“I think in here we could take down this brown siding and knock in that wall between the living room and the dining room,” Chad was saying as he and Lesly did a walk-through of her father’s house. She was only somewhat paying attention. She was still thinking of two days ago when Chris had showed up on her doorstep begging for forgiveness and trying to explain what had happened. She’d already been given an earful from James, who’d called her on the way back from Orlando and told her everything about the shower. Lesly had listened to James and she’d listened to Chris. But she was still skeptical of everything.

“Can we talk in a few days?” she’d responded to Chris. “I just, I need some time to think, ok?”

He’d agreed and said he completely understood. But now it had been two days and he’d texted her that morning asking if they could meet at Brewster’s to talk after lunch. She looked at her phone and it was nearing noon. She was meeting Chris at one o’clock and still wasn’t sure what exactly she’d tell him.

“….so if we did that, then we could update the flooring. I’m thinking some hardwood floors or even ripping up the carpet and painting the concrete…Um, Lesly, did you hear me?” Chad had been going on a mile a minute and as they were walking back toward the kitchen, he noticed Lesly was looking off in another direction.

“Huh? Yes. Sorry!” she shook her head and gave an apologetic smile. “I’m supposed to talk to Chris in an hour about everything. I guess you heard about the shower?”

“You mean the circus? Yes, James filled me in,” Chad said and couldn’t help but chuckle as he did. “I guess you’re wondering what to do next, huh?”

“I have no idea,” Lesly sighed and leaned against the wall of the living room that faced the kitchen. “A huge part of me wants to forget all of it. But then there’s a part of me that can’t. He cheated on me and whether or not we were officially a couple or not, we were still being pretty exclusive last summer. Or so I thought.”

Chad listened and nodded as she spoke. He bit his lip, wondering if he should speak. James had always told him he’d given her the best advice when it came to JC, but JC was his cousin. He only knew Chris from the times he’d come into town to see Lesly. But he figured whatever he said couldn’t hurt and Lesly was confiding in him right now anyway. “Look, honey. Chris obviously is crazy about you. Yes, he cheated on you and that was stupid of him. But I think he’s learned his lesson. I really do. I think he knows what he wants now.”

Lesly nodded her head slowly. “But I don’t want to be too quick to forgive and forget and then just jump right back into it. I did that with Gabe and look what that got me,”

Chad couldn’t help but make a face when she mentioned Gabe. “Honey, we all have mistakes that we wish we could take back. I sure as hell do from college. Don’t jump right back into it. Take it slow. But I think this could really be a good thing. I really do.”

Lesly reached over to hug Chad and kissed his cheek. “Lane’s a lucky man. And so’s that little baby whenever you get him or her.”

“Oh, did you not hear? We’re flying over after Christmas! It’s a girl! Little Jewel Estella Chasez-Wilkes! We just told James and Josh last night,” Chad was beaming. “She’s five months old and we have to go on two visits before we officially get her. But of course we’re making it a big trip across Asia. You know us. We can’t ever do anything on a small scale!”

Lesly giggled, “Congrats. I’m so excited for you guys!” she hugged him again and then went to collect her purse from the couch. “And thanks again for all you’re doing with the house. I hope we find a buyer for it soon.”

Chris walked into Brewster’s at quarter til one. James was still behind the counter and the shop was as busy as always. It was a chilly, December day in Grayson but the sun was shining and Main Street was busy outside with Christmas shoppers. James waved at him when he came in and Chris went ahead and ordered a Chai tea, then sat down at a table in the back so that he and Lesly wouldn’t be disturbed.

“Good luck,” James said, coming over toward him. “I know she’s anxious to talk to you.”

“Really?” Chris was surprised to hear that. He half expected her not to show up.

“Really, Chris. She’s ready to hear what you have to say,” James assured him. “I’m going to be in the back so it doesn’t look like I’m eavesdropping. But just so you know, she’ll probably fill me in on everything you say.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” he smiled and went back to his Chai. At that moment, the door opened and Lesly walked in. She spotted him and gave a half smile, then went behind the counter and fixed herself a Chai Apple Cider, then went and sat down across from Chris.

