Lia, Chloe, and Faye had spent the better part of the morning in the attic. They had gone through trunks of old clothes and keepsakes, and it had taken them forever to do it because they had to enjoy every new thing they found. By the time her friends left that evening, it was after dusk. She had given them pizza and beer and sent them home filthy and tired, and they both demanded to come on their next days off to finish the job. Lia didn't turn the offer down, it was hard work, and it was much more fun with friends to help.

They hadn't talked about anything much, especially not about men. It was as if it was a subject they all wanted to avoid for the moment. Lia didn't tell them about Connor Butler. She didn't know what to say about it.

With Huck by her side, Lia went around the house making sure that everything was locked up, and it was as she started to clean up the leftover pizza and throw the beer bottles away that she heard the music. It was a music box; she paused what she was doing and listened. Huck wasn't upset, and the music was coming from above her, so it must be something that they moved from the attic. Perhaps it was in one of the boxes they had placed in the hallway at the base of the attic stairs.

The music cut off, and Lia went about straightening the kitchen and then turned off the light, calling softly to Huck who followed her up the stairs. When she reached the top, nothing seemed amiss, and the door to the attic stairs was still closed. Lia juggled a few boxes, and nothing happened, shrugging because she was too tired to try to figure it out, she walked into Ben's room to get her clothes. She looked at the unmade bed, thinking that she should have changed the sheets that morning and now she didn't want to.

Riffling through her backpack, she pulled out fresh underwear and a sleep shirt, thinking that the house was outrageously hot, and she was debating if it would be safe to open a window, wondering how Ben stood the heat. Huck didn't seem to mind it either as he jumped up on the bed and made himself comfortable with a groan. Lia looked over at him and smiled, and as she turned to go to the bathroom she heard the music again, but this time it sounded like it was coming from directly behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw a small wooden music box on the mantel. She couldn't recall having seen it there before, and as she walked towards it, she noticed that it was open and there was a small mirror in the lid. It was lined in blue velvet and empty. Lia closed the lid gently and traced the ornate scrollwork on the exterior of the box. She opened it again and listened to the song. It was an old Elvis Presley song, 'Love Me Tender.' Lia smiled and closed the lid but continued to hum the song as she reached into her back pocket for her phone. She wondered if either Faye or Chloe had set it aside to take, she had told them to keep anything they wanted since Ben didn't seem interested in anything. She sent them a text, and she got to immediate nos.

Perhaps it was Ben's.

She started the water, keeping the temperature cool, and took a quick shower using Ben's shampoo and soap. By the time she was finished, she was too tired to do much more than brush her teeth. When she walked back into the bedroom the lid to the music box was open, and the song was playing. She swore she had closed it. She walked over to it once more and closed the lid, noting that she did so, then climbed into Ben's bed and turned off the light.

It was stifling after a few minutes, and she knew she was going to have to open a window. What was odd was she didn't remember the house being this hot earlier, it had seemed perfectly cool all day. She opened the window slightly and breathed in the fresh air as it filled the room. She climbed back under the sheets and buried her head in a pillow that smelled like Ben.

She had to be honest with herself, she wouldn't let herself sleep in his bed when he was there, but she wanted to when he wasn't there. Why else would she sleep in a hot house when she could just hop across the street to her house? She wanted to sleep where he slept, in a bed that smelled like him. She groaned into her pillow. How pathetic was she, she was like some hormonal teenager who wanted to have something belonging to her crush near. She was officially losing her mind and as if to prove the point the music box started to play again. She sat straight up in bed and looked over at it. The sound of 'Love Me Tender' filled the house and seemed abnormally loud in the darkened silence.

Huck, waste of space that he was, slept on, snoring slightly.

"Fine," she said softly. "If you want it left open, I'll leave it open," she said aloud to the room.

The music stopped as if a truce had been reached, and she laid her head on the pillow, her entire body tense. She should run from the house screaming, but she wasn't really scared. Startled, yes, but not scared, and Huck wasn't acting strangely. The music box stayed silent, and Lia slowly started to drift off with the song stuck in her head.

Her last thought, one that should have jolted her awake but didn't, was that she loved this house and the man who lived in it, and she felt sudden contentment that she had never felt before, it was like she had come home.

"Love me tender, love me sweet," she sang as if it was a wish while sleep claimed her.

She saw the house in her dream; it was beautiful and full of life. There was a party, and every light was on, people were everywhere, and there were music and laughter. She walked onto the porch and saw a man, he resembled Ben, but it wasn't Ben. Lia was herself, but she wasn't. She walked over to the man, and she couldn't see herself, but she could see a wedding ring on her hand with a large solitaire next to it.

