Nathan let out a yawn as he secretly tried to steal a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the game that was playing on television.

"Which one, honey?" Haley asked.

"Huh?"

"Which one do you like?" she held two pieces of lacy material in each hand. "The ivory or the off white lace? Pick."

Nathan was confused. They had been going over stuff like that for hours and he had long ago lost interest. He hadn't been listening to a word his fiancée had spoken. Her visual wasn't helping things either.

"That one," he quickly pointed to the left.

"Which one? What's the color?"

He scratched his head.

"The white one?"

"Nathan…"

"What? Babe, sorry. I mean, they both look white."

"Don't babe me. They're not both white. It's two different colors, off white and ivory. You promised me you'd help, now this is very important. I know you're tired but we're almost done. I mean, this stuff just isn't going to get itself done. We're picking out the table cloth for our reception."

"Hales, you know I'm not into all this frilly stuff with lace and colors. I don't care. They could use paper towels if they want to."

"Nathan Scott!"

"I didn't mean it that way. I mean, I care about the important stuff."

"Like?" she pouted.

One look from those blue eyes melted her every time.

"Like our wedding vows. Like how beautiful you're gonna look in your dress," he leaned over and kissed her. "Like the honeymoon."

"You are so bad, you know that?"

"Yeah but I'm sexy."

"You are sexy so I guess I won't kill you, at least not tonight. I give up, I'm tired, too, babe. The ivory lace, it is."

"Excellent choice," Nathan teased. "The white one."

"You think this is funny? Seeing me stress about every detail of our wedding greatly amuses you, I see."

"Actually it doesn't. I hate seeing you so stressed and uptight. This isn't you, Hales. Look, I know you're looking forward to a dream wedding and we've waited long enough to be able to afford it. I really want that for you but I wish you would just relax. You don't have to freak out over every little thing. You're gonna end up with an ulcer or something. Everything is going to be just fine."

Haley sighed.

"I'm horrible. I've turned into the wedding nazi, haven't I? I'm like a total Bridezilla."

"I wouldn't go that far, Baby Hitler," he quipped.

"I just want it to be perfect, Nate. Baby, please forgive me if I'm jittery or crazy or on edge. I don't want to spoil this for you. It should be a fun and happy time for the both of is. I'm not trying to take that away."

"I know you're not. Come here," Nathan pulled her close. "All our plans are right on track. You have nothing to worry about."

She put her head in her hands.

"Actually, there is one thing I am really worried about. It's been on my mind lately."

"What's that?"

"Is Peyton still out? I don't want her to overhear us."

"Yeah. She hasn't gotten back yet."

"It's about Lucas."

"What about him?"

"For starters, where the hell is he?"

The million dollar question everyone wanted an answer to.

"He'll be here soon."

"Soon? When is soon? And how do you know?"

Nathan shrugged.

"Because I talked to him."

"But that was almost a week ago and he still hasn't shown up or even called for that matter. Peyton has been calling him and calling him about the house and I left a couple of messages myself."

Nathan nervously played with his hands.

"Haley…"

"Uh oh. I know that look."

"What look?"

"The look you get when you have something to tell me and you don't know quite how to tell me. And you're playing with your hands. That means you're nervous. Babe, you are so playing with your hands right now. What's going on? What happened? What do you know?"

He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Nothing. It's just that I talked to Luke again last night and…"

"What? You talked to Lucas on the phone? Last night? Nathan!" she tossed a pillow at him. "I can't believe this. When were you going to tell me? Were you even planning on telling me?"

"Of course I was. I meant to, it just slipped my mind."

"Where the hell is that boy? Bermuda?"

"That I don't know."

"You think he's still in New York? Because I don't think so."

Nathan shook his head.

"Honestly, babe, I don't know what's going on."

"What did he say?"

"Not much. Just that he was running behind on schedule but he'd be in Tree Hill as soon as possible, within the week."

"Did he sound okay? Because I am worried. This isn't like Luke at all. He's usually the sound, responsible one. He has never in his life pulled a stunt like this."

"He sounded okay, I guess, just rushed like he was busy or something."

"Did you tell him about Peyton?" Haley asked. "Did you mention the house and that she's looking for him? Did…"

"Whoa, slow down, Hales. We talked all of a minute. I mean, I tried to tell him but he didn't have time to talk. He just said that he would take care of it and for me to tell Peyton not to be mad at him."

"So he's not even gonna call her back himself?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, did you tell her yet?"

"Hell no. No way am I getting in the middle of that one. Luke can feel the wrath of Peyton Sawyer when he gets here."

"I'm gonna kill him," she muttered.

"You might have to take a number."

Haley shook her head.

"I'm scared, Nathan."

"It's fine. Luke is fine."

"Is he? Physically maybe so but I think something else is going on."

"Like what?"

"He's like in some emotional crisis or something. It's weird."

"Hales…"

"Think about it. This whole divorce thing must really be getting to him."

