A/N: Someone from the #TeamCharles group on Facebook mentioned this idea in a post and that kind of gave me an idea for this chapter. Sorry, it's been so long. Work has been busy and I have several other stories that I need to get updated as well. I don't own any of the characters.

Charles and the girls had been gone for the entire summer and Liza missed themm terribly. She had had a lot of time to think about things. She and Kelsey ended up having a long talk about everything that had happened with Josh and even about Charles proposing. Liza told her she would understand if she no longer wanted to be friends because of what had happened with Josh but Kelsey said that after what had happened in Chicago when Charles defended her after she put her boobs on her Instagram Story causing her to resign from being Publisher. Charles had left her in charge while he and the girls were gone. She had also started to become more supportive of Liza and Charles's relationship. Liza had also sat down and talked to Lauren about everything and since Lauren and Maggie were pretty much back together, she was spending quite a bit of time at the loft, which meant they would see each other a lot. Both Kelsey and Lauren agreed to keep their friendships with Liza and Josh separate. Josh hadn't spoken to or asked about Liza since she told him off at the bar for what he did to Charles. Clare had moved to LA with Gemma, so he was doing a lot of traveling back and forth.

It was Friday night and Charles was due back at any time. Enzo had a big plumbing job he was working on, so Liza and Maggie had invited Diana, Kelsey and of course Lauren for dinner. They left work and shared an Uber to Brooklyn. Liza had texted Maggie to tell her they were on their way. When they arrived, they went upstairs.

"Hey, girls!"

"Hey!"

Lauren went over and kissed Maggie.

"Maggie, it smells good."

"Thanks. Glad you could make it."

"With Enzo working on a big job, I would have been going home to an empty apartment anyway, so I was glad when Liza invited me."

"So, the Boss returns on Tuesday."

"Yes, he does."

"How do you feel about that, Liza?"

"I can't wait to see him."

"You gonna go over there and jump his bones?"

"Maggie!"

"Well, are you?"

"No. I'll let him call me and tell me he's back or I will wait until he's back at the office on Monday."

Liza poured everyone a glass of wine, while Diana, Kelsey and Lauren sat down at the table.

"Have you talked to Charles at all?"

"We've texted a few times. He let me know where they were at and he also sent pictures of him and the girls. We haven't talked at all though."

"I was just wondering if he was checking up on me."

"He never even asked."

"Are you feeling better about things?"

"Compared to when he first asked, yes. I have missed him so much but the 4 of you really helped keep my mind off of it."

"I may not have been the biggest supporter of your relationship with Charles at first but you deserve to be happy and you do seem happy with him."

"Thanks, Kelse. I just feel so much better now that everything about me is out in the open and everyone knows."

"How have things been between you and Pauline?"

"Better but not like they were."

"She did approach me about coming back to us with her sequel. I told her that was up to Charles because he was the Publisher again."

"That'll go over real big with him knowing that her sequel is about the divorce and Karl's affair with the assistant. I seriously don't think we can afford another scandal."

"That's what you have me for. I'm glad Charles agreed to keep me on as the PR person for the company."

"Have you heard from Caitlin lately?"

"She's supposed to be home this weekend for Labor Day. She'll probably spend some of it with me and some of it with David. I had lunch with Julia Katz today and she's hoping we can all get together once Charles is back and the girls are home. I think Nicole and Bianca are spending the weekend with Pauline at Pound Ridge, so once they get in, Charles will take them out there. They will come back on Monday night."

They heard a knock on the door.

"I got that."

Liza got up and went to answer the door. It was Charles.

"Charles! This is a surprise."

"We got an earlier flight and I just got back from taking the girls to Pound Ridge. I figured I'd see if you wanted to have dinner."

"Come on in."

"Thanks."

Charles kissed Liza and then he came in.

"Ladies."

"Hello, Charles."

"Hey, Charles."

"Welcome back."

"Thank you. Am I interrupting something?"

"Of course not. Maggie is cooking."

"You know me. There's tons of food. You wanna join us?"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

Maggie got another place setting and put it on the table.

"Josh isn't going to be here, is he?"

"No. Clare took the job in LA and moved there with Gemma, so he's been spending weekends out there. It's been working for them right now but you probably don't care about that."

"Not really. I just didn't want to get hit again."

"So, where did you end up going?"

"We did the Harry Potter thing in Scotland and we did England and Ireland. From there, we went to Spain, Italy and Greece. We spent some time in San Tropez as well. We then went to Switzerland and Germany. We flew back to London for the flight home."

"Wow! Did they have fun?"

"They did. I talked with Pauline a little more than I wanted to but they wanted to talk to her at least once a week."

"No Paris, though."

"Hopefully that's going to be my next trip but not with the girls though."

Kelsey and Diana both looked at Liza and smiled.

