Day two of her stay in Canada, Paulina wakes up on her side facing a clear view of the Banff mountains. She hears the littlest babbling noises from Michelle and Bridget over the baby monitor. Before waking up entirely, she feels the weight of an arm on her waist. She looks down to see Jake's hand just below her breast. Their talk lasted well into the early hours. Once asleep, they must have collided into one another like an old habit.

"Oh god, Jake…" she mouths silently before turning to face him.

"Good morning. Are you happy?" he inquires not moving his arm from her waist.

"Right now… yes I am." She puts her hand on his cheek. "How about you go check on the girls and I'll grab a shower."

"Sounds good… I'll bring you coffee." Jake watches Paulina walk around the bed before he leaves her to hop in the shower.

After two knocks, the bathroom door opens not stopping Paulina from massaging body wash under the cascading hot water. "Your coffee is just right here."

The frosted shower door blocks any slightest inclination of a naked Paulina. "Thanks. I will be out to help in a few."

"Take your time. I'll make breakfast." Jake spots her clothes on the floor including a lace mauve bra.

Paulina is at a standstill under the shower head thinking about her life: the constant battle with faith - both with Joe and Jake. The relentless struggle of other people's issues becoming their problems. Trust must be on the top of the next discussion with Jake.

Most of the day passes organizing the girls' daily routine. Jake aces the lesson on accomplishing pig tails and braiding hair. Of course, the best part of Paulina's day includes dancing with the girls and story time in the huge hammock.

"Even in the short time, I've really enjoyed being here with you and your girls." In the periodic alone moments, she has been unveiling ways her marriage is failing. However, she cannot paralyze other memories; the memories with Jake from entering her mind where her heart was so full and about to burst.

"What are you thinking right now?" Jake speaks up after he catches himself starring at her.

"You. Us. Life." She leans against the rail on the back deck focusing on the snow covered mountain peeks. "You know Jake, you asked about regrets earlier. And it's true. I wish I could have done things differently, said things differently. I wish I never took your ring off; I wish I held on tighter to us. But, it's too hard to regret how we ended when you look at those adorable girls and my Dante. These last couple of years have been brutal for both of us, right?" She turns to face him.

He nods with his eyes never leaving her curvaceous form. "It makes us who we are today." He leans forward on the edge of his seat, "Paulina, I never wanted to hurt you. I regret the lies… I thought I was doing the right thing at the time. Protecting you… us." His look of disappointment is apparent.

"I know."

"Do you, really?" His eyes are full of emotion. "Paulina, we have never talked like this since it all happened. We never had closure."

"Maybe there's a reason for that, Jake." She kneels down in front of him. "I have always been terrible pretending when it comes to you." Her hands rest on his knees.

"I can tell with one look." He brushes her hair from her face, "You once said to me 'You can't have what we have with anyone else', do you remember?"

Looking up with tears in her eyes recalling that very time between them, "Yeah, I do."

He reaches out to hold her hand, "Since you stepped thru that door, the floodgates have opened. Full of our memories together. It's been all rushing back. Every kiss, every hug, every fight… everything." He squeezes her hand, "So many feelings."

"Me too." Paulina returns back to the railing. "There are… a lot of feelings." Her head tilts up taking in the fresh air. She does not return to earth until Jake's question sparks her interest.

"So the question is, what do you want?"

Paulina laughs, "Me?"

"Yes, you beautiful. What is it you want right now? That's probably not a question you get asked a lot, is it?" Jake saunters toward her and traps her where she stands bracing himself on either side. His now recently shaven face brushes up against her ear as he leans to whisper, "I'm waiting, Cupcake." He catches her gazing at his lips. He doesn't hesitate knowing this look of need.

The kiss is slow and without touching. Jake keeps steady perched on the rail and her hands rest on his shirt covered chest. Lips are timid, but recollect the yearning. Moans escape both as their tongues graze each other. The kiss grows more intensely before they slow down to grab air resting their foreheads against one another.

"Jake…" she looks up at him.

"You still taste just as I remember." He opens his eyes to find her smiling. "You are a woman who deserves being kissed by a man who wants her every minute, of everyday. You should feel that all the time." He places a soft peck on her forehead and goes back inside to check on the girls.

"Jake," she whispers his name yet again feeling his lips. Her mind cannot stop reeling between the past, present and future.

