Louisa carefully sat the filled teapot on top of the fancy paper doily on the silver tea tray. She repositioned the scones she had baked last night on the china plate that matched the tea cups. The strawberry preserves she made herself last summer had been scooped into a pretty cut glass bowl. The teacups were on the saucers and the spoons placed on the tray for stirring. She picked up the loaded tray to carry it to Professor Henderson's office for their morning tea and meeting before starting their school day.

Although his door was open, she tapped on it with the pointed toe of her black high heeled shoe. The heavy tray required both of her hands not allowing her to knock to alert him of her presence. When he looked up from the papers on his desk, the corners of his moustache lifted and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened to indicate he was indeed smiling.

"Please do come in, my dear," he invited her, picking up the stack of papers and tapping them on the green blotter to straighten them. He slid them into the wooden "to do" tray to tend them later.

"Good morning, Professor," Louisa greeted him, placing the tray in the middle of his desk.

"Well, don't you look lovely this morning," he complimented her, patiently waiting for her to fill his cup before picking it up.

"Thank you, sir," she returned, her face growing warm.

Louisa was pleased by the unexpected and sincere compliment from the Master of Elegance himself. Though always kind and friendly, he did not give out compliments so freely. The compliment also caught her off guard because the dress she was wearing was one from last spring that she had worn many times; a plain cotton sheath dress covered with large red and pink roses. She was also wearing her pink sweater with the pearl buttons for modesty purposes since the dress is sleeveless.

"You are positively glowing. I trust you had an extremely pleasant weekend," he said, lifting his cup to bring it to his lips. Pinky pointed out naturally. So elegant.

Louisa placed a scone on a small plate along with a dollop of preserves. She could feel her face getting even hotter with embarrassment. She was glowing? He had not complimented her dress after all. She had no idea she was glowing or even why. Perhaps he was curious about the why himself since he made the offhand comment.

"I baked these myself. Please enjoy, sir," she said, setting the plate down in front of him beside the saucer to which he returned his tea cup.

"Ah, and I presume this is your homemade preserves as well?"

She nodded while pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Then I certainly will enjoy myself," he stated with subdued excitement, picking up the silver spreader from the tray to dig into the preserves. "Would I be assuming too much or being too intrusive if I asked his name?"

Louisa feared she might spontaneously combust from the heat of the self-conscious blush flowing downward from her face to color her neck and chest. She took a sip of her tea to wet her desert dry throat before answering. The delicate cup rattled against the china saucer when she placed it back down due to trembling of her hand.

"What do you mean, sir?" she asked, feigning ignorance. Her acting is terrible, and she knew it. Lying was never her thing.

"Oh, come now, my dear. Don't be coy. You know you can tell me these things. Why, I think of you like my own granddaughter."

"I didn't know you had a granddaughter."

"I don't," he replied, his moustache shortening indicating he was smiling again. "Not until you came along."

"I appreciate that you think of me that way. But - "

The insightful Professor Henderson would not be denied an answer to his question. He raised an authoritative eyebrow indicating he would not be having any evasive excuses which immediately silenced her.

Louisa exhaled deeply in resignation. There was no reason she should not be honest with him. He had always been kind and caring, truly treating her like a family member. On numerous occasions he had been her advocate, acting as her guardian when her lack of family ties made her even more suspicious leading to further scrutiny from the authorities.

"His name is Yuri Briar. He is actually the uncle of one of our students, Anya Forger," she explained, balancing her saucer on her knees to avoid bringing attention to her shaking hands.

"Forger? So he is the brother of Anya's mother?" he surmised, studying her over the rim of his cup as he brought it to his lips.

"Yes, sir," she confirmed, picking up her cup with both hands to ensure she did not drop it.

"Will this cause a problem, Miss Eleazor? I will not tolerate favoritism among staff and students here at the academy."

"There will be no problem. We have only been out on..." She paused to count.

How many dates had it been? They had dinner at her apartment. The failed coffee date. Dinner with his sister and brother-in-law. Then their Sunday date. She could feel her lips curling into a smile on their own volition as if it were an involuntary muscle reaction.

"We just started seeing each other," Louisa said, drinking some of her tea while he stared at her without saying a word.

"Where do you think this relationship will be going?"