"Enzo and I loved Italy."

Maggie brought the salad over and then everyone started on that.

"Because I'm apparently always the last to know anything, how long have you two actually been together?"

"A few days before Christmas."

"So, when he shaved his beard, that was for you?"

"Yes."

"No beard this time?"

"I had one but I shaved it this morning."

"Oh."

They finished their salads and then Maggie went to get the meal.

"Charles, did Pauline by any chance talk to you?"

"About her wanting to come back to us with her sequel?"

"Yeah."

"She did. I said no. I didn't want to publish the book that is about my affair with Liza and especially not after what she pulled. She knows I'm still not happy about her just blurting out about Liza's age like that. Other than that, did things go ok in my absence?"

"Everything was fine."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome and thank you for letting me prove myself again. Sometimes I think I have gotten more chances than I deserve."

"So, I had lunch with Julia Katz today."

"I talked to Bob already. Will Caitlin be here this weekend?"

"Yeah. She's spending tonight and part of tomorrow with David. He went to pick her up."

There was another knock at the door, so Maggie went to get it. It was Caitlin.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Hey."

"Come on in."

"Thanks."

Caitlin walked in.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hey. I thought you were spending the night with your dad."

"He and I got into it, so I called an Uber and left."

"Well, I'm always happy to see you. You remember Charles, right?"

"Yes. Hi Charles."

"Hi Caitlin."

"This is Diana Trout, Kelsey Peters and Lauren Heller. This is Caitlin."

"It's nice to meet you, Caitlin."

"You too. I think I remember seeing Kelsey and Lauren at Josh's Inkburg reopening."

"Yeah, probably."

"Sorry, I know that's a touchy subject for you."

"It is. I'm trying to focus on my future and he was never going to be a part of that. Maggie, Kelsey and Lauren have chosen to stay friends with him but they all know not to discuss me with him. If you choose the same thing, fine but just don't discuss me with him. He thinks he knows what's best for me and he really doesn't. The more I saw how he was acting, the more I started seeing how much like your dad he really is. I don't need that. I found someone really amazing in Charles and that's what I want to focus on. He is my present and hopefully my future. I'd like for you to get to know him and the girls better."

"Ok. I'm good with that."

"Good. The Katzes want all of us to get together, so let me know when you can come home again."

"I don't have any classes on Mondays or Fridays, so any weekend is fine. I'll talk to Rose and we'll pick a weekend."

"Charles needs to work around when his ex-wife has the girls too."

"I told her about that and she said she'll be flexible."

"Caitlin, would you like something to eat?"

"Sure."

Maggie went to get another place setting, while Charles got up and offered his seat to Caitlin. Then there was another knock at the door.

"Who are we missing?"

Maggie answered the door again and this time it was Enzo.

"Is Diana here?"

"Of course. Come on in."

"Thanks. Smells great."

"Would you like something?"

"Sure."

Maggie got Enzo a plate, while he went to kiss Diana.

"Did you get done with your job?"

"For the weekend. Hey, Charles. Welcome back."

"Thanks, Enzo."

"Enzo, this is my daughter, Caitlin. Caitlin, this is Diana's husband, Enzo Deluca."

"Nice to meet you, Caitlin."

"You too."

"Maggie, this is delicious."

"Thanks. I love to cook."

"Maggie, this is so good. Can I get some leftovers to take back to school with me?"

"Of course you can."

"Great."

Liza got up and went to stand by Charles.

"Take my seat, Enzo."

"Thanks."

"Liza, you seem nervous. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Charles, can we go talk in the other room?"

"Of course."

They both left their plates on the counter and headed into Liza's bedroom.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Liza gave Maggie a look.

"You've probably done everything already."

"True."

They went into Liza's bedroom and shut the door. Liza got her phone out and chose the song she wanted from her playlist. "Take My Breath Away" started playing.

"May I have this dance?"

"Yes, you may."

"I can't tell you how much I have missed you these last couple few months."

"I've missed you too but I was trying to give you some space. Believe me, I would have loved to have had you with me this entire time."

"I've definitely had time to sort everything out and I meant what I said to Caitlin about you being my present and hopefully my future. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Charles Brooks, will you marry me?"

"I love you too and yes, Liza Miller, I will marry you."

Charles pulled Liza's ring out of his pocket and put it on her finger. Then they kissed.

"Charles, it's gorgeous!"

"I've had it all along. The only people that have seen it are Maggie and the girls. I showed it to Maggie the day she invited me over for lunch. The girls helped me pick it out."

"Do they know that you had already proposed?"

"They do and they understood that the timing wasn't right."

"I felt the time was right this time."

"I'm glad for that."

They danced in each other's arms and kissed until the song ended. Liza went to lock the door and then they went got on the bed. They undressed each other and made love.

To be continued…

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