"I met a tall, dark and handsome man

And I've been busy makin' big plans

But no one needs to know right now

I want bells to ring, a choir to sing

The white dress the guests the cake the car the whole darn thing

But no one needs to know right now"

- "No One Needs To Know" (Shania Twain)

Lulu Spencer prided herself on being smart and self-sufficient and having an innate sensibility to guard her heart and her life. But if she was smarter she would wonder why she spent so much money and energy on her lacy bedtime attire. She went shopping for new lingerie at least once a month and racked up hundreds of dollars on her credit card bill and it was all going to waste, clearly. Dante was too tired and never appreciated the lack of fabric in her nightgown.

He had been a teaching assistant in her eleven o'clock Tuesday and Thursday literature course and on the first day of class he'd tracked her to the bagel eatery on campus after she'd left her phone and car keys in the classroom. She'd left them there on purpose just so he would come after her, and come after her he had. Her brother hadn't raised no fool. Lucky had taught her how to only rely on herself, not anyone else, but Lulu had been lonely then and now she wasn't. Every time she closed her eyes she could hear Dante Falconeri's gentle-like-the-wind voice when he had approached her for the first time, her phone and keys in his hand. Blue jeans and a white button-down shirt that hugged his body nicely, she'd always remember what he was wearing. Lulu couldn't remember what she had been wearing, though, and the harder she tried to remember the headaches she always got would get stronger.

"I knew it was you. I couldn't forget those beautiful eyes." Three hours and an orange juice and shared chocolate chip cookie later Lulu had missed her twelve-thirty biology class and had decided to skip her two o'clock calculus class, but she didn't care. The classes meant nothing to her. She had fallen head over heels for her cute TA.

Now it was sixteen months later and they were still together. Dante was still a teaching assistant for that same freshman literature course and even though Lulu was a junior and her free time wasn't what it used to be she stopped by the English building at least once a week to watch him teach. She waited in the hallway for ninety minutes every Tuesday to see him. He always pretended not to notice her and she honored that and didn't bother him when he was talking to other professors or male students. Girls were a different worry. She was constantly worried that her Dante was being corrupted by innocent and naive freshman girls.

Lulu knew she didn't have anything to worry over. She knew Dante never would betray her trust. She'd written down pages and pages worth in the secret journal Lucky had bought her what would happen if Dante ever hurt her. He'd be stupid to betray her.

The second Lulu had laid eyes on him when she walked into her literature class and seen him standing there smiling just at her (no one else, just her, always just for her), she had known without doubt that she wouldn't be walking to the altar for anyone but Dante Falconeri. He promised her a proposal the day she graduated and some days when her headaches got bad and the world got to be too much for her knowing that Dante loved her and that she would be his wife in a year and a half was the only thing keeping her going. Her academic advisor insisted on meeting with her last week to tell her she was in danger of failing all of her classes and being relegated to academic probation. Stupid woman, Lulu had already known that. It wasn't her fault Dante was so sexy and wonderful that she didn't feel the need to study, she would much rather prepare for a life with him. Dante had an apartment twenty minutes from campus and she wanted to move in that summer so they would have all of her senior year to be together. It would be good practice for marriage and she needed all the practice she could get, she hadn't gotten the chance to learn anything from her parent's marriage. (Stupid parents, where had they been when Lulu had needed them? Lucky and Nikolas had shared legal custody of her for years.) When Lulu was alone she always tried to shake the feeling that her soon-to-be-fiance was hiding something from her, that he didn't want her to move in.

It was just a feeling, just nerves. It wasn't real. Lulu took one of her pills and told herself that the idea that Dante was trying to hide something from her wasn't real. They weren't supposed to have secrets from each other. She wouldn't stand for it. She was going to be his wife sooner rather than later. She needed to be with him at night.

She stumbled out of bed and consulted the daily tasks list Lucky faithfully wrote for her each day. She took the pills Lucky's note told her to take and padded towards the kitchen to make herself a pot of coffee. Lucky and Nikolas didn't want her to have caffeine and even tried to lie to her and told her it interacted with her medication, but Lulu knew better. They didn't know how hard her life was and how much she needed coffee every morning. Lulu went to the sink and spit out the pills she hid under her tongue, pressing the garbage disposal button and smirking in satisfaction as the three pills grounded to fine powder and dissolved away. What Lucky didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

She gulped down her coffee and stepped outside for the morning paper. Being able to read the paper after her jog always calmed her and made her mood significantly better in time for her first class. Not to mention her daily morning phone call from her helicopter overprotective legal guardians. Nikolas or Lucky called her every morning, even on the weekends, and it was always a more productive conversation when she was calm. When she was calm her brothers didn't lecture her about taking her medication and they didn't treat her like a child.

Lulu jogged to her neighbor's front door and knocked impatiently, tying her front door key to a bracelet tucked underneath her sock. It was fifteen minutes to seven already and her first class was at nine. Not that she planned to go to her class but she needed to be back close to that time so she could tell Lucky she was leaving for class. Lulu knocked again, louder. She didn't understand why Maxie was so rude and always late.

