Lucas hummed to himself as he exited the shower. Drying his face, hair and body, he wrapped the towel securely around his chiseled waist. His hand wiped the steam layer away from the mirror as he took a good look at the reflection staring back. Sometimes that man on the other side of the looking glass seemed like a stranger, like some other guy. There had been times when he felt like he had lost himself. Growing up without a father had made him feel that way when he was younger. But he had experienced the same feeling the times he had lost two important women in his life.

He had loved Peyton deeply. She was his wife. No matter how amicable or mutual the split was, it had hurt him. He could remember the first morning he had woken up alone as a newly separated man. He had stayed in the shower until all the hot water had run out. Afterwards he found himself staring into a mirror, lost, wondering what to do with the rest of his life.

It had happened once before as well. He could remember that day, too. It had taken every ounce of courage he had to say those words. He had tried to choose them carefully but when the time came, they simply spilled out all over the place. How could one truly prepare for a moment like that anyway? After a year of teen angst and love triangles gone awry, he had finally just admitted it to himself. He was in love with Brooke Penelope Davis. So what she was leaving for good, moving to California to be with her parents. He had to tell her the truth, how he felt. And he prayed a tiny piece of her still felt the same way about him despite the hurt he had caused her. But obviously she was over him. He'd never heard from her again although he had waited with much hope and patience. Each day came and went with no sign and each day he felt a little less lost than the one before it. But he had never forgotten.

The unexpected tornado had done a decent amount of damage to Tree Hill but thank God other than a few minor reported scrapes and bruises, no one had been seriously injured or killed. The townspeople had bound together and had began the efforts of rebuilding the very next day. Lucas was thankful that Keith's shop as well as their home had escaped harm and his mother's café had only sustained the broken window. He knew it could have been much worse but he hadn't been able to get that fateful day out of his mind for more reasons than one.

It had been surreal being that close to her again. Sometimes he could still see that look in her eye and hear their conversation. And when it came down to it, raw instinct had taken over as he had bravely protected her and Karen's bodies with his own without second thought. He'd never forget how pretty or how vulnerable she had looked draped in a blanket as she listened to him speak his final peace. And he'd never forget that initial feeling in the pit of his gut when he saw Cameron holding her.

"Luke! Baby, your phone is ringing!" he heard Caylan call out.

Getting himself together, he dashed to where he'd had his cell charging.

"Yeah?" he answered in the nick of time.

"You're a hard man to get in touch with."

Lucas smiled.

"That's what happens when you're popular…or just busy. What's going on, Jerry?"

Jerry Lynch had been Lucas' accountant ever since he had struck his first book deal. He was a smart and savvy businessman but at the same time a down to earth good guy. His clients interests were always his top priority and he and Lucas had always shared a good relationship.

"Nothing much. I had heard on the news about a tornado hitting your way. Everything cool?"

"Yeah. It was pretty crazy for a while, man but everything is okay. No one was hurt and there wasn't too much property damage. We were pretty lucky."

"Glad to hear it. I hope things are coming along with the new book as well."

Lucas winced.

"It's…coming. It's a work in progress, shall we say."

"Well, you better work a little harder because it looks like you might be needing the dough," Jerry joked.

"Why?" Lucas teased in return. "Your services bleeding my small fortune dry already?"

"Actually, it's not me."

Lucas noted the serious tone Jerry's voice had taken.

"Everything okay, Jer?"

"So far and you know it's my job to make sure it stays that way. I just have a few concerns, that's all."

"Concerns?"

"Financially, you're pretty well off. You're by no means Mr. Richie Rich but you're in good standing."

"Okay."

"You have money from the first book and of course the advance on books you haven't even written yet. Also, Peyton and her people have stayed true to their word and so far this divorce hasn't hurt either one of you financially."

"Sounds good to me, Jerry but I feel like you're trying to get at something else."

Jerry sighed.

"I was going through your expenses and uh, I was surprised. For starters, 13 grand to Tiffany's and Co.?"

Lucas chuckled.

"Yeah. I didn't have a chance to tell you yet but Caylan and I got engaged. You know how it is, man. Rings don't come cheap these days."

"They sure don't but geez, did you have to go out and buy the freaking Hope Diamond?"

"So I splurged a little. It's not gonna break me."

"No but a pattern of reckless spending will."

"What do you mean, reckless spending?"

"In the last month alone your American Express card has incurred 15 thousand in charges…"

"What?" Lucas nearly choked on his own words.

"It gets better, Chief. Six hundred bucks on a new Blackberry, a thousand more on some company that imports bottled water, I mean, I could go on."

"It's okay. You don't have to."

Jerry cleared his throat.

"You seemed more shocked than upset. I take it this isn't a case of identity theft."

"No. No, it's not."

"Look, you know I'm on your payroll but I'm looking out for you, too, Luke. Can I give you a little advice about hangers on? You know, the leeches and the gold diggers and…"

"I'm fine, Jer, thanks," Lucas said in a more stern voice. "Anything else?"

"No. Um, hadn't talked to you in a while. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay and let you know what was going on."

"I appreciate it, dude. Um, I'll keep in touch, okay?"

"Hey, Luke…"

"Good looking out," Lucas said as he hung up the phone.

Growing up the only child of a hard working, struggling, single mother, money hadn't exactly grown on trees. Karen had taught her the son the value of a dollar. Lucas wasn't exactly frugal but he was practical and responsible. Peyton had always been the same way. There had never been issues in the marriage concerning money, even when they'd had very little. Lucas just assumed all relationships went that smoothly but Jerry had hit him with a rude awakening.

"Anybody ever tell you how sexy you are when you're wet and almost naked?" Caylan grinned surprising and teasing him by pulling at his towel.

"Cay…"

"Your parents aren't here. What do you say, we fool around for a little while?"

