AN: Firstly, thank you so much for your amazing reviews for the last chapter – I'm so glad you enjoyed it :) Also, thank you for the good luck wishes!

I've managed to get this chapter written in between lectures and it's based on requests to see Charles mixing with Liza's circle of friends (something I would also like to see in S6!). ...In this one, as with the finale, a lot happens towards the end ;) …so I hope you like it and please drop me a review to let me know what you think!

CHARLES

As he looked around his bedroom at the stacks of clothes that he'd removed from his now empty closet, Charles couldn't help but smile at the reason for the ordered chaos. Liza was moving in at the end of the week, and he couldn't wait. He was moving the things from one of the closets in his room into the spare room, so that Liza had space for her things. He could have given her the spare room for her things, but he wanted her to feel like this was her room too – plus her clothes had already taken over his dresser and half of his other closet in here anyway! A tingle ran down his spine at the thought that this was no longer just his room, but 'their room'. He'd wanted this from the moment they'd got together, and even before then when he'd been longing for her from afar, and now he was finally getting his wish.

Charles had spoken to the girls about the possibility of Liza moving in before he'd even mentioned it to Liza, knowing that that was where he wanted to take things with her. He didn't want to bring someone else into their house if they weren't ready for it, but he needn't have worried because the girls' faces lit up when he asked them what they thought about Liza moving in. They loved Liza and they couldn't hide their excitement at the thought of having her around every day to play with their Polly Pockets and make pancakes with them.

And so here he was, taking a leap and opening his heart and his home to the woman who'd captured said heart the moment they'd met, and who he hadn't been able to stop thinking about ever since. He chuckled fondly as he picked up a pile of clothes and carried them to the spare room next door. Liza was unlike any other woman he'd ever met in so many ways, and he loved her so much because of that, but there was one way in which she was very similar to other women – she had a lot of stuff, so it was a good thing he had a big house! He wouldn't have it any other way though – he loved seeing her things interspersed with his around the house, because it reminded him that this was no longer a dream, but his reality now.

Liza was spending the day with Caitlin in the city and then she was going to meet him shortly at her apartment to help her pack and then bring some boxes over to the house. She'd sent him a selfie earlier of the two of them, grinning widely outside the Nederlander Theatre after watching Pretty Woman The Musical. The bond between them was obvious and he loved what a great mom she was.

When he'd successfully transferred the contents of his closet to the spare room and restored some order to 'their' bedroom, he took a photo and sent it to Liza, complete with a trusty Fitzgerald quote: 'I can't think of anything but nights with you'. She texted back a simple 'Me neither. L X' followed by a heart emoji, and he couldn't control the smile that took over his whole face. He checked his watch and then grabbed his jacket and keys and headed over to Liza's, eager to see her.

As Charles stood on the stoop and pressed the buzzer for Liza's apartment, his phone vibrated in his pocket and he smiled when he pulled it out to find a text from her. 'Caitlin's having boy problems and needs to vent so I may be a little late getting back. Sorry! L X'. He chuckled as he read it, realising that he had all of this to come with his girls.

'Don't worry about it – take as long as you need and tell Caitlin I said Hi. C X'

'Will do. I love you. L X'

'I love you too. C X'

Charles grinned at their exchange – he could listen to her say those three little words to him all day and never tire of hearing them. He jumped slightly at hearing Maggie's voice over the intercom, having been distracted by Liza's texts. "Erm hi, it's Charles" he replied, feeling a little awkward. He'd met Maggie a few times, but never on his own. Given that she'd just buzzed him up though there was no escaping that now. He knew how much Maggie meant to Liza and he really wanted her to like him and be happy for them, and that made him nervous. It meant a lot to him that Liza's friends and family accepted him.

Taking a deep breath for courage he made his way up the stairs and put on a confident smile, even though he didn't feel confident, as he greeted Maggie. "Hi, it's nice to see you again" he said, shaking her hand.

Maggie smiled, "You too."

"I was supposed to be meeting Liza but she's running a little late. It seems Caitlin's having boy problems and needs her mother's counsel" Charles added, feeling the need to explain why he'd turned up on her doorstep when Liza wasn't there.

Maggie chuckled, "Yeah that sounds like Caitlin. You're welcome to come in and join us while you wait."

"Us?" Charles asked as he followed Maggie into the apartment. His question was answered for him when he saw a young woman, probably around Kelsey's age, sitting on the couch. From Liza's description he was pretty sure this was Lauren.

