"You headin' out?" Stella asked as she stopped by his office.
Flack shrugged, not looking up from his paperwork. "I guess."
Surprised by his answer, she laughed. "C'mon, Flack. You can't tell me you don't have a hot date waiting for you."
"Actually, Stell, I can."
"But it's New Year's Eve."
"I know." He looked up at her, a small smile on his face. "I bet you have a date though."
She watched him for a long moment before answering. "That depends."
"On what?"
"On whether you'll agree to have dinner with me."
He stared at her in surprise. "You're kidding, right?"
"Nope."
"You're asking me to dinner? Why?"
Stella shrugged. "I have reservations at a nice restaurant in Times Square. I thought maybe you'd be a gentleman and keep a lady from having to eat alone."
"I have a hard time believin' you ever have to eat alone, Stell."
"Look," she said, coming and sitting on the corner of his desk. "I had a date. I cancelled at the last minute because, quite honestly, I didn't want to put up with the guy after the hellish day I've had."
"Then why are you askin' me?"
"Because having dinner with you would brighten my day." She tapped his ankle with her foot. "So what do you say, Detective? Will you have dinner and ring in the new year with me?"
"You know, Stell," he said, leaning back and smiling, "there's nothing I'd like more."
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"That was nice," Flack murmured as they walked out onto the crowded streets of Times Square.
"Don't sound so excited."
He laughed. "I mean it. Thank you." He looked over at her, waiting until their eyes met. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." As they continued to walk, Stella linked her arm with his. "So now what?"
"Well, we could stay here with all the crazy tourists…"
"Or?" she asked slyly.
Don smiled, blushing as he looked down at the ground. "Or I've got a bottle of wine and two glasses with our names on them back at my place."
Stella laughed, and he looked up, relieved to see that she wasn't mad at his boldness. "I like that plan much better," she told him.
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"So," she said as they sat side by side on his couch, each with a glass of wine. "Explain to me how the great Donald Flack ended up with a date for New Year's Eve."
He shrugged, staring at his glass. "I just got tired of it."
"Tired of what?"
"The girls that I meet, the ones that I take out. I'm not really interested in them, and I just…I didn't want to put up with that tonight."
She frowned. "So why do you go out with them then? I mean, if you're not interested…"
He made a face. "Something to do, I guess."
Stella's mouth dropped open as she stared at him. "Wow. That was…crass."
"What did you want?" he asked, shrugging. "It's the truth."
Setting her glass down, she turned to face him, laying her head on the back of the couch. "So what do you want, Don?"
"It doesn't matter," he answered, shaking his head. "I can't have it anyway."
"Why not?"
"Because some things are just off-limits, and there's nothin' you can do about it."
Stella watched him for a minute, a frown slowly growing on her face.
"Don?"
"Yeah?"
"Please tell me you're not in love with Lindsay."
His eyes widened as he turned to stare at her.
"What? Why would you think that?"
Surprised by his response, she found herself struggling for a response. "Because…honestly, Don…I can't think of another woman who's off-limits for you."
"It's not Lindsay," he said firmly.
"Okay…You know you could tell me though…if it was."
"It's not," he repeated, his voice louder.
"Okay."
He sighed. "You don't believe me."
"No…if you tell me that's it's not Lindsay –"
"Dammit, Stella," he muttered, setting down his glass.
Without another word, Flack put his hand behind her head and pulled her mouth down to his. He kissed her hungrily, telling himself that this was his only shot at kissing the woman of his dreams, and he had to take as much as she would let him. But she was kissing him back just as hard, one of her hands tangling in the front of his shirt as she nipped at his bottom lip until he opened his mouth to her. Suddenly, though, she pulled back.
"Why the hell would I be off-limits to you?" she asked, breathing heavily.
He stared up at her in surprise, his brain struggling to catch up. "Because…because you're one of my best friends. Because you're my boss. Because you're this amazing, sexy, intelligent woman…why would you ever look twice at me?"
Stella was at a complete loss for words. She opened her mouth several times to speak, but nothing came out. Giving up, she kissed him again.
"That's funny," she breathed when they pulled back again. "I always thought the same thing about you."
"So…does this mean…you're not off-limits for me?"
"It means…it means I'm yours, Don. If you really want me."
Flack's throat constricted with emotion as he realized how vulnerable she was letting herself be with him. He almost never saw her walls come down, and the fact that she was letting him in told him that he'd better not screw it up.
"You're all I want, Stell," he said, kissing her softly. "You're the only one I've wanted for a long time now."
She smiled at him, unable to help herself. Glancing up, she paused when her eyes rested on the clock.
"It's the new year," she murmured. "It has been for the past eighteen minutes."
Don smiled and pulled her against him, laying them both down on the couch. "And I think this year's off to a wonderful start," he whispered.