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They were standing outside Annie's stateroom door before either of them spoke. "So you took advantage of me?" Nick asked with a smirk, placing his hands on her hips and leaning into her as she unlocked the door and pulled him inside.

"You need to understand something, Nick," she answered, placing her palm on his chest and holding him at arm's length.

"Okay.... What's that?"

"That's not the type of thing I do, okay? I was drunk and not thinking straight. I had a good time last night. I mean that, but it can't happen again."

"But, but-- you told Brian-"

"I know what I told Brian, and I meant it."

"So, you really did take advantage of me?" He stepped towards her, closing the gap between them, and smiled.

"In a way, yes. I think I did, but you need to know that it probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been drunk."

His shoulders dropped in defeat. "I see," he said quietly, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring down at the carpet.

"I'd be lying if I said I remembered everything that happened last night."

"I don't remember a whole heck of a lot, either," he admitted softly.

“But-” He looked up at her expectantly and she motioned for him to sit beside her on the edge of the bed. He hesitantly obliged and crossed the room then settled stiffly on the bed a few inches away from her. She turned to face him and took a deep breath. “But I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy all of the parts I do remember.”

“Me, too.” He gave her a weak smile. Where was she going with this? “But you already said it can’t happen again, so...?”

She placed her hand on his knee and gave it a little squeeze. “Nick, I think you’re great. I’ve had amazing time with you on this cruise, I really have. It’s not you--”

He jerked his knee away from her hand. “Are you giving me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech? Because I don’t really want to hear-”

“It’s Andrew,” she interrupted him.

“Oh,” he answered abruptly. His eyes darted to her left hand resting on the bedspread beside him.

Annie noticed Nick’s imploring eyes checking to see if she was wearing her ring and was silently glad that she'd slipped it back off and stowed it away before coming to breakfast. That would have definitely freaked him out, but on the other hand, it probably would have also given her some space to try to sort through all of this. She hadn't really planned what she was going to say next. It wasn't like she could just come out and say, "Oh, by the way, after I had sex with you last night I had a sex dream about my late husband." So, she just sat there staring at a picture of the ocean hanging on the wall. She found it a little odd, considering the view out her window was the actual ocean. Still, as they sat there in silence, she found herself wondering what Nick was thinking.

Truth be told, Nick kind of felt like an ass for sleeping with a woman who was very obviously still pining for her dead husband. His heart literally broke for her, but he couldn't just sit there and deny everything that had happened between the two of them, either. "Annie-" She turned back towards him, and his eyes locked on hers, an ocean of blue meeting a sea of brilliant green. "I want to be able to tell you I'm sorry about what happened last night, but the truth is.... I'm not."

"You're not?"

"No. Not at all. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sorry that what you and I did last night has apparently brought up some painful memories for you, but I'm not sorry that we did what we did.” He leaned into her and ran his fingers through the ends of her hair around her shoulder. “As a matter of fact, I'd love to take you back to my room right now and do it again so that I can remember every second of it this time."

Chills literally ran over as his hot breath tickled her cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut and gulped. “Nick, stop.”

“Annie, look at me.” She kept her eyes clenched shut. How in the world was she supposed to explain to him all the emotions she was feeling? Guilt, grief, anger....desire? One second, all she could think about was Andrew, and the next, she was thinking about how amazing her night spent with Nick had been. “Annie, please.” He said in a strained voice. She opened her eyes and found his still locked on hers. “I’m not Andrew,” he said firmly.

“No, you’re not.”

“I don’t want to be.” She drew in a shaky breath. Even after all the tears she’d shed that morning, she could feel them coming on again. “I would never want to try to replace him, but I can’t just sit here and pretend that there isn’t something between us. I know that I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been through, but I have to tell you that I never imagined that I could possibly feel like this about another woman after Lauren, especially so soon. Then, somehow, for some reason, I ended up literally sleeping in your bed the very next day.” Through her tears, Annie smiled at the memory of their first meeting. “Maybe it was fate. Maybe it wasn’t, but I find it hard to believe that this God you sing about would take away your husband when you were so young and not intend for you to find somebody else. I’m not saying that person’s me, but if you don’t take a chance, how are you ever going to know?”

“Nick, I--” He grabbed her hands with both of his and leaned towards her expectantly.
“I need some time to think about all of this.” He frowned and dropped her hands, but not before giving them a little squeeze.

“Fair enough. How much time are we talking about? A few hours? A few days? Weeks? Months?”

“I- I don’t know.”

He nodded sadly, then stood up and cleared his throat. “I, uh- I’ll call you. About the house. I still want you to take the house, okay? And, um, will you let me know what you decide? Whenever you decide?” His eyes searched hers, pleading with her, and hoping maybe she’d change her mind.

“I will, Nick.” Her eyes fell on the cashmere throw she’d neatly folded and placed in her open suitcase. Tucked inside the folds was a ring box. It literally felt like a fist was clenched around her heart. “Don’t feel like you have to wait around for me, okay? Have fun on your tour.”

Nick’s hand paused on the doorknob and he gave her a little smile. “You know, when I was a teenager, Kevin was always telling me that the best things in life are worth waiting for. I’m pretty sure he was talking about sex, but-” He paused, and a bitter laugh escaped his lips. “Well, I guess that’s a little ironic, isn’t it?”