Chapter 4 – Dante is in Danger

Dante flew out on a flight before Lulu's so he could be waiting when she arrived. She got off the plane and he followed her to where her car and driver were waiting. He got in a cab behind her car and followed her all of the way to her swanky hotel. He knew he couldn't afford a room here so he checked in to the cheaper hotel next door. Then he sat in the lobby of her hotel and waited.

Several hours later, she came down looking beautiful in a cocktail dress with her hair up. She went into the hotel bar and Dante decided to make himself known. He went to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Dante! What are you doing here? You have to leave right now!" She said frantically, looking around.

"Lulu, what's going on? Why are you in Paris in a beautiful dress?" He asked, ignoring her demands that he leave.

Lulu needed to get Dante out of here before Ronaldo arrived and saw him. "Dante, I need you to listen to me. You HAVE to leave right now."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on. Are you in some kind of trouble?"

It was too late, Ronaldo was heading over to them right now. Lulu had to think fast. "Play along." She whispered in his ear.

"Trixie! So glad you could come!" Ronaldo said as he came up to her and kissed her on both cheeks. "The party tomorrow is going to be fantastic. Who is this?" He said turning his attention to Dante.

"Ronaldo, this is my fiancé Dominic. Dominic this is Ronaldo, the guy I told you about who has the connections to get those pretty jewels that you know I like so much."

"Nice to finally meet you." Dante said as he stuck out his hand. What in the world was going on here? Lulu was running some kind of con but he couldn't yet tell what it was. "I thought you said your fiancé couldn't make it." Ronaldo asked.

"He's usually too busy to come on trips with me but I insisted he come this time. Paris is such a romantic city." Lulu said, as she kissed Dante on the cheek. "He can't say no to me."

"Could you say no to a woman this beautiful?" Dante asked Ronaldo, playing along.

They all had a drink together and chatted. Dante tried to keep his conversation generic as to not blow their cover. Lulu obviously knew this man from previous dealings. After they said their goodbyes and Ronaldo left, Lulu turned to Dante looking furious. "We need to go up to the room now."

Dante didn't protest and followed her out of the bar to the elevator. They arrived at her suite and she let him inside. Once she shut the door she whirled around and slapped him.

"How dare you follow me here!"

"Lulu, I love you. I was worried that you were in some kind of trouble and I knew you wouldn't ask for my help if you were." Dante said, hoping for her understanding.

"I'm not in any trouble nor do I need or want your help. I'm helping my dad out of trouble."

"I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to mess up whatever you have going on here. I just can't ever seem to do the right thing these days Lulu and all I want to do is make things right."

Her cell phone rang and she saw that it was Liam calling. "Hi." She answered.

"How did the meeting go in the hotel bar?" Liam asked.

"Not quite as planned. My ex followed me and I had to introduce him to Ronaldo. He now thinks that Dante is the wealthy fiancé I told him about during our first meeting."

"Did Dante play along?" Liam asked.

"Yes, Ronaldo didn't suspect anything."

"Can you trust him to keep up the charade through the party tomorrow night?" Liam wanted to know if this could be salvaged.

"He has undercover experience as you know but I don't want him involved in this!" Lulu insisted.

"I'm sorry Lulu. I know it's awkward but it is too late. You have to bring him to the party tomorrow if you think he can handle it." Liam said.

Lulu sighed. She knew he was right but hated the idea. "I know he can handle it."

"We'll have a tux sent over to your hotel. You need to put your personal feelings aside and get the job done. I know you can do this." Liam encouraged.

"Thanks. I'll keep you updated." Lulu said and then hung up.

She turned to Dante. "Now that you have involved yourself, I have no choice but to bring you with me to this party tomorrow. If I show up without you then Ronaldo is going to get suspicious. Where are you staying?"

"Well I couldn't afford this place so I booked a room at the cheap place next door."

"Go get your stuff and bring it here. We need to keep up appearances that you are my fiancé. Now that you are involved in this I need you to commit to it 100%. I can't blow this."

He knew he should just do what he was told. Even though he knew she was furious, at least she wouldn't be able to run away from him again until after the party. "I'll be right back." Dante practically ran to his hotel, quickly checked out and then went back to Lulu's hotel and knocked on the door. She opened it wearing her nightgown with her face scrubbed clean of make-up. She always looked gorgeous all dressed up to go out but seeing her like this with her natural beauty always melted his heart.

Lulu ushered him inside and he took a real look around the suite for the first time. It was huge with French doors that led to a bedroom. The couch in the living room where he assumed he would be sleeping looked very uncomfortable.

