"Excuse me?"

"So, in two weeks when we return, I'll remember where I left off," Toni said with a grin.

Tilting her head, Laura said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm not going to make love to you in your mother's house."

"Why not?"

"Laura, be real. It's your mother's home, and I doubt she wants to hear her daughter screaming out instructions in the middle of the night."

"I do not scream."

"Yes, you very well do, and you know it."

Thinking for a moment, Laura said, "I can be quiet."

"Since when?"

"I've just never had a reason to. That's all."

"Laura, I love you and you know I love being with you, but it's not going to happen. I know you've said your mum is okay with our relationship, but I have no intention of flaunting it, or...or making her uncomfortable."

"And what about what I want?"

"Darling, it's only for two weeks."

Pressing her lips together so as not to laugh, Laura grabbed Toni's hand and led her into the bedroom. Kicking off her shoes, she turned around and commanded, "Fuck me."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard."

"Laura, the car is packed. The windows are locked and...and...and this is ridiculous," Toni said, watching as Laura stepped out of her jeans.

"If I can remain quiet, not scream, as you put it, then we make love in Scotland. If I make a sound, one bloody sound, I won't touch you or try to do anything to change your mind."

Toni thought she was prepared to argue more, but when Laura tossed her sweater aside, revealing a bra of red lace, Toni's brown eyes turned black with desire.

Aware she now had Toni's full attention Laura took a step in her direction. "Sweetheart, there's no way you're not going to take me up on this, and we both know it. Now, where do you want me? The bed, the floor, or right here where I stand?"

Standing in the doorway, he watched in silence as she busied herself at the counter. Dressed only in his shirt, she looked as she did decades before, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Did you find them?" she asked, noticing him standing a few feet away.

"Sorry, Ellie. I looked everywhere."

"Shit," Eleanor said, looking around the room.

"Don't worry. They'll show up." Noticing that Eleanor seemed to be distracted, Bill asked, "What's wrong?"

"What? Oh...oh, nothing, I'm just trying to think of what I need to do before they get here."

"Well, I already tidied the lounge and bedroom, so cross that off your list."

Raising an eyebrow, Eleanor asked, "When did you become so domestic?"

"Times change, Ellie."

"Speaking of time, you had better get out of here so I can get ready."

"I would, except someone is wearing my shirt."

Quickly looking down, Eleanor sighed. "Sorry. Bad habit, I guess."

As far as William was concerned, it was the best habit, and one he was thankful hadn't changed. Without saying a word, he followed Eleanor down the hallway to her bedroom, all the while staring at her bottom.

"I'm afraid it's a bit wrinkled," she said, quickly unbuttoning the Oxford.

"So am I," Bill said with a grin.

Snickering, Eleanor looked in his direction. Although approaching his fifty-sixth birthday, the years spent at sea had kept his body lean and muscled, and while the blond hair covering his chest had begun to turn gray, he was still as handsome as he had been on their wedding day. Aware of the moistness forming between her legs, Eleanor lowered her eyes, and seeing the bulge in his trousers, she happily sighed. Watching as he took a step in her direction, she said, "William, we don't have time for this."

"I know," he said. Pushing the shirt from her body, he lowered his head and covered a taut nipple with his mouth.

Cheerfully resigned to the fact they were about to make love again, Eleanor moved to the bed. Lying across the duvet, she watched as he stepped out of his trousers.

"William..." she said as she opened her legs.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"We really do need to make this fast."

Pulling Eleanor to the edge of the bed, Bill smirked. "Let's hope they're running late."

"I hope you're satisfied," Toni said in a huff.

Glancing at her passenger, Laura smiled. "More than satisfied, actually."

"We're going to be late!"

"Only about an hour. No worries." Hearing Toni huff again, Laura laughed. "You really don't like losing a bet, do you?"

"It wasn't a bet, and you didn't play fair!"

"I most certainly did."

"Oh, no, you didn't. Between all the shopping, wrapping and packing, we haven't made love since Sunday night, and you know perfectly well how I get when it's been that long."

"This coming from a woman who thought she could do without for two weeks," Laura said, shaking her head. "Honestly, Toni, what in the world were you thinking?"

"I was trying to be considerate."

"To whom?"

"To your mother, of course."

"Sweetheart, my mother knows we're having sex."

"You told her!"

"Of course."

"What!"

"Toni, what the hell has gotten into you? You were sitting right next to me when I called her and told her about our engagement. Did you honestly believe that she thought our relationship was platonic?"

"Oh...um...no, I suppose not."

"You're really nervous, aren't you?"

"I'm trying not to be, but I haven't yet been able to master calm."

"You'll be fine. We've been there before, and you like my mum. Don't you?"

"Yeah...yeah, I do. She's great."

"That, she is."

"Why didn't she ever get married again? I mean, she's attractive and smart. I would have thought some bloke would have snatched her up by now."

"I think she prefers being single."

"Really?"

"She's dated a few men over the years, but none of them stayed around for very long. She's never said, but I think she just didn't want to get hurt again."

"You're talking about when your dad walked out."

"Yeah."

"Speaking of your father, I'm assuming I'm going to meet him this trip?"

"Apparently, you are, although it wasn't my idea."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't going to make any extra effort, but Mum believes he has the right to meet you before the rest of the family, so she texted me this morning to tell me she invited him over for dinner tonight."

When Toni didn't respond, Laura looked over, and seeing that she had paled by at least one shade, Laura reached over and squeezed her knee. "It'll be okay, Toni. If you get uncomfortable, I'll ask him to leave."

