A/N: Thank you all again for reading. I was feeling a little bit apprehensive about parts of this chapter so any words of wisdom you might have would be welcome.

Chapter 3

"Andie, you look like you're about to go postal on somebody. What the hell is wrong?" Dominic had dealt with Andrea's crappy mood all day and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. The dark cloud over her head and her brooding made the tour feel exceptionally long.

"Leave it alone, Dominic." Andrea snapped, her glare enough to have most people running for the hills. For such a petite woman, she had one helluva bark and an even worse bite.

Dominic rolled his eyes. "Andie, we go through this all the time. Why not just talk to me and get whatever is pissing you off off your chest so we can get on with our day? You know you feel better after you talk to me."

Andrea frowned; she knew what Dominic was saying was true but she wasn't sure she was ready to open that can of worms with him yet. She glanced at Dominic and she knew that eventually she was going to have to tell him. After fifteen minutes of silence, Andrea spoke up. "Fine. You know that guy I was telling you about? In the park?"

Dominic turned his full attention to his partner, definitely interested. "Yeah? What about him?"

Andrea smiled, remembering her morning jog and breakfast with Shane. "Well, we talked. We jogged together and had breakfast. He's really sweet, not to mention smart and successful. Doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes, either."

Dominic's look of interest changed to confusion. What was her problem if she had such a good morning? "Andie... this does not sound like it should lead to you having a shitty day..."

Andrea sighed, "I know, Dom. It's just... we're about to leave the diner, right? He, of course, insists upon paying the tab. When he goes to pay, that's when I see it..."

"See what? An unsightly wart? He only has three fingers?"

Andrea flips Dominic the bird. "No. The wedding ring."

Dominic raises an eyebrow. "Wedding ring, huh? That explains a little bit of this hostility. But Andie, do you really think he would be going for more than friendship if he is married? I mean, come on... if he was cheating, the ring would be out of sight. I know mine would be, if I had one."

"I don't know what to think, Dom. I really, really like Shane. It seems like more of a connection than simple friendship. Perhaps I'm projecting but I thought he kinda felt the spark, too."

Dominic reached over, rubbing Andrea's shoulder soothingly. "You want me to feel him out? Make sure he's not some jerk trying to screw with you?"

Andrea shook her head adamantly. "No, Dom. I don't want any meddling. No snooping, no playing Dad and trying to scare him off or threatening him with your gun. I'll just ask him about it when I feel the time is right. Besides, he has said he would call me. Tonight. If he doesn't, well... then it doesn't matter what he does or how threatening you can be. It will show me that it wasn't meant to be."

Dominic nodded, "Okay. But you let me know if you change your mind. Nobody's gonna hurt my partner and get away with it."

Andrea smiled gratefully at Dominic. Even if he was a pain in the ass, he was a good friend. "Thanks, Dom."

"Anytime, kiddo."

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Shane arrived at his sister's office to pick up his son, Declan. Stephanie had been keeping an eye on the boy while Shane had a business meeting to attend. He poked his head into the room, grinning broadly when Declan immediately spotted him. "Daddy!"

Shane crossed the room, being met halfway by his son, who grabbed onto his leg in a fierce hug, well as fierce a hug as a two-year old could muster. Shane ruffled his hair. "Hey, little man. Were you good for your Aunt Stephie?"

Stephanie smiled, looking up at her brother, watching him with his son. It was amazing to her how much Declan favored Shane. Aside from the blonde hair. "He's always good, Shane. Hardly a peep out of him. He sits there and plays with his toys or colors. Don't you, short stuff?"

Declan smiled almost shyly, "Yes Auntie Stephie."

Shane scooped up the boy, giving him a overexuberant hug, earning a giggle out of Declan. "Thanks for watching him Steph. I owe you."

Stephanie smirked. This was the opening she was waiting for. "So if you owe me, why don't you tell me what has you so da- darn chipper today?"

Shane rolled his eyes. He knew this would be coming. "I had breakfast with someone..."

Stephanie quirked an eyebrow. "A special someone?"

"Yeah, I would say that's a fair assessment. She seems like somebody I could become close to."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Shane... that is such a generic answer. Here's a different question: Will you see her again?"

Shane smiled, nodding. "Actually, yes. I'm going to call her on the way home and invite her to dinner."

"Dinner at home or dinner out?"

"How did I end up with such a nosy little sister?" Shane smiled and kissed Stephanie on the forehead. "I'll let you know. We'll see how it goes."

Stephanie shook her head. That was all she was going to get out of Shane for now. "You had better fill me in. Full story, right after your date, Shane-O. Otherwise I'm gonna sick Mom on you..."

