The next week passed slowly for Tiffany. She kept as much distance between herself and Lance as possible and since both Erin and Parker were around in the evenings when Lance came to visit, she hadn't had much trouble.

But at night when she would curl up in her big bed alone she would cry silent tears into her pillow. She had not cried like this over Lance in years. Somehow missing him when he had been gone was easier then having him close enough to touch, yet being unable to touch him.

She was sitting in her kitchen alone Saturday after lunch when the telephone rang. She jumped up and answered it quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tiff." Lances voice replied. Tiffany felt that familiar quickening in her pulse and cursed herself.

"Hi Lance. Parker isn't home today. He went to his friend Ben's house for a sleepover."

"That's okay, I was actually wanting to talk to you. Is Erin still there?" he asked.

"No, she drove out to her parents house for the day."

"Good. I'll be there shortly." Lance replied and then he hung up. Tiffany stared at the phone in her hand for several long minutes thinking about the conversation they had just had. He wanted to talk to her alone? She felt hope blossom inside of her. Maybe Erin was right and Lance still loved her despite the horrible mistake she had made six years ago.

She looked down at her gray lounge pants and stained up black t-shirt and knew she had to make herself more presentable. She ran back to her room to raid her closet only to discover that she couldn't find a shirt that wasn't either too big or stained with something. She had always worn baggy t-shirts and long sleeves, even as a teenager, but suddenly she wanted to look more feminine for Lance.

She saw Erin's suitcase lying in the corner and smiled. She could always count on her best friend to come through for her.

Lance knocked on Tiffany's door thirty minutes later and though he swore he should be too old for butterflies, they swarmed in his stomach. He loved her with a passion that had only gotten stronger in the six years they had been apart. The difference now though was that the love was more grown up and mature then it had been at nineteen.

He hated that they would never be together. It ate at his very soul that Tiffany would never love him back. How could she? He had left her alone to raise their son for six years.

He felt his breath catch in his throat when the door opened and he was sure his jaw hit the floor. Tiffany had always been a bit of tomboy. Ponytails, baseball caps, baggy shirts and jeans. She'd always worn sandals or sneakers with never a heel in sight but right now she looked different.

Not better, just different. Her hair was loose and hanging in waves down her back (he liked that), she was wearing make up and he didn't like that because it hid her tiny freckles and he liked those. He was sure the shirt she was wearing must belong to Erin because it looked like the kind of thing she would wear. The red shirt was tight in the chest and waist but the long sleeves were loose and flowy. It was cut low in front and showed off Tiffany's cleavage, which had filled out quite nicely in the years he'd been gone. Her jeans fit tight on her feminine hips and she had high heel sandals on her feet. She looked damn good but he couldn't help thinking that he liked his Tiffany better... Of course he could get used to the low cut shirt.

Lance knew he should say something but the sight of her damn cleavage had his brain on sensory overload and he couldn't seem to form words. He came to the quick conclusion that he had been too long without a woman. He had been six years without a woman as a matter of fact because there had been none since Tiffany.

"Are you okay?" Tiffany asked awkwardly as she smoothed out the sleeves of Erin's shirt. Judging by the look on Lance's face she had chosen her outfit well and she could feel her body heating up in response to his obvious attraction to her.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." Lance replied slowly as if coming out of a trance.

"Are you going to come in or stand on the step all day?" she asked with a nervous smile. Lance smiled as well and Tiffany cursed her knees of jello.

"It's a pretty day. Why don't we go for a walk?" Lance asked. He knew if he was in the house alone with her, there was no way he would be able to think or speak straight. He didn't want to say or do the wrong thing with her and ruin the friendship they were building. Though he wanted more then friendship he wasn't willing to risk losing her completely and that was surely what would happen if he admitted his feelings for her… After all, he knew there was no way she would feel the same about him.

"A walk?" Tiffany asked looking down at the high heeled sandals on her feet. Lance nodded, knowing that he was pathetic and weak for not wanting to be in the house alone with her but it was too late to take back the walk idea now.

"Yeah, it's not too cold today and soon winter will be here and it'll be too cold to be out." he replied. Tiffany shrugged.

"Let me change my shoes." she said and walked back into the house. Lance waited on the step for her to come back and soon they were walking in the afternoon sunlight down the gravel road she and Parker lived on.

"Don't you ever worry about living way out here alone?" Lance asked looking around at the surrounding forests and mountains.

"No." Tiffany replied breathing deep. "I love it out here." Lance nodded and they walked in silence a while longer.

