Gray put Ana in the car, while Sofia placed the full diaper bag behind her seat. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?"

"Don't be silly. I can drive to Wellesley to have lunch with my friends." She kissed his cheek. "You can tap tap on your keyboard with no one to bother you."

"If she's asleep when you come home. I can carry her in."

"Last time she fell asleep on a blanket and I stayed and visited. It was like naptime at a daycare. They all conked out."

"Okay. Have fun. Let me know if you change your mind. You don't need to carry her sleeping up all the steps."

"You're too good. I'm sorry things didn't work with Doyle."

"Who said that?"

"Monty said you went away and haven't seen her since."

He loved him like a brother, but even family members disagree. "I might see her when I testify."

"We should go to support you."

"Sof, I don't need the support. Doyle was the victim. I was the witness."

"You care about her."

"I do, but your husband is making it hard."

Her eyes grew wide. "Does that mean you haven't ended it?"

"Is he still determined to tell her brother? He sure has changed."

"It's the father in him. He knows how worried her family was."

"Why should they be worried if we are together? Only if they think I'm not good enough like my friend clearly feels. Remember how hurt you felt when your sister thought Monty was not good enough for you."

She nodded and kissed his cheek. "We'll talk to him."

Maybe Gray said too much, but he needed to make Monty understand this was not like all his other flings. In fact, it wasn't a fling at all. As soon as Sofia drove away, he texted Doyle. Finally, with the entire house empty, they were going to see each other. His palms were sweaty as he drove to pick her up by the Public Garden.

When he approached the spot in front of the entrance to the subway, his heart sped up. Nerves and excitement were a dangerous concoction. It had been months since she had been in his apartment. In that time, his feelings had changed. Maybe they had always been there, but he had changed to recognize them. He breathed when he saw her. It wasn't a dream.

She climbed in the passenger seat and smiled at him. "Are you real?"

He laughed. "I was wondering the same about you." She reached over and pinched his arm. "Ouch!"

"Sorry. Did it really hurt?" She leaned over and kissed it.

"It feels better now."

She laughed. "You were teasing me."

"Well, it didn't tickle."

"So he's really at work all day?"

Gray nodded. "With a board meeting tonight."

"I hate those."

"You sit on the board?" Another reason he would never be good enough.

"It's a family thing. We earn a seat when we graduate from college. My parents' generation hold all the clout, except my brother because he runs the company."

"You know I didn't go to college."

"I don't care. You are self-made."

"As a chauffeur."

"Or as a Whitby employee or a novelist."

"Time will tell."

"When can I read it?"

He was still working with the agent. Every day that went by he convinced himself it was a waste of time. Pages and pages of words that no one would ever want to read. He had a new idea percolating, but he was afraid to start it.

"I don't know."

"Please. Trust me."

He sighed. "Let's see what the agent says. The prosecutor contacted me about the trial."

"My father keeps saying if he changes his plea, I won't have to testify."

"He's right."

Neither spoke as he pulled into the garage. When they entered his apartment, she broke the silence. "I missed this place."

"You did?"

"Yes, and you too, but this is where we met and you took care of me."

He pulled her into his arms. It would have been so easy to promise to always take care of her, but he wouldn't make promises he couldn't keep.

He held her for a long time before he sought her lips. When they broke apart he said, "Do I have to be a nice guy and pretend I don't want to rip your clothes off?"

She laughed. "You can tug on my boots."

She sat on the sofa, and he appreciated her leather boots. "My favorites. Even with your injuries, I could tell you were sexy as hell."

"Did you look when you took off my dress?"

He smirked. "Maybe a little."

She smiled. "I want you to look now."

"Good, because I plan to."

Clothes littered the floor between the sofa and the bedroom. He put his phone on his nightstand. "Sofia might call."

"I should keep mine nearby too."

Once they toppled on the bed naked, he went to work worshiping her body. "You are so amazing here. And here. And..." Each stop he tasted until he reached her mouth again. Although he traveled the length of her and back, he chose not to go down on her. "I want to see your face." His hand reached down and found her silky wetness. Her face graded his effort, and once he was earning an A, he kept going until she exploded in beautiful vulnerability.

