Dear Kimberly,

There was a time when we had a chance to be much more than friends. I was so in love with you, but hid it because you’d been hurt so badly in your last relationship.

But I also hid them because I couldn’t believe that a woman with your intelligence, beauty, and amazing heart could ever fall in love with someone like me.

So I hid the depth of my feelings, hoping that the time would come when I wouldn’t have to hide them any more. But all the while, I was also thinking that such a time would never come along.

And then, amazingly it did…and I missed it. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made was how I acted on “The Night” (as I call it). When I took you home and walked you to the door, you kissed me differently than you ever had before or since.

That kiss delighted, confused, and stunned me all at the same time. I was confused and stunned because you never indicated that you had those feelings before. So stunned that I didn’t know how to feel or act.

In the moment, I panicked, said goodnight, and left. It didn’t take long to realize how stupid I’d been.

I’ve asked myself why I did that a million times, maybe more. I was stunned because this moment I had so long wished for was within my grasp…and I fumbled it away.

When we had dinner a couple of days later, I could already feel that the moment had passed. There was a slight distance that hadn’t been there before.

While time has passed and you’ve become a happily married woman, know that I loved you with all my heart then and I still do today.

If presented the opportunity to give up everything for one chance to go back to “The Night”, I’d do it without hesitation.

My love now and always,

Mark, age 44