She inhaled sharply, unfortunately, sucking the tea in her mouth down her windpipe. Keeping a secure hold on her cup with one hand, she covered her mouth with the other while coughing.

"Perhaps I am being too impertinent. I apologize for my lack of decorum." He took a bite of his scone and chewed. After swallowing, he said, "I would really hate to lose my best counselor to marriage."

"Oh, sir," she chortled with embarrassment. "I would never quit my job because I get married. I love these children. Besides, it's way too soon for marriage to even be a possibility." She sighed, her cup hovering near her mouth in mid air. "Beyond that, I am not sure if this relationship will be going anywhere at all. I don't know if it can."

"What do you mean, my dear? Please explain since this seems to sadden you."

Sometimes this man is too damn insightful, she thought, putting down her cup.

"Well - "

The timid knock on the door interrupted her before she could offer a reason which would surely have been a flimsy excuse. Louisa exhaled in relief to see one of the teachers standing there. She really did not want to have to explain anything about her relationship with Yuri which she did not yet understand herself.

"I apologize for interrupting," the man said, glancing between the Professor and the counselor. "The gym teacher is out again. He broke his arm this time and is not yet out of the hospital."

"Oh, my," Henderson sighed. "I will take care of his classes today but we simply must find a substitute, or perhaps a replacement, if this kind of behavior is going to continue."

"Y-yes, sir," the teacher returned before leaving.

"Miss Eleazor, I do regret I must cut short our time together, especially since you made these delicious scones," he said, taking one more bite of the scone before abandoning it.

"There's always afternoon tea, Professor," she reminded him, quickly standing up from her chair. "I will take the tea for now but leave the scones and preserves for you for later."

"You are an absolute peach, my dear," he said, bowing gracefully to her. "You will be joining me this afternoon for tea so we can continue our conversation."

It was not a request but a polite command.

"Of course, sir."

Louisa forced a smile to her face. Taking the teapot along with the cup and saucer to her office, she sat down at her desk to start going through student files. Surely there were a few she needed to confer with him about. She would have to find some alternate topics of conversation for their afternoon meeting to keep him distracted from her relationship which might or might not be real.

~\'/~

Yuri sat at his usual table on the outdoor patio at the Sandwich Shop waiting for Dominic. Although he held a paper open in front of his face, he was not comprehending any of the words he was looking at. When his friend called him to suggest lunch, he knew Dominic was insanely curious about how things had gone with the woman whom he had retrieved the report for Yuri.

"Hey, buddy," Dominic greeted him, sliding into his chair. "So start talking. Tell me all about her."

Yuri folded the newspaper and put it aside. He opened his mouth to speak but the server arrived with their food, setting down the paper lined baskets in front of each of them containing a gravy soaked steak sandwich sitting on top of a mound of potato chips. The potato chips were sliced from fresh potatoes and fried right there at the restaurant every day. Perhaps he should bring Louisa here sometime. Shaking his head, Yuri picked up his glass of iced tea to take a long drink.

Surprisingly, Dominic ignored his food, staring expectantly at Yuri. He placed his hands on the table, drumming out a beat as if to politely display his impatience with his reticent friend.

"How did the date go?" he asked finally when no information was offered unprompted.

"It went," Yuri confirmed, picking up his knife and fork to begin cutting off pieces the sloppy sandwich rather than attempting to pick it up with his hands and bite it.

"And?" Dominic pressed, flipping his hands up to display his open palms as if begging to be handed something interesting. "What happened? Where did you go? What did you do? What's she like?"

"She's great." He poked the dripping bite of bread and meat into his mouth.

"Oh, my God, seriously?" he muttered, hanging his head in disappointment. "You gush for hours about your sister, but you won't give me more than two words about this mystery woman you wanted a background check on? Quit keeping me in suspense. Tell me about her."

"She's very nice. Sweet. Pretty."

"Yeah, yeah, I saw her picture. Details, man, come on." He beat his fists on the table. "Is there going to be a second date? Tell me that at least. Geez..."

"There's going to be another date." Yuri rolled his eyes, counting up the times they have already spent time together. "We've actually seen each other four times."

"Four times? Four times already?"

"Uh huh," he confirmed to his shocked friend who stared at him with wide eyes. "We're having a picnic with my sister and..." He gulped down the bile in throat, taking a long draw from his glass. "...brother-in-law on Saturday."