She gasped. "Honey, that was amazing!"

He chuckled and nuzzled into her neck. "Honey? Am I your honey?"

"You are that and more."

He teased, "I'll give you more." He reached for a condom. Never in his life had he gone without. One day.

She watched as he rolled the latex on. "You are beautiful."

He didn't reply. Suddenly, he didn't want to joke. "It's been way too long. I've missed you so much."

He entered her from the top with his forearms on either side of her head to support his weight. His hands laced through her hair. Together they kept eye contact until he planted light kisses on her lips and face. He used the closeness to communicate his emotions. He waited until her breath hitched and planted a kiss on her lips and let his self control go. Heart to heart the beating filled the room.

When he finally rolled off, he said, "Wow!"

"Double wow. Triple wow."

He smiled. "I love the way you feel." When we made love.

She smiled. "I love the way you feel too. That was way better than sex."

He kissed her. "I agree. Way, way better." Read between the lines. If you feel it, say it. He couldn't speak from his heart without knowing how she felt.

She smiled. "We never decided on our tattoos."

He looked at her. "You're serious."

"Totally. What should it be? Not names."

"I had been thinking of a K."

"I'm a girl. I was thinking of a heart or a half a heart for each of us."

"Not half." He smiled. "Where?"

"Our hips? Where we meet when we are together. I can't have it show when I wear a gown, so my chest is out, but you have a special one there already."

He looked at her as she traced a heart on his hip. "Anywhere. I don't care."

"Can we go today?"

He laughed. "I have a guy, but he's busy. I could make appointments today."

"Maybe we shouldn't go together."

"Afraid to be seen with me?"

She smiled. "No, but maybe I want something extra to surprise you."

He wanted something extra too. "Okay." They talked about placement. She would do her left side, and he'd do his right hip.

His phone buzzed, and he sat up. Monty sent him an email. "I have to check on something for work. Sorry."

He went to the bathroom and then searched for his boxers. He put on his jeans and pulled his sweater over his head. Then he picked up her clothes and brought them to the bedroom. "We made a mess." He laughed. "Come sit with me. It shouldn't take long."

He sat on the sofa and opened his laptop. From the hotel room in Phoenix he had compared prices on the competitors' sites, but also checked some popular hotel booking apps. Monty wanted him to check those apps for all the cities he visited.

He looked up when she came out, dressed but with messy hair. Smiling, he said, "You should have left the brush here."

She spun around and went into the bathroom. "You messed up my hair."

"Because I love it. You are still beautiful. It reminded me of your stay."

"I was hideous."

"Your injuries didn't hide your beauty."

"Liar." She laughed.

He shook his head. "You want to help me?"

"If I can."

Soon they were both taking screenshots of searches. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"What?"

"Your hotel is at the bottom of the list."

"Damn. The others must have deals."

He collected the screen shots in an email with an explanation of the problem. "A secretary can make it look pretty. Good catch. Our price is right in line, so I didn't notice we were on the bottom."

"That was fun, but I'll stick to photography."

"Maybe you can join me on my next trip."

"Really?"

"I was lonely. I missed you. What jobs do you have coming up?"

"The magazine still wants me to do my story. I'm not sure."

"What else?"

"Not much. I have a few things in the works. None are definite."

They sat and Gray jumped up. "Sofia's home. How'd it get so late? I'll be back."

He met her in the garage. "Do you need help?"

"I can manage."

He smiled. "I know you can, but I'm here. I can carry the bag or Ana." He could easily carry both.

She smiled. "You can take our bebé." He unbuckled and lifted her. "She missed you." He kissed her neck.

When they entered the upstairs kitchen, he asked, "Where do you want her?"

"She can play." He turned to the door. "Are you in a hurry?"

He shrugged. "I need to run out."

She reached up and rubbed his cheek. Then she smiled and giggled. "Go. Your secret is safe. You aren't triste. I like it."

He definitely wasn't sad. Even though he had to kiss K goodbye. When he came back, he washed the traces of pink lipstick, before he changed into his suit and went to wait for the board meeting to end.

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