It was another few days until their shifts aligned and they saw each other for the first time since he dropped her home. He hadn't asked their friends after her, he hadn't called or texted to see how her interviews had gone and she had felt his absence from her life more than she had expected too.

She couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling that he was actively avoiding her but she did her best not to dwell on it. She did not want to believe that.

She saw him across the cafeteria with his back to her. He was sat alone eating his lunch, his head down, more than likely reading some journal article and she took a moment to appreciate his profile. With his strong shoulders and his perfect hair he still carried the air of arrogance he'd arrived with almost two years ago but it suited him and had hot him noticed by the people that mattered. She decided she was going to join him and made her way through the seats until she was stood right next to him. He was oblivious to her presence, totally absorbed in the print on the page and startled slightly as she cleared her throat.

"Hi" she started. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Hi. Sure, no problem" he replied as he closed the journal cover and put it onto the seat next to him.

She unloaded her tray and took her seat feeling a little awkward as neither of them said a word.

"How was your trip?" came in unison, talking over each other. They stopped again, smiled and let out a little laugh which released some of the tension. "Good" they said together, laughing again.

"You first" Audrey smiled. "How was Vegas?"

He paused briefly before he began, not sure whether to tell her everything. Or even how he would tell her everything.

'It was awesome" he started. "Weather was great and so good to catch up with the guys. I didn't realise it had been so long."

"Did Adam enjoy?"

"He had a ball. It's all getting a bit real for him now, only six weeks to go. He's excited and nervous at the same time" he smiled, recalling some of the conversations he and Adam had over the weekend. He filled Audrey in on the activities they'd been up to, conveniently missing out any information about female company.

"Good" she replied. "Those six weeks will fly by, time seems to be going a lot quicker the older we're getting" she smiled.

"You're telling me" he smiled. "I swear we only started here last week. Definitely doesn't feel like we're almost into our third year."

She nodded. She was working up the courage to tell him about the talk and the agreement with Kashal when he pushed the point to the forefront, changing the conversation to her weekend.

"How were your interviews?" he asked, even though he didn't really want to know if Audrey was moving to the other side of the country.

"They went really well" she smiled. "I got offers from both places on Monday" she confirmed.

"The was no doubt" he replied with a hint of sadness in his voice. "Who are you going with?"

"Neither" she said bluntly. "I rejected them both."

His heart lurched in his chest and a took a sharp breath.

"Why?" he asked, looking a little confused.

"I'm staying here" she replied. "It seems Kash and I finally want the same thing, so we talked. We came up with a plan."

"What kind of plan?" Neil asked apprehensively, with absolutely no idea of what was coming.

"He stays in Washington, I stay here" she started. "He's agreed we will divorce but not for a couple of years. His firm loves the wholesome family image and he doesn't want to be in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. We're going to say my residency won't allow me to move, and when the time comes to join him, we'll have drifted apart, hence the divorce."

He didn't know what to say but he had no doubt that his face was conveying his emotions quite well.

"We were just saying how fast time was going by, it'll fly by" she said, trying to reassuring him of something without saying it directly. She had lost her nerve when met with silence from him, and couldn't bare to ask him outright to wait for her.

"So you're going to stay married?"

"Yes."

"On opposite coasts?"

""Yes, for now."

"Oh" came the blunt response.

Even after she'd talked it over with her other friends, it hadn't hit her how stupid the idea actually sounded out loud until right this moment. Until she sat in front of Neil explaining this away, thinking she was just helping Kashal. But once again, it was to her detriment.

"Neil, I'm sorry" she said quietly.

"Me too" he replied looking down at his plate. "Another two years is a long time, you know. I'm assuming you're going to carrying on living as if you're married?"

"I'm sorry, I just..." she nodded.

"I wish you had a little more faith in me" Neil interrupted almost in a whisper. "One night stands aren't really my thing, that's not what this would have been for me. We could have had something special, I know it and I'm sorry that you didn't feel the same."

"I'm sorry..." she started again.

"Think we'll be able to stay friends?" he asked, interrupting her again. "I don't think I'd like it if you weren't in my life" he said, making her gasp a little.

To have such a personal and emotional conversation in such a public place meant their reactions were stifled but looking at each other, they could see that they were both deeply affected by the words being exchanged.

He put his hand out on the table, mirroring hers with their fingertips touching so lightly that they could barely feel it, but it was there.

"We'll be great friends" she smiled, hoping the sadness she felt didn't show. "We can still catch a few movies maybe? We could go watch Thor when it comes out if you think you can stay awake this time" she teased trying to lighten the mood.

"We could do that" he smiled, imagining his face showing similar emotion to Audrey's. "I'd like that. Besides, I get the funny feeling this won't be the last time we have this conversation so we need to get used to it" he said, smiling.

Their hands were still barely touching when they heard a commotion from behind them.

"Hey you two" Jo said as she recovered from the trip she had just taken. She'd caught her foot on chair leg and stumbled to regain her balance, somehow not spoiling a drop of her coffee anywhere.

In the brief distraction, Neil covered Audrey's hand with his, giving it a light squeeze before letting go as Jo dropped into the spare seat next to her.

"You guys good?" she asked innocently.

"Catching up on our weekends" Audrey replied. "Hearing some bachelor party tales" she smiled causing Jo to raise her eyebrows.

"Not all the dirty details" Neil laughed nervously, catching Jo's eye and shaking his head. "Nobody needs to hear that."

""Oh, no thank you" Audrey laughed. "Too much information" not knowing exactly what they had meant.

The three friends sat for a short while, exchanging jibes and gently teasing each other until Neil's phone lit up, making it vibrate across the table. He peered at it, not recognising the number and debated with himself whether to answer it.

"Who's that?" Jo asked innocently.

"Telemarketer maybe?" he replied.

"That's a private number" Audrey confirmed turning it to look. "Answer it."

"Hello" he said, sounding cautious until he heard the voice at the other end of the line and they could see his features soften as he listened.

"Hi Nic, give me two secs" he said as he raised his hand to the others, got to his feet and headed off to find some privacy.

They watched him leave, Audrey quite innocently and Jo cringing inside. Then she heard the words she'd dreaded.

"Who's Nic?"