NOTE: I was informed that Chapter 21 didn't show up for most people (even me) so I deleted it and am reposting it. Ready to find out if it's a friend or foe at Lizzy's door? Read on! :)

Chapter 21

My acres of a land

I have achieved

It may be hard for you to

Stop and believe

But for you

You

I'd leave it all.

-Budapest, George Ezra

I stumbled back from the tall, imposing figure in the doorway and stared in shock. He quickly set the small cardboard box he carried on the narrow hall table next to the door, then turned and strode steadily toward me, his intense stare holding me captive. He stopped short, a few feet in front of me, his expression unreadable.

I quickly recovered from my surprise and launched myself at him, throwing my arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.

Will's arms wrapped around me as he swept me off my feet in an embrace, holding me tightly against him.

After a few moments, he set me down and moved his hands to frame my face, warm, heavy, and real against my skin. His touch, bordering on reverence as he brushed his palms over my cheeks and his fingers along my neck, sent a frisson of excitement and pleasure dancing over my skin. My body seemed to come alive under his hands as if it had been anesthetized since I'd left Pemberley and was only now waking up.

"You're here!" I breathed, gazing up at him in wonder. I grasped his wrists and felt his pulse beating strong and steady beneath my fingers.

He didn't answer. Instead, his eyes searched my face hungrily, his jaw set in tense lines as if he was struggling to control his expression.

I reached up and tentatively touched his cheek with my fingertips. "You're really here," I whispered, still trying to mentally process the fact that he was standing in front of me, holding me.

Without releasing my face, he stepped back, and his eyes swept over my figure. He grinned as he swiped a thumb across my cheek. "You're covered in glitter."

"Mhm," I replied solemnly. "Haven't I told you before? I'm part faerie."

Will raised an eyebrow. "Well, that does explain why I find you so enchanting despite your tendency to drive me mad and put me through hell." He cradled my face in one palm and gave me a playful look. "Is it safe to take food and drink here then, or if I do, will I be trapped in the realm of the Fae for all eternity?" he murmured as he bent to kiss me.

"Where do you come up with these ridiculous lines?" I laughed against his mouth.

He grasped my waist and walked me backward, gently pressing me against the wall with his warm, hard body, reminiscent of our encounter in the library at Pemberley. But there was no one to interrupt us here. He dropped one hand to my hip and slid the other through my hair to the back of my head. His kiss was as intense as his gaze had been a moment earlier, searching, passionate, unrestrained.

I kissed him back, my fingers weaving themselves into his hair, pulling him closer until he groaned against my mouth and drew away slightly. Will dropped to his knees in front of me then, still so tall that the top of his head was level with my eyes. I leaned my forehead against his and laid my hand alongside his neck. His pulse, beating against my fingertips, was as wild as my own.

He tilted his head back and kissed me again. When his hands slid beneath the hem of my tank top, I flinched and stifled a startled gasp against his mouth as my arms automatically wrapped protectively across my torso.

His hands stilled under my folded arms, and he broke the kiss, pulling back just far enough to look into my eyes, his own, cautious and pained. He spoke slowly, carefully, "It's me, Elizabeth; I'll not hurt you. Sorry, I startled you, love; I just needed to feel you under my hands."

I felt so ashamed of my physical response at that moment - so guilty that I had caused him pain again - that I wanted to collapse in on myself and hide from the world. "I know," I said, my voice tight. I released the breath I'd been holding since the moment I had flinched and focused on breathing. I focused on his blue, blue eyes with their flecks of navy and the feeling of his hands on my body; his fingers were warm and firm against the skin of my waist and the small of my back. I relaxed my arms and brought my hands up to rest on his shoulders. Warm. Solid. Safe. I took another breath, exhaled, and felt my body relax some more.

With his hands still on me, Will stood slowly, drawing my eyes up as he straightened to his full height, towering above me. He pulled me close, his thumbs moving in small circles against my back. I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head against his chest, breathing in his scent.

