Wilson sat at the computer, staring at the confirmation screen as the printer droned on in the background. He had just confirmed his reservations at the medical convention down in New Orleans. He needed to get away. He could hear Katie down stairs in the kitchen. He had gone to her mother's house and begged her to come back. It pulled at his heart to know that he was leading her on. If he was any kind of man he would let her leave and move on. If he was any kind of adult, he'd stop day dreaming about a man he shouldn't love and remember who it was that he had married. It would be good for him to get away for a while. He could use the alone time to rethink his life and work on getting over Greg. How pathetic was he for loving a man he'd met when he was still a teenager? A man who had probably forgotten about their one night stand so many years ago.

"What's wrong, James?" Katie rested a hand on her distraught husband's shoulder. They had been walking on eggshells since she had returned home. They felt more like friendly strangers than spouses.

"It's just been a long day. I made my reservations for the medical convention." He pulled the agenda out of the printer and looked it over.

"Don't forget to leave the address and phone number of your hotel for me in case I need you, okay?" She tried to mask the strain in her own voice and failed miserably.

James looked up into her blue eyes and pulled her close to him. "I love you, Katie." He knew that he meant it from somewhere deep inside. From the place where you loved your friends and family; the ones he'd do anything to protect....anything, it seemed, except stop loving Greg.

Katie planted a tender kiss on James' forehead. "I love you too, James. You be safe." She watched as he walked to the door, agenda in hand and grabbed his bags. She couldn't help but smile when she realized that he always had more luggage than she did.

"Is everything okay?" He could see the worry in her eyes that she was trying to hide from him. "I can stay, if you want me to."

Katie closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him. "Everything is fine, honey. I'll see you when you get home."

James walked out into the warm evening air and set his bags in the trunk. He slipped behind the wheel of his car and turned the ignition. All that was ahead of him now was the open road and a lot of time to think about his relationship with Katie.

Author's Note: I'm sorry this has taken so long and is so short. I promise the next chapter will be better. I've had a lot of stuff going on and am trying to finish up a few stories that are close to conclusion so that I can concentrate on my remaining stories. I have not given up on any of them. So please, be patient with me. Thank you. --mamorel