'Mommy!'

Kimberly's face blossomed with delight when she heard her little one rushing through the house.

'My princess, I've missed you so much!' Kimberly says, hugging and kissing Sophie many times.

'She couldn't wait to see you again.' Her mom commented, dropping Sophie's bags on the floor.

'Mom, thank you so much. I know she had fun.'

'Yes, she did. And before we left, we went shopping.'

Kimberly smiled.

'Mom, don't turn Sophie into a shoecrazy like you.'

'Ha! I didn't have to turn her… she is already a shopaholic.'

'Well, guess I'll use your credit card to keep up with her new addiction.'

'Mommy, look at my shoes!'

'They do look great, sweetheart.' Kimberly smiled, while she poured pasta into boiling water.

'It matches my blue dress. I'll get it and show you.'

Kimberly grinned and winked at her mom.

'Well, well…' Her mom took a long breath. 'These days were certainly fun.'

Kimberly tried to make herself busy because she knew what was coming next.

'Hum. I bet.'

Her mom came closer and to face her.

'What about our friend?'

Kimberly gasped and looked down, smiling.

'Yes! I knew it!'

Her mom might be a little bit nosy sometimes, Kimberly considered. But she was also very loving. She wanted her daughter to be happy as much as Kim wanted Sophie to be happy.'

'Are you together?' She asked in a whisper.

'I guess. It's a bit complicated.'

'Why is that?'

'Mom, he doesn't live here and he has a family, a son.'

'Well, if things were great in bed, I'm sure you'll work it out.'

Kimberly almost let her cloth fall on the floor.

'Mother!'

'What?' Her mom asked, distractedly munching some almonds.

She couldn't contend her smile, though. It was funny. Margie had always be conservative and a little uptight for her taste. But Kimberly led a very monotonous and solitary life and that also bothered her mom. She wanted her to be with someone nice that loved her. Tommy Oliver was the kind of guy that no one should let go.

Kimberly didn't want to let him go again, she knew that. It had been very difficult to say goodbye to him in the morning. The second night spent with him was even better than the first one. He had been so gentle and sweet with her. She remembered falling asleep in his arms while he played with her hair and held her tight. He was adorable. She shook her thoughts so that her mom didn't notice how deeply she had already fallen.

'He's coming to dinner.' Kimberly shot, while she stirred her pasta sauce on the pan.

Her mom gasped with excitement.

'Who is coming?' Sophie's curious eyes watched her. Kimberly felt nervous. She didn't know how she would manage to be around Tommy and her daughter at the same time.

'Tommy. Remember him?'

'Yes. The one who looks like a prince.'

Kimberly's mother laughed loudly and that embarrassed Kim even more.

'See? She also thinks Tommy is prince charming.'

Sophie watched her and Kimberly had a feeling that she was smart enough to be able to read her. She was easy to read, her emotions had always been printed on her face.

'Will you help mommy set the table for four?'

'Five.' Sophie responded. Kimberly froze. 'What about Todd?' What a relief. She meant her stuffed frog. Stop being paranoid, Kimberly.

Sophie had set the table for three many times. She said that there should be plates for daddy, even though he wasn't there. Kimberly didn't mind, but now it would be totally inconvenient to play 'daddy will be back' games with Sophie. She had to get ready for reality little by little.

'Mommy, I'll go wash my hands and then set the table.'

'Okay, honey.'

A Sophie left her mom placed a hand on Kimberly's right shoulder.

'Kim,' she called calmly. 'It's alright.'

'I don't know, mom. We'll see. What if she never accepts it?'

'Kim, you're not in a position of being ruled by four-year-old. You are 32 now and it's about time to live your life. She'll be fine.' Margie helped her with the sauce. 'I sort of started introducing him to her, little by little.'

Kimberly's eyes grew wider.

'What… what did you say?'

'Nothing much. Only that you were great friends and I saw you both grow. You went to all kinds of places together and he was always at my home. I told her the truth, partially.'

'How did she react?'

'I have a feeling she is starting to understand. Give her time.'

They were interrupted by the bell.

Sophie rushed to open the door to Tommy. Kimberly heard his voice and it gave her chills.

'Hey, Sophie, how are you?'

'Good. Grandma and I went shoeshopping. You have to see my new collection.'

