The Author's Note: The sequel that wasn't planned. Part two and conclusion to Chance. A special thanks to Cindy and Molly for their help. This sequel came to me pretty quickly!

Several months ago, Lee reluctantly returned to DC from London for what he thought would be a "short business trip" only to bump into Amanda at the airport, who was returning from vacation in New York. After a brief conversation, they not only had coffee, he then decided to skip his meeting altogether and met Amanda at her house instead; and as they say, the rest was history. He was even contemplating moving one of the two offices to DC.

Lee was now busy in the dining room of his apartment, setting things up for the special evening he had planned for him and Amanda. Lee set the table with an antique white table cloth that belonged to his mother and a nice set of china he borrowed from Billy. He then placed several candles in prominent places throughout the small dining room and placed a cassette tape in the cassette player; all Lee would have to do was hit play. He planned a dinner of angel hair pasta with shrimp and asparagus with garlic bread on the side; the ingredients were prepped and would not take long for Lee to prepare once Amanda arrived. The tiramisu was from a small bakery just around the corner from his apartment.

Lee had showered earlier; all he needed to do now was change clothes and wait for Amanda, who should be there shortly. Lee had told Amanda that he was planning a special date night at his apartment and when she asked how she should dress, Lee shrugged his shoulders and said, whatever you want. I want you to be comfortable. To which Amanda gave him a curious look.

Lee looked around the tiny apartment that he was renting on a month-to-month basis. It wasn't much more than a square, with a tiny closet by the front door, a kitchen to the left and a small dining room, if you could call it that, the opposite side of the kitchen with shutters that closed off the kitchen. The bedroom was perhaps the most significant room with a walk-in closet, the bathroom inside the bedroom, which he hated. He supposed it didn't matter much because, besides Amanda, he rarely entertained except when Billy, Francine and Leatherneck visited when he first came back. He'd grown tired of the hotel and wary of the amount of money it was costing, so with Amanda's help, they'd picked out this place. The newspaper advertisement had used the words "quaint," but Lee and even Amanda thought it was small, yet it suited his purposes for the moment.

Lee had furnishings and things in London and New York with still other items in storage from when he moved from DC. His assistant in New York was waiting to hear from him about how things went, then he would go from there, but he could sell both apartments and already knew what to do to keep both businesses running and operating well without him. Everything depended on Amanda now, he didn't want to do anything until he talked to her, but at least he had some ideas of how he might proceed with his businesses. Okay, Scarecrow, that's enough thinking, time to get dressed. He prepared the salad; then checked to make sure he didn't miss anything he needed later. He quickly changed into a pair of black pants, a crisp white shirt, a paisley tie and a suit jacket, combed his hair and eagerly awaited Amanda.

Once dressed, while he waited, Lee thought back to something Amanda said to him months ago when he returned to town from his London office. She accused him of not being serious about having a relationship with her and moving forward, so there was no point in them starting up again if he wasn't serious. He knew Amanda meant business and he couldn't blame her one bit; they'd already wasted too much time because of his insecurities.

Lee now knew for sure that he loved Amanda and he wanted her in his life. He checked his watch once more, pulled out the ice bucket and champagne then sat down to wait for Amanda's arrival. What if Amanda didn't say yes? He knew that he wouldn't want to live anywhere else, even though living near her would be complicated if she didn't say yes. But he was never happier than when he lived in DC. Besides the obvious, he missed the hustle and bustle of living there.

He knew Amanda was beginning to wonder what was going on with him. He'd hurt her badly in the past when he left without even a word. Lee glanced at his watch a few times and then busied himself, making sure everything on the table was perfect. He was rearranging the vase again when the doorbell rang, causing him to jump. Okay, Scarecrow, get a grip!

He quickly closed the shutters to the kitchen, pressed play on the cassette player, lit the candles, and took one last look at his hair and attire, then headed towards the door.

***SMK SMK SM***

Amanda was beginning to wonder what Lee was up to; he'd been acting very strangely of late, but she just couldn't put her finger on what was going on with him. After years of being apart and during a return trip home to DC from New York, Amanda had run into him at the airport. Later, surprisingly, he took her up on her offer to stop "running" and come to her house; he'd remained in DC ever since.

