Everybody and anything familiar belong to Janet. Mistakes and the obsession with pancakes are mine.

Since Ranger knows everything, especially everything that goes on inside his building, I knew I wouldn't get much of a reaction when he came back to his office and found me sitting in his chair behind his massive desk.

"What are you doing here, Babe?"

"We need to talk."

"About?"

"Us mostly."

"So, door closed?" He asked, his hand gripping the edge of it.

"Definitely closed."

He shut the door and moved further into the room. Even when he's not actively trying to seduce me, there's something predatory in how he looks at - or walks towards - me.

The first surprise of the day, after me deciding to come here, is he allowed me to stay in his leather chair while he sat in the less luxurious one normally used by me or clients. He set his elbows on the bent-steel arms and steepled his fingers. That was it. He just sat there and stared at me, waiting to see what I had to say before he'd show his hand.

The only sound filling the office aside from my racing heart is the slight crinkling of his Rangeman windbreaker while he tapped his fingertips against his jaw. The sudden tension had me totally rethinking what I'm doing here … for about a second. I was married to Orr, faced more maniacs than I have fingers, and survived Kloughn's cosplay Space Jams birthday party … I can get through this.

Batman being my prize, gave me the balls I needed to finally toss one into his court. I mirrored his posture and just said whatever came to mind.

"I screwed up," I told him, not sure that's what I should've opened with but there's no going back now.

"In what way?" He asked, breaking his silence.

"Everyone I know tells me I'm reckless, impulsive, that I don't think in the long term or of possible consequences …"

"Those aren't faults, Babe. As long as you don't use them carelessly."

"That's just it, I should've been more careless instead of living cautiously."

That got his arms relaxing and his upper body leaning my way. "About?"

"You."

Hah, take that Man of Mystery! Some of us can be puzzles needing to be figured out too.

"Explain," he ordered.

My face scrunched up. Of course, he'd regain the upper hand. "You warned me that you're not relationship material. You said you weren't interested in getting married again. You've said repeatedly that your life is too dangerous to share with me …"

"Where is this going?"

"The quickest way to explain it is ... 'Scared Stephanie' had a long conversation with the me who's usually crazy, fearless, and totally impractical. And I came here to say I don't care."

"I've prided myself on being a Plum interpreter, but I'm not following you, Steph."

"Okay, I'll spell it out for you then. I don't care if you don't want to get married again. I don't care if you're in someone's crosshairs more often than you're not, as long as you stay alive for me. I don't care if you don't want to label us boyfriend and girlfriend to the people in your life. I only care about you. Truth is, I think we can work as a couple. And I've been really stupid to let you scare me off seeing if I'm right about how good we'd be together. I've become front page news for doing the opposite of what's safe, so I have no idea why I've been listening to you. I never listen to anyone, especially if it goes against what I wanna do."

"You were afraid of getting hurt as much as I was worried I'd hurt you."

"I'm still scared, but when has that ever stopped me?"

"You've always been too reckless."

"And? You loved that about me … when it didn't almost get me killed."

"I still love that about you. And everything else too."

"Yet, you're still sitting a desk away from me. Not kissing me while a hand is trying to slide under my shirt or into my jeans. Have we now reached the 'you love me but don't want me anymore' phase of our friendly relationship?"

"Babe, I'd give up access to oxygen to have you naked and under me right now …"

"Sure, that explains why you look like you're trying to keep yourself awake during a boring board meeting, while I'm over here serving my love, loyalty, and lady parts up to you with no strings and zero expectations."

That got him moving and I started thinking I poked the Bat Bear one time too many. He stood up and rounded his desk, turning my/his chair until I was facing him. His hands on the arms of the desk chair caged me in and he got nose-to-nose with me.

"I'm not acting bored or indifferent. I'm controlling myself so I don't scare you away seconds after you decide to risk yourself with me. If you could see what I'm thinking and feeling right now, you'd run. And you'd be smart to."

Gulp.

But that warning is exactly what I've been talking about. He tries to protect me, or scare me away, from loving him. Well, it's not going to work this time. Only him telling me he doesn't want me will get me to give him - and us - up. And he already said that isn't the case.

"I'm tired of running away from what I know will make me happy," I said, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice as I bravely met the dark eyes staring a hole into my brain. "We all know running of any kind is an exhausting exercise, so you should be a good guy and put an end to my misery."

He moved infinitesimally closer so our lips were touching. "I'm not a good guy."

"Even if that were true, which it's not, you're still the one I want."

He put an inch of distance between us to search for something in my eyes or on my face. "You sure about that?"

I swallowed and then nodded. "I am. The only thing I've ever been surer of … is that if I ever need you, you'll be there. I think that's a pretty solid foundation for a lasting relationship."

"It is. And I will always be there when you need me. And even the times you don't."

I wrapped my hands around as much as I could of his forearms which are currently corded from restraint, like he's forcefully trying to stay Zen throughout this ambush.

"I know," I whispered.

Before I knew what he was going to do, he moved his arm, plus the hand I had on it, to hit a button on the mission control-style phone on his desk.

"Hold my calls," he told Vince.

I know it's Vince because he's the one I spoke to when I got off the elevator almost an hour ago.

"Does that mean what I think it does?" I asked.

"Depends. I'm not doing us halfway. I want you in my building every day, in my apartment during your downtime, and in my bed with me every night."

"Wow. I kinda thought we'd try the bed thing first and work up to me living here."

"Why?"

Good point. We've lived together in the past, and he's been the only roommate I've had aside from Rex that I haven't considered strangling. I was actually a little depressed whenever our apartment-sharing came to an end.

"So, you don't think we need to think a little longer about moving in together?"

His eyebrow crept upwards. "I don't employ this skill unless Julie is visiting, but I promise you that I can make pancakes so good … you'll beg me to marry you even before you go in for a second bite."

Huh, not what I was expecting him to say. And that's the genius of Ranger. He uses all the information he has on you to maneuver you into agreeing to the result he wants. He remembered that Grandma Mazur making me pancakes kept me from kicking her out of my apartment. I wouldn't have, but I did think real hard about it.

Nights in Ranger's bed are always memorable. Ella's dinners are something to write home about if I had a home or a family I wanted to keep in contact with. But a shirtless Ranger making me pancakes every morning before work? I want to experience that every single day for the rest of my life.

"I'll marry you right now if it gets me homemade pancakes," I told him.

"One thing at a time, Babe. When I see your rat on my counter and all your clothes overwhelming mine in my closet, then you'll get my pancakes … and everything that comes with them."