Maggie confirmed his guess. "Yeah, me and Lauren are having a little afternoon cocktail party."

"Oh, well erm I wouldn't want to intrude" he replied awkwardly. He was normally a fairly confident person when meeting new people, but these people were Liza's friends and their opinions of him mattered to him a lot.

"You're not intruding – the more the merrier!" Lauren stood up and waved him off with a smile. "I'm Lauren" she added and shook his hand.

"Charles. It's nice to meet you."

"I kind of feel like I already know you" Lauren added.

"You do?" Charles asked dubiously. He knew women liked to share things and he wandered what Liza had told her about him.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet the man behind page 58."

Charles was pretty sure his face turned beet red. As successful as Marriage Vacation had been for the company, it was times like this he really wished that book had never been written, let alone published. "I…erm" he stuttered.

Maggie saved him by offering him a drink. "Margarita?"

"Thank you." Charles gratefully accepted it and took a gulp to try and ease some of his embarrassment.

The three of them sat down and he felt like he was about to be interviewed for a really important job. "You'll have to excuse her – she doesn't have a filter between her brain and her mouth" Maggie told him jokingly.

Lauren looked at her unconcerned, "What? We're all friends here. I'm the one that got empiriconda down remember?"

Charles choked on his drink, his face turning an even darker shade of red as that repressed embarrassing memory surfaced.

"From the Internet" Maggie clarified. "Here, you look like you need another one" she added, leaning over and topping up his drink.

"Thanks" Charles coughed.

"Yeah, we're already half drunk – you need to catch up" Lauren added, pouring herself another drink too.

Charles chuckled – she reminded him a lot of Kelsey and she was exactly as Liza had described her. He liked her though, even if she had seen and read far too much about him! "So Lauren, Liza tells me you work in PR?" Charles asked, wanting desperately to change the topic of conversation from him.

Lauren grinned proudly, clearly happy for the opportunity to talk about herself. "I do. I worked for Hector and Dorf for a couple of years – I'm the reason they're on the map by the way. They weren't even on Instagram when they met me and they didn't even know what a hashtag was. But half a million followers later they're killing it - thanks to me. They didn't appreciate my brilliance though, so I went freelance and started my own company."

"Wow – that's impressive" Charles replied. And he was impressed – she was clearly very intelligent and hard working. Lauren looked pleased at the compliment. "You know I may have a need for your services soon – I have a couple of ventures that I'm starting that could use your promotion expertise."

Lauren whipped out a business card from somewhere and handed it to him. "Heller Good PR, at your service. Call me."

Charles smiled and put the card in his pocket. "I will do."

"So what are these new ventures?" Maggie asked.

"I would tell you, but I haven't told Liza yet and I kinda wanted her to be the first to know." Charles replied. Maggie looked thoughtful as she smiled and he was pretty sure she approved of his answer.

"I can see why Maggie calls you Mr Darcy" Lauren added, pouring herself another drink. He hadn't even noticed her finish the last one, and he was pretty sure she was more than just half way drunk.

Charles turned to Maggie. "Mr Darcy?" He asked amusedly.

Maggie shrugged and smiled, not in the least bit embarrassed. "I thought it was fitting. Plus you're both nerdy and into books."

Charles chuckled and they laughed together. His nervousness from earlier had disappeared, which could in part be due to the alcohol, but he was having a good time and he could see himself spending more time with these two.

"Ooh you know what, we should play cards – drunk poker is always fun." Lauren exclaimed randomly. She stumbled as she got up and disappeared into Maggie's bedroom, presumably to retrieve some playing cards.

Maggie looked over at him and smiled, "I guess I don't need to give you the 'if you hurt her, I'll hurt you' talk. Because you know I'm half Italian."

Charles smiled warmly at her and shook his head, which made it feel a little fuzzy. "No, you don't. I love Liza and I will do everything in my power not to hurt her."

"Good. I know how crazy she is about you, so I'm happy for you both."

They smiled at each other and a mutual respect passed between them. Charles could really see himself being friends with Maggie.

"Why have we stopped drinking?" Lauren asked as she plopped back down on the couch and dropped a pack of playing cards and poker chips onto the coffee table before picking up the jug of margaritas and refilling all of their glasses.

Charles laughed and picked up what was his third, or maybe fourth margarita – he couldn't remember. He pulled out his phone and smiled as he typed out a text to Liza, before joining Maggie and Lauren in a game of drunk poker.