Amanda pulled up to Lee's dressed in a midnight blue backless dress, heels that she'd barely broken in, evidenced by the way her feet were hurting. Lee told her it was up to her what she wanted to wear and that he wanted her to be comfortable. They'd been dating months now and Amanda had a wonderful time with him. The love she'd felt for him had not diminished, nor had his for her; at least, that was what she thought until lately. If anything, their feelings for one another were even more potent.

They spent almost every free moment they had together with many late nights spent overnight at his place or hers; thoughts of those late nights causing her to blush even now. Lee, however, of late seemed off, but she could not put her finger on it. She didn't think that it was anything wrong, but just that there was a change; he was up to something.

Maybe she was paranoid. It was just that she was afraid of getting her heart broken again by Lee, so it was with a bit of trepidation that she pulled up to his apartment and rode up in the elevator until she reached his floor. Lee was renting an apartment; not staying at the hotel like when he first arrived; should provide Amanda comfort. However, the fact that the rental was a month-to-month lease instead of a year lease made Amanda uncomfortable. Did that mean he might decide to leave soon? Okay, Amanda, you are being silly. You and Lee talked when he came back and told him that he should let her know then and there if he wasn't serious about them.

Now at his apartment door, the door opened almost immediately by Lee and couldn't have looked more handsome if he tried.

"Good evening, beautiful!" Lee greeted her with a kiss on the cheek as he noticed how sexy she looked in the midnight blue dress. "You look amazing!" He then stood back and handed her a rose.

"Thank you. You look rather handsome yourself." She stepped inside, her arm accidentally brushing up against his hand as she went—the brief touch sending a current of electricity through both of their bodies.

They smiled. As Lee reclosed the door, Amanda stepped inside to the smells and aromas of what had to be shrimp and pasta. Lee took Amanda's shawl and her purse and placed them in the closet. He took her hand and said, "this way, Sweetheart!"

Her eyes widened as her eyes fell upon the floor full of pink, white and sparkly red confetti, with a few matching balloons beside the table, an ivory tablecloth with a few candles on the table, already lit. "Lee, what is all of this?"

"I promised you a special evening, didn't I?"

"Oh, Lee, that is so sweet of you."

"I hope you will enjoy everything."

"I'm sure I will. Everything looks so beautiful."

He pulled out a chair for her and asked, "Champagne, Madam?"

"Yes, please!"

Lee poured the champagne, excused himself, and brought out two salad plates and the garlic bread after a few minutes. They talked leisurely about everything and nothing as they ate, Lee steering away from anything remotely related to work, choosing to concentrate on talking about how much fun he always had when he was with her. He also spoke about how happy he was that he was back in DC now and about what things they might do in the future.

Amanda's heart swelled with happiness as Lee talked. He was making it pretty obvious he wasn't planning on going anywhere soon and though she couldn't be sure yet, she thought she knew what he was about to do.

After eating their salad, Lee stood up, draped his jacket on the back of the chair, rolled up his sleeves and opened the shutters to the kitchen. Amanda couldn't help smiling as she watched him effortlessly prepare the meal. She took several more sips of champagne as she enjoyed watching him cook, tapping her foot lightly to the beat of the jazz music playing. Before long, they were eating their food and once they were as full as they could get without bursting, Lee placed all the dishes in the sink. "We'll worry about those later. Would you care to dance?"

"Yes, I would love to."

They moved to the sounds of Kenny G and other current jazz favorites. Lee had made the cassette himself and plenty others were waiting to go in when that one ended.

"Amanda," Lee whispered in her ear. "Do you know how much I love you?"

"I think I do, but why don't you tell me?"

Lee stopped and, taking her hand, led her back into the dining room, where he dropped down on bended knee. Amanda's mouth dropped open as she watched him pull out a ring box from his back pocket. Lee gazed into Amanda's eyes and said," Amanda, I have loved you almost from the very first day I met you. I was too stubborn to admit it at first, and I was foolish enough to leave and not work things out. Amanda, I am thankful that I ran into you again and you gave me another chance. I love you so much that I can't imagine life without you in it. Will you be my wife?"

Tears welled up Amanda's eyes. She opened her mouth and said shakily, "Lee, yes, yes, of course, I'll marry you!"

After placing the ring on her finger, Lee leaned in and kissed Amanda on the lips. "I love you, Amanda King!"

"I love you, Lee Stetson!"

Dessert was forgotten as Lee stood up and pulled Amanda into her arms for a long and searing kiss that continued as they headed towards his bedroom.

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The end.

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Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it!

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