Tommy smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

'Hopefully you won't get me addicted in shoes.'

'Tommy, dear, I'm so glad you could make it.' Margie went to greet him, giving him a warm hug. 'Let me get your jacket.'

'Thanks.'

'How was the conference today?'

'It was alright. I worked doubled today. Thanks for asking.'

Her eyes met his and it was hard to act 'normally'. She simply wanted to kiss him and hug him for a long time. But she couldn't. Not yet in front of Sophie.

'Hey, Tommy.' She simply said, giving him a friendly hug.

'Hi, Kim. How was your day?'

'Pretty busy at the studio.' She smiled and looked back at her mom who eyed them with admiration. 'Who's hungry?' Kim asked, in an attempt to stop her blushing.

'I am.' The three of them said in chorus.

As Margie and Sophie set the table, Tommy talked to Kimberly in the kitchen. He wanted to kiss her so bad.

'I didn't see you leave this morning.' He said in low voice that caused shivers down her core.

'Well, now we're even.' She answered, smiling mischievously.

'Guess we are.' He winked, helping her to put the sauce in a large plate.

Kimberly looked at Sophie and her mom and both of them seemed entertained to set the table. Margie was taking her time, too, she thought. She had changed the plate mats at least twice. She was deliberately playing a game with Sophie in order to distract her.

'I was thinking.' Tommy said. 'I want to bring my son to spend some time in Chicago. We got have family here.'

'Really? That would be great.'

'I'm sure Sophie and Taylor will get along pretty well.'

Kimberly smiled gladly at his attempt of making things work. She really wanted to believe that everything was going to be fine, but she was still uncertain. As for Tommy, he really wanted to find a way to make it work. He woke up that morning and felt the cold sheets where she had laid on the night before. He had missed her and felt empty. She belonged close to him. He would find a way to make it work. He had to.

Tommy squeezed her hand gently and went back to the table with Kim.

'Tommy, look, we have violet plate mats!' Sophie said, excited.

'Wow, these look very pretty. I bet you picked them yourself.' Tommy responded.

'How do you know?' She asked smiling.

'Well, remember I said your mom and I have superpowers?'

Sophie giggled and sat close to her grandma. The four of them enjoyed a nice meal. Margie told funny stories of Kimberly when she was Sophie's age, what made her daughter in delight. Then she moved forward to when Tommy and Kimberly were dating, but never mentioned their relationship.

'This kid, Sophie, was not to be trusted.' Margie playfully hit Tommy's shoulder. 'Can you believe he and your mom decided to paint my garage?'

'Ha ha! I cannot believe you still haven't forgiven me for that, Margie!' Tommy commented, biting a piece of bread.

'How could I?' She said, winking.

'What color did they pick, grandma?' Sophie asked.

'Any guesses?' Margie asked Sophie, as Kimberly laughed.

'Purple!' Sophie answered excitedly.

'Yes. No wonder you are Kim's daughter.'

'But purple is beautiful!' Sophie questioned.

'I totally agree, Sophie.' Tommy spoke. 'You had to see how cool the garage looked after we painted it.'

'Except that your grandpa hates purple, Sophie.' Kimberly complemented.

'Grandpa's taste is weird. He only wears black or brown.' Sophie pointed out.

They all laughed and enjoyed the rest of their meal. Sophie and Tommy seemed to be connecting pretty quickly. But Kimberly noticed her daughter's curious eyes. The thing with Sophie was that she was very mature for her age. She was discreet and would never make any inconvenient comment unlike children from her age. Kimberly had taught her not to ask anyone curious questions, only to her mom, when no one was around. So now she knew that Sophie would probably bombard her with questions later.

Tommy and Sophie played check on the coffee table while Margie and Kimberly put away the dishes. Tommy had insisted to help but Margie told him to play with Sophie. Sophie gave him a beautiful inviting smile. She was as social as Kimberly and loved to make new friends, he thought.

Margie came close to Kim and smiled as if she was telling her to calm down, everything was fine. Kimberly smiled back, thankfully, at her mom, who seemed to care so much. She observed Tommy and Sophie laughing and cheering as she scored points. She couldn't help but smile.

