AFTER THE RAIN (Bonus edition)

28. Kenny G was in the house

"Hey, please can we get the check?" Marcus finally turned to the waiter and asked after about an hour of shuffling food around the plate, staring, smiling and not talking. He figured the evening was over.

Every second had felt awkward. He had so, so much he wanted to say to her, but every time he got the sentences nicely worked out in his head, he looked at her and realized just how high the stakes were.

This wasn't just some girl he was about to confess his feelings to – this was the girl. Perhaps the one he'd been looking for. He kept trying to pluck up the courage to say it... but he was failing miserably. And of course, he knew that the more he put it off, the harder it would become to do.

By the end of dinner, he'd basically given up all hope. He was mentally chastising himself for being such a fucking coward. He was never like this – he never shied away from a difficult conversation. He was a lawyer, for God's sakes; he made a career out of difficult conversations. But when it came to Stormy, everything was different.

The guy who didn't believe in miracles really needed one right now, or else they were just going to walk back to their separate rooms in silence and call it a night. That would be it. For some reason, it felt like now or never. There was a sense of intense urgency in the air around them, like an invisible pressure was building up and was about to explode. Tonight was the night: it had to be done and be said out loud. Tomorrow they would be in Prague, surrounded by friends and family, and this little private bubble of theirs would be burst. This was their last night alone. Now or never!

They walked back to their rooms in total silence; things were not looking good. Every now and then, they would bump shoulders and smile at each other coyly, but neither one of them spoke. The opportunity was slipping away...

But as they got closer to their rooms, Marcus heard and saw the chaos that had broken out since they'd left for dinner. The hotel was buzzing with activity: wet men with tools ran around shouting to each other frantically, their voices rushed and panicked.

"What's going on?" Marcus asked as someone exited his room looking drenched.

"Are these your rooms?" a very worried looking man in a soggy black suit asked.

"Yes."

"We're so, so sorry, but it seems there's been a bit of an accident – a water pipe has burst and both these rooms and a few others have been completely flooded," the man explained nervously. He looked terrified, as if he was about to lose his job. "But don't worry, we're relocating everyone to other rooms. It's just that...." he trailed off and hung his head, seemingly reluctant to deliver more bad news.

"Just what?" Marcus asked anxiously.

"We only have one room left..." He looked from Stormy to Marcus and back again. "The honeymoon suite?" It sounded like a question.

Marcus felt a sudden, sharp bolt of excitement rush though him, and in his head he gave a quick, Thank God. He tried not to smile; he didn't want Stormy to know how much this news excited him. Of course, the answer to the man's implied question – as far as Marcus was concerned, anyway – was Yes, yes, yes thanks. He'd never had such good 'bad' luck before; this couldn't have been more perfectly orchestrated if he'd planned it himself.

And he was even more excited when he saw the room. The poor staff members were all so apologetic for the mishap that they'd laid out a complimentary bottle of champagne and chocolates in the room, not to mention lit candles and placed flowers on the bed; the room practically screamed romance. You could almost hear the slow, sultry sound of a saxophone. Kenny G was in the house tonight!