. "Miss," she confirmed, smiling. "Been a while, hasn't it."

"Didn't want to blow any... things you might have going on."

She dipped her head in thanks. "Speaking of... you're fluent. So what's the deal with the translator?"

"I haven't quite gotten down the terminology yet. Data cards, semiconductors..." He shrugged into his own coat. "Well, I have, but it's far more interesting to hear what they say when they think I don't understand it."

"Sneaky." She smiled at him. Outwardly cool while her heart pounded.

He checked his watch. "Look... I have a few loose ends to tie up, but after that... can I buy you a drink? No strings attached, I swear," he said, holding his hands up, palms toward her.

"I... I'd like that," she said.

"Maybe we can swap stories about what brought us to Hong Kong."

"Sounds like a plan," she nodded.

He raised his index finger. "One more," he said, pointing at Nancy, and the bartender swiftly poured another shot and placed it on the bar in front of her.

"No, no," she said, shaking her head so that her hair flew. She had taken it down from the severe chignon, at his questioning the hairstyle, but now she rather wished she'd left it up. It felt so hot in the bar. But shaking her head wasn't the best course, either; she gripped the edge of the bar with both hands and waited a few seconds for the room to stop spinning.

"I'll take one too."

"No fair," she scowled. "You... bigger framed. Won't be as much."

"What about a double? That fair?"

She thought about it hard for a second, then nodded. "Okay."

"'Cause we're gonna need it." He signaled the bartender.

"Why?"

He placed a finger over his lips, then lifted his double and raised three fingers. She lifted her smaller glass. He counted down and then they tossed them back in one fluid movement. The glasses hit the bar at the same time.

"All right," he said, after Nancy had shaken her head in a shiver and had almost fallen off her barstool as a result. "I heard from Bess that two days after, you went to Europe."

She nodded. "On a case. Very urgent."

"Kind of convenient that one came up."

Nancy tried to stare at him steadily, but couldn't do it. Her eyes were wandering too much. "It was. Very convenient. I needed something to take my mind off things."

"And that did?"

She nodded, running her finger around the edge of her glass. "Yeah. It was a tough one. Took me a while."

He raised another finger at the bartender. "What happened after that?"

Nancy shrugged. "Eventually I was licensed, and I'm in pretty high demand. Right now I'm being contracted to tail a businessman suspected of taking government bribes to illegally ship goods back to the US. I've already taken my pictures and gotten all the evidence I need."

He raised an eyebrow, took a sip of his mixed drink. "So your work here is done?"

She nodded. "But I still have a few days. Wanted to do a little sightseeing. I don't have anything lined up that has to be taken care of right away. What about you? What brings you to lovely Hong Kong?"

"How far back do you want me to go?"

She shrugged. "As far back as you want."

"I finished my degree in business management and now I'm working a good deal of our overseas accounts. All that traveling really helped. Now I'm trying to make sure we don't get screwed by our partners."

"Sounds like a blast."

He shrugged. "Something to keep the penthouse and convertible, I guess."

"So where do you live now?"

He gave her a hard look, but her expression didn't change. "Nice little apartment building in Chicago."

"Girlfriend, or maid three times a week?" She toyed with her drink.

"No girlfriend." He watched her gaze as he touched her hand, going from his right to left, checking for a ring. He wore none.

"None for me either." She giggled, then caught herself.

"Yeah, I didn't really peg you that way."

She pulled the straw out of her drink and traced a pattern in the condensation on the bartop. "I didn't trust myself to look you up."

"Why?"

"I didn't want to face you." She met his eyes for a second. "I knew you were probably mad at me. And you had every right to be."

"I was more hurt than angry, Nan."

"Ned..." She shook her head, then propped it on her right palm. "I should never have told you yes. I just wasn't ready."

"But..." he shook his head and touched her hand again. She flipped it over, palm up, and he traced his fingers over the lifelines. She felt a pleasant tingle at his touch. "But you were gone after that. You were never home. Or maybe you were and Hannah lied a lot."

Nancy gave him a tiny smile. "That could be. But the year after... it's all a blur now. I think I spent three weeks in Paris, and then an FBI recruiter contacted me..."

He pulled back his hand. "I just wanted to know you were okay."

"And that I was thinking about you. I know you wanted to know that too."

He nodded. "Of course."

"I did. I thought about you all the time. Like whether you'd been punished for me vacating the lease..."