"Here is a key to the room." Lulu said handing it to him. "The bathroom is through the bedroom. You will obviously be sleeping on the couch. Tomorrow night we have to go to this party thrown by Ronaldo. They will send a tux here for you to wear. I'm hoping he will introduce me to the leader of the jewel ring. Once I get the information I need then we can end this farce. "

"Lulu, I really am sorry that I almost blew your cover. If anyone should know better it's me. I just got a little crazy when you moved and quit your job and then wouldn't tell me what was going on. I was terrified that something was going to happen to you."

Lulu didn't say anything but her eyes softened towards him. She nodded and then went into the bedroom. Dante followed her. "Do you mind if I take a shower? It has been a long day."

"No, go ahead." Lulu said as she tried not to think about him naked in the shower or how they used to make love in the shower all of the time.

Lulu was reading in the huge king size bed when he came out with wet hair and dressed in sweatpants and no shirt. She tried not to stare at his muscular chest.

"Lulu, how did you get involved in this? I know you want to get your dad out of trouble but what kind of trouble? Who are you working for?"

"I can't tell you that and considering you involved yourself in this by following me, I don't feel as though I owe you any explanations. Particularly to someone who spent months not giving me any explanations. I told them you could handle this and I'm hoping you don't prove me wrong."

"You're right. You don't owe me anything. I'm just concerned about you."

"Goodnight Dante." Lulu said, effectively ending the conversation. She couldn't tell him anything about her new job. She just needed to get through this mission and then figure out how to proceed after that.

"Goodnight Lulu." He said as he made his way over to the antique couch that looked uncomfortable for sitting, nevermind sleeping. Lulu watched him try to lie down on it every which way until finally she knew she had to let him sleep in the bed.

"Dante" She called.

He got up and came to the door of the bedroom. "Yes beautiful?"

"You can sleep in the bed as long as you stay on your side and keep your hands to yourself."

Dante breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. I didn't know how I was going to sleep on that couch."

He walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed in. It was huge and there was still plenty of space between them. Lulu put her book down and shut off the light.

Both of them lay there in the dark, unable to fall asleep right away.

"Lulu?"

"Yes?"

"I really miss you. I miss us."

Lulu eyes filled with tears in the darkness. "I miss who I thought we were." She turned on her side away from him and he could hear her sniffling. It broke his heart even more that she was hurting so badly and he was the cause.

"I'm sorry. I know I messed everything up. I love you." Dante said. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and make it better. He knew he couldn't do that though. Lulu didn't say anything back. Eventually her breathing was even and he knew she was asleep. He couldn't believe he and Lulu were sharing a bed and he couldn't hold her or kiss her.

Lulu woke up the next morning cuddled up next to Dante with her arm around his waist and her head resting in the crook of his arm. Sometime in the night she had unconsciously sought him out. She was mortified. She looked up hoping he was still asleep and didn't notice but he was staring at her. She quickly sat up in bed.

"I'm sorry, I must have drifted in my sleep." Lulu said, completely embarrassed.

"I'm not." Dante said simply.

"Old habits die hard I guess." Lulu said with her face flushed.

"Maybe subconsciously you miss me too." Dante said.

"Dante, I do miss you. I miss the guy I thought you were and the way I thought you loved me. It was all an illusion though. It wasn't real."

"Lulu, it was real. It still is real. I love you."

"I hear you say those words but they don't mean anything when your actions tell a different story. I can't go around wondering all of the time if you are telling me the truth. I won't allow you to make a fool of me again."

"Lulu please"

"Stop. Let's just get through this party and then we can go our separate ways again. There is no need to keep rehashing when it doesn't change anything."

"I'm not going to give up on us." Dante said stubbornly. "What do I need to know for this party?" He asked, changing the subject before she could tell him he should give up.

"You already know everything I am going to tell you. We just have to pretend to be engaged and you will follow my lead when dealing with Ronaldo and his associates." Lulu said tartly. She got out of bed and stormed into the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later she came out showered and dressed for the day.

"Where are you going?" Dante asked as he climbed out of bed.

"The party isn't until tonight. I'm going to go visit my mom and then go see the sites of Paris." Lulu said as she put her phone, keys and wallet in her bag.

"Can I join you? I have never been here. I don't even know what to see." Dante said earnestly.

Lulu sighed.

"Please Lulu? I don't know my way around." Dante pleaded with her. He didn't tell her that the real reason, besides just wanting to spend time with her, was that he was worried about whatever dangerous situation she had gotten involved in and didn't want to let her out of his sight.

"Fine but don't get the wrong idea. I just don't want you going out on your own, getting lost and missing the party." Lulu acquiesced.

"I'll be ready in ten minutes." Dante said as he rushed into the bathroom. He came out ten minutes later freshly showered and dressed. "Where to first?"

