Denny heard footsteps approaching. He turned to see a sad Alan.
"What happened, man? Did you tell her?"
"I caught her fighting in the hallway with Carl. He accused her of not loving him, among other things." He picked up his discarded glass and poured a double.
"I never liked that man. He doesn't deserve her. He always treated her like that." Denny gritted his teeth. He watched his best friend slump in his chair. Judging by the young man's face, it didn't go as they hoped.
"He then asked her to marry him tonight at the courthouse." Alan sighed.
Denny's eyes widened. "What? Well, what happened?"
"I didn't stick around to hear her answer. I couldn't do it, Denny."
Denny put his glass and put his cigar out. "No." He glared at Alan. "We're not doing this. You're telling her. I don't care if I have to dog-tie you and drag you down there!"
"I think you mean 'hog tie you.' And Denny, it's pointless. Let's drop this. It's over." Alan rolled his eyes, but Denny wasn't having it.
"It's not over until Barbara Walters sings!" Alan didn't have time to correct that one. Denny yanked him straight out of his seat and ignored his protests.
"Denny. Denny! Denny!" Alan tripped alongside him down the steps and down the hall and almost tripped over a chair. Denny dragged him all the way to Shirley's office.
"Shirley. I want you to listen to me, and I don't want to hear – "
"Denny, she's not here!" Alan interrupted. The office was abandoned, and her purse was missing.
"The courthouse."
"Denny, she's gone. This is her answer. You are not hog-tying me or dog-tying me down and dragging me to that courthouse. And Barbara Walters can Ain't No Mountain High Enough, and I'm still not going to break up Shirley's wedding. She doesn't love me." Alan threw the man's hand off and straightened himself back up.
"Alan."
"Denny, please."
"You're a coward. You're letting the woman you love marry another man."
"Maybe I am. But I love her enough to let her go." Alan choked out. Denny cast a glance at the door then back at Alan.
"Alright, fine. We won't go down to the courthouse. I'm sorry, Alan." Denny placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder.
"Would it help if you told me what you would have told Shirley?"
Alan hesitated for a moment.
"It won't go past this room." The older man gave a small smile. Alan turned to close the door, but Denny stopped him.
"The door is already closed. Now pretend I'm Shirley." Denny backed up a little and faked an over-the-top feminine gasp.
"Alan, what are you doing here?" Then he switched sides and pretended to be a sour-looking Carl. He gained a tiny turned-up corner of Alan's lip.
"Don't worry; I got rid of Carl. He's being hauled off to jail."
"For what?"
"For stepping foot in Boston." Denny's satisfied smirk relaxed. "Now she's all yours for this moment."
Alan cleared his throat. "Shirley, before you say anything, please let me get this out, or I never will. I've wanted to tell you this for a long time, and I'll hate myself if I never say it. You can fire me afterward. You can hit me or shoot me or all three, but just let me get this out." His voice cracked with emotion. He stopped. He felt ridiculous.
"Keep going. I promise you'll feel better once you've said it. Treat it like it's the biggest closing of your life." Denny gently encouraged.
Alan took another deep breath and began again. "Shirley. The truth is…I love you. I've loved you since the day I met you. I can't stop thinking about you and don't want to. You are the most wonderful thought and the most painful at times, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love everything about you. I don't care about the age difference; I never have. I'm not interested in a fling or a causal relationship. I never wanted that with you. I want you and only you. Tara nor Lorraine, nor any other woman could compare to you. I've been distant from you lately because I couldn't stand watching you with Carl. I hated it. And I hated Jack too. And I'd like to think there is a part of you that also feels something for me. I know you feel something for me. I've seen it. Please forgive me for saying this but don't marry Carl. Marry me. I love you, Shirley." Alan blinked back the tears and lowered his head.
Denny gave Alan the softest proud smile. "Well done, Alan. Well done." Rubbing his shoulder. "So, Shirley, what did you think?"
"Well, first off, I've never gasped like that in my entire life."
Alan went white. He lifted his head, meeting Denny's triumphant grin.
"Like I said, it wasn't leaving this room." The clever Senior Partner chuckled, turning him around to meet Shirley leaning against her closed office door.
"Shirley."
"Alan."
"You're here. What are you doing here?" Alan stared in absolute shock.
"I came to grab my phone until I heard the two of you." She explained. "I'm glad I didn't interrupt."
