Here's another update of this crazy one. Thanks for reading and the feedback and hope you enjoy it! Summer's got the muse going crazy.

Now that shocked C.J. away from her morning. What the hell was Matt's ex-fiancée doing at the office and why did she want to see him after they broke off their engagement six months ago?

She hadn't just given him back his engagement ring after wearing it for about five minutes; their wedding had been stopped at the last minute by one of Matt's enemies seeking revenge and even after Matt had saved the day once again, the couple didn't pick up where they had left off.

Her walking out on him hadn't devastated Matt but it had hurt him. Only about two months ago, he had decided to stop mourning that disappointment and put himself out in circulation again and he had been quite busy hanging out at charity functions, galas and parties with a different attractive woman on his arm each time. It put the gossip columnists in a tizzy when speculating about his personal relationships but for him it was about returning his life on its normal track.

But now Elizabeth had come back.

C.J. looked at Roy who had returned to reading his newspaper as if the return of Matt's wayward fiancée hadn't fazed him but it had knocked C.J. through a loop and how she had to cover that up with a smile because Elizabeth had clearly been directed to the lounge. She smiled when she saw C.J.

"Hello there," she said, "It's been…a while."

C.J nodded, shaking her hand. Elizabeth's hair had been cut, to where its reddish curls framed her face but didn't reach below her shoulders. She wore a business suit and a beret that went together quite nicely.

"Is Matlock here yet?"

"No he's probably struck in traffic," C.J. said, "I'm sure he'll be here shortly. We have a business meeting."

"I won't take up much of his time," Elizabeth said, "I didn't tell him I was coming."

C.J. figured as much because if Matt had known, he would be here. She suspected that a part of him hadn't put their engagement entirely in the past. But why was Elizabeth here and what did she want?

"It's just business," Elizabeth said, sitting down, "It won't take that long."

Her voice sounded a bit odd to C.J. as if she had never met Matt let alone been engaged to him. Elizabeth had looked around the suite in a detached manner as she held onto her purse.

"Elizabeth," she said, "You do know that Matt was quite heartbroken when you two broke up."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Yes I do," she said, "I was very sad as well but there was no way I could live a half life where I could go days without seeing or hearing from him and then read online on Twitter that he had been killed."

C.J. knew that Matt's career had its downsides and both the unpredictable nature and risks were two of them but she also knew when you loved someone, you embraced that entire person. She understood why Elizabeth might be hesitant of a future with Matt but she didn't know why she would just throw out the baby with the bathwater. No, not with a body like that, no but it was the lifelong friendship between them that made her hesitate to embrace Elizabeth's return now. But apparently Matt's former fiancée couldn't pick that up, trying to plead her case to her on why they had broken up. Still, she didn't look very happy just standing there, clutching her purse even with her expensive haircut and custom tailored clothes.

"You do understand don't you?"

A part of C.J. did but a larger part felt badly for her best friend who she had taken care of after his almost-wedding just as he had been there for her when she had broken up with Robert, even during the most difficult part. If Elizabeth had changed her mind and returned to patch things up with him, how would Matt respond?

Would he take her back and would they decide to try this marriage thing again? C.J. tried to imagine that and couldn't because after all in the past few months, it had been out of sight out of mind as far as Matt had been concerned.

Apparently that hadn't been the case with Elizabeth. But the woman had already looked past C.J. towards someone else and judging by the sound of a pair of cowboy boots on the floor, Matt had arrived in the building.

"Elizabeth…"

He sounded stunned and Elizabeth smiled weakly in response.

"Oh Matlock, it's so good to see you again."

Matt smiled but C.J. read the wariness on his face. The part of him which still felt Elizabeth's departure out of his life and that kept him that smile from reaching his eyes.

"Why are you here Elizabeth?"

Oh leave it to Matt to cut right through the chase, C.J. thought but she'd never blame him for that after what had happened to him. C.J. went over to the wet bar to pour herself a juice while Roy went to follow a lead on a case. She turned to face Matt and Elizabeth.

"I'll talk to you about the case when you're finished here," she said, "We've got to make a decision."

Matt nodded.

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

C.J. shook her head.

"Take as much time here as you need Houston."

With that she headed into her office, leaving Matt to face his fiancée alone. He asked Elizabeth if she wanted anything to drink and she demurred.

"I won't take up much of your time Matt," she said, sitting down.

He joined her after pouring himself a Scotch. A bit early in the day to be hitting the hard stuff but walking in and seeing her again had nearly knocked him over. She clasped her hands together and rested them on her lap.

"So what is it," he asked.

She didn't answer for a long moment but she looked at him thoughtfully.

"I don't know where to begin," she said, "Except that I owe you an apology."

"No you don't," he said, "We both walked away from our engagement."

She sighed.

"I know but my words, they must have hurt you," she said, "I could have chosen them better."

He shook his head.

"You told me the truth Elizabeth and you're right, it never would have worked between us," he said, "It took me a while to realize it but we were right to walk away from each other."

