So I was talking with some readers last week, and we were discussing Shade and Liam and the budding relationship between them. I haven't actually had to deal with it yet, but it's coming up that I'm going to have to figure out a way for them to refer to one another in a non-professional setting.

Now, Liam is over eighty years old. And Shade is... Well, Shade is much older. For this reason, I can't quite wrap my head around using "boyfriend" and "girlfriend." But "lover" sounds really personal and, also, blatantly sexual. "Partner" doesn't work quite so much because considering they're a cop and a PI, that could just as easily be a professional relationship. And although in my own life, I'm probably most apt to use it, "significant other" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. As an author, that displeases me.

One problem for me is that I am not actually dating, nor do I plan to. I'm that rare, uber-happy single person who uses words like "spinster" and "old maid" with a happy sigh of contentment. So I've never had to figure out what a mature person calls their romantic partner.

Has anyone found an alternative to this? Any of my wonderful readers out there over forty and dating? Do you own the boyfriend/girlfriend monikers with pride? Do you say partner and enjoy the squirms of people who aren't sure how you meant it? Are you cool enough to pull off "SO?"

I'll be honest, I am considering having Liam use the word "mate," just to have Shade blush to her roots. For a shifter, mate is an innocuous word, no more suggestive than significant other. For humans, obviously, it's a verb that means sex.

Maybe Peasblossom can suggest something...

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know! I'm not sure when I'll have to make the call, but I've already started writing book 10...

XOXO

JB