Ranger and I made plans for dinner the next week. Dickie had forgotten his "travel less, be home more" vow and was away often again. I was used to it, but I sometimes got lonely at night, so I was glad to have an invitation to dinner that wasn't from my mother. Also I would get to enjoy Ella's cooking again. I was pretty excited about that part.

I picked up a large bakery cake on my way to Rangeman, and also a doughnut. It was my second week off sugar, and I was beginning to feel some weird side effects. If Dickie was in town, I would have kept him in bed with me all day. As it was, I was wondering if I should hit up Pleasure Treasures for necessary supplies. I ate the doughnut in the car. It was a medicinal doughnut. I hoped that I could get through a dinner with Ranger without embarrassing myself or throwing myself at him.

I parked in the garage underneath as instructed, and then waved at the camera when I got into the elevator. The elevator started moving on its own and went up to the seventh floor like magic.

The door was propped open, so I went inside. Ella was there, delivering trays of food, and we chatted for a few minutes before Ranger appeared from out of his apartment office. Ella squeezed my arm and left, telling me that she was sure I would love the dinner she had prepared.

"Sorry Steph, I had to take that call," Ranger apologised.

"I bought dessert. Birthday cake. I guess Suzie didn't get her happy birthday after all," I said, holding up the cake box and opening the lid to show him. I tried not to notice how good he smelled, or that he was freshly shaven. He was dressed in what passed as casual wear for Ranger – black jeans and a black sweater. There was probably a gun tucked in there somewhere.

"That looks festive," he said. The cake had green flowers and bright yellow icing. It also had a hefty discount off the price. I got out a plastic fork and fed him a taste test. "I haven't had that much sugar in years. How do you eat that?" he asked.

Ranger got out two wine glasses, poured us both some wine, and took the covers off the food.

"This beats a peanut butter sandwich," I said, sniffing the air appreciatively. Ranger handed me a plate of food, and we ate in silence for a few minutes.

"Steph, can I ask you what's wrong? You don't seem as happy as you usually are," he said. I paused in my eating. Argh. I didn't want to talk about it but Ranger seemed genuinely concerned. I wondered if Lester had put him up to asking. It seemed more like something that nosy, people person Lester would worry over than reserved Ranger.

"Oh, it's fine, I just… argh. Anyway, it's fine."

"Are you sure? It seems like something is bothering you. Is it because of Junkman?" Ranger asked.

"Did Lester put you up to this?" I asked.

"No, Steph," he said softly.

"It's not because of Junkman. It's… I'm not a housewife, I can't cook, my business isn't suitable for my husband's political career, I can't have a baby although no one else seems to have any trouble getting pregnant, and I'm tired of everyone looking down on me."

"Heavy stuff, babe," he said, pouring me another glass of wine.

"I'm a disappointment," I said, then took a huge mouthful of wine.

"I know all about disappointing family expectations," Ranger said.

"You? You're successful. You have a business, an amazing apartment, a Porsche, and you have Ella. I wanted to be successful enough to employ Ella full time but you beat me to it," I told him.

"Well, I'd say that I'm sorry, but I'm not," he said, holding up fork of food as emphasis. I ignored him.

"You served your country, you employ Veterans, you're better-than-average looking, how could you be disappointing?" I asked.

"Only better than average? I'm crushed."

"I didn't want you to get a big head. And face it, you do have Lester to compete with."

"Like you, Stephanie, I grew up in an area where everyone knows everyone else. So everyone knows that I did a stint in juvie for stealing cars, everyone knows that I was in a gang, and everyone assumes that I joined the army because I was about to go to jail again, not because it was the easiest way to get my tuition paid off."

"You went to juvie?"

"About half of the armed forces was in juvie. Consider us pre-toughened. After I got out of juvie I was sent to live with my grandparents in Miami. I was supposed to straighten my life out, come home, and join the family business. College was acceptable with a business degree, which I did. I wasn't supposed to join the army."

"So you're a disappointment because you served your country and you're a successful businessman?"

"I'm also divorced."

Wow. I was getting all the secrets out of Ranger tonight. Remind me to ply him with alcohol and dessert more often.

"I'm sorry. How long ago was your divorce? Did you get married young?" I asked him. He seemed in a talkative mood, maybe I would find out some details about Ranger.

"We were young. I was still in basic training. It started out as a one night stand but after a month Rachel phoned me up and said that she was pregnant. We got married, for the health insurance, for the baby, for our Catholic families. And we thought maybe it would work. But I was barely there, always away for training, and starting missions, and she needed more than that. We separated when Julie was a few months old. When Julie was two, Rachel re-married, and she asked if I'd let him adopt Julie. I wasn't in a good place. I was doing dangerous missions, seeing my team die around me, and it broke my heart to think of Julie wondering where her daddy was. Giving her a new daddy seemed easier," he said.