Her face changed its expression and she didn't look happy. Now he felt perplexed because his explanation made a lot of sense to him. They had fallen in love, engaged in a whirlwind courtship, got engaged for several days and then had cold feet. What else was there to add to that chain of events?

Elizabeth fidgeted with her hair.

"Matt…I need your help."

That caught him off guard because for a minute, it sounded more like she wanted to get back together with him.

"What kind of help?"

She tensed on the couch.

"I was the sole beneficiary in an uncle's will regarding his estate," she said, "I had no idea this relative even existed because he lived back in Ireland on a rural farm but he had a lot of land that's highly valuable."

Matt waited for her to proceed, sipping his drink.

"He died a month ago and the will's in probate until…"

She paused and looked away from him.

"Until what?"

"I fulfill a codicil at the bottom of the document," she said, "I can only inherit the money if…I get married by the end of the week."

Matt just stared at her.

"Don't tell me…"

She sighed even more deeply this time.

"We were going to get married and swear our lives to one another and I threw that away," she said, "I hurt you and myself and I just think that fate through the last will and testament of a distant relative I didn't know I have has afforded us a second chance."

He looked at her warily.

"A second chance to get married?"

She nodded.

"Oh come on Matt, we came so close six months ago," she said, "Why not give it a second chance for us to really build something special together?"

He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"So you could inherit your uncle's land…"

"Well yeah that would be a bonus," she said, "What we had was already so special."

Matt finished up his Scotch in one long swallow, burning his throat but he didn't feel it. He left her to pour himself a second glass, returning to his seat.

"Elizabeth…I loved you and I really did want to marry you," he said, "but our time's passed and it's not coming back."

The smile fell right off of her face.

"You can't mean that Matt," she said, "We can go back and change the past."

He shook his head.

"Elizabeth, I can't marry you," he said, "If I can't do it for love, I certainly can't do it for money."

Tears glistened her eyes and she sunk her face in her hands, her shoulders sagging. That tugged at him because he still cared about her but their time had just passed. And frankly, he enjoyed resuming his carefree bachelor lifestyle even if it brought the paparazzi around. He handed her a handkerchief and she took it blindly.

"Maybe there's another way out of this situation," Matt said, "Maybe I can help you find it."

She shook her head, now sobbing.

"Oh Matt, I had a team of the best probate attorneys look at it," she said, "If I could just get married, the $4 billion that my uncle had stashed away in that land will be mine."

"Who inherits it otherwise?"

She sighed wiping her eyes.

"His brother, a truly evil man," she said, "He wants to liquidate the land through auction and sell it to the highest bidding developer so they can put a strip mall in there."

Being a businessman himself who did own properties around the world, Matt could understand that aspect of wanting a return on an investment but he also valued land preservation and maintaining a way of life. He had stepped in and purchased a bed and breakfast inn in Northern California just so the 150 year old Victorian house wouldn't get demolished by a bulldozer to put in a Pizza Hut.

"I'll look into this and I'll see if I can find a way out of it besides marriage," he said, "There must be some other way and if not…"

"Oh Matt, I can't consider any other way," she said, "I really wish you would reconsider marriage."

C.J. had just gotten off the phone with Edwina after updating her on the case that she and Matt had been working on but still hadn't discussed this morning. But that would have to wait until his conversation with Elizabeth had finished and she had no idea how long that would take. In the meantime, she could handle some of the next steps on her own. When she stepped out of her office, she collided with a tall woman with splashy dress and high heels, who she recognized as Gloria, one of the top society columnists in L.A. Why was she lurking around their office again and why hadn't the secretaries…

Chris walked one step behind the interloper.

"I really tried C.J. but she just steamrolled past us."

C.J. smiled.

"It's fine," she said, "Houston's thinking about getting some guard dogs in the lobby."

Chris chuckled.

"I don't know if it would help," she said, "She's here to see…

Gloria waved her hands quickly.

"I'm here to see Matlock," she said, "I have some questions about a rumor I heard that he resolved that hostage situation at the clinic."

"Who saw him," C.J. asked.

Gloria smiled.

"I can't reveal my sources but someone saw him there and recognized him," she said, "being a regular reader of our magazine."

So much for not having their cover blown, C.J. thought, another assignment bit the dust because of Matt's notorious reputation as one of L.A.'s wealthiest playboys.

"He was nowhere near there," C.J. said, thinking fast, "We were stuck in traffic on the way to a lunch meeting."

Gloria looked at her strangely.

"She seemed absolutely positive," she said, "But I suppose it could have been someone bearing a remarkable likeness to him."

C.J. nodded.

"That's entirely possible," she said, "L.A.'s a huge city after all."

"I still need to talk to him," Gloria said, "but by the way, you cut a pretty hot number out with Don Juan last night."

C.J. looked at her puzzled.

"What?"

"Oh we got some good shots of you dirty dancing with L.A.'s hottest Salsa instructor in a night club," Gloria said, "He's one of our most popular bachelors with our readers."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, in fact my assistant will be sending you one of our questionnaires later about him," she said, "Just fill it out and email it back by the end of the working day."

C.J. rolled her eyes.

