"I wasn't expecting you."

Reaching out to take the ruined shoe out of her hands, I watch her eyebrows pull down toward her nose.

"I mean," I interrupt before she can say what's evident on her face, "I wasn't expecting you yet."

That's better, the worried expression softens slightly.

"It's not even dark yet," I point toward the lights on the cabin with the shoe in my hand but I can't take my eyes off of Amanda, "I didn't think you'd get here till later."

She turns her head to look in the direction her shoe is aiming.

It's so hard not to reach out and touch her. I haven't seen her in weeks and I just want to make sure she's real. Instead, I realize I look ridiculous with her shoe in my hand, waving it like a laser pointer, so I lower my hand and look around for a place to set it down.

"I left the office early," she says quietly.

She walks toward the open front door of the cabin and I follow her, mesmerized by the sway of her hips and the fact that she's really here.

"I wasn't sure you'd come at all," I tell her.

"I wasn't going to."

Her smile is evident in her voice even though she doesn't bother to turn to face me when she says it. She's hovering at the doorway, examining the cabin's interior without stepping over the threshold.

"So why did you?"

Amanda turns back and looks at me like she doesn't have an answer to my question. Maybe she doesn't, but I like the way the setting sun lands on her hair and turns it a dark, fiery, copper color. And I like the way her mouth opens like she's about to say something and then forgets what it is, leaving her lips hanging slightly apart like they're waiting to be kissed. And the way her breasts rise and fall with each breath she takes as she stares at me like she doesn't remember ever seeing me before.

"Um," She blinks a couple of times and then looks down at her feet and wiggles her exposed toes as she stands at a lopsided angle with one shoe on and one shoe off, "Maybe I could borrow some socks?"

"Sure." I'm disappointed that she moves aside so I can get past her. I was looking forward to brushing against her as I made my way through the doorway.

I didn't bring much up here with me, but I manage to find an extra pair of athletic socks in the dresser.

Returning to the front room I find her still standing on the deck, only this time she's looking up with a look of wonder on her face, her good shoe held loosely by limp fingers that seem to have forgotten what they were doing.

"It's very pretty," she tells me, her neck craned back so she can look at the lights covering the cabin's roof line.

"Yeah," I agree, not taking my eyes off of her face as I close the distance between us and stand in front of her just shy of touching her.

"You ruined a good pair of shoes." Amanda doesn't crack a smile as she looks at me and takes the socks from my hand.

"I'll buy you a new pair," I offer meekly.

She takes the socks from my hand without so much as brushing my fingertips and I wonder if she avoided the contact on purpose or if that's just how it worked out.

My fingers ache to touch her. It's so hard to keep my hands to myself when she's so close to me now.

"You didn't have to pick me up like that," she scolds.

"No. But you were about to land on your ass," I remind her.

"Is this what you were doing when I drove up?" She asks with another upward glance toward the lights.

"I wanted to take your breath away."

It's a cheesy damn line but it's true. I wanted her to round the final bend in the drive way up to the place and see it lit up like Christmas just for her. I was hoping tonight was going to be something magical, something that would turn things around for us.

"I guess I screwed that up too, though, didn't I?"

It's another hard truth I have to admit to myself. Along with how fucked up my thinking was when I hired Raven and what a jackass I've been to pretty much everybody lately.

The hardest part is having to admit that the best thing that ever happened to me is standing in front of me right this second and is probably about to get back in her car and drive out of my life forever.

She came all the way up here, probably running through a thousand scenarios in her mind during the drive. Lord knows she had plenty of time to think about what would be waiting for her when she got here.

And all I did was catch her off guard and ruin a pair of her shoes.

I know how important a woman's shoes are to her-- whatever fantasy she'd concocted in her head that might have ended in giving us a second chance is as dark as that section of lights that I notice still aren't on.

Then I see it, the look on her face when she turns back to look at me again, the way she seems to be seeing me like it's the first time.

"Aman--"

I never get to finish her name. I was about to tell her what an ass I was. I was going to tell her how sorry I am for ever hiring that stupid match maker.

If I hadn't thought I was going to contract out finding my own wife, Amanda never would have gotten mixed up with me. She never would have gotten hurt by me being a selfish prick.

Maybe Raven would have found her a good guy. Some man who would have recognized right away what an amazing person she is and fallen on his knees and thanked God for being the lucky son of a bitch that got to marry Amanda Peterson.

Instead she got hooked up with me.

I wanted to tell her that I'm sorry she drove all the way up to the cabin for nothing. That I wish it hadn't ended like this-- that I wish it hadn't ended-- but that I get it. I don't deserve a second chance.

I want to tell her that I love her and that I'm a better man for the short time she was mine and no one is ever going to be able to compare to her.

But I can't tell her any of these things because her hand is on the back of my neck and the sweetest lips I've ever tasted are pressed against mine so hard I can't breathe.