Her hands shook as she walked up the steps. Her heels clicked with each step, the sharp sound reminding her of the gun during Russian Roulette. She was waiting for the misstep, the one that would make her turn and run. But she managed to make it to the front doors of the museum.

Hiwatari Enterprise was holding yet another party. Hilary had no idea what the obsession with balls and galas and parties were, but they had a lot of them.

"For the investors," Kai would grumble as he got ready, fussing with his black tie, while she lounged somewhere in the room. Before he left, he always asked one last time, "Join me?"

She'd shake her head, pretend to be busy with something. He never tried to make her feel guilty for it, often agreeing that he'd rather stay with her. Still, it never felt quite right to see him off like that.

Kai was right; they were due for a change. She just hoped she wasn't too late. It had already been three weeks since they last spoke while she tried to sort her mind out.

Hilary met a man with a clipboard and took a deep breath before giving her name. He once told her that her name would always be on the list. If her name wasn't there, then she'd have her answer, at least.

The man smiled and motioned for her to enter the crowd. She gripped the material of her dress – red like he liked on her – and slowly walked in. The room was loud, the crowd boisterous, and Kai was nowhere in sight.

Hilary turned as she moved farther in, her head on a constant rotation. The voice in her head nagged persistently, telling her to leave. She was convinced she was setting herself up for embarrassment.

Finally, she spotted him. He was surrounded by men much older than him, clapping him on the shoulders and laughing. Never having been able to see him in his business crowd, she stopped to watch. He handled himself well, though she could see the way his eyebrows creased and his shoulders stiffened after each pat as if he was physically restraining himself from removing the offending hand.

She walked closer, figuring even if he hated her, he could use the escape.

"What I'm saying, young man, is that you need a nice girl by your side and I know just the one,"

"Well, she's going to have to go through me," Hilary came up behind him, her hand sliding up his back to rest on his shoulder. She looked at him, trying to get a read on those normally empty eyes. "Sorry, it took me so long to get here,"

If he was surprised to see her, he hid it well. All she could see was the smallest shift of his lips, the beginnings of a small smile as his arm wrapped around her waist and drew her closer.

"You're here now,"

He leaned in, kissing her high on her cheek. He lingered for a moment and the men started cackling.

"Hiwatari, save that for later. If my wife sees, she'll ask why I don't look at her like that anymore,"

"If you had someone you should have just said something,"

"My granddaughter is going to be very disappointed,"

"Your granddaughter? My daughter's been making hints! Introduce me, she says,"

Hilary ignored them. The room faded away as he moved to look at her. All that was left was Kai and the way his eyes followed her, seemingly in wonder at her presence. And look she knew all too well, one she had missed in the weeks since he'd left her in her kitchen.

He leaned back in to whisper in her ear, "It's been almost two months – you really shouldn't have worn red," his fingers tightened on her waist for a moment before loosening, a promise for later.

Hilary actually felt that red was a perfect choice. "Do you want to dance?"

Happy ever after? Can the fools dream of such a thing? I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one will be up Friday. Take care, Konix