"I don't work for you and my personal life…is just that, my personal life."

Gloria chuckled.

"So how's Rodrigo anyway," she said, "Is there any truth to that old saying…"

Now C.J. knew which one she was talking about but she wasn't about to feed this woman's incessant need for hot gossip to print in her rag.

"The guy's a real player though," Gloria said, "Has left a trail of broken hearts all over the Westside. Great for our circulation though."

Chris returned back with a bunch of flowers in a vase. C.J. looked at her curiously.

"Nice flowers," she said, "Your boyfriend?"

Chris sighed.

"I wish," she said, "but they're for you. They're from a Rodrigo."

C.J. raised her brows.

"I read the card," Chris admitted, "It's a slow day at the office and with Dave being assigned overseas, I'm living vicariously through others until he returns."

C.J. understood that and had heard the wistful tone in her friend's voice at how much she missed her boyfriend since he had been activated and sent to Bagdad for a year.

She took the flowers and thought they smelled heavenly. She favored orange roses but red roses intermixed with carnations and daisies worked very well for her too. Gloria lifted her eyebrow.

"He sent you flowers I see," she said, "Classic MO for that slow dancing Casanova. If I were younger…"

C.J. read the card, short and sweet.

"I bet he addressed it to his favorite student," Gloria said, "Another MO of his according to some of his past conquests."

C.J. tucked the card back in the flowers and excused herself to take them to her office.

Matt and Elizabeth saw her walk by them tailed by Gloria who had her notepad out and ready to go. He really didn't want to talk to her this morning let alone give her any fodder for her column. But what really caught his eyes were the flowers that C.J. had in her arms.

"Nice flowers…."

She smiled at him.

"Aren't they," she said, "They're from Rodrigo."

"Your Salsa instructor."

She nodded.

"And he gives flowers to all his students?"

"Of course not Houston," she said, "This is his way of telling me that he had a great time with me last night."

He frowned.

"How great a time…"

She just rolled her eyes and headed into her office. Elizabeth looked at Matt.

"So it's her is it?"

Matt looked at her surprised.

"What do you mean her?"

"You finally went out and did it."

"Did what?"

Gloria whipped out a pen.

"Yeah what did you do Matlock," she asked, "and with C.J. Now that's an interesting twist."

Matt put up his hands.

"Now hold on a minute here," he said, "C.J. is my business partner and a close friend. That's all."

Elizabeth looked skeptical but Gloria nodded.

"That makes sense," she said, "C.J.'s not exactly your type."

"My type…"

"Yes," Gloria continued, "You like to hang around beautiful, stylishly dressed socialites who are very high maintenance…like Elizabeth here. By the way welcome back to L.A."

Elizabeth looked at her.

"Who are you?"

Gloria pulled out a business card and handed it to her.

"I'm editor of the hottest weekly magazine in town and just give me a call," she said, "Our readers are just dying to know what brought you back to L.A. after your wedding crashed and burned."

"We just broke up," Elizabeth said, "It was mutual. It had nothing to do with the psycho who showed up and threatened us."

Gloria nodded.

"Yeah…right…well anyway, Matt I was just talking to C.J. and that hot number she danced with last night just put her on the front cover of this week's edition."

Matt looked confused.

"Pretty sizzling stuff…"

Matt wondered about that…and the flowers. But he had to figure out what to do with Elizabeth who had just crashed back into his world with this crazy idea of marrying him for money. Not long after another one of his exes came back to ask him to father her baby…for money. What was it with these heiresses running around asking him to do the impossible to inherit fortunes? Was Gloria right in pegging him and the type of women he attracted? He thought back during the past six months and did a mental inventory.

C.J. returned and went to the wet bar for some juice, with a smile on her face. Gloria looked over at her.

"I guess I have to interview Rodrigo for the cover story about his latest 'favorite' student," she said.

Matt went up to refresh his Scotch because this morning just got even longer. He pulled it out of the cabinet while C.J. sipped her juice.

"So what's up with this Rodrigo guy?"

She flashed him an amused look.

"Why Houston, I don't kiss and tell."

"Even when you're going to be on the cover of the next issue of "Kiss and Tell"?"

She sighed and looked over at Gloria.

"I really wish she wouldn't," she said, "I'm a person who wants to keep her personal life…private."

He knew that but whether she liked it or not, she and Rodrigo were about to be put up for public consumption and scrutiny. Not that that bothered him because what got his attention is that she had never done that kind of dancing with him. He shook that thought out of his mind because after all, they were friends first and only. But the image of her in his arms while he swept her slowly across the dance floor…they filled his mind. She looked carefree this morning in casual business attire and her hair resting on her shoulders, in light waves. He knew the color in her cheeks and the sparkle in her eye were brought by thoughts of someone else. Why that rankled him, never mind he had business and trouble waiting in the lounge and not necessarily in that order.

He sipped his Scotch to clear his head and went back to deal with Elizabeth. But this day which had started out confusing enough when he woke from sleep, some perplexing dreams slipping away and then came to the office, walking into a circus which only threatened to grow as another day continued in the wild world of L.A.