Brooke found a parking space near the entrance to the bar. Leaving Haley and Nathan's had been harder than she'd expected. She'd felt at home there from the moment she'd walked in the door, more so than anywhere she'd lived, except perhaps for the short time that she had lived under Karan's roof, in Lucas' bed.

But Lucas was right that they should make some decisions. They needed time together to work out their futures plans. Sure, they'd also make love, and she looked forward to that. She was only human.

The main reason to stay with Lucas, though, was to get down to the nitty-gritty of how they'd co-parent this child. For starters, they needed a visitation schedule. She'd brought a notebook to record the any upcoming book tours or events where Lucas would be needed out of town and dates when he'd be able to make it to New York.

The reality that he'd show up every few weeks hadn't sunk in yet. Would she let him stay at her apartment? Logically he'd spend more time with the baby if he did, but he'd be sleeping under the same roof. She could guess how that would turn out.

Nothing about this situation was neat or structured and she hated that. The visitation schedule was a beginning, though. Once that was in place, she could talk to him about sleeping arrangements.

Someone tapped on her window and she looked over to see Lucas standing there. She turned on the auxiliary power and rolled down the window. "I was thinking."

"I could tell. I've been here f about five minutes and I finally decided to check on you and find out if you'd be coming out anytime soon." He gave her a crooked smile. "If not, I might go grab myself a beer."

Oh, yes, he was charming. One glance at that sexy grin and she was ready to order their meal to go so they could head back to his place for some private time.

But she wouldn't do that. For one thing, he'd spruced up for this date. She could smell the citrus scent of his aftershave and both his shirt and jeans looked fairly new.

"I'll come in." She buzzed up the window and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Before she could reach for the door handle, he opened it and offered his hand.

"Allow me."

"Thank you." Grabbing her purse from the passenger seat, she stepped out of the car and straight onto his arms. He engineered it with such precision that it was almost like a dance step. She gazed unto his eyes, which were shadowed in the clouded evening.

"You smell delicious."

"I taste even better." He tilted her chin up. "But I'm not going to kiss you. I'll mess up your lipstick if I do."

The heat of his body called to her. "Ask me if I care."

"I like your attitude, pretty girl." His voice grew husky. "I like it a lot."

"Wait until you sample the rest of me."

He groaned. "Maybe we should skip this and pick up a pizza."

"No, we'll go in. I want to dance with you."

"I have music on my phone."

"Not the same."

"Okay, we'll go in, but before we do, I have to ask. From the way you're acting I think I know the answer, but did you bring….?"

"In the trunk."

He sucked in a breath and crushed her against his muscled body. "Thank God. Now I really want to kiss you."

"Go ahead."

"I can wait. After last night's dinner, you deserve to be fed right." He released her with obvious reluctance. "Let's go eat."

"Just so you know, I'm not starving. I had iced tea and freshly backed chocolate chip cookies with Haley this afternoon. She gave me some to bring over to your place."

"That's Haley for you. Always doing something nice for someone." Lucas took her hand as they walked toward the lighted entrance.

The bar was busy and cheerful, exactly what she would have expected from a small-town bar. They were seated in a booth. As she looked the laminated menu over, she tapped her foot to the fiddle and guitar music coming from the raised platform.

Lucas glanced up from his menu. "The bands good tonight."

"They're excellent. Can't wait to get out there."

"Since you said you weren't starving do you want to dance now and order later?"

"Great idea."

"Then come on." He led her to the dance floor and spun her into a lively two-step.

They'd made it halfway around the floor when she had a horrible thought. "Is this exercise okay for your HCM."

"I'll be fine."

When they returned to the booth she was breathing hard but far more relaxed than she'd been all day.

"That was fun. I'm glad we're doing this."

"Me, too." He returned her smile before picking up the menu. "And now I'm the one who's starving. Worked up an appetite yet?"

"I could eat."

Right on cue, the waitress approached. They both chose the night's special with all the trimmings and Lucas ordered a beer. Brooke asked for a pitcher of water.

The drinks arrived quickly but the waitress warned them that the kitchen was backed up.

"No problem." Brooke said. "We can dance."

Lucas glanced over at the band. "Not right this minute. They're taking a break."

"So they are. Oh, well, that gives me a chance to find out where you got all those cool moves."

He laughed. "Are we talking about dancing or something else?"

"Dancing!" She flushed. "I don't plan to discuss the other thing in the middle of a crowded bar."

"Never stopped you before."

She leaned toward him. "Quietly. We were whispering. Only you could hear."

But remembering that seductive exchange made her squirm.