LIZA

Liza hugged Caitlin goodbye and waved her off as she dropped her at the coach station so she could head back to college. She'd spent the past two hours trying to educate her daughter about how boys her age were idiots who were generally lacking in maturity and common sense, and how any boy who couldn't see how amazing she was, wasn't worth her time. She hoped at least some of it had gone in.

Getting back into her cab she gave the guy her address. She smiled when she thought about how Charles's address would soon be her home – their home. The thought of going to sleep every night with Charles and waking up with him every morning was just amazing. Every night they spent apart she would miss him – he was it for her, of that she had no doubt, and she was ready to take this next step in their relationship.

It was later than she'd planned but she was meeting Charles at her apartment and he was going to help her pack some of her things. She'd felt kind of bad when she'd texted him earlier to say she'd be running late because he'd already got to hers, so he'd be waiting around – she just hoped Maggie wasn't giving him the third degree! As she tapped her foot in impatience at the Manhattan traffic her phone buzzed and she smiled when she saw it was a text from Charles. The first line made her chuckle in amusement, but the quote he'd chosen, as always, made her heart melt.

'Apparently I'm Mr Darcy, so here you go…

You have bewitched me body and soul and I love, love, live yo'

She was pretty sure 'live yo' was supposed to be 'love you' but she could forgive the typo – the sentiment was there!

When she eventually made it back to the apartment, as she unlocked the door she could hear laughter inside and what she was pretty sure was Lauren's voice. She couldn't help but laugh when she opened the door and took in the scene in front of her – Charles, Maggie and Lauren were engrossed in a lively game of poker, so much so that they hadn't noticed her come in yet. She figured the empty jug and cocktail glasses on the table were probably the reason for Charles's typos.

"Read 'em and weep Brooks – full house!" Lauren exclaimed proudly and lay her cards down on the table.

Charles frowned and looked in confusion between his cards and Lauren's – the alcohol was clearly slowing down his processing abilities. "Wait, that can't be right – I have the two of hearts, you can't have it as well." He leaned over, slightly unsteadily, and spread her cards out so he could see them, "That's the two of diamonds, not the two of hearts."

Lauren leaned forward and squinted at her cards, "Oh."

Maggie burst out laughing, clearly drunk too. "I think Mr Darcy wins!"

Liza smirked in amusement at the exchange. It was great to see Charles getting on so well with her friends and them accepting him into their circle. She decided to make her presence known and walked over to Charles and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Hey. So it looks like you've been having fun."

"You were late so we kept Charles entertained" Lauren supplied. "He's fun – we like him" she added enthusiastically. Liza smirked in amusement, pretty sure that Lauren had had the most to drink. Not that she needed it, but she was glad she had their approval.

Charles looked up at her with that beautiful smile of his that he reserved just for her, and her breath caught in her throat. His eyes were slightly glassy from the alcohol, and if she hadn't just witnessed the comical exchange or seen the empty glasses, those eyes of his would have told her that he was definitely drunk. "Hey" he greeted her happily, wrapping his arm around her waist as she sat down next to him on the couch. "I missed you" he added softly, his warm breath tickling her ear and sending a tingle down her spine.

"I missed you too. I'm sorry I'm late" she told him and placed her hand tenderly on his leg. "Although I'm not sure you're in a fit state to help with packing now anyway."

Charles laughed and it reminded her of their drunken conversation on Shelter Island about eating a stick of butter to stop you getting drunk. "I'm more than capable" he replied, trying to put on a serious face. Liza quirked her eyebrow in amusement which made him break out into a smile.

"Liza, forget packing – packing can wait. You should join us – you have a lot of catching up to do. I'm going to get more margaritas" Maggie told her, leaving no room for argument as she stood up and slightly unsteadily headed to the kitchen.

"Yeah and now you're here, Charles can tell us what this super secret new business venture of his is – he wouldn't tell us before because he wanted you to be the first to know" Lauren added.

Liza smiled warmly at Charles, who blushed, touched that he wanted to share things with her before anyone else. "I'm intrigued."

Charles looked at her with a hopeful smile on his face and she could tell he really wanted her to be proud of him. He didn't realise though that she'd be proud of him whatever he did, because she loved him. "Well there's two things" he told her softly, pausing before he continued, "The first is I'm writing a children's book."

