Disclaimer: The characters belonging to Janet Evanovich are used strictly for entertainment purposes.

…

Chapter 1

Until recently, no one would have accused me, Stephanie Plum, of having serious life goals, but more the opposite. Marrying young and having my heart broken soon after gave me some personal leeway to take a few steps back, free from being locked down into a life I wasn't sure I wanted. Since then, I've held off growing up too much. Acting like an adult leads to adult decisions and responsibility, two things I'd done well to avoid up to this point in my life.

But it turns out, there's something to be said for pushing yourself to be better all the time. It builds confidence, makes you get up at six when you want to sleep until nine, and even helps you fit into a smaller size. At least in my case. I finally faced facts that burying my head in the sand is a dangerous game to play, both personally and professionally, so I've started getting my life in order.

I'm still a bond enforcement agent for my cousin, Vincent Plum, but most of my work these days is through Rangeman. Though there are times I wonder if I should get out of bounty hunting altogether, I still love the thrill of the chase. I can't turn down a good mystery, even if it's dangerous — and it usually ends up that way with me.

I'm also still a hopeless sugar addict despite the physical changes I've made to my daily routine. Thank God I have good metabolism because I eat more like I'm six rather than thirty — or over thirty, a fact I firmly deny. Thirty and staying there.

Then there's Ranger Mañoso, the most unexpected detour from my immature ways. We've spent more time together in the past month and a half than the last couple of years, and it's safe to say we were finally in a real relationship.

What happened to Morelli? Thanks to Dave Brewer, my latest crazed stalker, I had gift cards totaling $12,000 for American Airlines (apparently he was crazy enough to think I'd fly away with him!) so at the end of June, I took a trip to Tahiti. Since I was confused about what, or rather who, I wanted at the time, I took Grandma Mazur with me. We stayed in a beautiful bungalow with an amazing ocean view, and avoiding Grandma Mazur in her string bikini meant I had lots of time to sit and think. The only hiccups were when she brought overnight guests to our cabana. I'd had to sleep with my head buried under my pillow, ear buds firmly shoved into my ears, and iPhone blasting death metal music.

Thanks to Grandma Bella's slutty voodoo, I'd slept with both Ranger and Morelli in the space of a week. When the curse broke, I thought my libido had gone along with it because neither man had appealed to me. Seriously, who could turn down either package of muscle, exotic skin tone, dark hair, and dark eyes?

In Tahiti, though, I realized the problem wasn't sexual, but mental. I'd started to think about what I wanted versus what I was offered. With Joe, I got a 'sometimes' relationship, but mostly companionship, with and without benefits. With Ranger, I got benefits, with a little friendship mixed in, and no relationship. At first, I'd thought maybe the best answer was to find someone new, but trading in the Italian Stallion and the Cuban Sex God for 'normal' just didn't seem fair.

I thought about what Joe wanted, and realized what he wanted meant a change to my core self, settling my wants and desires for what I could get. I was sad to find it didn't bother me too much to realize I'd never be his ideal woman, but merely waiting for him to tell me so and let me off the hook.

Then I thought about what Ranger wanted, and I realized I only had a very small idea about exactly what that was. On the surface, it looked easy. Work, work, work, and some sex thrown in. But how many times had the man told me he loved me? Still, it was frustrating to think about him on a deeper level with no feedback. Best to solve just one problem at a time.

So, when Morelli showed up at my apartment to welcome me home from my vacation, I was relieved to see him and grateful Mooner was there filching off my cable so he couldn't seduce me. Hey, I'd made a decision, but it's hard to turn down melted chocolate eyes and nimble fingers. Instead, I asked if he wanted Pino's.

When we got there, I told him what I thought about on the beach and the conclusions I'd made. I looked for signs that he didn't agree with me and saw none. He simply gave me a wistful smile and told me he'd tried to see it differently, but had known it, too.

"Bob's gonna miss your visits," he said.

