"Mom, let's go!" Alex yelled outside of Lucy's bedroom door.

"I'm coming, bud," Lucy called back. She heard his feet on the steps as he made his way downstairs.

Lucy looked at herself in the mirror. She had bought the emerald green dress months ago on a whim one Saturday afternoon when she was still living in the city while Alex had been at baseball practice. The dress was more than she would normally spend on her wardrobe, but she had loved it from the moment she tried it on. It had cap sleeves and a V-neck that showed a little skin, but wasn't inappropriate. The dress hugged her at her waist and fell to just below her knees, flaring out at the bottom. When she had bought it, she imagined one night dancing in it and watching it twirl. Standing in her bedroom, she wondered if it was maybe a little too fancy for an elementary school carnival, but she didn't care. And somehow she knew Ashley would be showing up in something even fancier, not that that should matter to Lucy.

"Mom!" Alex shouted up the stairs.

"Coming!"

Fastening one more bobby pin so her hair stayed in place over one shoulder, Lucy grabbed her purse, slid her feet into a pair of nude strappy sandals that had a little bit of a heel and left her bedroom. She walked down the stairs to find Alex standing with his hands on his hips.

"What took you so long?" He asked.

"Sorry, honey."

"We're going to be late!"

"It's ok, the carnival is all night long. We have plenty of time."

Alex pulled something out of the pocket of his Jeans.

"I made this for you," he said, handing whatever it was over to Lucy. She inspected it carefully. It was a bracelet made of string and small seashells. The shells weren't evenly spaced and the string was neon green, but it made Lucy smile.

"Oh, honey, I love it."

"We each made one today at the craft table," Alex explained. "The lady in charge said to give it to someone special. So I chose you, mom."

"That's very sweet," Lucy said, willing herself not to cry. "Would you help me tie it on?"

"Sure!"

Lucy placed the bracelet around her wrist and let Alex take the two strands to tie them together.

"Just like you're tying your shoes," Lucy coaxed.

Alex did his best to tie the strands together. His little tongue popped out of his mouth as he worked.

"Done!" Alex announced triumphantly.

Lucy wasn't sure how sturdy the knot was, but it would have to do.

"Good job, bud."

"Thanks. Can we go now?"

"Ok, ok, we're going."

Lucy took a quick peek out the french door leading out to the backyard. The lights in the guest house were off. As she made her way outside, Lucy noticed Tim's truck was gone. She was slightly disappointed that he hadn't specifically asked her to go to the carnival with him, but that's what they had decided, wasn't it? They were just going to stay friends. She hadn't seen him all day since he had left to go paint with Ashley. Lucy felt a twinge of jealousy enter her brain and she tried to shake it off.

Climbing in the car, Lucy drove the couple of blocks over to the school. The parking lot was already beginning to fill up. As she drove around to find a spot, she saw Tim's truck. It was always easy to spot with the California license plate.

"I see Tyler and Miss Bradford!" Alex exclaimed, excitedly pointing from the backseat.

"Let me park the car first," Lucy said.

After she had parked the car, Alex hopped out. Reminding him to be careful in the parking lot, they made their way to where Genny and Tyler stood, standing in line for one of the bouncy castles. The boys exchanged greetings.

"This carnival looks amazing," Lucy commented as she looked around. Just as Genny had said there would be, there were food stands, games, another bouncy castle on the other side of the field, some small carnival rides, and the dance floor with the tent Lucy helped construct right over it. When she had left after helping out for a few hours in the morning, the whole carnival hadn't seemed that impressive. But, with lights flashing and the sounds of kids having fun, it really looked great. Lucy had to hand it to Ashley that she had coordinated a great event.

"Every year it seems to get bigger and bigger," Genny stated.

When it was the boys' turn to go into the bouncy castle, they took their shoes off and climbed inside. Genny and Lucy watched them jump.

"I'm so happy Alex is fitting in here so well," Lucy commented.

"He's a good kid," Genny replied.

"Thanks."

"Tim told me about how he came into your life. He was lucky he found someone as caring as you."

"I'm the lucky one," Lucy said as she watched her son enjoy himself.

"Speaking of lucky ones," Genny said, elbowing Lucy in the side. Lucy turned to see why Genny was nudging her. Tim walked up behind them and Genny conveniently stepped a few feet away, giving them some space.

"Hi," Tim said.

"Hey," Lucy replied.

"You look…you look…wow," Tim complimented, looking her up and down. He had seen her in everything from her oversized pajamas to work clothes to her professional clothing, but nothing had prepared him for the green dress she wore.

"I take it that's a good reaction?" Lucy said with a smile.

"A very good reaction. You look beautiful."

"Thank you."

"DId I ever tell you green is my favorite color?"

"No."

