The following day, Billy lingered in my office right until 8:15 am. Even then, he made slow work of leaving. My mind split from the moment I heard the door click behind him. Two nights of not being in his arms suddenly felt like the end of the world. A coldness crept into me despite my attempts to push it down. We had spent more time apart than together; I could manage a couple of nights.

I sighed as I left my first huddle just before 9:30 am and absently tapped my cell to see a missed text.

At 8:16 am, Billy had texted a simple, "I miss you."

"We're ridiculous," I tapped back, but his message made me feel less lonely.

He didn't type back. He was driving. Instead, I tamped down my melancholy with a sigh and set my phone aside as I prepped for my next huddle. The glow of my cell phone tugged at my attention while I was in my meeting, but I fought the urge to check it. Instead, I flipped it over to be less enticing and focused on my wave of meetings. Finally, at 10:30 am, I had a break. My fingers twitched with excitement as I allowed myself a peek at my screen.

"I like it," he had started. "There isn't much food in the house; maybe we'll come over for dinner before Viv's big date. You could get to know the kids better."

"I thought we were going to introduce me slowly?" I shot back, not expecting a reply, but I almost immediately saw the typing bubbles.

"It's just dinner at my mom's."

"True, if I can keep my hands off you!"

"My mom has a big house... lots of rooms...."

"I have to go. You're not improving my concentration with your sexting," I teased.

"Oh, darling; if I were sexting, you'd know it."

"I was kidding. Sexting = ew."

"Can you stop typing sexting?" Billy quickly shot back.

"You've typed it just as many times!"

"We agree the whole digital love thing is gross."

"Ew, never type digital love again, Billy."

"Funny, I was thinking of calling my next album Digital Love."

"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew."

"I love you, Lil. I'll see you at dinner."

"Wait, did you talk to your mom while we were sexting?"

"That wasn't sexting!"

"Fine, did you talk to your mom while we had digital love?"

"Don't you have some fuck dates to confirm?"

"Billy! I told you they are FOC dates."

"Who's sexting now?"

"Goodbye, Billy; I love you."

"Love you too, Lil."

I threw my phone to the couch to prevent temptation and continued my day. I looked at lunch but was disappointed to see no new messages.

"I'm pathetic, and I miss you," I texted as I headed to the kitchen to see what Mary had whipped up for lunch.

"I don't think you're pathetic," Billy said as I entered the kitchen, causing a painfully wide smile to spread across my face.

"Hi," I said as he pulled me to his side and kissed my temple.

"Hey," he murmured back. He could see me struggle before he added, "say it."

"Hi," I let out on a breath.

"Too many hi's, Lil."

"But I mean all my hi's," I whispered back.

"I'm suspecting you didn't come for lunch to visit me," Mary teased from across the island.

"Of course I did." Billy let out a throaty laugh. "I'm just enduring Lil so I can get a few home-cooked meals."

"You hush," Mary scolded. "I suppose you didn't tell Tim where you were going?"

"Why do you think I left at lunch?" Billy tersely replied.

"Enduring me," I whispered to diffuse the tension.

"I like my mom's big sandwich," he teased back with a pinch to my side.

"We're having big sandwich. I love big sandwich!" I agreed as my mouth watered at the idea of Mary's marinated tomatoes.

"We'll eat at the dining room table," Mary directed as she slid our plates to us. "And I want to hear all about Viv's date!" She called after us.

Billy pushed me ahead of my usual pace with a hand on my lower back.

"Hey! Why are you pushing me?" I fought as I turned to him.

He grabbed my plate from me and slid them both on the table before pulling me in for a kiss. His lips tenderly met mine with the taste of stale coffee on his breath as his fingers gripped my hips. I let him pull me to him as he sucked in a hungry breath before continuing to mingle his lips with mine.

"Hey," Mary scolded as she entered.

"Sorry, Mom," Billy murmured as he pulled away, but he let his forehead linger on mine as we caught our breath.

