Addison sat back in her chair, completely satisfied and full. But she had a piece of sweet potato pie staring her in the face, and there was no way she’d let that go to waste.

“Remind me again how you found this place?” JC asked as he took a sip of coffee. He’d just finished his own slice of cherry pie and didn’t look to be in as much of a food coma as Addison was at that moment. She managed to sit up in her chair as she scanned the place again, smiling.

“Grace and I have been coming here for years. This place opened when we were in high school, and every time we come home, we take way too many meals here. The owner is a friend of Edna’s, so I’m not surprised the food is amazing every time we come here.” Addison took a bite of her pie and nearly melted into her chair. She considered ordering a whole pie to take back with her; she just couldn’t find food like this in LA.

“Thanks for bringing me here. It was absolutely delicious. I might come back here just to eat here.” Addison chuckled as she continued to eat through her slice of pie; she’d found her appetite again and wasn’t leaving until the pie was finished. “So…are you OK?” Addison looked at up JC and smiled softly, nodding.

“Yeah Josh. I’m OK. Really.” She put her fork down and wiped her mouth with her napkin, sighing. “You know, when my parents were killed in that crash, I was still a little too young to understand death. I knew I’d never see them again, but it took awhile for the enormity of the situation to it me. With this, it was different. I mean, that man took me into his home when I nearly went into foster care and took care of me.  Paid for my college, helped put me through culinary school, treated me like his own daughter…and I will never be able to repay him for saving me. The fact that he’s gone is just…it’s hard. Just as hard as when I lost my parents.”

She looked to her right and stared out the picture window, smiling sadly as she recounted various memories of Grace’s dad. “I’m sorry Ads. I wish I knew what I could do to make it better,” JC said softly, cutting into her thoughts. She looked back over as she felt his fingers brush over her hand gently. She tried not to make her sharp intake of breath obvious as his hand lingered on top of hers.

“You being here has made it easier to deal with,” she admitted. “I’m not quite sure I’ll be able to repay you for going through all this trouble.” JC squeezed her hand gently before pulling away. Addison wished he’d kept his hand on hers but didn’t make it obvious she thought so.

“Well, how about you come back to my room and watch a movie with me, then we’ll call it even. Or, we can just talk. Or go for a walk. Or whatever. I just want to make sure you’re OK.” She nodded as the owner of the restaurant and Edna’s friend, Dottie, walked over.

“Well well. I was wondering if I’d get to see you again before you left,” Dottie said in her big Southern drawl, grinning as Addison stood up to give her a long hug. “You holdin’ up OK sugar? How’s Gracie and her momma?”

“They’re…they’re holding up. I think things will get better now that the funeral’s over.” Dottie nodded sadly before focusing her attention on JC.

“Now Addison, I don’t think you’ve introduced me to this fine fella you’ve been in the company of this evening. If he’s not your boyfriend, he should be – he’s a looker.” Addison laughed, trying not to be embarrassed, as JC grinned and stood up.

“Joshua Chasez ma’am. Pleasure to meet you. Dinner was fantastic.” Dottie shook his hand and eyed Addison, giving her the “You take him before I do” look she had seen her give other customers.

“Well, I hope you’re taking good care of my girl here. She deserves the best.” Addison blushed as JC glanced over at her, amusement in his eyes.

“Yes ma’am – only the best for Addison. I’m taking care of her, promise.” Dottie patted JC’s cheek affectionately and nodded.

“Good. Now, get out of here while the night’s still young.” Addison’s mouth fell open as she shook her head sternly.

“No Dottie. We’re paying – ” Dottie’s stern look made her shut her mouth quickly.

“Now look here sugar. You’ve had a rough week. The least I could do is provide a hot meal for you and your friend here. Now, just promise to come see me one more time before you leave town, OK?” Addison tried not to tear up again as she gave Dottie a long hug. She and JC said their good-byes before heading out into the cool fall night. Things had been so chaotic lately that Addison hadn’t realized that her part of the world had been plunged into fall. Leaves changing, Halloween decorations out and about, pumpkins scattered across front porches…it was definitely that time of the year.

“So…do you want to head back to the hotel?” Addison breathed in the cool air before nodding.

“Probably a good idea. I don’t have a jacket, and it’s probably not a good idea to get sick right before I head home.” JC grinned and extended his arm, which Addison took without hesitation. The walk back to the hotel was comfortably silent, Addison enjoying JC’s company and the perfect Savannah night. He let her back in his room and turned on the TV.

“OK. Movie suggestion. I’m almost positive I saw that Lord of the Rings was going to be on, and I know how much you love that series…we can watch that?” Addison gave JC a look as she sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped out of her shoes.

“How’d you know I love that series?!”

