Chapter 2
Monday morning, Laura and Remington arrived at the office just before nine. Mildred was already sitting at her desk sorting the large stack of mail. "Morning, morning, morning," Remington called out, drawing a large smile from Mildred.
"Good morning, boss. I figured you two would be late this morning," she stated. "I haven't even made coffee yet. Good morning, Mrs. Steele."
Laura smiled, "Good morning, Mildred, I'll take care of making coffee for you."
Laura took two steps toward the break room when Remington placed his hands on her hips to guide her toward his office, "No need to disrupt Mildred's morning routine, Laura."
Laura tried to stop but he continued to gently push her in the same direction. She held her hands up and insisted, 'It's no trouble, really."
"No way, Mrs. Steele. The last time you made coffee, it took me almost a half hour to scrub the pot clean. I'll make coffee, you two get settled. I left a few files on each of your desks that need to be signed off and Monroe said he would be by later today to go over one of the security contracts that came in," Mildred informed them. "Oh, and I cleared your morning schedules so you would have time to get caught up. Your first appointment is at one."
"What kind of case is it?" Laura inquired, turning back in Mildred's direction.
"Just a run of the mill, wife trying to catch her husband cheating, one," Mildred rolled her eyes. "Personally, I say cut the louse free," she added.
Laura smiled and reminded her, "Well, Mildred, that's not our decision, now is it? All we can do it get the information the client is searching for. It's up to the client to decide what they do with it."
"Well said, Laura. Now, we're keeping Mildred from her work and I'm sure we have enough of our own to keep us busy for a while, so let's move on, shall we?" Remington tried steering Laura into his office once again.
Laura stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you actually wanted to get to work?"
Remington chuckled, "Laura, we've been gone for nearly a month. I'm simply trying to get our day started on a positive note so when we leave this evening we will not be buried in files still. Not to mention I made reservations for dinner so I would like to leave on time this evening."
"Oh you did, huh? When did you do that?" Laura folded her arms across her chest.
"Last night, while you were in the shower," he explained, his lips twitching.
Laura raised an eyebrow and asked, "So you're telling me you actually planned dinner for tonight last night?"
Remington leaned forward, pecked her cheek and stated, "I can't have you starving over what was left in my fridge. I was sure Mildred had a full agenda of files on our desks that need our attention this morning, so, if all goes well, I'll be able to finish up and head to the market during lunch today to fully stock the cupboards so we won't have to rely on dinner reservations for the rest of the week."
Laura tipped her head to the side and challenged, "Well, what if I had plans during lunch today?"
Remington folded his arms and pursed his lips. "You didn't mention making plans, naturally, I assumed I was free to run to the market. I suppose if you do, indeed have plans, I could go when you get back."
"Or what if I wanted to go to the market with you? Maybe I need to pick up a few things to make dinner for you," Laura questioned, her hands now propped on her hips.
They were both distracted when Mildred stated, "If you're going to stand there and argue, could you at least take it into someone's office, please? Some of us still have work to do."
Remington pushed his office door open and waited for Laura to pass through. She, in turn, took several steps toward her own office door. She stopped at her door and looked back at Remington. He simply raised an eyebrow and swept his hand in the direction of his office, indicating he wanted her to enter. Laura groaned, rolled her eyes then proceeded to pass into his office. Remington smirked at Mildred before he followed Laura inside, closing the door behind him.
Laura was standing in the center of the office, her arms folded across her chest defensively. "Well?" she demanded.
"Well, what, Laura?" Remington retorted swiftly.
Laura shifted her weight to one side, planted one hand on her hip and gestured with her left hand as she stated, "Did you consider that maybe I'd like to have a say in things?"
Remington leaned against the edge of his desk and replied, "Honestly, Laura, I didn't think it was a big deal. You don't need to make dinner for me. I naturally figured you would probably want to work through lunch like you are prone to do and I would simply run to the market."
Laura looked down at the carpet and sighed, "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just not used to this."
"Not used to what, Laura?" he asked softly, pushing forward away from his desk to close the gap between them.
"Caring what you do during lunch? Wondering what we'll be doing together or on our own? Figuring out how we can both prepare for our day without tripping over one another?" she admitted. Remington took another step closer to her but remained silent. "I guess it's going to take a little bit to figure out how we fit together now that things are official, you know?"