After a few moments, his heart rate slowed, and I tilted my head back to look up at him. "Sorry," I cringed inwardly. Guilt over my reaction and the pain it had caused him settled over me like a lead apron. "What are you doing here so early?"

Will's beautiful eyes searched mine. "I missed you."

I tightened my arms around him. "I missed you, too."

He bent to kiss me softly once again, lifting me off my feet as he did so before setting me back down. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm sure," I gave him as reassuring of a smile as I could muster. "Where are your bags?" I asked.

He gave me a sheepish look. "They're at home."

I raised an eyebrow. "You came all the way here without any luggage?"

He cleared his throat. "Not exactly." He turned to the hall table, lifted a Scooters coffee cup out of the box he had set there when he entered, and held it out to me.

I glanced at the cup and then up at him. "Why are you offering me coffee while evading my question?"

Will looked nervous as he pressed his mouth into a thin line and narrowed his eyes. "It's not coffee, precisely; it's a mocha turtle blender sans whipped cream." He shrugged one shoulder. "It's a peace offering."

I eyed him with uncertainty. "For?"

He pressed the cup into one of my hands and took my other hand in his. "Come with me." With that, he lifted another cup out of the box for himself and led me out the door and into the hallway. I followed, puzzled. "Where are we going? I don't even have shoes on."

He winked at me. "Not far, I promise." He stopped in front of the door down the hall from my own - the door of the condo that had recently been sold.

Comprehension hit me. "You…you bought the condo next door? They said it was a corporation, not a private investor."

Will released my hand to pull a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. When he stepped inside, I followed. After closing the door, he turned to me and gave a solemn nod, followed by another sheepish look. He shrugged and raised a hand to rub the back of his neck nervously. "It was a corporation. Mine. I realized that I was asking you to make all the sacrifices in our relationship, which was unfair of me. Since he's been medically retired from the military, Richard has done most of the hands-on work with Darcy Enterprises. Much of my work with the company is done remotely from Pemberley and while traveling. Some of my time here this spring and summer was spent in meetings and putting out feelers, so to speak, because we've decided to expand our operations to the U.S. Buying out some of the Silicon Prairie's startups seems like a good place to begin, especially considering that Omaha alone has been home to seven Fortune 500 and 1000 companies, and with the rising costs of operating startups and even established companies on the coasts, it's continuing to grow.

"I can work from anywhere in the world that offers a Wi-Fi connection and fly back and forth with ease when needed until next summer. Georgiana can choose to spend school holidays here with us, or we can travel back to Pemberley to spend them there with her."

Will dropped his eyes to the floor and shoved his hand into the pocket of his low-slung dark blue jeans. He lifted his gaze to mine. "The past six weeks have been hell without you, Elizabeth. You don't know how much I worried and missed you."

I was still trying to process the fact that he had purchased the condo next to mine, left his beloved home and family, and moved across the world just to be close to me. "You did all of this because you love me," I whispered.

He gave a single nod in reply.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. Tears seared my eyes as this affirmation of just how much he loved me settled around my heart like a warm, fluffy sherpa blanket. I moved to stand in front of him, grabbed the front of his button-down gray shirt, and pulled him down to my level to kiss him. "You are amazing."

"I love you," he whispered against my mouth before he straightened and held me close in an embrace. "Shall we go in?" he asked, lifting his head to look down at me.

I surreptitiously swiped at the few tears that had escaped and nodded in reply.

Will took my hand, and we walked side by side through the foyer. "Would you like a tour?" he asked.

I smiled. "I'd love one. I've only ever been in the living room and kitchen of this place."

"Well, let's remedy that," he smiled, giving me a wink. He set our drinks on the kitchen countertop, and the tour commenced.