"I suppose we should get some coffee and breakfast. I know a place near here." Lulu said as she headed out the door.

They ate breakfast at a little café around the corner from the hotel and then headed over to the medical facility where Laura was living. Lulu hadn't told Dante but in recent months her mother had taken a turn for the worse. She went in and out of her catatonic state and sometime had trouble remembering who she was. She called ahead and they told her that Laura was having one of her bad days but Lulu wanted to see her anyway. "I'll just wait for you out here so you can have some privacy with your mom." Dante offered. Lulu nodded and headed in to Laura's room.

"Hi mom!" Lulu said brightly. Laura stared straight ahead. "They told me you were having a tough day." Lulu said grabbing her hand and sitting down.

"So anyway, I'm here doing some work. Dad's gotten himself in a bit of a jam and I'm just helping him out of it. Nothing to be worried about, you know how dad is. Dante followed me here. We aren't together anymore. He told me some lies about some important stuff and I can't trust him anymore." Lulu paused as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I thought he was the one. I still love him very much and he says he loves me but if he loved me then he would haven't told all of those lies to protect another woman." Lulu wiped her tears. "I miss you mom. Every day. It's times like this that I wish I had you to talk to." Laura still sat staring straight ahead. Lulu hugged her goodbye and headed back out into the waiting room.

Dante stood up to greet her. "That was fast. Lulu what's wrong?" He said as soon as he saw her tear stained face.

"My mom hasn't been doing well for the past few months. She is unresponsive today." Lulu started to cry again. Dante stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and cried. "I miss her so much." He rubbed her back and held her just letting her cry. After a few minutes she stepped back, embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"Lulu you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry about your mom. I'm also sorry you didn't feel like you could talk to me about it." Dante said feeling terrible that she was going through it alone all of these months. "Do you want me to take you back to the hotel?" Dante asked caressing her arm.

"No, let's go see Paris." Lulu said, turning around to head out the door. Lulu put her feelings about her mom aside and managed to have a nice day. They toured around Paris, climbing the Eiffel Tower, visiting Notre Dame, touring around the Louvre. Dante was enamored with Paris. He had only been out of the country once before to go to Ireland with Lulu. He had hoped they would go to Paris together one day but he wished they were under more romantic circumstances.

They got back to their hotel late in the afternoon. Dante's tux was hanging in the closet with Lulu's gown. Lulu flopped onto the couch and slipped off her shoes. "My feet hurt from all of that walking. I don't know how I'm going to manage my heels tonight."

"I can give you a foot rub." Dante offered with a grin.

"No thank you." Lulu said politely.

"I had a really good time with you today Lulu. I never thought I would climb the Eiffel tower or see Notre Dame in person. Thank you for letting me tag along." Dante said sitting next to her on the couch.

Lulu's cell phone rang and she dug it out of her purse to answer it. It was Liam checking in before the party.

"Hi Lulu, are you all set for tonight?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Lulu answered.

"Are you and the ex getting along? I don't want tension between you two to distract you from the mission. Are you sure he can handle this?"

"We are getting along fine. I'm sure he can handle this. If there is one thing he does well it is lying." Lulu said, getting a little dig in there.

Dante knew she was talking about him and he knew she wasn't wrong. He was a good liar.

"Okay. Text me afterwards and we can meet to debrief. I'll want you to bring Dante with you so I can express the importance of not blowing your cover once you get back home."

"Are you sure he should meet you? That just gives him even more information."

"Yes, I'm sure. We may need his help down the road."

"Okay. I'll bring him." Lulu agreed. She hoped they would not need Dante down the road.

"Good luck tonight."

"Thanks, I'll talk to you later." Lulu hung up the phone. "We have to meet someone after the party tonight."

Dante just nodded without saying anything. This was her show and he was going to do what she said. The least he could do after almost blowing the whole thing was cooperate.

"I should go get ready." Lulu went into the bedroom and closed the door. An hour later she came out dressed and ready for the party. She was wearing a royal blue gown with a plunging back. Her necklace was made of huge sapphires and diamonds and she wore a sparkling engagement ring on her left hand. Her hair was up in an elegant twist. Dante was speechless when he saw her.

"You can use the room now to get dressed if you want." Lulu offered.

Dante finally found his voice. "You look amazing."

Lulu blushed. "Thank you." She was uncomfortable with his staring. "We have to leave in a little while so you should probably get ready."

"Right, sorry." Dante snapped out of it and went into the bedroom to get ready. He came out fifteen minutes later dressed in his tux. He looked devastatingly handsome. It made Lulu wistful that they wouldn't ever get the chance to go out dressed up like this for real.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Ready." He said as he offered her his arm.