My heart broke for Ranger, but he seemed pragmatic about it.

"I send money still, I never stopped that. I visit when I can. I try to keep up with her interests. She loves music. She asked me if I'd seen the Trolls movie, so I decided to watch it so we have something more to talk about."

"You sound like a good dad, Ranger."

He shook his head, dismissing my comment. "You're a bit too easy to talk to Stephanie. I don't tell many people about my daughter. Please don't tell anyone what I've told you tonight."

"I won't. I promise. Do you want some cake?" I asked him. He poured us both another glass of wine.

"I'm not so sure on that cake, babe. It looks more dangerous than most third world jungles that I've crawled though. I'm not sure what's in there."

"A lot of food colouring," I told him. He picked up the wine glasses and I carried the cake box and we moved to the couch. Ranger went back and got me a plate and cutlery for the cake and I cut myself a piece. It paired quite well with the wine. Ranger declined to try the combination for himself.

There was a soft black cashmere blanket draped on the back of the couch, which made me think about Ranger's black sheets in his bedroom, just a room away. The last time I was in this apartment, Ranger wasn't here. It was strange to think that I'd slept in his bed before, but this was the first time that I'd been in his apartment with him.

"What are you thinking about?" Ranger asked me.

"Your sheets," I blurted out.

"My sheets?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"They're amazing. And those towels too. And that shower."

"It sounds like you're really into my linens."

"I am. Where do you buy them from?"

"That's a secret of the trade," he said. I bet that just meant that he didn't know because Ella had bought them all for him.

"Sooooo while we're talking secrets – where's the gun?"

"Geez babe, three glasses of wine down, you really are a light weight."

"What, are you telling me that you're unarmed?" I asked him in disbelief. "What if I was a trained assassin sent to take you down?"

"Well from your lack of muscle tone, you're not a well-trained assassin," Ranger said. I felt insulted, even if it was true. "Secondly, I am armed. I'm just not telling you where." My eyes lit up. This sounded like a challenge.

"Should I pat you down and find out for myself?" I asked, trying to raise my eyebrows suggestively. Playing with Ranger was fun.

"You sure you want to do that babe?" he asked.

"Are you saying you don't want me to?" I asked. He raised his eyebrows at me which I took as a challenge. There was probably a gun in the small of his back, probably in the waistband of his underwear. I slid my hand along his back and then dipped down into his pants to find… no waistband. Then I remembered the lack of underwear from when I'd inspected his apartment. He hadn't packed it all to take with him.

"Omigod! You don't wear underwear" I said, scrambling away. Ranger laughed.

"You're playing with fire here, babe," he told me.

"I thought you wore underwear! Who doesn't wear underwear!"

"So let me get this straight, if I wore underwear it would have been totally fine for you to have your hands down my pants?"

"I was looking for your gun! I'm sure you have at least one in your pants, right?" I asked. "No, wait, what would Lester say in this situation… something about a weapon…" I picked up my plate and put another slice of cake on to it while I thought of the right lewd comment to make.

Ranger peered down at the bright yellow icing on the cake.

"That stuff will kill you, babe."

"I need some sugar. I've been on a paleo diet. No sugar. It turns out that the lack of sugar does things to my system," I said, trying not to blush. I failed and could feel my cheek reddening.

"What sort of things?" Ranger asked.

"Anyway, with Dickie away, I need some sugar to keep things under control," I finished. Ranger brightened.

"Giving information to the enemy here, babe," he said.

"You're not the enemy, are you?" I asked.

"I'm a mercenary and a bad man. I don't usually poach from men that I've met, but I'm willing to make an exception for you. I'm an opportunist, and I think you'd better go home I do something that we're both going to regret," he said, leaning close to me. An inch more and we'd be touching. I tried to lean slightly closer and ended up falling against him. I licked my lips. He pulled out his phone and dialled.

"Tank? I need someone to drive Stephanie home. Thanks."

"You'd regret it?" I asked.

"I'd regret that you'd regret it. Catholic guilt would kick in. Let's not do that." He moved away from me so we weren't touching.

A minute later we heard the elevator arrive, and with a quick knock on the door, Lester walked in.

"Lester! I'm trying to think of a dirty joke punchline. Something about a weapon and pants," I greeted him. He looked from me to Ranger.

"Apparently three glasses of wine is one too many for Stephanie," Ranger said, smiling. "But she's an adorable drunk."

"Help me out here, Lester. What's the right joke to make about Ranger and the hidden weapon in his pants?" I asked. Lester laughed.

"I'm not speculating on that one, Beautiful. Come on, let's get you home." He held out his hand and pulled me off the couch.