Confused Heart by Marj Notes: (domo)arigato - thank you dou itashimashite - you're welcome honto - really irrashaimase - welcome ittai - ouch ja ne - see you minna - everyone okaa-san - mother onii-san - big brother otou-san - father sayonara - good-bye Please e-mail your comments and constructive criticisms at . Thanks! Disclaimers: The characters of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon were created by Naoko Takeuchi-san, its copyright owned by Toei Animation, Kodansha, Nakayoshi, Sterling Animation Inc., and many other companies scattered throughout the world. Meaning, I cannot claim the characters as my own, and am mearly borrowing them. The characters Andy Spencer and Ayukawa Himeru are mine though. So please don't sue, as I don't earn anything from this other than the satisfaction of making a story. Chapter Twelve: Meeting Although the bus stop, where Minako had usually waited for her school bus while at Shibakouen Junior High, was quite near the Hikawa Shrine, the distance between her house and Sendai Hill was a different story. Walking briskly, it took Usagi, Rei, Ami, Makoto, Mamoru, and Luna fifteen minutes to make it to the front of the Ainos' gates in what would have been five for Minako two years ago - if she was running late and had taken her "short cut." When they inquired inside, they found out that Minako's parents were out, and that a neighbor had been left the care of the house. As for Minako, she was still in her room, recuperating from her illness. They found her sitting on her bed peeling an orange on a tray while talking quietly to Artemis, who was right beside his charge. Minako smiled widely when she noticed her visitors. "Hi, minna!! Long time no see!" she said happily. Her huge smile grew even larger when her eyes alighted on Chiba Mamoru standing beside Usagi with his hand on her shoulder. Usagi and the other girls crowded their friend's bed instantly, while Mamoru chose to lean on Minako's table. Questions like "How have you been?" and "Are you okay now?" filled the air, and Minako answered them with a coughing fits that took place every now and then. The questions soon turned into gossip, and if Mamoru hadn't reminded them that they were already hopelessly late, they never would have remembered the real purpose of their visit. Minako looked very intrigued and interested to meet the new guy that her friend had been raving about on the telephone, but her expression changed to utter disappointment. "Gomen, minna. I can't come." "What do you mean you can't come?!" Usagi asked, shoulders drooping. Her friend coughed before answering. "I was sick for the entire week! You can't exactly expect the doctor to let me out of bed that easily and be happy about it, do you?" Artemis nodded. "Can't have her having a relapse right after coming back from the dead," he said. His charge glared at him. "It was bronchitis, Artemis. A bad case at that, but it wasn't enough to kill me. Don't be silly." He pouted. "Whose stupid idea was it to run under the rain, anyway? You're sixteen years old - you should know how to take care of yourself by now! That includes knowing not to play in the rain and get sick. I know that your immune system is strong, but it *has* been weakened considerably ever since you *unwittingly* donated most of your blood a few years ago. Tell me again, how many times have you gotten bronchitis in the past two years?" Minako was about to answer back but a coughing fit stopped her. Ami tried to interfere. "I think that's enough, you two . . ." But they continued anyway. "I didn't bother counting them - they weren't that bad. I also appreciate your concern, but you don't have to rub it in, you know." Minako rolled her eyes while absentmindedly feeding her cat one of the sections of the orange she had peeled - which he accepted greedily. "Geez, no wonder I wasn't getting well. You kept picking fights with me the entire week!" The cat gave her a look. "You just don't want to admit that what you did was wrong and that you keep forgetting to drink your medicine!" "And you expect me to remember while I'm delirious with fever? You wouldn't even let me sit up for the past week, so how could I drink it while I'm lying down? Do you want me to choke?" Usagi eyed the orange that Minako was eating. "I heard somewhere that eating fruit helps a sick person get well," she said. "Sure it does. But I do think oranges are for colds," Rei said. Ami nodded. "Vitamin C." Minako broke another section from the orange. "Oh, a family friend gives us some fruit every now and then." She carefully removed the seeds in the piece she was working on before eating it. Rei raised an eyebrow while Usagi continued to stare at the