A/N: THANK YOU to those who reviewed the last chapter: xojonasbrothersxo, mdemp92, and lenayaj14. Thank you to everyone who is reading, but please also review. I love to get your feedback, all of it!

And extra thanks to xojonasbrothersxo and lenayaj14 for the birthday wishes. :-)

Enjoy this chapter!

It would have been a relaxing evening except that Nate's behavior was still nagging at Lacey. She managed to have a good time for the most part. They all played Guitar Hero for a while, even Bobby. When they tired of that, they got out Taboo. Nate opted out of Taboo and disappeared into the bedroom with his guitar until Bobby went to bed. Then he reemerged and joined the others in front of the TV in the den, but Lacey thought he seemed zoned out.

It didn't really matter if Nate was paying attention or not because Shane was in control of the remote and that meant he was continuously flipping through the channels. He didn't stay on any one channel for longer than five seconds at a time. He had cycled through all three hundred channels like that more than once when Lacey finally grabbed the remote out of his hand.

"Thank you!" Jason exclaimed.

"Hey! That's not fair," Shane protested, trying to grab it back.

Lacey pointed the remote at Shane and very determinedly held her finger over the mute button. "In about two seconds I am going to mute you if you don't stop." She was trying hard not to laugh.

"But, you just—Jason, she—wait---"

"Mute!" Lacey said, making a big show of pushing the button. She laughed when Shane immediately acted like he couldn't make any noise. "Ah, the peace and quiet is nice, isn't it Jason?"

Jason sighed happily. "It's incredible."

Shane was still trying to get the remote from Lacey, though. He may not have been able to talk, but he could still move. Lacey grinned evilly and held the remote up again. "Shane, if you don't behave, I'm going to pause you so you can't move!"

Shane didn't stop.

"Pause!" Lacey pushed the pause button. Then she burst into laughter again when Shane immediately froze in place, facial expression and everything. She left him like that for a couple minutes before she finally took pity on him and handed the remote back, stopping the game and resuming the channel surfing. Lacey didn't really notice anymore. It had suddenly struck her that Nate hadn't participated in the joking around at all, but kept his eyes glued to the TV.

Lacey sighed and then slid from her place on the couch onto the floor. Bobby had left some coloring supplies out, so Lacey took a piece of paper and a pencil and began drawing. She did it almost without thinking; her mind was focused on Nate sitting on the couch to her left. She didn't even notice when Shane leaned forward and watched over her shoulder for several minutes while she drew. Lacey was in her own little world. Jason even came over, sat next to Shane on the couch, and joined his brother watching over Lacey's shoulder without her noticing.

Only when Nate shifted position so he could see what his brothers were looking at did she come back to earth. She was almost done with her drawing now; there were just a few finishing touches to add. She was mildly distracted by Nate's attentiveness, but not enough to affect her drawing. Finally she was done. She wrote on the bottom of it, "To Bobby, Love Lacey" and dated it, then leaned back against the couch, relaxing her back muscles.

It was a portrait of herself and Bobby. It wasn't her best work, Lacey knew, but it was decent. It was a picture that she held in her head of the two of them cuddling on the couch, both looking at something slightly to the left of the viewer, both smiling and obviously having a good time enjoying each other's company.

"Wow," Shane breathed directly over her shoulder, making Lacey jump even though she knew he was there.

"That's incredible," Jason commented. "I didn't know you could draw."

"Eh, it's okay," Lacey said. She didn't know what to do when someone praised her. She usually just tried to brush it off.

"You're a great artist," Nate said softly.

"Thanks, guys, it means a lot," Lacey replied, very aware of Nate's face just over her left shoulder. "I'm glad you like it."

"Bobby's gonna flip," Shane stated. "He'll probably make you draw about a zillion more pictures for him before we leave."

The words caused a strange sensation in Lacey's stomach. She had been trying not to think about the fact that the Grayes didn't live here, after all, and would be leaving in a little less than two weeks. She didn't really have any close friends besides her sister, and she would really miss the Grayes when they left. She managed to brush all this aside and laugh lightly. "I'll be glad to draw him anything he wants."

"He's got you wrapped around his finger," Jason shook his head sadly. "We're all there, too."

Lacey laughed. "He's too cute to resist."

"He takes after me," Shane joked, feigning arrogance, earning himself a smack from Jason.

"Guys, it's snowing." Nate was looking out the window now. Everyone followed his gaze, and sure enough, big flakes were falling rather quickly. Nate stood and walked over to the window to see outside better. "It looks like it's been snowing for a while. There's probably two inches on the ground already."

