Stevie's room had been moved around when Lindsey peeked inside one morning. Her outfit was laid across her bed, her tea was on the nightstand and there was a strong lavender and jasmine scent wafting through the air. She was humming, most likely doing her makeup. He longed to step inside her room, watch her as she went about her routine. Everything she did was so fascinating to him. Does he dare? He was dressed for the day, wearing a button down shirt, jeans and his star necklace that matched Stevie's. His curls were becoming unruly with length to them, remembering that Stevie always preferred it a little longer. After a moment, he took a breath, stepping into her bedroom through the open door and watched her from the doorway. She pulled her dressing gown around herself, when she saw his reflection in the mirror. He had startled her.

"I'm sorry" he says softly.

"It's okay." she says. She pauses a beat, waiting for him to speak. When he doesn't, she goes back to doing her makeup.

"I, uh..." He scratches the back of his neck nervously, playing with the short curls there. "I thought maybe we could go out somewhere for brunch. Crepes or omelettes, salad and white wine."

She looks at him through the mirror and she shakes her head. "No thank you. I actually have plans."

"With who?"

"I don't think you have the right to ask me that. I don't know where you go most of the time." He can see her temper flaring and she does her best to control it.

"I haven't been going anywhere."

"Don't lie to me, Lindsey. Spare me that."

"I haven't."

"Please! I smell perfume on you all the time, the same one. Are you fucking what's-her-face again?"

"No, and that's your perfume, by the way."

She turns around, crossing her arms over her chest. "It is not, Lindsey. If you would kindly leave, I'd appreciate that."

"No, I want to talk to you."

"I'm not in the mood to talk."

"Fine. Are you in the mood to listen?"

"Not particularly, no." she says defiantly.

"Too bad." he says. "That perfume you smell is yours. You rarely use it anymore but you buy it from time to time. You wore it on our first major date, you also wore it when we went to Tahiti three years ago and you were devastated when we came back and it had spilled all inside your makeup bag in your luggage. You cried for a week, scouring department stores trying to find it again. Don't tell me it's not yours because it is and I think deep down, you know it. The last bottle you bought...well, I took it. It reminds me of you and lately I've been using it to try to write some new material."

Her face has lost all expression and he turns to walk out. She goes back to the mirror, finishing her makeup, not bothering to stop him as he leaves the bedroom, closing the door on his way out. She thinks about what he had said, and he's right. Maybe she has been trying to block out all of the good times with him because it's easier. It's easier to hate him and try to forget about him when she makes him an unlikable jerk in her mind. She runs a hand over the silk of her dressing gown, smiling a little.

"Daddy's not all bad, is he?" she asks. "He can be a pain in the you-know-what sometimes but he's plenty lovable."

She changes into her preselected clothes, leaving her boots for last as she goes to find Lindsey to accept his brunch offer but he has already left the house without her.

Lindsey has been driving aimlessly, no real destination in mind, for the past twenty minutes or more. The radio is switched off, and all he has left to listen to are his own buzzing thoughts. He really messed up...big time. Maybe she really will never forgive him. She thinks he cheated on her for a second...no, third? time. She thinks he has no respect for her at all, and the more he thinks about it, he's convinced he doesn't. He hasn't made any real effort at contact, only continuing to childishly break her things or cut up her lingerie when he doesn't get his way. Could he really blame her for not taking him back so easily when he was destroying everything she loved piece by piece? He makes the loop home, parking in the garage and bounding up the stairs through the side door. She's sat at the counter with a book, a sandwich cut diagonally on a plate to her left, glass of water on her right.

"Hey, Steph. I thought you had plans" he says and she shrugs. "What are you eating?"

"Leftover turkey with Swiss" she says. "I made you one too."

"Thanks." he says, smiling at her and she simply nods. His eyes are sparkling like mad and she has to remind herself to be upset with him. Her cold shoulder act has lasted so long and with his denial of another woman, could she be upset? Should she be? He sits next to her with his plate and he keeps glancing at her. He doesn't want to make her uncomfortable but a huge part of him misses her so much. Her long black drapey-sleeved top displays subtle cleavage, her skirt, also black, has a handkerchief hem that falls gracefully over her softly toned legs. She's barefoot and little, her hair swept up in a huge claw clip. Her make up is softer than usual and she seems to glow from within. Lindsey takes her in completely, watching her finish the last bit of her water and get up from her seat. She's careful, holding onto the counter as she places one foot, then the other on the floor. "Hey...Stevie?" he says, catching her before she leaves the room.

"Uh-huh?"

"You look beautiful today."

She smiles, her eyes finally meeting his. "Thank you, Lindsey" She drops her gaze and continues out of the room. Lindsey smiles too, satisfied for now with her reaction. Sure, she was polite but seemed to genuinely accept his compliment. Now, he just had to come up with more ways to get her to open up instead of running away.

A/N: I'm obsessed with updating. Third and final update for today. I will update again in the morning. Good night ❤️❤️