"It is a divorce. Sure he was sad, especially at first but apparently it's what he and Peyt both want. I'm sure they thought this out before they went ahead with anything."

"But Peyton initiated everything and she filed all the paperwork and she moved. What if he's just going along with it?"

"I don't get that from him. I've talked to him plenty of times since they separated. Yeah, it hurts but he's ready to move on."

"What if he is somewhere as we speak having a meltdown pre mid life crisis?"

Nathan laughed in spite of his girl's dramatics.

"Hales, he's probably just busy with work. The guy is a big time writer now. And you know how superstitious he gets about that. His book is a hit, for all we know, he could be out in Hollywood right now turning it into a movie. He'd never tell us until it was set in stone because he'd be scared of jinxing it."

She stood and began pacing around.

"I just do not have a good feeling about this, any of it. It's more than nerves. Something isn't right and it's gonna blow up right here in Tree Hill in everyone's faces. Watch."

"Lucas is fine. He'll get here, Peyton will bitch him out…"

"Rightfully so."

"Maybe. He'll settle the house, the divorce, he'll get fitted for his tux, we'll play some ball at the River Court, have a good time, you and me are gonna have a perfect wedding and that's the end of it. I mean, I get the fact that you worry about Lucas and Peyton. He's my brother and she's my friend but they're adults. This is their decision and we have to let them deal with it. It's not our problem."

Haley sighed.

"There's something else and you're gonna really think I'm cuckoo."

He smiled.

"You might be a little cuckoo but you're hot and I love you so it's cool. Lay it on me."

"Stay with me here, babe. Lucas has always been a romantic, he's always had a girl, he's a one woman man."

"Okay. So?"

"He's not used to being alone. Hell, he hasn't been without someone since he was 16. That's an awful long time. He can't handle that sort of thing. It has to be driving him nuts. So he and Peyton have split and it's mutual and amicable. Will that make him less lonely or heartbroken? No. You know what he's going to do? He's going to fill the void."

"Hales…"

"I'm serious. Mark my word."

"With who?"

"Ten years ago what was the biggest love triangle to rock Tree Hill High? Remember Team Peyton? Team Brooke?"

"Are you kidding?"

"No. Nathan, I am really concerned about this little reunion."

"And you think something could happen with Brooke?"

"I don't know."

"Brooke is with Cameron now. He's a good guy and you see the way they're all over each other. She's happy now. Besides, you're talking about ten years ago. People change. That was a long time ago."

Haley shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, not if it's real."

"What do you mean?"

She looked right at him.

"You fell in love with me ten years ago."

"That's different, Haley. We've been together ever since. You didn't move across the country and I didn't marry someone else. Besides, what about Peyton? You don't think that was real?"

"Of course I do. Lucas really loved Peyton and she was deeply in love with him. They always had a connection. Everyone knew that and I'm not trying to take anything away from their marriage. But when he couldn't have Peyt at first, he ended up with Brooke and something magical happened there too. I don't think he realized it until it was too late and she had to leave. He was just 16 but he'd already found the two great loves of his life. Eventually he got his chance with Peyton. They had a good round but in the end, it didn't work out. It just wasn't meant to be. Luke is in a weird place right now. What if seeing Brooke again after all these years reignites those feelings? I mean, it could happen? What do you think?"

"I think you watch way too many soap operas. Lucas and Peyton are over now. They're dealing with it. Cameron and Brooke are together. They're happy. And Luke and Brooke have been over. Lucas is gonna come, everybody is gonna get along and after our wedding, go back to their normal lives."

She chewed her lip like she often did when she was anxious.

"I wish I could be so sure but…"

The intensity of their conversation hadn't allowed them to hear the rental car pull into the driveway. Before they both knew it, Peyton was turning the spare key in the lock.

"Hey lovebirds," she smiled. "How goes it?"

"Fine," they both answered quickly.

Peyton laughed.

"Okay. Am I interrupting some weird pre newlywed ritual?"

"Nah," Nathan answered. "We're just getting all the fun stuff out of the way like picking out the table cloths for the reception."

Peyton glanced down at the choices.

"I hope you picked the white."

"Yeah. Um, we did."

Haley shot her husband to be a peturbed glance.

"Anything interesting, fun and exciting happen while I was away?"

"Nope…" Nathan started.

"Lucas called," Haley finished.

Nathan cursed to himself.

"What? Are you serious?" she asked as she checked her cell. "It doesn't look like I missed any calls. What did he say?"

Nathan began playing with his hands again.

"Just that he's really busy and he's doing his best to get here. He'll be in town within the week and you guys will get everything settled then."

"Dammitt," she muttered.

"Oh and not to be pissed at him."

"Fat chance," she frowned as she stalked upstairs. "I am going to kill him when I see him."

Nathan looked to make sure she was gone.

"Hales!"

"What? She had to know and Luke did tell you to tell her. Don't get mad at me. Blame your dumb brother."

Nathan sighed as he looked at his fiancée and than again at the lace and wedding materials scattered about. Blame Lucas. Indeed he would have to take a number.