"The main reason I came by today was because I wanted to talk to you about Parker's birth certificate and his name." Lance said as he scooped some gravels up in his hand and began throwing them one by one into the woods as they walked. Tiffany felt a sting of disappointment. Of course this was about him and Parker, not about him and her. She had been foolish to think it was anything else.

"What about his birth certificate?" she asked as she picked a leaf off of a tree and began tearing it into pieces.

"Am I on it?"

"No. We weren't married and you weren't there to sign a paper accepting paternity so I had to leave it blank. That's why he has my last name." Lance nodded.

"If I make an appointment for this week to sign the papers can we get my name put on the birth certificate? I'd like him to have my name too but I want to leave that up to him."

"That's fine with me." Tiffany replied quietly. She was happy that Parker was getting the father he had always wanted. But what about her? When was she going to get the man that she had always wanted? She looked over at him and saw that he looked thoughtful and his strong jaw was tense as he stared down at his feet.

"It's colder then I thought it was." Tiffany said as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. Lance quickly pulled off the flannel shirt he'd worn over his t-shirt today and put it over her shoulders.

"You'll freeze." she scolded.

"I'll be fine." he said with a grin. "Besides what kind of man would I be if I let the mother of my child freeze just because I wanted to go for a walk?"

"Not a very good one I guess." she replied smiling at the good natured twinkle in his eyes.

"Let's head back before you start chattering." Lance said wrapping his arm tight around her shoulders and causing her stomach to flutter around inside of her.

"I don't chatter." she replied matter of factly as they turned around and headed back toward the house.

"Your lips are turning blue." he countered. Tiffany ran her finger over her lips and Lance had the urge to replace her finger with his own.

"They are not." she argued. "I can handle the cold just fine."

"I haven't ever seen you in the winter." Lance replied and she could hear the regret in his voice. Or maybe she was just imagining regret because she wanted it to be there.

"What are you plans for this winter?" she asked cautiously. Lance opened the door since they had arrived back at the house and she walked in.

"I'm planning on staying here." he replied as he walked in and shut the door and then he quickly added. "You know in town." just so she wouldn't think he meant in her house.

"Are you thirsty?" she asked as she pulled a water from the refrigerator for herself. He shook his head.

"Actually I was hoping maybe I could look at some pictures of Parker when he was younger."

"Of course." Tiffany replied scolding herself silently for not showing them to him sooner. "Just go sit on the couch and I'll get them." Lance went to the living room and sat down on the big floral couch. He looked around the room as he listened to Tiffany moving things around in her bedroom in her search for the photo albums.

The living room was decorated sparsely without very many frills or decorations. The furniture was simple but seemed to all be in good condition. Lance was happy to see that Tiffany had been able to provide Parker with a good home but he also felt guilt that he hadn't helped out. He guessed that child support was something they needed to talk about.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Tiffany asked as she walked into the living room and sat down beside him on the couch with three big photo albums on her lap.

"I'm wishing I could have helped you raise Parker… Not just the normal daddy stuff but financially. It must have been hard for you on your own." Tiffany thought back to the first year of Parker's life. Times had been hard then and she had made them harder with her pride and her stubborn streak when she had refused to accept any help from her parents.

"It was hard for a while but we made it." she said, setting the photo albums on the table with a thud.

"I know you've been making it on your own so far but I just want you to know that anything you guys need, all you have to do is tell me. I want to…." He stopped talking when he saw the look on her face. It was a cross between irritation and amusement.

"Do you think we're poor and struggling?" she asked while picking at the big sleeves of her shirt. Lance back peddled quickly.

"No it's not that… It's just.. .Well. I mean.." He looked around helplessly. He didn't want to fight with her and he knew that if she felt he was insulting her it would cause a fight. Then she surprised him when she started laughing. Lance swore the room got brighter as her soft laughter filled the air.

"Calm down Lance." she said laying her hand on his arm. "I'm not mad, just amused. What makes you think we're poor?" Lance knew that by answering he was quite possibly digging his own grave but if he didn't answer then he would be in just as much trouble.

"Well I just noticed that you drive that old truck and this house is nice but it's small…" he stopped talking and waited for her to start yelling.

"I'm not poor Lance. Not even close. I have a brand new truck in the garage but I like my old one better. Besides I am almost always covered in grease so I'd just end up ruining the interior. The house is small because it's just Parker and I and we don't need a lot of space and I know there aren't a whole lot of decorations but Parker is just now getting out of the rambunctious, breaking everything stage."

"I didn't mean to insult you." Lance said as he gave her a sheepish look and picked up one of the photo albums. Tiffany shrugged.

