Anna's cottage, Sussex

"What would you say if I asked your daughter out?" Jack asked Roger. The two friends were sitting on the veranda that same night, just before dinner; Roger reading a novel and Jack strumming his guitar. He had been working up the nerve to broach the subject for the last two hours.

"I wouldn't say anything; I'd kill you," Roger replied, not taking his eyes of his book.

Jack picked a few more notes before putting the guitar down. He got up and went to the icebox to grab a couple of beers, then went back to his hammock, handing one to Roger.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Roger said, finally shutting his book and putting it down next to his chair.

"Pretty much."

"And might I assume that you're referring to Blake?" Roger asked, even though he was fairly certain of the answer.

"Of course. I've known Jess since she was a girl. I'm not a pervert!" Jack cried, looking offended.

"You let me decide who's a pervert around here, alright? I've seen the way you've been staring at my daughter for the last few weeks. I just never thought that you would be suicidal enough to actually go after her."

Roger's voice was low but Jack could feel his anger smoldering under the surface. He felt his own temper rising and took a deep breath; now was not the time to antagonize his friend.

"Would it be so bad if Blake and I dated?"

"It sure would! You're about twice her age!"

Jack could not help but scoff. "No offense, buddy, but I'm not your contemporary. I'm thirty-six. A twelve-year age difference is not unheard of, and Blake is very mature."

"Whereas you're definitely not."

Jack's first impulse was to throw beer in Roger's face, but, reflecting that it would prove his friend's point about his lack of maturity, he abstained from doing so.

"I really like her, Roger," he simply said instead. "For the first time in my life, I really feel like I've met someone that I could build something with."

Roger shook his head, even if deep inside he had to admit that Jack seemed to be in earnest.

"You're going to break her heart; I can't have that."

"Do you think that I would risk losing your friendship? I can't promise that it's going to work out, but I can promise that I will treat her right."

Roger sighed and grabbed his head. Before he could answer, Holly popped her head from inside the house.

"Dinner is ready, you two!"

She immediately caught on the tension between the two men, and looked questioningly at Roger. The latter only shook his head as if to say that he would feel her in later.

Later that night, Holly was making her way from the bathroom to her bedroom when she found Roger standing in the corridor, in front of Blake's room.

"What are you doing?" she asked, even though she had a pretty good idea already. Roger had filled her in about his conversation with Jack immediately after dinner.

"Standing guard," Roger replied without really meeting her gaze.

Holly rolled her eyes and dragged him back into their room. She sat him on the bed and straddled him so that he would not be tempted to go back out.

"Sweetie, I don't understand why you're so set against Blake and Jack seeing each other. There is nothing much that you can do about it anyway; Blake is a grown woman who can make her own decisions," she said to Roger as she caressed his hair.

"But he's so much older than she is! He could be her grandfather!" Roger exclaimed grumpily.

"Stop exaggerating, will you? He's what, eleven, twelve years older than she is? It's not ideal, but it's not dramatic either. If he really cares for her, then it doesn't make any difference at all!"

"You don't know Jack like I do! He's not the type to fall in love and settle down. He's been with more women that I can count while we were with the agency."

"Oh, you mean around the time when you were doing exactly the same thing?" Holly asked with a raised eyebrow.

Roger opened his mouth then closed it again. Whenever they were arguing, his wife had the knack to point out the flaw in his reasoning. It drove him crazy, and yet he could not help admiring her for it.

"Fine! I guess it's possible that he could really have feelings for her."

"And she for him! When she came to Finland after breaking up with Dylan, she was seriously starting to wonder if she ever was going to genuinely fall in love with a man. I can see in her eyes now that it is happening, and I'm glad for her."

Roger looked at his wife dubiously. He still found it hard to reconcile himself with the situation. "What if he hurts her?"

Holly rolled her eyes and bent over her husband to kiss him lightly on the lips. "We don't have any control over that. People hurt each other, even when they love each other to death. From what you told me about him, however, it doesn't seem like he would do it on purpose."

"I guess."

"And who knows, maybe Blake is the one who will tire of him first. She hasn't exactly been a model of constancy when it comes to men, has she?"

"She could change."

"So could Jack! So there."

Roger rose in hands in surrender and laughed. "Alright! I give up! Come here, you," he said as he pulled her closer. "I just want the best for all of my women; that's all."

"And I love you for that. Don't worry about it, okay? Jack is your best friend and a very decent man; you've told me yourself how much you esteem him. Now it turns out that he has feelings for our daughter; don't you think it's wonderful?"

"I don't, but I'll try to get use to the idea, I promise."

Holly sighed inwardly but was not overly worried. She knew that in time, not only would Roger get used to the idea, but he would love the fact that Jack was in his daughter's life. If the relationship lasted, of course, but somehow she had a good feeling about that part.

She bent over him and kissed him a little more deeply than the first time. In response, Roger grabbed the small of her back and pulled her hips against his lap.

"I'll try to get used to it," Roger repeated between kisses, "but you can't force me to be a witness to their little romance."

Holly backed her head in surprise. "You're not going to ask them to leave, are you?"

Roger grinned and Holly could see a mischievous spark in his eyes. "I wouldn't dream of it; besides, Anna invited them here, I didn't."

"Then what do you mean?" Holly replied, more and more puzzled.

"I mean that it's high time that you and I picked up our honeymoon where we left off." He pulled her back to him and buried his face right between her breasts, inhaling deeply. "It's been nice to spend a few weeks with the kids, but I want to be alone with you now."

"I see," Holly replied with a seductive smile. "We could leave tomorrow if you want; the rest of them will all be going back to the States in a few days anyway." She ran her hands down his back and tried to pull his shirt off, but he stopped her.

"I have a better idea. Why don't we just take off right now? We just pack our bags, take the car and go straight to the airport!" he said excitedly.

Holly gazed at his face for a few seconds. "Are you serious? To go where?"

"Wherever we want! We can catch the next available flight to whatever destination looks appealing to us. What do you say?"

They stared at each other before bursting into laughter. "I say yes! Of course!" Holly finally answered. She pushed him gently on the bed and leaned over him for another kiss.

"I love you," she whispered afterwards.

"And I love you too, more than ever. I've been meaning to say this for some time, but I'm glad that this whole thing with Paul happened. It made me know you better, and I feel closer to you now that I did before we started on this trip."

"I feel the same," Holly said, welling up. She was proud of the way they had handle all of those feelings that sometimes come with being in love: anger, jealousy, lack of trust. Their relationship had been tested, and she knew that it was now even stronger than when they had said their vows a few months ago.

"Should we wake up the kids to say goodbye?" she finally asked, resting on top of him.

"We'll call them tomorrow from wherever we landed," Roger answered with a grin. He took her by the waist and rolled her under him. "There's one last thing that I have to do before leaving here, though," he murmured while running a hand up her thigh.

"Really, what's that?" Holly said playfully while undoing his belt.

"I really have to take you out of this lovely little dress and I have to cover every inch of your body with kisses," he said, unzipping her dress as he spoke. "And then, when you can't stand it anymore, I will take you and make you come until you beg for mercy."

Holly felt her heat race and bit her bottom lip. "Sounds like a plan."