Chapter 20

'So, how's your pasta?' asked Cameron as he looked over the table at his date

'Really good, you?' Hope asked in response

'Delicious' he answered as he looked around the small restaurant. 'This is a really nice place. I'm glad you suggested it'

'It's one of my mom's favorite restaurants... Whenever my mom and dad have a date night, she always tries to coax him to come here'

'Your folks are great, Hope. You know, you're lucky to have parents who care that much about you' he said, obviously thinking of his own family so far away

'Do you miss your folks?' she asked

'Sure. I'm the eldest so it was hard for them to see me leave home. But I really wanted to come to New York and experience the art scene – give myself a chance, you know' he said, his eyes dancing at the thought of the excitement of the big city

Cameron Armstrong had been raised on a farm in upstate New York and had five younger siblings. He'd been drawing and painting his whole life and he knew, at a very young age, that he wanted to experience life fully, embrace all the opportunities that would come his way. His parents did their best to cultivate his passion and had saved up modestly so he could come to New York and study. Cameron had been thrilled when he'd walked into Neal Caffrey's classroom that day several months back and he was thankful that Neal had given him the opportunity to work at the gallery; it was a bonus to be able to display his work and put his name out there. Who knew back then that his mentor had a beautiful daughter and that Cam would develop feelings for her?

'Well, I love your work – especially the last few paintings you did, the ones with country scenes' said Hope

'Those are places back home. You should see, Hope, there are so many open spaces upstate – not at all like New York City' he said, his eyes alight

'Maybe I'll get to visit some day...' she said, looking warmly into his eyes

They took a few bites of their meal in silence before Cameron piped up, on a different topic altogether.

'You sure have a lot of people looking out for you' said Cameron 'I met your uncle Peter the other day'

'Oh no! Don't tell me he warned you to be good to me? He didn't take out his FBI badge, did he?' she asked, laughing

'No... not exactly but he kinda hinted that if I didn't behave myself he'd have the FBI hunt me down and lock me away at Guantanamo Bay' Cam answered, half-joking

'His bark is worse than his bite' said Hope 'I guess everybody's worried about the age difference between us'

Cameron reached over and took Hope's hand in his.

'Look, I don't know where we're headed with this but I really like you Hope and I would never do anything to hurt you' he said with sincerity

Hope just smiled in response as she felt her heart start to flutter.

WCWCWC

The Caffreys lay in bed in their usual pose – Sara's head resting on Neal's chest as he lay back and ran his hand languidly up and down her arm. He turned to gently kiss her forehead and suddenly he was making his 'opening' move; his lips moving down to her neck.

'Whoa, whoa, Caffrey. We're not going there!' she said with authority as she moved to avoid his insistent mouth

'What? The doctor said...' he whined

'Look, seventy two hours ago, you were lying in a bed in the emergency room. Give yourself a few days before you go all Hugh Hefner on me' she said in her no-nonsense way

'Hugh Hefner? Really? Is that how you see me? The guy's practically ninety years old!' Neal bellowed, obviously insulted at the parallel she'd drawn

'Alright, alright... whatever... Calm down! I'm not going anywhere, Neal; I'll be here tomorrow night and the night after that' she said, hoping to appease him

'So, you're saying tomorrow...' he began

'Neal, really! Are you trying to land yourself back in hospital?' she asked

Neal looked at her, miffed. 'I love you and I love your body and I love making love to you. Is there a problem with any of that?'

Sara realized she had somehow hurt his feelings and she retreated, placing a gentle kiss on his pouting lips.

'Neal, I love you, too; I love having your hands and your lips all over me – and I always will. That'll never change but I do have some self-control and I don't want you taking any chances with a relapse so soon after your surgery' she said, searching his eyes

Neal let out a puff of air and tried to snap out of his funk; of course, Sara was right (she usually was) and he could certainly wait a few days just to be on the safe side. He decided to change the subject and try to get the mood back to where it had been a few moments earlier.

'Do you think they're having fun?' he asked

'I'm sure they are. Hope looked beautiful, didn't she? And so grown-up' she said, a twinge of regret in her voice

Neal looked at the clock by their bedside; it read 11:42.

'She should be home soon' he said wistfully

'Do you remember what you were doing at her age? Who was the first girl you were with?' Sara asked, suddenly curious

'You mean actual sex?' Neal asked

'Yeah'

'Ah... it wasn't very memorable. It was a girl named Brenda. She used to hang around the pool hall where I spent way too much time. I was sixteen and I used to skip school to play pool with some older guys. She used to hang around and she started coming on to me. The men I played with were much older and they more or less egged me on' he said, sounding regretful

'Was she older?' asked Sara

'Yeah, she was probably 23-24 – I'm not sure. And we did it in the back room of the pool hall; it was over in less than five minutes – there was no romance involved, just, you know, slam, bam, thank you ma'am'

'Wow! What a romantic!' said Sara sarcastically, comparing what Neal had just described to the loving, sexy man she'd grown to know and love

'Not my finest hour, that's for sure. What about you? You've never told me about your first time' he asked, suddenly curious

'Well, I thought I was in love. His name was Marshall and he was quarterback of the football team. I was seventeen and we did it in the back seat of his car after weeks of buildup. I wanted to but I was scared – I kept thinking, I could never get my virginity back once I gave it away. But I wanted to know what it was like and it was his first time too so we kind of muddled through. I think he only lasted three minutes so don't feel too bad' she said laughing at the memory

The front door could be heard opening in the distance and they both fell silent, listening as Hope came up the stairs as if the sound of her steps would reveal how she was feeling, how her date had gone. There was a soft knock on their bedroom door.