fruit. "Girls, I think it would be best for Minako if you would just introduce the guy to her some other time. That way, she'll be able to get her rest today and be well enough to attend class by Monday," Mamoru said, standing beside Usagi and handing her one of the many oranges that was in a basket on top of the table. Usagi took it and started to peel it happily. "I agree with Mamoru-san. Mina-chan has missed enough chapters as it is. And finals are not that far away," Ami said, worried. Minako frowned. "Am I really that behind in our lessons?" Usagi shook her head while continuously peeling the orange Mamoru had given her. "Not really." "Coming from a girl who barely listened because her boyfriend wasn't around," Makoto said knowingly. Usagi and Mamoru turned red. Luna agreed with Makoto. "Precisely! Now maybe you'll pay more attention to your studies instead of moping around the house, hmm?" Her charge just popped an orange section in her mouth. "Anyway, Mina, don't forget that the doctor wanted you to go the hospital tomorrow," Artemis reminded her while she was coughing. Makoto came up behind her and started hitting her back. "Ittai! ~cough~ Not so ~cough~ hard, Mako-chan!" Minako said. Her tall friend just grinned. "Why are you going to the hospital?" Rei asked. The blond girl shrugged. "'Don't really know. The doctor said something about a final check-up." "Well, I hope you get well soon! Too bad you won't be able to meet Himeru-san today," Makoto said. Minako smiled at her. "I'm already well. I just need rest." Artemis snorted. "Yeah, right." "Don't even think about starting another fight, Artemis, or I'll tell otou-san you've got my fever and he'll be giving you those medicine shots he's got somewhere around here whether you like it or not." After saying their good-byes, they started to leave the room with Artemis escorting them out. Usagi paused at Minako's door. "Usagi?" Mamoru said, concerned. "You go on ahead. I'll just talk to Mina-chan for a sec," she said. Mamoru nodded slowly. "Don't take too long, okay?" Usagi handed him the half-peeled orange she held in her hand. "Don't worry, I won't." After watching Mamoru descend the stairs, Usagi re-entered the room and closed the door. Her friend was staring at her. "He's back. I'm happy for you," Minako said softly. Usagi nodded. "Arigato." She looked at the floor, refusing to meet her friend's eyes. Minako gave her a questioning look. "Anything wrong?" "Nothing really. Go . . . gomen. It was my fault that you got sick." Minako giggled. "Is that all? No, Artemis was right. It *was* kind of dumb of me to run under the rain like that." Usagi turned her gaze to her friend, still feeling very heavy with the guilt she was carrying. "Are you still mad?" Minako looked serious for a moment, then shook her head. "Iie. Although what you did was wrong, I can't stay mad at you." Usagi sighed in relief. She was about to leave when she heard her friend call her. She turned around and patiently waited for Minako to stop coughing. "Just tell him you're sorry, okay?" Minako said. Usagi smiled. "Of course. Oh, how's your okaa-san?" "She's in the hospital with otou-san having her own check-up." "Oh. Well, I hope everything's well." Minako smiled weakly. "Me too." From below the stairs leading to the second floor boomed Makoto's loud, clear voice. "C'mon!! We haven't got all day! We don't want to make Himeru-san think we've abandoned him! We're late enough as it is!" Usagi looked back. "Coming!!" she shouted. Then she ran forward and gave her friend a hug. "Get well soon." "Careful! You don't want to get sick, too!" Minako laughed. She squeezed Usagi's hand. "Ja ne. And say hello to Makoto's friend for me." "Sure thing! Sayonara!" Usagi walked out of the room. "Don't forget to tell me everything that happened! In full detail!!" she heard her friend shout from her bed while she was halfway down the stairs. She grinned. Rei, Ami, Makoto, Luna and Mamoru were waiting for her near the door. Rei placed her hands on both her shoulders and started pushing. "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" she said. Ami bowed politely at the kind woman who had let them in. "Domo arigato, Anaji-san." The woman bowed in return. "Dou itashimashite." "Ja ne, Artemis!" Usagi said, turning around and facing the door for a brief moment before Rei turned her again. Artemis meowed in reply. Ami caught up with Makoto. "Maybe we should have called first to see if Mina-chan could go with us today," she said. "You're right," Luna said. "We could have saved time, too." "But . . ." Makoto placed her hands behind her head. "It was nice to see her after not seeing her for a week. I'm sure Himeru-san would