Shuffling slowly into the terminal, I swiped back my hair as the familiar exhaustion of jet lag hit me full force. My body was tired, my mind weary, and I was so glad to be back on American soil that I could’ve kissed the ground.

I wasn’t going to, but I felt like I could.

“God, that was an awful trip.” Grumbling to myself as I scanned the busy terminal, I shook my head at my own stupidity. What was I expecting, exactly, when one of my best bands got into a drunken brawl in Copenhagen- of all fucking places? “That’s right- three weeks of absolute Hell…”

The authorities in Denmark refused to deal with the manager, and I had to fly out there myself to fix the mess. Apparently, the police, hotel, and venue involved didn’t like it when property was destroyed, theft occurred, and several people were sent to the hospital with moderate injuries. And that’s why you don’t work with recovered alcoholics and drug addicts, no matter how good they are, Rich.

“-ard! Richard! Over here!” Guilt swamped me as soon as I heard Lilly yelling across the terminal, and I twisted to catch sight of her bouncing form. She was a sight for sore eyes, but a sour taste slicked my tongue as I recalled the last time I’d seen her. It was the Monday after I’d brought her to my office, and we were supposed to go on a date.

‘Supposed to’ being the operative phrase, because I got a call from Cadence about the arrests in Copenhagen on the way to the movie theater. Just like that, I had to drop her off at Kayla’s and head for the airport, and what was originally a week trip had turned into three.

“Hey, baby. Miss me?” Focusing on the present, I grinned while Lilly nodded unabashedly, and I released my luggage to open my arms for her. She flung herself at me instantly, and she buried her face in my shirt to take a deep breath. Relishing her smell, her feel, I kissed the crown of her head and closed my eyes briefly before slackening my arms around her waist.

“Where’s Kayla? I thought she was bringing you?” My question caused Lilly to blush wildly, a small, guilty smile worming between her cheeks, and I arched a brow when she peeked up at me. She was too cute, and she turned to look at the woman watching us only to flush brighter.

“Uh- well… Mrs. Porter kind of took over the job instead…” Stepping back slightly, Lilly gestured to the woman with a wave of her arm before clearing her throat. “This is Kayla’s mom. Mrs. Porter, this is Richard…”

Narrowing my eyes on the woman, I reached to hold my hand out, and she didn’t hesitate to take it. Her gaze appraised me shrewdly, almost too intently, but I squashed the discomfort that nestled in my gut. Clearly, she already had some preconceived notion about me, and I wanted her to like me; after all, Lilly had mentioned several times that this woman was her mother figure.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Porter.” Smiling at my greeting, the woman adjusted the strap of her purse as Lilly’s nervous gaze flickered between us.

“Please, call me Henrietta. It’s nice to finally meet you, too, Richard. I have to admit, I thought you’d be younger.” This lady was smart- she knew how to play the game, and I smirked slightly at her little comment. Her eyes belayed her words; she knew from the get-go that I was probably as old as she was. It was honestly a nice change when compared to the other middle-aged women I met on the regular.

“Henrietta, then. Where’s Kayla?” Turning my attention to Lilly, my eyelid twitched at the embarrassment that blossomed on her face.

“Uh- yeah, about that… she- she’s still at home… looking through everything we bought… again.” The way she said it sounded like Kayla had done nothing else for the past week and a half, and I chuckled at the image that popped into my head.

“How much did you get, anyway?” Grabbing my suitcase handle, I wrapped my arm around Lilly’s waist as we set off towards the valet. Henrietta was just an observer to my left, and Lilly smiled sheepishly up at me. Arching a brow in silent question, I knew that whatever she considered ‘splurging’ was probably paltry compared to Kayla.

“I got a lot, actually. We spent the weekend there, so we had a lot of time to go to a lot of places. I made sure that everything fit and that I liked it, but I haven’t started putting it away yet.”

“Why not? Isn’t it a chaotic mess?” Lilly turned bright red at my question, and I furrowed my brows in confusion before turning to Henrietta. The woman winked at me, but she must’ve taken pity on my cluelessness because she smirked.

