Dan and Deb's behavior at breakfast only reaffirmed Deb's words to Haley that morning; they were both suspicious that something was wrong with the couple sitting before them. Dan's excitement at this impression was almost palpable, and it only served to strengthen Nathan and Haley's resolve to act like everything between them was better than perfect.

After breakfast, the four of them drove to the mall and started walking aimlessly through stores. Besides Deb wanting to find something to take back to Karen, her partner in the management of a café in Tree Hill and Lucas's mom, no one had any item in particular they wanted to buy.

Nathan had to keep himself from whining as they went from one store to the next, his wife and mother doing exactly what he thought they would: looking at things for over ten minutes and then deciding not to buy them. Why did women do that, anyway? If he found something that he liked and wasn't too expensive, he didn't waste time fawning over it and then move on to the next item. He bought it, and that was that. Simple.

Dan was having an even harder time keeping his thoughts to himself, a mistake which earned him more than one glare from Deb.

Because they knew they had to work harder to deceive his parents, Nathan and Haley made an effort to touch each other and act like they had when they'd just gotten married. On some levels, it was hard to even remember a time when they'd been blissfully happy and had time to devote to one another without being weighed down by the stresses of the real world.

In other ways, it was so simple to fall back in time and ignore reality, if only for a moment. They were no longer in the real world, the world in which they had to worry about jobs and bills and fidelity. They didn't have to worry about anything, really, except looking genuinely happy in front of the Scotts, and without the pressures afforded them by their concerns, it wasn't hard to do.

They held hands as they walked from one store to the next, teased each other good-naturedly about various things, exchanged kisses when they were sure to be seen but still appear natural, and when Haley finally did buy something—a black dress that Nathan assured her looked wonderful on her—he dutifully held her bag while she looked at other things.

Surprisingly, the day was going rather well. Haley knew that it was all a ruse, that at the end of the week she would go back to her apartment and unless something drastically changed, when the bet with Dan was over and won she and Nathan would probably get a divorce. She knew that. And yet… as they wandered the mall and really spent time together, she had trouble not wondering what she was going to do if they really did split.

Suddenly Nathan skidded to a stop, pulling Haley to a halt beside him. When she turned to him, ready to ask what the hell was wrong with him, a questioning look on her face, he was grinning widely, like a fat kid in a candy store. Immediately she frowned. This had to be bad.

"Come on, let's go in there." He motioned with their joined hands to the store they were stopped in front of.

Her eyes drifted to the store and flew back to his face. "You're kidding."

"Not at all."

She glanced again at the shop's windows, her brown eyes drifting dubiously over the models scantily clad in lace teddies, and snorted. The sign over the doorway read 'Secret Desires' in what she supposed was meant to be an enticing script. "It's a whore shop," she stated plainly.

"It's a lingerie shop."

"For whores," she reiterated.

He rolled his eyes and started tugging on their entwined hands. "Come on, it'll be fun. Maybe even bring back old memories. Remember our first date?"

She laughed quietly. "Of course. How could I forget?" She had been furious with him over something their friend Brooke Davis said while she was drunk, and Brooke had set up a surprise date for them in which they followed note cards with her directions on them. One of the cards had lead them to a lingerie shop and ordered them to buy something for the other person.

Haley, being the careful conservative that she was, bought him a pair of socks—nice socks, mind you. Nathan, on the other hand, bought her a lovely peach negligee.

Haley shook her head to clear away the memories. "Your parents are right behind us," she reminded him, looking over her shoulder at where Dan and Deb lingered in front of a jewelry shop, admiring what was on display.

Nathan grinned fiendishly. "Exactly. This ought to help convince them we're okay," he whispered to her, squeezing her hand before releasing it and going up to his parents. "Hales and I are going to be in that shop right there." He motioned towards it, seeing the look of mild surprise on his father's face and the smile that touched his mother's lips before he returned to his wife and lead her inside.

"You're so bad," Haley chuckled, reluctantly following him into the tackily decorated shop. Her eyes widened at some of the garish and truly sinful outfits she saw on display. Some of them made her want to turn away with embarrassment. Married life had opened her eyes quite a bit, but she knew she was still by no means some sex kitten.

Nathan glanced back at her and laughed. "I believe you're blushing, Haley."

"Shut up," she muttered, playfully swatting away the hand he laid on her shoulder. Determined to prove that she wasn't a complete wimp, Haley went to the nearest display and started looking over the nightgowns. She continued browsing, feeling Nathan's constant presence by her side, and was surprised to see that not all of the pajamas they had were sleazy. In fact, she actually liked a few of them.

When what she thought was an appropriate amount of time had passed, she turned to Nathan and raised an eyebrow. "I think we've been here long enough."

"Go stand outside."

"Excuse me?"

"Go stand outside," he repeated, giving her a nudge. "Just do it."

Haley frowned but did as she was told, and was met with quizzical looks from Deb. "I don't know either," she admitted with a shrug.

Nathan emerged a minute later with an extra shopping bag in his hands, and Haley's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He merely smiled at her and held out the bag. When she only stared at him, unsure of what to do, he chuckled. "I promise nothing's going to jump out and bite you."

Hesitantly she took the bag, aware that both Dan and Deb were watching them intensely, and peeked inside. A small gasp escaped her throat when she saw what was inside. The pale pink satin chemise she had admired inside the store… she hadn't even thought he'd noticed what she was looking at. "Thank you," she said quietly, raising her eyes to meet his. "It's beautiful."

"Reliving old traditions, I guess."

"But I didn't get you anything."

"You don't have to." Realizing that the three of them were just looking at him like he'd grown another head and that the situation felt suddenly very awkward, he put an arm around Haley's shoulders and propelled them both forward. "Come on. I've had enough shopping to last a lifetime."

And just like that, the moment was gone. But it had been there, and she had the proof in her hands.