New York proved to be a very productive photo shoot.  The first day they shot at famous locales, the second night they shot at the top of the Empire State building, which fit into the roaring twenties perfectly. Laura was sure that the lights behind and below them made a stunning back drop.

They were currently shooting at Davis's apartment.  He had pulled a red velvet curtain across the apartment to create a back drop and with some simple platforms he had created a theater like atmosphere.

They were all wearing the traditional roaring twenties get-up. Their hair was coiled tightly against their heads, and they were wearing their headbands with feathers, and sleeveless flapper dresses that were cut off mid-thigh with ten inches of fringe. The make-up was very dramatic with pale faces and deep red lips, and there accessories were long strands of pearls and very high heels.

Davis had them on the platform with chairs posing and then dancing, and he had put on some roaring twenties music and danced with them.

Davis had given no hint to her about how he felt about his declaration of love.  Laura was not quite sure what she expected since she had never had a man tell her he loved her, but Davis had treated her as he always had. No, not as he always had, he was not as carefree with her as he had been.  There was none of the teasing that she was used to.

He now had the three of them posed in front of one of the dressing mirrors. Their poses were very concise and he wanted them all to switch with each other so he would get them all in the different poses he had chosen but all together too.

He had replaced the chair with a bench and for the first round he had Kelly with her foot on the bench fixing her stocking, Carmen was sitting facing away from the mirror reading a magazine, and Laura was looking in the mirror fixing her make-up, her tube of bright red lipstick in her hand.

He was done with the first round when there was a knock at the door. He called for them to enter without stopping what he was doing.  He got some excellent shots as all of the women looked in the same direction at the same time.

Laura watched as Bryce and Grace entered with an older couple.

"Excellent, will you all switch please. This time I want Kelly with the magazine and Carmen fixing her stocking. Laura please stay put." He moved to small group as they started to change places.

"Who do you suppose they are?" Kelly asked as she picked up the magazine, not attempting to hide her interest in the new comers. Laura guessed that the older couple were his parents, but she remained silent as she watched him kiss the ladies and hug the men.

After a moment he returned and they continued. Laura did her best to focus, but she kept getting glances from the two women leaning into each other and whispering while they watched.

After a few minutes he switched them out again.  This time he had Laura fixing her stocking, Carmen in the mirror and he kept Kelly reading. Laura did her best to block out their audience as she tried to focus, but she felt very uncomfortable with the pose. Davis didn't say anything so she must have succeeded in fooling everyone.

His final shots were of the women in front of the dressing mirror by themselves. He started with Kelly and when he was done he thanked her and sent her on her way, and by the time he was done with Carmen's shots she had finished changing and was headed out, not hiding her disappointment that she hadn't had her curiosity satisfied.

Laura leaned against the wall in front of the window, waiting, still pretending that they didn't have an audience.  She focused on Davis as he posed Carmen and they laughed over some of her antics.

Laura mentally shook her head as she watched.  It amazed her how Davis could charm everyone. Laura had done many shoots with Carmen and she had never laughed and relaxed like she was doing with Davis. He had definitely managed to bring something out in her that no one else ever had.

She was insanely jealous all of the sudden. She knew he was able to bring it out in her too, he had made her feel special, was it the same for Carmen?  Did Carmen feel special too? Had he told her that he loved her?

He thanked her with a kiss on the cheek and she moved to the back to change.

Laura was so far into her jealous musings that she was unaware that Carmen had left and she stared blindly at Davis. He snapped her picture suddenly which broke the spell.

He motioned to the bench and she moved to take her seat. After she was settled he leaned into her putting one arm around her and placing his cheek next to hers as he met her gaze in the mirror. "Are you jealous Laura?" he teased.

"Yes." She choked, looking away quickly. When she looked back he looked shocked. Whatever he had expected her to say it wasn't that.

He rested his mouth on her shoulder in a gentle kiss and she watched the top of his head in the mirror. She had caught him so off guard he had to take a moment to compose himself. When he looked up he caught her gaze in the mirror. "You have no reason to be," he whispered.