The main part of the modern industrial-style condo consisted of a large, open-concept gourmet kitchen with polished concrete countertops, exposed brick walls, and deep walnut cabinets. It opened into an enormous living and dining room with the same dark bamboo flooring as the kitchen and a double-sided, modern gas fireplace set in a massive brick hearth in the center of the large area, dividing it into two halves; one side a living area and the other a dining area. All of the walls were exposed brick, with the exception of the longest wall of the combined living and dining area, which was made entirely of glass and overlooked the Missouri River and the distant, shadowy Loess Hills across the water in Iowa. Aside from the kitchen, living room, and dining room, there was a master suite with a sunken tub and a cavernous, glass-walled shower big enough for an entire baseball team, as well as three additional bedrooms, two baths, and a study.

When we returned to the living room, I sat on the floor and rested my back against the glass wall, as there was no furniture.

Will seated himself next to me, laid his hand on top of mine, where it rested on my thigh, and intertwined his fingers with my own.

I leaned my head against the cool glass. "So, I'm assuming that your presence here today explains why you were so evasive during our call last night."

He grinned. "Yes. I wasn't certain how you'd react."

I gave him a half smile. "You made me nervous, you know."

"To be perfectly honest, I was feeling a bit nervous as well about just showing up on your doorstep. I wanted to surprise you and didn't want you to suspect anything."

I laughed. "Well, mission accomplished." I relaxed my shoulders, feeling at ease for the first time in weeks. "I'm happy you're here."

"So am I. How is school going?" he whispered in my ear. His warm breath against my neck sent a shiver down my spine.

I looked up to meet his eyes. "I'm enjoying it, actually. The classes are interesting. I looked into schools in the UK. The University of Bristol offers a doctoral program in anthropology and archaeology. I just need to make sure everything will transfer. If not, it'll mean even more school." My eyes dropped to his mouth, inches from my own.

Will's eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his lips lifted in a smile. "And what do you plan to do when you've finished?"

I gave a slight shake of my head. "I'm not sure yet. I have plenty of time to figure it out."

"I'm proud of you," he said, gently kissing my lips. His expression grew solemn, and his grip on my hand tightened. "I did some investigating into the story about you and Richard."

I bit my lip. That was the last thing I wanted to discuss. "Oh?"

He nodded. "I believe the 'source close to the family' that the article cited was Caroline."

I gave him a confused look. "But isn't she staying with her aunt in Scarborough?"

Will nodded. "Yes, but she's not under lock and key. She still has access to media and phones."

"Why would she do that to you? She obviously cares about you."

"She did it to hurt you and undermine our relationship. Caroline doesn't care about me, Elizabeth. She cares about herself, her image, and what my money can buy her. It goes without saying that I fired her. Charles agreed with the decision to do so when I spoke with him."

"I'm sorry, Will. Is this what it's always like for you?" I asked, searching his eyes.

His expression turned pensive. "Not always, but sometimes."

I felt his hand tighten around mine. "How do you do it? Because I'm not sure I can."

A pained expression clouded his face. "I'm so sorry." He hooked his arm around me and pulled me against his side, resting his chin on the top of my head.

I turned and buried my face in his chest. Being near Will, being in his arms, was something I would never, ever get enough of. Despite our relationship's many difficulties, I knew it was all worth it to be with him. I tilted my head back against his shoulder to look up at him. "You're worth it."

He regarded me thoughtfully for a moment before he replied. "I love you, Elizabeth."

The edge of my mouth quirked up into a smile. "Ditto."

"You've already paid such a high price to be with me; all this stress and your career. I often think I would like to just live a normal life, without the world noticing me…to be anonymous. Being highly visible like this isn't easy. Anonymity is a blessing people often take for granted, and I don't want to take that away from you. Are you certain this is what you want?" he asked. His eyes, intent on mine, held sadness and what appeared to be a hint of fear.

"No," I shook my head. "I don't want it." His shoulders sank, and I slid away from his side, turning to face him. I pressed my hand to his cheek. "But I do want you. And, after this, I know that I would be willing to endure just about anything to be with you."

