I know you guys were maybe hoping for a smut filled chapter...sorry to disappoint. This is more about the fluffs today. I promise the next chapter will be full of the M-rated stuff. Enjoy. As always, please comment or review.

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My heart was pounding as I walked out of the dressing room, looking around nervously, afraid someone had heard what Bucky and I had been doing. I was dragging him behind me by one hand and carrying my bridesmaids dress in the other. He was taking his damn sweet time, but I just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. I'd die from embarrassment if we had been heard. I had grown up in this town…everyone knew each other so there was a good possibility of running into someone that knew me, or worse yet, knew my parents.

I heard him chuckle behind me and I turned to see that damn smirk on his face.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" I said as I maneuvered us through the bridal shop and towards the exit.

"Nope, I was just enjoying you…" he said with a wink. I turned around and my mouth dropped open. He laughed and held up his hand, "…I mean I was just enjoying your reaction…" I turned around but I heard him mutter under his breath, "…enjoying your reaction to me enjoying you…" I rolled my eyes and laughed but didn't turn around.

I felt Bucky suddenly stop walking and I turned to face him, "Stop playing your games Barnes, let's get out of here" I said quickly, tugging at his hand to get him moving again.

He was smiling and I saw him reach in the pockets of his leather jacket, "I think I left my phone on the couch…go ahead, I'll be right behind you" he said as he turned around to head to the back of the shop again. I saw him glance back at me and use his hands to shoo me towards the door, grinning at me.

He let out a loud laugh when he saw me flip him off and stick my tongue out at him. I turned and continued shuffling to the door.

The bridal shop had been empty when we had arrived but now I could see there were two women near the exit, looking through a rack of dresses. I kept my head down, relieved that they seemed to be fully engrossed in their conversation and ignoring me as I made a hasty retreat towards the door. I had my hand on the handle, so close to freedom, when I heard a voice from my past say my name, "Eden?"

FUCK!

I froze but didn't look up right away…I knew who the voice belonged to and I was in no mood to deal with Kimberly Chapman. She had hated me in high school and I felt the exact same way about her…ever since the time I found out she was spreading rumors about Brooke. I had found Brooke crying in the bathroom after school one day and the sight of my normally overly confident best friend in tears had driven me over the edge. I had confronted Kimberly, the most popular yet hated girl in school, in front of her friends and half the football team. To this day, I don't remember exactly what I said to her…blind rage had taken over and words just spewed from my mouth. Brooke insists it was an amazing sight to see…all I remember is the stunned look on Kimberly's face when I finished and the loud applause coming from the football team.

I looked up finally and there she stood, still just as beautiful as she had been in high school…that hateful smile still on her face. It was a shame that someone so pretty on the outside was so ugly on the inside.

"That is you…look Deanna, it's Eden Page" she said, turning to her friend. I recognized Deanna Starkley right away and nodded my head at her and giving her a small smile. I had always like Deanna but never understood how or why she was friends with someone like Kimberly. She had been on the cheerleading squad with Jill…her and I had never had a problem with each other.

"Hey Eden...are you here trying on dresses with Jill?" Deanna asked, looking around the shop in search of Jill.

"She's in the back having some adjustments done on her dress…" I held up my own bridesmaid's dress for her to see, "…and I already have mine" I said, doing my best to ignore Kimberly and the dirty look she was throwing my way.

"Oh, it's beautiful" she said smiling.

"What are you doing here?" I said, intentionally not acknowledging Kimberly.

She held up her left hand and I could see the sparkly ring on her finger, "I just got engaged" she said, a bright smile on her face.

"Congratulations Deanna…that's wonderful" I said, genuinely happy for her.

"I don't notice any ring on your finger Eden. Are you still having a hard time finding someone?" Kimberly piped in suddenly, a smug smile on her face.

"Kimberly!" Deanna said loudly, giving her friend a cross look, "Cut it out" she said, softer this time.

I bit my tongue and let my eyes slowly settle on her…I took a deep breath before speaking, "Nope, I'm not a leech…I didn't latch on to the first rich guy I laid my eyes on…how's your husband doing Kimberly? Have you sucked him dry yet?"

I had heard from Jill that Kimberly had married some guy whose family was loaded...according to her, the guy was completely devoted to Kimberly and gave her anything she asked for, no matter the cost. Jill had also said the guy wasn't much to look at but that wasn't why Kimberly had married him...what the guy lacked in looks, his trust fund more than made up for.

Kimberly flashed Deanna an angry look when she heard her soft chuckle and then turned her cold eyes on me.

"Well, at least I have someone. It must be hard on you Eden…watching your best friend getting married while you're stuck being all alone. I feel sorry for you actually" she said, faking a pout.

