It had been five days since I'd seen or spoken to Alex. Five days since he'd gone to work. Five days since anyone had heard a peep out of him.

My calls had gone unreturned, my texts unanswered. I was passed the point of thinking he was just ignoring me, and now I was actually concerned for his wellbeing. I'd even called his mom, but it seemed that Alex hadn't filled her in on what had happened, as she'd sounded just as lost as I was regarding his whereabouts.

She'd told me that he'd come home the night of the dinner and likely packed a bag while she'd been out with her book club friends. When she'd returned home, there was a note on the fridge telling her he'd been gone for a while, that he needed time to himself. When Mrs. Stephens told me that, it started to sink in just how much I'd hurt him.

Despite Alex's absence, I tried to put on a happy face and stay positive for everyone else. So far, everything had gone according to plan.

I'd gone home Thursday afternoon and finished most of my packing by two in the morning. Selena and Kacey had helped each other pack and gotten that chore knocked out in record time.

We'd met with the landlord in Belleville on Friday, signed some final lease documents, and agreed on a move-in date, which ended up being a lot sooner than I'd expected.

On Saturday, Daren had been kind enough to rent a U-Haul for us. We loaded up most of our boxes and some furniture that afternoon, and then started moving in the next day. We made four trips back and forth on Sunday, with it taking all of us, including Joseph and Lindsey, to get the large furniture items loaded up and moved. Even Jesse had stopped by to lend a hand.

Kacey started her first day of work with Angie on Monday while Selena and I chose to stay home and unpack. Daren spent the morning with us, helping arrange the heaviest furnishings in between kissing Selena and helping her make breakfast with the few pieces of cookware we'd located in the mountain of boxes marked "kitchen."

Watching the way they connected and harmonized with each other reminded me of Alex and myself, and a little bit of jealousy crept into my heart. Fuck, I missed him.

I tried to keep myself busy the rest of the day to keep my mind occupied with unpacking rather than dwelling on my love life woes, but it was no use. His face kept invading my brain. The sound of his laugh kept dancing through my thoughts. The worst part was when Selena helped me reassemble the Christmas tree we'd had to take down in my house to move. Putting the ornaments back on just reminded me of when I'd helped him decorate his tree. We'd shared our first kiss that night. I could still feel his soft lips on mine and the zing of bliss that had coursed through my veins at his touch.

Selena had made spaghetti for everyone that night and we'd intently listened to Kacey's every word about her first day at work. Lindsey had dropped by to give us a housewarming gift – a massive flat screen for our living room – and the four of us had sat in a circle on the kitchen floor, laughing, eating, drinking wine, and talking about the move. Not once did anyone mention Alex, which I was thankful for. They all knew I wasn't ready to talk about him. I kind of wondered if I'd ever be ready.

Hell, I wondered if I'd ever even hear from him again... Where the fuck could he have run off to?

The girls and I spent the latter part of the evening getting our bedrooms set up, putting sheets on the beds, and putting our towels and toiletries in the bathrooms. I was in the midst of unfolding my monstrous comforter when my phone started ringing. I hurled myself across the room, praying that it was Alex calling, but it wasn't.

'Don't get your hopes up, Kate,' that annoying little voice in my head lectured.

"Hello?" I answered, trying to hold the phone between my cheek and shoulder while I continued making my bed.

"Miss Crawford!" Maggie's voice was bright and happy. "I'm so sorry to call so late. I hope I didn't interrupt anything. But I couldn't wait to call and say thank you! The adoption day was a huge success! We adopted out nearly eighty percent of our animals today, and it's all thanks to your article! I can't thank you enough!"

Damn! Eighty percent? That was way more than I'd expected!

"That's wonderful news!" I grinned. "I'm so happy those babies will get to enjoy loving homes for Christmas."

"Oh, me, too! My heart is so full!"

I could hear her choking up a bit as she spoke. It was obvious, once more, how much those animals meant to Maggie, and I was so glad my article had had such a positive impact on the rescue.

"Well, why stop there?" I said to her. "Why don't we see about arranging another adoption day around Valentine's Day? I don't know a woman in this city who wouldn't die of happiness over her man surprising her with a new fur baby and some roses."