“Hi,” she said and sipped on her drink.

“Hi,” he answered and they both sat in silence for what felt like hours, but was really only seconds.

“So,” Lesly sighed and sipped her Chai again before she spoke. “I’m ready to hear you out. I don’t know what I want to do, but I do know that you’re an important part of my life. For some reason you just keep coming back and even though I should probably hate you forever for what you put me through, I’ve given it a lot of thought and I at least want to hear what you have to say.”

Chris nodded. “That’s fair,” he let out a breath and then spoke again. “What I put you through was dumb. I was dumb for doing it. I wasn’t thinking. In fact, before I met you, I didn’t really think much at all about anything. But there’s something about you that makes me want to be better at stuff. At life. I never wanted to be in a committed relationship because it scared the hell out of me. But then you came along and you made me realize that it was worth it. Being scared, I mean. Stephanie’s out of the picture. I promise you that. And I understand if you need to take time to think about me and you. But I want you to know I’m moving to Grayson after Christmas. I want to be near you and this town, I dunno, there’s something almost magical about it. It’s nice to be in a quiet place that makes you slow down, I guess. Les, I don’t want to be without you here but if I have to, I will try to make it up to you the rest of my life about how sorry I am that I was an ass.”

Lesly was almost dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe how sincere he sounded. How sincere he was. She was holding onto her mug as if it would break if she let go. She looked up at him and saw the pained look in his eyes and she almost relented. But then she remembered how she felt that day that she heard from Stephanie and then the fight they’d gotten into because of how hurt she was.

“Chris,” she spoke slowly, “I want to believe you. But I need time, okay? I need time to process you being here and how that’s going to be. I want to believe everything you said but I just, I don’t know if I can so fast all of a sudden, you know?” Chris nodded. She reached over and took his hand in her own. “I’m sorry. I just can’t do this right now. I still have a lot to think about.”

“Okay,” Chris said and squeezed her hand. “So, where does this leave us?”

“For now? Just being acquaintances. That’s all I can really give you,” Lesly stood and collected her purse. “I’ll talk to you later, Chris.”

“Acquaintances,” Chris muttered and rubbed his forehead between his thumb and forefinger. “I guess it’s better than enemies.”

“Of course it’s better than enemies!” Chad told him later that evening. Chad and Lane had invited Chris and the Chasez’s over for shrimp gumbo and to discuss the annual Christmas party that Chad had hosted every year. “Chris, you can’t expect her to jump your bones right away. She needs time!”

“Mommy, what does jumping your bones mean?” Sutton asked James, who was helping Lane take down the wine glasses.

“It’s just a silly expression that Uncle Chad shouldn’t be using,” James said, pointedly talking to Chad, who blushed and stammered something to cover his tracks. “Seriously, how long have you been in her life now? Can’t you control what comes out of your mouth?” James rolled her eyes at her best friend and went back to helping Lane set the wine glasses on the table.

“Sutton, go check on the twins,” JC ordered her sweetly. “Let me know if they’re behaving themselves.”

“You just want to have grown-up talk, Daddy,” Sutton told him matter-of-factly, and skipped out of the dining room.

“She’s getting too smart,” Lane commented, looking at JC and James, who nodded in agreement with each other.

“Anyway, as I was saying,” Chad interjected, “Absolutely. You and Lesly have to start fresh. Acquaintances makes perfect sense.”

“But it just sounds so, I dunno, cold or something,” Chris went to take a glass from James and poured himself some Pinot Noir. “It’s like we don’t know each other very well or something.”

“Right now you don’t,” James spoke up and sat down across from him. “You and Lesly both need a fresh start with each other. You kind of put her through the ringer, you know. Just take it one day at a time. That’s how Josh and I started.”

“Yeah. And it only took a month for them to sleep together,” Chad blurted. “So, see, you-“ he stopped talking when he saw the looks he was getting from everyone else in the room. He cleared his throat and shook his head, “Never mind. Dinner’s ready. I’ll go get Sutton...”