Author Note: Did you all enjoy that little cliffhanger or two last week? Hopefully nothing else comes up this week that will keep me from posting, but hey I got my stuff out of storage so it's all good. Ask box is of course open if you have any questions or feedback.

-10-

Josh pulled the spaghetti out of his hair as he looked across the table at Lillian, "This night just gets worse doesn't it?"

"Kind of" She picked the meatball off her lap and tossed it onto the plate in front of her. "I think we should call it a night before one of us gets injured."

"Yeah probably a good idea" Josh tried to get the manager's attention who was off yelling at the waiter who had dumped food all over Josh and Lillian after he'd spilled red wine all over them as well.

The manager came over, "I am so sorry, we understand that you have had an awful experience, we're packing up some food for you to go because we're sure you're ready to leave, and it's on the house. We are so very sorry for all the mishaps this evening."

"Thank you." Josh told him as he found more pasta on his lap.

"It'll just be another minute again I am so very sorry." The manager snapped his fingers, "And also we'll include a bottle of wine for the two of you."

"Again thank you, that is more than generous."

After a few minutes they were brought a to-go bag and they gathered their things to leave.

"I can't believe this night. First we get the cab driver who wanted to drive all over Manhattan and then the waiter who was all about spilling everything over us."

"Well pasta and meatballs looks good on you." Josh tried to lighten the mood. "This isn't what I was planning for tonight."

"What were you planning Josh?" Lillian watched him as they walked down the street, strolling really, still taking their time.

"I thought we would have a nice dinner, a nice conversation, see if maybe you feel the spark I feel when I look at you talk to you." He looked up, his stomach a whirlwind until her saw her smile.

"I love talking to you Josh, why do you think I never try to chase you out of the bar. You only order at most two drinks and an appetizer but you're there for hours."

"Yeah well, it's hard to leave when you've got such great company." He confessed.

Lillian brushed her hair behind her ear, "I mean we've had good conversation right?"

"Yeah, that we have" They turned the corner almost back towards her apartment building.

"And we did get free food." She glanced down at the bag he was holding, "And a free bottle of very expensive wine, so we could still have a nice dinner, just without the clumsy waiter."

"That is true."

"So maybe this evening won't be a total disaster."

"Maybe" Josh ran his hand over his hair.

"Or" Lillian stopped at the entrance of her building, "We save the wine for another date, if you want another date, and we can each have our own meals after hot showers in our own apartments."

Josh nodded, "Good idea." He pulled out one of the take out containers and the bottle of wine, "So I'll see you at the bar."

"Yeah, you will I will see you tomorrow. Night Josh, the company was amazing."

"I'm glad to hear that." Before he could lean in to kiss her she was off in the lobby of her building and he was left with a bag of take out and a promise of the rest of his night alone.

"So, you summoned me to the roof of my parents building huh?" Auggie watched Sonya from the door as she watched the night sky.

"Yeah, I know you've been avoiding the place and I don't blame you." Sonya crossed towards him taking his hand, "But I thought you could use a little adventure tonight."

"Oh really and what's that?" Auggie smiled as he watched her pull her phone out of her back pocket and pulled up her music app as a slow song started.

"Dance with me Aug, here under the spring sky." Sonya felt his arms wrap around her as they started to sway to the music, feeling the security of his arms around her.

"I really like you Sonya, I hope you know that."

"I know Aug, I promise." She rested her head on his shoulder.

Auggie could breathe in the last lingering scent of her shampoo, the coffee aroma that seeped in after a day of work, "I know I'm a little lost now, but the one thing I really not lost about is you. I wish I could explain it, but I can't."

"Sometimes things just make sense, and the other stuff doesn't."

"I got hurt in the past, and I'm sure you've been hurt as well."

Sonya looked up to him, "Yeah, but getting hurt is good. It means you felt, it means it was real, and maybe just maybe it means that you're ready to open up and give someone that chance to hurt you, and hope to God that they don't."

Auggie smiled, "Interesting way to see it."

"Yeah it really is." Sonya chuckled as another slow song came on, "What I'm saying is I'm willing to open up to be hurt by you."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"No one ever does." She let her fingers play with his curls, "I want to give us a chance Auggie, I want to see where this goes, even though neither of us know what we want career wise I do know that I want you in my life and not just as a friend."

"I want that to Sonya, it's really the one thing I know." He let his fingers caress her face before he captured her lips with his in a slow, soft kiss that quickly started to catch fire through their bodies.

"Come home with me."

"I would like that very much." He kissed her forehead, taking her hand as they left the roof.

Riley sat on the couch, still dressed from her night out with Maya, but her mind was only on Lucas. The way it had felt to be in his arms, the intensity of his stare the feel of his lips on hers. The way she felt alive for the first time in she wasn't even sure. It was everything she needed and she knew wanting it, chasing it would destroy everything she already had. It was taking everything inside of her to not go to his apartment. To not fantasize about him right now, to not imagine the feel of his lips on her body, the touch of his fingers slipping her top off of her.

The door opened and she jumped out of her daze as she looked over to Reese and Alex. "Hey how was the dance."

