Gabriella bushed out her hair quietly in her hotel bedroom, Lady was chewing on a rawhide Chad had given her earlier. Putting her brush down she looked in the mirror at her reflection. They had to go dinner tonight; they would be sitting down with the state senator and his wife. She was wearing a simple black dress with thin straps that showed off her shoulders. Her hair straightened around her face, the door from the other room opened and Troy entered.

"If you not ready in ten minutes, I'm leaving without you." Troy said adjusting his cuff links, "I'll say you ate something for lunch and you're not well," Troy looked at her sternly almost daring her to protest.

"Lucky me?" Gabriella said with a raised brow. "I'm ready."

"Funny," Troy took looked in the mirror to adjust his tie. "You can always just stay here. I don't care."

"You have to care you need me," Gabriella stood up from her seat walking towards him. "This is supposed to be a causal dinner," she said taking his tie in her hands and undoing it. "Just leave a few buttons undone."

"Right, because now you have the right to dress me?" Troy said backing away from her and continuing to undo his tie.

Gabriella clenched her fist. "Troy, please don't shut me out."

Troy was silent for a moment, his lips were in a grim line as he studied her hard. "How do I know you're not going to Sabotage me?"

"I can't make you trust me," Gabriella said looking away from him. "But I can do my best to help undo what I've done."

"Why?" Troy said with a shrug. "Once Chad has the information, this deal is done, I want nothing more to do with you?"

Gabriella looked at his blue eyes that seemed to be iced over with anger, at this point she had to ask herself what was it that she was fight for? "I'm in love with you," Gabriella said sternly, if there was ever a reason that was it.

Troy let out a breath and then bit down on his tongue. Leave it to Gabriella to make things harder than they had to be. He almost felt himself say the words back. He wanted to say it back, but he couldn't bring himself to be the fool. Couldn't expose himself in this war of politics. He was only as powerful as the walls he kept up and the people he kept out. "We're going to be late."

When they got to dinner both the senator and his wife were already waiting for them. Gabriella greeted them apologizing for their tardiness with an excuse about her not finding her earrings.

"Oh heavens, I know what you mean," said the older woman, "I never leave home without my mother pendant, she passed two years ago and it my dearest piece of jewelry."

Troy eyed the elder woman as she smiled at Gabriella with kind eyes. Looking back at the senator he smiled and nodded. "Woman take forever to get ready, one day it's the hair the next it's earrings," Troy grumbled as he looked down at his menu.

"Waiting on a woman is the best kind of waiting," The man said, "The result is worth the wait."

"Oh George," the older woman said with a small smile. "I remember you were just the same once upon a time, he'd throw a fit if I wasn't on time." she said looking back at Gabriella with a grin. "Men love hauling us around like trophies but heavens help us if we have to take our time with the engravings and polishing,"

Gabriella giggled she felt a small ping in her heart as she looked at the older couple wiser in age and comfortable in their skins. She wanted a love like that, one that got better with age, one that seemed ageless. A love that loved her back.

"Betty's right, I had to be trained." George said with a shrug.

The rest of the dinner was peaceful, they talk politics, they talked views, and they talk about the ever changing world. The meal was tasteless; the conversation left him feeling empty. Troy eyes kept wondering to his wife. The way she would move her food around the plate before making sure her fork had the right amount of mash potatoes and steak. The way she would hold her glass to her lips caught up in the conversation and forget to take a sip. There were so many things about her that he noticed, so many things he liked about her, adored about her, loved about her. Troy looked away out into the restaurant.

"Enough shop talk." George said smiling at Troy, "Tell us the story,"

"What story?" Troy said looking up at George with a loss for words. He hadn't even been aware of the shop talk from before.

"How he purposed," Betty said looking at Gabriella her cheeks a nice rosy red. "Was it romantic?"

Gabriella let out a small sigh, "It was," she said with grin.

"Was it?" Troy asked looking at her curiously.

Gabriella placed a hand on his knee the touch was warm. "I love white roses," she said already leading into the story. "Well we spent the evening at the show it was a movie in the park,"

"Oh those are so romantic," Betty said with a smile.

"It was very romantic." Gabriella said with a small smile as she looked over at Troy.

Troy returned back to his food only half interested in the story. It wasn't real, she wasn't real, she was traitor.

Gabriella continued, "He makes the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then after the movie we dance to the credits and before I knew it he was on his knee."

"Well done." George said looking Troy's way. " you can tell so much about the man by the woman on in his heart." He said smiling at Gabriella, "She's a gem,"

"Thank you," Troy said bringing his hand under the table to take hold of hers and gently remove it from his knee.

