Chloe walked into her apartment. Other than the sound of Jay Leno telling a joke about the president, the room was quite. Zoey was asleep on the couch.

"Zoey," Chloe whispered.

"Huh?" Zoey rubbed her sleepy eyes, and then jumped to life when she realized that Chloe was back from her date. "Oh, you're back! Girl, I have been waiting for you! How was your date?"

"It was great."

"'It was great?' That's all you're going to say about it? Chloe, I want details!"

Chloe laughed and sat down on the couch. She told Zoey all about her date with Jax, leaving the best part-the kiss-for last.

"He kissed you?! Chloe, he kissed you?! Oh my god! Well, what was it like?"

Chloe smiled. "Well, at first, he leaned forward, and I was like, oh my god he's going to kiss me!"

"Yeah, yeah, go on."

"And then, I just closed me eyes and all of a sudden, his lips were on mine. At first, it was just kind of a really sweet kiss, and then…oh…we just kind of sunk into it. It was *amazing*! I couldn't have asked for a better night out!"

"That's wonderful, Chloe! I'm so glad you had a good time. Oh, wow, it's getting late. I better get home before Richard falls asleep on me!""

"Thanks for watching Molly, Zoey. I really appreciate it. Oh, and thanks for cleaning the living room too. I know Molly couldn't have possibly got it this clean!"

Zoey laughed. "No problem. See you tomorrow."

"Good night," Chloe said.

Jax walked into his penthouse and flicked on the light. He was beyond exhausted, so he changed into sweats and went straight to bed.

He was exhausted, and yet, he couldn't sleep. His body was tired, but his mind was wide-awake. Had he actually kissed her? Jax hadn't kissed a woman in so long that he had almost forgotten what it felt like. Jax had really surprised himself. He never imagined that he would kiss another woman after Brenda.

But it wasn't just the kiss that had Jax's mind running. What had really surprised him was that he had actually *liked* it. He had never thought that kissing another woman would ever make him happy again.

It was in that moment that Jax began to feel incredibly guilty. He had kissed another woman, and he had enjoyed it. He wondered what Brenda was thinking from Heaven. Brenda had made Jax promise her that he would move on with his life and find happiness again, but that was truly unthinkable, at least at the time. He wondered if Brenda's heart was breaking somewhere out there, if it was possible to be sad in Heaven that is.

Chloe looked into Molly's room. Molly was fast asleep. Chloe smiled when she saw the cat Jax had bought for Molly in her arms tucked under the covers with her. She leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

As Chloe walked to her own room, she felt a grin plastered to her face. She felt unbelievably happy. He was nice. He was handsome. He was a great kisser. He was so perfect!

He was recovering from a broken heart.

As Chloe dressed for bed, she thought about what Jax had told her tonight, about how he had lost his fiancée to a tragic accident. Chloe started to feel guilty. Here she was, suddenly fantasizing about having a relationship with this handsome man she had just met, and looking for a serious relationship with someone was probably the furthest thing on his mind.

Chloe knew all too well what that was like, the feeling of not wanting any serious relationships. After things with Brian had ended, Chloe didn't even begin to start back dating until Molly was about two, and even then, she really only went out on a few dates. Dating was a risk. If you met someone, and if by chance, you two hit it off, there was always that possibility that in the end, you would end up with a broken heart. Chloe preferred to stay at home. It was her comfort zone. If she didn't date, then she wouldn't get hurt again. And maybe that was exactly what Jax had wanted to do. Just because he kissed her didn't necessarily mean that he was ready to move on.

Chloe had never one of those girls who would mope around for weeks and cry and be miserable and depressed after a breakup. It just wasn't worth it. The relationship would end, she would accept it, and it was time to move on. But with Brian, things were obviously different. They had created a child together. And even though Chloe could care less if she ever saw Brian again, the fact that he would not even take responsibility for his own daughter or even offer to help her really hurt. And pain like that was what Chloe had been trying to avoid for years.

Chloe chewed on her bottom lip as she watched Brian from the hallway. He had been glued to that television all afternoon. Chloe hated to disturb him, but she *had* to talk to him.

Chloe walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Brian, I need to talk to you."

"Chloe, I'm watching the game. Can't it wait?"

"Brian, do you think I would interrupt the Knicks game if it *wasn't* important?" Chloe said sternly.