He leaned toward me and thrust his fingers into my hair, cradling my face between his hands. A crash of thunder drew our attention, and we both turned to see a black, roiling sky outside the window. Lightning flashed again, and another crash of thunder followed, this time close enough to shake the glass.

I turned back to Will. "While I'm on the topic of apologies, and I realize it was over a month ago, but I feel like we need to talk about it in person; I want you to know how sorry I am for not asking Jane to call or at least text you to let you know what was going on after we left Manchester. Despite everything that happened that week, I realize it's no excuse." I shook my head and dropped my eyes to my hands in my lap. "I'm not used to having to check in with someone."

Will smiled slightly. "I understand."

"It won't happen again. I promise," I vowed.

He picked up my hand from where it rested in my lap and examined my fingers carefully. "Life isn't a work of fiction. We're human. We make mistakes," he shrugged. "The most important thing is that we – both of us – learn and grow from them. We can't go back and rewrite a chapter or take things back after they're said, or unsaid, for that matter. All we can do is move on from here and continue to grow individually, and together."

His brow furrowed as he turned my hand over in his and drew a line across my palm with his forefinger. "We get to decide whether our storyline splits here or continues on to a happily ever after, despite the angst, misunderstandings, poor choices, and mistakes we've both made." He released my hand and crooked his index finger beneath my chin, tilting my face to meet his eyes. "Every story will have its critics. We get to decide how we react to that criticism and how we write our own story, and everyone else and their opinions be hanged. I choose the happily ever after, Elizabeth."

I nodded, stupid tears pricking my eyes again. "Me, too."

He cupped my hands in both of his and bowed his head to press a kiss to my palms.

I laughed softly. "I told you from the beginning that I'm far from perfect. I'm not always going to say or do the right thing. I tend to act first and think about the consequences of my actions later. I'm working on it, though."

Will rested his hands on my shoulders. "Hey, neither am I." He shook his head. "I've proven that over and over again. Painfully. You've forgiven me for so many things." Keeping his palms pressed lightly against my skin, he glided them down my arms until he reached my hands, where he intertwined his fingers with mine. "If there's one thing I've learned over the course of my life, it's that nothing of real value ever comes without some measure of pain. But you always remember the good and the love more than the pain."

I smiled at him. "I really hope so."

He brushed a kiss over my lips. "I promise it's the truth."

I leaned back against the window and let my eyes wander to the muscular contours of his chest.

"Elizabeth."

"Hmm?" I replied.

Almost immediately, his jaw tensed, and a troubled look entered his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something but immediately closed it again.

"What is it?" I asked.

Will leaned back heavily against the glass as if he needed the extra support and bent one long leg, resting his arm across his knee. He bowed his head and pushed a hand through his hair before looking up to meet my eyes. "There's something else we need to discuss. I thought that you and I had resolved the intimacy barrier at Pemberley. Everything seemed fine after the week I returned from the hospital and before you left, and then today, you flinched away from me again. Elizabeth, I-"

I watched him swallow visibly, pain marring his handsome face, and I winced. While my reaction hadn't gone unnoticed, it was nothing like what I'd experienced after his return from the hospital. Still, it had obviously hurt him. I leaned forward and squeezed his hand. "It wasn't the same, Will. What happened today was mild in comparison to what happened before. I think it's just because it's been so long since we were together." I paused to take a deep breath and studied his sturdy hand. "I'm fine. I just need to get used to the intimacy again."

"Get used to the intimacy?" Will scoffed. "Please, help me understand! After the difficulties of the past several weeks, I am done with barriers, walls, and secrets. Why are you so afraid?"

My shoulders tensed. I had acknowledged to myself weeks ago that he and I needed to have this conversation, but I had managed to suppress everything for so long. What if he didn't understand? What if he saw my experiences as the minor incidents I had tried unsuccessfully to convince myself they were? Would he think my fears were groundless, or that I was crazy, or worse, weak?