Ned shook his head. "I kicked a sophomore out of my room at the frat and just went back there."

Nancy sighed in relief. "I was really worried about that."

"Was that all?"

"All what?"

"All you were worried about?"

"I was sure you hated me. I didn't like to think about that."

"Did you date anybody else?"

Nancy buried her face in her hands, then looked up at the bartender, raised a finger. "One more."

"Same, ma'am?"

Nancy nodded, then patted the table right in front of her. "Yes. Right now."

After she had tossed it back, she turned to him. "I ran into Mick when I was over in Europe."

Ned dry-washed his face with his palms, ran his fingers through his hair, then turned to face her again.

"Do you want to hear the rest of it?"

"Yeah."

"He and I spent a lot of time together. He treated me like a princess. Was totally sympathetic. Said he knew everything I was going through. And then he asked me again to marry him."

She looked up. His mouth was a firm line. Tight control.

"I told him he had no idea who I was, and he hadn't heard me at all, and I never wanted to see him again."

"Shot," Ned called to the bartender above the din, holding a finger aloft to silence Nancy. After he had tossed it back and placed the glass firmly on the bar, he lowered the finger.

"So was there anyone else?"

Nancy shrugged. "A few guys. Nothing serious. To be honest I haven't really had the time or desire to get involved with anyone else. So... did you?"

He met her gaze. "There were a few," he admitted. "One named Erika. Things got kind of serious with her, but..." He shrugged.

"Just didn't work out?"

He nodded. "There wasn't anyone else like you."

"Hang on. Don't get out until I go around."

"All right," she laughed, and waited until he had walked around to her side of the taxi, opened the door, and offered an arm to attempt an exit. She laughed up into his eyes and he gestured behind her.

"Don't forget your shoes."

She grabbed her shoes and purse from the taxi, and he reached around her to grab his coat, his shirtsleeves rolled up to expose his tanned forearms. His side was flush against hers, and then he lightly slid an arm over her back, his hand up at the back of her head.

"Don't bump your head, Nan."

His hand was still on her hair as they stood on the sidewalk. Ned slammed the door of the taxi and turned to see her staring at him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"Um..." she cleared her throat. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"The... the not bumping head thing."

He nodded slowly. "I think we'd better get you inside."

She grinned at the desk clerk, who shot her an odd look in return. Ned looked at her, then laughed. "I might regret this later, but..." he said, and swept her up into his arms.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to get to the elevator before five a.m."

She made an affronted noise. "We would have."

"Maybe if I'd taken a running start and pushed you across the floor in your stockings."

The doors closed behind; they were alone in the car. "Which floor?"

She was leaning her head against his shoulder. "Which is yours?"

"Three."

She opened one eye, then said slowly, "Why am I not surprised that I'm on the same floor."

He stepped out with her. "Left or right, Nan... Nan?" He ran his thumb over her cheek but her face remained slack. He looked back at the placard, then down at her face again. He shrugged his other shoulder, then walked to his room, opened his door, and deposited her gently on the bed. She curled up slightly but otherwise made no sign.

After he'd tossed their coats and her shoes on a chair, he decided to make one more effort. "Nan?" he murmured, touching her shoulder.

"Mmm," she mumbled, her brow furrowing. She murmured something incoherent and turned away from his arm.

By the time he had made himself ready for bed, she was out cold again. He pulled the covers up to her chin. Her face shone slightly in the dimmed moonlight.

"This is probably a mistake," he murmured. He smoothed a hand over the comforter, then settled on the couch with a pillow and blanket for a few hours of late-night satellite television.

He balanced two cups of coffee and a danish while opening his door, to find Nancy putting on her shoes. Her hair was still mussed, but she had tossed the covers back over the bed.

"Good morning."

Nancy merely groaned. "I always hated the way you never had a hangover."

He handed her a cup of coffee. "Drink this," he ordered.

She took a sip and closed her eyes. "I... listen. Last night..."

He was watching her carefully, and she trailed off. "Last night what, Nan? I took you out for a few drinks, we caught up on each other's lives, and you passed out before you could tell me which room was yours. I slept on the couch and was about to kick you out of my room anyway, since I have a breakfast meeting in half an hour."

She leaned down and shoved her heel into one of her pumps. "Then I won't keep you."

She approached him, but he didn't move away from the door to let her out. "If you'll have lunch with me today."