He leaned in a little closer to her. "That's because it just became my favorite color after seeing you in that dress."

Lucy felt a shiver go up her spine. She had to admit to herself that she had worn the dress for him and clearly it was working as intended.

"Tim, I…"

"Oh, there you are!" Ashley exclaimed, walking up to the two of them. As Lucy had predicted, she was wearing a short, black dress that accentuated all of her curves. She completed the outfit with spiky black heels that even Lucy had to admit made her legs look amazing, but were totally impractical for walking around a carnival. Ashley put her hand on Tim's arm and didn't remove it. "We're having a little trouble getting the beautiful mermaid backdrop we painted earlier today to stand up. Think you could help?"

"Of course, no problem," Tim answered.

"Thanks," Ashley said as she began to walk away. "Oh, and nice bracelet, Lucy!"

"Alex made it for me," Lucy said quite proudly, lifting up her hand for Tim to get a better look.

Tim smiled. "I love it. He did a nice job."

"He did."

"Only it looks a little loose," Tim remarked. "May I?"

Lucy nodded. Tim gently took her hand and brought her closer to him. He undid the loose knot that Alex had done. His fingers brushed against her skin. For a moment he landed on her pulse and could feel her breath was quickened. Tim expertly took the two ends of the string and tied them together, taking more time than he really needed to.

"Thank you," Lucy stuttered as Tim finished his task.

"Tim!" Ashley called. "We wouldn't want that backdrop falling on anyone, would we?"

"I better go. But don't forget you owe me a dance."

"I haven't forgotten," Lucy assured him as he finally let go of her hand.

As she watched him go, Lucy wasn't sure what it was that they were doing. Hadn't they decided to just be friends? Why was he flirting with her? And why had she gotten all dressed up for him? Lucy's head felt like it was swimming. She and Tim were due for a serious talk. But it would have to wait, because Lucy needed to concentrate on her son and making sure he had the best time possible.

A little over an hour later, after Tyler and Alex had gorged themselves on popcorn and cotton candy and had gone on every carnival ride twice with Genny and Lucy trailing just a few feet behind them the entire night, they came to the mermaid photo booth that Tim had helped Ashley paint. They had done a nice job. The mermaid looked great and with a few dress up props lying around, it was a fun area to get a nice picture. Lucy looked around for Tim. She hadn't seen him since Ashley had stolen him away to fix the photo op. As she looked around, she finally did see him. He was on the dance floor. Tim had his hands on Ashley's hips and they were swaying to whatever song was playing. They were clearly involved in conversation. Ashley threw her head back and laughed at something she said and Lucy could swear she put her arms around Tim's neck a little tighter.

"Lucy, hey," Genny said, trying to get her attention. "The boys want to go back to the spinning cups. Is that ok?"

"Yeah, fine," Lucy said, tearing her eyes away from Tim. She was angry, sad, and hurt all at the same time and yet, she had no right to be. The man had told her he had feelings for him and she had turned him down. He had every right to dance with whoever he wanted, but that didn't stop the feelings from coming on strong.

Hours later, as Tim walked behind Lucy's house towards the guesthouse, he noticed the French doors to her kitchen were open. Just the screen remained closed. She must have opened it for the nice breeze, Tim thought, but to him it also felt like an invitation. He didn't like how they had left things at the carnival. They had promised each other a dance and yet when Tim went to look for her and Alex, she was nowhere to be found. Then Ashley had flagged Tim down and asked him to help her take some of the games and food stands down after most everyone had left.

Tim approached the house and saw Lucy standing in the kitchen. Her back was to him, but she was pouring herself a glass of wine. Alex was most likely already in bed asleep. Tim watched as Lucy brought the wine glass to her lips.

"Hey," Tim said through the screen.

Lucy jumped and whirled around, some wine sloshing over the rim of her glass. She immediately put her glass down on the counter and grabbed some paper towels.

"Sorry," Tim said, letting himself in. He closed the slider behind him, but kept some distance between him and Lucy.

"You're home earlier than I expected," Lucy commented, wiping the wine up from the floor. "Not that I'm keeping track of the hours you keep."

"I just helped Ashley dismantle some things," Tim explained.

"I bet that's all you did," Lucy said under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Did you need something? I was about to head up to bed."

"No, I just…I thought we were going to have that dance. I looked for you, but…"

"Alex wasn't feeling that well after his third ride on the spinning cups so we left," Lucy explained.

"Oh. Is he ok?"

"He is now."

"Good," Tim replied. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to spend any time with you. I…"

"Look, you can dance or date or hook up with anyone you want. Just make sure Alex doesn't see. I don't want women paraded around here like…"

"Woah, woah, woah," Tim interrupted, putting his hand up. "I have no intention of parading women around here. I am not that kind of guy. And I'm not dating or hooking up with anybody, including Ashley."

