Soon after, as if by fate (or coincidence), they both lowered their windows at the same time, allowing a blast of icy mountain air to enter the car. Within seconds he was shivering but the cold air did wonders to get rid of the inappropriate thoughts that were swirling through his mind. His hands were numb from the cold but he kept them firmly on the steering wheel, his gaze straight ahead. When he shivered once more, she quickly rolled up the window. It was a gesture that was reminiscent of the kindness that she had always shown him. And it was her kindness that had made him fall in love with her.
God, how he loved her. But how could he? Had he completely forgotten about the woman to whom he'd promised to spend the rest of his life? Suddenly the guilt returned, stronger than before. He considered turning back. It would be so easy to explain to her that he had changed his mind. Bringing her to the cabin without Frasier, his father or their significant others had been a bad idea, and he shouldn't have even considered it. But when he looked over at her he knew that he could not do it. He could not and he would not.
His reason for going to the cabin in the first place, once Mel was safely in the air en route to Atlanta, was solely to hide out in solitude. But he could not believe that he'd asked Daphne to join him. And more incredibly, he could not believe that she had accepted.
He should turn back. It was wrong, spending time with a woman he loved so much; a woman engaged to another man, when he himself was engaged to another woman. But when he looked at Daphne again he remembered her expression when he'd asked her to accompany him to the cabin.
He realized that this trip, no matter how small it seemed, meant so much more to Daphne. How could he possibly tell her that the decision had been a mistake? He couldn't hurt her, not again. He wanted to make her happy and if that wasn't possible, he wanted to take away her pain. However, making her happy wasn't his responsibility, it was Donny's.
Donny… The man who had promised her the stars, breaking Niles' heart when Daphne had accepted.
Suddenly he found it hard to breathe. He felt as though he might cry… or faint.
Her hand was on his arm. "Are you all right, Dr. Crane?"
He took the nearest exit, grateful to see a sign for a small café. "I'm fine, Thanks. Hungry?"
"I-."
Before she could answer, he'd pulled into the small parking lot. Wordlessly they went inside and were seated in a booth across from one another. He gave the waitress his order and then excused himself to go to the men's room. Thankful that it was unoccupied, he went to the sink and glanced into the mirror at his reflection. He splashed cold water on his heated cheeks, but the effort did little to calm him.
When he returned to the table he was pleased to see that she had taken the liberty of ordering tea and coffee. Their meals arrived shortly thereafter; an egg white omelet for him and a salad for her. The food looked delicious but it seemed that neither he nor Daphne was in the mood to eat. For nearly twenty minutes, their food was rearranged again and again until it became obvious that their meals would remain uneaten.
Niles finally admitted that he wasn't very hungry and when Daphne said the same, they decided to continue their journey.