She scowled at him and rubbed her forehead gingerly. "My lunch will probably be two aspirin and a swallow of water, assuming I can keep that down."

"Then let me order you room service. And maybe take you out for an early dinner, since I have another meeting over my real one tonight. If you're feeling better by then."

She pulled on her coat. "Is this so we can do some more catching up?"

He tried to hand her the pastry, but she refused it and turned slightly green. "Something like that."

She smiled faintly. "If I'm not dead at four this afternoon I'll leave you a message, all right?"

"Guess that's all I'm going to get," he said.

"You're lucky you got that," she called over her shoulder as the door swung shut behind her.

By the time Nancy answered the knock at her door, all that greeted her was the tray on the floor. She lowered herself to the floor slowly to avoid vertigo, and took the tray to her countertop.

The smell of noodle soup wafted up to her nose when she removed the lid. She stirred it, then touched the rose on the tray. The note pinned to the vase read "Sorry" and Ned's signature. She smiled weakly, lifted a spoonful of soup to her lips, then changed her mind.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"I actually kept down some of the soup."

He smiled, then held the door for her to walk into the restaurant.

She gazed around. "What, do you know every American restaurant around here?"

"Don't you?" He found a table and took a seat. "I didn't think you wanted fried rice and egg rolls tonight."

She nodded. "Dry toast and water would be great."

"I think they could probably manage that."

"So what did you do while I was lying on my bathroom floor all day?"

Ned winced. "Meeting with another set of people from the same company. They're in PR and they wanted to make sure we'd do a good job, but I have to meet with the R&D people for dinner again."

"Was that girl with you?"

He smiled. "That girl and her husband were both with me all day. I'll definitely recommend her for a raise after this."

"You have enough power to do that?"

He nodded. "I think I could probably manage it."

Nancy took a sip of her drink. "So did you have sex with Erika?" She clapped a hand over her mouth.

Ned almost sprayed his drink all over the table, then forced it down and started coughing. "What?" he finally managed. "No. I didn't. Why?"

She peeled her fingers off her mouth. "I really didn't mean to ask you that."

"But you were wondering. Why, did you?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I did a few things I regret, but not that."

Ned picked up his napkin and started twisting it in his hands. "I know it's stupid..."

"What?" she prompted him.

"I know no one else considers us married, but I always thought being with someone else would make me unfaithful to you."

"Why should the being married part matter?" she smiled at him. "I felt the same," she admitted.

"I kept our rings."

"But you don't wear yours."

He shrugged. "It hurt too much to look at it."

They paused for the waiter to take their orders, then she met his eyes. "But you kept them anyway?"

He smiled and blushed slightly. "I was superstitious. I thought that as long as I kept them safe, I'd get a second chance."

"What if we had gone the rest of our lives without running into each other?"

He shrugged. "I was going to look you up when I turned thirty. I hadn't really planned past that. Kind of because I was afraid I'd find you with some other guy, and three kids and a station wagon in the driveway, and then I'd walk down to the river and throw those rings in and try to start over."

"But maybe not?"

"Maybe I would have found you in a cold apartment with a cat and a thriving career as a detective, and just driven by every night."

"I would have noticed after a while."

"I would have played it off somehow. Said I was visiting someone else in the neighborhood."

"And then you would have been flustered when I'd have asked who." Her eyes were sparkling.

"Maybe not. I'm not a bad detective, I'll have you remember." He was grinning now.

"I'd threaten to call the cops, maybe," she prodded.

"But I'd have known you were bluffing."

Nancy ducked her head. "And how would that dance have ended, Mr. Nickerson?"

He leaned back in his chair, a lazy grin on his face. "Who can say."

"Where are those rings?" she asked.

"In a very safe place in my apartment back home. I may be a good detective but I had no idea I'd run into you here."

She smiled. "Nor did I." Then she held up her glass. "To unexpected meetings."

He echoed her and clinked their glasses, but could not pull his gaze from hers as they drank.

Five minutes after he entered his hotel room, the phone rang. He picked it up, his shirt unbuttoned and his pants in a pile on the bathroom floor. "Hello?"

"Hey stranger."

A slow grin passed over his face. "Damn, you're good, aren't you."

"The bellhop is one of my many spies." She stifled a yawn.

"I'm surprised you're not passed out right now."