I nudged his leg with my foot. "I'll still visit Bob, he's half mine."

The look he gave me told me he meant the other visits and I laughed lightly. "Okay, those will be hard to give up, but maybe you'll find your dream girl if you aren't getting me naked all the time."

He grinned, shoved pizza into his mouth, and nodded. That was the end of that. Well, almost. It happened to be July 4th so we'd gone to the Fireworks display at Rotary Park as we'd planned before my trip. We both drank a lot that night and I gave in one last time and got some of the best good-bye sex a girl could want. I would have regretted it, but we both knew it was over, so it was best to just enjoy it and move on.

A week later, he surprised me when he told me that he'd accepted a position at the 100th Precinct in Queens. "Vice," he said proudly. Since his favorite job had been on the Vice Squad in Trenton, the prospect of returning to that field was exciting for him, especially in a busy city like NYC.

"Leaving the Burg? It's hard to believe."

He nodded and hugged me. "I'm leaving tonight." Pulling back, he tucked a curl behind my ear. "I didn't want to leave without telling you, didn't want you to have to hear it from the grapevine."

"Wow," I said, feeling more emotional that I'd ever admit. "It's like the end of an era. Joe Morelli, gone from Trenton."

He looked down and then up, hooking his thumbs into his belt loops. "Yeah. It's the job I want and a great way to start over." His face brightened and he said, "Well, hey, I gotta get going. I wanna meet everyone and look for a place to live. I'll be back to pack up the house and put it on the market next week, but it's easier this way. I want to be out of town when mom finds out."

I smiled over my sadness. "Smart man."

"Despite what she'll say, she didn't raise a fool." He paused and gave me a sad smile. "Take care, cupcake."

"Yeah, you, too."

A week after he left, Ranger had surprised me by asking me to dinner. It was the first time we'd gone out to a meal in a long time. With a devilish look, he'd said to, "Wear something nice."

I did and when he showed up, he was a combination of Business Ranger and Badass Ranger. He still had on the painted black t-shirt, but wore a charcoal sport jacket over it and a pair of matching slacks. I was glad I'd chosen a summery dress in ice blue and my favorite high-heeled sandals. Marc Jacobs, 70s style, wooden and leather. Very comfortable. Cost a fortune.

"Wow, what's the occasion?"

"Dinner with you. Thought you'd like to try something different."

Instinctively, I knew something had changed between the two of us, but didn't know what or why. After dinner, I went back to his place with him and I never looked back. The more time we spent together, the clearer it became that he wasn't walking away. I didn't want to explore things too closely, rather chose to go with my feelings and trust that I wouldn't regret it. Turns out, I never really had to worry.

About two weeks ago, a skip hit me in the head with a brick and it knocked me out. I woke in the hospital to see Ranger at my bedside, but it wasn't Badass Ranger or Business Ranger, it was Boyfriend Ranger. And he'd been worried. No, I hadn't needed explanations after that. No definition necessary. We were together and staying that way.

We'd even had our first fight as a couple then. Lucky for me, I woke up while the nurse was discussing the procedure with Ranger. I refused treatment, Ranger got angry, we had words. He wanted them to make sure my skull wasn't cracked and I wanted to get the hell out of there. Ultimately, I convinced him I'd come back in a heartbeat if there were any problems to indicate something more was wrong than a few loose brain cells. He hadn't been happy, but agreed anyway. Other than a headache and some minor fatigue, I've been fine; and I have a feeling the fatigue was due to frisky nights, not the brick.

Tonight, I looked at my reflection in my full-length mirror and pressed my lips together, smoothing out my lip gloss. We were going to Shorty's to hang out with the guys. The day after my overnight stay in the hospital, Ranger announced to his company that 'Rangeman Night' would begin on that upcoming Friday night and continue every Friday night after. Off-duty employees were welcome to join Ranger and Tank, the top management of Rangeman, for team socializing. The purpose was to give the guys a chance to see each other outside of work without the formalities of the office.

