When someone knocked on my door at seven-thirty on Valentine's Day morning, I assumed it was a florist delivering flowers from Ranger. What I found instead was Dillion Ruddick.

"Hey," he said, handing me a paper. "Sorry about this."

"What is it?"

"The landlords aren't renewing anyone's leases," he replied. "They are going to demolish the building and put up some condominiums. The entire building is going to be empty by the end of May. The third floor only has one tenant left, and he'll be out in a couple of weeks."

My jaw dropped as I scanned the paper he'd handed me. It was a Notice to Quit that said my apartment would no longer be available after the end of my lease and that I needed to be moved out by 11:59 PM on May 31st.

"I can't believe they didn't give us more notice."

"Yeah, it sucks. But they told me I couldn't tell anyone until I was there to hand them their notice. I figured you would have heard by now."

I hadn't seen many of my neighbors in the months since I'd started dating Ranger. I typically spent two or three nights a week at his apartment and often stayed to have dinner with him on the nights when I didn't. Given that many of the tenants in the apartment were over the age of seventy-five, it hadn't been too shocking that we'd had three deaths in the past three months, but I hadn't paid much attention to the fact that their apartments hadn't been rented out to anyone else until now.

"Happy friggin' Valentine's Day to me," I mumbled as Dillion waved and headed down the hall.

I grabbed my bag and coat and was about to walk out the door when there was a second knock. This time it was a florist deliveryman carrying a long, white box. I accepted it from him and took it to the kitchen. The twelve crimson roses inside were gorgeous, and had I gotten them ten minutes earlier, I would have been a lot more excited about them. But knowing that I was going to have to move out of my apartment soon had put a damper on my mood. Hopefully I'd be able to pull myself out of my funk by that evening because I'd told Ranger I would cook him dinner for Valentine's Day. The surprise was that I was making his two favorite dishes: arroz con pollo, using his Grandma Bella's super-secret, much-beloved recipe and his Grandma Rosa's flan.

I stopped at the Starbucks two blocks away from Rangeman, opting to go inside because the drive-up was packed. No one wanted to actually get out of their car get their coffee. I was willing to brave the cold for shaving fifteen minutes off my wait for a caffeine-and-sugar-laden drink. Once inside, I reached the conclusion that I should have just stayed in bed that morning. Morelli and Shelia were the people at the very end of the line. They were holding hands and talking animatedly about something. I debated walking out, but then Morelli spotted me. Not wanting to look like a loser, I muster up what confidence I could find and went to wait behind them.

"Hey," he said, looking surprised and nervous to see me. "How's it going? I heard you got out of bond enforcement and work for Ranger now."

"It's great," I said, trying to keep my voice was shaking. "Things are going really well in my life. How about you? How's baby Callie?"

Shelia looked uncomfortable, but I didn't blame her for Morelli's unfaithfulness—if it could even be called that when you're only semi-committed to someone. She couldn't have known anything other than what Joe had told her while he was undercover.

"She's great," Morelli replied, and I was surprised to see the light in his eyes when I'd mentioned her name. Apparently fatherhood was suiting Morelli well, as was some sort of relationship with Shelia.

I thanked the Gods of every known religion that my cell phone rang just then, giving me a reason to break the conversation without it being awkward.

"Hey, I heard you're at Starbucks," Frederick said after I answered the phone. "Grab me a venti mocha latte, will you?"

"How do you know where I am?"

"I called up to the control room. And Hal wants you to bring him a grande cinnamon dolce latte with whipped cream. I owe him for telling me where you were."

I rolled my eyes and made a note of the drinks. "Tell Hal Ranger's going to kill him for drinking that crap. It probably has five hundred calories."

"It's just shy of three-fifty. He knew you'd say that. Besides, he said he's been working doubles for the past week because so many people have come down with the flu and he deserves it."

