My fingers play with the pages of the thin forty-eight paged book in my hands as I stand on the front porch of the Thornton's residence. Shoving the gift into my bag, I zip it up and take a deep breath.

"I can do this." I tell myself shakily as I take one step at a time to their front door, reaching forward and ringing the doorbell.

Only a few seconds pass before the door swings open, a smug Samantha meeting me with Winter directly behind her. "Well well well." She says, leaning against the trim. "You look nice." Her comment on my simple burnt orange sundress has me rolling my eyes.

"Are you going to let me in or stare at me all night?" I sigh, ignoring the embarrassed blush dusting my cheeks.

I avoid Winter's stare but I can't escape his amused chuckle, "Dakota is waiting for you out back." He steps aside, placing his hands on the shoulders of his girlfriend and pulling her with him.

"Thanks." I smile, winking at Samantha as I pass by, her lip stuck in an annoyed pout.

Walking through the guest bedroom in the hall, I place my hands on the glass sliding door and lightly push. The gentle evening wind is enough to lift the bottom of my dress, my hands coming down to smooth out the hem.

I hear Dakota before I see him, his soft humming drifting across the large pool. When I see what he's done, my heart stops, my lips parting as I freeze in place.

The small round table in front of me is accompanied by two chairs, a bouquet of pink roses and lilies placed atop the seat to my right. His back is turned to me, my eyes taking in the candles and food all being moved around and tinkered with as he attempts perfection.

"Hey." I finally speak up, feeling timid. He turns around quickly, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Lillian. You're here." He breathes with a nervous chuckle. I can't help but notice that his skin still takes on a sickly pale hue even under the golden light of the sun.

I press my lips together and nod, rocking back on the heels of my brown leather strapped sandals. "Yeah...we said seven, right?"

He glances at me briefly, blinking before nodding, running his hand through his thick blonde hair. "Yeah we definitely did it's just...Sam and Winter were supposed to stall and - oh well, I guess I'll just deal with them later." He sighs, "Please, have a seat."

I raise my brows, his behavior seeming curious to me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm splendid." He says smartly, a grin on his face. "So...how did it go? Sam wouldn't tell me one way or the other. She insisted that you would want to talk about it yourself...so I'm guessing it didn't exactly go your way?" The look in his green eyes as he pulls out my chair isn't one of pity but of sad expectancy. As if he knew this is what would come of my efforts all along. Who knows, maybe he did.

I stand there, feeling a pang in my chest at the mention of what's happened today. I'm reminded of what I've lost and once the frown crosses over my face, it doesn't seem to want to leave.

"Lillian?" His voice is soft and careful as if he's afraid I'll break at any moment.

Clearing my throat, I throw out a light laugh, "Yeah I'm fine. Did you make all of this?" I change the subject, gesturing to the several dishes placed to perfection in front of me. 

"I did. I can follow a recipe and chop vegetables you know." He grins, pulling out the chair, "Now let's eat and then you can tell me all about today and I promise not to make fun of you when you cry like a baby." His joke surprisingly makes me genuinely laugh. Maybe because I know he's right.

"How about you shut up and then we can eat." I reply with a snarky attitude, tucking my sundress under me before taking a seat. "So what do we have here?" I inquire.

He doesn't reply until he's seated across from me, his fabric napkin in hand. "Well...for the main course we have pesto chicken pizza made with my mom's homemade French bread, a salad on the side and for dessert," He pulls the lid off of a silver bowl filled with our favorite, "Sour Skittles."

"You are unbelievable, you know that?" I shake my head in disbelief, "You did all of this for me?" My tone and shocked expression must be giving away my appreciation one thousand times over.

Dakota shrugs at me, placing the lid back onto the bowl of sweet treats as if this is no biggie that he spent hours setting this up. "It's really no big deal but I'm glad you like it."

"Like it?" I laugh excitedly, leaning back in my chair and taking in the beautiful picturesque scene before me once again, "I love it. Thank you."

