"Your mom is nicer than I expected," Billy softly spoke as he backed out of the driveway before plucking up my hand in his and giving it a gentle kiss.

"Mmhmm, I was just thinking the same thing." I mulled the evening as my neighborhood whizzed by the car window. "I learned something about her tonight."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"She was with someone when she met my dad, a really nice reliable guy," I recalled.

"Yeah, what happened?"

"She met my dad," I chuckled.

Billy responded by lifting my hand to his lips again. "Can we talk about Tim for a minute? I don't like you two fighting."

"Oh, don't worry about it; we're fine."

"You're not fine; screaming matches at my mom's is not fine," his forehead creased as he recalled the fight.

"No, I mean, we're fine now."

"I know, but why do you think you both blew up to begin with?"

"Because people fight. It's allowed," I shrugged.

"But when you were upset, you still called him," Billy prodded.

"Yes," I concurred.

"Why? Why, even though you were mad at him, did you know you could still call him?"

"I called him because I was worried about us, and I needed someone to talk to... he's my person," I admitted.

Billy squeezed my hand. "Are you still worried about us?"

"No, I'm not. I'm either overly optimistic or just stupid, but I'm not worried about us," I admitted as a dimple appeared on Billy's cheek.

"I'm worried about you," he added. "I'm afraid you're going to stretch yourself too thin with work, the tour, and the family."

"Aren't you at risk of the same fate?" I poked.

"Well, I've had a bit of practice balancing the studio and family while I'm on tour," he admitted.

"Fair, but I think I can do it. I want to do it. I'm not worried about it," I offered. But his concern planted the thought in my mind.

"What are you thinking?" He prodded.

"Just how to balance work," I murmured as thoughts of coverage points came to mind. My team was ready and more than capable of taking on more. I didn't need to be involved in every detail of the day.

"Are you worried about it?" I asked.

"No, delegation is overdue."

Billy nodded as the idea sunk into his thought. "Okay," he began again. "So your family knows, and Tim knows... so the kids and my mom have to be next," Billy mused to himself as we pulled into the garage.

"Mmhmm, do you think the kids will be okay?"

"Yeah, I think they expect it." He nodded as we backed into his spot.

"Really? Why do you think that?"

"Because they've seen us together, seen how happy you make me," he offered.

"You told them you were going to propose, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he sheepishly admitted, causing me to laugh out loud. "I didn't want them to feel left out," he shrugged.

"You're a good father," I smiled.

"That seems to be the opinion going around. I heard from a reliable source that you'd be a good mom," he added before giving me a quick kiss on my temple. He then ejected himself from the car and paced around to offer me a hand. "Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?"

"I don't believe you have." I smiled as he pulled me to his chest in a seamless swoop.

"Well, you look incredible," he noted as his hand smoothed the velvet of my dress.

His hand stayed on the small of my back as we made our way to the condo.

"I'm so glad I finished packing this afternoon." I sighed as I flopped onto the couch.

"Tired?" Billy asked as he sat down next to me a pulled my feet this his lap. He carefully pulled my shoes off and rubbed them.

"Mmhmm, but happy tired. It was a good night."

"Agreed."

"Are you tired?" I asked as I wiggled my toes in his hands.

"Not too tired," he admitted.

"Yeah," I said as I pulled my feet from him so I could curl into his side. "What do you feel like doing?"

"I had an idea, but if you're tired, we can go to sleep." He kissed my forehead and let his hand flow up and down my back.

The heat from his touch penetrated deep inside of me. I lifted my face to his and pushed forward to meet his lips. We kissed, but not the passing kisses he had resigned us to lately. This kiss was a promise not to try.

The delicate skin covering his pale lips was soft and forgiving, but he was in complete control, driving me crazy. My hips instinctively thrust forward, needing to be closer to him. His hand stalled on my back as he pulled me to his lap. Our lips didn't break as I straddled him.