By the time I disconnected with Frederick, Morelli and Shelia had moved up to the counter to order. By the time I finished paying for my order, they had gotten their drinks, waved goodbye and left. Even though my interaction with them had lasted a whole thirty seconds, it hadn't felt good. I'd been glad to see that I didn't have any lingering affection for Morelli, but the memory of everything that had happened over the summer made my stomach churn. But it all felt like it had been a lifetime ago.

After playing coffee girl and distributing the drinks, I got settled in my office and found a message from my nine o'clock appointment. He was cancelling our meeting to sign up for new services after his wife informed him that she wanted to buy a second house in Florida. He wanted to see if they ended up buying a house that could be connected to Rangeman in Miami or if they would go with another company that could manage everything. I had messages from two other clients requesting that I return their calls. Both were calling because they wanted to cancel their services. The first one was a wife who had just kicked her husband out and didn't think she could afford Rangeman on her own. The other was a recovering gambling addict who was trying to get his finances under control and thought his security system was the best thing to cut. I spent most of the morning trying to talk them into cheaper services before finally giving in and terminating their contracts and settling on a date to cease services. The loss of both accounts was close to $20,000 on the year. Not that it was going to hurt the company, but it still felt a professional loss. After those calls, I spent an hour perusing websites for some of the bigger apartment complexes in Trenton. I hadn't been apartment hunting in over six years, so I was shocked to find that prices had skyrocketed, even in neighborhoods that I wouldn't live in for free. I called three places that interested me the most, but the prices were a lot more than I was willing to pay, even with my steady salary. I called two more places and was thankful to find out that their one bedroom rentals were decently priced, but when I'd given them my name to set up a tour, they'd asked if I was the Stephanie Plum whose apartments had been firebombed and cars were regularly destroyed. When I'd admitted that I was, they informed me that they couldn't take the risk and hung up. Frustrated, I began banging my phone against the desk before putting it back in its cradle. I opened Pandora on my browser and tried to cheer myself up with some music, but found it wasn't doing the job. I was sitting at my desk with my head in my hands, willing myself not to cry when someone knocked once, came into my office and shut the door behind them. It was Ranger.

"What's going on, babe? Hal told me you're looking angry."

I gave a humorless laugh that almost turned into a sob. "Yeah, I guess you could say I'm angry. My morning started out with this." I handed him the notice from the landlords. "Then I ran into Morelli and Shelia at Starbucks, which was awkward. Plus, I lost $30,000 in potential sales and had two accounts totaling $20,000 cancel all within an hour of getting here. I've been looking into new apartments and found that rental prices are outrageous. The ones that are within my price range and not in neighborhoods where I'm likely to get murdered won't even give me a tour because I'm 'that Stephanie Plum'."

Ranger quietly watched me for a minute while I tried to pull myself together. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw him pull his key fob out and scramble the camera in my office. He pulled me up to standing in front of him and pulled me into a kiss. It was tender and sweet, and while he held me around the waist he started moving his hips against mine in time to the hip-hop song coming from the computer. I gave a tearful chuckle and wiped the few tears that had ended up on my cheeks as he pulled me closer to his body and continued to place kisses on my cheekbones, lips, between my eyes and on forehead while we moved in time to the music. He eventually spun me around and pressed his front against my back, pushing my hair out of the way so he could kiss my neck and letting his hands roam over my abdomen. It was fun and sexy and a side of Ranger that had been slowly coming out more in the last four weeks since Envelopegate, as I referred to it in my head. I moved with him and let myself forget about the shitty morning and enjoyed the feeling of dancing with Ranger in my office in the middle of the work day. By the time the song ended a couple of minutes later, I was feeling significantly better. I turned around and kissed him again.

"Thank you," I said. "I needed that."

"Don't let this stuff get to you," he replied, tucking my hair behind my ear. "$20,000 isn't going to bankrupt the company. In the beginning, I had to do everything, and I can tell you that I lost a hell of a lot more than $30,000 in potential sales. Morelli's an idiot who didn't deserve you, so now he can be Shelia's problem. And you don't have to worry about finding another apartment because you can just move in with me."

