Mitch's heart had zero rest this morning. First with his haunting dreams, then Maria seeing everything he'd wanted to hide and supporting him so freely that he longed to tell her he loved her, but he made a promise to himself that he wouldn't pursue a relationship with her until he was fully healing, or near-fully depending on how therapy went. Now Tom, who could be abrasive, but his relaxed brow, slumped shoulders, and down-turned lips didn't hint at that.

"Hey, everything alright?" Mitch asked.

Tom was busy fidgeting with his hands in his pockets. "Last night I... at supper..." He cleared his throat and made the briefest eye contact with Mitch. "I'd been drinking and was upset about losing Maria... If I'd known about your sister, I wouldn't have been such a dick."

Maria must have said something yesterday when she spoke with Tom. That couldn't have been easy for him to hear from her.

"Thanks," Mitch said dryly. A rumble in his chest reminded him he wasn't the only one owed an apology. "I'm sorry that my actions ruined your relationship."

"It was a group effort." Tom sighed.

It seemed like Tom needed to vent, and even though Mitch was drained, he had offered to support Tom a couple of nights ago. "You want to sit?" Mitch gestured to the chairs on the patio. When Tom obliged, Mitch grabbed his keycard off the hotel room counter and joined him on the patio chairs.

"Were you and your sister close?"

The cool morning air made Mitch's skin prickle as he settled into the chair. Talking about Em with Shawn and Maria was hard enough despite their unwavering sympathy. "The apology was sufficient."

Tom scratched his head. "I have two sisters, and I can't imagine what you went through."

"Hopefully, you never have to."

Tom nodded and stared at the garden beyond the porch.

"You feeling any better about the break-up or Prae?" Mitch asked, even though guilt gnawed at his gut after Prae's speech yesterday. However, he needed a change in the subject.

"No, love seems pretty hopeless."

Mitch nodded. So did his life last night, but that heaviness was cracking. "That fades with time. Maybe you visit Thailand again when it does."

"Perhaps," Tom said with little conviction.

"Sunny and Dan have a great relationship that started abroad."

Tom stared at his hands. "They're the exception, not the rule."

"It doesn't mean they have to be the only one." Mitch hoped he and Maria would follow suit, especially since he knew that was what she wanted. He glanced at the window even though the blinds were drawn.

"It's not that simple."

"Then let her down easy. She's fallen pretty hard for you."

Tom tapped his fingertips on the table and exhaled. "Do you ever think you could have altered the course of your life if you'd acted differently?"

Mitch laughed. "Almost daily. What's your moment?"

"New Year's Eve was when Maria and I had our first kiss. Not long before that, I'd run into Prae and reassured her after the guy she liked was a complete jerk. It was so easy to compliment her because she's amazing, and her reactions were what I had hoped Maria's would be. If I'd spent more time with Prae instead of rushing back to Maria, maybe I'd be happy as opposed to miserable right now."

"It's not too late to find out."

Tom didn't refute it, just gazed out at the fountains in the courtyard.

Shawn arrived at the porch juggling three plates of various portions of meat, baking, and eggs with a bit of fried rice. He looked at Mitch and raised an eyebrow toward Tom without catching the man's attention. Mitch shrugged.

"You hungry?" he asked Tom. "Looks like Shawn brought us a generous breakfast."

Shawn set the plates on the table before asking to talk to Mitch inside for a minute.

"Did you chase Maria off already?"

"No, she's... in the washroom." Mitch knocked on the bathroom door and Maria stepped out.

Shawn furrowed his brow. "Seriously? Are you hiding? Come out and eat some food."

Maria ran a hand over her hair. "Is Tom still there?"

"It doesn't matter. You came here to check on a friend, right?" When Maria nodded, Shawn added, "So Tom will have to deal with it. We're all adults."

Mitch squeezed Maria's hand. "Sorry, I should have said that earlier instead of letting you hide."