My mouth dropped open, my hands clenched into tight fists, and I unknowingly took a small step forward. Kimberly hesitated a second but then her eyes flickered to something behind me and I saw a slow smile spread across her face. She stood up straighter, thrusting her chest out more, her hand reaching up to smooth her hair down. I turned around and saw what had garnered her attention.

Bucky!

He was making his way towards me, looking only at me...completely ignoring the two women standing beside me. Of course Kimberly was checking him out, how could she not? Every single sexy thing about him was right there on display: his striking blue eyes, the dimple on his chin, his strong masculine jaw, the muscled chest and abs peeking from behind the leather jacket…even that damn sexy stride of his was a turn on.

And he only has eyes for you Eden.

I heard Kimberly let out a low growl of pleasure, "Damn…who is that?" she said to Deanna "He's heading my way…quick Deanna, how do I look?" she finished, turning toward her friend.

Deanna frowned at her and shook her head, turning back to watch as Bucky approached.

Of course, she assumes he is coming over because of her…how stuck up can a person be?

Before Bucky or I had a chance to say anything to each other, Kimberly stepped forward a couple of steps in front of me and smiled at Bucky, "Hey there, I'm Kimberly"

Bucky glanced my way quickly and saw me roll my eyes. I caught the mischievous look in his eye before he turned back to Kimberly and plastered the biggest, sexiest smile on his face before speaking, "Hi there Kimberly, I'm Bucky"

"Well Bucky…I've never seen you around town before…you must be new around here" she said.

He shrugged, "Actually I was only here for the weekend…I'm heading home today"

Kimberly stuck her lip out, "Well that's too bad…I was thinking that me and you could get some dinner tonight" I was fuming when she reached out and touched Bucky's chest with the tips of her fingers.

I stood there with my hand on my hip, face suddenly hot from anger as I watched her flirt with Bucky….the desire to snatch her up by her little blonde ponytail was overwhelming.

I swear if she reaches out and touches him one more time, I will break every fucking finger on her hand.

"I don't think my girlfriend would like that much" Bucky said…he grinned and looked my way, "Baby, you wouldn't be okay with that, right?" he said, putting his arms out to me.

I stepped forward, bumping my shoulder against Kimberly as I brushed past her and stepped into his open arms. He hugged me tightly and then used his hand to tilt my face upwards, laying a kiss on my lips…I was surprised when I felt him deepen it and slip his tongue into my mouth to massage my own. I forgot where we were for a moment and melted into that kiss, bringing my hands to his chest to grasp his jacket collar and pull him closer. He finally pulled away breathless and smiled down at me, "Well baby, you wouldn't like that right?" he said again.

I shook my head, "No" I looked over at Kimberly with a sly smile, "I wouldn't be okay with that at all...as you can see Kimberly, you don't actually need to feel sorry for me at all"

I have to say, I enjoyed the shocked expression on her face…it was a very satisfying moment. I glanced at Deanna and saw the amused expression on her face.

"Deanna, it was good seeing you again" I said before turning to Kimberly and leaning forward to whisper in her ear, "You're lucky I didn't break your fucking fingers when you touched him"

She stepped back with a gasp and nearly stumbled into one of the dress racks.

"Have a nice day ladies" I said brightly before taking Bucky's hand and walking out of the bridal shop. I dragged him down the block for several feet before we finally both busted out laughing.

"I will never forget that look on her face…for as long as I live" I giggled "Uh, I hated that girl in high school…I'm so glad you showed up when you did…it was perfect timing.

He smiled sheepishly, "I know…I showed up right then on purpose. I overheard the awful things she said to you"

"You did that on purpose?!" I said, turning to him with a smile and remembering that mischievous look I had seen in his eyes.

He nodded and grinned back at me.

I stood there and stared at him for a moment before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek, "James Buchanan Barnes, you are the most amazing man I have ever met…I love you"

"And I love you" he said. We had only walked few feet before he spoke up again, "Did you really mean what you said about breaking her fingers for touching me?"

Thinking about the way she touched his chest brought a sudden flash of anger back through me and I looked over at him, "What do you think?" I said through gritted teeth.

He stopped walking for a second and laughed, a surprised look on his face, "Wow…remind me to never get on your bad side. Brooke was right. You're downright scary when you're angry"

"Damn right" I said, grabbing his hand once more. We window shopped for a while, stopping in a few different stores to look at things. We were passing a small bookstore when Bucky suddenly stopped and turned to me, "Wait here for a minute, I want to go get something really quick" he said.

I shrugged my shoulders at him, "Okay" and then walked over to a bench in front of the shop and sat down, laying my head back and enjoying the crisp clean air.