“Heather has a big mouth.” Addison laughed as JC sat down at the head of the bed, slipped out of his own shoes and got comfortable. “You know, you can join me up here. I won’t bite, promise.” Addison swallowed nervously but nodded, crawling up the bed to sit beside him. As the opening credits for the first Lord of the Rings movie began playing, she looked over at JC. For the first time in quite some time, she really took him in. He didn’t look like he’d aged a day since she’d met him. His haircut was infinitely better, but everything else was the same. He was the same overly attractive, ridiculously sweet man she’d met all those years ago, and it made her heart twinge. If she let herself, she could fall for him all over again in a heartbeat.

“Thank you,” she finally said. JC, who had been completely engrossed in the movie and hadn’t noticed her staring at him, looked over with a puzzled look on his face. “Thank you for coming out here. I can’t say it enough Josh, seriously.” He gave her that cute lopsided grin she loved as he opened his arms, inviting her closer. She scooted in and rested her head against his chest without a second though, her eyes closing for a brief second as she felt him kiss the top of her head.

“I’m always here Addison. I’ll always be here. I promise. Now, tell me – would you pick me over Legolas?” The semi-serious moment turned amusing as Addison laughed out loud.

“Honey, you don’t want me to answer that question.” She turned her head to look up at him, his scowl meeting her amused eyes.

“Figured.”
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The bright sunlight streaming through the half-open curtains awoke JC the next morning, who grumbled his displeasure with the rude awakening.

“Why is it so damn bright?” he grumbled as he blinked his eyes a few times to adjust to the sunlight. When he heard a sleepy voice mutter something incoherent, his eyes slowly shifted to his right and his eyebrows raised. There was Addison, curled up under the covers, fast asleep. JC’s first thought was that she looked damn gorgeous asleep; his second thought was trying to figure out how she’d stayed the night.

Then he remembered: both of them must have fallen asleep during the long-ass Lord of the Rings movie. JC slept like a rock that night – best night’s rest he’d gotten in weeks, actually – so he hadn’t even realized that Addison was still there. He couldn’t help but smile as he fought the urge to kiss her good morning. The tender, one-sided moment was broken up with the vibrating of JC’s phone on the bedside table.

“Hello?” he answered gruffly, sleep still in his voice.

“Oh Josh – thank God. Is Addison with you? She didn’t come back last night.” He peered over at her for a few seconds before answering.

“Yeah. We were watching a movie last night and fell asleep. She’s still out.” He heard his sister breathe a sigh of relief.

“I figured that’s where she was, but I was still freaking out. I’ll tell Grace – she’s freaking out, too. I was afraid something had happened to her, so I changed our flights to late this afternoon. I hope you don’t mind.” JC looked over at the alarm clock and realized it was just short of 8am; their original flight was to leave at 2pm, so this gave JC more time to sleep. Fantastic.

“That’s fine with me. Once Addison wakes up, I’ll make sure she gets home. Promise.”

“Good. Come with her so you can say bye to Grace’s mom and Edna, OK?” JC promised to do so before hanging up and setting his phone back down. He was about to drift back off to sleep when he heard Addison shift beside him.

“Josh? What time is it?” she asked groggily, her sleepy sexy voice making JC groan softly under his breath. Damn that was hot.

“Around 8. Go back to sleep for another hour or so, OK? I’ll go back to Grace’s with you once you’re awake.” Addison didn’t say anything but rolled over so that she was facing him, her head resting on his shoulder. She draped an arm over his stomach curled her fingers around his arm, holding him close as she drifted back to sleep. JC swore under his breath as he looked down at her. How in the world could she have him on the verge of being hooked again with just a simple touch?

JC tried hard to go back to sleep, but Addison being so close to him kept him awake. Instead, he checked his email and watched TV with the volume low, enjoying having Addison practically in his arms. It wasn’t long before he found himself making soft, lazy circles around her back with his hand and running his fingers through her auburn hair as if they had been together for ages. While Addison was sleeping, it gave him time to think about everything that had gone down the past few days.

If he was truly honest with himself, he knew that he would date Addison again in a heartbeat. The unresolved feelings between them were probably a major reason why things were so awkward, and JC was sick of it. He just wanted to figure out – once and for all – if he and Addison still had something special or if he was just imagining it. He knew then that he at least had to try; if he didn’t try, he’d have no one to blame but himself.

Just like the first time, JC wasn’t sure when things had changed between them. Maybe things hadn’t changed at all and they were trying to force a friendship from something that could be much more than that. Being a hopeless romantic at heart, JC chose to believe that there was something more there that was worth exploring, even if Addison fought him on it. The first time around, she had fought him on their relationship – this time, he had to prove to her that he was worth it. He wouldn’t hurt her again.

