Suddenly she was living for the weekend. She traveled to Maine most of the time because Alex had too much work. There was a sixty-day escrow on his house, but the new ugly house closed right away. He wanted to do as much work as possible before he had to live there. Jen spent her weekends with him while he worked. She also helped him with the design.

At the end of June, Avery sat her down for a talk. Jen knew something was on her mind and was afraid Avery disapproved of her seeing Alex. They had made great strides in the divorce having worked out the financials in which Jen got very little aside from her own account. She knew she walked into the marriage with nothing unlike Sterling who had family money, she just wanted to be compensated well so she could provide for herself, especially since providing for herself included weekly airfare. There was nothing left to do, but wait for a judge to sign off on it.

"Jen, you know I love you, but Tom was wondering if you'd be willing to sublet his apartment."

It took Jen a minute to realize what she meant. Of course, Jen was in the way of Tom and Avery. "Oh, Avery! I've been such a bad friend. You took me in when I needed you and then I stayed."

"Jen, I loved having you here, but Tom and I want to take it to that next level."

"I completely understand and it's nice of Tom to offer his place. Finding a decent place is hard."

"He's nice, but he's also afraid of his brother. He's not about to kick you out!" Avery laughed. "Can we keep this from Sterling for a while? He's being a real pain because he thinks Tom and I are too serious too fast."

"Fine with me. That way he won't come over when Alex is visiting. He won't be able to find me."

Sterling might accept Tom eventually, but he would never accept Alex. Truthfully Sterling would probably never like anyone she cared about. If Sterling knew she was sleeping with Alex, he would be ballistic which was ironic since he was sleeping with Trevor.

The Fourth of July weekend, they all went to Maine. Jen desperately wanted to stay with Alex, Avery, and Tom, but she also wanted to spend time with her parents and friends. She couldn't do both. Friday night was poker night and Alex convinced Tom to fly in early to join the game. Jen and Avery were invited to Kristi's house with Megan.

Jen loved the way her two best friends got along, much as she and Kristi did. The wine and laughs flowed. The talk went from Avery and Tom to Alex. From the very first time Megan mentioned Alex to Jen, she appreciated his physical attributes and Kristi didn't hide her opinions either.

Avery joined the conversation and asked Megan if she ever went after Alex when she was single.

"No, not that I didn't think about it. The problem was he was friends with Peter and that wouldn't work."

Kristi added, "He's had his share of girlfriends although we haven't heard of one lately. Who was that last one?"

"I don't know, but remember when his sister called and yelled at him?" Megan said.

Avery asked, "What was Kate mad about? She's always calling Tom with some drama."

"She was upset when he dumped a girl named, Stacey. She wanted to get serious, but he had no interest."

Kristi said, "I love him, but I'm not sure he'll ever get serious and settle down."

Jen listened and said nothing. Was what Kristi was saying true? It would be hard for her and Alex to be serious while living apart. Still, the thought of him moving on to another woman seemed worse than what happened with Sterling.

"Still," Kristi continued, "I wonder what he would be like. I mean really I bet sex with him is great!"

"Kristi, you're awful. What if Dan heard you?" Megan said.

"Dan knows about my crushes. I had a little one on Peter too. Jen, when you're divorced, you can try him out and report back to us!"

Avery spoke up. "Hey Jen, you should."

Jen stared at her and said, "Maybe you should give us details about Tom. They're brothers."

"Besides the fact that he's the best I've ever had, I'm keeping my private life private."

Megan said, "How long before you're engaged?"

"Not us. We're in no hurry." Avery assured them.

What would Kristi and Megan think if they knew she could report on Alex? Would it upset Megan because Jen didn't trust her? She didn't even tell her about Sterling. She really hoped her divorce would be final soon.

After the guys finished their game, the four walked down to the beach. It was dark and Tom and Avery walked off one way while Alex and Jen walked the other.

"I wish you could come home with me." Alex took her hand. They were alone on the dark beach. "We haven't talked all day." He squeezed her hand.

"I listened to a lot of talk about you. Have Kristi and Megan always fantasized about you?"

"Are you jealous? They're both harmless." He laughed and kissed her. She gave herself over to his kiss. She missed that all week.

"Kristi's convinced you will never have a serious relationship."

"She's wrong. I'm in a serious relationship right now." He looked into her eyes.

"Are you?"

"Yes, the most serious relationship I've ever had. If only you were free, I'd tell Kristi that." He kissed her again, and she also wished she was going home with him.

"I'll come over in the morning to see Avery."

Eventually, they went to find the others, and Jen went home to her tiny bedroom. She drifted off thinking of Alex and wondered what he meant by serious. Did serious mean love? Did serious mean forever? She was certain she loved him. The rest was not so easy, because it meant more than just following her heart. It affected her career. She loved him too much to ask him to give up what he had built here.

She woke early and told her parents she was going to see Avery. Her mother said, "Don't you see her in New York?"

"Not as much as you'd think. I'll be back this afternoon."

"Bring your friends. I'll feed them."

"Mom, it would be three of them because Alex would want to be with Tom."

"I know, honey. Alex is always welcome." She assured her.

"I'll come back and help you cook. I miss cooking." Jen wanted to cook for Alex.

Jen arrived at Alex's with coffee and muffins and he may have been happier to see the coffee than her. After she complained, he put the coffee down to kiss her.

Tom walked in and said, "Get a room."

Alex reminded him he had one, but he gave it to him and Avery. That didn't stop Alex from taking her up to the air mattress to show her how serious he was about her. Later they went to see the progress of the ugly house. He had already knocked down the walls. Jen walked around making suggestions. She pointed to a wall. "You know what would look perfect here."

"Built-ins." Alex laughed.

Avery said, "Look at them. They're just so cute. It's like they speak the same language."

Jen knew she was teasing, but she enjoyed working with Alex. It was not her normal work, but it was fun.

Alex said, "I'll give you cute." He grabbed Jen by the waist and pulled her closer. Jen and Alex were busy discussing the kitchen layout when Tom's phone rang.

"Hi, Kate. Yes, we're with Alex... He's showing us his next house... Really... Talk to Alex." Tom held out his phone for Alex to take it.

"Kate. This afternoon I suppose so. We have dinner plans. Some of my friends have invited us to dinner... No, Rick and Alice. They own The Landing... Yes, the place with the lobster rolls. Alright, see you then."

"She wants to see my house before it's sold."

"I'll go home and help my mom cook."

"Are you afraid of our sister?" Tom asked.

Jen and Alex both said, "Yes!"