"She's meeting the family already?"

"For the second time actually. Our third date was dinner at my sister's."

"Third date? Wow. Do you think she's the one?" Dominic asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Yuri's face twisted in confusion. "The one what?"

"Come on, man, really?" He rolled his eyes. "The one! The woman you want to marry. No one takes the person they're dating to meet the family until they're ready to make a big commitment. So it was love at first sight, huh?"

Not hardly, Yuri thought, wiping his mouth with his napkin. Louisa is a means to an end: that end being Yor's marriage. If getting engaged to her brings about the desired results, he was willing to make the sacrifice.

"How long have you and Camilla been dating?" Yuri asked, noticing his friend's eyes suddenly go blank.

"Uh, well, about six months I guess."

"When are you going to ask her to marry you?"

"I-I-I-I d-don't kn-know," he stuttered, scratching his cheek filling with pink color. He waved his hands as if to dissipate the idea like smoke. "It's too soon. Way too soon." He leaned across the table asking a dramatic whisper, "Are you really going to ask this woman to marry you?"

Yuri nodded. Why not? Their engagement was the key to his grand plan.

"Are you crazy?" Dominic hissed.

Yuri had been accused of being a bit insane a time or two by his coworkers; especially his lieutenant and particularly where Yor was concerned. He smiled at Dominic.

"She's beautiful, and she's kind. She's very proper and polite. Why not?"

"Is it because she looks so much like your sister?"

"No!" Yuri yelled drawing the attention of everyone around them. Ignoring the annoyed glares, he said in a much lower voice, "Look, it's just a thought. It's not like I've bought a ring or anything yet."

"Geez, don't scare me like that." Dominic exhaled noisily.

What the hell are you getting so upset about?, Yuri wondered, watching his friend trying to pick up the messy but delicious sandwich.

"It's not like you'd be the one getting married," he muttered aloud. "Besides, I could do much worse."

"But you don't know anything about her."

"How much could Yor possibly have known about that man before she married him?!" Yuri shouted, eliciting groans of protest and clicking tongues of disapproval from their fellow restaurant patrons. "And she seems insanely happy with Lloidy."

"Why don't you two go out with me and Camilla sometime?" Dominic suggested. "We'd love to meet her."

"To decide if you approve of her?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "So what do you say?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Yuri really did not care if he had their blessing or not. He had his reasons for wanting to get engaged to Louisa. All of them involved his sister and no one else.

~\'/~

Louisa exited the gates of the school lost in her thoughts. Afternoon tea with Professor Henderson had gone well. They had stayed away from the topic of her personal life, instead discussing upcoming events at the school such as the sports and spring festivals.

She was so deep in creating mental checklists for the festivals she did not notice Yuri sitting on the bench waiting for her. After she passed by without even looking his way, he stood up, calling her name. When she did not acknowledge him or stop walking, he jogged after her to catch up continuing to call out to her all to no avail. Finally, within in arm's reach of her, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Louisa gasped at the sudden touch, pulling her large tote from her shoulder as she swung around. The heavy, fully loaded bag hit Yuri in the shoulder because he had raised his arm to shield his face. The force and weight behind the bag offset his balance and shoved him into the brick wall that was part of Eden's Academy's outer barrier to protect the students within.

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, rushing to him while he leaned against the wall to gather his wits. Pressing her hands to his cheeks, she forced him to turn his head to look at her. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."

Her instant reaction to swing the tote at him was a quite effective tactic for protecting herself and had taken him by surprise. Not to mention the strength she put behind the massive bag to slam him against the wall.

"What the hell is in that thing?" he muttered, massaging his sore shoulder. He was positive there was a bruise already forming.

"Text books. An appointment book. A ledger. Pens. Pencils. Paper. A stapler. Tape dispenser. Snacks. Crap! I hope I didn't smash the bananas." She looked inside the bag, shuffling items around. "Wait...it doesn't matter. Are you okay?" she asked again, reaching out to touch his shoulder gingerly.

"I'm okay," Yuri assured her, giving her a sheepish grin.

"Dammit!" Louisa shrilled, slapping his sore arm.

"Ow, shit!" he bellowed when a new burst of pain radiated through his entire arm making his elbow and shoulder joints throb.

