AN: Please Review! Let me know if I should keep going with this or end it here. Chapter 3, if you want it, is the aftermath and things get kind of dicey. ; )

Tell Her: Chapter 2

"I, um…I have to go." She blurted out as she turned to bolt, but Tony grabbed her arm.

"Wait, please. I'm sorry, I know the timing sucks but this was my last chance. I would have hated myself forever if I hadn't given it a shot. I always would have wondered what might have been." He looked at her wistfully. "You look beautiful tonight, just like you always do. I used to dream of a night like this, of me and you together the night before our wedding. You would be radiant and I would be totally blown away every time I looked at you, and I'd keep wondering what I ever did to be so lucky."

She was staring into his eyes, completely caught up in the picture he was creating. She'd seen the same night in her own dreams, only it had been her who'd kept wondering how she'd gotten so lucky. Since she wasn't trying to run away anymore, he raised his hand to lightly brush a strand of hair from her face. He tucked it behind her ear and then trailed his fingers down her jaw. He used two fingers to gently tilt her chin, then slowly dipped his head lower giving her plenty of time to pull away.

Pulling away was the last thing on Kate's mind. Her eyes moved to his mouth as she watched it descend upon hers. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips in anticipation. Her eyes slowly closed as he drew nearer until finally her lips met his, tenderly and unhurried. They'd waited 2 years to arrive at this moment and they were going to savor it.

He licked her lips and they parted. She tasted better than he ever could have imagined, and just like that the kiss became fiercer, stronger, hotter. He pulled her closer, trying to meld their bodies together and get as close as humanly possible. He wanted to feel every inch of her that he possibly could and she responded back, holding him as tight as possible.

After what seemed like an eternity they pulled apart, completely breathless. She rested her head on his chest, leaning into him as he whispered in her ear. "I love you. I've always loved you."

"I've always loved you too. She looked up at him and smiled. "But I always thought it was just a silly dream, my own personal fairytale…until now." She tipped her head up and kissed him again, sweet and slow this time.

"We should have done this two years ago. I can't believe how much time we wasted because I was afraid to tell you how I feel. But we're finally together and I guess that's all that matters." He stroked her hair, continuing to run his fingers lightly down her arm and back up again. She shivered and he smiled before releasing her briefly to shrug of his suit jacket. He draped it over her shoulders and then wrapped his arms around her again.

"Thanks." She snuggled into him seeking his warmth. She wasn't sure why but she suddenly had goosebumbs. He was content to hold her with his head resting on top of hers as the rest of the world passed them by. But the real world has a way of intruding at the worst possible moments and they couldn't stay that happy and carefree forever.

"Kate." She heard a familiar voice behind her and mentally slapped herself. "What's going on?"

Tony looked up and saw Shawn standing behind Kate and closed his eyes. Damn, he thought, there goes our moment of perfection. Then a more worrisome thought popped into his mind. How was she going to react when faced with her fiancée? She's going to stay with me, right?

Kate looked up at Tony hoping they could share a look so that he'd understand, but his eyes were closed. She sighed and spun around in his arms to face Shawn. "Umm," she started but wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. She felt Tony's arms tighten around her in a silent show of support and she squeezed his hand in return. She could do this, but Shawn beat her to it.

"I should have known something like this was going to happen, the way you two always flirt with each other. And all I ever hear when you get home is Tony this and Tony that. It was only a matter of time." He was rambling on, almost talking to himself as a way to make sense of what he was seeing. "But it's the night before our wedding. At least now I know you got it out of your system and I won't have to worry about it anymore, but I would prefer it if you got a new partner. What you two did is against the rules anyway so I'm sure they won't give you a problem about it."

Kate stared at him in disbelief. He was calmer than she would have expected under the circumstances, but he couldn't seem to stop talking. He actually believed this was a one time thing, even after all the chemistry and flirting he'd seen between them. She was waiting for him to finish talking so she could set him straight, but she was becoming impatient.

She'd been feeling horrible about what she had to do to him, but he was beginning to annoy her. Suddenly she didn't know what she'd ever seen in him. She actually laughed out loud at the thought and Shawn finally shut up, totally confused. She turned serious. This was her time to tell him the truth. "I'm sorry Shawn, but this wasn't a onetime thing. I love Tony and I always have. I know this is a horrible time to tell you this, but at least I figured it out before we got married. You're a really great guy, you just aren't the guy for me. You deserve to be with someone who can really love you."

He stood frozen to the spot. He couldn't believe she'd just broken up with him at their rehearsal dinner. "You're serious!" He asked incredulously. "You're actually going to choose him over me? This is the guy who chases everything with legs. He can never love you the way that I do."

"You're right." Tony's voice from behind her startled Kate and she turned to look at him. "I could never love her the way that you do." He paused for a moment, looking deeply into Kate's eyes. "I love her more." She smiled up at him and they were once again lost in their own perfect world.

"He only wants one thing, Kate. He'll dump you as soon as he gets it and you'll come running back to me. You know you will, so why not save yourself the pain and marry me. You know that's what you really want. This is all just pre-wedding jitters, nothing more." He tried to act calm and rational, to reason with her, but the only effect his words appeared to have was the agitation that was etched across her features.

She'd tried being nice, but she was getting really frustrated with him. He refused to see the truth and he was annoying the hell out of her. Plus, even though she should probably feel horrible about it, she really wanted to be snuggled back into Tony's arms again. "Look, Shawn, its over. I'm sorry, but that's all there is to it. I love Tony and nothing you can do or say can change what's in my heart. Please, just let it go and leave me alone."

He started to say something but thought better of it. His face dropped and he sadly whispered, "Goodbye, Kate" as he turned and walked away. When he had disappeared from sight, Tony leaned down to whisper in Kate's ear. "You okay?"

"I'm great, as long as I have you." She turned around and kissed him. It was just the answer he'd been hoping to hear.