"Right," I said and tried to force a smile on my face. Ranger raised an eyebrow at me.

"This is the second time I've suggested that you move in with me, and you've seemed less than thrilled about the idea on both occasions. Why?"

I played with the neck of his t-shirt while I figured out exactly what I wanted to say.

"It isn't that I don't want to live with you," I began. "You're great to live with, and having Ella cook me dinner every night would be a dream come true, but I don't think I'd ever feel at home in your apartment. Partly because it's in an office building, and I'm always aware that work is just two floors away, but also the apartment's sterile. I feel like I'm visiting a hotel, not someone's home."

"Then we'll find somewhere else to live."

I shook my head. "I can't ask you to do that. Aurelia lives here, and you need to be close to her. I'll just find another place. It's fine. I'm forgetting about it today, anyway. I have a big day ahead of me, which is why I'm leaving here at four to start getting ready. You can come over at six."

He looked like he wanted to argue with me further, but stopped himself. "Why do you need two hours to get ready? When you said you would cook me dinner for Valentine's Day, I figured that meant Chinese take-out."

"Funny, but I'm actually cooking a meal. And there's dessert."

I saw Ranger's lips twitch. "Babe, I already know what I'm eating for dessert."

"Pervert."

I'd practiced the recipes for arroz con pollo and flan twice in the past two weeks and had tested them on Aurelia, though I'd been forbidden by both grandmothers to reveal that I had their recipes. Aurelia had said they were great, so I was feeling pretty good about my ability to repeat myself on Valentine's Day. By a quarter to six, the apartment smelled amazing and I was nervously watching the food so that I didn't burn it. The flan I'd made the night before was sitting in the refrigerator, ready to be eaten after dinner. I had set out my best dishes, which meant they weren't chipped and matched each other, and a bottle of wine was breathing on the table. I heard Ranger come into the apartment and waited for him to come to the kitchen.

"It smells great in here, babe," he said as he laid his keys and gun down on the kitchen counter. "It reminds me of Grandma Bella's arroz con pollo."

"That's because it is your Grandma Bella's arroz con pollo," I said, lifting the lid on the pot for him to see the contents. "I remembered her mentioning that it was your favorite when we were in Miami, so I called her to ask how to make it."

Ranger looked stunned. "She actually gave you her recipe? My mother doesn't even have that recipe."

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone that I have it, so keep your trap shut. I don't want her coming up here and beat me to death."

"I like you too much to let that happen," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Especially now that you have the arroz con pollo recipe."

"Be prepared to like me even more," I replied. "Your Grandma Rosa's flan is for dessert."

"Did she make the flan?"

"Nope, she gave me the recipe, but also threatened my life if I tell anyone I have it. And your dad's life, since he had to translate everything for me."

Ranger didn't say anything for a couple of minutes while I took the food off the heat and left it to sit for a few minutes before being served. When I turned around to face him again, he was standing with hands on hips starting at me.

"What?"

"I'm just amazed that you did all of this."

I shrugged. "Things have been kind of rough for us this winter, so I decided to use today to do something special for you."

Ranger gave me a small smile and pulled me into a hug. "And I plan to spend all evening thanking you for it."

Dinner and dessert ended up being delicious, and we'd barely made it through the flan before Ranger began stripping me out of my clothes, leaving a trail as he guided me towards the bedroom. He took me by surprise when he pulled me into a position we hadn't tried before. Typically, Ranger wanted face-to-face contact during sex, but tonight he was behind me, pulling me up on my knees to sit in his lap as we moved. It felt even more amazing than usual and the orgasm I had a few minutes later was so intense that I nearly passed out. I could tell Ranger was also experiencing it more intensely by the way he moaned loudly. We collapsed onto the bed together, my body still spooned against his.

"What—how—am I dead?" I asked breathlessly. "I must be. How does that happen?"

"That was the best sex we've ever had," Ranger responded, and he was also breathing heavily.