She sighed and gripped his hand back. "It's my messed up head. Every time I think I've moved on since Adrian, I still revert to these old fear habits of trying to avoid upsetting people."

"It's been an emotional weekend. Don't sweat it. Come here." Mitch pulled her into a long hug. "Maybe we'll get a group deal on the therapist."

She laughed, her breast bouncing against his chest, which he told his body to ignore, but it didn't.

"I should talk to somebody, even if it's my old therapist remotely. Do we get mental health coverage through work insurance?"

"No, but the rates here are more reasonable than back home," Shawn said. "Or in the US, anyway."

"We can be support buddies, keeping each other accountable." Maria held both of his hands in hers.

"I'd like that."

With the way Maria gazed into his eyes, he knew delaying the discussion about their future would only hurt her. "Shawn, could you give us a minute?"

"Of course. Breakfast is on the patio when you're ready, though you may have to share." The front door clicked shut ten seconds later.

Maria's lips curled into a mischievous smile as she stepped closer.

"Can we sit down?" Mitch sat on the edge of the bed, and Maria sat beside him while holding onto his hand. "I know we're both single now."

Maria grinned. "We are."

"And I still have feelings for you."

She leaned in and whispered, "I broke up with Tom because I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Mitch looked at his feet. How many times had he imagined her saying that? But nothing had occurred how it should have. "You can't imagine how amazing that is to hear. But after yesterday..." His shoulders tensed. "I'm not ready to be the partner you deserve yet."

Maria drew in a shaky breath, and he fought every urge to wrap his arms around her.

"Believe me, I wish I was ready, and I'm going to pour everything into therapy so that I can be sooner. When I am, if you're still interested, I would love to have a relationship with you. A real one, like Sunny and Dan's."

Maria's teary eyes widened. "Really?"

He nodded and squeezed her hand. "I don't want to be a guy who hurts the people he cares most about. Every time I've hurt you, it's been because I feared my feelings and was ashamed of my past. Once I can reconcile that, I'll dedicate 150 percent to being the loving, supportive partner you've always deserved but never had."

"I want that more than anything," she breathed. "And you'd want that even after Thailand?"

He stroked her soft skin. "Yes, wherever you want to drag me off to, I'll follow. I know your dreams, Maria, and I wouldn't promise you this if I didn't want to take that journey with you."

Maria smiled widely, and it looked strained toward the end. "It's so hard not to kiss you right now."

"That makes two of us."

"What if it was just once today, like Samet?"

Mitch fought every urge to pull her into his arms. "Our feelings have changed a lot since then, at least mine have."

She exhaled and released his hand. "You're right."

"I don't know how long therapy will take, so if you get sick of waiting and want to date someone else..." A lump blocked his throat at the image of her with another man, but keeping her in an uncertain limbo wasn't fair.

Her chestnut eyes met his, and she smiled. "That won't happen."

Her answer filled him with relief as he took a few deep breaths. "And we'll still be friends until then, not flirty friends, but we'll support each other and eat a meal or two together each week."

"I'd like that."

"Thanks for understanding. I want this so bad, but I'm ashamed of the ways I've hurt you, so I can't risk doing it again."

Maria nodded and tucked her hair behind her right ear. "I'm glad you're open to therapy. My ex hurt me by blaming his problems on me, and it means a lot that you're willing to put in the work, so you don't do the same. And so you see the amazing person I do when I look at you."

"You always see this enhanced version of me. It makes me want to be that man. You've changed my life in so many ways for the better."

"So have you. When Adrian was manipulating me, you were honest, but also gave me space to figure it out. You helped me push him away for good."

"That was the fun part." He smiled as he imagined the ghost of her fervent kiss on his lips. "But we should head out before reminiscing gets us in trouble."

She nodded and stood with him. Before he headed to the door, she gently grabbed his wrist. "Are you okay today?"