Gabriella looked down at her food, he wasn't going to forgive her was he. The realization that he might never forgive her made her entire body hurt and her face struggled twice as hard to hold her smile in place.

"I'll tell you when I saw this little beauty behind the cash register at big bagel, I just knew." George said with a smile.

"He actually introduced himself as my next boyfriend?" Betty giggled and Troy smiled tilting his glass at them.

"Our first date was to a drive in movie, god do I miss those." George smiled as he quietly reminisced, "How did you meet this little beauty?"

Troy looked into his glass, "She was my secretary," he said looking back at his own faint reflection in the wine glass. He could see Gabriella giving him a sideways glance so he continued before she made this another lie. "She'd only been working there a week but there was something different about her." Troy paused to remember the first time he saw her hustling around the office. Watching her set up her desk from his office, she'd brought him coffee, her hands were so small as she placed the cup on his desk. "I think the moment I knew was this one time we were both walking through the hall. I was reading a report on a budget and she was shifting files in her arms, we almost collided and I remember looking up into her brown eyes and just feeling … like the world shifted." Troy's smile lasted a second; she'd been on her way to the copy room that day, probably making copies for Anthony. His gut twisted.

Gabriella recalled that moment, she was moving was taking the files to the copy room for another employee. It had been the first time she was stunned by his blue eyes. He been more mysterious, more forbidden, more alluring because she knew he would never waste his time on a woman like her. Gabriella let out a breath, was it even true? Did he make up that memory like she had their proposal?

"Isn't that the truth," Betty smiled as she placed her hand on her husband's. "Love just hits you in the face sometimes. I mean as cheesy as that line was I fell for it, and I fell hard."

Troy looked out into the dance floor where other couples began to gather. As if reading his mind George let out a sigh, "Well I wouldn't worry too much, you have my full support. I like you." He added lifting his own glass.

Troy nodded, "I appreciate your support,"

"Now let's dance!" George said with grin rising from his own seat and holding a hand out to his wife. "Come on Betty let's show him how it's done."

"Oh George," she said putting her hand in his as he lead her out to the floor.

Troy grinned as the two left for the dance floor, leaving him behind at the table with Gabriella. After a moment of silence between them he watched her fiddle with her food some more. He watched as she moved around the food. She moved in her seat and let out a sigh as she lifted her glass to take a sip. "We should go,"

Gabriella nodded and let out a sigh as she began to rise from her seat. Troy lifted her coat helping her into it, almost afraid he might strangle her with it. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Troy didn't say a word just moved to the side to allow her to lead the way. He smiled politely as people walked past them, placed his hand on the small of her back as he pushed the front door open for her. held car door for her until she was seated inside. Going through the motions, pretending everything was going to be okay. When he got into the back seat of the limo himself he let out a sigh once they were submerged into privacy.

"It went well," Gabriella said in a low voice.

"They liked you," Troy said looking out the window.

Gabriella fidgeted with the hem of her dress. "When do we leave on the bus?" she said in a nervous voice.

"In the morning," Troy said, "I have a speech three hours out of town, it's at noon." He said looking at his watch. "Then dinner in Los Angles with some officials who might be interested in investing."

"Sounds busy," Gabriella bit her lip as she stared out her own window. "Do you think I could miss that dinner?"

"Why would you?" Troy said placing a hand on his knee as he glanced out his own window. "You were so persistent on coming with me tonight, now all of a sudden you want to be scarce."

"You don't want me around." Gabriella said staring ahead. "I refuse to be unwanted company."

"Well I'm not leaving you alone," Troy said looking at her. "Like I can trust that you won't try and sabotage me?"

Gabriella waited for the car to come to a stop at a red light before reaching for the handle and getting out of the limo. Slamming the door behind her, she made her way across the street to the sidewalk.

"Gabriella!" Troy said yelled across the street as he got out of the limo as well. "You can't walk all the way back to the hotel from here."

"Who said I'm going to the hotel." Gabriella shot back pausing only for a moment to remove her heals.

Troy leaned back into the limo addressing the driver to continue forth for the evening. He jogged after her across the street. "Where are you going?" he called, aware of people looking their way.

Gabriella kept walking, reaching into her tiny hand bag she gathered together some change for phone. Looking around she scanned the area for a phone booth, a pay phone something. Then she spotted the subway.

"Gabriella," Troy called from behind her.

Gabriella started down the stairs for the subway, mixing in with other people already in route in and out of the tunnels. Troy sprinted to catch up only to come to a halt on the train's platform. A train leaving while another train arrived people everywhere loading and unloading from both direction. Where did she go? Which train had she boarded? Troy let out a breath as he stood in the clearing crowd alone and wifeless.