Last Friday night had gone well, and I was going again tonight at Ranger's insistence. Getting to know the guys casually made me more comfortable with them when I saw them at work this past week, whether bounty hunting or doing a part-time gig for the company. Sometimes I wondered if Ranger had invented Rangeman Night to acclimate me to the guys so I wouldn't be nervous asking for help the next time he's 'in the wind.' It wasn't likely I'd get an answer from him, so I never brought it up. Regardless, it had worked and I looked forward to seeing them tonight.

Though it was only the first week of September, we'd had an uncharacteristic cold spell the past few days. Tonight I was wearing jeans, black high-heeled boots, a white camisole, and a purple knit kimono-style pullover sweater with a deep V neckline. I left my hair down because Ranger liked it that way, and spritzed on some Dolce Vita.

I'd just slipped my lip gloss into my pocket when I heard the lock turn on my front door. No question who had come in. The new Bonds Office was finally open, so everyone had finally moved out of my apartment with the exception of Mooner periodically mooching off my cable.

Ranger appeared in my doorway thirty seconds later in his standard work gear of black, black, and black. The only variance, beginning in the last month or so, was the slight smile on his face as he walked up to me and traced a finger over the edge of my t-shirt. "You look comfortable. Very girly."

"Hmm," I teased, meeting his eyes in the mirror and tapping my chin in 'deliberation'. "Would you still want me if I was a badass military chick?"

His arms slid around my waist and his chin rested on my shoulder. He was silent while he 'thought' about his answer, so I nudged him with my elbow and watched his eyes crinkle at the corners. "Not sure I can comprehend that image."

"Uh-hunh." I elbowed him again and pulled away to lean into the mirror so I could swipe on another coat of mascara. "I'll be ready in a few."

"I'm a little late tonight." His way of telling me I didn't have as much time as he normally gave me. "Picked up the new car, bad traffic."

"Oh, nice," I said. I put the tube on my dresser beside the mirror, and turned to him. "Well, I'm ready, then." I wanted to see this car. He said I'd like it.

He slid his hands around my waist and kissed me all in one smooth motion. I was never prepared for the rush of heat induced by the touch of his mouth on mine. I gasped and opened my mouth to his kiss. He intensified the pressure and continued until our breathing changed from normal to heavy.

A few wild heartbeats later, he pulled away, slowly, kissing the tip of my nose. "Too easy to get carried away," he said quietly. I nodded and looked at myself in the mirror. Lip gloss all gone, lips swollen. I looked at Ranger. None on him. How did he manage it?

His lips twitched as if he read my thoughts. I pulled out the tube and applied a fresh coating and rubbed my lips together again. "Now I look like I've been making out with you all night."

"It can be arranged."

A shot of heat went straight to my pelvis. "Maybe we should beg off tonight."

He leaned forward and nipped at my earlobe. "Can't."

If Ranger was anything, he was a good example. Rangeman Night was for his employees, the one night he devoted his time to them. It was important for him to be there. We didn't stay the whole evening last week and I didn't expect we would tonight, but we had to make an appearance.

"Okay, let's do this thing." He grabbed my hand and turned to tug me out of the room. Outside the bedroom door, I stopped and pulled my hand from his. "Wait, I need to spray my hair or it will frizz out. Be just a second."

"Sorry, babe." He bent at the waist, scooping me up over his shoulder, and headed for the front door.

"Ugh, hey! I need to spray my hair!"

"No time."

"Fine, but you will have to live with the consequences when my hair starts resembling the Bride of Frankenstein."

"You know I love your hair."

I sighed dramatically. No point arguing with him, he wouldn't listen. We were on his time right now.

He skipped the elevator, as I'd known he would, and jogged down the stairs, jostling me against his shoulder and giving my butt a swat when I wiggled to get more comfortable. "Ouch!"

