This story is a Joe and Stephanie happily ever after. It takes place early in the series, somewhere in the first three books.

Although she'll never read it, this one is written for the lady who loves Joe best of all: Janet Evanovich. The characters and setting are hers, I'm not making any money from this work and the only profit I recieve is the enjoyment of playing with her characters.

Stephanie Plum flipped her head upside down and spritzed Linen Breeze on the nape of her neck. Then flipping upright again, she pinned the locks closest to her face up. The curls cascaded over her bare shoulders. She slipped one earring through her ear. Even though her flirty sundress was parrot blue, her earrings were the precise color of a maraschino cherry. Her FMPs, fingernails, bra and panties matched her earrings. Not that anyone was likely to find out the color of her underwear. This was strictly a girls' night out with Mary Lou, Connie and Lula. Still, it never hurt to be prepared. And she needed to be prepared. It had been a long time since her last date.

The doorbell rang.

"Coming Lula!" she called. Stephanie grabbed the other earring and hurried to the door.

Joe stood on her doorstep. He was dressed for a night out too. His hair, still damp from the shower curled just above his Henley T shirt which stretched across his chest. His faded blue jeans hugged him perfectly and looked butter soft.

She imagined running her leg up the side of his jeans and wrapping it around his waist. "Joe?...Did we, were we… supposed to meet?" She knew better, but a girl can wish, right?

"Umm, no. I tried to call, but your phone isn't working. Some of the cell towers were knocked out in last night's storm. I wondered if you had any information on your FTA Larry Boslunk."

Larry Boslunk was the last person Stephanie wanted to think about tonight. Six foot four inches of brooding scum, he was wanted for running a backdoor casino three blocks east of Stark on the corner of Robling and Seventeenth. He was also known to play a little rough with his girlfriends. They often arrived with bruises and cracked ribs in the emergency room at Helen Fould Hospital.

"I've got nothing on him right now," she said.

"If you hear anything, let me know. He's a person of interest in a homicide I'm working on."

Stephanie nodded.

"You dropped your earring." Joe noticed as he bent down to pick it up.

Stephanie also reached for it. They bumped heads on the way down. "Ouch!" she cried.

"Shit," Joe said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Joe took the earring from the carpet. Then he leaned forward, carefully sliding the earring through her ear.

"That was smooth. How did you do that?"

Joe leaned closer. "I have many talents," he whispered in her ear.

"Really?" She whispered. Her lips brushed his neck. His spicy shower gel tickled her nose. If she pulled him into her apartment, locked the door and turned off the lights maybe Lula would go to ladies' night without her. It had been months since Stephanie had sex and she knew personally that Joe was quite talented. Her leg slid up his thigh. His hand slid under her dress. Their lips touched.

"Well! Don't that beat all?"

They broke apart like two school kids caught kissing on the playground. Joe took a breath and looked at the ceiling.

Stephanie gasped and smoothed her skirt down her leg. She still felt a bit tingly and more than a little disappointed. She glanced down the hallway.

There, next to the elevator, stood Grandma Mazur and Stephanie's Mother. Grandma held a coffeecake. Her mom held a basket of folded laundry.