Chapter 12

The long and extremely grueling process of getting ready was nearly over. Stacy had been working on the last steps of her makeup routine, currently applying a light, sparkly pink lip gloss, when she heard a familiar ring emitted from her cell phone. The compact, silver object continued chiming inside Stacy's purse as she made her way to it, nearly tripping over her traveling bag on the floor.

Sounding somewhat out of breath from her near-trip, she flipped the phone open and answered, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Randy. I'm downstairs in front of the entrance, so come down whenever you're ready. I'll be waiting."

"Okay, I'll be down in just a sec," was the blonde's reply before her phone returned to its original stance inside her purse.

A flowery scent spread throughout the air as she sprayed her favorite perfume onto her wrists and neck. Recapping her perfume bottle, Stacy set it down onto her bedside table and continued on to grab her shoes. She gracefully slipped her foot into a strappy baby blue high-heel sandal covered with rhinestones, buckling its top strap and repeating the procedure. The woman grabbed her matching purse and strolled towards the door, of course, first pausing in front of the mirror for a mere five seconds to check her hair for the last time.

The elevator doors were facing the front entrance of the extravagant hotel, and upon their opening, revealed a smiling blonde wearing an elegant floor-length black dress that shimmered upon her every move. The garment, possessing a long slit up her right leg,clung toStacy's every curve, creating an incredibly flirtatious illusion.

The doormen opened the glass entrance doors, triggering a warm breeze to brush against her skin as she stepped outside the confinements of the remarkable building. Randy stood about ten feet from Stacy in front of a luxurious black limousine. She almost looked like a supermodel walking out, looking as gorgeous as she did.

Randy whistled as he looked the stunning woman coming towards him from top to bottom.

"Whoa, Stace, you look hot!"

"Randy!"

"I'm just playin'," he replied with a sweet, charming smile, capable of making any woman's heart melt, as he opened the limo door for her. How was it possible to hold a grudge against a guy with a cute face like that?

It wasn't.

Disregarding the previous salutation, the two greeted each other with a welcoming hug before climbing inside the car.

After taking a moment to soak everything in, Stacy's first words were, "Oh, my God, Randy, this is so amazing. You didn't have to go through all the trouble, though."

The car began its journey through the busy New York streets to their destination as Randy handed Stacy a tall crystal glass of champagne.

"You have every second of this night planned, don't you?" Stacy giggled as she took a slight sip of the beverage.

"I want you to have the best night of your life. After all, you deserve it. I really didn't mean to get in your business this afternoon. I just kind of… spoke without thinking," Randy glanced at her sincerely, providing proof that he meant every word.

"It's okay, honey, really. It just kind of scared me a little when you yelled like that, you know?" Suddenly, the blonde found the bubbles in champagne strangely interesting and avoided looking at Randy. She was well aware of the effect it – the comparison to Scott – would have on him; he loathed the corrupted man and associating the two almost seemed… wrong. Stacy attempted to refrain from actually seeing his hurt gaze, but it was useless. She could feel the look baring into her.

"I'm really, really sorry, Stacy," Randy finally spoke, after genuinely understanding the damage he'd done, as he pulled the blonde in for a deep, heart-felt embrace.

"It's no big deal," she whispered in his ear as her arms wrapped around him, "I know you didn't mean for it to turn out like that, Randy. Seriously, forget about it, we'll put it behind us. I mean, hey, you can worry about this later. I don't know what you have planned, but let's enjoy it!" Stacy remarked, pulling back and looking into his eyes reassuringly.

"Don't ever let me do that again," he pleaded, receiving a nod in response.

While Randy confirmed the reservations, Stacy glanced around. The restaurant was absolutely magnificent. It honestly could not havebeen any better. Modern Love was its name which, in Stacy's opinion, was probably not coincidental. A little smile danced across her lips at the thought, and she proceeded to accustom herself to her surroundings for the evening. The tall structure had gorgeous angled ceilings and what happened to be even more amazing was the fact that it wasn't just a restaurant, but it had a café, too! The two separate sections were divided by a partition of frosted glass; not to mention, everything looked sophisticated and modern, hence the name. Stacy could hardly believe what was right in front of her; it was almost too good to be true.

The two were ushered to their table by a polite gentleman, who was also to be their waiter for the night. They sat down at a square table, covered in what almost looked like a thin blanket of snow. A small glass vase was present in the center, brimming with luscious red roses, among which pieces of baby's breath were selectively placed.

Stacy gasped when she caught sight of the flowers.

"They have roses in the middle of the table! Oh, I absolutely love those. Wait a minute," she paused as she took another glance around the place, "we're the only table that has roses."

"I know," Randy stated effortlessly.

Stacy all but jumped over the table and hugged Randy. She couldn't believe Randy would do that! But… how did he know?

"Your hotel suite was covered in them at one point, was it not?" he remarked, his lips forming into a sly grin.

"You are so right! How did you know about that? Oh, never mind! Duh," Stacy said, beginning to laugh at her silliness.

"Blonde moment?"

"Hey! Just because I'm blonde you can't…" she sighed, "yeah, you can. Well, I have my moments. It's not like you're Mr. Perfect, either, though," she laughed, confirming the fact that she was only joking.

A couple hours later, Randy and Stacy were just preparing themselves to go back to their hotel room. Both of them rose from their chairs and were putting on their coats when Stacy decided to take a quick glimpse around the room, wondering if she'd notice any familiar faces.

Of course, being in the wrestling business, she was used to being stared at, but this was different. Even during their exceptionally enjoyable dinner, it eventually became challenging to shake the feeling that someone wasn't just looking at her, but they were watching her. No one in the whole room seemed even the least bit recognizable to her, a realization that sent chills up her spine.

Just as they walked out the door, Stacy became aware of the rain splashing onto the pavement for the first time. Unfortunately, she soon figured out that her purse wouldn't shelter her from the falling water at all, but thankfully, it wasn't a long walk to the limo.

During the short ride home, Randy and Stacy talked about the awesome Italian food they'd had, the great service, and even more about their conversation during dinner.

"Thank you so much, Randy," Stacy commented truthfully as they neared the hotel.

"You're welcome. You know I was more than happy to do it… but there's one more thing," Randy revealed.

"What more could there be? This night couldn't be any more perfect really. I don't know if I could handle any more surprises," she admitted witha giggle.

"I think you can deal with this one," Randy assured her before the sly grin returned. Right at that moment, the limo pulled up to the hotel entrance, and the couple stepped out. They stood there, Randy holding Stacy in his arms under the pouring rain, both of them soaked.

He had been right. There was nothing more romantic than kissing in the rain.

Author's Note: Hey, guys. It's been a while! Just 'cause of that, I made this chapter about 300 words longer for ya. Thanks for your patience, and if you're still out there, please review! Much Love!