When Elizabeth realized that Faith wore the same size, she loaned one of her fancier dresses to her friend. Elizabeth's dress was made of shades of purple while the one Faith would be wearing was made of blues. Nathan chose a navy-blue suit, while Gabe wore a charcoal grey one. They sat nervously, pacing the living room as they waited for their wives to appear. It would be their first social event as married men, and they wanted to be at their best.

"At least we don't have to worry about being wallflowers Nathan," Gabe teased. "Not to mention that we will have someone to kiss at midnight."

Nathan just blushed as he thought of what it would be like to kiss Elizabeth at midnight. 'Would that be something she was okay with?' he asked himself. He knew that Faith and Gabe were moving right along in their physical relationship, but he felt that he and Elizabeth were doing okay. Their physical affection was done mainly in the privacy of their room and consisted of cuddling as they slept after spending time talking and holding hands. Other than the one accidental kiss and the on-purpose one, there had not been any other kisses. Though there were times, it was all Nathan could do not to pull Elizabeth in his arms and kiss her thoroughly. But he knew that she was inexperienced and didn't want to push her.

"As Elizabeth finished styling Faith's hair Elizabeth said, "Faith can I ask you a personal question, and you can't tell Gabe or anyone else I asked?"

Faith turned around on the stool and said, "Of course, Elizabeth. What is it?"

"Have you ever initiated a kiss with Gabe?" Elizabeth asked, blushing crimson.

Faith blushed a bit, too but said, "Only once last night though there have been a few other times I have been so tempted."

"How did he react when you did?" Elizabeth asked.

"He didn't have any issue with it. In fact, I think he liked it. Why are you asking Elizabeth?" Faith inquired.

"Other than our accidental kiss and a couple of quick pecks, we haven't really kissed. Sometimes he is talking, and I find myself staring at his lips and wishing I had the nerve to kiss him."

Faith chuckled, "Then why don't you?"

"Because I don't want him to think I'm too forward. I've always thought it was the man's place to initiate one if and when things like that happen. Sometimes I think Nathan wants to and even comes towards me but suddenly backs off. It's frustrating."

"Elizabeth, from what you are telling me, I think since Nathan is experienced and you are not, he may be afraid to rush you. We celebrate a new year tonight, and I think you should grab the proverbial bull by the horns and kiss him the way you want to be kissed. Something tells me that if you do that, Nathan will be the happiest man besides Gabe in town."

"But how am I supposed to do that exactly?" Elizabeth asked.

Faith gave her a quick demonstration sans lips touching just before they went to join everyone in the living room. As the two ladies walked into the room, everyone stopped talking. "You both look stunning, all dressed up," Moira said.

"The four of you surely look wonderful tonight," Catherine said. "I wish I had a camera to take a picture."

"Well, are you boys just going to stand there gawking?" Moira asked, amused by the reaction of Nathan and Gabe. Her comment galvanized them into action, and they went to their respective wives.

"You look beautiful, Lizbeth," Nathan said.

"You look very handsome yourself, Nathan," Elizabeth said. "I'll be the envy of all the other women there except for Faith."

"We have a surprise for you both," Nathan said, helping her put on her coat. He smiled that crooked smile, and other attention was again drawn to his lips. It took her a minute to realize he had asked her a question.

"I'm sorry, Nathan, I wasn't paying attention," Elizabeth said blushing. "What was your question?"

Nathan was amused and once again would have loved to know what thoughts could have put the blush on his wife's cheeks. As he took her hand to place it in the crook of his arm, he kissed her hand before doing so. Just like holding hands as soon as they got into bed, it had become a regular occurrence. As they led them outside, they saw a horse-drawn sleigh waiting.

"Oh, Nathan!" Elizabeth said, turning to hug him.

"Gabe! How romantic," Faith said excitedly.

Before long, they were on the way with Nathan driving and the Kinslows in the back. The ladies didn't know it, but Gabe had lost the coin toss, so on the way home, the Grants would have the privacy of the back seat. The couples talked quietly with one another as they headed toward town. A light snow had begun to fall, but not enough to be concerned about. Nathan couldn't remember the last time he was so happy. Elizabeth was curled up snugly against him, and their hands were clasped where they rested on his thigh under the blanket. Every once in a while, the wind would blow, sending the light floral scent of Elizabeth's perfume to his nostrils.

When they arrived in town, they stopped at the livery to ensure the horse was put in a warm stall and the sleigh was safely out of the way. Leaving the livery, they headed to the café and enjoyed an excellent meal among the other townspeople, who were charmed by their newest additions. Nathan and Gabe smiled so much that their cheeks were getting sore by the night's end. They had never felt so proud as they did walking around with their beautiful wives. More than once, they could hear people compliment Elizabeth and Faith not only on their looks but their manners as well. A few came up to them when their wives were otherwise engaged and told them how lucky they were and how gracious and lovely Elizabeth and Faith were.

Before long, it was time for the first dance of the evening. Nathan heard the beginning strains and escorted Elizabeth onto the floor. "Elizabeth, I'm not very good at dancing. I know the steps, but when everyone starts watching me, my nerves get the best of me." Nathan said.