understand," she said. "It's even more nice to see your girlfriend after not seeing her for a month and a half," Rei said teasingly. "Don't you agree, Mamoru-san?" He didn't say anything. He just smiled widely and sheepishly gave Usagi the orange - or what was left of it - that she had handed him earlier. His girlfriend took one look at the remaining two sections of her orange, pouted, and started to chase him up to the corner of the street, which was a few yards away. The others nodded. "Yup, he definitely agrees," Luna said. ***** Himeru was leaning his chin on his hands, his arm propped up on the table while looking out at the window, sighing. He had been waiting for over an hour inside Crown Fruit Parlor, and yet his new friend and her companions were still not in sight. The red-haired waitress that was serving the people three tables in front of him was nice enough to talk to him for a while and inform him that Makoto and the others would be late. But the waitress's job kept them from talking longer than for a minute. Furuhata Unazuki looked at the blond man sitting at the table near the window while she was on her way to the counter with a tray in hand. He smiled shyly at her. "One more?" Unazuki mouthed. He nodded. Unazuki smiled, knowing what he wanted without having to come forward to speak to him. She had only been seeing the same shy smile for the past eleven times when he ordered another milkshake. She thought as she prepared his twelfth drink. "Here you go," Unazuki said, placing a tall glass of milkshake on Himeru's table and taking the empty one. "Boy, you must have something for milkshakes, don't you?" "Not really," Himeru said. "It just tastes very good." "Well I'm glad you like my shake. Need anything else?" Himeru looked at her with a mischievous smile. "Yeah. I'd like to have Makoto and her friends delivered to me on a silver platter immediately." Unazuki laughed. "It's been taking them a long time, hasn't it?" "A bit too long." The red-haired, green-eyed waitress hugged her tray. "I'm amazed you're still here. Some people aren't patient enough to wait for over an hour." "I've got my milkshake to keep me company," Himeru said, raising his glass. She raised her eyebrows and gave him an amused expression. "Really. They've been telling me that if I don't stop drinking milkshakes, then Tokyo will probably run out of milk in, oh, say, a few months." Unazuki giggled. "I think it's more like a few weeks." A few teenagers entered the door leading inside the small restaurant. "I have to go. You know what to do when you need another shake!" Unazuki said. "Don't worry, they'll show up." "Do you realize that you've said that fifteen times already?" "I have? I didn't notice. Anyway, be right back!" Unazuki gave him a wink and sped towards the newcomers. Himeru smiled to himself and started sipping his milkshake. he thought, shaking his head. The door slid open again, and a guy, a black cat, and four girls came in - two of which were engaged in another one of their small fights. "I told you, we can stop by the arcade later! We're already hopelessly late!" the girl with the black hair said, scolding the one with the blonde hair. "That's just it! We're *already* hopelessly late! What's a few seconds more?" "A few *seconds?!* Knowing you, you'd take another hour! Or maybe twenty four more . . . ?" "I just wanted to see what the latest game was!" "And play it, too." Himeru was so amused watching them fight that he didn't notice that somebody was standing in front of his table. "Gomen nasai, Himeru-san! We really didn't mean to be late, but you see, my friend got distracted by somebody, and we had to visit a friend of ours who is just getting well from bronchitis, and we had to stop my friend when she started walking towards the arcade downstairs, and . . ." Makoto breathlessly stammered, blushing while she talked. He looked up at her and smiled, raising his hand. "Hey, calm down! Breathe!" Makoto tried to catch her breath. "Don't worry. There's no harm done. Here, sit down." Himeru stood up and pulled a chair for Makoto. When Makoto was seated on her chair, he did the same for Rei and Ami. Both girls looked at each other and hesitated. "Umm . . . is there anything wrong?" Himeru asked. Ami shook her head. "No . . . not really . . . I think . . ." She blushed. "We're just not used to guys performing proper etiquette during informal occasions such as . . . hanging around in a parlor," Rei said as she sat on the chair that was held out for her. Mamoru shook his head. "Actually, men should perform proper etiquette at all times. Only sometimes - or most of the time, it's forgotten." He held out a chair for his own girlfriend, which Usagi accepted