1

It had been two weeks since the snowstorm and since Brooke was last in the company of one Lucas Scott. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that she missed seeing him and missed being around him, but Brooke was in denial. The last two weeks were spent preparing the nursery for the delivery of Haley and Nathan's first child, but every once in a while, when she would hear the clattering of hooves on the dirt road, she would allow herself to briefly hope it was Lucas coming to see her. Each time she was disappointed. Or relieved!

So, it was on a day, when her clothes were splattered in paint, her hair in a messy bun, soft tendrils falling to frame her face, where she would have the most unexpected and unwanted visitor.

The doorbell rang somewhere in the distance as she scurried down the stairs, wiping her hands against her pants as she pulled the door open.

The woman in the doorway smiled serenely at her, her perfect blond curls lightly grazing the top of her shoulders. She did a thorough survey of Brooke, her eyes traveling the length of her. "Hello, you must be Brooke. I'm Peyton Sawyer."

Peyton Sawyer the woman who gave the book of love poems to Lucas. It was strange to Brooke, that even though she had never met this woman before, she knew her before she even introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, please, come in." Brooke smiled at the woman in front of her, refusing to acknowledge the effort it took to be pleasant.

"It's nice to finally meet you Brooke, Haley's told me so much about you." Light amusement tinged her accent as she spoke these words.

"I'm sorry I can't say the same." She wasn't trying to be rude, really, but what do you do when you don't like someone and you can't tell them why? "But I have had a lot to do since I got here." Her smile was faintly apologetic, hoping to make up for the earlier remark.

"I wanted to come by sooner, but wanted to wait until Haley was feeling better and up for company." Although her words were innocent enough, it did nothing to erase the urge Brooke felt to cringe.

"Well, Haley's feeling much better now, I'm sure she'd be happy for some company." She opened the door wider letting the woman into the house. "Can I take your coat?"

Brooke hung the fur coat on the hanger and turned back to her visitor. The slacks she wore accentuated her slenderness; the fitted cream colored blouse worked nicely to compliment her blonde curls and ivory skin. Glancing down at her own attire, Brooke wished that she didn't look as haphazard as she felt.

"Haley's in the living room." She pointed through the entrance. "I was about to make a pot of tea..." Haley appeared at the doorway to the relief of Brooke as she gladly relinquished the roll of host and hastily made her way to the kitchen mumbling under her breath about perfection being overrated.

She finished making the tea and carried the tray out to the living room.

"So, Lucas tells me you're a dancer Brooke." Peyton commented as she sipped her tea.

"Lucas would be correct."

"You know, looking at you, I wouldn't have pictured that." She purred , managing to sound innocent and condescending at the same time.

"Well, you know what they say, never judge a book by its cover." Brooke gritted her teeth against a biting retort, vowing to keep it civil.

Glancing at her watch, Peyton suddenly rose from her chair. "I must run now Haley, I have a dinner engagement." She turned to Brooke and offered her a small smile. "So happy to have met you, I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again."

She left amidst a swirl of fur and the drifting scent of vanilla. Brooke sat back on the couch, relaxing for the first time all day.

"So, what did you think of Peyton?" Haley questioned, as she too shifted on the couch.

"Very..." Brooke paused, hoping to find the most appropriate word. "Nice.." Lame, she thought.

"Come on Brooke." Haley grinned, her hands folding across her belly. "This is me you're talking to."

"What do you want me to say? I'm pretty sure my opinion of her makes no difference to anybody..." her mouth curved into a rueful smile "..okay, maybe she's a bit smooth for my taste, and I didn't much care for the way she looked down her aristocratic nose at me when she thought I wasn't looking."

"Actually, Peyton made a good observation. You really don't look like a dancer." The comment was made with sparkles in her eyes.

Brooke grimaced as she pulled the pins out of her hair, releasing her bun as her hair tumbled onto her shoulder. "You know I had to hold my tongue, considering she was here to see you."

"You know, Peyton can be nice enough when it suits her. She's awfully spoiled, and her mother died when she was a babe. So ever since than, whatever Peyton wants, Peyton gets."

"How sad..." The sarcasm dripping from her voice caused her to feel spiteful and unjust. "I guess it was nice of her to come see you."

Haley's laughter filled the room. "Brooke, honey, I didn't think you were so slow." Off of her sister's confused face. "Peyton didn't come to visit me, she came her to check you out."

"Me?" Brooke's brows furrowed in confusion. "What for?"

"Because you, my dear sister, has caught the attention of one Lucas Scott. She sees you as competition. Lucas doesn't go out of his way to show just anyone his ranch you know?"

A faint color made its way across Brooke's face. "Well then, I think Miss Peyton's worries were put to rest when she got a look at me. Not much competition after that."

"Stop underestimating yourself Brooke."

"No false modesty here." Brooke's sigh came from nowhere. "If a man's attracted to silk and champagne, cotton and beer are no competition. I'm cotton and beer Hales," she muttered. Her voice trailed away with her thoughts. "I couldn't be anything else if I wanted to.

A/N: okay guys, here's a little sisterly loving for you. Hope you like it, if not, I'm sorry.

Next chapter, lots of Brucas love, and much longer. Promise.

Let me know what you think!!

Also, thanks for all the reviews, you guys ROCK as always.