Laura held his gaze, she couldn't tell him that she knew he didn't mean it when he said that he loved her, how could he,? Even if he did, she didn't want to love him. Did she love him? Yes. Did she want to? No.

He took a deep breath, the air moving over her scorched her shoulder. "You'll stay for dinner? My parents want to meet you.  I promise you they want to like you, so it won't be hard."

She looked at the group of people as they sat in their chairs watching them openly.

"Please Laura."

She nodded, agreeing.  He had done it for her she could do it for him.

He kissed the top of her head in his easy way and grinned.  "Now do what you do best. Give me the Ice Queen." Laura's guard was already up so it wasn't hard to do.

The rest of the shoot went smoothly and then she moved to the back to change. Carmen had already left so she took her time, sitting on the edge of the bed, trying to calm herself.  She was still trying to figure out what on earth had possessed her to admit to Davis that she was jealous.

Slowly standing, she removed the dress and hung it on the rack with the others. Next came her stockings and her headpiece. Since Davis hadn't warned her about meeting his parents she only had her jeans and t-shirt available. Which Laura was she going to be tonight? Who would Davis want her to be?

Stifling a cry, she reached up and pulled the pins from her hair. The worst had happened, the one thing she had always guarded against, she only wanted to do what made Davis happy. Taking her brush and brushing her hair back into a ponytail she then proceeded to remove her thick make-up.  Realizing that she would never be able to hide how she felt about him, Laura made up her mind; she would get through this evening then she would come clean with Davis and that would be the end of it.  He would realize that he was better off forgetting about her and find someone else.

Twenty minutes later, her hair controlled, her face make-up free with glasses squarely in her nose, wearing faded old jeans and a t-shirt, she emerged back into the main living area. The conversation stopped as they all turned to look at her.

"Laura, come and meet my parents the Earl and the Movie Star." Davis grinned as he held out his hand to her.

Laura couldn't help the blush that stole up her cheeks at Davis's teasing as she held out her hand to shake the older couples hands and Grace and Bryce's as well.

"Laura, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard so much about you already, but I'm looking forward to getting to know you for myself," Elizabeth said as she escorted her over to sofa. "I'm sure all of my son's photos of you will turn out wonderfully, Grace and I were remarking on how different but equally beautiful all three of you are."

"Thank you Mrs. Stevens, but Davis has a knack for bringing out the best in people."

Elizabeth grinned. "He does at that. Please, call me Elizabeth, my mother-in-law's name was Mrs. Stevens." She turned to look at her son proudly.

Just then the doorbell rang again, but this time it was a food delivery company delivering their dinner, and the next few minutes were taken up with the commotion of getting the table set and the dinner served.

Everything rolled along smoothly and the conversation was kept general until the after dinner drinks were served.  Elizabeth must have felt that the ice had been broken enough as she started the conversation subtly.

Elizabeth, Doug, and Grace were on the sofa and Bryce was in one of the matching armchairs flanking the couch as was Laura.  Davis was leaning up against the window watching everyone's interactions waiting. At least Laura got the distinct impression that he was waiting for something.

"Laura, Davis told me that your step-mother enjoyed the honey that came for our bees?"

It was innocent enough question but it was leading, she felt it in her gut. "Yes, she especially enjoyed the story that went with it."

"It's nice that the two of you get along so well, that's not always the case with step-parents." Elizabeth smiled warmly.

"That's true." Laura thought about her father and Charlotte's relationship, they definitely did not get along.

"And the rest of your family?" Bryce asked, chiming in from across the room. The tone of his voice automatically made her put her guard up against him and everyone in the room. Laura sensed a slight change in Davis as he sat in the window behind her silently.

"What about them?" Laura leaned forward, placing her mug of tea on the low table in the center of them all.

"Do you get along with all of your family?" Bryce's cold eyes assessed her as she met his gaze head on without looking away or flinching.

"No." She wasn't going to lie but she didn't have to elaborate either.