I shook my head slightly and glanced up at him cautiously from beneath my lashes. Raw emotion and pain radiated from him. Pain that I had caused by allowing the mistakes of my past to stand between us. It was just as I had imagined that night during the thunderstorm; the tendrils of poison were affecting him, too.

I closed my eyes and took a shuddering breath. Then, I remembered what he had said to me during the video call when I'd told him about losing my job. No matter what, I love you, and that is never going to change. It's not my place to stand in judgment of you. Gathering courage from that memory, I opened my eyes again to meet his.

He reached out with one arm and hugged me close to his side. I settled into his protective embrace. "I need you to tell me, Elizabeth."

An involuntary shiver wracked my body, and I folded my arms across my chest in response. "I already told you most of it, the day after your first visit to my parents' house. I've never been with anyone before," I put emphasis on the word, hoping he'd understand my meaning. "Not willingly."

Will froze. "Not…willingly?"

I took a deep breath. "About five years ago, when I was a junior in college, I went to a party with Jane. My ex, who was my boyfriend at the time, was there with his friends. They were extremely drunk. He and I had been having some issues, that's why we didn't go to the party together that night.

"He convinced me to go out to the garage with him to talk, and while we were out there, he tried to touch me beyond what I was comfortable with." I shuddered at the memory of him pressing me against a workbench and shoving his hands under my shirt and skirt. "I tried to get away, but he forced me onto the floor and told me he would break up with me if I didn't let him, that if I'd just stop being such a stuck-up prude and a coward, I might actually enjoy it. At that point, I didn't care if I never saw him again; I just wanted to escape."

I felt the panic rising in my chest, an echo of the desperation and fear I'd felt that night, and I took a shaky breath, fighting it. Will's arms tightened around me as he pressed his lips to the top of my head.

I swallowed the suffocating lump in my throat and struggled to draw a breath. A wave of anxiety washed over me as I felt the weight of my ex's body holding me down and the freezing concrete of the gritty garage floor beneath my body. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath, focusing on the smells around me to anchor myself: the faint scent of coffee from the cups on the kitchen counter, the clay of the brick, and Will. I felt the smooth wooden floor beneath me, the cool glass behind me, the warmth of Will's arms around me.

I opened my eyes again and continued. "Jane came out, looking for me. She saw what was happening, grabbed a golf club, and hit him. He let me go and ran out the back door of the garage." I paused and swallowed hard past the tightness in my throat. "I…" my breath stuttered in my chest again.

Will sat frozen and tense beside me, and my body tensed right along with his, but I forced myself to continue. "Until you, I associated intimacy with fear, humiliation, and force. Until you, that night in the garage was the last time anyone touched me. I'm angry at myself for feeling afraid and for reacting the way I do because what happened to me was nothing compared to what happens to so many women. I mean, nothing actually happened to me, thanks to my sister arriving when she did. It was nothing compared to what happened to Jane. Her boyfriend was abusive, emotionally at first. It escalated to the point where he controlled what she wore, where she went, and whom she spent time with. After what happened to me, she tried to end things with him, and he beat her to the point of unconsciousness for it."

I closed my eyes in a useless effort to block out the vision of my sister's unconscious body, but it didn't work, and so the words spilled out with the tears I had managed to hold back up until that point. "I came back to our dorm room late one night after work a few weeks after the party. The light was off, and I slipped in something wet on the floor and landed in a puddle of it. I got back up and turned on the light switch to find myself and the wall where my hands had touched it smeared with blood. When I turned back around, I found Jane, battered and unconscious on the floor next to me, in a pool of blood.

"Her boyfriend had hit her in the nose, and she fell and hit her head on the floor and he just left her there. He told police that she had said she wanted to break up with him, and he didn't want to. So, according to him, she hit him. He allegedly tried to defend himself, and when Jane supposedly accidentally slipped and fell and hit her face on the floor and wouldn't open her eyes, he was afraid to call the police. All lies, of course. She had told him she wanted to end the relationship, but he didn't like that one little bit. All the blood was from an arterial nosebleed caused by the broken nose he'd given her. She spent two days in the hospital, recovering from her injuries."