Brian reached for the remote and turned off the television. "I'm sorry, Chloe. What did you need to talk to me about?"

"Brian…"

"Yesssss? Go on, what?"

"I'm pregnant."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant, Brian." Chloe picked at her nail polish and she and Brian were silent for a few moments.

"Are you sure?" Brian finally asked. "Because you know, those home pregnancy tests aren't always accurate."

"I'm sure, Brian. I went to the doctor this morning."

Brian ran his fingers through his hair and tried to take this all in. He stood up, paced for a while, and then shouted. "Chloe, we were so careful! We used protection every time!"

"It didn't work."

Brian sighed and sat back down.

Chloe looked at Brian and smiled reassuringly. "Brian, this isn't a bad thing. It's really not. We can handle it."

Brian looked at Chloe and smiled. He took her hands. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm sorry if that came out the wrong way. It just took me by surprise, that's all. You're right, this isn't a bad thing."

Chloe smiled.

"Look," Brian said, "I've been saving up for a while. I'll…I'll help you out. I'll pay for everything."

Chloe grinned. "Brian, that's sweet of you, but they're kind of expensive you know."

"Chloe, I'm paying for it."

"Brian, it's my baby too. I'm going to help out. And plus, I'm starting to make a lot more money now with my designs. Look, you don't have to pay for it all yourself. There's no way you could…"

Brian put his fingers to her lips. "Why don't I call and make an appointment for you?"

This statement struck Chloe as odd. "But, Brian, I already have a doctor."

"Chloe, I seriously doubt that your doctor does this kind of procedure. But I know of a clinic in Brooklyn that my friend Sam took his girlfriend too. You can be in and out in an hour…"

Chloe snatched her hand from Brian's grasp and stood up. She knew Brian's sudden change in attitude was too good to be true. "You…you want me to get an abortion?"

"Chloe, what did you think I was talking about?"

"You bastard." Chloe got up from the couch and grabbed her purse.

"Chloe, we can't raise a baby. I don't know the first thing about raising a kid! And what about your job? Are you really going to be able to travel if you're pregnant?"

"Brian, I am *not* getting an abortion!" Chloe held her hand over her stomach protectively. "I could never even think about killing this tiny life that is growing inside of me, and it really hurts that you think an abortion is an easy way out of this. I have been such a fool. I really don't know why I even bothered to get involved with you. But I am definitely seeing the light now!"

"Chloe…"

"We're through, Brian. Look, you can either stay involved in your child's life or not, I don't care, but it is over between us!"

Chloe opened the door and slammed it behind her. In the stairwell, Brian caught up with her.

"Chloe, I thought that with your designing and all that you wouldn't want a baby. You're not really serious about having this baby, are you?"

"I'm very serious, Brian. I'm going to raise this baby-with or without you," Chloe said angrily. Chloe ran down the stairs and out of the building, and Brian didn't stop her.

"MOMMY! WAKE UP!"

Chloe woke up abruptly when she felt Molly pounce on her bed.

"Mommy! You're home!" Molly climbed over Chloe, jabbing her in the stomach with her little foot, and got on the other side of the bed.

Chloe glanced over at the clock on her nightstand. 7 a.m. She would have to be at the boutique at nine. With a daughter like Molly, who needed alarm clocks? "Good morning, baby," Chloe said sleepily.

Molly, clutching her gray cat, wedged herself between the covers and nestled her body against her mother's.

Chloe smiled, wrapping her arms around the girl. "Did you have fun with Zoey last night?"

"Uh-huh. We played Candyland, and then me and Zoey had cookies, and we had milk, and we watched TV. We watched the Cartoon Network. And Courage was on and there was a 'cary tornado that came! It was really 'cary, Mommy! And it turned Muriel into a baby and Courage the cowerly dog had to find another 'cary tornado to make her big again! So, did *you* have fun, Mommy? Did ya have fun on your date?"

Chloe laughed softly. Molly was never one to stay on one subject for too long. "Yes, I had a wonderful time last night, but I missed you a whole lot."

"I missed you a whole lot too, Mommy. Wanna know how much I missed you? This much!" Molly spread her arms out as far as she could while tucked under the covers and in her mother's arms.

"You know what, Molly? Jax is going to take you and me out for lunch today. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Molly cheered.