"The exertion of our verbal sparring is not quite so tiring," she chastised him mildly.

"I meant your hangover."

"Oh, that," she dismissed, as he stretched the phone cord as far as it would go, gathering his dirty clothes to have sent to the laundry. "A distant, if unpleasant, memory."

He checked his watch. "Nan, I hate to do this, but I have an early meeting tomorrow..."

"Oh." She was subdued. "I'm sorry. I'll let you go, then."

"If I don't get a chance before then, do you want to meet for dinner?"

"Early dinner or real dinner?"

"Real dinner. My treat. And if you're feeling well enough we can even do traditional food, for once."

He heard the smile in her voice as she responded. "I'd like that."

"Then it's a—" he caught himself, freezing as he loosed his tie.

"It's a date," she finished, then laughed. "Good night, Ned."

"Good night, Nancy." After he replaced the phone, he stared down at it for a long moment, then shook his head.

"There's a shortcut right through here," he said, tugging on her hand.

"Okay, okay," she protested, laughing. They were both in jeans, Nancy with espadrilles and a cropped sweater, Ned in a buttoned-down shirt. The sun had just set, and a chill was in the air.

He pulled open a gate and Nancy raised an eyebrow as she followed him into a temple garden. Gold statues stood guard over the building and its plants, and Nancy gazed curiously at a squat cross between a bulldog and a dragon.

Suddenly Ned no longer felt Nancy's hand in his. He turned around and she stood a few steps behind him, staring down at the ground.

"It's gorgeous, Ned..."

He slid his fingers between hers again as he returned to her side. They stared down at a rectangular pool. A school of brilliant orange goldfish bobbed near the surface. Decorative steps designed to look like lilypads formed a path across its surface.

All around it, all around them, grew a lush garden, deep green foliage and vibrant flowers. The fade of sunlight had lit the luminaries over the path.

"It's like a fairy garden," she said, then blushed and giggled. She looked up to meet his eyes. "That sounded stupid, didn't it."

He stared down at her, his fingers trailing up to brush over her cheek. "It didn't sound stupid," he whispered. "Everything in here is so beautiful."

Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she could only meet his gaze as he bent down. Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt his breath on her skin, and their mouths met.

She twined her arms up around his neck and leaned into him, and for a minute all the years and her fear fell away. They broke for air and remained as close, their foreheads touching, breathing each other's breath.

"Nan," he murmured.

"Shh," she whispered, pulling his face to hers again. His tongue touched hers and she melted against him, leaning against his embrace.

"Um," she whispered, her head on his shoulder. "I'm famished."

"Me too," he replied. He ran a hand over her back before he released her.

"Tell me it came with subtitles."

Ned grinned as he manipulated the remote, ordering the movie. "What, you don't trust my interpretation?"

"Hey, I know a little too. Not as much as you do," she laughed.

He tossed the remote on the bed beside him and dug into a box full of noodles with his chopsticks. "We'll see in a second."

Nancy reached over and plucked some noodles out of his box with her chopsticks, then devoured them. He made a shocked noise. "You don't know where those have been."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she asked, then leaned over and kissed him. "Too late now, huh."

Ned blinked a few times. "I guess you're right."

During the movie, which did indeed appear with subtitles they only half-read because they had both seen the show before, they occasionally snatched bits of chicken or vegetables out of each other's boxes, then kissed. When they were finished with their meal they spread the considerably lighter boxes on the coffee table he'd dragged to the foot of her bed, and sprawled across it, their feet occasionally touching as they propped their heads up on folded arms to watch the television.

By the end he noticed that she was yawning, but trying to smother the sound with the back of her hand. He smiled at her and the room went black.

"That was fun."

She nodded. "We forgot the fortune cookies."

He smashed his between his palms before tearing open the plastic, while she broke hers the more traditional way. He leaned into the moonlight to peer at his tiny slip of paper, then smiled faintly.

"Tell me what yours says and then read mine."

"'Beware the wiles of pleasure women.' Guess the author had a bad experience," he said. Then he took hers, read it with a sober face. "Hmm. 'The beautiful stranger has a bedroom surprise for you.'"

"It does not say that," she challenged, snatching the paper back.

"How about 'Your friends think you are caring and special'?"

Nancy spread the paper flat on her thigh. "I feel like I don't have time for friends anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Nancy shrugged, then sighed. "Bess's second baby is on the way. George is leading expeditions up mountains in Europe. And I don't seem to be in one place for more than three days anymore."

