Authors note; this is from Ian's perspective... and Hannah's. Let me know what you think. if there is a particular situation you'd like to see let me know in your review. Thanks for reading

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Ian loved the sensation of holding her. It had been years since he'd allowed himself to think about it, but his favourite thing in the world was the feel of Roz draped all over him - naked. Right at that moment she slept along his right side, plastered to his body, her leg between his, her head on his shoulder. He inhaled deeply, memorising the scent of her hair. He was completely happy, blissed out in fact. Although a nervous feeling lay heavily in his gut. He was going to do it. Today. Now. He was going to propose to Roz.

There was nothing he wanted more than for her to be his wife. It was the perfect day for it too, it was her birthday. Their birthdays were only three weeks apart, a coincidence of fate perhaps. He smiled as she moved slightly, stretching before her dark eyelashes fluttered and then parted to reveal the most remarkable eyes he'd ever seen. As blue as the ocean, arresting and downright unforgettable. She moved him in ways which should be illegal.

Ian smiled at her and his heart skipped a beat when she returned it with a sleepy smile. Her lips were innately kissable, full and defined, they were perfect. With his arm around her shoulders, he slowly lifted her until their lips met in blissful sweetness.

"Good morning." He murmured. The velvet smoothness of her skin was like a drug to him.

Roz returned his kiss with an expertise which left him breathless. His experience with other women had never come close to this. No one had ever made him feel this way. With Roz there was this insane desire to become one with her in every way possible. He wanted to breathe her in, taste and touch every part of her. The sound of her pleasure gave him a darkly addictive twist of excitement which often drove him on to find ways to truly blow her mind.

He left her briefly to make coffee and a small tray of her favourite fruit. Roz never ate a full breakfast. Clad in only a thin nightgown she stood by the floor to ceiling window admiring the view. The early morning sunlight was bright and it left nothing to the imagination which made Ian smile wolfishly.

Roz chuckled at his expression and then her own softened as she took in the tray with the early morning offerings alongside a hastily picked yellow rose from the garden. Ian spoiled her and she loved it.

"Happy birthday, beautiful." He said, as he placed the tray on the small table beside the window and took her hands in his. With deft tug he pulled her into his arms and was rewarded with a sultry laugh. Her voice did indecent things to his body, it always had.

"Thank you." She whispered, kissing him slowly, as if she were savouring the moment.

"Marry me." He said without any warning.

Roz blinked at him, her lips parting in shock.

Fuuuck, she was just so goddamn perfect - so beautiful. Ian's heart raced as he waited for her answer.

"You don't have to do this." She said after a moment's hesitation.

That wasn't the answer he'd been looking for.

Roz pulled away from him slightly, her face serious. "We're together, we're happy, we don't have to be married."

Ian cupped her face. "I want to marry you, more than anything."

Roz stared at him, her expression pensive. "What we have is so much more than marriage. Trust me. I've done marriage and it isn't what you think it is."

Ian shook his head. "I have no idea what marriage is supposed to be or mean, I just know that I want you to be my wife. I love you Roz and I want us to belong to each other in every way humanly possible."

She bit her lower lip and then smiled at him, her eyes warm. She was unbelievably touched. Ian watched her, his heart in his eyes. He was sick with the thought of her refusing him. He needed this, for Roz to belong to him in every way imaginable.

Moments passed, which felt as long as hours. Ian didn't move or pull away from her, holding her like his anchor. She was what grounded him, she always had been. He knew her so well, he could see the thoughts and emotions play out in her expressive gaze.

She looked terrified. And then, like a wave washing away debris on a beach, the fear was gone and in its place was serenity. He wondered briefly what had brought about that change, but then, it didn't matter.

"Yes." She said simply. "I'll marry you."

Ian grinned at her as she slid her arms around his neck. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

Ian kissed her, deeply, his happiness too overwhelming for mere words.

He dropped to one knee before her and took out the ring he'd bought for her seven years ago, soon after they'd first begun their illicit affair. When he'd been a stupid teenager desperately in love with his best friends mother. But he'd never found the right time to give it to her. The time hadn't been right and then it had been too late.

He'd always kept it with him, even after Roz had sent him away five years ago. Hannah had even thought it was for her at one time, when she'd found it while packing away laundry. He'd sidestepped the issue and made excuses at the time, anything to deflect her interest in the ring. He couldn't have given it to her anyway, because it had always belonged to Roz.

It was platinum, simple and yet costly, with a single, large uncut sapphire in the center. He'd worked all summer to afford it. No other ring would do for the woman he loved, because it was the colour of her eyes.

Roz looked down at him, her face raw with emotion. These emotions were written across her face plainly for him to see.

He took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger. It fitted exactly.

Ian's heart actually summersulted, he was ecstatic.

"If you marry me, I'll make you the happiest woman in the universe." He vowed, kissing her finger and the ring reverently.

"I already am." Roz said softly and there were tears in her eyes.

Ian quickly got up and walked her backwards towards the bed. Their lips met and time ceased to exist. The addictive sensation of wanting took over and there was just them.

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Hannah hated this situation. She hated Ian for what he'd done to them. Why had he done it? She still didn't understand.

Roz was undoubtedly a beautiful woman, but Hannah still couldn't get over the fact that Ian had known her his entire life. It was so wrong it bordered on incest.

Although she would never admit it, she found Roz intimidating. There was a regal self assurance about the older woman which made Hannah feel gauche and young in a stupid, unbecoming way.