"It was okay." Alex sighed, "I'm going to bed night mom."

"Night sweetie, have sweet dreams." Riley still couldn't believe her little girl was starting to become a young woman, no wonder her father had been so over the top when she was young. She looked to her fiancé, "So how was it really?"

"It was good I think we had a little bonding moment."

"Oh really" Riley watched as he sat next to her, putting his arm around her, leaning into him.

Reese smiled, "Yeah, she told me she gives me a hard time because I'm not her father and I get that, I'm some guy who's suddenly going to attempt to fill that role as best as possible. But I'm not her father I'm going to do my best to be what she needs. She also told me that she would be hard on her biological father if she were to meet him."

Riley felt her body stiffen, "That's what she thinks, but I think if she were to meet him, she might not, well if she knew who he was."

"Why don't you tell her who he is, or me? Was he really that bad of a guy?"

Riley shook her head, "No not really, he was a good guy, but we had communication problems, a lot of communication problems, and a big one was that he stopped calling. I don't want that to happen to Alex, I don't want her to think she's going to have a relationship with him, and then he disappears on her."

Reese brushed the hair from her forehead, "Babe, I get that. One day Alex is going to find out and she might end up hurt, but maybe after all these years he'll have matured and she won't be hurt."

"I hope so, I just want to hold off on that as long as possible." Riley sighed as she nuzzled his neck, she didn't want to think about Lucas anymore she just wanted to forget.

"We should get to bed, it's pretty late." He held her hand in his, "Come on Ri-Ri, let's not dwell on the past, let's get to bed and think about the future."

"I would love that." Riley followed him up to her bedroom she locked the door behind them, "Strip down Reese."

He looked over to her surprised, "Are you sure?"

She nodded as she leaned against the door watching him, "It's been too long Reese I need to feel you. I need you to touch me I need you to remind me of the future."

Reese nodded as he unbuttoned his shirt, "Anything at all for you Ri-Ri anything at all."

Riley smiled before removing her top and slipping her skirt off and stepping towards him in her bra and panties, "I'm yours Reese, remind me of that."

Reese kissed her with the weeks of passion and lust he'd been holding onto, feeling her slip his shirt off before she worked to push away his pants. "Ri-Ri, you are so sexy, I love you, never doubt how much I love you, how much I need you, and that I am willing to do anything for you."

Riley looked into his eyes, her fingers running along the stubble of his dark beard, "I know Reese and I love you, no matter what happens know I really do love you."

"I can't wait to marry you in November."

Riley smiled, "Neither can I, now stop talking and remind me what we have in store for every night for the rest of our lives."

Reese lifted her up, feeling her let's wrap around his waist as they moved to the bed, kissing her neck moving down her body.

Riley focused on the feel of Reese against her, but all she could see were green eyes, all she could think about were Lucas' lips, his touch the way her body reacted to his. As her body connected with Reese she almost gasped out Lucas' name. She kissed Reese, keeping her mouth entangled with his so she didn't do what she always feared.

She closed her eyes when his lips pulled away from hers as her body arched towards his as climax rippled through her. Her mind flashed with Lucas kissing her in a shower, water beating down on them as they made love.

She rested her head on Reese's chest listening to his beating heart, wondering why she could only think of Lucas and random fantasies she couldn't understand what was it all, what did it mean?

Lucas got out of the shower, the towel wrapped around his waist as he grabbed a beer from the bar and settled on the couch. He turned on the DVD player and pressed play, the sounds of Elvis Presley singing Love Me Tender came from the speakers, as the white and pink wedding chapel filled the screen.

Zay was sitting with his girlfriend at the time, watching as Riley walked down the aisle towards Lucas.

Here he was torturing himself with this DVD when all he had to do was bring it to Riley.

Riley, he couldn't hold back and kissed her.

That kiss had led him to an ice cold shower and tears.

He ran his fingers over the tattoos on left chest, Alex's birthdate and the date he and Riley married.

"Do you Lucas take Riley to be your wife?"

"I do."

"Do you Riley take Lucas to be your husband?"

"I do."

He could see the pure joy in Riley's eyes and in his.

Why didn't she remember this?

Was she afraid to remember, to believe it was possible, that it was real?

He turned off the video and went into the bedroom, pulling on his pajamas. He lay on the bed and all he could do was picture Riley in the empty space next to him, just as he did every single night before he went to bed. The space she should be in, with his arms around her, having just made love.

There were a million things he wished he could change, the biggest one of all was that he would have the courage to come home as soon as he heard Riley was pregnant, or at the very least when Maya called him.

"Riley I will spend the rest of my life making this up to you and Alex however I can." He spoke to the empty space, "Please just let me back in, please."

Wyatt had read the letter at least five times. He knew it was true, he knew it was real.

He picked up the necklace still in the little plastic bag he removed it, looking at the engraving on the back.

Alexis Friar Matthews

The mysteries were solved.

This was what he'd suspected for weeks.

How was he going to tell Alex? How was he going to explain what he found when it made absolutely no sense to him?

Why was this a big secret?

He picked the letter up again, reading it for the sixth time.

How did his best friend not realize that her idol was her father?