He reached across the table and held her hand between both of his. "I can tell when you're thinking about a particular topic. Your eyes go from light to dark."

"I need to stop thinking about it, we're here to eat and dance."

"And at the moment we can't do either." He rubbed his thumb lazily over her palm as he held her gaze. "So now what?"

Until Lucas, she'd never met a man who could take her from zero to sixty in less than five seconds. But they both had to throttle down or they'd never make it through the meal. "We talk. Tell me where you learned to dance. I don't remember those moves."

"I learned from my mom and Keith. Keith always told me that being able to twirl a lady on the dance floor would be skill worth having."

"FYI, he was right." Slow did the slow stroking of her palm with his thumb. She should pull her hand away but couldn't seem to manage it.

He grinned, which added another layer of sexy to his gorgeous self. He studied her without speaking.

"What? Is my mascara smeared? Sometimes that happens when I get a little sweaty."

"No, you look beautiful. I was just thinking about how if we hadn't danced that night in New York, we'd never had made Henley. It's like in a way, Keith sent us our baby."

Instinctively she put her other hand over her stomach. "I think you might be right, Keith sent us our miracle."

"And now I can't imagine a world without her. And she isn't even born yet."

She nodded. "Exactly how I feel, especially now that we've given her a name."

"She still needs a middle one. Do you know the origin of 'Penelope'? "

"I think it's just something my mom liked."

"How about if I go with you when you tell your parents? "she was shocked to her toes by the offer, but once the surprise wore off, she was incredibly touched.

"That's very sweet of you, but I won't subject you to that."

"Why not? You'll be subjected to it."

"Yes. But I'm their daughter so it goes with the territory, while you…"
"Listen, if they're liable to be mean to you or say something bad about Henley, I want to be there. You shouldn't have to put up with that. We behaved responsibly and against all odds you got pregnant. We've accepted the consequences of our actions and are doing our best to make a good life for Henley. We have nothing to be ashamed of."

She'd always respected him, but that little speech increased her respect by several notches. Everything he'd said was true and she'd do well to remember it when she faced her parents. Knowing he was willing to be there to defend her if necessary was a bonus she hadn't counted on.

"Thank you, Lucas." She drew courage from the determination in his blue eyes. "I haven't decided when, but when I do, I'll let you know. Maybe you'll be free."

"I'll be free."

She nodded. "Good to know."

Their food arrived along with a second beer for Lucas. He picked up his fork. "Okay, so middle name for Henley. Whatcha got?"

She scooped up some mashed potatoes smothered in brown gravy. Pure comfort food and, boy, was she in the mood for it. "You'll think I'm kidding but I'm not."

"If the next word out of your mouth is Eugenie. Forget it. Not happening"

The potatoes were so creamy and delicious that she moaned in appreciation.

He pointed a fork at her. "And making sexy noises won't help your case, no matter how turned on I get."

"It's the mashed potatoes. These are definitely not from a box."

"The foods real good here, huh?"

"If I lived here, I'd eat here two or three times a week."

His head came up and his gaze sharpened. "Have you considered moving home?"

"No, I was only saying that if I did then…"

"I'll bet you could design from here. Maybe open a store."

She should have seen this coming. Of course he'd want her in Tree Hill so he'd have the comfort of knowing Henley was being watched over by his family. "I can understand why you'd think that was a good idea, but I'm not doing it."

"Why not?"

"I own my own apartment in New York. A very nice upper east side apartment that I just purchased free and clear with the money from my first line."

"I didn't know that."

"I've never mentioned it. Anyway, I probably won't have much left after I tell Victoria about the baby. She was very clear that my image was what really sells my clothes. After Henley is born I can always design for someone else. I made a lot of friends in the industry."

"But if you moved here, you'd be close to Haley and Jamie, plus everybody else. The maternity ward at the hospital is awesome. There's a nurse there named Tess. She has twenty years of experience delivery babies. You'd be in good hands with her."

She stared at him. "And you know this how?"

"Haley took me there this morning."

"Why?"

"She thought I should see how terrific it was."

"But there's no reason for you to visit this maternity ward. I'll be having Henley in the city." Then she got it. They all expected her to quit her life and move back to Tree Hill. Nobody had come out and said so, but that must be what they all were thinking. Otherwise why would Haley take Lucas over to the hospital? The audacity left her speechless.

Then it galvanized her and she pushed her plate aside. "You know what? I'll just leave for New York right now." She picked up her purse and slid out of the booth. "We don't have to be in the same room to work things out, Luke. We can text and email. I'll be in touch."