gratefully. "Of course, Mamo-chan remembers it all the time," she said proudly. Rei leaned over to her side. "When he's not subjected to loss of memory due to something or other," she whispered to Ami. Ami smiled. Makoto cleared her throat as soon as Himeru sat beside her. "Anyway, guys, this is Ayukawa Himeru, my new neighbor and hopefully our future classmate in school." Before the guest had the chance to bow his head slightly, somebody had already thrust out her hand in front of him. "Hi! I'm Tsukino Usagi!" Usagi said cheerily. Himeru took her hand and shook it, smiling at the enthusiastic girl. "Yoroshiku." His eyes fell on the tall, black-haired man seated beside her. "Your boyfriend?" he asked. Usagi nodded. "He's my Mamo-chan . . ." "Usagi, don't you think he should know Mamoru-san's whole name rather than your pet name for him . . . ?" Ami asked. The blond girl thought for a while. "Oh, yeah . . ." Mamoru laughed. "Anyway, I'm Chiba Mamoru." "He just came back from America yesterday," Makoto informed Himeru. "Honto?" "Yeah, that's the reason why Usagi just can't get her hands off him," Rei said, smirking. Looking down at his hand on his lap, Mamoru realized that Rei was right - Usagi's fingers were still tightly entwined with his. "You're just jealous because you don't have a boyfriend!" Usagi stuck her tongue out. Rei did the same. "Anyway, she's Hino Rei. She's a miko, and she lives at the Hikawa Shrine with her grandfather. You'll get used to the constant fighting - they do that all the time," Makoto said, smiling at Himeru's awed expression as he watched Usagi and Rei fight again. "I'm surprised the teachers in school haven't done anything to stop them . . . ?" he said. Makoto shook her head. "Nah, Rei studies at T*A Girls' School. Thank goodness for that, too, otherwise they would find themselves standing outside the classroom holding a pail of water more often than sitting inside for classes!" She then turned to Ami, who was sitting quietly beside her with Luna in her arms. "This is Mizuno Ami, the smartest girl you'll probably ever meet in your life," Makoto commented. Ami blushed again. "Don't listen to Mako-chan. She has the tendency to exaggerate sometimes," she said softly. Usagi broke away from fighting long enough to say: "That's not true! Ami topped all the national exams when we were in junior high, and she's sure to top them again!" "Unlike *some* people we know," Rei said. And they started shouting at each other again. Himeru shook his head. "Unbelievable. You go through this everyday? How do you manage it?" he asked. Mamoru gave him a huge grin. "Simple. Just ignore them. They'll make up sooner or later." Ami nodded. "Otherwise, you'll have a huge headache when you go to bed." Luna meowed, the expression on her feline face revealing the knowledge of someone who had lived with Usagi for years. "Oh, yeah!" Makoto's hands reached out for Luna, whom Ami handed over. "This is Luna, Usagi's black cat." She handed Luna to Himeru, who started petting her. Luna purred. "There's one more person that we would like you to meet, but she can't come 'cause she's just recovering from this sickness that kept her in bed for a week. You'll meet her as soon as you start going to class, though," Makoto said. "Speaking of school, have you taken your entrance exams yet, Ayukawa- kun?" Ami asked. Himeru nodded. "I'm bound to get my results this following week. And if I'm lucky, I'll be able to start by next Monday." "That's great! We'll be cheering for you!" Makoto said. Ami nodded, smiling widely. Unazuki paused in front of their table to take their orders. "It's nice to see that you've finally made it! I thought Ayukawa-kun would have another set of eleven milkshakes before you showed up!" she said, grinning at Himeru. He winked in return. Usagi gaped. "*Eleven* milkshakes?! You've *got* to be kidding!" Rei smirked. "Finally found your match?" There was uncomfortable silence as the two glared at each other, sparks flashing from their eyes. Mamoru cleared his throat and looked at Unazuki. "Is your brother here, Unazuki? I haven't seen him for a while." The waitress looked shocked when she saw Mamoru. "Mamoru-san! I thought you wouldn't be back for another two weeks!" "Well, I missed Tokyo, so I headed back." Unazuki gave him a knowing look. "Uh-huh. Sure. I bet. Anyway, I think onii-san is behind the counter getting his lunch. He's on his lunch break." "That's great!" Mamoru - while still holding hands with his girlfriend - jumped from his chair, eager to see his good friend again. He turned to look back at Himeru. "C'mon, Ayukawa-kun. I can introduce you to my friends. That way you don't have to hang around the ladies all the