"It's a lot. More than I've processed in years, but I'm getting there. The therapy plan won't hurt anyone, and that's my biggest fear right now."

"I'm always here if you want to talk about that stuff."

Mitch nodded.

"I'll step out first if you need a minute or don't want to deal with Tom," Maria offered.

Mitch waited behind the closed door until the conversation sounded amicable, which was sooner than he expected. Emma and Prae had pushed their table over, so it sat opposite the wood barrier beside Mitch and Shawn's room. Maria stood over there.

Everyone greeted him softly, even Tom and Prae.

"How are you?" Prae asked without yesterday's anger.

"Alright. Between Shawn and Maria, I couldn't ask for two better friends. They have a sixth sense."

They both gave Mitch a faint smile.

Mitch reached for a slice of bacon off Shawn's plate. "It's been a pretty brutal weekend all around, hasn't it?"

Everyone but Emma nodded half-heartedly.

"Be a long time before we plan another trip here," Shawn joked.

"It's a shame because the falls are so beautiful," Tom said with a sigh.

"Your heart was in the right place." Prae smiled.

Tom pressed his lips together and grinned. "Maria didn't agree."

She cringed, and Mitch fought the urge to comfort her.

Shawn put a hand on Tom's plate that was likely meant to be Maria's. "Play nice, or get your own food."

"I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Too soon," Maria said lightly.

"Sorry," Tom offered.

"Just so everyone comprehends. Regardless of your feelings about the people on this patio–good or bad–it's not spreading into the office, understood?"

They nodded. Shawn would make a great administrator one day.

"Should we check out the buffet?" Maria asked.

"I got you a plate." Shawn held up his own.

"That's okay. Mitch can eat it. I'm not passing up an opportunity to scope out the spread and take photos for my account."

They all laughed, and the women stood. Maria straightened out her yellow sundress, the same one from Samet.

As they left, Tom looked at Maria then Mitch and his plate, opening his mouth but closing it a moment later. The question would bother Mitch too if the roles were reversed.

"Maria and I aren't together. After yesterday, she was worried about me." Mitch grabbed the untouched plate and sat at the girls' table.

"But you both want to be."

"If it happens, it won't be soon. She deserves a lot more than I can offer her now."

Tom raised his eyebrows. "She'll be crushed when she finds out."

"She won't because she always considers others, and this comes from that same space. I doubt she'll like it, but she'll understand." Tom didn't need to know they'd just cleared that air so soon.

Shawn smiled at Mitch and nodded.

"How does your logic fit into her decision to break up with me during this trip?"

"My guess is that when she heard your confession about Prae's feelings, she remembered the chemistry you have with our lovely Thai friend, and figured that Prae would make you happier and care for you more deeply than she could."

"Because she's into you." Tom's tone sunk.

"It's difficult to admit that. She didn't cheat, lash out at you, or even complain about how much you flirt with Prae, whether or not you're aware of it."

Tom's cheeks flushed red.

"Maria told you and spent the day denying any shred of compassion or support to punish herself. Only when she was worried about my well-being did she talk to me. So yes, I believe she considered your best interests, and to an extent hers. You might not like the results, but it wasn't much easier for her than it was for you."

Mitch took a spoonful of fried rice, the salty pork taste lingering on his tongue.

"I hadn't thought of it that way."

"She just had a rough year. Compassion's important," Shawn said.

The rest of their quiet brunch set the tone for the ride to Bangkok, where everyone seemed too drained to fight anymore. While it was easier, it was also sad they were suffering.

Maria reluctantly accepted a delayed start to a new relationship and likely stewed in her guilt over Tom. He and Prae endured the pain of unreciprocated feelings. Worst of all, Shawn had to relive the trauma of almost losing his best friend again and revisit how he'd hurt and lost the woman he loved. Mitch hoped someday they'd move past these heartaches and enjoy their present. 

***

Thanks for reading and supporting the story! I'm planning to post another update tomorrow :)