Tim paced on the red and gold carpet just inside the front doors of the fancy country club where the gala was being held. He straightened his bowtie for what felt like the millionth time. He was impressed at how well the rented suit fit him considering he didn't have time to get it tailored. Tim looked at his phone. Lucy had texted nine minutes earlier that she was ten minutes away. Tim couldn't wait to see her.

"Tim."

Tim whirled around at the sound of his name, but he knew by the voice that it wasn't Lucy. It was Ashley. She was wearing a strapless, floor-length red gown that looked like it was vacuum sealed to her body. As she walked towards Tim, he noticed a slit up the dress that ran all the way to her mid-thigh. The dress was so tight and pin straight that without the slit, Tim guessed she wouldn't have been able to walk. Her blonde hair was in a fancy up-do, the unnatural curls piled high on her head.

If he were any other man, Ashley might have taken Tim's breath away. But he didn't care what Ashley wore and he didn't care about how she looked. He had eyes for only one woman and he wanted to spend the night with her in his arms.

"Hi, Ashley," Tim said politely.

"You certainly know how to wear a suit," she complimented.

"Thank you. You look very nice."

"Oh, this old thing," Ashley laughed, running her hands down her sides. "I was surprised to hear that you were coming to the gala with Lucy."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"I just thought we had a connection at the carnival," Ashley explained. "I was hoping to get another dance tonight."

"That's very flattering, but…" Tim began.

"That won't be happening."

Tim turned around at the sound of the voice he did recognize. Lucy. When he saw her, he smiled. She was gorgeous. In her showy, but not revealing silver, shimmering dress, Lucy looked perfect. She had pulled some of her hair back away from her face, pinning it back and had pulled it all over one shoulder so that the backless dress could really shine. Tim felt the urge to take a strand of her hair and twirl it between his fingers.

"Lucy, you look lovely," Ashley said.

"You look very nice yourself," Lucy commented although it pained her just a little to do so. She walked over to Tim and he immediately put his arm around her waist. It was a not so subtle sign to Ashley that he was with Lucy.

"I'm glad you two could make it," Ashley said perhaps not so truthfully. "Your Aunt Mae was a huge supporter of the wildlife rehabilitation center. I know her donations will be missed, but as a volunteer member of their fundraising committee, I will personally make sure that this center continues to get the funding and donations it needs."

"How very noble of you," Lucy said, working really hard not to roll her eyes. "I plan on continuing to donate in Aunt Mae's honor."

"Well, isn't that nice. Do therapists make that much money?"

"I think it's time we went into the ballroom and got a drink, what do you think?" Tim said to Lucy.

"Great idea," Lucy replied. "We'll see you around, Ashley."

Dropping his arm from around her waist, Tim took Lucy's hand. They walked together towards the ballroom. The room was crowded with two hundred others all in suits and fancy dresses. There was a dance floor in the center of the room with a DJ who was playing quiet music while people mingled. Instead of heading to the bar in the back of the room, Tim led Lucy to a quiet corner.

"What are we doing?" Lucy asked.

"This."

Tim kissed her hard and fast, giving her barely any time to respond. He cupped the side of her face with his hand as the kiss continued. A moment later they both reluctantly pulled away. They knew they were in public and couldn't just keep on making out.

"That's better than a drink," Lucy commented, coming down from the high of kissing him.

"You are stunning," Tim told her. He took a step back from her and looked her over from head to toe. "Absolutely gorgeous."

"And you clean up nicely," Lucy replied. "Very handsome." She leaned in close to him. "And hot. Extremely hot."

"You know, we could just go home right now and skip the gala."

Lucy licked her lips. "As tempting as that sounds, I did not go out and buy a new dress and spend an hour on my hair and makeup to go home. Besides, what fun would tonight be if we didn't make Ashley just a little jealous?"

"You know I have zero interest in her, right?" Tim assured her.

"I know. And I trust you completely. I just like knowing that I have something she wants."

"You're kind of sexy when you talk like that."

"Just kind of?" Lucy teased.

Their lips met again, but only briefly. Before they knew it, they had to separate. They finally made their way to the bar and ordered two cocktails. They were seated at a table with a few other couples. Lucy recognized one of them as another parent from the school. They made pleasant conversation, but all the while they wanted to be somewhere together and alone. The meal was served a little while later. It was probably the fanciest food Lucy had ever had. Each course was more delicious than the last. When an appetizer was served that included mushrooms, Lucy immediately took them off Tim's plate. She knew he despised the things. It was crazy just how much she had come to know about him in such a short time.

After dinner some speeches were made by the president of the rehabilitation center. Lucy's Aunt Mae was even mentioned by name, which made Lucy smile and Tim squeezed her hand. When the food was cleared and the speeches were done, the DJ began to play music that people could actually dance to. Tim immediately got out of his seat and offered his hand to Lucy.

"Care to dance?" He offered.

"I thought you'd never ask."

Pulling Lucy to her feet, Tim led her to the dance floor. The song was upbeat. Tim clasped her right hand in his left and put his right arm around her waist. Holding her close, they began to sway to the music.

"Thank you for coming with me tonight," Lucy said.

"You're welcome. I'm quite enjoying myself. It's fun to play dress up."

"Do you play dress up a lot in LA? I always imagine that there are fancy parties around every street corner there."