I opened my eyes and pressed my forehead against Will's shoulder. "I had nightmares about that night in the garage and finding Jane. I'd wake up screaming…"

I closed my eyes again. I felt…tired...empty, as if the memories that I'd actively suppressed had been drained from the dark corner where they'd hidden, tormenting me for years. They were still there and would always be there, but the relief I felt for having shared the burden of them with Will was palpable.

I felt his body begin to tremble. Subtle at first, the trembling increased in intensity until he shook. He cursed, and I noticed his opposite arm jerk back as if he wanted to slam his elbow or fist into an invisible foe. I suddenly felt afraid for the glass wall behind him, even though I knew it was shatterproof. "Did you ever tell anyone besides Jane?" he inquired, his voice low and tight.

"No," I answered, cautiously raising my head to look at him. His face was a frozen mask, with the exception of a muscle in his jaw that worked to contain whatever he was feeling. He still held me against his side, one arm behind my back, and I could feel the coiled tension in his body. He leaned over and slid his other arm underneath my knees, and then he lifted me, pulling me to sit across his lap, where he cradled me in his arms.

"Why not?" he asked me softly.

"Who would I have told? My mom wouldn't have listened. She would have made me feel even worse about it. Jane's ordeal happened only a couple of weeks later, and that was far, far worse. I didn't want to press any charges either because, at worst, it was a Class III misdemeanor, and it wouldn't have done anything but earn him a slap on the wrist and me, public humiliation, and more shame."

"So, you suppressed everything. You kept it all hidden, even from yourself, and carried the burden alone," he said in a low, strained voice.

I paused for a moment. "Yeah. I did."

"And it didn't go away. Instead, it slowly ate away at you and morphed into misguided fear and shame, am I right?"

"And guilt," I added.

Will leaned down so his carefully blank face was inches from mine. His eyes narrowed. "Guilt? Elizabeth, you know it wasn't your fault, right?" he growled in a barely controlled rumble that reverberated in his chest.

My eyes widened in surprise. Although I'd dealt with much self-doubt about my actions – or lack thereof - I definitely knew that I had done nothing to deserve any of it. Hell, there was nothing anyone could possibly do to deserve being assaulted. Even the thought of it angered me. "Yes! Of course! God, yes!"

The lines on Will's forehead deepened. "You said you felt guilt."

"Yes, I did. I still do." I replied. "I felt guilty about being a disappointment to more people. About Jane having to be the one to find me and stop him. About not being strong enough to fight back and not being there to save my sister when she was there for me!"

Will eyed me skeptically. "You felt guilty about not being able to fight back against a grown man? And Jane! Elizabeth, how could you have known? You were at work, aye? The odds of you being able to save your sister," he shook his head, "there's a better chance he'd have done the same to you. Surely you can see that."

"But I could have tried!" I bit my bottom lip. I knew that if I kept dwelling on that point, I would never get the rest of what I needed to say out. I took a slow breath and began again, "It took me a long time to feel safe again. I didn't ever want to end up in a situation like that again, so I started working out every day. I felt like, if I were physically strong, I would be less afraid and able to fight back."

Will's face was solemn as he said, "And so your silence and self-reliance became your mode of survival."

I thought about that for a few moments and felt the truth of it sink in. "Yes."

I held my breath, waiting for him to say something. Several moments passed, during which many emotions seemed to wage war in his eyes.

"I had no idea," he finally said, pulling me close against his chest and burying his face in my hair. I felt a shudder rip through him, releasing a current of emotion that made itself evident both in his voice and the way he held me. "All this time, I thought, God, to hell with what I thought! I should have made you feel safe, and instead, all I did was take and push. I'm so sorry."

I leaned back slightly so I could see his face and immediately wished I'd kept my mouth shut. What I saw nearly killed me. The emotionless mask was gone, and Will's face was a ruin. A silent tear slipped from his eye, and lines of pain marred his forehead and the corners of his eyes and mouth.

