Josh let himself into the Sumner home and inhaled the fragrance of roasting turkey. Alicia was at work in the kitchen.

"Joshua, darling. Happy Thanksgiving!" He handed her a bottle of wine. "Thank you. You look happy."

"It's Thanksgiving. Of course I'm happy." He looked across the large open space. Three men were in front of the football game. "My folks aren't here."

"Did you expect them to be early?"

They never were. "Where's Emma?"

"She's bringing Daphne after her nap."

Last Thanksgiving, Emma was pregnant, and Oliver worried she'd fall, but she never did. He walked over and put his hand on Oliver's shoulder. The three men noticed him with a chorus of Dex.

"Hey. No date, JJ?"

"I'm going to get Violet. We'll eat here first. Her family eats later."

The Sinclairs had a later meal too. "I'm skipping out before dessert."

Oliver turned his attention away from the screen. "Why?"

"I was invited to Sinclairs."

Oliver looked at him closer. "Is Shaun home?" Josh smiled. "And?"

"And I like her, but I'm not pressuring her."

"Pressuring her? Is she a virgin?"

Oliver punched his brother's shoulder. "Pig! Straighten up before you get Violet or you'll wish you were."

Kenneth said, "You'd need a time machine for that."

Both Oliver and Josh laughed. Oliver stood and led him down to the basement. "You've seen her?"

"We rode together yesterday."

They enjoyed each other's lips in the tack room.

"But?"

"But she hasn't committed to moving back and I haven't asked her."

"Let her know if she did you would..."

"Would what? What would I do?"

"Be very happy?"

"Yes, of course. Just seeing her yesterday made me happy." He paused. "I don't know how to date a friend. Most of my relationships started with sex and evolved or not. I want to respect her."

Oliver sighed. "She's divorced. How long had she been separated?"

"Ten months. I think."

"She may be interested in sex, since ten months is a long time."

"I don't want to think of her with her ex."

"Fine, but with Emma, I took the full steam ahead approach. I insisted on kissing her and dates until I..."

"Until you wore her down."

"Not true. Until I learned about her cat and then I knew. Figuring out how much she likes you is the hardest part. I feel like this is a conversation we should have had in high school."

"You aren't wrong."

"So Sinclair's? Beacon Hill? You nervous?"

"No. I know Jimmy and I've been inside the house. Tansy will be there."

Oliver laughed. "I like this Dex."

He laughed. How could he explain he enjoyed talking to a four-year-old? He liked being a person Tansy could trust.

Later, Emma and Oliver bickered back and forth about their bet. Emma thought she won because Shaun had come home.

Josh threw up his hands. "She's not home for good."

Emma dismissed him. "Bring her and Tansy over tomorrow."

"We'll see, but if it's a yes, don't spook her."

"Relax, Joshy. Halloween was a month ago."

He felt like the center of attention over Alicia's signature apple cornbread stuffing. It should have been JJ who brought a date for the first time. The bachelor auction definitely changed lives, but how much?

His mother was excited about him joining a nice girl for Thanksgiving. Josh didn't volunteer that Sarah invited him, not Shaun. As an adopted member of the McManus family, he planned to be part of Shaun's life in any capacity she allowed. Hopefully, he was done collecting families. The Sumners and the McManuses made up for the deficit of his own family.

Worse than being the center of conversation, he took a lot of ribbing when he changed into a suit before leaving to drive to Boston. The Sinclair house was around the corner from Ann's apartment building, but he wouldn't run into her. At least he hoped she took the weekend to be with her family in Connecticut.

The doorbell had a deep tone, and once again Charles, the butler, answered.

"The family is in the parlor, Sir."

He took a deep breath. His entrance was highlighted by his new skill of catching a small body in his arms.

"Dex!"

Once her little arms were around his neck, she kissed him. She had never kissed his lips before. He was glad her mother had beaten her to it.

Jimmy stood and made introductions. His father, Joseph, looked like Jimmy, although he had his mother, Elena's blue eyes. Shaun smiled at him, but didn't stand. He stood with Tansy in his arms.

Elena said, "Did my niece really bid on you?"

He hoped her surprise had more to do with Shaun than him. He nodded. "We were friends in school."

Jimmy snorted. "Friends. Josh was her biology tutor."

"Poor boy." Joseph Sinclair looked at him sympathetically. "Sit. Tell me about publishing."

Joseph pointed to the spot next to Shaun on the sofa. He set Tansy down and sat next to her, feeling like he was at a job interview. He wished Grant McManus could interrogate him. Charles handed him a glass. He felt reassured to have scotch served without being asked.

"Thank you. Publishing for me is contracts. I focused on law."

"You passed the bar?"

Josh smiled and nodded. He scored high enough to pass in every state, ten points above the Massachusetts requirement.