"But if you're in such high demand... surely you can name your hours."

"I guess I'm addicted," she said, half-smiling, meeting his eyes. "I can't seem to turn anyone down."

"Oh really?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Maybe tonight..."

"Well, I do owe you a return of hospitality," she said, spreading her arms. "I'll be right back."

When she returned from the bathroom in a knee-length t-shirt, Ned had swept the leftovers into the trash can, moved the table back to its former position, and flipped to a regular station. He was in his boxers and undershirt, sprawled on her bed. He met her eyes and sat up.

She gestured to the sink. "All yours."

He stood, stepped deliberately into her personal space, leaned down and placed his mouth near her ear. She shivered as he whispered, "'Your destiny may depend upon tonight.'"

She slid her arms around his neck as they kissed.

Then Ned broke away. "I think I should leave."

She tilted her head. "I don't want you to leave."

He reached up, taking the curve of her cheek in his dampened palm, pushed her hair back. He tilted his forehead against hers, then said slowly, deliberately, "You have no idea how badly I want you right now."

Nancy's eyes closed for a long moment, as she reached up and took his cheek in her palm, as she tilted her face to meet his mouth with hers. He kissed her briefly, then waited for her to open her eyes again.

"I want you close to me," she whispered.

His fingers pressed into her skin, frustrated, and her eyes opened suddenly, stared into his. "I need more than that," he said in the same deliberate voice.

Her lids closed halfway. "I want you," she breathed.

He backed her into the bathroom wall, and she gasped at the cold emanating from the tile, gooseflesh rising on her skin. "Don't," he warned her.

"We can't do this."

He nodded. "There are a thousand reasons this is wrong," he said, and then he kissed her, slow, deep, and she pressed her shoulders back, her arms up around his neck, his hands resting at her waist. He broke off and trailed kisses down her neck.

Then he froze, stood straight again, lifted her arms from the circle around his neck and stepped away from her. "Good night, Nan."

"I'll be good," she called to him, as he turned to leave.

"I can't promise I will be," he replied.

She followed him out, then placed her hand over his to still it. "Will you at least sleep on the couch again?"

"Nan," he protested, his voice tired. "Nancy..."

"What if for tonight it's not wrong."

Ned shook his head, then sat down on the edge of the bed. "Don't do this to me," he murmured.

Nancy looked down at her hands as she sat down next to him. "I'm sorry," she whispered again.

"Please... stop telling me you're sorry. Just..." He ran his hands through his hair. "I need to get out of here."

"I've been alone for five years," she whispered. "I've cried myself to sleep at night remembering the way you touched me."

"Nan..." His face was a mask of misery.

"Not that night," she reassured him, shaking her head. "Not that night."

"But we weren't ready. You wanted your own life. And you have it now."

Nancy shook her head. "It's not enough. I told you. Bess and George, I talk to maybe once a month. I live in an apartment and sleep with the television on all night."

"But..." his lips quirked in a smile. "Your entire life is doing the one thing that kept us apart."

"I threw myself into it because I couldn't have you."

Ned stepped into his boxers and pulled them up. His eyes were gentle as he looked down at her. "Don't tell me you'd give it all up for me. You won't."

"You're angry at me."

"It was us against everyone. Everything. And we could have done it. We could have shown everyone they were wrong. But you left me. With a note. You wouldn't talk to me. You wouldn't return my calls. And it was like it never happened, like I never happened."

"It wasn't like that," she said, her voice catching in her throat.

"Tell me what it was like. Tell me what it was like, Nancy. Maybe I'm remembering wrong."

She was quiet.

"Well?"

She ran a hand through her hair. "I was someone else then."

"You were the girl I fell in love with."

"You fell in love with someone you could never have." Her eyes were flashing.

"So tell me why I can have you now." He leaned down until their eyes were level.

She was the first to look away.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey. I'm just on my way out the door..."

"This will just take a second."

"Then shoot."

"I'm leaving today."

Ned laughed under his breath. "I guessed as much."

She sighed. "I know... I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I am so sorry that I hurt you." When he made no response, she went on. "And... if you maybe sometime find yourself with nothing to do some Saturday night... then maybe you could look me up."

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"Um... pretty much."

"Have a safe trip home, Nancy."

"You too," she whispered, and replaced the receiver.