The man was grumpy, and it was a familiar sight, she reached for him and pulled him close kissing him before starting to sway to the music, the song was 'Love Me Tender'.

He grumbled, and she ignored him, laughing. He started to spin her, and she saw people around them dressed in clothing from the early sixties. As he spun her, she could feel his hand on her waist, feel his nearness, and it all felt so real. He stopped spinning her and looked down at her. "I love you," he said before his lips descended on hers in a fierce kiss that she swore stole a little bit of her soul.

Lia came awake with a start, someone was in the room with her, but Huck on her slept. She reached over, turning on the light, and saw Ben sitting in his desk chair by the window.

"God, you scared me!" she hissed as she placed her hand over her heart. She wasn't sure if it was beating so erratically because of the dream or because of him.

"You were having a dream, what was it about?" he asked. Not bothering to apologize.

"I can't remember," she lied. "What are you doing here? You're not due back until tomorrow."

"I didn't like the idea of you staying here by yourself," he said, standing to close the window. "If you're going to sleep with the window open at least turn the air off."

Lia blinked at him. "It must be broken; it was burning up in here earlier." She pushed her hair out of her face looking at the clock that said that it was half past midnight.

"Why is that stinky mutt in my bed?" Ben asked. He was in a mood.

"If you want him out, get him out," Lia waved her hand. Huck groaned and rolled over on his back, sticking his paws straight up in the air, as if they were disturbing him.

"What were you dreaming about Lia?" he asked again.

"I don't-"

"Yes, you do, you said I love you, was it about Chance, are you still in love with him?" he asked. She noted his jaw was tense. They looked at each other as the silence surrounded them. Lia was wondering why it would bother him if she were still in love with Chance, and Ben was praying that wasn't the case as he looked at her lying there in his bed.

The tense silence was broken by the music box as it began to play again.

Ben looked over at it startled. "Where did that come from?" he asked getting up to look at it.

"It's not yours?" Lia asked, getting up to follow him. When he closed the lid, she raced to open it again. "Leave it open."

He looked at her oddly, towering over her. She noticed for the first time that he was wearing a dress shirt, slacks, and a tie, she'd bet his suit jacket was somewhere. He looked so different from how he usually did, and his clothes were professional, well cut and looked superb on him.

"You look nice," she said clearing her throat.

"Your dream?" he asked, unwilling to let it go.

"It was about a couple in this house."

He frowned.

"There was a party, and they were dancing, he said he loved her." She shrugged. Now that she was awake it sounded a lot less romantic.

"It wasn't about Chance?" he asked.

"No," she rolled her eyes. "That would have been more like a nightmare."

She waited, and after a few moments of heavy silence, she began to move. "I'll leave. "You can have your bed," she offered. She looked over at Huck. "You might have to share it with Huck though."

"Stay," he said.

"Ben, we've been over this."

"I know, we can share the bed, I'd like to hold you. I won't try anything I promise."

"Why, what would be the point Ben?" she asked, shaking her head.

"I'm lonely Lia." His voice was husky as he said the words as if they had been ripped from him. "It's been a long time since I held someone and was held. It's something that I desperately need right now."

Something must have happened in New York. "What happened?" she asked softly.

"Old ghosts."

Ghosts, it seemed to be the night for them. They said people acted differently in the early hours, that they did things they would never do during the clear light of day, perhaps that was why she agreed. She climbed back into bed and waited while Ben took off his clothes. He stripped down to his boxers, and she had to swallow hard at the sight of him. He was a handsome man.

He pushed Huck off the bed, and he slithered to the floor with a dramatic thump that they both ignored as Ben climbed in next to her. Lia reached up and turned off the light as he pulled her close, spooning her.

It was wonderful; she gave a shaky sigh that he had to have felt just as she felt his warmth behind her as their legs wrapped around each other.

"Lia," he said softly.

"Yes," she said, holding her breath.

"This is the wrong side of the bed, and it smells like dog."

With a dramatic sigh, Lia got out of bed and walked to the other side, climbing in behind Ben and pushing him over to his side. "There you big baby, how is that?"

"Better," he said turning to face her, "rollover so I can hold you, please."

Lia did so with a thump, shaking the mattress more than she needed to, but she was glad for the farce it was becoming, it was erasing all the tension and leaving just Ben and Lia, and their slightly dysfunctional friendship.

As they started to fall asleep, the music box began to play again, and she felt Ben tense. "Don't worry, leave it there and leave it open. I think that's where it belongs." She said half asleep, rubbing his arm in reassurance.

It amazed her what could seem odd one moment and totally normal the next. "Goodnight Ben," she said softly.

"Goodnight Lia," he said softly, pulling her close.