Chapter 7 is here. Thank you for your reviews, and please keep writing them!! To clear up a question asked by someone (I forget who it was) Robert and Elizabeth so far are just friends. They are not officially a couple, even though they do spend a lot of time together.

Feedback is greatly appreciated!

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Elizabeth quietly entered Robert's house late the next evening. She had had a late shift that night, and Robert wasn't working so he volunteered to watch Ella during the day. He absolutely adored that little girl, and loved spending time with her.

It was a nearly midnight, when Elizabeth arrived at Robert's house, and she was expecting both Robert and Ella to be asleep.

Setting her purse and coat down in the hall, she noticed light coming through underneath the kitchen door. Pulling off her scarf, she pushed the door open and stopped dead in her tracks. She gasped.

Robert was in the kitchen standing next to the table. The table that was elegantly set with his fine china, cloth napkins, fancy silverware, and wine glasses. In the center of the table stood two candles, shining brightly in the dim kitchen.

"I thought you'd never get home," he said quietly, and somewhat seductively.

"Robert, what is all of this?" she asked, stunned, yet happy.

"Dinner, just you and me."

"Robert, it's beautiful," she breathed, crossing the room to approach him.

"And you haven't even tasted the food yet," he said smiling.

Suddenly, without any warning, and without thinking, Elizabeth leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was soft and gentle and wonderful. Everything they both had ever imagined it to be.

Their lips parted and she smiled at him, her cheeks flushing.

"I was actually only expecting a thank you, but that was nice too. Now come sit, and dinner will be served," he said, gesturing towards the table. She followed him over to the table, and he pulled her chair out for her.

Robert went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle that looked like wine.

"Oh, Robert, I can't have wine, the baby," she said, looking down at her stomach.

"Don't worry, it's sparkling grape juice. Honestly Elizabeth, did you think I would actually try to give you wine," he said, teasing.

She laughed, as he filled her glass and then his own. Putting the bottle back on the counter, he began to serve the meal.

He had spent a good part of the evening cooking his own homemade pasta sauce for the ravioli he was making. He had also prepared a salad, and breadsticks to go along with it, and there was a homemade chocolate cake for dessert.

"Robert, did you make all this food yourself?" she asked sometime during the meal.

He nodded, since his mouth was full.

"I just never imagined you as the cooking type," she said honestly. "The food is wonderful."

"Thank you. You know, I've lived alone for a long time, so I kind of had to learn how to cook. Can't live on fast food my whole life."

"That's true. How was Ella today? Did she behave for you?"

"She was a perfect angel," he replied sincerely.

"You like spending time with her, don't you?" Elizabeth asked.

"I do," he answered honestly. "There's just something about the innocence of a little kid. Especially Ella, she's absolutely adorable."

"She likes you too," she told him. "Every time I mention your name, her face lights up."

After they were both finished with their meal, and their dessert, Robert began to load the dishwasher, while Elizabeth helped clear off the table.

"Do you want to stay tonight?" he asked hopefully, as he loaded the last of the silverware into the dishwasher, and closed it up.

"I'd love to."

They made their way up the stairs and into Robert's bedroom, foreign territory for Elizabeth. She slipped off her shoes and placed them next to the door.

Robert showed her around the room, and then the large master bathroom, showing her where anything she might need was.

They returned to the bedroom, and Robert went over to his dresser, opening the top drawer and pulling out a pair of plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt.

"Here," he said, "You can sleep in these," he told her, handing over the clothes.

He went back to get his own pajamas, and when he turned around, Elizabeth started to take off her shirt. She threw it into a pile on the floor and grabbed his t-shirt off the bed, slipping it over her head, and then pulling her hair out of the collar. Then she undid the side zipper of her black pants, and slid them off, revealing her black panties. She slipped on the pajama bottoms Robert had given her, only slightly baggy on her. They would do for tonight.

Robert pulled on his pajamas, and Elizabeth pulled the comforter down on the bed, crawling into the left hand side and slipping under the covers. Throwing his clothes into his walk- in closet, he flicked the bedroom light off, and crawled in with her.

At first neither of them spoke, but then Elizabeth's voice broke through the silence. Her voice soft and tender, she whispered, "Can we call that our first date?"

In the darkness, he reached over and pulled her close to him, her head resting against his chest, his arm around her shoulder. He brushed the hair away from her ear, and put his mouth close to it, and whispered, "As long as it's not the last." And with that they both fell asleep in each others arms.