"Oh." Alan nodded, avoiding her gaze.
"Denny, will you give me a moment with Alan."
"Sure thing." He kissed her quickly on the cheek and closed the door behind him.
"Well, that was certainly a speech I never thought I'd ever hear from you. I have to admit I'm quite shocked." She smiled as she slowly approached him. He didn't say a word. He was trying to find some way to deflect the situation, but nothing was coming to him. There was nothing left to say. He'd said it all, and she heard every word.
Her smile disappeared. "Did you mean it?"
"Every word."
"Good." She whispered, getting lost in his blue eyes as she stood before him.
He gently held the sides of her head and pressed his lips to hers, pouring all his bottled-up feelings into that kiss. His love. His hunger. His pain. His relief. Shirley lost all defenses. She couldn't lie to herself any longer that she'd imagined this moment a few times throughout the years but never thought it would ever happen, and judging by the evening, neither did he. There was no point fighting it any longer, and she gave in to her feelings. The man could kiss, and she returned it, unleashing her suppressed desires. Her hands slid over his chest and around his neck, toying with the ends of his hair with her long nails. She deepened the kiss. A pleasant moan escaped her, and a shiver traveled down his spine as her fingers continued their magic along with her tongue. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his palms against her back and tugging her forward, to which she responded, closing the gap between them. The woman, indeed, was sublime. They reluctantly pulled away for one another for the second time that night. They stayed inches apart, catching their breath.
"Alan. I wish you'd said something long ago, but I understand why you didn't. I do love you, Alan. I think that's been pretty obvious this evening, and it seems you even noticed a little throughout the years, no matter how hard I tried to fight it. And it certainly was obvious to other people tonight as well."
"You…you do love me?" Alan cautiously asked. He stopped listening after that. Shirley shyly smiled.
"Yes, Alan, I do."
"Really? Does that mean you're not marrying Carl?" He had to be dreaming. This was too good to be true. Shirley shook her head, confirming what he'd heard.
"I think it would be a bad idea if I married him after all this. As much as I care about him, marrying him wouldn't be right. The truth is, after we'd gotten engaged, it just felt like something was off, and the way you were acting recently confused me even more, and now I know why."
Alan felt the absence of an engagement ring on her finger. He didn't know what to say. Yes, he did.
"Will you marry me?" He grinned.
"Alan, we haven't even been on a date yet." She raised an eyebrow.
"Is that a maybe?" Noticing she didn't exactly say no.
"That's a 'we haven't even been on a date yet.'"
"We can date after the wedding. I wouldn't exactly object to a honeymoon being our first date." His signature mischievous smirk began to grow. Shirley laughed at him. Some things wouldn't change, and truth be told, and she was happy about it.
Her facial expression became serious for a moment. "Ok, Alan. I still have a wedding dress I need to do something with anyway."
Alan's mouth gaped open. "What?"
"You asked."
"You're…you're serious?" Lowering his head to meet her eyes.
"If you meant it. Denny could be our witness. I'm assuming Denny is ok with this after what I just witnessed."
"Yes, I meant it, and yes, he is." Alan smiled, absolutely enamored with her. "Although he did threaten to kill me and make it look like an accident if I ever hurt you."
"Ha! I have no doubt. So, Alan, do you say?"
"I guess I say, I'll see you at the courthouse." He beamed. Shirley slowly nodded, kissing him again. He wrapped his arms around her.
"So, see you two at the courthouse in an hour or so?" Denny grinned, popping back in after eavesdropping against the door. The couple broke apart, and all three were off.
Carl silently watched the trio from the shadows as they headed for the elevators. He may have loved Shirley but not enough for her to forgo her feelings for Alan, or maybe not enough even for himself. It was best for everyone. Carl felt a small vibration from his jacket pocket and couldn't believe the number he had seen. He pressed the green button.
"Christine?" An unbelieving grin graced his face. "Well, Merry Christmas to you." He breathily laughed. "No, no. You caught me at a good time. Wow. I haven't heard from you in a long time. How have you been?" He happily sat down on the black couch in the lobby as the snow fell on the streets of Boston.
Alan, Shirley, and Denny were at the courthouse a couple of hours later. The impromptu courthouse wedding happened after all but this time with the man by her side.
"Merry Christmas, you two." Denny toasted the empty balcony chair as he settled back into his own.