I sat up and turned in his lap to face him, kneeling on the floor between his outstretched legs, and placed my hands against either side of his face. "No, Will. You didn't. You didn't," I repeated adamantly when he wouldn't meet my eyes. "You helped me to feel safe. Safer than I've ever felt in my life."

His Adam's apple slowly bobbed in the center of the strong column of his neck. "If you don't want me to touch you, I understand. If you need space, I'll gladly give it. I've been selfish…"

"No." I covered his mouth with my fingers. "No. Every day we were apart, I thought of you holding me, touching me. I ached for it, Will. I ached for you. This is different. You're different. And that's part of the problem. I know how to react in fight-or-flight situations," I said slowly, searching his eyes, drawing strength from the love and compassion I saw in them, "but to actually want to be in an intimate situation with someone is new territory for me, and it's incredibly confusing and a little bit scary."

Will rested his hands on my waist and pulled me closer. I wove my fingers into his dark hair as he moved his palms in soothing circles over my hips. He placed a warm hand against my cheek and leaned forward to kiss me. "I wish I could take it all away from you, Elizabeth."

I looked into the eyes of the remarkable man who held me. "You already are."

"We'll take things slowly, like we have been, and banish the bad parts together," he assured me. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too. So much," I replied.

Will kissed me then, carefully, thoroughly. The oppressive memories and fears scattered like leaves in the wind, and love for him filled the dark, empty corners they'd previously occupied with light. I knew that we would get through this and move past it.

It was then that I realized that real love, in its most pure and raw form, doesn't tear you down and imprison you; real love builds you up and sets you free.

A deafening crash of thunder shook the glass wall behind us, and the lights blinked out overhead. I leaned to the side and looked out the window. All of the buildings and streetlights within sight were dark, and the sky had turned a bottle-green color. Marble-sized hail began to fall from the churning clouds, making clinking noises against the glass as it hit the building. I rose to my feet, and Will did the same. He moved to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. Within a minute, the hail grew to golf-ball-sized proportions.

"Should we take cover?" he asked uncertainly as the hail grew larger by the moment. A couple of baseball-sized stones thunked against the glass.

I tilted my head back to look up at him. "Are you kidding?" I winked. "You're in the Midwest. This is the part where we grab a beer and go out on the front porch to get a front-row seat. The only thing more exciting than this that happens around here is a tornado warning."

Will lowered his head and kissed my bare shoulder. "Life is sure to be an adventure with you," he said in a wry voice.

I gave him a wide smile. "Darn straight."

He didn't say anything in response. Instead, he held me. I turned in his arms, wrapped my arms around his waist, and pressed my ear against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart, hammering nearly as loudly as the thunder outside. Eventually, I heard the hail stop, but the rain continued to fall. Lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating the interior of the darkened room so brilliantly that not a single shadow remained.

Soon, the storm's noise faded, and the only sound I could hear was the steady beat of Will's heart. I glanced over my shoulder. The sky was clearing, and light rain fell outside the window. I turned my eyes back to Will and then looked around the empty apartment. "You're going to need furniture," I pointed out.

He nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets as he glanced around the barren space. "It's going to be delivered tomorrow."

I was impressed. "Wow, you really do plan for everything, don't you?"

He tilted his head to one side. "I try." His gaze shifted to the window behind me. "Look," he whispered, pointing to something outside.

I turned to see what had captured his attention. "Wow," I whispered in awe. The storm had moved east, over the river, into Iowa, leaving behind a rain-cleansed landscape and a breathtaking, golden sky lightly dotted with gray clouds. Sunlight filtered through the puffy clouds, giving the earth below a soft, ethereal glow. A rainbow arched across the Missouri River and reflected vividly on the water's smooth surface, forming a perfect circle of color and light. "Is it just me, or does the world look even more beautiful after a storm?"

"I agree," Will smiled before he turned me toward him and kissed me.