His lips twitch slightly as if fighting a grin. "You're welcome. Care for a piece?" He asks me in a British accent, quite horribly I might add, as he holds up a piece of the pesto chicken pizza over my plate.

"I would love to try it." I reply just as it's set in front of me, "It smells amazing." As soon as I take a bite, the flavors meld together perfectly in my mouth. "And it tastes devine." I hang my head back as I chew, truly awestruck.

"Well you whipped out a fancy word so it must be good." He chuckles across from me, setting his own food onto his plate. "Salad?"

"Of course." I nod. A laugh escapes me before he glances at me quizzically, dipping up the salad. Nothing particularly fully has occurred but I simply feel overwhelmed with joy in this very moment that I can't seem to contain it. Hence the laughter spilling out. "Sorry." I manage between chuckles.

"Don't apologize." He smiles, "I love your laugh." His crooked grin sucks me in, my eyes locking onto him just as the sun seems to hit him just right. And, within this very second, I don't think I've ever seen anyone so perfectly content.

"Thank you." I smile, picking up my fork and stabbing a few leaves of lettuce. "I appreciate how hard you worked. Especially being as sick as you are."

"Eh." He scoffs, "A little touch of the flu isn't enough to keep me down."

"Clearly." I laugh, taking in his sagging eyes and the sweat on his forehead. "Just promise me that, after this, you'll rest?"

"Cross my heart." Dakota winks, pushing back his blonde hair, the strands seeming lighter in this light. "Now stop worrying and just enjoy yourself."

"I am enjoying myself!" I defend.

"Then enjoy yourself more quietly and eat the food." He tells me dryly, making me laugh lowly.

I do what he says and enjoy my meal, occasionally looking up at him as he drifts off in thought or reaches for another piece of pizza. Just as I've finished my second, I push my plate away along with the fork and napkin.

"I'm finished." I announce, patting my stomach. "That was delightful."

"I am pleased to hear it." He mocks my choice of words, lifting up his glass as if to make a toast.

"Shut up." I feel as if he's heard those words come from my lips one thousand times. "You're the absolute worst."

"Yeah and that's why I've worked myself to the bone creating a movie worthy experience for you." He raises a brow with a snarky grin.

"Oh my gosh." I breath a laugh, "I cannot believe you."

His dry demeanor shatters and a deep laugh escapes him, his arms crossing over his chest as he leans back in his seat. "I'm kidding. I'm just glad I could reach my one goal."

"And what's that?" My smile softens as his eyes run over my face, the sun now gone and the only light being that of which is provided by the several candles on and around the table accompanied by the dim light in the pool.

"To cheer you up." He tells me before sighing and lowering his gaze, "I lied when I said I didn't know what happened today. Sam texted me right after Mr. Ward left and told me you might need someone tonight. I just wanted to see if you'd want to tell me yourself." His eyes reach mine again warily as if he's afraid I'm upset with him.

"I'm not mad." I chuckle, raising my chin to stare up at the stars lighting the sky up one cluster at a time as the sun sinks below the skyline for good. "And I'm not as devastated as I thought I would be to be completely honest with you."

"How so?" He asks me lowly, leaning forward in his seat attentively. The small act alone gives me a rush of warm emotion.

I bite my lower lip, playing with the hem of my dress. "Symphony has a theory that me holding onto the store had something to do with not wanting to let go of my mom." I confess grimly.

He pauses, his brows pulling together. "And do you agree?"

"I don't know." I chuckle darkly, staring over at the clear water of the pool. "What do you think?" I ask him, my eyes locking onto his as I watch him receive and consider my question thoughtfully.

Dakota swallows, his jaw ticking to the side. "I think that you were young and fragile when your mom left. I think that no one should have to experience the abandonment you felt."

"You think she's right." I finish, reading his sad expression.

