Note: For the last two chapters I'm switching to a mostly omniscient POV.

"Since Gail's still recovering," Amanda began to explain, letting Dotty assume her friend had simply been ill, "they need me at the auction tonight."

"Are you playing Vanna White? You're dressed for it."

Amanda smoothed the fabric of her white shimmery gown and put her hand modestly on her chest - covering the deepest part of the v-neck. Instead of answering her mother, she grabbed a light shawl and hollered up the stairs to Phillip and Jamie. "Be good for your grandmother, boys!"

"We will!" came their duetted reply.

"Don't wait up, Mother!" Amanda called back as she left.

Amanda helped guests find their seats, issued auction paddles, and advised attendees on the location of the restrooms. Once the event began, she made a hasty exit, drove to the Agency, and met Lee in the parking lot. No sooner had she put her station wagon in 'park' and set the brake, than Lee was opening her door and offering his hand.

He wore a light grey summer-weight suit paired with a teal necktie and matching pocket square. "You look lovely," he said.

"Not so bad yourself." Amanda slipped the thin strap of her purse on her shoulder, adjusted her wrap, and locked her car.

Conversation stalled and if they hadn't been quite so content to simply stand there smiling and admiring one another, it might've been awkward. The loud down-shift of a truck out on the street, however, diverted their attention.

"Shall we?" Lee asked. "We've got a reservation at Benedetti's."

As they went on foot to the intimate Georgetown bistro, Amanda nudged him with her elbow. "Typical D.C. meal, huh?"

"Well, typical Italian D.C. meal," Lee admitted.

They drank wine, ate delicious ravioli and cioppino, and shared a dessert. The conversation covered just about everything except the topics of their kiss in Munich and their recent arguments. Lee gave Amanda the play-by-play of Francine's interrogation sessions with Rollo - including the fact that he'd gotten some of the story from Billy, who could barely contain his laughter. And Amanda filled Lee in on how she'd explained the disastrous state of her den when her mother and boys had come home the previous night.

"You okay to walk around some?" Lee gestured to her feet when they stepped outside after dinner.

"These heels are a lot more comfortable than they look. I have a pair in four different colors. That's the key - when you find something that works, you invest in it." Her eyes, full of meaning, met his.

"I think... I'm beginning to understand that."

Lee tucked her hand under his arm, Amanda leaned against his shoulder and let her nose graze the material of his jacket. He smelled fresh and clean, and a little bit like the ambient aromas of the restaurant, but mostly just so very much like himself.

Preferring a less crowded setting than the main streets of Georgetown, they wandered to the path along the Chesapeake & Ohio canal. The summer night air was soft and breezy and the walkway was lit by small lamp posts.

Walking quietly for a while, they eventually slowed to a stop on one of the bridges. Elbows on the stonework, they looked down to the water, which sparkled with reflected lights. Amanda reached for Lee's hand and he wove their fingers together. It felt both comfortable and excitingly intimate.

"Amanda…" Lee kept his gaze trained out over the canal, he really wanted to get this right.

"It's okay, you don't need to say anything," Amanda rushed to reassure, turning toward him.

Lee moved to face her, his expression serious. "No, it's not okay. I was angry at myself and hurtful to you, and I'm very sorry."

"I wasn't so great either." Amanda tilted her head in contrition, accepting her part in the fight.

"I was worse and I want to explain myself."

"Okay," she gave him the go ahead.

"I shouldn't have kissed you in Munich."

As soon as he said it, Amanda saw him flinch and he rushed to amend his words. "What I mean is, you shouldn't have kissed me."

She wasn't entirely sure what to say, but she certainly didn't care for what he was saying. "Lee, I-"

Before she could finish, Lee interrupted, desperate not to let things spiral out of control again. "Wait… let me start over… please." Off Amanda's slight nod, he continued. "When we kissed in Munich, I thought it could just be a fun fling. But you aren't a fun fling, Amanda."

"This isn't getting much better." Her lips settled into a pursed line.

Lee paced a few steps and feathered his fingers through his hair. "What I mean is, I can't have a fling with you. You're not the type."

"Lee, if you don't turn this around and fast…" Seeing his troubled brow and worried eyes, Amanda let the end of the sentence drift off.

He heaved a deep sigh. "I like you, Amanda. I can't just have a fun fling with you because I like you." Lee paced forward to stand close to her again. "I really like you," he concluded softly.

"And this is you explaining to me why you were so mean?" She took his hand to convey that it wasn't an accusation, she just needed to be sure of exactly what he was trying to say.

"After Munich, I started to get over protective and I took it out on you." Lee reached to hold both her hands in his and angled his head down to look directly at her. "Then I got mad at myself for letting my feelings interfere with Agency work… then I got madder at myself for how I was acting toward you. I couldn't seem to get out of the vicious circle."

Amanda nodded her understanding. She'd been there herself. She smiled and looked at their joined hands. "So, what do we do now?"

"Kiss again?" He asked with hope and a smile.

