Julian sipped on his drink as he made his way through the crowd. He peered through the sea of people looking for his date in her sexy plum colored dress and silver heels. He seems to have lost her while he was on the other side of the room speaking privately to his father. Suddenly he feels a pair of arms around his waist and familiar voice in ear.

"Looking for me Mr. Bowers?"

The smell of Joanna's perfume and the playfulness of her voice intoxicates him every time.

Julian turned slightly to his right and wrapped his arm around Joanna.

"As a matter of fact I was. Where did you run off to?"

"Mia and I went to the ladies room. I'm a little tired though and it's almost 2am, do you feel like calling it night?"

"Yeah, I think we've served our purpose here tonight. If you're ready then so I am. Let's go."

Hand in hand they maneuvered through the crowd and Julian stopped to bid his father and Sophia goodnight. Joanna stood behind him as if to go unnoticed by Robert. He's still not happy that she and Julian are together since he no longer trusts her but Julian made it clear to him how he feels about her and that won't change. Robert looked at Joanna as a gesture of saying goodnight without actually saying it.

Walking a little further, they bump into Mia and some of her friends.

"Are you guys leaving already?"

"Yes we are birthday girl. We're not as young as you are you know so we get tired earlier."

Julian let go of Joanna to give Mia a hug and Joanna did the same.

"Happy birthday and goodnight. We love you. Call you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay, I love you guys."

They stopped to retrieve their coats from the concierge and Julian helped Joanna put on hers. He put on his as well and took Joanna's hand as they proceeded to exit the ballroom. Once outside, Julian gave the valet the ticket for his car and he and Joanna stood on the curb as the man went to retrieve it. He dropped Joanna's hand and wrapped his arm around her waist instead to pull her closer and she wrapped her arms around him also.

He lovingly looked down at her and kissed her on her forehead.

"Yeah you do look a little sleepy so I better get you home soon."

She looked up at him and he bent down to kiss her on the lips. Joanna felt safe and at home in Julian's arms. Every time she looks at him she can't believe how lucky they are to have found each other again.

They break their kiss as the valet arrives with the car. Julian walks over and opens the door for Joanna and closes it after she gets in. He walks over to the driver side and hands the valet a $20 tip and drives off.

As they start the forty minute drive to Julian's place, Joanna dozes off a little. Julian turns and looks at her sleeping. He shakes his head and smiles and turns the radio down a little lower so she can enjoy her short nap. He was also thinking about taking her away for the weekend so they could have some alone time away from the city and family. They've been putting off having a serious discussion about their relationship, his family and if she will continue to work at Bowers Pharmaceutical. Joanna has always been the one woman in his life that he has loved no matter what even while they were apart for seventeen years. He always held on to the hope that they would be together someday and he's determined not to lose her again and he feels the only way to do this is with complete honesty on both their parts. He decided to spring it on her in the morning and if she agreed, they would leave as soon as possible.

They finally reach the parking garage of Julian's condo and he gently nudges her as he places the car in park.

"Hey, sleepyhead, we're home."

Joanna awakens and shakes her head a little and repositions herself in the seat. She lets out a slight yawn and picks up her purse. Julian opens the door for her to exit and she stretches a little when she steps out of the car.

He pulls her close as if to hold her up and they walk toward the elevator.

"Wow I can't believe I slept all the way here."

"You sure did and I had no one to talk to but myself."

Julian smiled at her as they waited for the elevator.

"Oh I'm sorry babe. You should've kept nudging me or something."

"No I actually like watching you when you sleep because you're so beautiful."

This made Joanna blush a little and she rested her head on his chest. His heartbeat was music to her ears and the smell of his cologne heightened her senses. She was fully awake now.

They stepped into the elevator and Julian held on to Joanna's hand. When they arrived at his floor, he pulled her behind him as they walked to the door. Once inside they removed their coats and Julian walked over to the kitchen for a glass of water. Joanna went directly to the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed and began taking off her shoes. Julian walked in a few seconds later and placed his glass on the nightstand next to the bed. As he was walks past Joanna on his way to the closet, she grabbed his hand and stood up. He turned around and looked at her because he thought something was wrong but instead, she tilted her head and reached up for his neck to pull him closer. He was very familiar with the look she had in her eyes and he paused before he kissed her.

"I thought you were tired?" he said softly as their faces came closer.

"Not anymore. The sleep on the way here must have reenergized me. Are you tired?"

Julian didn't bother answering he just went in for the kiss instead. Joanna removed his jacket and he in turn unzipped her dress which she let fall to the floor. They both unbuttoned and removed his shirt and Joanna gently kissed and caressed his chest. While still kissing him, she unbuckled and unzipped his pants and he stepped out of them but never broke their kiss.