'Mom! Dad!' she whispered

'Come on in, honey' Sara said, without missing a beat

'Hi, did I wake you?' she asked as the door opened and she stood, her silhouette in the moonlight

'No, we were just... talking. Come on in' Neal said as he sat up in bed and turned on the light on the bedside table

She was glowing – that unmistakeable afterglow after a nice goodnight kiss, Sara guessed.

'Did you have a good time?' she asked

'The best. He's the sweetest guy I've ever met' Hope said, her eyes faraway

Neal and Sara exchanged furtive looks. She was gone and they were powerless to pull her back in; all they could do now was stand by and watch the show and hope this was a good experience for their daughter.

'Look, I know you two are worried about me – but don't. I'm not a kid anymore and I know that chances are that Cameron and I won't get married and have babies together but for now, I'm really enjoying being with him' she said, sounding so grown up and mature

'We just want you to be happy, Hope, that's all' said Neal, touching her hand

'I am, Daddy. And the best part is... he reminds me of you' she said

Neal looked at his daughter, a smile on his face, realizing that he must have done something right for his little girl to be seeking out someone with the same attributes as himself. He felt his heart swell and he took Hope's hand in his and gave it a kiss.

'I'm happy if you're happy, sweet pea' he said as Hope stood and prepared to go to her room

The door closed again and the couple resumed their pose; Neal's heart fluttering at his daughter's confession.

'That was a very nice compliment' said Sara softly as she pulled Neal close 'And well deserved, Hugh – I mean Neal' she said, trying to break the tension

Neal laughed out loud and hugged her back. Wasn't he the lucky one!

WCWCWC

Sunday morning dawned sunny and bright despite the end of winter's cooler temperatures. Sara had shared the discussion she'd had with Peter regarding the management of the gallery and Neal suggested they have El and Peter over for dinner to discuss some details – see if they could make a go of things.

This time, Sara let him work his magic in the kitchen – her cooking skills might be good enough to feed her hungry family on a weeknight but it wasn't up to snuff when they had company. Neal decided on a roast pork loin, one of Peter's favorites, and he happily got to work getting everything ready for the Burkes' arrival – glad to resume his rightful place as chief cook and bottle washer.

The couples sat in the living room, sharing a glass of wine before dinner and filling each other in on the exciting events of the previous week. El had gotten some of the details from the kids when they'd come over to their place but hearing about the harrowing hour that Sara and Lydia spent trapped in the recovery room was chilling and she sat, listening intently as her best friend shared the details of her ordeal.

Neal joined in with his take on his wife's heroic actions, crediting her with keeping Lydia calm and culminating with the birth of little Beatrice Jordan.

'Well, the Milville boys have been arraigned and when we questioned them, they confessed to having someone on the inside at Sterling Bosch' said Peter, turning to look at Sara

'On the inside? Really?' said Sara, disappointed and surprised. She hoped it wasn't someone from her own team.

'Yeah, they said some intern, name of Joe Morley, gave them some intel as to the best time to hit the place and gave them a floor plan of the recovery room' he added

'You're kidding!' Sara said, horrified at the news 'Bastard!'

Neal looked up in reaction to his wife's use of profanity – she usually tried to keep it in check when the kids were around but she was obviously shocked and very angry at the news.

'The son of a bitch even helped out on the recovery' she said, thinking she was using her inner voice

'Moooom!' Liam called out in rebuke from the nearby kitchen 'You're always freaking out when we talk like that'

'Sorry, honey!' she said, biting her lip 'I'm just shocked... and so pissed off' she continued

She thought of how helpful and unassuming Joe was; always ready to help – the first one to volunteer whenever she needed something done. Well, it was her turn to be helpful; helpful in getting his ass kicked to the curb, that is.

WCWCWC

Dinner was served in the dining room, a very Sunday night occurrence and as usual, the kids disappeared shortly after – Liam heading out to his best friend Will's place to defend his honor as 'Inquisition' champion and Hope to meet Cameron at the local mall to see a movie.

The Caffreys and Burkes sat back, sipping coffee (Neal was back to his beloved Italian roast) and conversation quickly turned to the plans for the gallery.

'Before we get started, El and I would like to run something by you. We've talked about it and if you're open to the idea, we'd like to invest in the Raphaël' Peter said, stopping to let his words sink in

Neal and Sara listened with astonishment – this had never been on the radar but somehow, it made an awful lot of sense.

'The gallery is obviously going to be a huge success' Peter continued 'And by investing, you can reach your breakeven point sooner than you thought. And like Sara suggested, I could work for you at the gallery, take care of the business side of things and free you up to do what you love to do – and what you do best'

'Wow, I don't know what to say' said Neal, looking at Sara

'Of course, we would be silent partners and you would retain control of all creative decisions and if some day, you want to buy me out, we'd just recoup our investment then' continued Peter

'And frankly, guys, Peter needs to get out of the house' Elizabeth said, taking her husband's hand in hers 'He's going nuts staying home – and he's driving me nuts'

Everyone smiled at her comment.

The proposal made a lot of sense; when Neal had dreamed of owning a gallery, he'd imagined himself spending his time seeking out new talent, working on the creative end of things – the image of the gallery, its reputation and having the opportunity to bring great art to the masses. He'd neglected to factor in the tedious side of owning your own establishment – the business side – and frankly it was the one thing that weighed heavily on his mind on a daily basis.

'That sounds like quite an offer' said Sara as she excitedly grabbed for Neal's hand

'Wow – just what I've always wanted' quipped Neal, as he looked at his best friend, reality sinking in 'You working for me!'

Peter laughed heartily. 'It is kind of poetic justice, isn't it?'

'Can I put an anklet on you?' Neal asked, his face serious

TBC