She wrapped her small arms around his neck, planting butterfly kisses on his stubbly chin.

"Babe, you know I'm always game for making out but can I talk to you about something first?"

"What's up?"

"That was my accountant, Jerry, on the phone."

"What did he want?"

"He found some strange charges on my account."

"Like what?"

"Large sums charged to my American Express, a new Blackberry, water…"

"Oh yeah," she shrugged. "That was me."

"I, I know. Um…"

"You did say I could use your card, sweetie."

"I know and I meant that but 15 thousand in a month is a little, I don't know…a little much, don't you think?"

Caylan pouted.

"But it was stuff I needed. Important stuff. Clothes and shoes and food and spas and entertainment. The Blackberry was custom designed just for me."

"And the water?"

"It comes from Swedish springs and it's heavenly. Not only does it taste yummy but it's super good for the hair and skin."

Lucas squinted.

"But a whole grand? For water? Cay, come on."

"But I like it."

"It's water."

"It's the best and it's imported."

"It's ridiculously priced. I mean, water is water. You can get water for free right out of the sink and hell, I'm even down for some Evian at a buck ninety nine but baby one thousand dollars?"

"Lucas!"

"I'm not upset but I think we need to have a talk and sort of tone things down. Maybe a nice budget…"

Caylan frowned.

"A budget?"

"Yeah. You know, more like an expense account to keep better track of things so we don't spend too much."

"And just when is this supposed to start?"

He shrugged.

"I don't know. We don't have anything going on today. We could sit down and figure it out together."

"Luke…"

He rubbed her shoulders.

"It won't be that bad, I promise. I know you like nice things. I want to be able to give you nice things. I'll even spoil you sometimes but I don't want us living outside our means, honey."

"What about the wedding?" she asked in a little girl's voice.

"What did you have in mind? That is a special occasion and I want it to be your dream wedding."

"Really?" she smiled again.

"Of course."

"Good," she squealed. "Because I have it all planned and it is gonna be so awesome."

Lucas scratched his head.

"Exactly how much are we talking here?"

"Not much," she played coy.

He raised an eyebrow.

"How much? Ballpark."

"Five thousand for flowers and 15 thousand for food…"

"20 grand on just flowers and food?"

"What? The flowers are exotic and imported and what are our guests supposed to eat? Your mom's fried chicken on a buffet table?"

Yes, he wanted to scream. Fried chicken and finger sandwiches were just fine with him. After all, his first wedding had been intimate and a Karen's Café buffet was all they could afford yet every guest had left satisfied. And exotic, imported flowers? What was wrong with the local flower shop? Why did everything have to be imported?

"Go on," he rubbed his aching temples.

"The ceremony is ten grand, wedding attire six grand, my gown 15 grand and your tux ten grand, favors and gifts around five grand, jewelry five grand, entertainment 15 grand, photography and video, 13 grand, reception 30 grand, stationary three grand and transportation approximately four grand. Let's see that adds up to almost…"

"Caylan it adds up to 136,000 dollars!"

"That sounds about right, I guess."

"Isn't that a little…I don't know…excessive?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean everything is so expensive. I'm sure if we looked around we could find all the stuff we need for considerably less."

She folded her arms.

"And how much were you wanting to spend on our wedding?" she asked.

"I, I don't know. 40 grand sounds reasonable."

"40 grand! Are you kidding me? Luke!"

"What?"

"I thought you wanted me to be happy."

"I do."

"This is supposed to be my dream wedding!"

"It is."

"Not on that pauper's budget. We may as well go to City Hall."

"Caylan, baby, don't get mad but you're being dramatic…and a tad bit ridiculous."

"Me? Oh I'm being ridiculous? Whatever Lucas Eugene Scott! You just don't care. This isn't important to you. I guess I should have figured, I mean, you have done this before."

"Yeah I have as a matter of fact with less than three grand and it was a beautiful wedding and everybody had a great time and I didn't land in the poor house afterwards."

She was being a spoiled brat and it was frustrating him to no end. He wasn't being an unreasonable boyfriend but some boundaries had to be set. Her spending habits were outrageous and he simply couldn't afford it and even if he could, that just wasn't his lifestyle.

"Well, if that's how you feel…"

"I'm not trying to be a dick but yes it is how I feel, Cay."

"Fine," her eyes began to tear as her bottom lip quivered under reddened cheeks. "Right now I look like a gold digging, selfish, spoiled brat but that's not the case. You told me your money was our money and I could use the card for whatever I wanted but when I do, you get mad at me. And I wanted our wedding to be wonderful and memorable so I went all out. It's not like the best comes cheap. And now you're upset."

"Caylan, don't cry. I…"

"You know me, Luke. You know how I feel about you and you know it has nothing to do with money. I was doing this for us and now Jerry, like the rest of them, is trying to make it into something it isn't and turn you against me," she sobbed.

"Caylan, baby…" he reached out for her but she pulled away.

"It's fine. I won't use your card ever again if it's gonna make you mistrust me. And the wedding, I'll let you plan it for however cheap you want and I'll be there and I'll deal with it and even try to be happy about it because I love you."

And with that, she ran off wailing leaving a stunned Lucas behind. He hated to see her or any woman, for that matter, cry. He hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, he just wanted to put his foot down. Now he had implied he couldn't trust her and that was far from the case. Maybe he had been a little too hard on her. Regardless, now they both felt horrible. The last thing he wanted was to hurt the woman who had come into his life in its darkest hour and fixed everything. Everything was just so confusing sometime. Caylan was a good girl, no a great girl and she deserved the best. Maybe he had overreacted a little. Besides, it wasn't like they were poor.

"Caylan, babe, open up the door," he begged pounding. "I'm sorry."

Once again he found himself in a familiar position…begging forgiveness from the girl he loved.