Love Confessions
Ranger confesses his love to Stephanie over business dinner.
Chapter 1
Finally after years of dating on again off again Joe Morelli, I decided to call it quits for good. Joe wanted me to quit my job bounty hunting, get married, have kids and stay home. No way. I didn't want to be tied down. Now there is this other guy that I'm attracted to. His name is Ricardo Carlos Manoso, he goes by Ranger. He's Cuban American, with dark hair, mocha latte skin, dark eyes and a body to die for. He's my mentor, my friend, my lover. I will tell you how he became my lover. We shared one night of passion and left the next morning. You see, he loves me, but in his own way. His life doesn't lend itself to relationships. His love doesn't come with a ring, only a condom. We haven't spoken for two months. So, that mostly means he is 'in the wind.' I was about to head in the shower when there was a knock. I opened it to find Ranger.
"You never knock." I said.
"I thought I would be polite instead of walking in. How was your day?" Ranger said walking in.
"Excellent. I captured all my skips without any problems. I called it quits with Joe and that's about it. How are you?"
"I had to go to Boston to care of things, came back yesterday to take care of paperwork. I would like to take you out and discuss something with you."
"Ok. Let me quickly take a shower."
I quickly washed my hair and everything else. I blow dried my hair and didn't bother to do anything with it. I put on very little make up, I put on a black dress and I was ready.
"Where are we going?" I asked as he started the car.
"DelMonicos."
Delmonico is Steak House in New York. Never been. It was an hour and a half drive. From the looks of things from the outside, the place looked crowded, which it was. Ranger walked up to the host. The host took a couple of menus and followed him. We were seated at a booth in the back.
"Let me guess. You made reservations."
"I did." he said with a smile.
We ordered wine. Ranger ordered the Asian Chicken Salad, I ordered Chicken Parmesan.
"A client of mine hired a guy and they think he's taking their money from them. So I put hidden cameras everywhere."
"By the look on your face, you don't believe them."
"No I don't. I checked out this guy's profile and he's never broken the law. Someone else is involved."
"Who do you think it is?"
"I'm thinking the owners, but I'm not one hundred precent sure. I don't have proof yet. Anyway, they invited me to dinner for doing services for them. I would like you to come with me and get a feel from them. What do you think?"
"Sure, I'll go."
"Great. We'll meet them tomorrow night at The Mill."
I had to have dessert. I ordered Chocolate Chip Layer Cake. It was absolutely delicious I moaned. Ranger just stared at me. After my dessert, we left. Ranger parked in my lot. We got out of the car at the same time. He followed me in. He went in first and looked around.
"Everything is clear." he said coming back.
"You didn't have to do that." I said.
"I have to. I don't want anything bad happening to you. I care very deeply about you."
My stomach fluttered.
"Thank you."
"Have a good night and I will see you tomorrow night." Ranger said kissing me and left. I locked the door. I put on my PJs and went to bed.
The next day, I drove to the bonds office.
"Hello all. Any skips today?"
"Two." Connie said handing me two folders.
"These should be simple enough. Be back later."
My first skip was Mario Linton. He was caught for stealing panties. It was an easy apprehension. He didn't put up a fuss. The next one was a little tricky, but I managed to get him. After I collected my check, I went to Macy's to get a dress for tonight. I found a maroon off the shoulder dress. This should do nicely. On my way home, I went to Pino's and grabbed a sub and brought back home. At four thirty, I got in the shower. I fixed my hair and did the makeup thing. I checked myself out in the mirror. Eat your heart out Ranger. At five thirty, there was a knock. I opened the door and there stood Ranger. Looking handsome in his Armani suit.
"Your beautiful." he said.
It was a silent drive to The Mill. Ranger found a spot close to the door. When we walked in, an older couple were waiting.
"Hi Carlos." said the guy shaking Ranger's hand.
"Hi Henri. I would like you to meet Stephanie Plum. Stephanie, these are clients of mine, Henri and Marlene Moore."
"Nice to meet you." I said.
"I heard a lot about you." said Marlene.
"We have a table ready." said Henri. Ranger sat at my right, Marlene on the left, Henri sat across from me.
We all ordered wine. Red Pinot Noir Angeline California. Ranger and I ordered the Filet Mignon, Marlene ordered Pan Sear Atlantic Salmon and Henri ordered Asparagus Stuffed Rack of Lamb.
