There were a hundred different things Gillian wanted to say – about the case, and about their little undercover meeting. Mainly about the fact that Cal had slipped a diamond solitaire on her finger over an hour ago and had yet to utter a single word about it, even though they were alone again in the small confines of his car. But as they sat there, speeding through late morning traffic on the way back to the Group and avoiding the obvious, the words that actually came out of her mouth took them both by surprise.

"Where'd you get that ring, Cal?"

She sounded accusatory and acidic, and she winced at the tone of her own voice, wishing she could bite back the words and swap them for something milder. Because it wasn't as if Cal had done anything wrong. He hadn't. Aside from being sneaky with the details and dropping the whole porn angle on her at the last possible second, no harm had been done.

And she wasn't angry. Far from it, actually. She was just confused.

After ten years with Cal, Gillian had learned to expect the unexpected, but this? This wasn't even in the same realm as "unexpected," and he knew it.

'Ever think about getting married again, love?' What the hell was that, anyway? It was… presumptuous. Something about the way he asked that question had sent chills up her spine and left her hands trembling. Because she knew he was looking for something in her answer. Weighing something. Judging it. And she had no idea what "it" was.

She had no idea what he wanted. He'd left her completely in the dark.

Cal gave a sputtered cough; he white knuckled the steering wheel with one hand and wiped his brow with the other. Was he sweating? She couldn't tell for sure; but if his reaction was anything to go by, then that ring was definitely a point of contention.

"You're still wearing it, you know."

She was? Gillian blinked and raised her left hand in front of her face, as if she doubted him. But there it was, sparkling up at her proudly. Her mouth ran dry at the sight of it, and suddenly all the comments that had been swirling through her mind a few minutes earlier were gone, leaving her with absolutely no idea what to say in reply.

He hadn't proposed – that much had been clear. But there was something behind all of this; something in his eyes when he'd slipped that ring on her hand that Gillian had not missed. And so she was left feeling in limbo, of sorts. Taking it off and handing it back to him seemed a bit cruel. Keeping it seemed worse, since she knew it wasn't real.

The sentiment, that is. Not the ring. The ring was definitely real.

It was stunning.

Damn him, anyway.

"I'll take your silence as a bit of a life preserver then, and assume you're not about to kill me."

Gillian rolled her eyes, but her head was turned away from him and she knew Cal hadn't seen it. A beat later, when she finally chanced a glance at him, he was pale. Pale, and yes – definitely sweating. He looked… adorably nervous. More so than she'd ever seen him.

And so, she cracked. The tiniest little smile began to tug at her mouth… starting off as a stubborn pout that shifted into a grin without her permission. At a stoplight, Cal turned toward her and saw it instantly. And as soon as he did, he let out an audible sigh of relief at the realization that she was not about to throttle him. He was safe.

He'd gone from adorably nervous to adorably relieved in two seconds, flat. Impressive.

"Yeah, well… you have good taste in jewelry," she said, once the car started to move forward again. "I'll just leave it at that, alright?"

Cal grinned, and a split second later he stole another glance in her direction. "Can I make a suggestion, then?"

She sighed lightly. "Of course you can."

"If you're still serious about keeping our relationship a secret, then you might want to take that ring off sooner, rather than later. Prying eyes, and all that. Trust me love, if you take one step through the front door on my arm and wearing my ring, the reaction will be louder than when we told Emily we'd finally taken things past platonic."

Gillian giggled; he made an excellent point. "That loud, huh?"

He nodded. "That loud."

"Emily squealed, remember?" she asked rhetorically. "She squealed, and shrieked, and jumped up and down, as I recall. And then she launched herself at both of us in a full blown bear hug and with enough force that she nearly knocked us over. You really think our staff will…"

Cal cut her off with one raised hand and a wide smile. "There are bets, Gillian," he said simply, as if it required no explanation. "Lots and lots of bets. Trust me – someone stands to win a lot of money the moment our new arrangement becomes public knowledge."

A silent beat passed as she weighed his words and decided which to focus on first: the idea that their employees were gambling on the state of her sex life, or the fact that Cal had referred to it as a "new arrangement." Interesting word choice, but then again, he didn't have many options. Their relationship didn't exactly fit traditional parameters. It never had.

"I notice you didn't say shagging this time," she offered. "Well played."