"Well, that's not what it looked like on the dance floor."

"So you did see us."

"Everyone saw you," Lucy stated.

"She asked me to dance. I don't even really remember saying yes to her when she pulled me out there."

"Yeah, because you clearly couldn't have stopped her if you wanted to."

"Regardless of what it looked like, nothing is going on between me and Ashley," Tim insisted.

"I bet that would be news to her."

"Yeah, well, I've declined her advances to go out on several occasions. It was just a stupid dance. One that I didn't even want to be a part of!"

"Maybe it was a stupid dance to you. I'm not sure she got the memo. But you know what? It doesn't matter because you're free to do whatever or whoever you want."

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Tim questioned.

"Why would I be jealous?" Lucy countered.

"I don't know," Tim replied, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Why don't you just do everyone a favor and ask Ashley out?"

"She's not my type," Tim mumbled.

"She's every guy's type. Blonde, beautiful, tall, intelligent, a nice body. Heck, even Genny said her kid is sweet. Do I need to go on?"

"Yeah, well, maybe my type is more brunette, short, beautiful, and sexy as hell even though she doesn't always know it." Lucy looked away from him. She took a long sip from her wine glass. Tim began to walk closer to her. "Look, there is nobody I want to date except you. And I know we already discussed this and we decided that getting involved wasn't worth the risk of us getting hurt when I move back home, but…"

Before Tim could finish his thought, Lucy put her hands on either side of his face and pulled him towards her. When their lips first made contact, Tim felt frozen. It took him a split second to remember to kiss her back. But when his brain finally caught up to what was happening, he responded to her kiss with fervor. He brought his hand to her cheek and reveled in the feeling of her lips against his. She tasted like wine and it intoxicated him.

The sudden sound of a cell phone chiming made them jump apart. Tim immediately missed the feeling of her. Lucy looked away from him sheepishly.

"Ah…sorry…" he said, taking his phone out of his pocket. It was a text from his sister. He read it to himself quickly.

'If you go out with Ashley and hurt Lucy, I will hurt you.'

Tim quickly shoved the phone back in his pocket. He would deal with that later.

"No, I'm sorry," Lucy said. "I don't know what came over me." She paused and looked him in the eye. "Actually, no I won't apologize. I have been wanting to do that basically since you arrived in this town and seeing as how it didn't seem like you were going to make the first move, I had to do it. So I'm sorry, not sorry."

Tim smirked. "Trust me, no apology is necessary."

"So…" Lucy prompted. She thought about inviting him upstairs to her bedroom, but knew that would be wrong. She didn't want to just jump into bed with Tim, as appealing as that sounded. "What do we do now?"

There was a long pause between them. Neither knew exactly what to do or say. But then Tim decided he was going to step up. If she could be brave enough to kiss him, he could be brave enough to take the next step. He took a deep breath and smiled.

"Do you want to get dinner sometime?"

"Yes," Lucy answered quickly.

Tim was surprised at her quick response. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Lucy repeated. But then she began to think about what that meant. "No, uh…"

Tim was taken aback by her sudden change. He went from ecstatic to deflated in an instant.

"Ok," he said, taking a step away from her.

"No, no, it's just…we need to do this the right way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we both know you're leaving in a few months. We both know that whatever happens between us is temporary. So I think we need to agree as two intelligent, consenting adults that when you do leave, there won't be any hard feelings. We need to just see this as two adults who want to get to know each other and enjoy spending time together while you're here without any hope or promise of a future. There can be no someday in our relationship."

"Got it. I'll erase the word someday from my vocabulary."

"And Alex can't know. I don't even know what he understands as a seven year old about dating, but I don't want him to think that you're going to be sticking around so no talking about dating in front of him. No PDA."

"I got it."

"And if it becomes too much for either of us…if we start catching deeper feelings or something…we'll…we'll put a stop to it."

"Deal," Tim said even though he was afraid he had already caught deeper feelings for the woman standing in front of him.

"Ok, good," Lucy replied.

"So," Tim said, followed by a brief pause. "Do you want to go out on a date?"

Lucy smiled. "Yeah, I do."

"Good. How about Friday night?"

"I'll have to find a sitter for Alex."

"We can ask Genny. Trust me, she'll be glad to do it. She's been trying to get me to ask you since we first met at the baseball game."

"Well, if she's able to, then I look forward to Friday," Lucy said.

"Me too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Tim turned to walk back out the French doors.

"Hey, Tim," Lucy called out after him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad you didn't ask Ashley out."

"I knew you were jealous."

"Maybe just a little," Lucy said.

Smiling, Tim closed the doors and retreated to the guest house.