"You scared the hell out of me, you idiot," she sighed, sliding the strap of the bag back onto her shoulder. "You don't just walk up behind a woman and slam your hand down on her shoulder like that."

"I had called your name at least a dozen times. And I didn't slam my hand down. Don't be so dramatic," he mumbled, falling into step beside her.

"Hmph," she snorted in derision, side eyeing him. "You're one to talk about being dramatic."

They walked in silence until they reached the corner. While waiting for the light to change, Louisa finally spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to ask you if you like to go out for a drink," he replied, keeping his line of sight straight ahead at the crosswalk light.

"Before we even have dinner?" She glanced at him, but he did not look at her.

"Want to go to dinner then?" he asked, taking a step forward when the sign to walk flashed in green.

"No, I'd rather have that drink," she answered.

"What?" This time he did glance at her as she rushed ahead of him. "Then why the hell - "

"Come on," she cut him off. "I know a good place."

"Really?" he muttered, not sure if he should be delighted or irked because she was familiar with a 'good' drinking establishment. She did know how to chose a good wine so he should not be so terribly affronted of her knowledge of alcohol or the places it is sold.

When Louisa led him down stone stairs to a basement bar, Yuri could not help but become even more leery of her choice.

How well do I know this woman?, he asked himself as she took hold of the brass bar on the heavy wooden door to open it for herself. Reaching over her head to hold the door open, he waited for her to walk inside before following.

Although dimly lit with round light fixtures above the bar and small oil lamps on the tables, the drinking establishment was tidy and definitely upper scale with lots of dark wood, leather, and gold accoutrements.

There was one lone man sitting at one end of the bar sipping beer from a mug with a thin layer of ice melting on the outside of the glass. He was dressed in an expensive suit with a heavy gold watch on his wrist and a brown leather briefcase sitting at his feet.

Since they were the only other customers in the place, Louisa took a seat at the opposite end of the bar rather than at one of the tables. The bartender who had been cutting lemons put down the knife and walked away from them to tend to his new customers.

"What can I get for you?" he asked, wiping his hands on a clean white towel.

"I would like a red wine. Pinot Noir, please," she requested, sitting her bag on the floor and her purse on the stool beside hers.

"Very good. And you, sir?" The bartender placed napkins in front of each of them.

"I think I'll have a beer."

"I'll be right back with those drinks."

"This place gives new meaning to a frosty mug of beer. They put the glasses in a freezer to keep them cold. When the beer is poured in from the tap, a film of ice forms on the glass from the condensation," Louisa explained.

"How often do you come here?" Yuri inquired trying not to sound irritated or judgmental. She might whack him with her tote bag again if he offended her.

"I've come here a time or two with teachers from the school."

"Are some of those teachers men?" The sting of jealousy needled him in the gut making him feel uncomfortable and annoyed.

"Uh, yeah." She slowly turned her head to stare at him.

Yuri toyed with his napkin, refusing to look at her. His jaw was tense and squared, the muscles on cheek writhing under his skin from his gritted teeth.

"Jealous?" she asked jokingly.

"Yes."

After a quick double take, startled by his truthful answer when she expected none at all, her attention went to the bartender who had their drinks in hand. Louisa smiled at the man as a silent thank you when he placed the long stemmed wine glass on her napkin.

Yuri could not help but notice the way the bartender's golden brown eyes continued to center on her face even when setting his beer down. The man might be in his early thirties, clean shaven, slicked back dark hair. Handsome. Naturally he would be interested in a beautiful woman like Louisa. But to show his interest so blatantly, particularly in the presence of her male companion not knowing the status of their relationship, was absolutely scandalous.

When the flirtatious barkeep winked at her before walking away, it was like a punch in Yuri's gut. Anger flared inside of him like the eruption of a volcano, launching him to his feet. The hand on his forearm, tugging down hard, brought him back to his senses before he leapt over the bar to pummel the man into a bloody heap of flesh barely recognizable as human.

"How about a toast?" Louisa suggested, raising her wine glass in the air.

"To what?" he inquired, attempting but failing miserably to hide his agitation.

"To us, of course," she said, waiting for him to pick up his mug.

"What about us?" he asked, holding out the mug toward her.