time," he said, smiling fondly at Usagi and Rei. Himeru laughed. "That'll be a nice relief," he said jokingly. Makoto looked at Mamoru and smiled gratefully. Mamoru slowly untangled his hand from Usagi's, who was still glaring at Rei and didn't seem to notice. "We'll be right back, girls. We'll just say 'hi' to Motoki-kun and invite him to eat with us, okay?" After the two men had left, Ami reached out and held Rei's and Usagi's shoulder. "C'mon, guys. Be more polite. We were supposed to welcome somebody here, not have an all out fight!" Usagi and Rei stopped glaring at each other and blinked a few times while their minds slowly registered what Ami had said. Then they turned slightly and looked sheepishly at Makoto, expecting a harsh scowl directed towards them from their friend's face. "Gomen nasai . . ." they both said in small, childish voices. Instead of scowling, however, Makoto was all smiles. "You must be in a really good mood for you not to glare at them," Unazuki said. She sighed and leaned back, a satisfied look on her face. "I just feel great today. Well, what do you guys think? Isn't he cool?" "Yup. Of course, Mamo-chan is cooler!" Usagi said gleefully. "Especially now that he's back. I'm *so* happy!!!" "Of course," Rei said wryly. Usagi opened her mouth to make a comment but one look from Ami was enough to make her close her mouth again. Unazuki brought out her notepad and uncapped her pen. "So guys, what will you have?" ***** Sometime later, while the four girls, Mamoru, Himeru, and Furuhata Motoki were halfway through their lunch, the sliding door opened, and a young teenager came in. He was already halfway to an empty table when he found himself staring silently at one of the customers that was right in front of him, barely hearing Unazuki's "Irrashaimase!" greeting. Rei, Ami and Makoto stopped talking as soon as they saw him standing there. He stepped back and was about to turn away when Usagi looked up and caught his gaze. They gazed at each other silently. His eyes traveled over to the man sitting beside her. He gave Usagi a questioning look. Usagi nodded and bit her lip. Mamoru paused from his discussion with Motoki and Himeru long enough to notice that the girls had suddenly become silent. He turned to ask "What's wrong?" before following their gazes. And he saw a man with black hair and blue eyes staring back at them. "Usagi, do you know him?" Mamoru asked. Andy knew that Usagi's boyfriend was looking at him. He recognized him from the picture Usagi had showed him. He could also see that Usagi was very uncomfortable, unsure of what to do. Motoki smiled at him. "Hey, aren't you the guy Usagi took around town for a tour a few weeks ago?" Andy nodded, forcing a smile towards the blond-haired man sitting beside Usagi's boyfriend. "Ye-yeah, I'm the one." "I saw you two at the arcade, but I was too busy to come over." Usagi let out a huge breath. "Right. Uhh . . . this is Spencer Andy, my classmate. He's an exchange student from America. Andy, you haven't really met Rei-chan yet . . . that's her over there." Rei waved her hand. Andy bowed slightly in respect. "This is Furuhata Motoki-kun, and beside him is . . . umm . . . Akayuwa Himeru, right?" Makoto resisted the urge to giggle. Rei rolled her eyes. Himeru smiled politely. "That's Ayukawa, Tsukino-san." "Yeah, I knew that. Just testing," Usagi said, blushing. Mamoru laughed. "And this is Chiba Mamoru." Mamoru nodded politely. "My boyfriend," Usagi added in a soft voice. "I know." Andy cleared his throat. "I've heard so much about you, Chiba-san," he said. Usagi's boyfriend smiled warmly. "I've heard about you too, I think . . ." Usagi squeezed Mamoru's hand. "He's the one I've been telling you about. Remember?" "Ohh . . ." Her boyfriend nodded slowly. He looked back at Andy. "Why don't you sit down?" Usagi bit her lip. She noticed that Andy was looking at her. "Ye- yeah, Spencer-san, why don't you?" she said weakly. Andy looked into her eyes for a moment, then shook his head. "No, thanks. I . . . uhh . . . I just remembered something that I have to do. See you guys in school?" Makoto and Ami nodded silently. "Mamoru, you're very lucky to have Usagi. I'm sure you'll make her very happy." Andy bowed. "It was nice to meet all of you." He turned around and left. Usagi got up abruptly from her seat. "Spencer-san, wait!" Andy turned around and looked at her. She kissed Mamoru on the cheek. "I'll be back. I promise," she said. Then she ran after Andy. Mamoru watched his girlfriend talk to Andy for a short while in hushed tones. His eyes followed them as they walked outside the door. He then looked at Usagi's unfinished food. "Is she okay?" he asked. Makoto nodded. "Uhh . . . probably