Chloe smiled. She was so happy that Molly liked Jax. Chloe could never get involved with anyone unless he got along with Molly.

"Mommy, cartoons are on and we're missing them!"

Chloe laughed. "Well, Mommy is still really sleepy, so why don't we stay in bed and snuggle and we can watch cartoons on Mommy's TV?"

"Get the remote, Mommy!"

Chloe turned on the television and found Saturday morning cartoons for Molly.

"I love you, Mommy." Molly nuzzled her head against her mother's chest and watched the cartoons.

"I love you!" Chloe gave her daughter a big hug and kissed her on the cheek. She didn't pay attention to the television. The only thing she could think about was how unbelievably happy she was to have Molly in her life.

Ten after nine, Chloe walked into the boutique. Molly skipped to the back to play.

"You're ten minutes late, Chloe," Ally Soleito teased and tapped her watch when she saw Chloe walk through the door. Ally was Zoey's former roommate and was now Chloe's photographer and one of her best friends.

"I know, I know."

"Oh, that's okay, Ally," Zoey called from the desk across the room. "We can let Chloe's lateness slide this one time. She had quite a night last night, you know, with her hot date and all." Zoey grinned widely.

Ally put her hands on her hips and her jaw dropped. "A hot date? A hot date and you didn't tell me?! Chloe, I'm shocked!"

"It was no big deal! It was just a simple dinner to thank Jax for what he did for me."

"Oh, please, Chloe," Zoey said. "That is *not* what you said last night!"

"What did she say last night?" Ally asked and rushed over to Zoey to get the scoop.

"Well for one thing, she said he was a great kisser!"

"Ooo!"

"You guys…" Chloe started.

"She said he had a great body, she said he was sexy."

"I have to see this guy for myself!" Ally said.

"You will. He's coming here later to take her and Molly out to lunch. You know, I think this guy is perfect for Chloe, because I met him last night, and he was really nice."

"This is great. It high time Chloe got back into the dating scene."

"You guys! I'm standing right here!" Chloe complained.

"We're just looking out for ya," Zoey said. "So anyway, Ally, just wait until you meet this guy and tell me he is not perfect for Chloe…"

The bell on the door sounded and a lady walked in.

"We're going to finish this later," Chloe said, chastising her friends. She walked over to the customer. "Hi, can I help you?"

A funny thing happened at 11:41. Just as thoughts of Jax crept into Chloe's mind once again, she heard the bells on the door chime and in he walked. He looked like an Adonis with the late morning sun showering him in a ray of light. She couldn't believe that she had been so lucky as to kiss those beautiful lips last night. Shut up, Chloe. Chloe's mind kept telling her. He's not ready for a serious relationship. Remember? We discussed this last night. And stop picturing him naked!

"Hi, Jax," Chloe said as she walked over to him.

"Hey, Chloe," Jax said with a smile. "So wow, this is where you work?"

"This is my store," Chloe said proudly.

"It's really nice."

"Thank you."

"JAX!" Molly ran over to Jax with a big grin on her face.

Jax looked down at the child and smiled. "Hi, Molly."

"Well if it isn't Superman! How's it going, Jax?" Zoey asked.

"Hi, Zoey. I'm great."

Zoey gently nudged Ally in the arm. "See, what did I tell you?" she whispered to her. Ally gave her a look of approval.

"Jax," Chloe said, "this is my friend and photographer, Ally Soleito."

"Hi, Ally. Nice to meet you." Jax shook her hand.

"Likewise," Ally said with a smile.

"Your name sounds familiar. Oh, I know, Soleito's was the name of the restaurant we ate at last night."

Ally smiled. "Yeah, my husband's parents own it."

"Well it's a wonderful restaurant. Best Italian food I ever had next to actually being in Italy."

Ally laughed. "Well thank you. I'll be sure to tell Joseph and Carmen you said that."

Chloe interjected. "We should probably go now."

"Alright. Where did you want to eat?" Jax asked.

Molly pulled on her mother's skirt excitedly. "Mommy! Let's go to McDonald's!"

Chloe tossed Jax a hesitant look. "Baby, I don't think McDonald's is what Jax had in mind…"

"But I wanna eat at McDonald's, Mommy," Molly whined.