"Oh, Kate, that would be absolutely incredible!" Maggie said, and I just knew she was about to burst into tears of joy. "Thank you so, so much! From the bottom of my heart!"

"You're very welcome."

I told her I'd be in touch in the new year to schedule another adoption day, and ran to tell the girls the great news. Selena especially perked up at the mention of adoptions for Valentine's Day and texted Daren a hint about what she wanted. Even Kacey and Lindsey said they might adopt, too, and we all ended up loving all over Ruby, asking her if she wanted siblings to play with. We took it as a yes when her tail wouldn't stop wagging.

As the night went on, one by one, everyone went to bed until I was the only one still up.

Knowing my sleep would be plagued with dreams about Alex, I wasn't in any hurry to call it a night. I made some coffee to keep myself awake and continued unpacking, loading my bookcase with all my favorite romance novels, hanging up a lot of my clothes in the closet, and listening to soft jazz and classical music while I worked. I was doing a good job of keeping my mind focused on the task at hand until Louis Armstrong came on the stereo and memories of dancing with Alex at the New York Times dinner flooded my head.

I quickly turned off the music, trying to ward off the thoughts, but living without him was proving to be harder than not. I felt out of sync, out of my element. My world was off its axis.

Good god almighty, I'd gone and fallen in love with the man.

I let out an exhausted groan and went to brush my teeth, all the while scowling at the woman looking back at me in the mirror. I was pissed at her. She'd fucked up epically. She'd lost the man she loved.

I didn't care about that seven years of bad luck nonsense. Part of me was really struggling not to throw a punch at the reflection in the mirror.

I finally crawled into bed around three in the morning with Ruby nestling into my side. I didn't worry about setting an alarm since I was off Tuesday, too. I told myself I'd get some good sleep, wake up well-rested, and use the day to be productive around the house.

One of my many tasks for the next day, aside from having the cable guy come out, was to find a good fencing company, since Alex was no longer available. I wasn't sure the offer would still stand even if he was still in town anyway. It was best that I just carry on with my original plans.

I finally fell into a dreamless sleep with Ruby curled up beside me. I was so glad I'd gotten her. She was a tremendous comfort – and not to mention cute as fuck, too!

I slept for about seven hours, though it only felt like a couple. I woke up around ten to an odd banging sound.

Ruby was alert, her ears perked up as she stared out the window, waiting to see where the noise was coming from.

The banging stopped for a few seconds, then started up again. It sounded like someone was hammering. Who the fuck would be hammering?

I climbed out of bed and looked out the window into the backyard. I didn't see anyone, but I did notice metal posts at two corners of the backyard that I didn't remember being there. What the hell was going on?

Ruby jumped down and retrieved her tennis ball from the floor, following me out the door and into the living room where Selena was unpacking a box of DVDs.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she smiled. "Coffee's still hot, but we drank most of it already."

The banging started up again and I looked at her quizzically.

"Don't you hear that incessant banging?" I grumbled.

Selena giggled, setting a handful of DVDs on a self. "Of course."

"What the fuck is it?"

She shrugged. "Go see for yourself."

I groaned and went back to my room to get dressed. I was ready to cuss someone out, but I wasn't about to make a scene in my underwear.

The banging continued in that pattern, stopping for a few seconds, then starting up again. It was starting to give me a headache.

I headed out the front door. Someone was about to get a big piece of my mind. But I stopped in my tracks when I saw a familiar truck parked beside the curb. My heart leaped to my throat and I felt dizzy. A chill poured through my veins as I willed myself to step off of porch. Slowly, I walked across the front yard until I spotted where the noise was coming from on the side of the house.

The banging was hammering. And there he was, dressed in those same damn Wranglers, a pair of work boots, and a plaid flannel with a vest over it. Despite the temperature only being in the forties, he was already breaking a sweat as he worked, hammering nails into plank after plank.

"Alex?" I finally forced myself to say something.

His actions stilled, but he didn't look at me just yet.

"Hey," was all he said, and then he retrieved the next slat, pounding it into the cold, hard ground.

"Why are you here?" I asked, stepping closer until I was just a couple feet from him. "I thought you'd said to hell with me..."

He still wouldn't look at me, focused on hammering the next set of nails in. "I might have. I haven't decided yet."

Fuck, that hurt deep.