"Wow, that's a lot." Lacey was surprised, usually two inches was about the average for a snowfall, but it looked like this one was just starting.

"Shall we go out for a while?" Jason asked, looking like a little kid in his eagerness to play in the snow.

Everyone seemed to agree that this was a good idea. They all bundled up and headed outside, trying to be quiet so as not to wake up the whole house. They caught snowflakes on their tongues, had a silent snowball fight, and even got around to making some snow angels. Lacey was on her third one when Jason and Shane announced they were going inside to fix some hot chocolate. Lacey lay on the ground in the snow, watching the flakes falling from the black sky. Suddenly Nate was standing by her head, peering down at her and blocking the snowflakes from falling on her face.

"Hey, you're blocking the view," Lacey joked. Not that I mind; this view is much better, she thought to herself. She grinned.

Nate smiled and reached down a hand to help her up. Lacey accepted it, puzzled by what he wanted, and followed him a little way from the house. There was a wooden bench swing on the edge of what looked like a very pretty summer garden. Nate sat down and patted the swing next to him indicating that Lacey should sit, too.

She did, and after a few moments of silence, Lacey whispered, "What is it, Nate? What's wrong?"

He looked at her, studying her. "What do you mean?"

"You've been acting strange all evening. Quiet and…" Lacey shrugged. She looked into his brown eyes and frowned. "Are you mad at me?"

"No!" Nate's eyes widened, and he placed his gloved hand over her bare one. "I'm sorry you thought I was. Just…something you said earlier made me think."

"What is it?" Lacey was glad they were finally getting to the bottom of it, but she was a little nervous, too. What had she said that upset Nate all evening? "Is it bad?"

"Not really." Nate sighed. "I'm probably just being stupid." He fell silent and Lacey didn't say anything. She didn't want to be pushy and she knew Nate would say what he needed to say when he was ready. Finally he whispered, not looking at Lacey, "A lot of girls would like me just because I'm famous."

At first Lacey was stumped. What did that have to do with, well, anything? It didn't make sense at all. But suddenly she remembered what she had said at the movie theater, about the girl only liking the spy for his car, and it all clicked. She covered Nate's hand on top of hers with her free hand. "Maybe," she said, also whispering. A whisper seemed to fit on this quiet night when the whole world was also whispering. Even the snowflakes falling onto the ground made a whispering noise. "But, I'm not a lot of girls."

Nate finally looked at Lacey, and she saw a guarded look in his eyes that made her sad. He didn't say anything, and Lacey took a deep breath before she continued. She was likely stepping out on a limb now and risking embarrassing herself, but she didn't care. She wanted Nate to feel at ease with her again.

She looked straight into his eyes and forced herself to say exactly what she was feeling. "I happen to really like this incredible guy. There are a lot of things I like about him. He's amazingly sweet. He's funny. He's always polite and very much a gentleman. He really cares about people, even ones he has never met before." Lacey took another deep breath and continued, "He has eyes that are like an open book. He's smart. He almost always knows exactly the right words to say."

Lacey paused, and Nate still didn't say anything. He was looking at her now with confusion, and Lacey could tell he really didn't have a clue who she was talking about.

She finally looked away from him, watching the snowflakes fall softly to the ground. She sighed slightly and then whispered, "It's you, Nate. I like you." She looked at him again, knowing that she had to say it so he would understand. The guarded look was back in his eyes. "I liked you before I knew who you were. Do you understand? I don't care if your name is Nate Gray or Fred Smith. I like you for you. I don't care if the whole word adores you or hates you. I don't like you for your fame, your money, your family – as much as I adore Bobby," Lacey smiled slightly, "or even your car. I just like you because you're you." She stopped speaking finally and bit her bottom lip, wondering if she had said too much. She kept her gaze on Nate's eyes, waiting for his response.

At first he didn't respond. Then, slowly, the guarded look slipped away, replaced by a warm, happy smile. He closed his fingers around Lacey's hand under his. "Thanks. I don't think I deserved all that, but thanks anyway."

Lacey chuckled nervously. "Of course you did."

"Well, you should know something." Nate's eyes were twinkling now, and he was still smiling at her. "I happen to really like this incredible girl. And you know what one of the best things I like about her is?"

Almost forgetting to breathe, Lacey slowly shook her head, completely mesmerized by Nate's eyes.

He leaned forward until his face was inches away from hers and whispered, "She puts up with me when I'm stupid, and knows exactly how to make me feel better." Nate put his free hand on Lacey's shoulder and leaned closer. Lacey closed her eyes, anticipating the moment. His lips met hers in a soft, shy kiss. Lacey thought her heart would stop.