Maxie Jones finally opened the door before Lulu could knock for a third time and smiled indulgently at her impatient friend. Maxie had come home from work two months earlier to see her husband coming in and out of the blonde's apartment and the two had taken the twenty-four year old under their wing ever since. Maxie had talked privately to Spinelli a couple of times about Lulu and why her two brothers were so protective over her. Lulu was hesitant to offer any information about her past and the only significant fact Maxie had ever gotten out of her was Lulu's mechanical and unemotional comment one afternoon that her brothers shared guardianship of her because her mother and father had been tragically killed when she was seven. Nikolas and Lucky hadn't told her anything else except a bad man had murdered them and they were in charge of her now. Maxie immediately had felt sympathy for her new neighbor and understood why Lulu's older brothers treated her the way they did, and the feeling that something was very wrong with Lulu Spencer got pushed to the very back of her mind.

She checked her watch and glanced up at the sky to do a rudimentary weather report. "Once around the lake?" she asked, turning her head to her friend. "We've got enough time if we run hard."

Lulu shrugged. "I'm going to need to shampoo twice, but okay. Dante's meeting me for lunch after my second class. I want to look nice."

Maxie smiled patiently. It was strange that as much as Lulu spoke of him that Maxie hadn't ever met this Dante but she was happy that her friend was happy and content. She'd gotten more than a few late night phone calls from Lucky and/or Nikolas asking her how Lulu was doing lately and whether she seemed happy. Today, at least, Maxie could truthfully report that Lulu was happy. "You always put so much pressure on yourself to look nice."

Lulu's usually cheerful demeanor was cold as ice. "If you made the effort every once in awhile, Spinelli wouldn't stay so late at the office." Maxie had to concentrate to not trip over a sudden gap in the concrete and by the time she looked up at her neighbor Lulu's eyes were flushed with heat and embarrassment and her eyes sloped down slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Dante didn't – I've…I've had a bad few nights. I haven't slept well lately. I didn't mean that. Please don't tell Lucky I yelled."

Maxie managed a smile. She and Spinelli had been having problems lately, that was true, but she hoped Lulu hadn't meant it in the way it had been intended. She didn't think she'd be able to stand it if Spinelli cheated. He was one of the few good things in her life. Maxie liked her new neighbor a lot and did enjoy her friendship but her intuition about a person was never wrong and even Spinelli of the thousands of idiosyncrasies had admitted to her over dinner one night that Lulu's personality was prickly on a good day and downright odd on others. "I hope you have a good lunch."

There was silence for the next quarter mile until finally Lulu spoke and Maxie knew by the inflections in her voice that it was as close as she would get to an apology. "Spinelli loves you."

Maxie was quiet. "I won't be able to go running with you like this in a few months."

Lulu made a face as they rounded the trees and started back towards the path that would lead them home. "It's going to be winter in a few months. Winter means snow and snow means cold." Her parents died in the cold. Bleeding and alone in the cold. She'd stolen the police report from Lucky once and made a copy for herself. Lulu laughed and motioned to Maxie's choice of running wardrobe that matched hers, running pants and a sports bra. "I hope you wouldn't go running like that."

"I'm pregnant." Lulu looked appropriately shocked, or as emotionally-appropriate as Lulu Spencer ever got, and Maxie gave her a hesitant smile. "Spinelli doesn't know yet. I was planning on telling him tonight."

"He'll be so happy."

"And I'll have about seven months to get happy." Maxie shrugged. "This really wasn't the best timing, but what can you do about it?"

"But he'll be happy," Lulu insisted. "It doesn't matter what you think. It never matters what you think because you're a girl. I learned that a long time ago. All that matters is that he is happy."

Maxie didn't respond. When Lulu got in her moods like this it was better not to respond and just let her work through it on her own. Lulu was mumbling to herself something about needing time before she had to be showered and ready for Nikolas and Lucky to call her, they never gave her enough time.

Impulsively, for the first time since she'd moved in, Lulu was the one initiating their goodbye hug. "Tell me how it goes," she whispered in Maxie's ear. She ran to her own front door and glanced around to make sure no one was watching while she reached on her tiptoes inside the secret compartment Lucky didn't think she knew about and took the extra spare key, so Nikolas and Lucky wouldn't have a way to get in while she wasn't home. Lulu opened her front door and ran inside to the sink, pressing the key down the drain and running the disposal. No more overprotective brothers watching her every move and leaving her lists of things to do every day. Lulu remembered on her own to make it look like she was taking her medication. She didn't need any help. Lulu Spencer never needed help from anybody. Her mother had taught her that.

As the steam fogged her bathroom mirror and shower doors, Lulu let the sound of the water running and the sound of her shower radio block out her ringing phone. She wouldn't be talking to either of her brothers anymore. She had better things to do.

She needed to look extra-pretty today for Dante. She'd spent the last ten minutes meticulously deciding on an outfit for when she met him for lunch.

