In the morning, Jen made her special coffee in a coffee machine that Alex had just bought. He was amazed that coffee that good could be made in his house. He wondered if Rick would miss him on the weekends. He didn't say anything about not seeing him last weekend, but he might notice weekend after weekend.

He cleaned the kitchen and made sure the house was ready for the potential buyers to view. Jen said, "It would sell better if you staged it."

"If it doesn't sell, I'll stay longer. I paid a lot for this to start with. Do you want to go to the beach?"

"You do know that I love the beach."

"Are you going to wear your bikini?" he asked, and she smiled, which meant yes.

Other than the owners of a few houses he worked on and his neighbors, he didn't know anyone at this beach. Jen also didn't know anyone. Even if she saw someone from high school, she said they'd never recognized her.

"Why what's changed?"

"Besides about thirteen years. I wore baggy clothes, and my hair was just straight with no style. I looked like a nerd."

"I would have chased you in high school."

"I thought you had your one true love." She teased.

Alex didn't know what to say, so he ignored her. "What color was your hair in high school?"

"My color. This color."

"Oh sorry. Your hair has streaks, so I thought they came from some fancy salon. Girls are always talking about getting their hair done." He felt like he was digging himself in deeper.

"I think there's a compliment there, because you think my natural hair looks like what women pay to have done."

"Exactly... it's beautiful. You're beautiful." He realized what a jerk he was when they first met because he was even critical of her hair color.

They spent a couple hours on the beach and returned to his house. Marcy called him late in the afternoon because the couple made an offer. It was low and Alex wasn't willing to go much lower than his asking price. He knew what his house was worth and wasn't in a hurry to sell. Other than the inconvenience of having a house on the market, he had no reason to sell.

When Alex's phone rang, he thought it might be Marcy, but it was Kate. He answered cheerfully and smiled at Jen. "Hi Kate."

"Alex, you sound happy."

"So. What's up? How's the baby?" He tried to change the subject away from his happiness, because he was happier than he'd been in a long time.

"Joshy is fine. We're going over to mom's for dinner tomorrow. You should come too."

"I've got a lot going on. I'm trying to sell my house and buy another." Jen's flight was around five, so he could go over after he dropped her off.

"Sell your house! I never saw that empty house! Maybe we'll drive by next weekend."

"You'd better call because I've been working seven days a week." His sister was like a dog with a bone. She'd never let up. I would dedicate every weekend to Jen, and he did not want Kate to know about her. She wouldn't understand at all. He still remembered the way she was the last time he was involved with a married woman.

"You don't sound like you worked all day."

"What do you analyze voices now? Listen, I'll try to stop by tomorrow by five." He tried to get her to let up.

"Great. You should get Tommy and Avery to come back. Maybe she can bring her designer friend that you worked with, but don't talk to."

He knew she was baiting him and he refused to take the bait. Instead, he said, "You'd have to talk to Avery about that." Alex smiled because he heard the distinct sound of a baby crying. "Sounds like someone's not happy."

"I know. I'll see you tomorrow." She hung up.

He turned to Jen. "She's suspicious."

"Why?"

"Because on Memorial Day, you were mentioned as the designer of the house and she commented that it seemed like we didn't know each other. Only my sister would notice that we never spoke all day."

"She wasn't watching our eyes because I couldn't keep my eyes off you." Jen leaned in to kiss him.

"She thinks you should come the next time Tom and Avery come back. I told her she'd have to ask Avery. Imagine if she knew you were leaning against me during our whole conversation."

"Would she really care if she found out? Tom doesn't seem to."

"She would freak out. She was around when I got into big trouble before. She knew how much I hurt my mother. She would never forgive me if I did it again."

"You won't. I'll be divorced soon." She assured him.

"How soon?" He kissed her neck.

"I'll call my lawyer next week to check on things." They were both done talking for a while.

Marcy called Sunday afternoon shortly before he needed to drive Jen to catch her flight. "They're willing to come up to asking, but they told me to tell you they want the designer. What are they talking about?"