"More of that later."

My hormones did a little happy dance. "Promises, promises."

Out in the parking lot, he walked a few steps, then set me down on the asphalt beside the car. I looked at it, gleaming in the fluorescent lights. It was black, sleek, and powerful looking. I looked up at him. "What is it?"

His eyes crinkled again. "McLaren Roadster."

"And," I paused, cocking my head to the side, "that's supposed to be a great car?"

"Just a little."

"Well, if you say so." He slid his eyes over to look at me without turning his head and I bit back a smile. I loved joking with him. I loved being close to him. In fact, I loved him. We hadn't said the words to each other, but we knew they were there. Despite the fact that he'd told me he loved me in the past, this was different. It'd be a whole new ball game if he said it now; or if I said it, especially so. We were too busy enjoying just being together to start getting all mushy. We had all the time in the world to talk. Someday.

"Babe." I turned my head toward him, finding his gaze full on me. "Me, too." My breath caught and he leaned in, sealing the sentiment with a kiss. I loved his ESP, too.

After a minute, I smiled against his lips and he smiled back. "We're gonna be late," I mumbled, my lips and tongue brushing his mouth.

"Not in this car," but he pulled back and walked me around to the passenger side to open the door for me. I clipped myself in and then fixed my lip gloss again.

When he started the car, I knew immediately why he said I'd love it. Rich, deep vibrations rumbled under the seat from the engine's powerful purr. "Oh," I said.

"Told you." He could be so smug sometimes.

We left my parking lot and I thought he'd slipped into his driving zone, when he said, "I've been thinking about the trouble at your parents' last week."

I mentally groaned. Dad had refused to eat at the same table as Grandma because she'd mortified him by wearing a very transparent black negligee to dinner. The next day he told my mother he wanted Grandma out of the house and they'd been arguing about it since. "I'm not sure what they're going to do. Neither party is giving in." Meaning my parents. My Grandma seems hell bent on driving my dad crazier each day.

His response was a very slight smile. Then it vanished and he glanced at me. "Maybe she needs a place closer to others her own age."

I nodded. He was right, but affording it was a problem for her and my parents.

"You could move in with me, see how it goes."

I didn't react for a few seconds, mostly because I wasn't sure he'd said what I thought I'd heard.

"It doesn't have to be permanent if you don't want," he explained. "Just a trial."

I blinked. "Wait, does that mean you want it to be permanent?" Ugh! Of all the things I could have asked, that was the dumbest…

"Yes."

…or smartest. I looked at him, my mouth agape. "You want me to move into your apartment, with you, for good? And give Grandma my apartment?"

"Babe."

"I need some clarification here."

"Simple," he said. "Things are better when we're together."

"Better enough to want it to be permanent."

He slowed to turn a corner. "Definitely."

"Wow," I breathed.

"You don't have to tell me tonight. I sprang it on you." The way his jaw tightened and his shoulders tensed told me it had cost him more to ask than I realized. Told me it meant far more than he wanted to let on. Double wow.

Was I ready for that? Crap, I wasn't good with this stuff. I thought about how it took me hours to fall asleep at night when he left me — on nights he didn't actually stay. How I thought it was much better to wake up in his arms than alone. About how he wouldn't expect me to change just because we'd moved to the next step. And that was the winner.

"Okay. I think it's a good idea."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

He pulled the car off the side of the road and popped the shifter to neutral, pulling up the emergency break. Then he leaned across the center console and cupped my face in his hands, leaning in. I expected hungry passion by the look in his eyes. What I got was a kiss full of tenderness and devotion. It was the kind of kiss that brought tears to a person's eyes. If I were the type to cry. For a new car, it was sure dusty, though.

I blinked several times and surrendered myself to him, feeling my heart thump harder and harder as the kiss lingered. I slid my hands into his newly shortened hair, feeling the silky texture against my fingers. He'd had to cut it off a couple of weeks ago for a meeting he couldn't tell me about and, though I missed the length, it was nice to be able to run my fingers through it without the barrier of his hair tie.