"I'm not insulted. I think it's safe to say that I probably have almost as much money as you do." she replied. Lance's eyes widened with disbelief.

"The garage…" Tiffany laughed and he stopped talking again.

"No. I just work at the garage to help my dad and give me something to do. I've always loved that place." she replied. "If you remember, you weren't the only one with dreams back when we were teenagers and I made mine come true too."

"You published a book?" Lance asked proudly. Tiffany nodded.

"Ten of them actually. Six of them became bestsellers." Lance smiled and took Tiffany by surprise when he wrapped her in a tight hug.

"That's great! I always knew you could do it." He breathed in the scent of her hair and suddenly realized he'd made a mistake by pulling her this close to him. He could feel the curve of her breasts pressed against his own chest. She fit against him perfectly just the way she always had.

He pulled away from her quickly and quickly opened the photo album, happy that it was in his lap and hiding his bodies reaction to holding her.

"But if you've published that many books then how come I haven't ever seen them?" he asked with confusion as he looked back over at her. "For the last six years I have gone into every bookstore in the country looking for your name and I've never seen it."

"You've checked for my books?" Tiffany asked surprised at how much this touched her. Lance nodded.

"Of course." he replied. "You have a lot of talent." Tiffany quickly grabbed another photo album and opened it just to keep her hands busy.

"Well I published under a different name." she replied as her face colored with embarrassment. She hadn't really thought when she had signed the name to her first manuscript and now she was scared to admit to him the name she had chosen.

"What name?" Lance asked as he wondered why her face was so red.

"I didn't really think when I chose it…. Um.. I stole your last name and put my middle name with it."

"Abigail Asher?" Lance asked with a grin. Tiffany blushed a deeper red and wished she could sink into the couch cushions and disappear.

"Yes." she replied. "And why do you remember my middle name?" she asked hoping to turn the attention away from the fact that she had used his last name.

"I remember everything about you Tiffany." Lance replied and their eyes locked together. Sparks flew and the very air seemed to crackle with electricity.

Lance decided that he had to kiss her. If she slapped him then he would deal with it but judging by the look in her green eyes, the way her lips were parted slightly and the way her small tongue darted across her lips leaving them shining and moist, he didn't think that she would slap him.

Tiffany was sure that her body was going to melt into a puddle right there on the couch because there was no way it could feel this hot and not melt. As Lance leaned into her and she saw his blue eyes darken with passion she felt her heart speed up to an impossible rhythm.

Just before their lips met they heard the door open and they jumped apart.

"Honey, I'm home!" Erin called from the kitchen. "What is Lance doing here? Did Parker come home early…." her voice trailed off as she walked into the living room and saw Lance and Tiffany sitting on opposite ends of the couch with guilty looks on both their faces as if they were teenagers caught being naughty by their parents.

"Awkward." Erin said as she sat her purse down by the wall and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"We were just looking at pictures." Tiffany said quickly as she held up the photo album in her hands. Erin knew better but she wasn't going to embarrass her best friend by saying so. Erin knew she should leave but the urge to protect Tiffany was stronger. Until Erin knew that Lance was around to stay and that he was serious about being with Tiffany, she wasn't going to let him get too close to her best friend. Tiffany's heart couldn't handle being left behind by him again.

"Cool beans. I want to look too." she said and plopped herself down in between the two of them on the couch. She smiled and pretended not to notice the glares they both sent in her direction.

After about an hour of laughing and stories as they looked through the photo albums, Lance decided it was time to go. Erin obviously wasn't going to leave and Lance knew she was doing her part to keep Tiffany safe from him and he didn't blame her.

"You can stay for dinner." Tiffany said as she walked him to the door. Lance shook his head.

"Naw.. You finally have a free night without Parker and Erin is here. You two have fun." he said. Tiffany nodded and tried hard to hide her disappointment from him. Lance bent down and kissed her forehead leaving her stuttering and speechless.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Nope. We're spending tomorrow at her parents house. Of course I'm sure you could come. Steve would probably love to see you again." Erin said as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter on the other side of the kitchen.

"No that's okay." Lance replied quickly as he remembered how Steve's fist had felt when it had made contact with his face. "I'll just see you and Parker Monday." Tiffany still couldn't seem to form words so she just nodded. Lance gave a nod in Erin's direction and then he walked out. Tiffany waited until his truck was out of sight before shutting the door and turning to Erin who was smiling like a crazy fool.

"So, what exactly did I interrupt earlier and why are you wearing my shirt?"