Shane chuckled. "Okay, okay. Fair enough. I'll talk to you later, sis."

"Bye Shane... bye Declan."

"Bye Auntie Stephie!" Declan hid his little face in his father's neck as Shane carried him out of the office.

Shane smiled and left with Declan, heading back to their home. On the way there he pulled out his cell, looking up Andrea's number and hitting 'call'. On about the fourth ring, her voice came over the line. "Foster."

Shane smiled. "Hey, Foster. It's me, Shane."

Her smile was evident through the phone. "Hi, Shane. Sorry if I came across a little abrupt. How was your day?"

Shane felt relieved that she was in a good mood; apparently he was reading too much into her sudden departure this morning. "I have had a great day. Just heading back home now. Are you still working?"

"No, I just checked out. I'm officially off the clock."

"So do you have any plans tonight? If not I was thinking maybe I could invite you over for dinner..."

There was a short pause before she spoke again. "Dinner sounds nice. Really nice. Do I have time to go home and shower? You might have second thoughts if I came over as I am."

Shane laughed softly. "By all means, shower. Take your time. What is your favorite kind of food? I can have it ready to be served by the time you get here."

Her soft laugh sounded like heaven to his ears. "Don't worry. I'll make sure I have no funk from the day left on me before I leave. And Italian... I love Italian food. You prepare spaghetti and meatballs or chicken alfredo and I will be in heaven."

"Done deal. So I can expect you at seven? Seven-thirty maybe?"

"Absolutely. I'll see you then, Shane."

"I can't wait. See you then, Andie. Bye." Shane ended the call, a warm, happy feeling coursing through him. He quickened his pace once he got off of the subway, carefully cradling his now sleeping son as made his way home. He wanted everything to be ready when Andrea arrived.

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Andrea hung up the phone with a bright smile on her face. The fact that Shane called her had quelled a lot of her inner turmoil. He surely wouldn't call if he was married, right? He definitely wouldn't invite her to his home if he had a wife. Feeling the inner peace that she had lacked the majority of the day she headed for home. She was glad that she lived fairly close to her precinct as well as being thankful that she lived in Manhattan. If she had lived elsewhere there would be no way for her to make it to Shane's place by seven.

She quickly dropped her purse after closing the door and setting her alarm. She had to shower and change. What should she wear? She didn't want to appear to take the invitation too casual but at the same time she wasn't exactly in the mood for dress up. She opted for a pair of black jeans that hugged her curves just right and a deep blue sweater. Once she had decided she quickly went about getting prepared to head over to see Shane.

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Shane glanced at his watch and tried not to pace in the great room. It was already seven forty-five. He didn't know Andrea very well but he didn't think that she was the type of person to be anything but punctual. He blew out a nervous breath; what if she had changed her mind? He ran a hand through his hair and was just about to call her when the doorbell rang. Shane quickly made his way to the door, relieved to see that Andrea was on the other side. After a pause to gather himself, Shane opened the door. "Andie, hi. Come on in..."

Andrea walked inside as Shane had stepped aside to grant her entrance. "I am so, so sorry Shane. I was on my way here and ran into a situation..." She looked up at him, her brown eyes full of apology.

Shane smiled, shaking his head. "Hey, it's probably something I should get used to, right? If by a situation you mean something that a police officer would have to rectify..."

Andrea nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant. I mean... I'm supposed to be off the clock. Of course when I have somewhere to be I would have to mediate a domestic dispute."

Shane chuckled softly. "You must play referee a lot." He closed the door and lead Andrea into the great room, gesturing towards the couch. Andrea sat down, pulling one of her socked feet up under her. She had slipped her shoes off at the door.

"Yeah, you have no idea. And the ridiculous things they fight about... I could write a book." She smiles, watching as Shane joined her on the couch. She turned her body a little to face him. "Again, I am so sorry."

Shane waved a hand. "No need to apologize. I'm just glad you're here and you're safe."

It warmed Andrea's heart to hear his words. "You are entirely too sweet."

"Depends on who you are and what my business is with you."

She raised an eyebrow. "You are telling me you are a hard ass? I can't see it..."

"Oh I have it in me. Bred into me from the time I was little. My Dad is one of those people who wanted nothing more than to have the world at his feet and showed his only son how to accomplish the same."

"Right, right. Mr. Tycoon. I swear you honestly don't strike me as the type."

He laughed softly. "Thanks, I think."

"It's a compliment, trust me. Most business people I come across strike me as the arrogant jerks they are. I get the feeling you're only a jerk when necessary."

