He swirled the wine glass, watching the golden liquid slosh about, and stared at her over the candlelight. The sun had faded and there was an orange hue in the distance as the last strains of the day left them. It kind of fit the music Peyton had playing in the background, something soft and soothing and eclectic – oh so her.

He was laughing softly at something she had said. Peyton played the perfect host – from the excellent pasta concoction she had cooked up to the simple but elegant salad she had produced to compliment the meal. She took her napkin and dabbed at the corner of her mouth and Lucas longed to be the one touching her lips.

Peyton was talking about a customer at her store and Lucas tried to listen intently but all he could do, really, was watch her. Noting her mannerisms, the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her gallery or just the easy way she laughed. God, he loved being with this woman.

She was continuing her story when she stopped mid-sentence and turned her head to the right. Peyton had faded on him, she was lost in thought.

"Peyton?" Lucas asked with a hint concern.

"Oh, sorry," she shook her head and smiled. "I, I just love this song," she told Lucas.

"What is it," he said after listening for a few seconds.

"Are you kidding?" Peyton seemed appalled he didn't know. "It is a song called Love Song by The Cure." She shook her head. "You really have been sheltered."

"Hmm," he said as he continued to listen. "It's okay."

"Okay," Peyton got up from her chair. "It's amazing." She walked to the edge of the porch standing near the steps. "I don't know, it just touches me here." She put her hand over hear heart and then she began to move back and forth just a bit.

"Everybody sees me as this tragic figure," Peyton said shocking Lucas with her honesty. "Brooke says I have a darkness about me, and in a way I guess I do. But that is not all that I am."

Peyton turned from Lucas and looked out at the back yard. It was dark and she could barely see but she could imagine. When she and Liam had bought this house, she just assumed this backyard would soon be filled with children's toys and swing sets and a big happy dog. But it wasn't, it was empty – just like she had been for so many months.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Lucas behind her. He ran his hand down her arm and took her hand.

"Dance with me," Lucas said. It wasn't a question, more of a request. Then he took Peyton into his arms and they began to sway to the music.

At first it was very formal – his right-hand in hers, his left hand at the small of her back and her left on his shoulder. But soon she shifted her left hand to go around his waist and leaned her head on his shoulder and they seemed to be just swaying to the music.

"I never danced with Liam," she said in barely a whisper. "He never liked it, said it was a waste. We didn't even dance at our wedding."

Well, Lucas thought in a sarcastic manner, one tick against Saint Liam. Yeah, he felt bad after he thought that.

Lucas leaned closer to Peyton and he kissed the top of her head. "I love to dance," he offered to her.

"Good," it was all she said to him.

They stayed like that until the song ended and for a good two minutes after. Peyton parted from him and looked up at Lucas, staring into his crystal blue eyes. He drank in her expressive green ones.

It would have been so easy, lean in and kiss her. Do what he had been longing to do since he arrived. But something stopped him. He wasn't sure what it was but he backed away. Something in Lucas told him Peyton wasn't ready for that yet, and he had no desire to mess this up, whatever this was. Because unlike other women or even girls he had been involved with in the past, this was different. It wasn't a fling or a good time, no, this was something that felt like forever.

"Hey," Lucas cleared his throat. "There is one thing you promised me we haven't done yet." He threw her a half smile but also noticed he held her hand in his and he swung it back and forth a bit.

"What is that?" Peyton tried to read him, to figure out what he wanted. What was he asking her?

"You promised me a tour of your gallery and I'm not leaving until you give it to me." He tugged her hand in his a bit. "Come on, I really want to see it."

"You got it," Peyton smiled so wide he stopped in his tracks. He literally felt like his feet were cemented to the wooden planks of the porch.

"Are you coming?" It was Peyton's turn to tug on his hand.

"Yeah, let's go." And he let Peyton drag him back into the house, out the front door and into her car. He would let her drag him anywhere just for a chance to spend these precious hours with her. Yeah, he had it bad and he didn't care.