"Well, why don't you just keep your eyes on me, Constable," Elizabeth said teasingly, adding a wink. "I guess even Mounties can be damsels in distress, huh?"

"Sometimes, but that needs to remain secret," he teased. "We can't have all the damsels in distress turn to rescuing the Mounties instead."

"Oh, and just why might that be Constable Grant," Elizabeth said with a giggle. "Afraid they may look better wearing a Serge?"

"No, that's not it. If they are busy saving the dashing Mounties, what will they have to write about in their journals." Nathan deadpanned. Elizabeth looked at him incredulously and then broke into a fit of giggles. The band played Let Me Call You Sweetheart, and they slipped into a waltz. In the first few rounds, Nathan was focused on Elizabeth, but then he caught a few people looking and began to stumble a bit.

Elizabeth would quickly get them back on track, and then it would happen again. Finally throwing caution to the wind, she said, "Nathan, do you remember the first morning we woke up together, and I called out your name in my sleep?" He could instantly recall it, including how it felt to hold her in his arms as she slept. He could only nod as he remembered he had wondered about her dream."

"Would you like to know what I was dreaming about?" Elizabeth asked with a smirk.

"Is this a trick question?" Nathan said with a grin.

"No, well, you see, I was dreaming that I was on my way to the frontier to teach." As Elizabeth described in detail her dream, he was riveted. So much so that he wasn't even aware of when the first song ended and the second one started. They didn't even stop dancing, and Elizabeth just adjusted their steps to match the new tempo.

"So then, just when I thought I was done for, I heard someone open the door to the stage. Then I peeked through my lashes and saw that it was a strong, brave, incredibly handsome Mountie with beautiful blue eyes the color of a spring lake.

"Oh?" Nathan rasped as her tone took on a husky note.

"Yes. Do you know what he said as he reached out a hand to me?" Elizabeth asked.

"What!" Nathan said quickly, swallowing hard.

"Are you all right, miss?" Elizabeth said. "Then he smiled this sort of half smile that made me feel weak in the knees. Especially when he told me to call him by his first name. Well, you can only imagine how shocked I was to wake up in the arms of my Mountie that day."

Nathan was frozen as they finished the dance. All he wanted to do at that moment was take her somewhere private and kiss her senselessly. But he realized that the dance had ended, and everyone was leaving the floor. When they headed over to where Gabe was standing, Faith and Elizabeth went to get some punch. Nathan noticed that Gabe was laughing and said, "What?"

"What? He says," Gabe mocked.

"What is so funny, man?" Nathan asked.

"Just you so enthralled with whatever Elizabeth was saying that you danced three songs without leaving the floor or missing a step," Gabe said.

Nathan smiled as he looked over at his wife, recalling what she had been telling him. "Gabe, before they return, how did you know when it was okay to deepen a kiss with Faith?"

"I just basically moved by instinct," Gabe said. "But yesterday, she initiated a kiss, so at that point, I knew that we had progressed. Are you wanting to start kissing her on purpose now, finally?"

"I don't want to scare her off. She has never been kissed or had any romantic entanglements before now. I wish I could say the same and that Alice never happened." Nathan muttered. "But I don't want to spook her or force her into something she isn't ready for. It's getting hard, though, because all I seem to think about is kissing her or staring at her lips when she talks."

"Well, I'd say later tonight when we enter the new year, then just pull her to you and kiss her," Gabe said. "If she pushes you away, you have an answer, but you will never know until you try."

Nathan didn't say anything but just studied his wife as she interacted with some of the ladies in town. "I have to say, though, Nathan, that Elizabeth may be more ready for kissing than you think," Gabe added.

The rest of the evening passed quickly as they danced, sometimes as couples, other times Nathan danced with Faith, and Gabe danced with Elizabeth.

"Okay, everyone, grab your special someone and head out to the field for the fireworks display as we count down to 1910." Mayor Connors announced.

As the fireworks exploded in the sky, Elizabeth's stomach exploded in what felt like hundreds of butterflies. She could smell Nathan's cologne, and it sent her senses reeling. Faith caught her eye and mouthed, "Just do it." As they reached 3 in the countdown, Elizabeth squared her shoulders and turned to Nathan; as they hit one, she quickly stood up on tip-toe and captured his lips with hers. At first, Nathan stood in shock, but then he quickly pulled her to him and deepened the kiss as passion exploded between them. A few minutes later, he pulled back, and Elizabeth couldn't even recall her name. Her legs gave out, and she would have fallen if he hadn't caught her to him and held her up. It took her a few moments to realize he was saying something to her.

"Um…. What?" Elizabeth said.

"I asked if I should apologize for that kiss," Nathan whispered.

Elizabeth just stepped up, captured his lips again, deepening it as he had just done, and then pulled away, seeing that he was just as affected this time. Then she gave a saucy smile and said, "If you apologize for that kiss, I won't ever speak to you again." Then she managed to link arms with Faith, and they walked off together towards the livery.

Nathan and Gabe walked behind them a little slower, and Gabe leaned over and said, "Well, I would say that you not only got an answer but confirmation, too," Nathan just nodded with a loopy smile on his face. The ride home was quiet, and both couples were in their own private bubbles as they exchanged small kisses on the way home.