"Dad, he tutored Shaun. He's smart."

He might have been qualified to practice in any state, but he was a Roche. Working for the company with Oliver had always been his dream. Josh had been getting a lot of unwanted attention. He didn't like it, but sitting next to Shaun almost made up for it. He resisted the urge to take her hand. When Tansy climbed on his lap, she was a distraction and a shield. He imagined them as a family, but he felt ahead of himself.

He leaned into Shaun. "Emma wants us to come over tomorrow."

She spoke quietly in his ear. "Us?"

He nodded. "With Tansy. Maybe I can take you out Saturday night."

"Saturday night. Like Ann?"

He frowned. "You are nothing like Ann."

Ann had been a distraction. A place holder. Being with Shaun felt completely different already, and they had only kissed.

They had rearranged the room for the wheelchair. When Joseph and Sarah left the room, Josh turned to Jimmy with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't think she left Dover."

Elena answered, "This was her home. During her illness, Joseph promised Grant he would always take care of her. Lately Jimmy's been filling in, but she and Grant visited frequently. Joseph renovated the first floor powder room, so his sister could be independent in her family home."

"Makes me sorry I'm an only child." He looked at Shaun and Jimmy. "There are three of us."

Elena cleared her throat. "Well, I think we can go into the dining room now."

They found Sarah seated at the table. Josh had witnessed her transfer from the wheelchair to a seat before. It wasn't glamorous. Joseph had been discreet as he helped his sister. Sarah lost more than her loving spouse. She lost the man who took care of her. Josh would be happy to learn to help her.

Dinner at Sinclair's was the opposite of the Sumner's or in Dover. Tansy sat between him and Shaun. For her age, she was content to eat mashed potatoes and turkey. The more traditional bread stuffing was different from Alicia's. It had chestnuts in it. The biggest difference was how the meal was served by staff. To Josh, Thanksgiving was a family-style meal. Although he didn't eat a lot, the food was delicious.

His wish for a few minutes alone with Shaun came after dinner. It was Sarah who suggested Shaun should give him a tour of the house.

She left Tansy with Jimmy and motioned for Josh to follow her. She led him up the grand staircase. "We'll start at the top first."

Next, they climbed a narrow set of stairs to a large attic. It was clean and well lit. He wouldn't have liked a dark one filled with cobwebs.

"Jimmy and I loved to play up here. It's filled with relics from generations of Sinclairs."

Josh looked around and there was old furniture, hatboxes, and other items, including a rocking horse. Shaun opened a wardrobe filled with gowns.

"I always thought they belonged in a museum. And these shouldn't be up here. I need to talk to Uncle Joseph."

She pulled a white muslin cloth off of a painting. There were more scattered around the large treasure trove.

Josh said, "Sounds like a lot of work for someone."

Shaun shrugged. "I'm guessing that's why they just sit up here. We used to play dress up." She laughed. "Twice we've reenacted our playtime. Jimmy will laugh."

Josh stepped towards her. "I'm glad you went with him or we might not have met again."

Shaun frowned. "I'm not fond of what ifs."

"Did you bring me up just to share your childhood or did you really want to kiss me?"

Shaun giggled and blushed, but he didn't let her respond. His lips touched hers, and he felt complete. He never knew there were right and wrong kisses, but these felt right. Even tame, they were powerful. He resisted the urge to ratchet them up. They were not the precursor to sex. They were something unique he couldn't identify. Whatever their kisses meant, they left each of them breathless, among other things in his case. As they descended the stairs for a walk through the second floor, he wanted to pull her back up the stairs.

"Will you come to Emma and Oliver's tomorrow?"

She turned. "I'd like to. Are you sure they want Tansy?"

He nodded and smiled at his vision. "She can play with Daphne."

"Okay, but I'd like to ride and spend time with my mother."

"I'll tell them the late afternoon. We can ride first."

She smiled. "Okay. That's Jimmy's room." She pointed to a closed door.

"Can we peek?"

Shaun looked both ways before opening the door. His room, while luxurious, had very few personal touches. Josh couldn't be sure he didn't have socks on his bedroom floor, but he didn't have maids and a butler.

"My room isn't this neat."

Josh laughed. "You read my mind."

Giggling, Shaun motioned to move on. They descended a back staircase near the kitchen. She pointed out a study which looked more lived in than Jimmy's room.

When they returned to the others, Tansy ran to them. Josh picked her up while Jimmy teased. "I thought we'd need to send out a search party."

"We were in the attic. The artwork will get ruined up there."

Sarah added, "Maybe someone with some expertise should go through them."

Josh smiled but didn't respond. He wouldn't push her to make a decision, even if it seemed obvious to everyone else.

Before he went to bed, he picked up his dirty socks. Reviewing his day, he felt optimistic and slept well.