"Kind of like the nice guy who plays an ass on TV?"

She laughs, nodding. "Exactly." Her eyes were mostly locked on his while engaged in conversation but they drifted a couple of times to his left hand. Yup, still there. It wasn't a figment of her imagination.

Shane, for his part, didn't observe her doing so. "So dinner's ready. You hungry?"

Andrea nodded, standing when Shane did, letting him lead her into the dining room area. "Extremely hungry. I haven't had much since breakfast."

She took in the surroundings. Track lighting that was clearly dimmed for a date feel, two plates that are obscured by silver covers, a small basket with garlic bread and a small salad for each of them. He had picked out a bottle of red wine to compliment the meal, a Chianti. She sat at the table as he pulled out a chair for her, reaching to place her napkin on her lap.

Shane watched as she took everything in, wanting to gauge her reaction. Her eyes met his and he could tell she was pleased. In his mind he was doing a little victory dance.

"This is a beautiful setup. You put a lot of work into this... a lot of thought."

He shrugged one shoulder, smiling a pleased smile. "I thought it would be a nice contrast to the Average Joe meal we had this morning."

Andrea nodded, "It is. Its perfect, actually."

They fell into comfortable conversation as they began eating. He told Andrea of his day in the office and his business dealings and she in turn told Shane about the rather dull day she had on the job filled with going through records and files for a case. Once they were pleasantly full they migrated back to the great room, wine flutes still in hand. Before they could be seated on the couch again, pictures on the mantle above his beautiful marble fireplace caught her eye. She walked over to examine them more closely.

Shane walked up, standing next to her. "My family. This is my Dad and Mom. That's my sister Stephanie and her husband Paul."

Andrea saw a picture of Shane with a beautiful brunette woman. "And her?"

Shane caught sight of the picture of himself and Marissa, biting the inside of his cheek. "That's my wife, Marissa. Well... she was my wife. She... she died."

Andrea turned to Shane, seeing the pain in his eyes. "Oh... I'm so sorry, Shane." She reached and placed a hand gently on his arm, wanting to give him some sort of strength of comfort. The look in his eyes was heartbreaking. And the ring still on his finger made perfect sense.

Shane looked down, first at her hand on his arm, then up to meet her eyes. He blinked back the threatening tears, swallowing thickly. "Its not your fault. You had no idea. She's... I had been with her from the time we were teenagers. We grew up together. She died two years ago and it's still hard for me to talk about."

Andrea was curious about what happened but did not want to pry further. She didn't want to cause him any more pain. "I can only imagine how you must feel. I can see how hard it is on you still."

"Most days are okay now but there are some... it's all I can do to function."

She nodded, gently squeezing his arm, a reassurance. She had her own experience with death so at least she had some sort of understanding. "Hey, what do you say we change the subject, huh? Maybe sit down and have some more wine?"

The depth of thanks and relief in his eyes was almost overwhelming. "Yeah, let's." He walked with her over to sit down on the sofa, both of them resuming their positions from earlier.

Andrea lead the conversation into easier, lighter territory. Trivial things such as their tastes in music - they both adored Nickelback - to their favorite movies - Action flicks were by far the most popular with both. Before long Shane's easy smile had returned which brought Andrea a sense of relief. She had no idea how she could feel so strongly for someone like she did Shane in such a short amount of time. All she knew was that she couldn't stand the idea of him being upset and she would walk through fire to make him feel better.

Finally, around midnight, Shane glanced at his watch. "Oh man... it's late. Do you have to work tomorrow?"

Andrea brought up her schedule on her Blackberry. "Uh... no. Luckily I don't." She looked up at Shane. "I bet you do though, don't you?"

Shane nodded to the affirmative. "Yes. I do."

"I should get going and let you get to bed." Andrea stood, making her way over to the door so she could get her shoes on.

Shane followed her over to the door, asking, "Will you be able to get home safely?"

Andrea stood once her shoes were on, nodding. "I will be fine. Thank you for a wonderful evening."

Shane leaned in, gently kissing her cheek. "Right back at you."

He opened the door to let Andrea out and she stepped out, saying before she headed for the elevator. "Good night, Shane. I'll talk to you later."

"Goodnight, Andie." He watched as she got onto the elevator, not closing his door until the elevator doors had closed. He leaned back against the door after locking it and sighed heavily. His emotions were all jumbled and he didn't know what he was going to do next in regards to Andrea. All he did know right now is that he was beat. He pushed himself away from the door and headed to his bedroom to get some sleep before he had to work the following day.