A/N- BIG, BIG thanks to all of those loevly readers who reviewed last chapter, and with nothing else to say, on with chapter 4 :)

Nude, With Calla Lilies

Chapter 4: Right Thing

"Brooke was really…weird today." Peyton sighed, wrapping her arms around Lucas as he sat at the kitchen table, laptop closed in front of him. He tried to relax his body into her, but the more he tried, the stiffer he felt, and to avoid that crawling feeling across his skin, he made sure to dip his head a little as his girlfriend kissed his temple.

He hated feeling so guilty for something that hadn't even happened.

"Weird?" He questioned, not wanting to care, yet the second he'd heard Brooke's name, nothing else had mattered.

"Yeah, we'd talked about his whole painting thing, and when we met ready for the shoot, she said that maybe she would rethink things, and perhaps I could paint her in a couple weeks.

"Maybe she was just nervous." Lucas shrugged, half-wrestling himself out of Peyton's arms in an attempt to stand up. "Or maybe the setting was wrong."

"But we'd agreed the setting together, and even Brooke said that it was beautiful."

"Then I don't know." Lucas replied, a little abruptly.

"Don't you care?"

"About Brooke?" He asked cautiously, trying in vain to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. Of course he cared about her, but Peyton would wonder why. Lucas didn't even know himself.

"About me! This painting could mean a huge step in my career Lucas! Or don't you care about that?"

"How can you even ask that?" He shouted.

"I don't know, maybe because all you ever seem to do is spent time at the office, and if you're not there, you've got that damn computer in front of you anyway!"

"I'm writing a book." He told her. "I wasn't going to tell you until I'd finished, and this could mean a huge step in my career. Or don't you care about that?"

Peyton dropped her arms to her sides, huffing a breath of air out of her mouth. "Can I read it?" She asked softly.

"I haven't gotten very far." He replied. "And my characters aren't really developed yet."

"So I'll take a look after a couple chapters?"

Lucas smiled a little. "Sure."

"Are we okay Lucas?"

"What do you mean?"

"We never used to argue." Peyton sighed. "Now we seem to do it all the time."

"Maybe we're just tired." He offered, hoping that she would drop the subject. No, they weren't okay, because he was trying his best not to think about the girl she wanted to talk about, and she was too trusting to ever notice anything. "How about we take a vacation? Somewhere far away from here, just us, without work or friends. Just us?"

She kissed him softly, the tiniest of pecks on his cheek. "I'd love that."

-

"Why won't you work with Peyton?" Lucas demanded, slamming some coins down on the counter to pay for his coffee. "She needs this you know?"

Brooke's expression was one of anger, of disbelief that someone might speak to her like that.

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Someone who's trying to do the right thing."

She paused, changed tempo as she cocked just one of her eyebrows at him. "And what might that be?"

Lucas shook his head, running a hand over his face. Sometimes Brooke Davis just didn't make any sense to him. "I don't know any more."

"Then I'll make you a deal." She told him. "I'll pour you some coffee on the house and you can figure out the 'right thing'" Her hands extend to the air to mock-quote him. "If you tell me what that is."

He nodded slowly, gratefully taking the mug that Brooke had set in front of him.

Though late Summer, the air around New York was still ridiculously hot and sticky, a result of global warming, said the experts. Lucas hoped for a change in the temperature soon, because he was far more comfortable in sweaters and jackets, and as good an invention as air conditioning was, he much preferred to see the coffee guy in the office warming himself up by the radiators during the Winter months. Summer to Lucas had always been somewhat of a drag.

His coffee had long since gone cold by the time he had actually figured out what the right thing was, and he only frowned into the mug when he realised that he really should get back to the office.

"So?" She questioned, hazel eyes twinkling at him as he reached the front of her counter.

"What?"

"Have you figured out the 'right thing' yet?"

"Yeah." Lucas nodded, reaching into his pocket.

"So what is it?"

"It's paying you for this coffee." He replied, placing the correct amount of change in front of Brooke. "And then saying sorry for earlier. I just…know how much Peyton wanted this painting."

"Lucas, I only…"

"And then it's saying goodbye." He finished, forcing her a half-smile. "I don't think I'll be back here."

He didn't wait for a response, didn't turn back as he left, didn't take much notice of any details. He didn't see her head dip, didn't see her left hand without it's wedding and engagement rings rub her arm softly, didn't see her lips tremble 'goodbye Lucas.'

He had to make things work with Peyton.

-

She was stunning. Brunette hair cascading across creamy skin, hazel eyes beaming from the glossy page. 'A model' didn't come close to describing her beauty, only perfection could do that.

She told him her name, asked him his and said that picking her magazine cover out from the rest showed that he had great taste. He argued that it was only because of the basketball she was holding across her chest.

She rolled her eyes, telling him 'whatever.' Guys were easy to read.

"Lucas I've got a meeting with some art company who want to discus my paintings!" Peyton laughed, hugging him. He could've imagined how he would have felt in that moment: proud, excited for her, happy. Yet he felt none of those things. Instead, failure as a good boyfriend took over.

"Isn't that great?" She beamed, still clutching the phone in one hand, hugging his chest with the other.

"Well done babe." He smiled, kissing her forehead. "You deserve it."

"He asked about the details for my next painting with Brooke, and said that if it turned out even half as good as sounded, I'd definitely be looking at a five-figure price tag! And they'd look at maybe even doing a third painting, providing Brooke agrees."

"That's great Peyton." Lucas said softly. "Really great."

She told him, laid in bed with nothing but starch cotton sheets to cover their bodies, that she had managed to get in touch with Brooke, and weather providing, they had scheduled the modelling and painting to take place within the next week.

"I invited her and her husband for dinner." Peyton said, an arm draped across Lucas' chest. "I thought I'd try cooking that risotto dish your Mom gave me the recipe for."

"You invited Brooke to dinner?" He asked, panic flashing through him. "Why?"

"Because I thought we could all get to know each other properly. I know her body but not her. Perhaps if we're going to be business partners, I should know more about her than her hip to waist ratio." She laughed. "Are you okay with that?"

"Uh…yeah." He lied. "Just…"

"Just what?"

"Just don't get too hopeful about this meeting with the art company. I'd hate to see you crushed if something didn't…"

"Do you not like my paintings Lucas?" Peyton cut in, sitting up a little.

"I love them. But if they don't, I wouldn't want you to take it to heart."

She relented, laying her head further into to the crook of his neck as he ran a tired hand through curly blonde hair.

"Do you like Brooke?" She murmured.

"Do I like her?"

"I know she can appear a little…silly sometimes. But she's a really lovely person once you spend enough time with her."

Lucas simply nodded, his lips dry and parted as he thought about the brunette in question, wondering whether she might be lying at home in bed, sheets covering her naked body too as she thought about anything just to pass the time.

"I'm sure she is."

Pretty please (with a cherry on top) review for me xxx