He eased away, kissing me lightly once more before he leaned back, then finally raised his head. I blinked and tried to focus on his face. Then I smiled. "I guess you're happy."

"A little," he said just above a whisper, a full smile on his face. "We'd better go."

"Sure you don't want to call Tank and cancel, or postpone?"

He stared a full minute and smiled, all 200 watts. "You're a temptress."

I let out a loud sigh. "Fine, drive us there, oh great one."

"I'll show you great later." Wonderful. Trouble was, I wanted great now.

When we got to Shorty's, the lot was full and Ranger had to park further away from the door than normal. "I guess I'm messing up your parking spot karma."

He scooped me over his shoulder again, running to the door. "No, but you do make me tardy."

"I can't believe you just said tardy!" I laughed. He dodged around cars and I gripped his shirt with both hands, trying to keep from swinging wildly from side to side. "You're crazy!"

Ranger stopped suddenly and lowered my feet to the ground. I looked up and saw the door to Shorty's to my left. He gave me a quick kiss before grabbing the handle. "Only crazy about you."

…

"…and Ram was out back…" Lester stopped to guffaw. "God, when that woman came diving out the door at him, all I heard was 'Oh shit' then a thud. He made this squeaky, strangled noise," more laughter from around the table, "man he was out of it. Started mumbling something about his spleen."

"Dude, she must've been 800 pounds. I saw my life flash before my eyes when she ran outta there. Now I think about it, I'm impressed. She moved fast for her size." Ram shook his head.

I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye with a final laugh and swallowed some of my beer. "Glad she was your skip. Not sure I could have taken a hit like that."

"The nude part was worst," Ram said. "I couldn't free my face from her melons. Thought I was going to suffocate." More laughter rang out from the table and Ram turned red from the bottom of his neck to the top of his ears.

Tank shook his head and laughed silently beside Ranger. "Ram, I don't know what's funnier. Your judgment of weight or the way Lester said you screamed at him to get her up off you." He set down his beer. "Way I heard it, the woman didn't even weigh 200 pounds. More like 180. You need glasses. And maybe to lift more weights. A man your size shouldn't bellyache like that for less than 400."

"It was more than that," Ram insisted and the guys busted up laughing again.

"Whew," I breathed in an effort to calm down. It was getting warm in here and my sweater wasn't helping.

"How's work going for you, Blue Eyes?" Lester asked, changing the subject with a wink. "Haven't heard any crazy stories lately."

"Well, I guess you must be training me well, then. I even got Punky in without too much hassle the other day. Though, to be fair, he was pretty sick. I don't think he had it in him to taunt me." I grinned and sipped my beer. "Work's good, though Vinnie's driving us all insane."

"Not surprising," Hal muttered. He wasn't a fan of Vinnie. Between the duck and Joyce, he'd drawn the line on Vinnie stories. "Harry and Lucille both having a boot on his balls is probably cramping his style."

The guys murmured their agreement and I nodded, taking another sip of my beer.

It was strange seeing Vinnie behave. He hadn't tried to boink Joyce for at least five months, if not longer. Ever since Harry found out about Vinnie's "bad habits", Vinnie had been living in fear. Though, I couldn't believe he was boinking Lucille, either, with all the whining she'd reportedly been doing lately.

"That guy's a freak," Bobby said.

I grinned in agreement with Bobby; Vinnie is definitely a freak. Just this morning he went ape shit about who knows what, screaming at Lucille over the phone that she was crazy and he wasn't budging. Then Lucille said something to Vinnie that made his face turn red with fiery rage and he hung up on her. He mumbled something about having better luck at the dog pound and I stopped listening.

"Definitely not on my favorite persons list," Ranger said. He slipped his arm around my waist and squeezed. "Wanna head out?" he whispered into my ear.