"To a beautiful friendship," she declared, reaching out to press her palm to his cheek. When her eyes met his, she gave him a smile that made the rage inside of him melt away like the thin layer of ice on his glass. "And maybe more."

"To us," he said, carefully tapping his sturdy and thick glass mug to her thin and fragile wine glass. "To friendship." He took a sip then added, "And more."

They were both halfway through their drinks before another word was spoken between them. As usual, Yuri was feeling his alcohol more than he should be due to being such a lightweight. He could torture a man for hours to get to the truth out of him yet he could still barely handle a single alcoholic drink.

"What kind of more were thinking, Louisa?" he asked her, his face already flushed from the alcohol.

"I don't know," she lied, shrugging her shoulders. "It's too early to tell, don't you think?"

"Nope," he replied quickly, making a popping sound at the end of the word. He picked up his mug, chugging the liquid courage - or stupidity - depending on how one looked at it. He beat his chest over his heart with his fist. "I for one, know what I want out of this relationship."

"Oh, yeah?" she giggled at the inebriated man whose cheeks had darkened to a cherry red. "And what is that, Mr. Briar?"

"I want..." Yuri placed his palm over his heart, taking her hand in his other one. "I want you."

Louisa slid her hand out of his loose grip, but he stretched out his arm with startling speed and dexterity to grab her hand before she could remove it beyond his reach. His fingers gripped her hand securely but not hard enough to hurt or alarm her.

"I want to marry you, Louisa Eleazor."

When his cinnamon colored eyes met hers, she felt like she could no longer inhale air into her lungs.

"You can't - " She tried to speak but her words warbled and were barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and issued a tight, fake laugh in order to dispel her own apprehension. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am serious," he insisted.

"You're drunk," she muttered, attempting to extricate her hand but his fingers stubbornly held on.

"I am," he admitted. "How dare you let me drink."

"It was a temporary lapse of memory driven by my own selfish desire for a drink. I'm sorry," she apologized, swirling the wine around in her glass before taking a drink.

"I'm not sorry you got me drunk."

"Hmmm," she hummed pensively, raising a skeptical eyebrow while glaring at him. "And why is that?"

"If you had not gotten me drunk, I would not have the nerve to say the words I'm about to say," he slurred.

I got you drunk, indeed, Mr. Briar, she thought, finishing off her wine.

Yuri is the one who asked her to come for a drink. He is also a damn adult despite looking all of sixteen years old. It wasn't her fault he couldn't handle his alcohol.

Louisa really wasn't thinking about how alcohol effected him when he invited her for a drink. However, she had been hopeful he could handle at least one. As she looked at his glassy eyes, felt his clammy hand clinging to hers, she realized not even one drink was an option for him.

When she put down her wine glass, his other hand immediately shot out to capture it, holding it tightly. He pulled her forward, leaning closer to her face leaving her no choice but to stare into his eyes.

"Miss Louisa Eleazor, I have wanted to marry you since the first time I saw you."

"You were drunk then too," she reminded him.

"I was, but...I have thought about this a lot while sober too. I think we should get married."

"Why, Yuri?" she sighed, trying to wiggle her hands free from his. "Why should we get married?"

"Because I like you," he mumbled, sliding off of his barstool accidentally and almost head butting her in the process. At least he was able to stand up on his feet rather than falling to the floor.

"I like you too but there's no reason to rush into marriage." She managed to snatch one hand free to pat his hand while he perched himself back onto the stool. "You should think about this some more. A lot more. People rush into marriage for all of the wrong reasons."

"Is there ever a good reason to rush into marriage?"

"Hmmm," she hummed pensively, wishing he would let her go of her hands. "For some yes, there are good reasons. For me...I'm honestly not sure."

"But there are good reasons for you to rush into marriage. Wouldn't life be easier for you? You would no longer be suspected of being a spy. You wouldn't get dragged out of your apartment and hauled in for questioning," he said, hitting an emotional sore spot that made her physically flinch.

"That's true. But isn't marriage a drastic step to avoid interrogation?"

"Yes, yes it is," he agreed, letting her hand go to reach for his beer. "But..."

"But?" she prompted him while watching him empty the mug down his throat.

When he raised his hand to order another one, she met the questioning gaze of the bartender and shook her head. The bartender took out one of the frozen mugs but filled it with water instead. Yuri most likely would never notice the difference anyway.