"It's not him I'm worried about."

"No?"

"I just realized that I've been so wrapped up in worrying about meeting your family, I totally forgot the fact that even if they don't have an issue with me...they may have an issue with us."

Standing in front of the mirror, she moved a few errant strands of hair off her forehead and chuckled at her reflection. A quick shower had erased the scent of sex, but it had done little to erase her rosy cheeks, and it had absolutely no effect on the smile gracing her face.

When they had left the pub, Eleanor's first thought had been to find a quiet restaurant where they could enjoy a meal while she spoke of Toni Vaughn, but as they looked up and down the street, a thought came into her head...and out of her mouth.

An hour later, they returned to her house, and over plates filled with Italian take-away, Eleanor explained the enigma who was now their daughter's fiancee. At first, hearing that the woman had spent time in prison, the hairs on William's neck stood on end. Clenching his fists, it was all he could do to control his temper, and seeing his green eyes darken, just as Laura's did whenever she got angry, Eleanor reached over and squeezed his hand. In a voice soft and filled with love, she began to tell him all she knew about the woman who held their daughter's heart in her hand.

There was no one William trusted more than Eleanor, and over the next hour or so as she spoke of the damaged woman who loved his daughter, he felt his heart begin to open. Eleanor talked of the woman's strengths and frailties, of her intelligence and humor, but most of all she spoke of Toni's love for Laura. By the time their bellies were filled and their wineglasses were empty, William and Eleanor were in agreement. Their daughter had fallen in love with an amazing woman.

After dinner, banished from the kitchen while Eleanor made some coffee, Bill returned to the lounge and looked at the photographs around the room. Walking to the mantle, he touched the silver frame which held a picture of a baby wrapped in a blanket, and his eyes filled with tears. He had missed so much.

For three decades, he had sailed the seas, feeling the sun on his skin and the taste of salt in his mouth. It was the life he had chosen, but as the years slipped by, he realized he had chosen poorly. He had brought women to his bed when the need was great, but they had never heated his blood with just a look, nor made him groan with satisfaction from just one kiss.

Sniffling back a tear, he turned as Eleanor walked into the room, and gazing at one another, both lost the ability to speak. It had been years since they had been alone. Years since they could talk without family or friends getting in the way and up until now, it was what they both wanted. Divorce may have ended their marriage, but nothing could erase their love.

With her hair shimmering in the softly lit room, Eleanor looked as she did so many years before. Feeling his body react to the beauty of the woman he loved, William held his breath and tried to memorize the moment.

Outside the cottage, winds whipped and temperatures continued to fall, but inside the house, it was warm and still. The tick-tock of the clock on the mantle seemed to slow as Eleanor gazed at the man she loved. Silently admonishing herself for the pangs of want settling in her core, she tried to find her voice, but it was gone. Swept away by the desire she saw in his eyes and the scent of his cologne in the air, Eleanor could do nothing but return his look, and when he took a half-step toward her, her breath caught in her throat.

"Ellie..." he said, stopping abruptly when his voice cracked like a schoolboy's. Clearing his throat, he started again. "Look, Ellie, I know that I made...I made a tremendous mistake by walking away from you and Laura, but I want you to know...no...I need you to know that I've never, ever stopped loving you both. I know you'll never forgive me for what I did back then, and...um...I can't ask you to, but if there's a chance, any chance at all that you and I...that we...oh, damn it all to hell," Bill growled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

Eleanor's heart was racing and her palms were sweaty, but a smile was lurking just below the surface. Standing her ground, she refused to move until he said the words she needed to hear...even if it took all night.

Annoyed at his boyish fumbling, Bill wrinkled his brow. "You could help me out here, you know?"

"Not on your life," Eleanor said softly, allowing the corners of her mouth to move upwards just a tad.

Rubbing his chin, Bill stared at her for a moment before the words finally tumbled out. "Damn it, Ellie, I love you. I always have and I always will, and I've been a fucking bloody fool! I know I wasted a hell of a lot of years traipsing all over this world looking for something I thought I wanted, but I forgot to look here," he said, tapping his finger against his chest. "I forgot to look in my heart. I forgot that it only beats when I'm around you. I forgot that waking up beside you is the only way I want my day to start, and falling asleep in your arms is the only way I want it to end. I forgot how I loved to watch you wear my clothes after a night...after a night that turned into a day, and how we used to eat burnt dinners because...because we hungered for something else. Eleanor, I know that I've made mistakes. God knows I've made mistakes, but I don't want to make any more. I love you, Ellie, and I will until the day I die."

No longer able to hide her smile, Eleanor glanced at the clock on the mantle. "I expect them tomorrow around six." Seeing the confused look on William's face, she walked over and gazed into the green eyes that held her soul. "I know we're older, and one of us is apparently much wiser, but I fear unless we set an alarm, we may very well give our daughter more of an education than I think she needs."

Tears sprung to his eyes, and within seconds, they were in each other's arms. At first, their lips touched in slow, short kisses filled with uncertainty, but when Eleanor began to taste what she never thought she'd taste again, she deepened the kiss, and William answered in kind. She sighed at the solidness of his form as he held her tightly, and when his hands cupped her arse, pressing her even harder against his body, she smiled into the kiss.

Neither noticed the time as it ticked slowly by, for lost in the emotion called love, they stood in the lounge and kissed and kissed...and kissed some more. Finally, they parted, and no words were spoken as Eleanor led him to the bedroom. After lighting a few candles, she turned to the man she loved. "Say it again."

"I love you."