Today was a pivotal moment. The first time that Hannah would take their daughter to stay with her father since they'd split up. Ian had of course been to see his child, always alone and presentable. Hannah had made it plain that she wanted him back, but Ian ignored this and her less than subtle overtures. She didn't dare ask about Roz. Since the dreadful night when Ian had revealed the disgusting and shameful truth about his relationship with his mothers best friend, Hannah had not spoken her name nor asked about her in any way.

Ian had of course moved back home and Hannah was more than a little hesitant to take their daughter there. But it was not something she could avoid forever, no matter how much she wished she could.

The scenery stole her breath as she drove down the winding road towards the beach house. It looked the same, although everything had changed since she'd last been there.

Ian walked towards the car as Hannah parked, but he came from the direction of Roz's house. Hannah felt irrational anger threaten to choke her. Where had he just come from?

Sophie jumped up and down in her seat as she saw her father. "Daddy!" She cried, her face pressed up against the glass.

Hannah sighed and drew in a deep, fortifying breath. She could do this.

Ian pulled open the door and unclipped the seat belt, releasing a wildly excited Sophie into his arms. He laughed and kissed her all over her face. He was a devoted father and she knew he would never let any harm come to their daughter.

Hannah got out hesitantly, not really knowing what to say. This was so unbearably awkward.

"I'll drop her off on Sunday." Ian told her with a small smile.

She nodded, tongue tied.

"Do you want to come up?" Ian asked, gesturing to the house.

She couldn't help herself. "Why are you there?"

Ian squinted against the light, he looked undecided.

"It's Roz's birthday." He told her.

Of course they were all one big happy incestuous family again, Hannah thought scathingly. She had an urge to take her child and run.

Curiosity got the best of her. "Yes, I'll come up."

Hannah realised that she'd not once asked Ian what his relationship now was with Roz. Were they together?

She felt sick to her stomach but forced herself to follow as Ian led the way towards the house where Hannah had discovered the true reason Ian had always been so distant from her. That memory had overshadowed everything.

Hannah was an innocent woman, the kind to go through life meekly doing what she thought she ought to. She'd always been much less experienced than Ian in many aspects of life. Particularly in bed. This had never bothered her until she'd learned where he had acquired that expertise. Imagining Roz and Ian together made her feel a jealousy like she never had before in her life.

Ian placed Sophie on the ground and laughed as she raced ahead to the house. She flung open the door and disappeared inside. There was a squeal of joy as she ran straight into her grandmother, in Roz's kitchen. Ian followed closely and Hannah far more hesitantly.

Roz was there with Lil and Tom. They all looked very relaxed. Hannah greeted the room at large, deliberately not using their individual names. They greeted her in return. Sophie sat on Lil's hip already holding an ice lolly.

Roz lifted her glass and took a long sip, cradling her glass like a talisman against evil. Hannah was struck again by how lovely she was. Her hair had recently been cut and styled and she looked chic and very poised. She was wearing a short dress which showcased her slender body to perfection.

"I should be going." Hannah said, needing to escape. Now that she was here she couldn't think why she had wanted to.

Hannah took one last look at Roz and froze, her gaze riveted on the ring, on the third finger of her left hand. It was the ring. The one Ian had carried around for years.

Why had he given it to her?

"Why is she wearing your ring?" Hannah said in a choked whisper.

Ian shifted his weight from on foot to another and crossed his ankles nonchalantly. "Because it was always meant for her." Ian said blandly.

As if on cue, Lil and Tom quietly excused themselves and left the kitchen, taking Sophie with them. Roz stayed, which was significant.

"I'm not trying to hurt you." Ian continued. "But I think you need to know the truth."

Hannah lifted her chin and gripped her car keys tightly, anger was her only defense.

"I've asked Roz to marry me and she said yes." Ian said with unmistakable happiness in his voice.

Hannah stared at him as if he'd lost his mind.

Roz said nothing, wisely staying out of it while still being supportive to Ian.

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous this is?" Hannah said harshly, her heart in tatters. Ian had never asked her to marry him. The ring she'd presumed was for her at one point had actually been for Roz. Bile rose in her throat until she thought she'd choke on it.

Ian and Roz exchanged a glance which was familiar and absurdly intimate. They were communicating about her, she just knew it.

Hannah was overcome with jealousy.

"What you think, doesn't really matter." Ian told her firmly. "We're happy."

"Im taking my daughter home with me! I won't leave her here with you! You're both sick!" Hannah spluttered.

"No, you're not going to take Sophie." Ian said calmly. "I'll get a court order if I have to, Hannah. We aren't doing anything wrong. Our relationship doesn't break any laws."

Hannah blinked rapidly to stop the tears from falling. He was right, they were doing nothing illegal, although morally it was all kinds of wrong.

"We thought it best not to hide any of this from you." Roz said at last, her somewhat husky voice calm and sensual.

Hannah felt like a fool.

"I'm going to go." Hannah said stiffly, trying desperately to hold herself together.

She walked out blindly, not bothering to say goodbye as she started the car and reversed.

In her rear view mirror she saw them standing on the wrap around verandah. Ian stood to one side with his hands in his pockets watching her leave. Roz walked up to him and slid her arms around his waist, her head on his shoulder. Their casual intimacy made her feel even worse.

Hannah had seen enough. The wheels spun as she accelerated far too fast.

She had to get away from them. Her heart was broken. She knew now that she'd lost Ian for good. Any hope of getting him back was obliterated by the sight of him and Roz.

They were getting married.

Hannah sobbed, tears rushing down her face freely.

It was all over.

It had to be.