I hungrily lifted my shaking fingers to the buttons of his shirt and clumsily unbuttoned them. I expected his hand to stop me, to engulf my tiny, ineffective hands with a single strong bear paw hand, but he didn't. He sunk into my neck. A moan escaped me as his lips teased the sensitive skin between my ear and collarbone. I'm not sure how many buttons I managed, but I didn't care. I tore at his shirt to get to his neck and return the favor. A low groan rolled from Billy's chest as I drifted my lips up and down his neck. His hands pulled me further into him, spreading my legs and causing the hem of my dress to lift luridly high on my thighs.

Billy's hands coursed up my legs, sending a burning through me as he sat deeper into the couch, his head flopping on the back. I sank into his neck more easily. His pulse twitched beneath the touch of my silky lips, egging me on in my trail of kisses. My hands blindly grasped his undershirt's hem, pulling it free from his pants. Billy leaned forward and quickly stripped off his button-down and t-shirt, giving me free rein to his bare chest. I had rested on his chest so many times in the past few weeks, passively letting my hands roam over it, but now I needed to devour it.

My hands flowed over his skin, but I didn't sink to it as I had planned. Billy caught my lips with his. His tongue glided over my lips before I parted them to invite him in further. My heartbeat thundered inside my ears, drowning out my gasps for air. I knew it was coming. I knew he would peel me from him, but I pushed the thought aside and let the sensation take over me as his hand pushed my dress further up my legs.

In one swift movement, he shifted, lifting me from his lap. I expected him to place me on the ground. He'd hold on to my quivering frame until I was steady and then demurely kiss my forehead with a promise of soon. But my feet didn't hit the carpet.

My back banged against the wall, causing me to rebound off it and deeper into Billy's thick frame. He pulled away just enough to meet my eyes. My haze of lust blurred his features for a moment before his hazel eyes finally snapped to focus.

"You good?" His voice came hoarse from his ragged breath.

"So good," I managed.

"More?" he asked as he sunk into my neck again.

"Yes." I breathed out as my face lifted to the feeling, unable to process all the sensations coursing through me.

The clang of Billy's belt sent lightning through me. I had to make a conscious effort not to erupt right then; I needed him closer. My fingers dug into his shoulders, knowing they would inevitably leave marks, but neither of us responded from the grip. I needed the hold on him as his thick fingers moved my panties aside before he filled me. The surge pushed a tight breath from my lungs, one that I had been holding for what felt like an entire decade. My muscles immediately relaxed as I turned to jelly at his touch. All I could do was cling to him and let him take care of me.

Billy stayed there, one arm bracing him on the wall as he caught his breath.

"That was," I managed before my voice gave out, and I resigned myself to my continued dependence on Billy's strength.

"Seraphina," he managed between labored breaths.

"Please never make me wait that long again." My words were still coming between the heavy heaves of my chest, but I could finally extract my legs from Billy's waist.

He let me slide down, so my feet were on the carpet, but still supported the bulk of my weight.

"The decade was on you; I'll only take the blame for the past few weeks," he offered, his voice still rough from labored breath.

"Really, if I had shown up five years ago asking for a quickie, you'd have just cleared your desk?" I teased.

"Cleared my desk?" He echoed as he lifted an eyebrow at me. "You get so vulgar in your post-glow." His strength was returning, and he no longer leaned heavily on the wall. "Come on," he added as he swept up my legs, so his arms cradled me. "Let's go to bed."

He set me gently on the bed and reached behind me to unzip my dress before his fingertip glided over my shoulders as he pulled it off me and threw it in the box marked L for laundry. He then stepped away to undress.

"I need a girl moment," I announced before I slipped into the bathroom.

I stared at myself in the mirror for a solid two minutes. This was real. I was here; Billy was in the next room waiting for me. This was not a dream. I pulled my hair back into a bun and splashed water on my face. This was my life, and I could be happy. Suddenly, I panicked at the idea that it wasn't real. I was in some deep psychosis from the trauma of my father's death.

"Billy," I called into the mirror.

"Yeah," he absently called back.

"Nothing, never mind."

Billy was out there, waiting for me to slide into bed next to him.