"So you think Jake is taking the money?" asked Ranger to Henri.
"Yes, that's why we asked to put cameras in our store. Owning a jewelry store was Marlene's dream. We don't want to lose that dream."
"I won't let that happen."
As we were eating and talking, I felt Ranger put his hand on my knee. After dinner, I ordered dessert. I had Double Chocolate Bread Pudding, the other three had coffee. I moaned at the first bite. Marlene asked what I did for work and all that stuff, so I told her.
"Are you seeing anyone?" Marlene asked.
"I was dating this cop Joe Morelli, but I called it quits. He wanted me to quit bounty hunting and get married, have kids, etc. I didn't want that."
Oh, well. Marriage isn't for everyone."
"Right. I'm free to see whoever I want."
"Excuse me." said Ranger. Henri got up also.
"Tell me, what's your involvement with Carlos?"
"We work together, we're friends."
"I think it's more than that. I've noticed him looking at you from time to time. I see the love in his eyes. I can tell he is in love with you."
"Excuse me." I said getting up walking toward the bathroom. I leaned on the sink and looked at myself. A tear started coming down. A couple minutes later, Marlene walked in.
"Are you ok?"
"A year ago we slept together. He says he loves me, but in his own way. His life doesn't lend itself to relationships. His love doesn't come with a ring, only a condom. So you tell me how he in love with me."
"A man can change. I know we've known Carlos a short time. When we went to him about our problem, he mentioned you. He talked to us like we were family. Let me tell you how I met Henri. I was in college and I was walking back to my dorm. I was walking along and this guy comes walking along beside me. We talked for a while and went on a date that night. We talked for hours and had a connection. We got engaged a year later and married six months later. We've been married for fifty five years. He never thought of getting married cause it scared him. He said I was different from all the other women. He said it was fate and that we're soulmates. Come on, get yourself together and come back out."
I looked at myself in the mirror. I wiped away the tears and retouched it with eyeliner. Ten minutes later, I left the bathroom and walked to the table.
"Is everything ok?" Ranger asked.
"Yes fine." I said as music started.
"Would you like to dance?" Henri asked Marlene.
"Sure." said Marlene getting up winking at me.
I watched them walk to the dance floor.
"Did I tell you how beautiful you are tonight?" Ranger asked.
"Yes you did."
"I'm telling you again."
"Thank you." I said.
I watched the couple dancing and saw how happy they were.
"Would you like to dance?" Ranger asked.
"Sure."
He took my hand and led to me the dance floor. His hands were soft and warm. He put my right hand on his chest where his heart is and kept his hand on mine. His other hand was on the small of my back. My left arm was resting on his neck. He held me tightly. Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers started playing.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
I said yes. He pushed away a little and we looked at each other.
"Yes I'm ok."
"I have something to tell you Stephanie. I've been rehearsing what I want to say to you all day today. I'm in love with you and I've been in love since the Scrog incident. I'm glad you broke things off with Morelli. This on again/off again is not a relationship."
"Oh yeah! What do you know about relationships, Mr I'm Not Relationship Material, Love Me Your Own Way crap. You really hurt me when said that. Oh, and another, your love doesn't come with a ring, only a condom. Am I just one those women you sleep around with and forget about?"
"No your not. I do regret saying those words, but I don't regret sleeping with you. I want to wake up with you every morning, making passionate love. I want you in my life, without you, I'm nothing."
I noticed his eyes watering like he was going to cry.
"I'm nothing without you either. I love you also."
We kissed. His lips were warm and inviting. We put our arms around each and deepened the kiss. Then I felt a vibration.
"Your phone is vibrating."
Ranger pulled his phone out of his pant pocket and spoke.
"Yo." Ranger said listening then hung up.
"I need to get back to Rangeman. Tank caught something. Would you like to come along?"
"Yes I would."
We left hand in hand.
"Did you any feeling about Marlene and Henri? Was anything off?"
"Marlene's facial expression when you mentioned Jake stealing and Marlene's dream about owning a jewelry store and all. It just looks like she is hiding something."
We arrived at Rangeman five minutes later. We quickly went up to five. Tank was working at his computer.
"What have you got?" asked Ranger.
Tank typed on the keyboard and a picture came up.
"I think we have our thieves."
We watched the video. Marlene and Henri were taking the money out of the safe and putting it in the bag.