She lifted her eyes to his and thought how very appealing the idea was, but still hesitated. "Lee, we barely recovered our working relationship from the last kiss - it was awful. I wrote a resignation letter! Maybe we should just leave well enough alone." She paused, then concluded. "Things are pretty good between us now the way they are, right?"

"Although... things could be pretty good between us the way they aren't." Lee countered as he moved his hands up her arms.

His voice was soft and husky and it shot right to her heart. Amanda could do nothing but put her hands back on his chest again to feel his solid warmth, and agree. "They'd be great."

"Yes they would." Lee's eyes went soft and dreamy as he leaned in… until he felt her arms stiffen to hold him at bay, much like she had in Munich.

"What if things don't work out?" Amanda worried out loud. As a divorcee, she knew the best of intentions in relationships didn't guarantee anything.

"Why wouldn't they work out?" Lee said, his typical confidence coloring his tone.

This time, Amanda didn't jab at him as she explained. Instead, she futzed with his tie, which he took as a good sign. "There could be a million different reasons, Lee. And it could make being partners very difficult."

"We'd figure it out. Other than Eva, I'm on good terms with all my exes." Lee boasted.

"Yes. But you don't have to work with them." Joe was on another continent and it wasn't easy working things out with him when it came to the boys.

"Well… there are a few in the steno pool."

Amanda closed her eyes. "I try hard not to think about them. But, good point."

Lee kept going enthusiastically. "Francine and I still work great together. You should've seen us tag teaming Rollo!"

"Francine? Really?" She raised eyebrows and wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"It was a long time ago!"

"Hmmm," Amanda grumbled. "Okay, but you absolutely cannot tell me to turn down assignments that I'm qualified for. Especially with non-existent hints."

It wouldn't be easy, but she was right. "Agreed. Doesn't mean I won't worry though."

"Good." Amanda knew they'd inevitably have to revisit this conversation, but she believed his intentions were sincere. "So, partners?"

"Partners," Lee beamed.

"And then some…?" Her tone was saucy.

"You bet, Hot Mama."

He threaded his fingers into Amanda's hair and focused on her mouth as he pulled her close. They wasted no time on tentative or exploratory kisses. The sexual tension between them had been brewing for hours and the dam was finally allowed to break.

They indulged in deep, open-mouthed kisses that left them breathless. Lee moved his mouth from hers and nuzzled at her neck while Amanda tilted her head to the side and gripped her fingers in his hair. He grazed his teeth over a spot just below her ear and a gasp of pleasure came unbidden from deep within her.

Amanda's shawl had slipped askew and Lee kissed his way to the curve of her exposed shoulder. Each moist kiss was enhanced by the breeze that chilled every place his hot lips had been. She shivered at the delightful sensation.

Lee lifted his head and Amanda wondered what he would treat her to next. He focused on her soft, soft skin and ran the tip of his index finger across her shoulder to move the strap of her dress to the side. Slow, deliberate kisses followed the path that his finger had run.

"You are so lovely… and you taste so good," Lee said, between kisses.

Amanda slid her hands around Lee's middle, under his jacket. He inhaled sharply as her hands lingered over his waist and then bunched up the material of his shirt to pull him snugly against her.

Their mouths met again and they strained to meld their bodies as close to one another as possible. Things were moving quickly and very pleasurably. As soon as Amanda formed the wish that they were someplace private, she was reminded of just how public of a place they were in.

As if reading her thoughts, Lee leaned back. "Amanda, this probably isn't the best place to be doing this."

"It's not the worst place to be doing this," she said, ticing her head to the side. "But it's definitely not the best place to be doing what I think we'd both like to be doing," she said, the power of her arousal making her bold.

Lee thought his heart had been beating fast before. With Amanda essentially propositioning him, it just about pounded out of his chest.

"What I'd like to do," Lee put his lips right at her ear. "Is to take you to bed, so we can see how close it comes to being the best place to do what I would very much like to be doing."

Amanda vocalized her agreement and pleasure with a raspy hum that evolved into a hissed, "Yesss."

Confident now about the ultimate outcome of their evening, they indulged in several leisurely but deliberate kisses. Lee paid close attention to the exact way her breath caught and then sped up when he nipped at her lower lip. And how she kept returning her hands to his pecs, which hadn't yet failed to provoke an aroused groan from his throat.

The controlled study of how he and Amanda could eke out as much pleasure from making out in public was a delicious torture. It was one he thought they should definitely recreate sometime - and see just how far they could go. But now, extremely turned on, he wanted - needed - to have her naked in his bed.

"We should go," Lee said kind of lamely, his brain not wasting energy on being articulate.

Amanda - so often full of surprises - grabbed his butt and pulled their hips together. She knew exactly what she was doing to him and was smugly satisfied to feel the effect she was having on his body. "Yes, we should," she said with an impish smirk and a glint in her eye.

Lee surreptitiously adjusted himself before they walked quickly back to the Agency parking lot, hand in hand.

"We should drive separately," Amanda suggested when they got close. "That way, we'll make it to your apartment safely. And I'll have my car for later."

Lee filed away a quick fantasy of driving somewhere with Amanda while they did things that made the trip extremely hazardous.

End Chapter Five