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helps, when he isn't driving me bat-shit crazy." I chuckled.
    Miranda laughed with relief, happy to see me let loose a bit.
    "What's he doing now? I swear you two are like vinegar and water, but somehow you make it work."
    "He's doing his best, I guess," I said, shaking my head lightly.
    "You guess?" Miranda questioned, scooting her chair in closer to the table to hear me.
    "Yes. He's been so busy with work, and when he isn't working he's being Colby." Miranda nodded her head appreciatively. She knew better than anyone else what it meant for Colby to be Colby. "He's been on this marriage kick, which I'm not ready for, and it's led to quite a few arguments."
    "Let me ask you this, and don't bite my head off."
    I puckered my lips at her words.
    "After all this time, why do you think you aren't ready to marry Colby? Do you love him?"
    I paused for a second. "Of course I love him, and I can't say why I'm not ready, I'm just not. Colby has everything most girls would want in a husband. Money, good looks, and adoration, but, his condescending attitude is the biggest turn off."
    "Colby Shaw has been a condescending ass since the day I met him. What's so different now?" she asked, rolling her eyes as she spoke.
    "I don't know," I said with finality. I wanted to end this conversation since it didn't feel as if it was going anywhere. I moved on to a much lighter topic of discussion, seeing as though the talk about Colby was just making me angry again. "How's work going for you?" I asked, finally hitting on something that made Miranda perk up.
    "It's going great. By the way, your office space is ready when you are." She smiled. I returned it, but didn't say anything. Since Miranda and I had merged our businesses together, she'd transformed one of the rooms in her small building into an office space for me to work out of. "Have you been shooting at all?" she asked, eager to keep me talking.
    "Yeah," I sighed, "I was actually up at Queen Anne lookout and I shot a few up there yesterday." I stopped and took a deep breath. "Look, I'm going to go back to work tomorrow, I need to get my life back on track," Miranda's eyes glowed with compassion, "And stop looking at me with those gosh damn puppy dog eyes. They make me want to punch you."  
    She laughed and I finally joined her. We spent the rest of our time making jokes and engaging in light hearted conversation. The weather was no indication of our moods. We were uplifted, while the rain picked up and continued to crash down.

    Later that evening, I was halfway through my shower when I heard Colby come into the room. I glanced at the clock hanging on the bathroom wall, just above the two pictures of Colby and I on one of his parents' yachts, and I noticed it was only 6:15 p.m. With the hours that he'd been working, I was shocked to see him home at what I considered early. He strolled into the bathroom and undressed, making his way into the shower and, wrapping his bulging arms around my body, pulling me in close. I relaxed myself into his embrace and allowed his arms and the hot water to wash away the tension that had been building inside.
    We took turns washing one another. Colby had to kneel down for me to get every inch of him, but we made light of it, and the physical closeness that had been noticeably absent in our relationship was once again back and welcomed. While kneeling, Colby laced soft kisses on my stomach and used his large, sensual hands to caress every inch of my wet, slick body. He slowly stood and pulled me up with him. Standing with me in his arms, he ran delicate kisses along my neck, down my shoulders, and up to my lips. His moist, full lips touched mine ever so gently, and the water running down his face added to the smoothness of his kiss. He thrust his tongue into my mouth, pouring out every ounce of passion that had been built up since my nightmarish ordeal had taken place. I met him with the same raw intensity he was giving me. I missed him, and from the feel of his