Stephanie shrugged her shoulders. "Well, the way I see it we have two options. One we can just forget this night ever happened and return to being just friends. Or two you can ask me out on a date and we can get to know each other."

Without skipping a beat, Ranger replied, "Stephanie, would you like to go to dinner with me?"

Steph In The Right Direction

Chapter Twenty-One

Stephanie thought all of two seconds before saying yes to Ranger. The look on his face when she accepted his invention for a date sent a chill from the top of her head straight to her toes. Ranger didn't waste a moments notice either when he reached for her neck, sliding his smooth thick fingers against her warm skin. His thumb playfully rubbed the spot where her pulse throbbed. Her mouth instinctively fell open as her eyes closed in anticipation of the kiss. The kiss that never got to come. Just as she could feel his breath on her lips they were ripped apart by the alarming of the door buzzer. They both jumped and ended up on opposite ends of the couch.

When it rang again their eyes met and they laughed at the humor of the situation.

"Yo." Ranger grumbled into the intercom.

"You wanted to know when Erica and Rita arrived, sir? Well they should be pulling into the garage in ten."

"Thanks Hal."

"No problem." The intercom announced before Ranger released the button.

"Sorry for the interruption babe. My timing with you always seems to suck."

Stephanie smiled at Ranger. She wasn't use to seeing him feel defeated, and she also wasn't use to getting an apology from him.

"It's ok. I should get going anyway, it's late." She gathered her bag and headed for the door. Ranger opened it slowly and stood there as he watched her pass through. Just before she was in the hall, he grabbed her arm and twirled her back against his chest.

"Still up for that date?"

"Just name the time and the place." she cooed.

"Tomorrow night. I'll pick you up at 7:00. And Steph?"

"Yeah?"

"You won't regret this." He released her arm and flashed his best 200-watt smile.

Stephanie stood frozen until the door clicked shut.

Four hours later Stephanie was still tossing and turning in bed. The events of the evening wouldn't leave her mind and as a result she had begun to overanalyze every little detail. The tiny pang in her stomach that had started out as butterflies had developed into a full blown case of panic. What in the hell had she gotten herself into?

Feeling totally out of control she reached for the phone in a last ditch moment of desperation.

"'lo" said the grumpy voice on the other end.

"Lisa! Wake up I have a problem."

"Ma? Is that you? Have you fallen? Oh my god, you can't get up. What's that Life Alert number again?"

"Lisa, Lisa! It's Stephanie. Stephanie Plum."

Lisa let out a held breath. "Shit Steph, you just scared the pee out of me."

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to wake you, but I didn't know who else to call."

"That's ok, just let me get awake. And by the way, it's about damn time you called although I would have preferred it to be at a more suitable hour."

"I meant to call sooner, but well.. You know how things are."

Lisa laughed, "Oh I know. Spend the summer making new friends then return home never to speak to them again."

"No, no Lisa. It's not like that I promise. Things have just been crazy since I've been back which is actually why I called. I have a major problem!"

"What's up? Can't decide between Sexy Cop and Cuban Hunk?"

"Not exactly." Stephanie sighed. Then after taking a deep breath she filled Lisa in all the events of the recent month.

"Ok Steph, let me get this straight. Cuban sex god finally proclaimed his love for you but now you're having second thoughts? Are you insane?" Lisa asked.

"Maybe I am. I don't know Lisa, it's just weird. Everything was fine. One minute he was professing his love for me then the next minute he was telling me how his daughter was coming to live with him."

"So you don't like his daughter? Is that the problem?"

"I don't even know her." Stephanie explained.

"Ok Steph. Give me something to work with here, because I'm not seeing what has you so upset." Lisa said sounding obviously confused.

"Lisa, don't you see? It's Joe all over again. Suddenly Ranger tells me he loves me, but only right after he gets custody of his daughter. He's planning on making a Burg wife out of me."

Lisa laughed, "Get a grip. First of all, nobody could make you into a Burg wife. That would only happen if you let it. And secondly, you have no idea what Ranger has planned for you. So I suggest you go back to sleep, then when you get up in the morning, go shopping for some date clothes. If you don't feel any better by tomorrow night then call him on it when he arrives to pick you up."