"You know what?" Jax said, "I haven't had a Big Mac in the longest time and well, now, I suddenly have a craving for it."

"Really?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah. McDonalds is fine with me."

"Yay!" Molly cheered. "We're going to McDonald's!"

Jax took in his surroundings as he stood in line. McDonald's had certainly changed its appearance since the last time he had been. The golden arch was still the same though. He almost felt silly. He had been all over the world, Paris, Rome, London, eating at fancy restaurants on a whim. Now, he was at a fast food joint in the middle of New York City. Jax smiled. He had forgotten how much he had missed this place.

"Mommy, I gotta go pee!" Molly whispered to her mother.

Chloe looked up and saw that they were next in line. "Baby, can you wait? We're about to order."

"No! I gotta go *now*! I gotta pee, Mommy!" Molly announced, loudly.

"Don't worry, I'll order for you," Jax offered.

"That would be great!"

"What do you want?"

"Hurry, Mommy! 'Fore I pee in my pants! I gotta pee, I gotta pee!"

"Just get the chicken nugget happy meal for Molly, and chicken nuggets and large fries for me. And two cokes."

"Alright."

"Thanks, Jax."

After Molly had finally relieved herself and Chloe helped her clean up, they went to find Jax. Jax was saving a table for them inside the huge McDonald's play area.

"OOOO! Mommy, I wanna play on the play thing!" Molly pointed excitedly to the McDonald's jungle gym, complete with tunnels, slides, and a gigantic ball pit.

"You can play on it after you eat."

"Some of the best places to surf in the world are in Australia," Jax said as he dipped his fry into some ketchup. "Sydney, Gold Coast, Waverley, oh, there are a ton of places. And the waves are absolutely incredible."

"I have always wanted to go surfing! I see those guys on TV, and they are surfing those *huge* waves. I would love to do that!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Really?" Jax grinned widely. Most women he knew were too scared of the idea of surfing huge waves.

"Mommy, can I go on the play thing now?"

Chloe looked down at Molly's tray. "Hmm, eat one more chicken nugget and some more of those fries, and then you can go. Now, what was I saying? Oh yes, I have always wanted to go surfing. I'm a big water person. Especially swimming."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep. State freestyle champion in high school."

"You know, I have to say, when I first met you, you didn't strike me as the type of person who swims or wants to go surfing."

Chloe laughed. "Well there's a lot you don't know about me."

"I guess so."

"Finished, Mommy! Can I play now?"

"Yeah, you can play. Here, let's take those shoes off." Chloe helped Molly untie her shoelaces. "Okay, go have fun!"

"You know, I could take you to Australia and teach you how to surf if you wanted to."

Chloe laughed. "Thanks! You going to fly me there or something?"

"Yeah."

"Huh? What, you got your own plane or something?"

"Yeah. Did I mention that I'm a pilot?"

"No!"

"Yeah, I have my own plane. I have a jet too, but I mostly use that for business trips, that sort of thing."

"Let me guess, you have a yacht too, huh?"

"No, but I do have a sailboat."

Chloe laughed. "That is so cool! You know, you're going to have to take me sailing now! That's another thing I like to do."

"Oh, well then it's a good thing that you know how to swim."

"Did I say I wanted to go sailing with you? I take that back!"

"No, no, I'm a good sailor! I promise. It's just that my boat has a bad temper sometimes."

"Well I hope your plane doesn't have a bad temper as well because I'm really considering that offer of you teaching me how to surf in Australia, but I'll have you know that I'm not up for any plane crashes."

Jax laughed.

"Look at me, Mommy!" Molly hollered. Jax and Chloe looked up and saw Molly standing in the tunnel window.

"I see you, baby!" Chloe said.

Molly left the window and crawled through the tunnel some more.

"But anyway, like I was saying. Being a parent is hard these days. I mean, there are so many things that you have to watch out for, especially violence and sex on television."

"Oh yeah, it's really hard to keep kids away from that nowadays."

"You know, I actually walked into the living room one day, and I saw Molly dancing and singing along to Christina Aguilera's "Come on Over."

"Are you serious?" Jax laughed.

"Yes, I am! And the crazy thing was that she knew almost all of the words!"

Jax laughed. "How did that happen?"

