Audrey had gone to Scotland on a business trip with Joe and Paul as well as Seth and Wade. They had gotten there the day before and were going to a tech summit in downtown Edinburgh. There were going to be other high executives from the tech industry there and a lot of them were coming from all over the U.K as well as from other parts of Europe. Joe was walking the building that they were in until he found a spot where he would be able to see her. Paul walked up to him a few moments later as they looked around. The room was large enough to fit at least 150 people and the majority of them were men. The floor was carpet and there were seats

Looking over at the door, Joe sees Audrey when she walks in with another woman by her side. It was one of the engineers that worked in the company, named Danielle. She was about the same height as Audrey, blonde with blue eyes and a little less meat on her bones, though still beautiful and a head turner. Danielle is really good at what she does and the two seem to get along. As they walk past others, both Joe and Paul notice the looks the two women receive, particularly from the men that were there.

"A part of me thought there'd be more women here." Joe says, looking around and seeing the majority of the crowd being men.

"Compared to last year, there is." Paul replies as he looks on. "A part of that is because of other women like Audrey who are encouraging females to go into STEM related fields, especially tech. You have someone like her who's really good at what she does, and who's been as successful as she's been and there are people who look up to that. She also uses her platform to do good. Unfortunately, we live in a world where some guys still believe that women shouldn't be in positions of power or authority because they think women should be the one at home. So in a field where the majority of the individuals in those types of positions are men, she has to be strong, aggressive and stand her ground. She has to make sure she's making the right decisions all the time and that she knows what she's talking about and what she's doing. Those men that don't want her in a position of power, the moment they see her doubt herself or fumble, they'll try to take advantage of that."

He looks around before finding Audrey again with a few of the women that had walked up to her as she tried to make her way to a seat. She was wearing black pants, with a black shirt with short sleeves and a black, leather jacket. Black heels that make her a few inches taller than what she normally is and her long, in soft waves. He sees her laugh at something and could hear her laughter in his head. It makes him smile while also making him wonder how it was becoming one of his favorite things about her. After a few minutes, she was making her way towards the door again and stopped to talk to someone. Remembering that Paul was still nearby, he moved from his spot and walked around a bit. He knew Paul was protective of her, but he also didn't want to overstep any boundaries.

"How long have you known Audrey?" He asks.

The man looks out into the crowd and Joe sees his eyes soften when he spots something. Following his eyes, he sees Audrey finding her way towards the door again. "I met her when she was four years old. I was living in Manchester at the time and working two jobs, one of which I absolutely hated. One was at a fast food place and the other was for security. I had gone to the library to fix my resume because I was trying to look for another job to either replace the fast food one or one that would pay enough to where I didn't need two jobs. I had just gotten my citizenship a few months prior, and I was relieved because I thought it would help open up more opportunities for work. Anyways, I was walking back to my table after printing out some resumes and I see this woman come in with a little girl, though I didn't pay much mind to it. About ten minutes later or so, I hear a woman asking if she sit at the table I was sitting at. I hear the chair next to me moving and I look over to see this adorable little girl trying to climb on the chair with pigtails and these big green eyes while her mom was asking if they could sit there. I forgot what else she had said, but I remember telling her not to worry, that I didn't mind if they wanted to sit there. I held the chair for Audrey and let her get on. Told her my name, asked for hers and Audrey gave me that sweet little smile of hers when she did. That interaction, however small and simple it may seem..."

Paul tried to find the words to explain it before Seth spoke up. "It was enough to know deep down, that you would probably do anything for her. Especially if it made her smile."

"Yeah." He softly. "It's like I knew she was something special."

Hearing footsteps behind them a few minutes later, they turned around to see Audrey. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to use the restroom before they started."

She quickly walked up to them and wrapped an arm around one of Paul's arms, before resting her head on his shoulder. Joe heard him ask her if she was okay as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. Audrey nodded, keeping her head on his shoulder. Joe could see the interaction between them as Audrey relaxed and held on to his arm a little longer.

"I should get back now." Audrey softly says.

Paul says something to her in almost a whisper, so he wasn't able to hear what it was. But she looked up at Paul and gave him a sweet smile that made him smile in return before he kissed her forehead.

"Where's the restroom?" Audrey asks as she looks around.

"To the right and then you make another right when you get to that corner." Joe says, pointing in the direction that he was referring to.

She smiles at him. "Thank you."

"How she gets all this energy sometimes, I don't know." Paul mumbles, sitting down on a nearby chair after she walks away.

