364 The conference in Portland 6 (2/2)

Liz felt warm and fuzzy on the inside and she melted under his gentle gaze that caressed her face. She got on her toes and kissed him.

Max cupped Liz's cheek with his free hand while the one with the bag circled around Liz's back, and he kissed her softly. Once, twice… and he was not sure if Liz forgot where they are or she didn't care, but he made sure to return all of her kisses, without wasting a single one.

Max and Liz were lost in a world of their own, unaware of the figure that was staring their way from further down the hallway.

Dr. Snow knew that Liz will go backstage after her presentation to return the equipment she was wearing. He headed that way with a goal to congratulate her on a job well done and to offer his praises because last night she mentioned that she is insecure. He also planned to mention that he will share his feedback on her presentation over lunch, with an intention to secure her presence by his side... and he was not ready for the lovey-dovey scene in front of him that made him freeze.

Dr. Snow balled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth at the pain of his heart shattering and coming back together only to be shattered again.

He didn't want to watch Liz kissing Max.

Dr. Snow didn't want to see Liz kissing any man other than him, yet he was unable to look away.

Jealousy mixed with anger at Dr. Snow's impotence of doing anything about the heartbreaking scene in front of him, and he cursed himself internally because if he didn't mess up things six months ago, now this would be him holding Elizabeth and that would be the best thing ever.

Max hummed in satisfaction while slowly inching away. He caressed Liz's cheek with the tips of his fingers and she tilted her head into his touch.

Her dreamy expression told him that she is happy, and Max was delighted to know that it's because of him.

Max's smile reached his eyes when he reminded her: ”You are missing on presentations, and I should go to work.”

Liz exhaled. ”Yeah. We need to go back to reality.”

Max chuckled. ”Lucky for me, you are my reality.”

”And you are mine.”, Liz half-whispered. ”I will see you tonight.”

”As I said… I will be waiting for you.” Max handed her the bag with pastries. ”Don't forget to eat. You need extra calories.” He winked playfully, making Liz blush as she remembered what they did that morning in her hotel room.

Max pecked her lips again and they held hands as they walked down the empty hallway.

In front of the entry to the conference hall, their hands parted, and Max continued down the hallway toward the door that leads to the main entry hall of the hotel. Only when he was out of sight, Liz released the breath she was holding and went to the event hall.

The next presentation ended and the question-answer session was in progress so no one paid attention that Liz returned. No one, other than Dr. Snow.

Now that the stress of the presentation was over, Liz realized that she is hungry. She took a cup of herbal tea from the side-table and sat on her spot, happily snacking on pastries that Max got for her.

With every bite, his words rang in her mind: ”I am thinking only of you…”, and she was happy.

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