Now…how would he go about doing that?
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 When Addison woke up for the second time, the first thing she noticed was how close she was to JC. The second was that his hand was running through her hair. She fought a smile as she let her eyes flutter open and let them adjust to the sunlight streaming into the room.

“Morning sunshine,” she heard JC greet her. She reluctantly rolled away from his embrace as she stretched, looking around for a clock. “You sleep OK?”

“Best sleep I’ve gotten in weeks,’ she let herself admit out loud as she found the bedside clock. 9am. She felt like she could sleep for days but knew that wasn’t possible. “Thanks for that,” Addison added as she scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up, stretching again. “What time are you leaving? I thought you’d have to be at the airport by now.” JC shook his head, Addison taking his stretched-out form in. God he was gorgeous, even in the morning.

“Well, Heather changed our flights because she and Grace were freaking out when you didn’t come home last night.” Addison’s eyes went wide as her mouth fell open.

“Shit. I didn’t tell Heather I was staying. God, they must’ve freaked out.” Addison felt herself go into crisis mode, and she began walking around the room to gather her things. She found her purse and dug through it for her mints, popping three in her mouth to curb the morning breath she could do nothing about until she got back to Grace’s. As she went to dig for her keys, she felt JC stop her with his hands and turn her to face him, his eyes calm. That look immediately calmed Addison down.

“It’s OK Ads. Heather knows you’re here now. Our flight is now tonight sometime, so we’ve got some time – she just said for both of us to go to Grace’s when we’re ready.” She heaved a sigh of relief as she relaxed, nodding.

“I’m an idiot. I didn’t mean to crash here last night Josh.” She watched as a slow smile crept across JC’s face and he swept a wisp of hair out of her eyes.

“No no. It’s fine. I…I enjoyed having you here, actually.” Addison felt that familiar tingle in the pit of her stomach – the one only JC had been able to give her that was a combination of nerves, butterflies and hormones – and immediately began shaking her head, pulling away. “Do you want to grab some breakfast? I think there’s room service.” Addison shook her head as she pulled away from JC and started walking towards the door.

“I should probably get back,” Addison said as she reached for the handle. She couldn’t let her emotions get in the way – not right now. “I don’t want them worrying about me any more than they already have.” As Addison turned the handle, she heard JC clear his throat behind her.

“I think I still have feelings for you.” She froze, letting the handle slip out of her hand and the door shut in front of her. “No – I don’t think I still have feelings for you. I know I still have feelings for you. I wouldn’t have come down here for just anyone Addison. I’ve been trying to fight it since I saw you in the shop that first time, but I just…I can’t let you walk away again.” Addison turned slowly to face JC, who had shoved his hands in his pajama pants pockets. The look on his face – an almost pleading one – tore at Addison’s heart. Was he serious right now?

“Josh…I just…” Addison sighed, not sure what words to use. “I don’t think there’s anything there anymore. I just don’t.”

“Bullshit,” he said quickly, walking towards her. “Why do you think things are so awkward between us? We can’t just be friends because there’s still something there. I know it.” Addison felt her heart race as she shook her head, not wanting to entertain the notion. Even if there was some truth to his words, why would he pour out his feelings now? Couldn’t he have waited until they got home?

“Can we talk about this when we get back to LA?” she pleaded. “I just…I can’t deal with this right now.”

“Ads. I’m not asking us to jump straight back into a relationship, but…I care about you. A lot. I want to at least have the chance to date you again, see if there’s really something there or if I’m just imagining it. Right here, right now, I’m asking you to go on a date with me when we get back. Hell, why don’t we go out on Tuesday? You’ll be back by then, right?” Addison gave JC a look before she started laughing. He was really being serious, wasn’t he?

“Josh…” Her voice trailed off, but a smile remained on her face. The fact that he’d come out there, paired with the other things that had happened since they’d reconnected, was damning evidence that maybe something there was worth exploring. She might be getting a second chance with the only man she’d ever considered falling in love with – hell, had probably fallen in love with during their short time together – and she knew she would be stupid to bypass it.

“I see your brain processing,” JC said softly, sounding amused. “Does that mean you’ll go out with me?” Addison grinned as she nodded slowly.

“Yes. I’ll go out with you. Tuesday night. There’s a new restaurant and bar not far from where my shop is; we can go there.” JC’s wide grin made her heart melt.

“Awesome. I’ll meet you at the shop at 8?” Addison couldn’t help but grin back.

“Yeah. At 8.” She gave him one last smile before turning on her heels and walking towards the door. She didn’t look back as she stepped out into the lobby, but she knew JC was still smiling behind her. This whole thing could blow up in her face or be the most perfect situation – but she knew that if she didn’t try, she’d regret it. She had to try.