"If I married you, it might make my sister realize the mistake she's made," he slurred, placing his elbows on the bar and holding his head between his hands as if was suddenly too heavy for his neck to support it.

"Oh, Yuri," Louisa sighed, placing her hand on his bicep. "Marrying me will not bring your sister back to you. She is happy with Lloid. She has a daughter. They are the cutest family I have ever seen. Why can't you just be happy for them?"

"I don't know," he sniffled sounding as if he was ready to burst into tears. "I just can't!" he yelled, slamming his fist down onto the bar making her jump. "I'm so damn mad at her for marrying that bastard. It was supposed to be just us two against the world! Always." He turned his red rimmed eyes on her. "And she didn't tell me she was married for a year. A whole year! Because she forgot."

"Yeah, well, I'm kinda beginning to understand why she didn't tell you," she muttered, patting his arm in a perfunctory offering of sympathy because she had no idea what he was going through. I seriously doubt she simply forgot.

"Louisa, will you take me home?" Yuri inquired, staring at her with large pleading eyes - the epitome of puppy dog eyes.

Whose home?, she wondered.

"I'll put you in a taxi," she informed him sternly, reaching into her purse for money to pay for their drinks. "You give the driver your address and pay for the ride."

"Yes, ma'am," he rejoined, saluting her as if she was one of his superiors.

Yuri managed to walk mostly on his own, leaning on her only slightly - mostly to counteract gravity to keep himself from falling back down the stairs. On the street, Louisa hooked her arm through his, leaning into him enough to keep him upright and from staggering all over the sidewalk.

The bright lights in the small square display windows of the jewelry store caught his attention despite her attempts to hurry past it. The first window showed off a gorgeous sapphire and diamond necklace with matching earrings and a bracelet to match, all laid out on black silk. In the second window a mannequin head was adorned with a tiara comprised of sparkling pink gemstones.

Just as Louisa was ready to exhale the breath she had been holding, they came to the third window and he stopped. A bouquet of snow white lilies tied with a white ribbon lay on black velvet. A pearl necklace and studs were displayed inside a giant fake oyster shell on one side of the bouquet at the ends of the stems. On the other side, actually laying inside one of the blossoms, was three rings: an engagement ring with a single square cut diamond and the matching band with diamonds all around and the husband's plain gold band.

"We could just get engaged. Nothing more," he said, staring at the rings with unfocused eyes. "Like you said, there's no reason to rush into marriage."

"Yuri," she sighed, pushing him to get him moving but he refused to budge.

"It could be a really long engagement. We don't have to immediately get married. Maybe never. I don't know."

"Just drop it okay?" she begged feeling a frustrating mixture of anger and sadness, both so severe she wanted to cry.

"Come on," Yuri said, turning to face her and almost coming nose to nose with her. "Would it be so horrible to just be engaged to me? At least then you would not have to worry about anymore random searches through your apartment or hours of questioning at the police station." He took both of her hands in his, squeezing them gently while smiling at her. "What do you say? Will you at least get engaged to me? Marriage is optional."

Louisa chewed her lower lip while gazing into his eyes. They were glassy but clear, concentrating on her shifting eyes as if to find the answer she refused to say out loud. She could not argue with his logic. Even an engagement, whether they actually got married or not, would stop the 'surprise' inspections and exhausting hours of interrogation.

"Yes," she answered, squeezing his hands. "Let's get engaged."

"Should I kiss you?" he asked, leaning forward with his lips poked out.

Louisa reared back well out of the reach of his puckered lips. She let go of his hands and pushed him away with a gentle shove on his chest making sure she did not to topple him over backwards.

"Absolutely not. Besides, I don't even have the ring yet. What kind of woman do you think I am?"

"Miss Eleazor, I must confess I am not sure exactly. But," he said, holding out his arm in a winglike fashion as a hint for her to take it so he could escort her down the street as is customary. "I would like to find out."

"All right, Mr. Briar," she chuckled, patting his forearm. "I think we should pour you into a cab and get you home."

"I'll get you a ring soon," he promised. "I'll propose to you in the most romantic way possible, I swear. I'll make it so special you'll never forget it."

"Uh huh," she humored him, continuing to pat his arm. She doubted he would remember any of this when he woke up in the morning. If only she had the same luxury.