"Sure," I mumbled quietly.

"Have a good one tomorrow," he said to the guys as he stood.

"Night, Boss."

"Later, Sweetness."

"Boss, Blue Eyes."

We finished the 'Night, John Boy' routine and walked out to Ranger's car, hand in hand. Ranger held my door for me again and then drove back to my apartment. I glanced at him when we turned my corner. Normally, he tried to get me to his place as often as possible.

He twitched a smile at me. "I thought if I stayed the night, we could get an early start packing tomorrow."

I groaned. "Oh, how wonderful for you to make me get up early on a Saturday…"

He squeezed my knee and I stuck my tongue out at him. It was easier to complain about the early start time than to think about all of the changes we were making tomorrow. I hadn't realized he'd want to move that quickly, but also wasn't surprised. I was ready, so it seemed pointless to wait. He evidently felt the same.

When we got to my door, he wrapped my arms around his neck then slid his hands beneath my butt, holding me tight against him as he walked us into my apartment. I moaned softly and stopped short when his body tensed. "What's wrong?"

Then I heard the TV. Oh no. I turned my head and saw Mooner sitting on my couch, staring at us with a silly grin on his face. Ugh. "Mooner, what are you doing in here?"

"I Dream of Jeannie marathon. Your cable is better than mine."

I gaped at him, trying to get my mouth to work to tell him to leave when Ranger looked at him and said, "Out."

"Dude, it's right in the middle of the episode where Major Nelson—" He broke off when Ranger let go of me, crossed his arms, and raised his eyebrow. "Going. Be gone faster than Jeannie can blink and nod." He switched off the TV and shoved his feet into his tennis shoes while he spoke.

I'd never seen Mooner move so quickly in all the time I knew him. As soon as he was gone, I jumped into Ranger's arms and wrapped my legs around him. He turned us to pin me against the door and pushed up my sweater, sliding his hands up my abdomen beneath my camisole to cup my breasts.

His phone rang and we both stilled. "Fuck," I whispered. Or no fuck was more like it. That was Tank's ring tone.

His eyes met mine, full of regret. "Babe."

"Go." I knew Tank wouldn't call unless absolutely necessary. I also knew Ranger would make it up to me tenfold. I was frustrated, regardless.

Ranger answered his phone and, in typical fashion, carried a full conversation with Tank in less than ten words. When he hung up, he turned to me and caressed my cheek while he spoke. "Anderson showed up at Shorty's. We need to move on him."

"It's okay. There's always Sunday." One thing I tried never to do was resent the time work took him away and he tried never to let work take him away on Sundays. So far, it had worked out quite well. "Besides, if you let me go to sleep now, I might get up to help pack in the morning."

We smiled at each other and he pressed his body to mine as he kissed me one last time then backed up with a curse. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay," I said.

He gave me a long look before he turned and left. I sighed and smiled before locking the door and headed toward bed with thoughts of tomorrow morning on my mind.

…

A/N: Whew! I can't believe I'm finally posting this story. I first wrote it in the last half of 2009, but needed to take time to fix plot holes. Now, two years later, I'm finally getting it out there for everyone to read.

A major thank you to Rach for her patience and excellent editorial skills. If not for her, this story never would have been posted because I've become so frustrated with it since I started it, that I was ready to delete it. Not only has she proved to have a great eye for plot, but she's become a cherished friend. It's been a long road, Rach, but I'm so glad we walked it together, babe.

My plan was to start posting this in August, but we were delayed. Normally I don't post more than twice per week, but this story will go up three times per week on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday nights.

I'll only mention reviews in that I love them because they help me write better. I'm open to suggestions and love hearing what readers like. Whether you review or not, I hope you enjoy reading this story.

There are no Cupcake warnings. Joe is not a player in this story, though he is mentioned a couple of times, but respectfully.

Happy reading everyone!