"Not sorry," I whispered, gathering a smile from him.

"Tell me about this date," Mary said as we tucked into our sandwiches.

"Some Chris kid from school." It was clear from Billy's tone that Chris did not impress him. "Viv says he's nice."

"Where are they going?" There was a spark in Mary's eyes at the excitement of Viv beginning to date that Billy didn't match.

"Ice skating. It seems like a good idea to me; lots of layers to stay warm."

"Unless they hang out in the warming hut, huddled by the fire," I added.

"Why? Why would you say that?" He stared at me in wide-eyed disbelief.

"Sorry, I just know I hated ice skating, so I always ended up in the warming hut." I shrugged.

"She's not going." He shook his head defiantly at his previous acceptance of the date.

"She has to go; you already told her she could. Besides, you trust her," I argued.

"I trust her; it's Chris I don't trust," he grumbled.

"Billy, will you stop saying his name like it's a swear?" I elbowed his ribs as I spoke.

"No, it is a swear in my book... Chris."

"You can't act like this around Viv. You don't want her to hide things like this from you," I cautioned.

"Could you stop being right while I'm being wrong?" His brow furrowed as he argued with me.

"Mary, can you help with your unreasonable son?"

"I would, but what does Peter have to do with this?" Mary said without missing a beat.

Billy let out a snort before adding, "Pete is unreasonable."

"And Peter and Clara were never as close like you and Viv," Mary warned.

"Wow, didn't even see that coming, did you, Collins?" I teased.

"Why did I come here again?" Billy sighed to himself.

"I think you said it was for the big sandwich," Mary teased. "I'm glad you plan to come to dinner tonight. I'll see Viv before she is off on her big night. Does Jackson have plans tonight?"

"I don't think so; he hasn't mentioned any," Billy murmured between bites.

"What time is the date?" I asked between bites.

"I'm picking the boy up at 7:30 pm." Billy still struggled with an even tone as he referred to poor Chris. "Then I pick them up at 10 pm, which feels late for ice skating if you ask me."

"Billy, you're to show some excitement for Viv; this is a big milestone," I said in a soothing voice.

"I know," he begrudgingly admitted.

We continued to chat through the meal but steered clear of the date to give Billy time to accept that his daughter was of dating age.

"Hey." he pulled me to him as he let his body close my office door behind him. "Do you have to work this afternoon?"

"Yes," I giggled as he kissed my forehead.

"Did you give any thought to an office at the studio?"

"I did, and I think it's a terrible idea. Neither of us would ever get any work done!"

He picked me up and twirled so he could fall to the couch with me on his lap in his patented move. He settled me for a moment and brushed loose hair behind my ears.

"I love this," he said with a satisfied smile as he sat back, gazing at me.

"What's that, bickering about my office?"

"Yes, and not wanting to spend a second apart from you. I've waited twenty years to have you look at me the way I look at you."

"I'm sorry," I dipped my eyes.

"No, I didn't mean it like that." He lifted my face with one of his long, thick fingers. "I mean, it was worth the wait."

I gazed back at him, his hazel eyes scanning me as his dark, wiry hair curtained his face. With no thought, my hand lifted to his face, cupping his smooth cheek. He leaned into my hand and raised his own to reinforce the touch. My chest ached with how much I loved him, how much I needed him to understand how in love with him I was.

"Marry me," I murmured.

"What? No... wait, what? No... you can't... no... I... I'm supposed to... I want to... no... you can't...."

I let out a laugh. "Use your words, Billy."

"You can't ask me. I ask you."

"I can ask you. I can do whatever I want, and I want to marry you." I didn't bother to lift my face to his. "But you said no," I added in a gloomy voice.

"No... I didn't... no... not no... just... you can't... I want... no... I mean, yes."

I lifted my gaze to him. "I enjoy making you flustered."

"You are an evil woman." He pulled me to his chest and rested his chin on my head. "We're getting married, Lil. It's not an if; it's a when."