Nathan sat in his office, lost in thought. He couldn’t help but think about Elizabeth. Kissing her again had been like coming home. It was the first moment in years that he had felt truly alive. Watching her run away from him, though, had been like a slap in the face. He knew that he deserved it for all the hurt that he had caused her, but that didn’t make it any less painful.

“You look a mess.” William leaned against the door frame, staring at his friend.

“Well, I feel just dandy,” Nathan replied, not in the mood to talk about it with William. After the peace they had come to only days before, he really didn’t want to fight with him, though.

“Sarcasm? This early in the morning?” William brushed it off with a laugh.

“I’m not in the mood.”

“I thought we were good.”

“We are,” Nathan assured him. No matter how frustrated he was, it wasn’t fair to take it out on William again.

“Then what’s going on with Liz that has you all tied in knots?”

“What makes you think it’s Liz?” Nathan hated that William knew him so well.

“Because I’m not blind.” William sighed and rolled his eyes.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s clearly not nothing.”

“Are you sure you’re okay listening to this?” Since he now knew that William cared for Elizabeth too, talking about their awkward encounter the night before seemed insensitive.

“I care about you both.” William just crossed his arms and waited.

“Fine, I kissed her.”

“And?” William knew there must be something more to the story just by the pain in Nathan’s eyes.

“And then she ran away.”

“Wow,” William said with a smirk.

“What do you mean by that?” Nathan demanded.

“I’d think an expert physician would know the mechanics of a good kiss,” William joked.

“I do, thank you very much,” Nathan snapped in frustration. That was the last thing he wanted to talk to William about.

“Clearly not if you kiss a woman and she runs away from you. I could give you a few tips if you want,” William continued, clearly enjoying himself.

“Shut up, Bill.”

“Did you go over to the house to check on her?”

“No, I took her to a movie.”

“She went with you to a movie?”

“I didn’t give her much choice.” Nathan wished he had never mentioned it.

“She doesn’t do much she doesn’t want to.”

“I was worried that she wasn’t doing anything to take care of herself.” He had watched her wear herself down for weeks, taking care of her mother and her sister.

“She hasn’t been,” William agreed. He had been worried about her in recent days too.

“I just wanted her to get out of that house.”

“And she did. That’s a good thing.”

“Yes,” Nathan said, his mind drifting to how relaxed she had looked sitting in that movie theater.

“Where did you take her?”

“Cedar Lee.”

William knew the importance of that place to both Nathan and Elizabeth. “Have you been back there since she left?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“No reason to go.” Nathan shrugged.

“It might have helped to face the truth.”

“It hurt too much.” Nathan had tried to go once, months after Elizabeth had left town. He hadn’t even been able to make it in the door. The thought of being there without her had cut him deeply.

“Because it was your place.” William nodded, understanding the depth of his pain.

“Our place,” Nathan echoed his friend’s words as he looked out the window.

“So did you take her there for her or for you?”

“Both,” Nathan muttered, admitting to himself for the first time that it was true.

“Right.”

“It felt so good to be there with her again. It felt like things did before I wrecked it all.”

William listened to his friend carefully.

“Sitting there, watching the movie beside her felt so right. I know it sounds like an ordinary moment, but I swear it was magic.” It had been. Nathan had allowed himself to forget just how it felt to be with her like that. There, in the dark, there was only them and the chemistry that had always bound them to each other and he was overwhelmed by the feelings that had been building up inside him since her return.

“I’m sure it felt like that.” William had watched the two of them together for years. He knew intimately what their connection meant to both of them.

“What did I do?” Nathan shook his head.

“You made a bad choice years ago and you’re still paying for that.”

“I’ll be paying for it for the rest of my life,” Nathan growled in pain, slamming his fist on the desk. He wasn’t a man given to anger and frustration. In that moment, though, he was drowning in both. He was so angry at himself and so frustrated that he had no idea how to fix what he had done. But kissing Elizabeth had shown him what he truly wanted. He wanted her back. He just wasn’t sure it was still possible.

“Maybe.” William wished that he could do more to comfort his friend.

“It was so natural to be with her. I should have known not to kiss her. It broke the moment.” She had been so willing and open to him when their lips first touched. Then, for some reason, she had tensed.

“It wasn’t good?”

“It was perfect.” He thought of how sweet her cherry lips had tasted. There was something so uniquely Elizabeth that he couldn’t for the life of him understand why he had ever thought he could be with another woman.

“So what was the problem?”

“I wish I could have read her mind because I have no idea what happened. She kissed me back. I know she did.”

William had been pretty sure that, if Nathan made a move, Elizabeth would open her heart back up to him. It genuinely surprised him that she had run from him like that.

“A switch flipped and her eyes filled with so much pain. I don’t think I realized until last night just how much I hurt her,” Nathan admitted.

“You did do a number on her.”

“Did she tell you that?”

“She didn’t have to. Who loved love more than Liz?”

“Nobody. She was always such a romantic.” Nathan smiled sadly, remembering the romantic gestures they had made for each other throughout their relationship.

“But she hasn’t been in love since you.”

Nathan was relieved to hear that no other man had existed in Elizabeth’s life. He felt guilty and ashamed at the thought that he had dated a few women, and even got engaged, in her absence. His heart had always belonged to her and he should have known that all along. He hated to even consider that he had stolen her passion for romance from her. “She travels all the time.”

“To jungles and deserts where she’s surrounded by doctors and clinic workers willing to put their lives on the back burner to serve those in need. The very thing, if you recall, that she wanted you to do. I bet there was a handsome guy or two among them.”

“I don’t want to think about that,” Nathan snapped.

“Maybe you should,” William said before turning and leaving Nathan alone with his thoughts once again.