Remington couldn't hide the grin that creased his face, "I think we fit together quite nicely, Laura. I mean, I can think of a few other positions we could test out but…" He trailed off when Laura shook her head. "Seriously, Laura, this doesn't have to be difficult. Life hasn't drastically changed to the point where we can't figure this out," he explained.
"But it has changed. We've changed," she insisted.
Remington puckered his lips thoughtfully and assured her, "Laura, we haven't changed. We're still the same two people who left Los Angeles how many weeks ago."
Laura took a step to him and fingered his tie, "I helped you get dressed this morning, despite your efforts to undress me. I waited for you to finish showering so I could shower and get ready for work. We had breakfast together, in your dining room —"
"Our," Remington inserted, breaking her stream of thought.
"Our?" she asked, confused.
"Our dining room. You did tell Ms. Lynch you were moving in and what's mine is yours now," Remington stated. He watched her face flicker as she scoured her memory and the conversation they had the day before. "You are moving in, aren't you?" he asked.
Laura opened her mouth several times before she managed to stutter out, "I thought we already established that."
Remington reached up and held her arms gently as he said, "I know that's what you said yesterday when you stated you wanted to put the loft on the market as well but I wasn't sure if that's how you truly felt. We haven't talked about it really. Are you sure that's what you want?"
Laura gave him a weak smile and an equally weak reply, "Yes?"
Remington pulled her into his arms and muttered, "Oh, Laura, love, what am I going to do with you, eh?" He held her close, her head tucked under his chin when an idea struck him. Leaning back, he said, "I have a suggestion. How about you don't move in?" When Laura's eyes grew wide, he quickly added, "How about, for the moment, we split our time between my apartment and your loft?
"You mean, spend a few days at each?" Laura confirmed.
"Exactly. Then, once we're comfortable with our routines, we can make a decision about our living arrangements, although I will point out your piano will not fit in my living room," Remington teased.
"And your posters don't exactly match the decor of my loft," Laura reminded him.
Remington puckered his lips before a crooked grin creased his face, "Later, maybe we can find something that will fit the two of us."
"You mean move? From your apartment and my loft?" Laura asked.
"Perhaps, although I'm not sure I want to give up either property just yet," he began. When Laura frowned, he added, "Investments, Laura. The apartment is in a great location, so, in the event, we ever need it for… oh, I don't know… visitors, maybe, it's convenient. And your loft… well, where will Donald and Frances have their little romantic overnights away from the kiddies?" he teased.
Laura laughed, "You've really put some thought into this, haven't you?"
"Well, maybe just a little. While we were in Ireland, I have to admit the idea crossed my mind a time or two," Remington stated as he pinched his fingers together, indicating something small.
Laura sighed, "All right then. Maybe later today, after you've gone to the market, I can run to the loft and pick up a few things just to show Ms. Lynch there is more to cohabitating than just my clothes in your closet or your toiletries in my bathroom. A few family photos, strategically placed, maybe some mail changed to the address, and viola."
"And I can reciprocate the idea. Some of my suits in your closets, a shaving kit as well. I don't carry the photographs as you do but I'm sure we could come up with something," Remington agreed.
Another idea struck Laura, "Once we have our official marriage certificate from Ireland, I can have my name changed. That means a trip to the Social Security Administration, the DMV for a new license, and I'll have to make calls to the credit card companies. Not to mention the bank. How do you feel about keeping our checking accounts separate or would you like to combine them?"
Remington shook his head, his mind spinning, "Laura, are you sure you want to do that?"
"Well, I guess we could keep the accounts separate if that's what you want," she stated.
"No, I mean all of it. Change your name… everything?" Remington questioned, astonished.
Laura reached up and touched his face, "I agreed to marry you, Rem, because I love you. And I promised, in that chapel, that I was going to let my actions show you how much I love you. So, yes, I do mean it. Laura Holt is another person now. Laura Holt-Steele was in denial about how she really felt. But, Laura Steele is not only the wife of the famed private detective, Remington Steele, she is also the woman who finally stole his heart." Laura smiled at him, her earlier anger having dissipated entirely.
Remington swiftly pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. They were completely lost in each other when Mildred opened the door and laughed, "The honeymoon isn't over yet, kids. But we do have to get some work done sometime today."