Every day that passed was a day closer to her graduation, whether or not she actually graduated was up for debate but she was never one to let a minor technicality like grades bother her - Dante was a TA, he could fix everything for her. Every day that passed was a day closer to her graduation and closer to the day of the blessed event where Lesley Lu Spencer would become Lesley Lu Falconeri.

Their wedding was going to be the best day of her life. Not even her brothers could take that away from her.

Lulu stomped to her car and jammed the key into the ignition. Even her high heels were angry. She threw her backpack into the backseat and pulled out of the restaurant parking lot. Dante stood her up. Dante had fucking stood her up, and she wouldn't stand for it. She had waited in the restaurant he had told her to be at for over an hour like an idiot and he hadn't even had the decency to call her. She wouldn't take his standoffish attitude for much longer, she really wouldn't. She was better than this.

She fought through the tears of humiliation and blinked rapidly to stop herself from turning into the whiny pathetic mess she had been years ago when her brothers had to save her. She wouldn't be that person again. Lulu bit down on her lower lip until she tasted the familiar sensation of blood and bit down again. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he had stood her up.

She was going to be his wife next year. She was going to be his wife.

He couldn't treat her this way. She wouldn't have it.

When she came to a red light Lulu looked to her lap to rummage through her purse, tossing her prescription bottle of pills into the backseat carelessly and smirking in victory when she found her phone. She dialed the number she knew by heart and rolled her eyes when she heard his voicemail. Again. Good lord, why didn't that man ever pick up? He had to know it was her calling. Lulu waited for her boyfriend's answering machine to pick up and tapped her foot impatiently against the brake pedal while she waited for the beep. You know what to do, my ass, she thought bitterly.

"Dante, it's me," she chirped into the receiver, her false cheerfulness gone in an instant when she thought of how he had betrayed her for the last time. "God, Dante, I don't have a damn clue why I'm waiting for a ring from you when I'm not even important enough for you to meet me for lunch – like you planned, I might add. I don't know why I'm not as important to you as you are to me. I don't know why I even bother to try anymore." Lulu wasn't going to let him hear her tears. He didn't deserve to know how much he had hurt her. Had continuously hurt her. Just like everyone in her life. "Did you know I was willing to give up my whole life for you, Dante? I would have gone anywhere and done anything you wanted." She laughed maniacally. "But no matter. You aren't worth it. You never were. I'm coming over to your apartment tonight to give back all the shirts I stole because they smelled like you."

Lulu clipped the phone shut and threw it into the passenger seat and shook her head to rid herself of the last few tears. Dante would certainly be a hard man to get over, but she would do it. He didn't deserve her. She didn't deserve anyone that would treat her less than the queen she was. It would take time for her to find another man, but she had time. She knew she could do it. Dante was yesterday's news now.

Lulu Spencer prided herself on guarding her heart. Dante Falconeri wouldn't be allowed back in ever.

Turning onto the road that would lead her back to her apartment complex – she had three other classes that day but had no intention of going to them now – Lulu's eyes narrowed when she saw Dante in the parking lot of the campus bookstore. Frowning, she pulled into the same parking lot, jumping out of the car as soon as she put it in park and walking quickly toward Dante and once she was within inches of him, her hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Where were you?" she demanded. Dante turned to face her, a stack of books in his arms. Her eyes narrowed at him again when he looked puzzled, and she rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, you were busy, but you could have called, at least. Dammit, Dante Falconeri, you made me look like an idiot!"

"Where was I?" he repeated slowly, setting the books on the trunk of her car. He still looked confused and his defiance was no longer cute to her. How dare he pretend they didn't have plans together that day! "Where was I when?"

"For lunch!" she cried, stomping her foot on the sidewalk. "You said you'd take me out to celebrate me passing my test, and then you'd take me back to your apartment for a…private celebration." Lulu grinned, her hand reaching up to his cheek. "Let me tell you, I liked your idea a hell of a lot better than lunch."

Dante turned to her slowly and opened one of his books and flipped through the pages. He didn't know what to say next. He never dreamed he'd ever be in this situation. His voice was slow and gentle when he spoke. "Lulu Spencer?" he asked quietly. "Weren't you in my freshman literature class?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be cute. It doesn't work on you as much as you think it does."

His tone remained gentle and he took her phone and car keys from her so he could hold her hand. She was upset. He didn't want her to run. "I think I've seen you around campus a few times. You've waited for me outside of the class I'm a TA for, haven't you? Is that you?"

Lulu closed her eyes in frustration. "Dante, baby, what did I tell you about getting enough sleep?" She smiled. "We can go to lunch now and then we can go home, okay?"

Dante only got more concerned and continued to hold her hand tightly, hoping he could help to anchor her and her mind to earth. "Home? What are you talking about, Lulu?" he murmured. "We haven't spoken to each other since that first day of class freshman year when I gave you back your phone."

"And I'm not lonely anymore at night

And he don't know only, only he can make it right"