Cal gave a nervous laugh, but he didn't risk taking his eyes off the road for longer than a second. His right hand sought Gillian's left, and when he found it, he fingered the band she still wore. It was such an unfamiliar feeling. "Yeah, well, you've got my ring," he offered. "Didn't want to annoy you and risk it being used as a weapon. It's a bloody big diamond, Gill. You could do some serious damage, if you were so inclined."

Gillian hadn't spoken for several minutes. Not a word, not a syllable… nothing. And as Cal guided the car into the Lightman Group lot, the silence had begun to make him feel uneasy. It was unlike her. Normally, Gillian was the one in her element when it came to the emotional stuff, and he was the one relying on silent communication and body language. Somewhere along the line, they'd swapped. Possibly in the elevator; possibly the moment he'd put that ring on her finger. Maybe it really was too much, too soon. After all, if she wasn't ready to go public with their relationship yet, upping the ante with an undercover marriage and a hefty ring was probably more pressure than either of them needed.

Hindsight really was twenty-twenty. He felt like a jackass.

By the time he killed the engine and unclasped his seatbelt, he was ready to apologize for backing her into a corner. And he got as far as, "Listen, Gillian…" before she slid the jewelry off her finger and pressed it into his palm with a quiet sigh.

Her hand folded around his and she blinked at him – not out of sadness or regret, but rather a calm, quiet resolve. He knew that look well. It was the same one she wore on their very first night together, when she'd taken his hand and led him up the stairs to her bedroom. Baby steps, she'd told him. And then she'd said that there was no need for fear, because she knew they'd always take them together.

Just like now.

The look on her face matched the expression she'd worn that night so perfectly that Cal knew exactly what she was trying to say. He read it, and she let him. She welcomed it.

She didn't need to form the words.

Gillian shifted forward a bit – the side of her knee digging into the edge of the center console as she moved – and it occurred to Cal that they were sitting in full view of the lobby. Anyone on their payroll could probably see them, and would no doubt understand that something was up. That something was different. Their body language alone practically gave the game away. And he was just about to voice that to her when she leaned forward and kissed him softly.

Her lips landed squarely on his – just long enough for him to feel the heat from skin – and then she pulled away. She cupped his cheek in her hand and brushed the pad of her thumb along his jaw, and then she smiled. "It's a beautiful ring, Cal."

Five short words, but they spoke volumes.

He blinked and nodded at her, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he searched for an appropriate reply. Something meaningful, that could tie up their conversation in a neat little package – or at least put it on "pause" until they could be sure prying eyes weren't watching their every move. Something that would tell Gillian that they were still on the same page. Still solid. No pressure, no worries.

Baby steps, taken together, just as she'd said that first night.

"Truth?" he asked.

Gillian didn't hesitate. "Always," she answered. "Always truth."

Cal swallowed, and then fished around in his pocket for the small velvet pouch that had held the ring. As he slipped it back inside, he could felt the weight of her gaze on him – studying him. Analyzing. With anyone else, he would have felt vulnerable. But since it was Gillian, he didn't. He felt safe. Confident.

Peaceful.

"It was my mum's ring."

Of all the things Gillian had expected to hear, those five words were not on the list. That much was instantly clear. Her face had gone pale, and her mouth dropped open a bit. She was completely stunned.

For a moment, Cal felt the need to ramble. To fill the suddenly overwhelming silence with something. Anything. So long as it was conversation.

But he didn't get far. Her mouth was on his a second later… desperate and determined. She moved frantically, stroking her tongue against his as her hands rose up to frame his face. Her arms soon wound around his neck and she pulled, bringing his body as close to hers as possible without actually climbing over the console and into his lap. Not that he would've minded, of course.

He wouldn't have minded at all.

Moments later – when the nagging hand of reality began to creep in and shake him from his distraction – Cal became hyper aware of their situation. He pulled his lips away from Gillian's on a groan, then rested his forehead against hers as they both slowed their breathing.

"So much for privacy, yeah?" he joked. He cocked his head toward the front window, in the direction of the small group of people that were staring at them from inside the lobby.

All bets were off, indeed.

Gillian laughed then, loud and long. And then for good measure, she leaned in pecked his lips again. "Screw the privacy, Cal. This is much more fun."

A/N: More to come, but it's wrapping up soon. Most likely 3 chapters, max. Thanks for reading / reviewing - I appreciate it more than you know. :)