“She wanted to wait for you to tell her if it looked nice. Are you sure you’re not 25?” Ignoring the jibe, I turned back to Lilly to find her nearly choking on her embarrassment. Squeezing her to me, I smirked broadly as manly pride spilled like a deluge into my chest. “See, that’s exactly why Kayla’s father and I are separated. He doesn’t acknowledge or appreciate the things I did for him.”

“Hey, now. I may be a bit of an idiot, but I appreciate it once I see it.” My joke caused both women to laugh, and I couldn’t exaggerate how happy I was to be back.

The 45 minute car ride was relaxed, enjoyable- not awkward at all- and everything fell into place as I lounged in the back seat. Relatively quiet, the journey was filled with familiar sights off the highway, and we sailed down the offramp with only ten minutes left before Lilly spoke up.

“So… how was your trip?” Apprehension was clear in her voice, and she twisted in the front passenger seat to watch me. Reaching to rub the side of my face harshly, I heaved a sigh filled with annoyance that couldn’t be contained by my ribs. Just thinking about that disaster set me on edge, and concern etched on her features heavily before I opened my mouth.

“It was a disaster. That band has risk factors to begin with, and this is only their second international tour. The cops weren’t going to just release them and never let them back, so I had to stick around until they saw a judge. Needless to say, my label doesn’t represent them anymore.”

“That sounds terrible.” Lilly’s sympathies were appreciated, but I still shrugged half-heartedly.

“It’s not a big deal. When it comes to this business, not being an asshole to work with is just as important as musical skills. On the upside, I went and scouted a bit. No one was really interested in working for an American label, but it was still a good experience.” In the driver’s seat, Henrietta snorted lightly, and I smiled when Lilly’s expression eased. Everything she thought shone on her face, in her eyes, and with even the slightest of good news, she was placated.

I was honestly glad beyond measure that I never had to worry about what she was thinking or if she’d tell me when something bothered her. Women liked to play games like that, and that was one of the reasons I’d stuck to casual, sex-based relationships.

“I’m going to stop at the house, so you can grab your stuff, Lilly, and then take you two home. I have to head that way to go to the store, anyway.” Curious surprise wiggled through my veins, and Lilly went wide eyed at Henrietta’s declaration before whirling around. Sinking slightly into the seat, I smirked at the lukewarm glare that shot across the center console but kept my mouth shut. The older woman only shrugged in mock innocence, and I caught her twinkling gaze in the rearview mirror.

In that moment, I realized she was rooting for me, and my smirk grew before I tilted my head to watch the familiar rows of houses pass me by.

Rolling up on the curb, Henrietta put the car in park before Lilly rushed out of the car. Watching her speed walk up the driveway, I propped my elbow on the edge of the window to hold my chin. For the first time, I noticed how new her jeans looked; her navy blouse crisp and deep, as if it’d never been washed. Even her shoes were free of any blemishes I could see before she disappeared into the back door, having never been worn before. Blinking slowly when she was out of view, I pictured her bouncy, corkscrew curls vividly before hovering up air through my nose.

“You’re too old to be playing this whirlwind romance crap, you know, Richard.” Drawing my attention with a slight edge to her tone, Henrietta twisted as I turned to look at her. A deep, grave frown etched on her face, and I copied her expression from under furrowed brows. “Why are you setting her up for disaster, huh?”

“… I’m not going to spew some shit about promising never to hurt her, Mrs. Porter… you and I both know that’s not how relationships work. But- I can promise it won’t become a disaster. You’ve known Lilly- what? Just short of a decade? When was the last time she did something spontaneous without taking five to seven business days to contemplate her decision?” Holding my gaze hard, Henrietta pursed her lips together and let the silence hang heavy with my question. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure Lilly had ever made a decision without thinking about every possible outcome first.

But now Lilly either wasn’t thinking or didn’t care about the consequences, and both options were out of character for her. Henrietta must’ve known that, and she sighed heavily before nodding a sharp tilt of her head.

“Point made.”