Margie told Sophie it was time for bed, saying she was tired and had a long day. Sophie protested at first but decided to follow her grandma's orders when Margie promised she would take her out the next day before she left.

The house felt silent and peaceful for a second. Kimberly took a long breath and smiled at Tommy.

'Can we go outside for a while?' He asked, rubbing her hand.

'Yeah. Let's go to the backyard.'

The backyard. A safe and cozy place, one of her favorite spots in the house. Margie and Sophie wouldn't be able to see them, as Sophie's window faced the street.

Tommy pured a glass of wine for Kimberly and him and slowly walked outside with her. He smiled when he saw the daffodils and lilies that she had grown in the small garden area.

'I knew you'd still love flowers.' He commented, amazed.

'You still know a lot about me.' She responded.

'Yes…' He said as he walked towards her. 'I know you so much that I can see what you want to do now.'

Kimberly giggled.

'Not fair. It's easy to know what I want.'

'Is it?'

Was he playing with fire? She asked herself.

Kimberly took one step and slowly kissed his lips. He held her tightly and tenderly at the same time, forgetting about where they were. Their kiss was brief but full of passion. Kimberly whispered, while her forehead was glued to Tommy's.

'I missed you.'

'I missed you.'

'Tommy…' She called, while he brushed her hair with his fingers.

'Yes, Kim.'

'Since we have superpowers, can we press a button and stop time from running?'

Tommy grinned, cupping her face on his hands.

'We don't need to stop time. We shall live these amazing moments.'

Tommy felt her uneasiness.

'Kim…' He paused, took a deep breath, and cupped her face on his hands. 'Don't worry. I know what you're afraid of.'

'Do you?' She asked shyly, kissing one of his hands.

'Sure I do. We'll figure something out, okay?'

'But what if…'

'No 'what ifs', Kim. Life is full of them already. What if we had never met again?'

Her eyes shone with understanding.

'You're right.'

'We were blessed to bump into each other on the street. Do you think that was all pure coincidence?'

'What was it then?' She asked, brushing her lips on his lightly.

'You know I'm an incorrigible romantic.' He said, laughing.

'I know. And I love that about you.'

She really did. She had always been the brain, the logics, and the reality of their relationship. Especially regarding her future. She never took his feelings in consideration when she decided to leave and she still didn't forgive herself for doing that.

'So why not give this a very good try?' He suggested, kissing her and lightly licking her lower lip. Kimberly's throat couldn't stop the light moan that went out.

'Tommy, not fair…'

'I know… I wish you were in my hotel room right now. You have no idea of what I'd do to you.'

'Ha ha. You would be harmless.'

'Would I?' He said, tightening his grip.

She looked fiercely at him. What was she still doing in her backyard, hiding from her mom and daughter when they were probably sleeping? She smiled mischievously when the thought crossed her mind. Tommy seemed to get the clue and smiled back.

'You're coming with me, right?'

'Yeah, but I have to be back very early, before mom and Sophie wake up.'

Kimberly went upstairs and grabbed her purse. She opened Sophie's door carefully and found her and Margie sleeping. She smiled. She would never imagine herself doing such a thing. She decided to write her mom a quick note in case she woke up and looked for her. She knew Margie would probably sleep until at least 7 and so would Sophie.

She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote:

Mom,

You know where to find me if you need. Just call me.

Love,

Kim.

She left the note on the dining table and looked at him as he waited by the door, leaning against the wall. So hot. Her body just burned with desire as she wondered how she was going to wait at least half an hour to possess him like she wanted.

'I already got as a cab.' He said, his voice hoarse with desire as he kissed her. 'It'll be faster.' He winked.

'Good…' She whispered, as she pressed her body against him, starting to feel his arousal.

'We'd better hurry then.'

Tommy was right about how things had been totally unexpected and carefree over the last days. Kimberly had never imagined acting like a teenager, running away from home in the middle of the night to make love to her sweetheart. But the experience felt whole, fresh, and exciting.

His hands wouldn't stop browsing her body when they were on the way up to his room.

She smiled to herself as she was glad she had picked a dress to wear that night. Once they were inside, his strong arms easily lifted her up and pressed her in to the wall, while he entered her and moaned her name. Her hands pressed his head firmly, as she kissed him intently and felt his deep thrusts inside her.

Right now that's where he belonged.