Joe was still looking in the direction she left in and smiled to himself. In the weeks since they had reconnected, the two had talked everyday, catching up on what's been going on in their lives over the last twelve years. It sometimes felt as if they still had so much to catch up on, but they both enjoyed their conversations and their time spent together. They both silently enjoyed each other's company and thought that time went by too fast when they're together and wished it go on longer.

Three days later

It was their last day in Scotland and the guys were all going to take the day to relax and enjoy the day before going back to England, early the next day. Joe got back to the hotel after his run, and saw Audrey come out of the elevator and go towards the dining room. She was wearing grey leggings with a baggy white t-shirt and sneakers with her hair in a braid. Even dressed down, he believed she still looked beautiful.

"Audrey?" He says, trying to catch up to her.

She turned around and smiled when she saw him. A smile that he was quickly starting to want to see more of.

"Good morning." She sweetly says. "How are you?"

"Good morning." He replies with a smile. "I'm good, just came back from a run. How about yourself?"

"I'm good. I packed a bit last night and a bit more earlier, before coming down so I don't have to do it later. Would you like to have breakfast with me?"

"Yes." Joe says with a second thought.

Audrey softly laughs and signals for him to follow her in the direction of the dining room. Once they were there and they got to their table, Joe pushed his food around a bit as he got his words together.

"I was wondering, do you have any plans for today?" He asks.

"No, I was just going to explore. Why?" She asks, looking over at him.

"Well, I was wanting to know if you would like to spend the day with me and we could do something together? Maybe we can explore the city. If you want to, I mean." He says.

She smiles at him and it was a smile that he wanted to see more often. "That sounds good, I'd like that."

They figured out what they were going to do before going back to their rooms. A little over forty-five minutes later, Joe stepped out of his room wearing jeans, sneakers, a black shirt and a black sweater with his hair slicked back into a neat bun. It was chiller than expected today and with it being cloudy, they weren't going to have the sun to help warm up the day. A few rooms down, is Audrey's room that Joe gets to in a few moments and knocks. When Audrey answers, she smiles at him and opens the door more to let him in.

She was wearing a light pink shirt with jeans and grey and black sneakers. As you enter the room, on one side there was the closet which neatly had her suitcase and some of the clothes that she still had to pack, which were all neatly hanging. On the other side, was the bathroom which was further down, just slightly. There was a table with a phone and a coffee machine, which he knew Audrey didn't use as she wasn't much of a coffee drinker. The room opens up and there was a Queen sized bed that was neatly made with a large television across from it, placed on the wall. There were two tables on either side of the bed with lamps and her phone was charging on one of them. There were two chairs that further down with a small table in between them and windows behind them and the curtains slightly drawn to let some of the light in. One thing he's learned about Audrey, is that she always keeps her area clean and neat, whether it be her house or her office, and even her car. She puts on some perfume and then puts on her sweater, before putting on her leather backpack and grabbing her phone. Audrey takes a quick look in the mirror, and catches Joe looking on from behind her in the reflection.

"You look beautiful." Joe says.

"Thank you." Audrey says, as her cheeks turn pink.

After making sure she had everything she needed, they left and made their way to the train station to get to the National Museum of Scotland. As they were about to cross the street when they got to the corner, Audrey held on to Joe's arm and it didn't go unnoticed as the warmth of her hand, made it through his sweater. She could feel the large muscles under his sweater and tried to clear her mind of the thoughts that were wanting to intrude.

"You don't have anybody that would be upset by seeing us together, do you?" She asks as she leaves her hand on his arm.

"No, I don't. What about you?" Joe asks, noticing how this kept them close together as they walked.

Audrey shook her head. "No. Besides, I'm so bloody awkward, I'm surprised if I manage to get a date."

"You, awkward?" He asks in disbelief.

"Yes, I've always felt like I am." She says with a smile. "I didn't get my first boyfriend until I was 19 and I couldn't flirt to save my life. I still can't for the life of me. You know, some people grow out of their awkward stage, though I feel like I never did."

They both laugh as they make their way into the train station. They get their passes for the train and follow the signs for the metro they're supposed to take.

"Who would have thought, Ms. Audrey Matthews can be awkward." He says, teasingly as they make their way to the lower levels.

He laughs when she gives him a look. When they got to the platform, they find empty seats near the sign that shows how many minutes away the next train is and face each other.

"What was your last relationship like?" She asks him.

"It was good for the most part." He starts off saying. "Until it wasn't. We met in college, back in the states. I played football and she was in track. We started dating not long afterwards and when I say it was good, it really was. We were together all throughout college, though it wasn't until our senior year that we started running into problems. Since I was playing football, I wanted to try to go pro. I've been playing football since I was a kid and that was a goal, to try to do that. She preferred if I would stick to my major, which was business."

"How come?" Audrey asks as their train was being announced as approaching the station.

