Lionel POV

I was not surprised when Nikki told me her brother wanted them to double-date with Lauren Haney. "I wondered when he'd get around to it."

"To dating?"

"To dating Lauren Haney ."

"You noticed something there? You never said anything."

"I didn't want to risk your mentioning it and planting an idea in his head that wasn't

his own."

"That rarely happens."

"Anyway, I think they'll be good for each other," I said. "He needs

companionship his own age, and if something comes of it, so much the better."

"Why?"

"Because he's not going to want to be alone if we decide to get more serious."

"Seems to me we've already decided." Nikki slipped her hand into mine.

"I just don't know what to do about timing and geography, with everything breaking the way it has."

I was hoping for some hint from Nikki that she would be willing to follow me anywhere, that she was either ready for marriage or that she needed more time. Time was getting away from them, but still I hesitated.

Will's POV

"I'm ready when he is," Nikki told me. "But I'm not going to say a word."

"Why not?" I said. "Men need a few signals."

"He's getting all the signals he needs."

"So you've held his hand by now?"

"Will!"

"Bet you've even kissed him."

"No comment."

"That's a yes if I ever heard one."

"Like I said, he's getting all the signals he needs."

Lionel's POV

In fact, I would never forget the first time I had kissed Nikki. It had been the night I left for New York by car, about a year before. Gandolfini had bought up the Weekly as well as any of the competition worth working for, and I seemed to have less choice than ever over my own career. I could try bootlegging copy over the Internet, but I still needed to make a living. And Chiron, who was at the camp less and less all the tune due to his ministry all over the world, had encouraged him to stay with Global Weekly, even after the name was changed to Global Community Weekly. "I wish we could change the last word one more time," I said. "To Weakly."

I had resigned myself to doing the best I could for the kingdom of Zeus, just as Nikki's brother had done. But I still hid my identity as a believer. Whatever freedom and perceived objectivity he had would soon be gone if that truth was known to Gandolfini.

That last night in Chicago, me and Nikki were in my apartment packing the last of my personal things. My plan was to leave by nine o'clock that night and drive all the way to New York City in one marathon stretch. As we worked, we talked about how much we would hate being apart, how much we would miss each other, how often we would phone and email each other.

"I wish you could come with me,"I said at one point.

"Yeah, that would be appropriate," she said.

"Someday," I said.

"Someday what?"

But I would not bite. I carried a box to the car and came back in, passing her as she taped another. Tears ran down her face.

"What's this?" I said, stopping to wipe her face with my fingers. "Don't get me

started now."

"You'll never miss me as much as I'll miss you," she said, trying to continue to work with me hovering, a hand on her face.

"Stop it," I whispered. "Come here."

She set down the tape and stood to face me. I embraced her and pulled her close. Her hands were at her sides, and her cheek was on my chest. We had held each other before, and we had walked hand in hand, sometimes arm in arm. We had expressed our deep feelings for each other without mentioning love. And we had agreed not to cry and not to say anything rash in the moment of parting.

"We'll see each other often," I said. "You'll rendezvous with your brother when he

comes through New York. And I'll have reasons to come here."

"What reason? The Chicago office is closing."

"This reason," I said, holding her tighter. And she began to sob.

"I'm sorry," she said. "This is going to be so hard."

"I know."

"No you don't. Lio, you can't say you care for me as much as I care for you."

I had already planned my first kiss. I had hoped to find a reason to simply brush her lips with mine at the end of an evening, say good night, and slip away. I didn't want to have to deal with her reaction, or deal with kissing her again just then. It was going to be meaningful and special, but quick and simple, something we could build on later.

But now I wanted her to know how I felt. I was angry at myself for being so good at writing but so incompetent at telling her to her face how much she meant to me.

I stepped back and took her face in my hands. She resisted at first and tried to hide her face in my chest again, but I insisted she look at me. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again," I said.

"But, Lio, it's true—"

I lowered my head until my eyes were inches from hers. "Did you hear me?" I said. "Don't say it again. Don't imply it, don't even think it. There's no possible way you could care for me more than I care for you. You are my whole life. I love you, Nikki. Don't you know that?"

I felt her nearly recoil at that first declaration of my love. Her tears rolled over my hands, and she began to say, "How would I—?" But I lowered my mouth to hers, cutting off her words. And it was no quick touch of the lips. She raised her hands between my arms, wrapped them around my neck, and held me tight as we kissed.

She pulled away briefly and whispered, "Did you only say that because you're leaving and—" But I covered her mouth again with mine.

A moment later I touched her nose with the tip of my own and said, "Don't doubt my love for you ever again. Promise."

"But, Buck—"

"Promise."

"I promise. And I love you, too, Lio."