just some important school stuff." This made Mamoru's eyebrows go up further. "School?" Ami suddenly seemed very interested in her food. "Actually, Mamoru-san, I think Minako asked her to deliver a message. Umm . . . that's probably why Usagi asked to be left behind back at her room earlier," Rei speculated. She then looked at Makoto, who was blushing. She caught her blue-haired friend glancing at her skeptically. Rei rethought. But the explanation seemed to have satisfied Mamoru. He shrugged, faced Motoki and Himeru, and continued the discussion they had been having earlier. The three girls with them sighed in relief and resumed eating their lunch silently. ***** Andy and Usagi walked outside Crown Fruit Parlor, both of them staring at the ground as they went. When they reached an alley where nobody inside the restaurant would see them, they turned into it and faced each other. "What do you want, Usagi?" Andy said softly. Usagi clasped her hands and rubbed her forefingers together, all the while looking anywhere else but Andy's eyes. "Well?" She stopped playing with her hands, her eyes settling on Andy's brown shoes. "I . . . I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Andy couldn't help but smirk. "For what? For deceiving me? For not telling me the truth from the very start?" Usagi glared at him. "I *did* tell you the truth from the very beginning, but *you're* the one who didn't listen. Remember?!" Andy closed his eyes and looked away. He stood there silently. "Remember when you gave me that poem and those roses? I told you that you didn't stand a chance. But you said that . . . that only when you think thought that it was really hopeless would you stop courting me," Usagi recalled. "You didn't believe me! What you feel right now is the result of your own wrongdoing!!" She paused. This wasn't right. She was supposed to tell him that she was sorry, not to blame him for being the cause of all the problems both of them had faced during the past few weeks. After all, even if she *had* told him that she loved Mamoru from the start, she still led him on with that date in which she - in her state then - eagerly agreed. And that kiss . . . Usagi felt guilty all over again. Andy took a deep, shaking breath. "You're right. That was stupid of me, wasn't it?" Usagi found herself a box to sit on. "Iie. You were only following your heart." She looked at him sincerely. "I was so confused the day you asked me out that . . . I reacted too fast. And when the day came, I couldn't back out. I didn't want to hurt you." She sighed. "But I still did. Gomen nasai." Andy gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry, too." He extended a hand towards Usagi. "Friends?" She shook it. "Friends," she said, grinning. When they were about to part ways, Andy caught her arm to stop her. "Wait." Usagi looked at him questioningly. "Have you told him? About . . . you know." She squirmed uncomfortably. "No. Not yet, anyway. You . . . won't tell him, will you?" Andy paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I won't. That's your job. I don't want to get you into any trouble with him. He *is* the one that makes you happy, after all." His hold on her arm tightened. "I don't know if you will do it, but . . . tell him, Usagi. About us. That night. It won't matter much if you tell him sooner than if you tell him later. It will also be much easier if he finds out from you than from someone else." Usagi nodded slowly. "I'll tell him when I'm ready," she said quietly. He gave her one, last quick kiss on her cheek. "Stay cheerful, Usagi. I'll be here when you need me." She held the hand that was holding her arm and squeezed it. "I'll keep that in mind." ***** Usagi skipped back to her friends' table inside the Crown Fruit Parlor. "I'm back!" she announced. "Yeah, so we've noticed," Rei said sarcastically. "Where have you been, Usako?" Mamoru asked, turning his attention from Motoki and Himeru as his girlfriend sat down beside him. Usagi shrugged. "I just had to tell Andy something." She looked at him hesitantly. "Mamo-chan?" Mamoru smiled at her. "Nani?" "Umm . . . you don't mind that Andy courted me while you were away, do you?" He enclosed one of Usagi's hand in his. "Why should I? I trust you." Usagi turned so that she could see his face properly. "Sure?" He nodded. "Sure. Is anything wrong?" She studied his face and became quite nervous after seeing that he didn't show any signs that indicated uncertainty. Usagi thought. She sighed and snuggled deep into his arms. "No. Nothing's wrong." All she had to do was summon up her courage once more and tell him the truth when the time was right. After that, her problems would all be over. Right?