They stood up and quickly made their way into the train and stood on the other side of the door they came in through. Joe automatically arm around her waist when the train started moving, to keep her close. Audrey fit perfectly against his large and muscular frame and she rested her hand on his side without thought. Their eyes connected as she took in the scent of his cologne, and it was as if everyone around them no longer matter. His brown eyes took in everything from her face, from her neatly groomed eyebrows, to her green eyes and her full lips that shined with lip gloss. Even the light freckles that she had sprinkled across the area near the top of her cheeks and her nose. It was as if he was trying to memorize as much as he could. The commotion from the group of young kids entering the cart they were in, interrupted their moment and reminded them of where they were as they listened for the next stop.

"To answer your question," Joe resumes softly enough for only her to hear. "She didn't like the thought of me being on the road as often as I would have been. She also didn't like the thought of me being on the road without her. Alyssa, that was her name, if she could have it her way, nobody would know me and I wouldn't be popular on any occasion. I tried helping the situation as much as I could. I would skip out on a lot of parties and outings with the team so I could be with her. I tried inviting her to some of the outings, especially the ones I was obligated to attend, so we could be together and I always made it very known, who my girlfriend was. Alyssa would always say no and seemed very uninterested in anything that had to do with football and with me playing."

"Was she like that from the beginning?" Audrey asks as their stop came up.

"No, not really." Joe says. "Which is why I was surprised I guess when it started because I wondered where it was coming from. I wondered if maybe it was something I said or did to make her feel like any type of way. We tried talking about it several times whatnot, and the solution she came up with was always the same. If she had it her way, I wouldn't play football, I wouldn't go pro and I would stay there in Georgia because that's where our school was."

When they got out of the train station, they took their time walking to the museum and enjoyed the view as they did.

"We started arguing more and more, to the point where that's all it seemed like we did." He continued. "We broke up a few times in the process, but I loved her, so I was willing to make it work at the time. After college, I did off season stints with a few teams, though I would always end up getting released. I ended up doing a full season with the Canadian Football League and retired soon after the season."

"How did she handle it?" She asked.

"The same way she did in high school, except it had gotten worse." He replied. "I had gotten tired of all the fighting. Nothing was working, not even time apart. I became a version of myself I wasn't happy with. When we would fight, I would say hurtful things right back at her, instead of walking away or finding a solution. It made me feel like shit afterwards because I knew that's now how I was raised to speak to a woman. I realize it wasn't healthy and so I thought it would be best if we just broke up. She didn't take it too well, but I wasn't the best version of myself for her. I was no longer able to provide her with a lot of the things she wanted or needed from me and neither of us were happy anymore. So I thought, why stay?"

They walked in comfortable silence until they got to the museum. The outside of the building looked massive, but it wasn't until they got inside that Joe saw just how big it seemed. To him, it was Scotland's version of the Museum of Natural History in New York City.

"How was your last relationship?" Joe asks.

"It was good, or at least I thought it was." Audrey says, once they get inside. "I think we both played a role in it. Our communication could have been better, but I also think that at one point, we just had different priorities than what we had when we first started dating and so now there were different things that became important to us."

"Did he treat you good?" He asked, finding it important to know if she was treated good, regardless of how or why it ended.

She stayed quiet for a moment as she looked at one of the displays. Joe gently turns her to look at him and hooked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Towards the ending, he didn't." Audrey softly says. "He wanted to be in control and he didn't like that I was making more than him. He wanted me to do all that stay at home and do nothing but cook and clean. I wanted to keep working and doing what I'm doing. I thought I was doing a good job at the whole girlfriend thing, but he made it seem like I was absolutely horrible."

"Is he someone we have to worry about? Did he ever hit you?" He asks. Joe wanted to hold her and protect her in that moment, from everything that could ever possibly harm her. He wanted to find out who this guy that could hurt her and do her wrong.

She shakes her head. "Last I heard, he moved to Italy shortly after we broke up and was dating someone else. That was two years ago. He never hit me, it was more emotional and verbal. Mental, even. It's not okay, what he did, I understand that. I'm okay now."

"I know, love. But the moment this guy or any other person becomes a problem and even a threat to your safety, I'm taking care of that and it's not just because it's what I'm supposed to do." Joe says.

Something about that him calling her 'love' as well as his statement, made her feel warm. She wasn't expecting to feel the way that she does about him, and her feelings keep growing. Over the last few weeks, as they've gotten to know each other and they have gotten to catch up, Audrey has seen that Joe's an amazing person with an amazing heart. She just remembers how hard she worked for her to get to this point in her life where she's moved on and in a much better space in her life now than what she was in her last relationship.