I rolled over and snuggled into his chest. "I've always expected the Doomsday Orgasm with you. I just never understood what that really meant. Now I can respect its power."

The sound of coughing woke me up in the middle of the night. I sat and found Ranger sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. I moved over to sit next to him and when I touched his back, I could feel it was really hot. "I think you have a fever."

"My head and throat are hurting," he said hoarsely. "And I can tell I have a fever, but I feel cold."

"Uh oh. It sounds like you have the flu."

Ranger exhaled in frustration, which turned into a cough. "I don't get the flu."

"If you say so. Would you like some Advil?"

He gave me a strange look, but nodded and laid back down. When I returned to the room a couple of minutes later, I found he'd put on his t-shirt and underwear and was buried under the covers. He spent the rest of the night coughing and shivering, which meant I didn't get much sleep for the rest of the night. When the alarm went off at six-thirty, Ranger sat up on the side of the bed, but didn't get up.

"You should stay in bed today."

He turned around and looked at me like I had grown an extra head. "I've never taken a sick day since I started my company. The only time I've been off has been when I've been injured."

"You aren't going to get over the flu faster by pushing yourself too hard, plus you're only going to expose more people to the germs. I'll call Ella and suggest that the cleaning crew do another decontamination and ask her to do the same to your apartment. I can stop at your apartment and get anything you need and you can stay here until you're over the worst of it," I said.

I waited while Ranger had an internal debate. I could tell he felt like crap, but admitting it was a completely different story.

"Okay," he said quietly. "Just bring my iPad and some clothes when you come home. And pick up an over-the-counter flu medication."

I tucked him into bed and got ready to leave for work. There was a drug store down the road, so I stopped to pick up flu medication for Ranger and took it back to him before heading into work. Considering he'd spent quite a while the night before with his tongue—and other things—inside me, I was just waiting for my own flu symptoms to appear.

After relaying the news to Ella about the flu, she immediately called the cleaning company to come in and do sanitizing work. I hurried up to the apartment and packed Ranger's bag so that I could go straight home at the end of the work day. As I headed back down to the first floor, the elevator stopped on four and opened up to Aurelia and her boyfriend, Todd. They'd met during swimming practice and had started dating back in December. He was a sweet man who was about five years younger than Aurelia and also had Down Syndrome. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He always opened doors for her and called me Mrs. Plum. Today, he was wearing black dress pants and a white dress shirt, both which looked like they'd been worn the night before. His face flushed crimson as they both stepped on to the elevator.

"Hi, Todd," I said.

"Hi Mrs. Plum," he said, looking down at his feet. Aurelia caught my eye and bit her bottom lip.

No one said anything as we made our way down to the first floor. I loitered in the lobby as Aurelia said goodbye to Todd and gave him a quick kiss before he walked outside to a waiting taxi. Once Todd pulled away from the curb, Aurelia headed towards me.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked.

"Sure, let's go to my office."

Once we were inside, she took a seat across from me and looked down at her hands.

"We did it last night," she whispered. "And I didn't like it."

"Was it your first time?"

She nodded. "It was his too. But it hurt and it was over really fast. I didn't moan like they do in movies."

I fought a smile at Aurelia's sweet innocence. "Well, the first time isn't usually very good. It hurts for women, plus you're both nervous and you're still learning what your body likes. It'll get better as you do it more and try different things."

She finally met my eye. "It will?"

I nodded. "It will. But did you use a condom? Do you know about that stuff?"

She shook her head. "We didn't use anything. But I can't have babies, so do I have to use one?"

Oh holy crap. "What do you mean you can't have babies?"

She shrugged. "My mom just said I can't have babies. I don't know why."

After Aurelia left my office, I immediately called Ranger's cell phone. "Aurelia told me she can't have children. Do you know if there is a biological reason for that or does she just think she can't because your family doesn't want her to have children?"

"She has some sort of ovarian dysfunction, so she can't get pregnant. Why?"

