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He’d never felt so alone in his life.

Even those early years in L.A. when he lived in that shitty apartment and spent almost every hour of every day by himself, it didn’t feel like this.

He missed Sienna.

It had only been two days, but it felt like two years.

He’d kept himself busy, had worked twelve-hour days in the office and made sure he had something going on to fill the time, but it wasn’t working because as soon as he got home, she wasn’t there. Things like this never bothered him before; he’d been single his entire adult life, always lived alone, and never even entertained the thought of a roommate. And yet somehow in the last two weeks he’d gotten so used to having someone with him that he was essentially ruined for living alone.

“Am I just pathetic or dramatic?” he wondered.

Pouring himself a glass of wine, he stepped out onto the back deck and stared out at the ocean. It wasn’t until he caught himself sighing for the third time that he concluded, “Pathetic.”

The time difference also wasn’t helping. When Sienna got home from work, he was in meetings, and by the time he got home, she was going to bed. None of this was working as smoothly as he thought it would, and he was seriously considering packing a bag, chartering a plane, and finding a way to work from North Carolina.

He was about to go back into the house and make arrangements when he remembered...he couldn’t.

Sitting down on one of the lounges, Mick thought about the conversation he and Sienna had about this exact topic before he dropped her off at the airport.

“Two weeks, right?”

She nodded. “Technically, it’s sixteen days, but...we can do it. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that long. And I’m sure we’re both going to be busy catching up on work from our time away.”

“Well, I feel like I didn’t exactly get to truly be away. You know I’ve taken calls and met with clients, and...”

“Michael?”

“Hmm?”

“We both know that you normally work much more than that and you essentially stepped away from your job on short notice. I’m sure there is a pile of messages and contracts and emails just waiting for you.” She smiled at him as she squeezed his hand. “We survived being apart for over twenty years. Surely we can survive two weeks.”

“Sixteen days,” he murmured before kissing her hand. The sigh was out before he could stop it. “I really wish you would have let me charter a plane for you. I could have flown with you and then come right back.”

This time when she said his name, he could tell she was mildly annoyed.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said. “I’m being a little too clingy. I know.”

“Michael, I love you, but we have to be able to do something like this. We know it’s temporary and we both knew this was going to happen. Whining about it and wishing things were different isn’t going to help. This was why I was so hesitant for the last few weeks. But we talked about it and you told me...”

“I know,” he cut her off. “I know, and you’re right.” There were so many things he wanted to say, but it was all the same things he’d been saying and none of it was going to make this separation any easier.

Sienna looked at her phone and frowned. “I really need to get going. Security is going to be a beast to get through, even at this hour.”

All he could do was nod.

Silently, they both climbed from the car and walked around to the trunk. Mick pulled her luggage out and got it up on the sidewalk before cupping her face and kissing her senseless. It bordered on brutal—like he was trying to put his stamp on her and brand her as his. It was ridiculous and yet...he’d never been so desperate and needy before.

Only for her.

When they broke apart, she was breathless and her smile was sad. “We’re going to be fine. We’re both going to be so busy, the time is going to fly.”

Part of him knew that was possible, but he wasn’t holding out much hope.

“Text me when you board,” he told her, kissing her softly this time.

“I will.”

“And then text me when you land. I don’t care what time it is. Just...”