Destiny: Chapter Three

Ranger looked at his cell phone and saw Stephanie Plum's number. "What the hell? She will probably say no anyways." Ranger hit the speed dial number for Stephanie.

Stephanie saw the number, and her eyes bugged out. "Hello," she said nervously into the phone.

"Hi, Stephanie. It's Ranger."

"Hi, Ranger, and please call me Steph," she quickly corrected. "Only my mother says my full name."

"Okay, Steph, I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me?" Ranger nervously asked as he paced his penthouse floor.

"Yes, I would love to," she answered him as she was pacing her living room.

"You would?" Ranger asked, his eyes wide in shock. And then he added, "Please, call me Carlos."

"Okay, Carlos, when would you like to have dinner?" she asked him, letting his name roll off her tongue.

He looked at the time. "How about I pick you up at 6:30 tonight? What is your address? I will make dinner reservations at Pinno's Restaurant," Ranger said.

"Okay, sounds great. I will see you then, Carlos. My address is 63 Togan Street Apt 4A."

"Perfect, I will see you then," Ranger said. He broke off the phone call. "Wow, she said yes," Ranger said to himself with his mouth hanging open. He got the number for Pinno's Restaurant and called it.

"Pinno's," the lady answered.

"I would like to make a reservation for two at 7 pm. Under the name of Carlos Manoso."

"Would you like a corner booth?" she asked.

"No, any table would be fine," Ranger answered. He preferred his back to the wall, but the restaurant had too many windows to make it possible.

"Very well, I have your reservation in," the lady said and then hung up.

Ranger took a deep breath. "Wow, I still can't believe she said yes."

Meanwhile in her apartment, Stephanie started to jump up and down in excitement. "Yes," she shouted.

"Now that is a sight I love to see," Morelli said as he entered the apartment.

"Morelli, what do you want now?" Stephanie said. "How did you get inside?"

Morelli shrugged, unwilling to admit he picked the locks to gain entry into her home. "It is a small neighborhood. I heard you might bring someone to your mom's house for dinner on Friday. So I came to see if I could get any more details," Morelli said with a grin.

"My mom can't keep her mouth shut," Stephanie groaned. "Sorry, Morelli. I am not saying a word, and you will leave, or I will shoot you in the foot," Stephanie told him with a grin. She went over to her cookie jar. All she did was take off the lid of the cookie jar.

" I am leaving," Morelli said and then left.

Stephanie looked at the time and noticed it was already five-thirty. "Time to get ready for dinner with Carlos," she mumbled. She relocked the door and secured the chain. Stephanie walked into her bedroom and looked in her closet. She saw the perfect outfit; the light purple v-neck dress. "Perfect," she told herself.

She went into her bathroom and got in the shower. After the shower, Stephanie pulled her nylons over her freshly shaved legs, then stepped into her dress. She took her small heels and put them on to finish the look. Stephanie looked at herself in the mirror. "Perfect," she says, then looks at her clock. Six fifteen.

Just then, there is a knock at the door. Stephanie looks out the peephole and sees Carlos. She opens the door. "Hi, Carlos," Stephanie says. She is looking Carlos up and down. He is in black pants, a white shirt, and a navy blazer. Her body temperature heated as she checked out his sexy body.

"Hi, Steph. Are you ready to go get some food?" he asked, showing his perfect white teeth.

"Yeah, I am starving," Stephanie replied.

"Great, let's go," Carlos told her. He placed his hand on her lower back, guiding her to the elevator. Carlos pressed the button for the first floor.

As soon as the two of them exited the building, Morelli walked up to them. "So this is the mystery man? Do you know that your mom will not approve of this?" Morelli asked. Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"Listen, Morelli, my mom has no say as to who I date, and neither do you, so buzz off," Stephanie told him.

Carlos looked at Morelli while Morelli looked at Carlos, sizing the other up. "You heard her. Leave," Carlos warned.

"I am a grown woman, and my mother knows that. I do not need her approval, from her or you," Stephanie added.

"Whatever, Cupcake," Morelli said and left.

"I am sorry, Carlos. He was one of my friends in high school. Joe was a pain in the ass back then and he still is today. Nothing is going on between him and me. My mom lives in the burg, so you can guess as to how the day-to-day life is there," Stephanie explained. She hoped to god that Carlos won't say that something came up. Instead, he just raised an eyebrow.

"You intrigue me, Steph," Ranger said as they walked to his Porsche. He opened the passenger side front door. She got in and buckled up. Carlos climbed into the driver's seat and fastened his seat belt. He drove them to Pinno's for dinner.