Alex explained while Jen listened about meeting them at the party for the Thompson house which was designed by a New York designer. "She was at the party and didn't sound like she was taking on any more clients in Maine." He looked right at Jen. "Maybe I can call her and feel her out a bit. I'll call you back." He looked at Jen, "They want you."

"It wouldn't be a big job. I could do most of it from home. I would need a day or two here if... if you did the painting and whatever else... Who are they? Will they impress Sterling?"

"We can find out." He searched the internet. "He's the CEO." He showed Jen the website. "It looks like they're Boston elite, look at all the party pictures. There are more than you have." He smirked.

"Ha, ha," she said dryly. "You're going to make me do this." She picked up her phone and placed a call. He took her hand to support her. "Hey, you busy?... Listen I've been asked to do a small project in Maine... Listen please, it's a friend of Sydney's... Boston elite... Last name Holt, Beth, and Justin... Yes, the CEO... anyway it would only be a few days up... there. I want to do it and I'm already planning to spend some weekends at the beach. Yes, I know I looked them up too. You know Boston and New York social circles overlap. Really? Great! Thanks, Sterling. Okay, bye."

"He said yes? More time together."

"Yes, if you're not homeless."

"Not homeless. Just living in a mess. You could always make it a real trip home and stay with your parents."

"We'll see. I'll need to make a trip to take pictures and measurements."

"I'll call Marcy back." He kissed her. He turned a nice profit. If only he could use it for the cottage on The Point, he would be ecstatic.

Watching Jen walk into the terminal, he felt her absence immediately. He was still excited about the house sale when he arrived at his mother and Hank's house.

"Look who's happy!" Kate commented.

"Hey you would be too if you turned the profit that I did today."

"You sold your house?"

"Yes, I did. The offer came in a few hours ago."

Hank said, "Good for you, Alex. What's next?"

He told him about the house he would live in and work on at the same time. He mentioned he was still hoping for a certain house on The Point to become available.

"You like it there," his mother said.

"It's where I feel at home. My friends are there..."

"He's got a girlfriend." Kate teased.

His heart thumped, and he protested. "No, I don't!"

"Relax, I heard you giving advice to that cute girl with the shovel."

"Oh, you mean Sophie. She and I have a thing." He looked at his mother. "She's eight." Then he took out his phone and found a picture of the twins at their party.

"I'll admit it. I liked your friends. Matt did too. Right, honey?"

Alex sometimes wondered if Matt ever got a chance to speak around Kate, but he agreed with his wife. Jen wasn't like Kate at all she didn't monopolize the conversation. He was amazed at the way he and Jen never ran out of things to talk about. He had never felt so compatible with anyone ever.

He held Joshua and listened as Kate teased him about his love for babies. The more she ribbed him the more he thought, I will have one someday even if it means giving up everything and moving to New York. He was sure he would never let Jen go.

Alex was acting strangely. She was sure he was happy about his house, but she sensed more was going on. He seemed relaxed which was weird because the last few times she saw him. He was uptight.

He never told her what happened with the last girl he was seeing. He didn't seem overly broken up when it ended. How could he keep having meaningless relationships? Didn't he want to find love?

Some might call her mean, but she thought of it as her job as not only the middle child but also the only sister to make her brothers squirm. It was for this reason that she blurted out. "Cara had a baby girl on Thursday."

Alex looked at her. "That's nice. I hope they're both fine."

"Yes, she's beautiful."

"I wouldn't doubt that."

"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you all mopey because I mentioned Cara?" It upset Kate she couldn't push his buttons.

"Kate, we dated fifteen years ago. I have been out with a few women since her. I'm happy for her, just like she'll be happy for me the day I become a father."

"I'd like to see that day. Tommy will beat you."

"Don't be so sure. Avery has a serious career. Did she mention wanting children?" He challenged right back.

"Do you think they'll get married?" their mother asked.

"I don't know. They might. They haven't known each other that long."

Kate wondered if Alex knew more about their little brother than he was saying. She didn't like not knowing what was going on. She knew something was different about Alex, but he wouldn't say. Maybe he was seeing someone new. She would find out she always did.