Nope, still don't own anything

Chapter 40

Steph's POV

After that, we attacked Marisol's buffet as if we hadn't eaten in months. Everything was homemade, from the flaky pastries to the wonderfully sweet loaves of bread and golden oversized waffles. Even the juice was freshly squeezed. Marisol could put the cooking and hostess skills of any Burg housewife to shame.

Over breakfast, my friends put me through- what they called- The Cuban Inquisition. The questions ranged from Ranger's favorite food to Ranger's favorite position during sex. I knew I was blushing furiously, but I managed to avoid most of the questions. I had been taught by the best.

A few hours later, Marisol came out to announce our guest had arrived. I knew that Ranger had arranged for the owner of a local bridal shop to bring a few dresses over for me to choose from. I wasn't prepared for the scene, though, when we walked into one of the guest bedrooms. The four of us stood frozen in the doorway, mouths hanging open and eyes bugged out in shock.

The room was filled with racks of dresses. There was a three-way mirror set up in the corner and a table covered with veils, tiaras, and shoes of every kind. My mouth watered at the sight.

"Holy shit, girlfriend!" Lula shrieked. "Batman's done bought out a bridal shop!"

"I knew the man was loaded, but damn…" Connie's voice trailed off. I could see the drool forming at the corner of her mouth.

Mary Lou was actually speechless. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to form words. I was in the same state.

A short, impeccably dressed man walked in, followed by a tall, slender woman. Both were Hispanic with jet-black hair and brown eyes.

"Ah, Senorita Plum." The man took both of my hands in his and squeezed. "Congratulations on your upcoming wedding." He spoke in heavily accented English. "I'm Manuel Gonzalez and this is my assistant, Petra."

"Thank you, Sir," I smiled back at him. "Please, call me Stephanie."

"I have brought my entire collection for you to choose from. Petra will help you try on anything that you desire."

Wow. I was suddenly hit with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. This had to have cost Ranger a small fortune. I didn't want to be responsible for Ranger ending up in the poorhouse.

Mr. Gonzalez noticed the look on my face and handed me a small envelope. I grinned when I saw the word "Babe" written on the front in Ranger's handwriting. I shook my head and pulled out the little note card inside.

Babe

Remember- no price

Love, Carlos

How did he do that? I swear, Ranger knew me better than I knew myself.

I put the note in my pocket and turned to my friends. "Well, I guess we need to pick out a wedding gown."

The four of us sat down on the bed as Mr. Gonzalez held up and described each dress. There were heavily adorned dresses with Scarlet O'Hara type skirts; old fashioned lace dresses with the neckline going all the way up to the chin (Yikes!), dresses that looked like something I would wear on a distraction; sleek, simple dresses, in all colors of satin, chiffon, silk, and lace.

I tried on at least two dozen dresses, modeling them in front of the three way mirrors. I tried on the shoes, veils, and tiaras, laughing and joking around with Lula, Connie, and Mary Lou. I had never had so much fun trying on wedding dresses. It was more like playing dress up as a child. When I tried on dresses before for my marriage to Dickie and my engagement to Morelli, it had felt like preparing for death. I guess having my mother voice her authority had sucked the fun out of the celebration.

After four hours, I finally decided on a beautiful white Chiffon sheath with a pleated bust and an empire waist. It was simple enough for a beach wedding but still classic and elegant. It made my waist look smaller and my boobs look bigger. How could I pass up a dress with such amazing qualities?

I picked out a pair of white strappy heels but I decided against a veil or tiara. I didn't want them to overshadow my dress.

Mr. Gonzalez was thrilled with my decisions. He swore that I was the most beautiful bride that he had ever seen. I had the feeling that he was biased by the amount of money that this job was earning him. I enjoyed the complement anyway.

I carefully hung my dress in the closet when Marisol came in, announcing that dinner was ready. We ran downstairs to the table, where Ranger, Tank, Bobby, and Lester were already sitting. We all sat down, convincing Mr. Gonzalez and Petra to join us. It was a good thing that Marisol cooked enough to feed an army.

I sat close enough to Ranger so that our legs were touching. He leaned closer to me, brushing his lips against my ear.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" He whispered.

I nodded slightly, looking him in the eye. "Carlos, you know you don't have to spend so much on me. I'd be just as happy getting married in jeans and a tee shirt."

Ranger grinned and squeezed my hand under the table. "No price, Babe."

The rest of the meal was spent joking around with our friends. The food was incredible and I think Lula and Mary Lou were just as in love with Marisol as I was. Lester spent a great deal of time calling Ranger and I foolish for waiting so long to get married. I think, at one point, Ranger was ready to strangle him. Tank actually smacked him upside the head, finally shutting Lester up for the rest of the night.

Ranger's POV

After leaving Steph and her friends out on the porch, the guys and I retreated to the calm quiet of my office. Once behind closed doors, though, I was assaulted with even louder voices. Lester and Bobby practically jumped me, slapping me on the back and laughing.

"I can't believe you're marrying Bombshell!" Lester shouted, grinning ear to ear. "You finally did get your head out of your ass!"

"Thank God, no more of this will they won't they bullshit!" Bobby joined in, laughing. "I swear, if I had to deal with another year of that, I would have locked them both in a mental hospital."

"Boss is gonna be a family man," Lester continued, making some kind of strange face, puckering his lips together. "He's gonna have a little wifey and a bunch of baby Ranger's running around."

I shook my head, wishing that Tank were here to knock them both upside the head. "I can't believe I invited you two clowns. I should have left you back in Trenton to work midnight surveillance."

"Awww, come on, Ranger," Bobby teased, sitting back in an overstuffed chair and pulling out three Cuban cigars. "We're just happy for you. You and Bombshell should have gotten married years ago." He passed out the cigars and we all lit up, finding chairs to slouch down into.

