"I'm glad you like it," he began, taking her bags out of her arms and placing them down by the winding staircase that led to another three levels. "I just had it built..its not completely finished in the decorating department, but I'm definitely getting close to everything being finished."

"When I was a little girl, I used to dream of living in homes like this. I'd pretend that I was a princess living in some castle with a handsome prince..." she told him as her tone changed from slight shock to dreamy. "Typical child fantasy."

"You never know..you might find your prince charming and you might end up with your castle."

"I don't see that happening," she said, biting her lower lip as his gaze settled on her. "Fantasies and dreams hardly ever come true."

"That's where you need an attitude change," he told her softy, taking a step forward and sliding his arm around her waist. "You have to keep hope in your heart, otherwise you'll never know when something special comes along."

Her heartbeat increased as she watched his eyes close and his head start to lower. She closed her eyes and fought back a sigh when she felt his warm breath against her face. She felt his lips touch her cheek before he pulled away completely and walked toward the kitchen, winking at her when she finally allowed her eyes to open back up. "You like to tease, don't you?"

"You have to keep everything interesting and surprise someone when they think they're going to get something else, otherwise things can become boring very quickly."

"I've never thought about it that way, but I guess you're right. Although," she said, pausing when his eyes narrowed as she stepped closer to him. "If you're on the other end of the teasing part, it can grow very old very quickly."

"I dunno..it keeps you guessing."

She rolled her eyes before picking up her bags and looking up the stairs. "Where am I going to be staying?"

"Right this way," he told her, as he motioned for her to go before him.

"I don't know where I'm going.."

"Just walk up the steps," he told her as his eyes drifted down her body, a sly smile presenting itself on his face as he watched her ascend the stairs. "At the top, take a right."

She did as she was told and slowly made her way down a wide hall that was simply decorated with pictures of family, friends and places that Lance had been able to visit while traveling with the guys. "You have a lot of pictures."

"I like being surrounded by the people and places that I love..it makes me calm. The last door on the left is where you're going to be staying. This is the biggest of my guest rooms and the cleanest actually because it hardly gets used. My room is straight across from yours, so if you need anything, you'll know where I'll be...and one more thing," he said as he stepped into the room and slid his arms around her waist. "If you get lonely, I don't mind the extra company in my bed."

"Hey, Lance," she told him, sliding around in his arms so that she was facing him. "I'm a big girl that knows she can take care of herself..and I also know what I want."

"What exactly do you want?" he asked in a husky tone, pulling her body closer to his.

"That would spoil my fun. Now go and do something..I'm going to take a shower and get refreshed."

"If you need any..."

"Stop right there," she told him before smiling sweetly and pushing him out the door, closing it in his face. She looked around the room where she would be staying for the next week or so, and she knew that this was definitely better than any place in South Carolina. The only problem that seemed to be mounting was her sexual tension that she felt towards Lance. She knew that the only way for that to be solved was for Lance to decide when the moment was right. She just hoped that he didn't take too long to realize what they both wanted and needed.

"Cait," he whispered out into the empty room, her name sounding like beautiful music to his ears. He couldn't keep doing this to himself. Just by saying her name, he was tormenting himself. He needed to get up out of that bed and do something that didn't remind him of her, but he just could not motivate himself enough to actually carry through with the thought. Every moment he thought about calling her; he just needed to hear her voice one time. But he couldn't do that. He had to allow her some space to decide what she wanted. He couldn't even begin to imagine what his life would be like if she told him that she couldn't give him a second chance. His life would further be turned upside down. The old Joey Fatone would slowly slip into the past and a new, weaker one would emerge.

He felt his heart flutter when the phone rang. Without thinking twice, he grabbed it and eagerly answered it, hoping and praying that it was her calling him to inform him of her decision. He couldn't even begin to hide his disappointment when Chris's voice greeted him through the receiver. "Hey Joe."

"Oh..hi, Chris," Joey said, letting his head fall back against the pillow and letting a sigh escape his lips. "What's up?"

"Don't sound excited or anything.." Chris said, knowing the reason for Joey's disappointment. "Let me guess..she still hasn't called you?"

"Nope..its been four days and I know this is going to take time but every minute seems to go by so slowly. Chris..its driving me crazy. I can't eat and I can't sleep...all I can do is sit here and think about her."

"You can't let her ruin your life," Chris said, knowing that his words were forceful but they needed to be said. "Joey...you can't sit around and wait on her. You have to keep moving, otherwise you're going to drown in your own self-pity."

"But Chris.."

"Listen to me, Joey. You remember my depression that I had to deal with when I broke up with Dani?"

"Yeah," Joey replied softly as he recalled how much Chris had changed.

"You can't let yourself sink that low. It hurts but you can move on and learn from this whole experience. You may not think that you can, but trust me, it is possible."

"I can't move on..not yet. She has feelings for me, Chris. I know she does..." Joey said as his voice trailed off.

On the other end of the line, Chris let out a soft sigh. "If you need to talk, Joe, I'm here."

"Thanks," Joey said before hanging up the phone and letting his head fall back to hit the headboard. "I won't wait forever, Cait..but I will give you time to make up your mind."

He groaned when he heard the door bell ring, knowing that he was most likely in for a lecture from one of the guys. He grabbed a shirt and put it on as he walked downstairs, knowing that nothing could help his dishelved appearance. He pulled the door open to reveal Cait standing there, her gaze directed to the ground. He felt his heart stop in his chest. "What...what are you doing here?"

She finally raised her head to look at him before taking a deep breath. "We have to talk."

"I'm being silly," she told herself softly, before putting the two dollars that had been left on the table in her apron and moving back over to the counter to make sure none of the customers needed drink refills.

She noticed a new figure sitting at the end of the counter, slouched down so that his face was hidden. She narrowed her eyes as the feeling in her stomach intensified. She couldn't be rude and refuse to wait on the man because she had a sinking feeling in her stomach, but it took all that she had to walk over to him.

"Can I take your order?"

"Hello Emily," the familiar cold voice replied to her, causing her face to grow pale. "Have you missed me?"

"What are...you doing..here?" she struggled to get out, knowing that there was no way to escape from talking to him.

"I came to get you..Emily..you should have never left me," he told her in an angry voice, causing curious eyes to advert to the two of them. "Get your things...we're leaving."

"No I'm not," she said stubbornly, beginning to back away from him but having to stop when he grabbed hold of her wrist and jerked her forward into the counter. Her hip had hit with a hard impact, making her cringe in pain.

"I said get your stuff."

"NO!" she yelled as she tried to pull free from his hold.

"Damn it, Emily!" he yelled before standing up and pulling a gun from his pants, pointing it at her. There were shrieks from the people that were in the small restaurant as the confusion in the room started to rise. "Everyone shut up and no one move or she dies."

Emily closed her eyes and prayed for God to help her. Riley was out of control and she did not know if there was anything that was going to save her.