"Well, I blamed Zoey, and she got kinda mad at me for that. Actually, I think it was one of her playmates who has an older sister. And here I was, thinking that she didn't even know what channel MTV was on! When you hear your three-year-old daughter shouting from the living room, 'Hey boy, don't you know, I got something going on?' I'm telling you, warning bells start going off in your head! Needless to say, I blocked MTV from the living room television."

Jax laughed again. "I bet Molly wasn't too happy about that."

"Well, she hasn't realized that the channel is gone yet, but oh, she was mad when I turned off the television that day! She threw quite a temper tantrum over that. But I just turned on some cartoons and she forgot all about it afterwards."

"That's funny."

"You know, it was cute when she was a baby and would dance to the Spice Girls on wobbly little legs. But now, well, I think it has just gone too far! I guess I should be thankful it was a Christina Aguilera video and not that one with Britney Spears in it and half-naked with that guy!" Chloe laughed.

"From the way things are on television today, you'd never think it was once forbidden for a man and a woman to be seen in the same bed."

Chloe then glanced down at her watch and noticed the time. "Oh shoot, I gotta go."

"I'm sorry if I kept you out longer than you meant to be," Jax apologized.

"Oh no, it's not that. It just that Saturdays are my busy days at the shop and I know if I stay out any longer, the girls are going to get mad at me!"

Jax laughed. "Here, I'll get that," Jax said, taking Chloe's tray and throwing it into the nearby trashcan.

"Now, the hard part--getting Molly. What you are about to witness is probably the most frustrating thing about being a parent."

"What's that?"

"You'll see. Oh, and just so you know, I'm not really going to throw this away." Chloe held up Molly's happy meal toy.

Jax's curiosity piqued.

"Molly!" Chloe called her daughter. She looked up and saw her daughter through the tunnel window. "Come here, baby."

About ten seconds later, Molly came sliding out of the tunnel slide.

"Molly, we gotta go…"

"Noooooooo!" Molly ran past her mother and into the ball pit.

Chloe gave Jax a look that said, "See what I mean?"

Chloe stuck her head into the ball pit's opening. "Molly, we are not going to cause a scene at McDonald's like we did at Chuck E. Cheese's."

"Five more minutes, Mommy!" Molly begged.

"Molly, I can't give you five more minutes. Mommy's got to get back to work."

Molly jumped around on the trampoline floor of the ball pit and ignored her mother.

"Molly, we are not going to go through this again. We are going *now*."

"NO!" Molly yelled.

"Molly, don't make Mommy climb in there and get you, because I will if I have to," Chloe said, keeping a firm but calm voice.

"I don't wanna go, Mommy!"

"Baby, I would let you stay all day if I could but I can't. We have to go."

"No, no, no! We're staying!"

"Okay, Molly, you have left me no choice, young lady!" Chloe said, her voice a little sterner. "If you are not out of that ball pit in five seconds, Mommy's throwing away your new toy. One...two…"

"No!" Molly whined.

"Three…four…I'm waiting, Molly."

Molly continued her fussing. "Not going!" she yelled.

"Okay, that's it!" Chloe walked over to the trashcan. "It's going in the trash! You obviously don't want it."

"No, Mommy!" Molly ran out of the ball pit. "Don't frow it away! I'm out! See?"

"Thank you, Molly. Let's go get your shoes back on." Chloe took her hand firmly and led Molly over to the table to get their things together. "Molly, I'm sorry, baby. I know you want to stay here and I would let you stay all day if I could. We'll come back another time. Here, take your toy."

Molly just sulked.

"Are you ready?" Jax asked.

"Yes, we're ready."

"I think you handled that well," Jax complimented as they walked out the door.

Chloe laughed. "Thanks."

The cab pulled up in front of Chloe's shop and Chloe and Molly got out.

"I had a great time, Jax. Thanks for lunch."

"You're welcome."

"Thanks, Jax!" Molly said excitedly, forgetting all about how upset she was to leave McDonald's.

Jax smiled. "You're welcome, Molly. We'll go again sometime…that is, if your mother wants to."

Molly looked up at her mother pleadingly.

"What do you say, Chloe?" Jax asked, grinning.

"I say yes. That sounds great," Chloe said, smiling.

"Great. See you ladies later."

"Bye, Jax," Chloe waved.

"Bye, Jax!" Molly shouted as the cab drove away.

To be continued…