"That's not exactly my crowd," Tim told her.

He spun her around and pulled her back against him.

"Ooh, Bradford's got moves," Lucy commented with a smile.

"In more ways than one," he said with a wink.

"Well, you'll have to show me some of those moves later tonight."

"Don't worry. I plan on it."

They continued to dance in rhythm with the music enjoying the fact that they could just be together. Lucy was impressed at how good of a dancer Tim was.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that Alex got invited to a sleepover birthday party by Xavier."

"He's the redheaded kid on the team, right?" Tim asked.

"Mhmm. This Saturday Xavier's moms are going to take the boys right from the game to their house and I won't have to pick Alex up at ten o'clock on Sunday morning."

"Oh really? That makes, what? Approximately eighteen hours of free time. And what do you have planned for all that time by yourself?"

"Well, I was thinking I could maybe get my nails done or watch a movie or spend some quality naked time with you."

"I like that last one," Tim said, leaning in for a kiss.

"I thought you might say that."

Tim spun her out again before catching her back in his arms. He brought her upper body down into a dip. As he held onto her, making sure she wouldn't fall, he felt his back twinge. It was the first time he had felt any pain in his back in days. He had almost forgotten that he had been shot and still had the bullet inside of him, but the pain was an instant reminder of what had happened.

"You ok?" Lucy asked, seeing the change in his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Tim straightened up, bringing Lucy back to her feet. Lucy read his face. She could see that he was trying to relax the corners of his mouth out of the grimace they had been in a minute ago. His brow had slackened. She could see the changes in him instantly.

"You can't lie to me," she said softly.

"It's just my back."

"We should sit," Lucy said immediately. "I wasn't even thinking about your back. I…"

"I'm fine."

"Tim…"

He could see the look of concern on her face and he appreciated it more than she knew. But he didn't want to worry her and it had just been a moment of pain.

"Really, I'm fine," Tim reiterated.

The song that was playing melted into something slow.

"We don't have to keep dancing," Lucy told him.

"Nothing is going to stop me from dancing with you," Tim said.

He pulled her tightly against his body and they began to slowly move to the beat. She tucked her head under his chin, resting her head against his chest. She felt perfectly safe and content being in his arms.

They danced like that until the song was over and another, more upbeat song began. Tim was about to twirl her around again when Lucy put her hand on his chest.

"Let's take a break," she suggested.

"Lucy, I'm fine."

"I have to use the ladies' room and I could use another glass of wine."

"Ok," Tim agreed. He had a feeling she was mostly asking for a break for him, but he was willing to go with it. They walked together over to the bar. Tim got in line to order them both a glass of wine and Lucy went off in search of the bathroom. When she found it and went inside, she saw Ashley standing in front of one of the mirrors, reapplying her bright red lipstick. Lucy started to walk right past her to head to one of the stalls when Ashley spoke.

"You're lucky, you know. Tim seems like a good guy," Ashley said.

"He is," Lucy said. She took another step towards one of the toilets, but then stopped and turned to look at Ashley. They caught each other's eye in the mirror. "Look, Ashley, I don't want to do this with you. I don't want to be a mean girl. We're not in high school. I didn't even like the mean girls in high school. We're both adults. I don't want to fight over a guy."

Ashley turned away from the mirror to face Lucy. At first Lucy wasn't sure what kind of response she was going to get, but then she saw Ashley's face change just slightly.

"You're right," Ashley finally said. "Look, the truth is, I've been lonely since my divorce. And we don't often get a lot of new guys in this town. Especially not ones who are as cute as Tim. And I am used to fighting for what I want."

"I get it. And you should fight for what you want. Sometimes it's the only way us women can get ahead."

"True, but I don't want to fight another woman to get there," Ashley said. "Clearly Tim chose you. And you two look good together out there."

"Thank you."

"Also, I think my daughter has a little crush on your son."

Lucy laughed. "Really?"

"It's silly, of course, but she always talks about how nice Alex is to her at baseball practice. He's a good kid."

"Thank you. Your daughter certainly has some spunk. It takes guts to play on a team with mostly boys," Lucy commented.

"Well, she definitely gets that from me."

"I can see that," Lucy said with a smile.

"Look, I hope you two are happy together. I really do. I'll back off of Tim. You have my word on that."

"Thank you. And thank you for saying that about us. And I have a feeling you'll find someone who will make you feel less lonely," Lucy said. "You're smart, you're gorgeous, and you know what you want."

"Thank you for saying that."

The two women just stared at each other somewhat awkwardly. Lucy wasn't sure if she should step up and give the woman a hug, but that didn't feel right. Not yet anyway.

"Now I really do have to go pee," Lucy finally said, breaking the tension.

Ashley laughed. "By all means."

When Lucy was done using the bathroom, she found Tim sitting at their table with two full glasses of wine. She walked over to him and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"Let's go home," she said.

"What happened to making Ashley jealous?"

"Not necessary anymore."

Tim raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Let's just say that we have come to a mutual understanding."

"Wow. What happened in that bathroom?" Tim asked, surprised.

"Are we going to talk about bathrooms or are we going to go home?"

"Home. Definitely home."

Tim picked up the wine he had just ordered and took a long sip. Leaving it and Lucy's still full glass on the table, he took her hand and they walked out of the country club.