"And not only are they getting married, but they're having a kid, too," Lester exhaled a stream of smoke and grinned. "I'll bet her parents loved that part."

I narrowed my eyes, thinking about the last dinner at the Plum's. "Her father and grandmother were pretty good about it, but that mother of hers is the most condescending bitch I've ever met. She kept trying to get Steph to go back to the cop."

Lester and Bobby were surprised at that. I hadn't told anybody but Tank about what had happened, but I figured they deserved to know. Just in case I needed help with Mrs. Plum in the future.

"I never could figure out how a woman like that could have raised someone as great as Bombshell," Bobby said, watching the smoke rise from his cigar. "Steph never brings people down."

"We could ship her off somewhere," Lester offered, his dark eyes gleaming. "I'm sure she would be sacred in Afghanistan of something."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't think I haven't thought of that already. In fact, Steph's dad told me to keep her away from their house. He offered to come to her when she wanted to see them."

"So I guess he approves of you marrying his daughter then." Lester said, nodding his head. I could tell his opinion of Frank Plum just reached epic proportions.

"He seems to approve of me a lot more than Morelli," I smirked, remembering the look on the cop's face when I held my gun to his head. Yeah, he was afraid of me. Damn, he should be shaking in his boots when he thinks of me.

"Well Morelli treated Steph like shit," Bobby agreed, getting up to pour tumblers of brandy for the three of us. Can't have cigars without brandy, after all. "Always trying to change her and always starting fights in public so everyone would see. I wouldn't mind shipping him off with Mrs. Plum."

"They do deserve each other." I accepted the tumbler from him and took a deep drink. It had been a long time since I've been able to sit down with the guys and have a non-work related conversation. Hmmm, I should do this more often.

There was a knock on the door and Tank poked his head in. "I figured you'd all be in here hiding out from the women." He was greeted with a cigar and a tumbler of brandy. He accepted and sat down in the chair behind my desk.

"Bombshell looks pretty happy out there," he said, lighting his cigar. "I think the girls are trying to get some "Ranger in the sack" information out of her, though."

I laughed. "They'll tear her apart when she doesn't spill her guts." I suddenly felt bad for my Babe. Her friends could be ruthless sometimes.

"I wouldn't worry about Steph," Tank grinned. "She was holding her own pretty good. "She must have learned "Evading Questions 101" from her fiancé."

I narrowed my eyes at my best friend, but he didn't back down. He's known me for too long to be afraid of me.

"Don't give me that look, Ranger. You're damn lucky that Bombshell forgave your dumb ass and took you back. She could have ruined her life by marrying Morelli and it would have been your fault."

Instead of answering, I downed my glass of brandy. It's hard to come up with a good retort when faced with the truth. Thank God that Babe didn't listen to me and stay with the cop. It would have killed me to see her marrying the other man.

"So how do you plan on getting all the legal bullshit worked out by tomorrow night?" Lester changed the subject at my silence. "Will you two be able to get married on schedule?"

I nodded, getting up to refill my glass. Guess the body wouldn't be a temple today. "A quarter of a million dollars goes a long way to ensure that the blood tests will be finished by tomorrow morning. A judge will be here an hour before the ceremony with all the necessary papers."

Tank whistled at the sum. "It would have been cheaper to have the Burg wedding back home."

"Don't mention anything to Steph," I told him, my voice telling him that I meant every word. "She feels guilty when I pay for her distraction clothes. She practically fell over when I told her that I would have the owner of the bridal shop come here with his stuff." I shook my head. "Hell, she felt bad that I was taking time off from work to bring her here."

"At least you know she isn't after your money, then," Bobby pointed out.

I nodded, sitting back down. I had been with more than one gold digging bitch that thought that she deserved full access to my bank accounts just because she was in my bed. It was quite a change with Steph. I had never met another woman who was so hell bent on making her own money. Maybe that was why I wanted to spoil her. Because she didn't expect it.

"So where you taking her for the honeymoon?" Lester asked, breaking into my thoughts.

I grinned at my other surprise for Steph. "Bora Bora. Two weeks in an over water villa."

"Bombshell's never gonna leave if you take her to Tahiti," Tank warned, his grin splitting his face. "Who'd want to come back to Trenton after that."

"She's gonna shit," Lester's eyes darkened and I knew I wouldn't like what he was going to say next. "Damn, Steph in one of those little Polynesian outfits…"

"Santos." I growled. He didn't need to be thinking of my future wife like that. I had no problems burying him in the sand outside.

"I can't help it, Boss. Steph's hot. Can't get around that one."

"She's hotter than hot." Great, now Bobby was joining in on the fun. It must be "Let's torture Ranger" day. "Steph could strut around all day in a burlap sack and she would still be the most beautiful woman in all of Jersey."

I couldn't argue with that, but why the hell did they have to voice their opinions around me? It already drove me mad whenever I had to watch her flirt around with criminals and perverts on those damn distraction jobs. If she wasn't so damn good at it, I would never ask for her help. Every man who crossed her path did a double take. And the funniest part about it was that Steph had no clue. She didn't have any idea just how stunning she really was. Another thing to thank that bitch of a mother for. No confidence. That would be one of the things I would work on with Steph. No more feeling like she wasn't worth anything. No more thinking that she was fat or that her breasts weren't big enough. No more thinking that she was a failure. Someday, Steph would understand that she was already Wonder Woman; that she always had been.

And tomorrow night, Wonder Woman would be my wife.

Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews. The dress that Steph picked out is Style #VW9146 on the David's Bridal website, just incase anyone wanted to know. That would have been my pick for my own wedding dress if I had seen it before. Oh well, at least Steph will get to wear it. Let me know what you think about this chapter and thank you so much for reading : )