Bucky was only gone for a few minutes, but I heard the bell on the door ding when he walked back out. I opened my eyes when I felt him sit down beside me with a paper bag.

"What did you get?" I asked curiously. I sat up when I saw the sweetest smile form on his face.

He opened the bag and pulled out a large, thick book. "It's an Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs…I thought Jake might like it"

I watched him put it back in the bag carefully. I remembered how great he had been with the kids yesterday at the party. Initially I had been worried he wouldn't feel comfortable but he had surprised me…just like he always did. The kids loved him and I saw his eyes brighten each time one of them would call him "Uncle Bucky" The shocked expression on his face when Lilah kissed him goodnight made my heart nearly explode.

"Bucky?" I asked.

"What?"

"Did you ever want to have kids…you know…before you left for the war?"

He looked over at me, a very serious expression on his face, "Absolutely…I wanted a house full of children….let me rephrase that, I WANT a house full of children"

I smiled at his answer and nodded my head before looking at my watch, "We should get going? We need to meet Jill for lunch" I said, standing up.

Bucky took my hand wordlessly and we made our way towards the restaurant in silence. We were almost there when he finally spoke again.

"What about you?" he said quietly.

"Huh?"

"Did you…I mean do you…want kids?" he asked, keeping his head up, eyes forward.

I glanced at him, smiling when I saw the anxious expression on his face, "Yes, I would love to have kids…with the right guy, of course"

"The right guy?" he said, "Well, how do you know when you find him?"

I took a deep breath and felt my heart pounding, "…I…I think…I already did" I finished, feeling the blush spreading across my cheeks as I looked over at Bucky.

He stopped walking and squeezed my hand, "Good answer" he said softly before leaning down to kiss me. I felt his hands find my waist and when he pulled back, he just stared into my eyes for a long time, caressing my face with his hand.

After we ate lunch, I hugged Jill and we said our goodbyes. We had one more stop to make before we headed back home. While we drove to Mark's house, my mind was thinking about what was in store for me that night. Bucky's "taste of what lie ahead" earlier in the dressing room had my heart pounding just thinking about it. It had been a long week…a very, sexually frustrating long week.

As soon as we pulled into the driveway and got out of our car, the kids came running out the front door. Lilah ran into my arms and I scooped her up, sitting her on my hip…Jake ran straight to Bucky and he leaned down and picked the small boy up easily, carrying him into the house as Lilah and I followed.

When the telephone rang, Mark got up to answer it quickly but not soon enough…the sound of baby Seth crying was soon echoing through the living room. With a sigh, Lynn got up from her spot on the couch to head to the nursery. Lilah was standing on the couch behind me, seemingly content as she played with my long hair. She was begging Bucky to let her play with his hair next. I looked over at Jake and saw the somber expression on his face...he kept looking over at Bucky and then back down at his hands. I nudged Bucky and looked Jake's way, he understood immediately.

"Hey Jake, come here" he said, motioning the boy over to him, "What's wrong buddy?" he said, once Jake stood in front of him.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm going to miss you Uncle Bucky" he said. I looked over at Bucky and saw the shocked expression on his face when a tear slid down Jake's cheek.

"Hey now, no tears, okay? It's not like you won't ever see us again. We're going to come back and visit again" Bucky told him. I chimed in, "Yeah Jake, you know you'll see us at Aunt Jill's wedding. Uncle Bucky's going to be my date, isn't that right?" I said

I hadn't officially asked Bucky to go with me to the wedding….I just assumed he wouldn't mind it…apparently I had assumed correctly because Bucky instantly said, "That's right"

Jake nodded his head but didn't say anything else.

"Hey, I got something for you today" he said as he reached over to the side table next to the couch and grabbed the brown paper bag.

Jake looked over at him, suddenly curious, "What is it?"

"Open it up and see" Bucky chuckled.

It felt like my face was going to crack from the large smile as I watched Jake open the bag. He absolutely loved it and I could tell Bucky was glad he had found it for him. Jake wrapped his arm around his neck, "Thank you Uncle Bucky…I love it" he said. After that, Jake's mood improved drastically.

We were able to visit for them for a little while longer before we decided it was time to leave. After saying goodbye to Lynn and Mark, we both gave the kids great big hugs and then climbed back into the SUV to head home. As we drove out of town, I looked over at Bucky…he seemed to be deep in thought.

"What's on your mind Mr. Barnes?" I teased

He shook his head, "Those kids…they make me feel ready….you know….to have one of my own" he said quietly.

I didn't say anything…I just smiled at him before laying my head back against the seat. I felt him take my hand and he didn't let it go for the entire ride home