"You've gone through a lot and it was easier to focus on work and school when she left. Then recently pour your worry and thoughts into the closing of the store. You haven't given yourself any time to heal. To let her go."

"Let her go? How?" I echo, my voice breaking without permission.

He's face remains solid and reassuring as he says, "She was wrong to leave you. She took a part of you with her whether you realize it or not. The part that would have loved adventure and stepping out of your comfort zone. The part that knows you deserve the best; that you deserve to be happy. You need to take that back." Dakota tells me, his hand reaching across the table and laying itself before me.

My eyes glance down at it before running back up to his strong green eyes, a tear escaping my own. My fingers hesitantly grab his hand, allowing him to squeeze mine comfortingly. "You're right." My voice strains as I fight the cry widening more and more in my chest and in my throat, "I can move on." I say, realizing it's more to myself than to him.

He smiles almost in a prideful way. "You definitely can. And I'll be here every step of the way."

My face seems to scrunch into itself as I release a small cry, the pain becoming almost too unbearable. Before I know it, I'm standing and being pulled into Dakota's embrace, my figure tucked into his chest safely.

"You're one of the strongest people I know." He tells me, hugging me tightly as he speaks calmly, "Maybe one day your mom can somehow find a way to miraculously deserve you but, for now, I'm here. Your dad is here, Sam is here, Sym is here...heck, even Winter is here." He chuckles, pulling away to pull his hands on either side of my face. "We're all here for you."

"I know." I sniff pathetically, his thumbs rubbing the tears from under my eyes and cheeks, "I don't know why I've held on so long. I guess I thought...I don't know."

"That she would come back?" He finishes softly, his breath fanning over my face as I lower my gaze.

"Yeah." I breathe quietly, "That she would come back."

He stands there silently, his fingers tucked around my neck and under my hair before shuffling another step closer. "Well if she ever does you'll want her to see that you've grown into twice the woman she was to you and your dad. There's always forgiveness, even for her, but you don't need her back in your life if she's only going to hurt you. And I won't let her." His voice takes on a hard tone.

"I don't want her back in my life." I shake my head slowly, "I never wanted to beg her to come back. Part of me just pathetically believed that she would realize she forgot something important when she left." I pause, looking up at him, "Me."

"She also took your dog." He whispers, a smile cracking through his serious appearance in attempt to lighten my mood.

"She also did that." I laugh through my tears, wiping at my eyes before allowing my hands to subconsciously rest at his waist.

He laughs, looking down at me as his hand move to my neck, his thumbs resting underneath my ears as my hair brushes his skin. The tender look in his eyes makes me wonder how I ever could have thought he was as annoying as I did when I first met him.

"Thank you." I whisper, looking up at him and wounding my arms tighter around his waist as I lay my head against his chest. "For following me into that elevator." Smiling against the fabric of his shirt, I subtly breathe in his comforting scent.

His hands rub at my back gingerly, "Thank you for not killing me when I got us stuck in that elevator."

I laugh at his returning usual attitude. "I was close."

"I know." He chuckles just as I pull away, rolling my eyes, "But I couldn't help but bother you. You were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen and I didn't know how else to get your attention."

My heart squeezes at his words as it starts to beat faster. "How about by not almost killing me? Maybe coming back and over time earning my trust?"

"What can I say?" He shrugs, "I like instant results. I had to talk to you. It took me hours of wandering around the store to work up the nerve to talk to you. I found the book I was looking for as soon as I got there." He confess with a loud laugh when my mouth drops open.

"Are you serious?" I can't help but laugh in amusement. "Why didn't you just come talk to me like a normal person?"

"Probably because I'm not normal?" He suggests with a sly grin.

I pretend to consider this. "This is true."

Dakota grins down at me as he pulls away, my arms still draped around his waist loosely. "I'll gladly admit that I'm in love with you, Lillian." His words stop my heart completely, my breath catching in my throat, "But not once have I heard you say how you feel about me."