"Maybe you're right."

"Of course I am. Now go to bed and give me a call tomorrow night and tell me how things go."

"Ok. Thanks Lisa. I don't know what I would have done without you tonight."

"Sure thing, one of these days you can return the favor."

"Definitely." Stephanie said just before she disconnected.

Stephanie checked the time once again. 6:53pm, four minutes since she last looked. She was a ball of nervous energy, pacing back and forth between the kitchen and her bedroom.

When her doorbell finally rang, she had to wipe her palms on her skirt to be able to open the door. She couldn't remember ever sweating this much.

When she finally pulled the door open she was greeted by a dozen pink roses and a very happy Ranger.

"Babe, you look great." Said Ranger as he stepped forward to pull her into an embrace. He lifted her from the floor and twirled her around, causing her loose skirt to flair.

"Wow, you're in a good mood." She said when he finally set her back down.

"You better believe I am. I had the best morning with Erica and now I'm going to have the best night with you. What could be better?"

Stephanie smiled then grabbed the flowers to place them in some water.

"So what's on the agenda for tonight?" she asked.

He followed her into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist as she stood by the sink filling up the vase. He dropped his head to her shoulder then whispered, "First I thought we'd get a nice quiet dinner somewhere. Then I thought we'd head back to my place so you could get to know Erica."

Stephanie's body immediately went tense. "Excuse me?" Steph asked.

"Something wrong with that plan?" Ranger questioned.

"You want me to meet your daughter?" Stephanie said as she slid from his arms and took a step away from him.

"Of course. I think it would be helpful if the two women in my life actually knew each other." Ranger laughed.

Stephanie's blood began to boil. "I don't believe you Manaso! Get out! Now!"

Ranger froze in place and looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Stephanie, what the hell's wrong with you?" he questioned.

Still gripping the flowers she took another step back then tossed the vase and its contents across the room. The glass shattered as it made contact with the wall directly behind Ranger.

"How dare you come over here and be so damn smug. Did you think I was really so stupid I wouldn't know what you were up to? How dumb do you think I am?"

Ranger took a step forward and tried to grab her arms, but she moved away just in time to prevent it. "What are you talking about Stephanie?"

"Meeting your daughter, that's what I'm talking about. Ranger, I wouldn't be a Burg wife for Joe and I sure as hell won't be one for you either."

Ranger crossed his arms across his chest. "Where did you get the idea that's what I wanted?"

"Well let's see Ranger, you finally tell me you love me but only after you get custody of your daughter. You sure didn't waste any time searching for a mommy dearest, now did you?"

Stephanie watched as Ranger's face went from confused to angry. "Is that what you really think?"

Stephanie crossed her arms in an attempt to mimic Ranger's stance. "Of course it is. What else would explain your sudden change in behavior? One minute you are telling me you don't do relationships and the next you practically want to get married."

Ranger took a step toward her causing his body too loom, larger than life, over hers. "Listen here Stephanie. I don't know what the hell brought this on, but you are sadly mistaken. I told you I didn't do relationships because I saw the look on your face that morning. I knew the minute you saw me you regretted what we had done. So I did exactly what you wanted me to do. I took all the blame and guilt off of you and pointed it towards me. I opened the door for you and you sure as hell didn't waste anytime walking through it. You were back with Joe within a week. And that was over a year ago, might I remind you."

"As for the sudden change, that's hardly the case. I've been feeling this way for a long time. I didn't know until you returned from your vacation that you might possibly feel the same for me. But before I could do anything about it I had to get some stuff in my own life settled. And that's exactly what I did. Amanda is finally gone and Erica is finally with me. And speaking of Erica, she doesn't need a mother. But even more than that, she doesn't need another person in her life that doesn't believe in her father. So thanks Stephanie, for putting a stop to this before either of us got too emotionally involved."

Ranger didn't give her time to respond. He merely turned and walked straight out the door.

To Be Continued…