Following her lead as she took steps forward, Julian walked backwards until he felt the bed behind him and fell backwards on it with Joanna in his arms. They looked at each other and laughed as though they were surprised that they didn't land on the floor instead. Continuing to smile, Joanna brought her lips closer to Julian's and he cupped her face in hands. Their kissing intensified and Julian's hands caressed every inch of her body and without warning, he turned over so that he was now on top. His kisses began as a downward path on her neck. He removed her bra when he reached her chest and he continued on southward and paused at her thighs. He deliberately kissed and caressed each one stopping short in the middle just to keep her guessing as to what would come next. He slowly rose up to her navel and kissed her stomach. His hands reached down to remove her panties and he went down with them. Joanna was now lost in complete ecstasy as Julian took in every inch of her. Their intense love for one another fueled the passion of their lovemaking to the point of losing all sense of space and time. They fell asleep in warmly tucked in each others arms barely breaking their embrace throughout the night.

Just shy of the sixth hour of their slumber, they were awakened by the sound of Joanna's phone ringing. She reached out to the nightstand trying to feel her way to it and Julian raised his head up slightly and rubbed his eyes.

"Just let it go to voicemail." he whispered as he laid his head back on his pillow.

By the time Joanna cuffed the phone in hand, it stopped ringing. She touched the missed call notification and saw that it was Will. She reached back and returned the phone to the nightstand and promised herself to call him back as soon as she got out of bed.

Two hours later, Joanna awoke and slowly sat up in the bed. She had no idea what time was and she turned at looked at Julian who was still asleep. She reached for phone and also remembered that she had to return Will's call, She was shocked to see that it was 11:40am and even though didn't have to go in to work at Bowers today, she normally checks in with Will by 9:30 every morning and she immediately suspected that being his reason for calling earlier. She got out of the bed and reached down for Julian's shirt which she put on as she made her way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and fixed her hair a little but she decided to call Will before jumping in the shower. She went out to the terrace so she wouldn't be overheard calling Will back. She prepared herself for his potential sarcasm that she knew he would be spewing at her.

She looks around once more and then proceeds to call his number.

"Well Ms. LoCasto, thanks for calling me back so quickly."

Joanna took a slight pause before responding.

"Good morning Will. I'm sorry that I didn't get back to you sooner but I got in real late last night from Mia's party. I was so tired that I forgot to set the alarm on my phone and I apologize for that. I didn't gather anything new from the party last night. Robert and Sophia mostly stayed at their table all night and there were no unusual guests. Do you have anything new for me?"

"No not right now but I do need you to search for a document on of Roberts computer. Apparently, he sent an email to Ben Preswick a few days before he died and we need to see what that was about. Are you going in to the office today?"

"No we were all scheduled off due to the party. I can try going in saying I need something out of my desk."

"Okay if you think that's possible today but if not, I can hold off until Monday but you're going to have to get it to me as soon as possible"

"I'll try for the today. How are you by the way?"

"Why do you care about my well being? We decided that this arrangement would be kept professional as of the last few weeks so please don't ask me personal stuff … okay?"

Joanna was kind of surprised at his answer but she did prepare herself for this type of reaction.

"I'm sorry, forget that I asked. Like I said if I can get the info today, I'll send it right over,"

"Okay just let me know when you have it."

"I will."

They both hung up simultaneously which they have perfected over the last month due to the awkwardness of their personal and professional relationship. Will has not forgiven her for sleeping with Julian and he's not happy that he has been forced to continue working with her to solve the case. This saddens Joanna and she has tried to explain to him why she chose Julian but he refuses to listen to her.

She walks back in to the living room and she sees Julian coming from the bedroom looking disheveled. She smiles and walks toward him. They meet in the middle and he kisses her.

"That looks like my shirt."

"It is. I was cold on my way to the bathroom and it was the closest to me so I put it on. Looks great right?"

Julian shakes his head and looks at her but he was also curious about her phone call.

"Who did you have to go outside to call?"

"My ex. He calls to give me an update on our property that has yet to be sold. We sometimes end up arguing during our conversations and I didn't want to wake you so I stepped outside to call him. No big deal."

"When will that be resolved? Soon I hope."

"I hope so to. I plan on calling the real estate agent later to discuss it further. So do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes but I'll cook it. You've made the last couple of meals so I'll get this one."

He bends to give Joanna a kiss on the cheek and she smiles.

"Okay well I guess I'll take a shower. I may have to go by the office today to make sure I set up all of your dad's appointments for Monday."

"Okay but I was going to ask you if you feel like getting away this weekend – just us. We need some real alone time you know away from everyone. I was thinking we could go to Bimini or somewhere in the Caribbean for a few days. We can come back by Sunday evening just in time for work on Monday."

Almost forgetting that Will asked her to look for a document in Roberts email, Joanna comes up with an excuse.

"That sounds great but when would leave?"

"I can get my assistant to arrange everything and we could leave this afternoon or later in the evening. It doesn't matter to me as long as we just get away for a few days. I'll call her now so she can make the arrangements."

Julian walks back to the bedroom to make the call while Joanna starts thinking of an excuse to leave so she can go to the office. She figures she'll tell Julian that she has to pick up a few things for the trip and stop by the office also. That should give her a two to three hour window to get to the office then do a little shopping as a cover. She'll have Will meet her somewhere if she gets the information he needs and still make it back in time to leave. She walks in the bedroom and Julian is on the phone with his assistant so she figures she'll take a shower and tell him when he's done.