After giving the girls a bath and putting them to bed, Jake retires to his bedroom on the third floor. He does not hear the door close after him. He rounds the corner with his soaked shirt in his hands.

"Jake. We need to talk about that kiss." Paulina walks over to the balcony doors determined and a bit flustered. "I'm married."

"I know. Are you sorry I did it?" He stands a foot away from her.

She turns to face him and snaps, "Can you please put on a shirt?"

Jake snickers and walks to the closet. Paulina tries to slow her libido by counting to ten, silently.

Paulina continues, "No. I'm not sorry. It made me feel more alive than I have in months, McKinnon."

"Listen," he smiles reappearing with a new dry shirt. "I don't want to ruin anything between us. I will follow your lead. I care about you and I am so appreciative of you coming here on a moment's notice for us." He quickly corrects himself, "For the girls and I."

"No matter what happens with my marriage. You and I are something I hold very close to my heart." Her tone is delicate laying her hands over her heart. "But, we need to have some honest conversations before we return back to Bay City."

Jake agrees, "Let me finish here and I will meet you downstairs."

Jake finds Paulina on the couch with hot chocolate for two. He notices she changed too: a pair of grey yoga pants, a long shelve hooded black shirt, and pair of pink sleeper socks. They sit a few feet away from each other with the baby monitor on the mantel.

"Where would you like to start?" Jake asks putting his sock covered feet on the reclaimed wood coffee table.

"Our biggest issue…" Paulina mimics his actions.

Jake replies abruptly and quickly notices her full breasts above her crossed arms, "Trust."

"Yes," she reaches for a pillow to hug after meeting his eyes. "It has always been a common thread in our relationship. Our nemesis…" she pauses playing with the fringe on the pillow. "You had me Jake from the beginning with your intelligence, passion, strength, love…"

"Just to name a few…" Jake interrupts.

"But the trust in each of us - separately and together were never strong."

"Is it different now after years apart?" Jake inquires knowing his answer. "It has to be."

"We are both older, wiser. We have survived heartache, disappointment. You have succeeded to the career aspirations you set for yourself. You know, I am very proud of you." She smiles at him not leaving her side of the couch.

"Thank you. Hearing that from you, it really means a lot." He grins, "I'm pretty proud of myself."

"You should be…"

"Love between us was never our issue. Trust, our commitment, was our Achilles' heel. Right, so we need to understand why?" Jake takes a swig of hot chocolate.

Paulina responds factually, "At the beginning, we quarreled non-stop. It was exhausting, most of the time."

He nods in agreement and adds his own factual statement, "I was a real bastard." He hates how he was when they started out, "Alternative motives will do that."

"Maybe…"

"Maybe," Jake interrupts to be serious. "It was the start we needed to really see who we each are together and separately."

"I could have done without the tears." She states candidly.

"We both agree on that, Paulina."

"For me, I seemed to never stop allowing the Corys to dictate my life. That, in part, fueled my lack of listening skills where I couldn't help myself from jumping to conclusions."

"For me, it was my ridiculous ambition, raging temper, and overwhelming arrogance. That, without a doubt, fueled my immature, illegal actions that caused me to loose the woman I love more times than I can count."

Paulina moves slightly to lean her arms on her knees amazed by his openness, "I feel like I had to give up on us when you returned from the 'dead'. I was so confused, Jake. Everything was pulling me away from you; the man that promised me his heart, vows, the world, a family. I was broken." She runs a hand thru her hair and reclines back, "It felt like this unmeasurable amount of pressure that told me to move on. Maybe I would stop feeling hurt by you…"

Jake always knew Paulina felt pressured when he returned and always looked to be pulled every direction, but back towards him. That time was truly gut-wrenching. "Do you feel like I could still hurt you?" he reaches for her hand and she shakes her head no.

"We both know that something is happening between us, right? I mean, it's something more than our unwavering friendship, right?"

"We wouldn't be having this conversation otherwise." Paulina holds his hand. "I remember it all. And at our best - we were damn good, McKinnon." She sighs staring into his eyes, "We have always had a connection; we care for one another, but Jake, if we don't leave here understanding what went wrong… we just need to be honest and forthright. We can't have lies between us, ever."

"Paulina. I have been on my own for the last two years. And though I was grieving for most of that time, it didn't close my heart from any and all possibilities…with you. The hope of us being something again. I will stay here all night or however long it takes." At this point in the night, it is a little after midnight. "I'll be right back; I want to check on the girls."