A/N: Thank you soooo much to everyone who has reviewed! I love you all! Oh, and the very last part of this chapter was inspired by an episode of Friends, the tv show. I can't remember what the episode's name is, but it is the first episode in season 5. Please review!

Chapter 8

Back to London

Sun was gleaming through the french doors. It seemed to be mocking Lily. She turned away from it, pulling the covers higher up her naked body. A strong arm reached around her waist and pulled her closer.

James kissed the side of her neck. "Good morning."

She smiled. "You too." She stretched her arms over her head and turned to face him. His black hair was messier than she had seen it in a long time.

He yawned widely. Lily's smile grew. "Tired?"

"A bit...neither of us slept much last night."

Lily rolled her eyes and hit his arm playfully. He wrapped his arms around the small of her back and kissed her.

Feeling slightly dizzy, but in a very good way, Lily laid her head on James's chest as he ran his fingers through her dark red hair. It was then that she realized just how much sun light was pouring into the room.

"I really hate to ruin this," Lily said, "but what time is it?"

He let go of her and turned to get his watch from the bedside table. "Eleven–thirty."

Lily sat up quickly, "We're suppose to be at the airport in thirty minutes,"

They looked at each other briefly before they were flying around the suite to gather their things together. They hurried down to the front desk, checked out, and went down the alley to Disapparate to the airport. The stewardess was about to close the gate when they got there.

James had to practically charm said stewardess to let them on the plane.

The stored their bags in the overhead compartment and sat down just as the flight attendant came over the intercom and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be taking off shortly for London in a few moments. Once we clear the city, we will being showing the movie An Affair to Remember. Thank you for flying with us and enjoy the flight."

Lily covered her mouth to stifle her laugh.

000

Overall, it was a much better flight than the one to New York. Lily and James were surprisingly much more relaxed with each other. The long hours on the plane passed much faster as they quietly discussed the effectiveness of their mission his hushed tones. Once they were well over the Atlantic, Lily decided to try and get a bit of sleep. She reclined her seat and turned towards the window.

But as much as she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. One question kept picking at her:

What now?

Would they leave what happened in New York as just a great night and nothing more? The thought made Lily chest tighten. Not that she knew the truth, how could she go back to just ignoring how she felt about James? Maybe she was just fooling herself , but she knew that he felt the same. Why else would he have told her the truth?

The plane landed and everyone made the general scramble to get off, but James and Lily fell back.

"I think we need to talk," Lily said. "Why don't you come over to my place?"

"Yeah, okay."

They headed off of the plane and into the terminal when they heard a woman's voice yell, "James!"

They froze as they heard Ashley. She was running at James and when she reached him, she flung her arms around him. Lily took a terrified step back.

Ashley...oh my God, she had forgotten about Ashley. Lily felt her face grow hot as she turned away – Ashley hadn't yet noticed her.

"Lily, is that you?"

Shit.

Lily spun around. "Ashley...James, I didn't know you were on this flight."

Catching on, James said, "oh, yeah, you were in New York the past few days too, right?"

"Yes, my friend had her baby."

"What did she have?" Ashley asked.

Lily blinked at her. "A girl."

"And her name?"

Lily could have hit her. "Emma." And before Ashley could ask how much she weighed, Lily added, "Well, I really need to get going – they scheduled me to work tomorrow. I'll see you later." She turned and left without another look back.

000

Lily dropped her suitcase on the floor the minute she entered her apartment and headed to her bathroom. She drew herself a hot bath, tossed her clothes onto the floor, and slid into the water.

What had she been thinking? Had she completely lost her damn mind?

She had never been the kind of person that slept around. In fact, the only man she'd ever been with was James. And now she was a whore, plain and simple. She'd had sex with a man that was already taken.

Whore.

And to make matters even worse, she had to work with Ashley tomorrow. How could she face her considering what had happened between her and James.

Never mind that Lily loved him...

She sighed. Tomorrow was going to be hell.

The water started to cool. Grudgingly, Lily climbed out of the tub, toweled herself off, and put on her white bath robe.

She was about to go to bed when she heard a knock on the door. Puzzled, she made sure her robe wasn't revealing anything it shouldn't and answered the door.

James was standing in the doorway.

"How did you do it?" she asked as she stepped aside to let him in.

"Do what?"

"Shake off Ashley,"

James smiled warily. "I just told her that I needed sleep and I'd see her tomorrow."

Silence passed between them before Lily said, "Look, James, I – I think this should end before it really get started. You have Ashley and we're both in danger if we're together...Maybe it's best if we leave it in New York."

While his face remained steady, James's eyes looked defeated. "Are you sure?"

Looking at her own feet, she nodded.

"Okay," he said, "I guess I'll see you later." He turned to leave.

She wanted to stop him, tell him that she loved him – but she knew this would be for the best.

But when he reached the door, he turned back and said, "I'm still on New York time, does that count?"

Lily hesitated for only a moment, "Oh that counts."

He was at her side an instant later, his arms snaking around her and his lips on hers.