They looked at each other, neither one backing down. He knew something, but it was evident that he wasn't going to play her cards for her, he wanted her to play them and she had no interest in doing so.

Grace rose suddenly, causing her and Bryce to break eye contact, "Thank you for a lovely dinner Davis, but I have and early class tomorrow so we need to call it a night." Davis rose as did everyone else.

"We should be going too," Elizabeth agreed.

There was a flurry of hugs and kisses, Grace leaned into Laura and gave her a brief squeeze. "Good for you, not everyone can stand up to Bryce," she whispered in her ear before joining her husband.

When they were gone the silence that descended on the apartment was deafening. Eventually, Davis started to gather up the dessert dishes and take them to the kitchen. "That went only slightly better than my attempt to meet your parents." His comment was joking but his voice was strained.

"What do you want from me Davis?" Laura asked, moving over to the window and looking vacantly at the lights below.

He was silent as he approached her from behind, when he got to her he spun her around to look at him. "You keep asking me that and I have answered already, but I will add one more thing, I want you to be honest with yourself."

"I'm always honest with myself Davis, no matter how much it hurts. You want me to spill all of my secrets, you have this crazy notion that by saying I'm in love with you all of my past hurts will disappear and we'll live happily ever after. Well I can't live happily ever after, I don't deserve too."

He shook her a little. "That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!"

"No it's not, just ask your brother, he knows something. I doubt he knows all of it, but he knows some of it, probably the worst." The last bit was said self-loathing as she wrenched herself away from Davis.

"No, I won't ask him and he won't tell me. Rainer offered to look into your background for me as well and I told him no too. I want to hear it all from you, not from others who only know the facts on paper and not how it has obviously affected you."

The fact that he refused to hear others tell him the bad stuff about her and that he only wanted her version caught her off guard. No one had ever cared to hear her story despite the fact that she had tried to tell it, and when she finally had told it no one had believed her. Now, standing before her was a man who barely knew her, but was willing to give her more than anyone else in her life ever had.

His family had to be warning him against her. The looks they had shared around her were confused and disbelieving that she had it in her to love anyone.  She knew the look, she had tried to cultivate it in anyone and everyone she met.

Despite that, he stood there before her, looking so handsome in his well-worn blue jeans, t-shirt, and barefoot with his hair mussed saying he loved her with his eyes and he trusted her with his words. In that moment there was no doubt that she loved him with her entire being.

With a cry she threw her arms around him and brought his lips down to hers and kissed him for all she was worth. She couldn't let him know he had her heart, but she could give him a piece of herself that she had never shared with anyone.

He pulled back to look at her. "Laura we need to talk about this."

"No, we don't Davis, please just give me this. Show me how much you love me."

He quickly took control of the kiss as his arms pulled her close. Suddenly, he stopped, looking down at her, pushing her loose hair away from her face. "I told you, you would kiss me first!"

"Shut-up," she said as she drug his lips back down to hers.  She had to remember to breath and when he moved her towards the bedroom she let him. She was done fighting, she wanted him, all of him.

"Are you sure about this Laura?' He stopped again, looking at her.

"Never more sure of anything in my life," she said as she pulled him down on the bed.

"Are you sure you'll respect me in the morning?" he joked as he removed his t-shirt showing his well-toned muscles.

"You talk too much Davis. You're ruining the moment."

"My bad," he said, laughing as he flipped her over so that she was on top of him. "No more talking just kissing."

"Yes please." She took his lips again. She had always thought when the time had come for her to make love to a man for the first time that she would be nervous or shy, but none of this was the case with Davis. With Davis there was no thinking only feeling, and he knew what she had offered him. She knew the moment he had known, she had watched the emotions that had played across his face, first confusion, then shock, and finally love. 

He had tried to discuss it but she didn't want to, so she took the cowards way out and hushed him as she pretended to fall asleep in his arms. When she was sure he was asleep, she slowly gathered her things and left. She had given him all that she could and to stay would only hurt them both.