"Do they know there is a camera in there?" I asked.
"No." said Ranger.
"I'm sure they will be calling you about who stole the money." I said.
"They will probably call in the morning. I'm taking Babe back to her apartment." Ranger said grabbing my hand.
"Hey Boss."
Ranger turned around.
"It's about time you got your head out of your ass."
"I will be offline till ten tomorrow. If Henri calls tell him I will call him back."
Ranger grabbed my hand as he was driving me back to my apartment. When we got out of the car, grabbed a duffel bag out of the back of the car and walked to my apartment. He unlocked the door and checked the place out.
"All clear."
I locked the door as Ranger gathered me in his arms. We kissed deeply.
"I meant what said earlier at the restaurant. I really love you and want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to marry and have a little boy or girl. What do you think?"
"I think that sounds wonderful." I said kissing him. The kiss deepened. He unzipped my dress and I was just standing in my bra and panties. I took off his jacket and shirt. He lifted up me and put on me the bed. We continued kissing. I then peeled off his pants as he peeled off my bra and panties. He got on top of as we kissed deeply. He spread my legs apart we he entered me. He felt so go deep inside me. He kissed me all over down to my doodah. I clutched the sheets as his tongue worked its magic. When he came back up I rolled him over on his back. We both climaxed at the same time and fell asleep in each others arms.
Chapter 2
The next morning, I awoke in Babe's arms. She had her head on my shoulder. She was so beautiful sleeping. The clock read five thirty. I get up at five every morning to excercise, but I decided not to today. If I got up to go running and Steph woke up to find me not in bed, she would worry. I don't want to make anymore mistakes with Steph. I quietly got up and went in to shower. A few minutes later, I walked out of the bathroom and Steph will still asleep. I went to the kitchen to make coffee. I brought both our mugs with me. I put the mug under her nose. She stirred and moved on her back.
"Good morning." Ranger said.
She opened her eyes and looked at me and smiled.
"Good morning."
She kissed me and took the coffee mug.
"Mmmm, good. When did you get up?" I asked.
"Five thirty. I got up to shower and made coffee."
"Thank you."
We talked some more and by seven I headed into the shower and I made breakfast. After she was done in the bathroom, she came into the kitchen and looked at the plate on the counter.
"It's a vegetable omelette. Eat it."
"What's in it?"
"Tomatos, cheese, mushrooms."
"Now is a great time for a donut run."
"Not today."
By eight, I turned on my phone. A message was left on my phone by Henri.
"I just checked my message from Henri. I'm going to call him back and tell him to meet us at Rangeman for 10. They will tell us what happened and we'll show them the proof that they did it."
I called Tank and gave him an update and told him the plan. Steph and I left her apartment by nine thirty. We set everything up in the conference room. Henri and Marlene arrived at exactly ten. Lester escorted them in the coference room. I sat at the head of the table, Stephanie was to my right. Henri and Marlene sat to my left. They told us what happened.
"Before we do anything, I want you to take a look at something." said Ranger.
Tank put the laptop in front of them. They watched the whole thing. When it was done, Tank closed up the laptop and left the room. Henri and Marlene had stunned looks on their faces. They confessed to their crime and escorted out where the police were waiting for them outside. Stephanie wanted to go back to her apartment to get her car and go to the bonds office to see if she had any skips. She did that while I got some paperwork done. Later that day, I called Steph to see if she wanted to have dinner with me on seven at six. She happily agreed. She arrived at exactly six. Ella brought up dinner a few minutes after Steph arrived. We had chicken with broccoli
"How was your day?" Ranger asked.
"Good. I had three skips and they cooperated very well. How was yours?"
"Good. Got paperwork done and caught up. Babe, I have something to ask you. I want to know if you wanted to work full time here and do searches and quit working for Vinnie. I also want to know if want to move in with me and leave your apartment for good. I'll let you think it over..."
Next thing I knew, she on my lap kissing me.
"I think it's a wonderful idea."
"I also have another question to ask."
I pulled the small velvet box out of my pocket. She had a stunned look on her face. She took it and opened it.
"Stephanie Michelle Plum, will you marry me?"
"Yes I will marry you."
I slipped the ring on her finger.
"I love you Babe."
"I love you Carlos."
We kissed passionately and made our way to the bedroom and onto forever.