"There you go being blunt again." I whisper quietly, my eyes running over his overwhelmingly handsome face. My pulse races at the confident expression he gives me each time he tells me something I've never heard before. As if I've heard it a thousand times already. As if nothing in the world could convince him otherwise.

"There you go hiding away again." He replies, looking down at me as his eyes dim a little bit, "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid." I tell him, "I just didn't know you...felt that way."

His eyes narrow slightly in confusion and surprise all at once. "Lillian, you would have to be blind or ignorant not to see how much I want to be with you. It seems like I could shout it from every high point of the earth and you still wouldn't hear me. I could do everything for you in attempt to earn you but you still won't see what I'm trying to show you." He sighs, stepping away from me as he runs his fingers through his hair.

My lips part slightly at his frustration, the words I want to say seeming to be stuck in my throat. "Dakota..." He doesn't answer me as he turns around, his back to me.

Biting my lip, I feel as if I might cry again. I'm frustrated with myself and how hard I find it to express my own feelings, my own thoughts, my own emotions. They're my own and I can't even seem to admit them to myself.

Releasing angsty sigh, surging forward and grabbing his arm. He turns around with a frustrated expression as he looks at me. "What is it?"

"I-I have something for you." I tell him, walking over to my bag beside my chair slowly and bending down to unzip it. Pulling out the book gently, I stand up and press it to my chest.

"A book?" He tries to hide it but I spot the disappointment in his eyes as he comes to believe that I'm changing the subject.

"Yes. I've been thinking about you - well you and me lately and...well I knew that I wouldn't ever be able to say what I know I want to so I thought that this may be the simpler option." I chuckle nervously, trying to ignore the clear confusion in on his face as he takes the book carefully from my grasp.

My heart races in my chest as his eyes glance over the cover, clearly still lost. "Open it." I tell him, "I've marked the page." My voice comes out strained from the intense nerves that have seemed to take me captive.

His fingers flip to the page with the sticky note I've placed inside, the hardcover opening widely as he finds the words on the pages of the children's book "I Like You" by Sandol Stoddard Warburg.

"I figured how better to simplify my feelings than to have the help of a children's book." I laugh softly, tucking my arms around me anxiously.

He doesn't look down at me as he reads the page. "You know how to be silly, that's why I like you. Boy you are ever silly, that's why I like you. I never met anyone sillier than me, til I met you." After his eyes seem to run over them one hundred times, they finally meet mine. Yet he still says nothing, a small grin appearing on his face.

"Do you like it?" I ask him warily.

"I love it." He replies, closing the book softly and setting it atop the blanket. "Do I get to keep it?"

"Of course." I tell him with a light chuckle. "It's a gift. That way you'll never forget."

"Forget what?" He asks me as he faces forward, stopping before me as his gaze is cast over my face.

"That I like you." I fight a smile just as a grin breaks out over his face.

"Just like?"

"Don't push it." I nudge him with another laugh, now feeling as if a weight had been lifted from my chest. As if I've been holding a secret for so long and now it's finally been told.

"Is this the part where I kiss you?" He asks me with a cheeky grin.

"If you insist." Turning my face to the side, I smile when he hesitates before a long kiss is placed on my cheek.

"Not exactly what I had in mind but still much appreciated." He whispers in my ear, making me smile smugly to myself.

"Don't forget that you're sick and there's no way I'm catching that." I laugh.

"Good point." He winces with a grimace.

"Skittles?" I suggest, grinning up a him.

"Okay fine, sit down." He laughs at my excited expression before taking his own seat and pulling the lid off of the bowl. "I made sure to put mostly red ones in."

As soon as I hear those words, my previous remaining nervousness dissolves and I'm reminded once again that Dakota is far more thoughtful than he lets on. "Thank you." I laugh.

"Anything for you." He winks.

"In that case." I begin, "Can I take all of these home?"

"Yeah not a chance."