I blew out of a sigh of relief. "Well, she and Todd slept together for the first time last night and when I asked if they used a condom, she said no. I was worried that she might need emergency contraception."

"A majority of people with Down Syndrome are infertile," he replied. "Men are almost always so, and I think with women it's about half. So even if she could get pregnant, I don't think we'd have much reason to worry with Todd. The only thing she needs to worry about is our mother finding out that she's having sex."

Satisfied that Aurelia wouldn't become a mother in the next nine months, I got started on my work day. Knowing Ranger was at my apartment sick kept me distracted, partly because I hated that he wasn't feeling well and also because it was so amazing to see him taken out by a virus. Not that I wished it on him, but it did make him seem a little more human.

I skipped my lunch and left the office at four so that I could get back home. I found him lying on the couch with a pillow and the quilt from my bed watching a documentary on the History Channel.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, sitting down on the edge of the couch.

"Like I've just gotten my ass kicked," he replied sleepily.

"Is there anything I can do for you? Food? Another blanket?"

He scooted back on the couch and patted the open space. I laid down beside him and he wrapped his arms around me. "That's what I need."

We laid there in silence as he continued to watch the documentary, which was about James Polk. I'd forgotten we had even had a president by that name.

"Why are you watching this?" I eventually asked Ranger. "Sick days are for watching crap, like Dog the Bounty Hunter."

"No amount of torture on the planet could persuade me to watch that show. Besides, I like presidential history. I've read biographies on every president."

I groaned and clapped a hand over my eyes. "Oh my God, you're a history nerd!"

"Wanting to learn about the men who have led our country—one of whom was my Commander-in-Chief—makes me a nerd?"

"Uh, yeah. Especially when you're watching documentaries about them when you're sick."

"Doing algebra while sick would make me a nerd. This makes me an informed citizen," he replied.

"If you say so."

He kissed me on the head and wrapped his arms tighter around me. "How did you find out about Aurelia and Todd?"

"I caught him doing the walk of shame after I'd gone up to your apartment, and then after he left she asked to speak to me. Apparently things weren't very good the first time and she didn't understand why it didn't make her moan like they do in movies."

Ranger chuckled. "I'd feel bad for Todd if it weren't my sister he was nailing."

"It was their first time. A lot of people's first times aren't good. You're nervous, and if you're a girl, it usually hurts a little."

"Was your first time bad?"

"No, mine was pretty good considering it was on the floor of a bakery. But it was with Morelli, and he'd already spent a few years practicing his art before he'd gotten to me."

"Considering your first love is cake, I'd say losing your virginity in a bakery was perfect."

"Yeah, but it would have been more perfect had it been you who had talked his way into my pants that night," I said and wiggled against him. "You would have ruined me for all other men from the beginning."

"I didn't acquire this particular skill set until college, so you were better off with Morelli. God, I hate to admit that."

I turned over quickly and nearly fell off the couch. "You were a virgin until college?"

Ranger started laughing, which made him cough, and I had to wait on his answer until he could get the cough under control. "No, I wasn't a virgin until college. I just didn't get very good at reading a woman's body and making her happy until then."

"What was your first time like?" I asked. "I've never asked what it's like for men."

"I was fifteen and it happened on the floor of the Sunday school classroom at my grandmother's church with Angie Longoria. She said it hurt, and I was only able to hold out for about ten seconds. I ran into her again in Miami about six years ago and showed her what I'd learned in the years since that encounter."

"I'm sure you more than made up for the bad first time."

"I spent the whole weekend doing so."

"A whole weekend making up for one bad sexual encounter?" I asked, feeling a little bit jealous at the thought of Ranger doing things to other women in the past that he did to me now.

"She was pretty hot," he replied with a smirk.

"I can only imagine how many hot women you've taken to bed."

He shrugged. "None of them compare to you, babe."

I rolled my eyes. "That fever really has messed with your head. If you start talking about hating exercise, I'm taking you to the hospital."