Liza's eyes widened in surprise – she wasn't expecting that. But now that she thought about it, it made perfect sense – he was brilliant with kids and he knew literature better than anyone she knew. "Charles that's amazing – you'll be great at that!" she told him excitedly. Charles grinned proudly, clearly happy with her approval. "And what's the second thing?"

"I have a deal with Arrow to narrate some of the classics for audiobooks - they're calling it 'Bedtime Stories'. Quinn gave me the idea – apparently I have a voice women would like to listen to."

"I could see that" Lauren chimed in. Liza could see that as well – he definitely had a sexy voice, but she felt a twinge of jealousy that Quinn had insinuated that too. "Yeah you've definitely got a smooth, silky quality to your voice – kinda like melted chocolate."

Maggie chuckled, "You almost sound straight!"

Lauren grimaced, "Ew, take that back!."

Liza turned to Charles and played with the hair at the back of his neck, "I'd definitely pay to hear you read the classics."

"I'll read you a story any time you like, free of charge" he murmured huskily, seemingly forgetting that they weren't alone. She had to cross her legs because the look in his eyes was doing things to her.

"So who's this Quinn anyway? Do we need to have words with her about peeing on other people's property?" Lauren asked, oblivious to the eye sex she and Charles were having.

Charles turned to her, "She's the one who invested in the company."

"She has a bit of a thing for the owner too" Liza added.

"She does not have a thing for me."

"She does" "She does" she and Maggie said in tandem. Considering how attractive Charles was, he was totally oblivious to the attention women gave him.

Charles looked at her and smiled, "Well, like I said before – if it comes up, tell her that divorced moms from Jersey are more my style."

Liza's eyes widened and you could hear a pin drop in the silence that had descended over the room. Maggie's jaw had dropped and Lauren looked confused. Charles frowned and glanced at the three of them, and she watched as realisation dawned on him. "Oh."

Liza could see the cogs turning in Lauren's head. "Okay, my brain's a little fuzzy from all those margaritas, but I feel like you guys know something I don't…"

She glanced at Charles who looked at her apologetically, and then to Maggie who shrugged, basically saying 'you may as well tell her, everyone else knows anyway.' Liza sighed and decided to just bite the bullet, "When I met you I was lying about my age – I'm not 27, I'm 41."

Lauren laughed, thinking she was joking, and then looked at Maggie when no one joined in, then back at Liza. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry - I shouldn't have lied. But no one would hire a 40 year old assistant – so I told people I was 26."

Lauren leaned forward and squinted as she studied Liza's face, as if she would find some clues there. "You don't have a line in sight!"

"You're not mad?" Liza asked timidly.

"Mad, why would I be mad? I'm impressed! You need to give me some tips because I want to be able to pull that off when I'm 41!"

Liza chuckled at Lauren's response. "You're really not mad?"

Lauren waved her off, "Of course not. Age is just a number anyway – be however old you want to be!"

"I think this calls for celebratory margaritas" Maggie added and leaned forward to refill everyone's glasses.

Lauren picked up her glass and then paused when she realised something. "Wait, Charles said 'divorced moms'…you have a kid?"

Liza smiled, "I do. I have a daughter – Caitlin. She's in college."

Lauren thought about this for a few moments then spilled some of her drink in her enthusiasm as she had a lightbulb moment. "That girl you were with at the Inkburg reopening - that's your daughter?"

"Yeah that's Caitlin."

Lauren grinned proudly at her deductive skills. "You know it all makes sense now – the Wisconsin, the Olay Regenerist, the zero information about you on social media…"

"Wisconsin?" Charles asked.

"Don't ask."

As Lauren engaged Maggie in a lively discussion about all the clues there'd been over the past two years that she'd missed, Charles interlaced his fingers with hers and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "I'm sorry about Lauren" he apologised softly.

Liza leaned closer to him and murmured in his ear, "It's okay, you can make it up to me later"

Charles grinned, "You can count on it." Liza's insides liquified at the promise.

When Charles got up and excused himself to go to the bathroom, Liza stared hungrily at his tall, muscular frame until he was out of sight. Lauren leaned towards her, "You are a dark horse Liza Miller." She grinned mischievously as she continued, "So, did the empiriconda live up to expectations?"

"Lauren!" Liza exclaimed. Maggie just laughed.

"What? I'm curious!" Lauren defended and looked at her expectantly.

Liza glanced at the closed bathroom door and then smirked as memories flashed through her mind, "Let's just say expectations were exceeded."