He walked through the darkened offices of Mode and saw her. Hers was the only desk that still had light surrounding it, like she was an angel, a beacon in the dark. The light danced in her hair and made dark curves around her cheekbone.

She was beautiful.

He couldn't stop from smiling as he walked up to her. "Working late?"

Her head whipped up and saw his curious, playful face looking back down at her. "Gio, hi," she said on a smile. Glancing back down at the paperwork in front of her, she said, "I was just about to leave actually."

With his keys in his hand, he pointed towards the exit as he asked, "Need a ride?"

"Yeah, that would be great." Her forehead wrinkled. "How did you know I was here?"

A strand of hair fell over his forehead as he said, "Hilda gave me a call. She was worried about you taking the subway home this late." He was the one Hilda called now. Henry was gone. He was there.

She looked away and smiled. "She thinks birth order gives her a right to mother me."

Putting his hand on the back of her chair and leaning slightly forward, he said, "Are you trying to tell me you don't do the same thing for her?"

She laughed. "I guess I do."

He tried to hide how much he enjoyed hearing her laugh. In an even thicker voice than usual, he said, "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded. When she stood up, she did not expect to be standing so close to him. They both smiled nervously, and she assumed that he would step back. But he didn't.

The darkness enveloped around them as the light at her desk gave them a spotlight as if they were the only two people in the world. The building was so still that they only heard each other breathing. Betty felt the impulse to say something, but the look in Gio's eyes and the smile on his lips stopped her. She waited to see what he would do.

He raised his hand to her hair and brushed strands away from her face until no hair was left and he was stroking her cheek. He watched her sharp intake of breath when he touched her and his eyes hazed warmly. His thumb slid down to the corner of her mouth. Just before his thumb touched her lip, he leaned in and kissed her softly.

He let his lips rest on hers for a moment as he waited to see how she would respond. To his relief, he felt her lips press back. He gave a soft cry of joy. His hand slid from her cheek to the back of her neck as he pulled her closer.

She let out a breath that she had been holding. Hesitantly, she kissed him back, but as she could tell that he wanted her to, she massaged his top lip in between hers and he did the same to her. Putting her hands on his chest, she could feel the soft leather underneath her fingertips.

His fingers played with her hair as he boldly slipped his tongue between her lips. He could feel her tense in surprise, so he licked at her lips, enticingly teasing her and coaxing her out of her shyness. When he felt her body lean into his, when he heard her moan, he slid his tongue into her mouth. They fought back and forth, lip to lip, tongue to tongue, fighting over who would taste more of the other. They fought as they always did, but this time it was physically, sexually, emotionally. It was everything. All of the months of tension, want, desire, and curiosity erupted into this one perfect moment. There was no one in the way. Not Henry or Hilda, Antonella or Daniel or anyone else. It was just him and her. Betty and Gio. For the first time since they had met, they were alone. Together.

Betty's hand reached up and held the back of his head, bringing him closer to her. Their bodies came closer until her hips rested in his.

Flinching as he realized how quickly the kiss was turning into something more, he pulled back and got some air. He rested his forehead on hers and put his hands on either side of her neck. He laughed softly, closing his eyes. He could hear her laughing as well and felt relieved. "That was…" he started to say but trailed off.

Sarcastically she asked, "You aren't going to be a smart ass now are you?"

He smiled and looked into her eyes. "I was going to say that it was better than my fantasy."

She blushed and looked down. "Oh."

He kissed her on the forehead and rubbed her arm. "Are you ready to go?"

She desperately wanted to tell him no. She wanted the rest of the night to be about only him and her. But she saw the danger in that just as he had. "Okay." She picked up her purse and started to walk out with him. "I'm getting free sandwiches from now on, right?"

He looked at her, surprised by her humor. Putting his hand on her back as he guided her towards the elevators, he said, "I think we can work something out."

the end…