"But I told you I'd build you a fence," he continued, banging another nail in. "And I'm a man of my word. So I'm building you a damn fence."

Was that all this was? Was Alex simply keeping his word on a promise and then kicking me to the curb afterward?

"Where did you go?" I stepped closer as he inched further down the row he'd created.

"Austin."

"What did you go there for?"

Alex finished hammering in all the nails on the plank and tossed his hammer into the snow, panting and resting his hands on his knees, hunched over for a moment. Then he straightened his back, rolled his shoulders, and finally turned to look at me. He swallowed hard when our eyes met. His flaring temper seemed to tone down a few notches.

I watched the way his chest rose and fell with every breath he took, and I wanted so badly to just throw myself into his arms and sob into his vest. I wanted to tell him how much I'd missed him, how much I needed him, how much I loved him. But I stood there, still as a statue, waiting for him to speak.

"My dad and grandpa are buried in Austin, near the house I grew up in," he said with a sigh and grabbed his water bottle out of the snow. "I took some time to myself, reminisced a little, tried to figure shit out. I thought going back might help me somehow, might give me the answers I was looking for."

"And did you find those answers?" I asked hesitantly.

He took a sip of water and tossed the bottle back down beside the hammer, pushing his hair back from his sweaty forehead.

"Not in Austin, no." He shook his head and surveyed his work so far. "Turns out it's pretty hard to draw up a conclusion when you're not privy to all the facts. I didn't start to figure anything out until I came back to Jersey yesterday and you weren't at the office to talk to."

"Mandy suggested I take some time off until things got worked out," I told him.

He nodded, tapping his thumb against his thigh. "I know. She mentioned that somewhere in between telling me I was an idiot and telling me I was a great journalist."

I managed to hold back a giggle, but I couldn't hold back the amused smile.

"So I decided to swallow my pride and called up Selena," he continued. "She filled me in on the nitty gritty and told me where I could find you. I dropped by this morning while you were asleep and got the measurements for the fence. I picked up some material and I've been at this for a good hour."

"Selena told you... everything?"

He nodded again. "She also told me that I'm the stupidest man on earth if I walk away from you."

I rolled my eyes and rubbed my temples, trying to defend against the threatening headache. To an extent, I was glad Selena had told Alex about everything with Jesse. It made my job easier not having to recite the whole novel to him. But I still had the hardest part to reckon with.

"And what did you say?" I forced the words to come out, knowing I might hate the answer.

Alex stood there, his hands shoved down deep in his pockets, staring long and hard at me. I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he decided how to answer me.

"I told her a relationship is built on trust, and I have to trust that nothing like this will ever happen again if I am to take this leap with you," he said, his eyes delving deep into mine. "I was angry for a long time, Kate. It took me a long time to stove the image of you in his arms out of my head. I'm not saying I don't understand, because I do now, but I'm still hurt. I'm still a little pissed. I'm... still in love with you."

I could see the heartbreak in his eyes and a massive, painful lump formed in the middle of my throat at his words. It hurt so bad, I couldn't speak.

Alex stepped toward me until our bodies were almost touching. His warm breath in the frigid air felt so good on my face.

"Alex, I'm so sorry," I managed to say through the pain in my throat. "This got so complicated and fucked up so fast, and I never meant for anyone to get hurt. Especially you. I'm so-"

"I don't care," he cut me off. "It's all said and done. Can't change it now. It doesn't matter."

"But-"

"Tell me we can make this work," he said in a determined, almost worried voice. "Tell me we can build a solid relationship on trust and be happy together. And tell me I didn't make the biggest mistake of my life and lose you when I left."

I was astonished. He was telling me what to say and still, I didn't know how to respond. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out.

After all the hell I'd put this man through... he still wanted to be with me?

"Alex..."

"Tell me," he said in a shaky breath, and I could see the fear in his eyes that I would tell him the opposite. "Please, Kate..."

But I was speechless, so I did the only reasonable thing I could think to do. I grabbed him by the vest and pulled his mouth against mine with as much passion as I could muster.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me flush against his body while his other hand grasped the back of my head and he deepened the kiss to a level I'd never felt before. And we stayed like that, right there, kissing in the snow, for so long that I lost track of what day it was.