Chapter 22

"I can't believe she said that," Amanda exclaimed.

"It caught me off guard as well, but I think I handled it okay." Lee and Amanda sat in a booth in the corner of a cozy little diner far away from work. They each had a salad and iced tea as they talked about everything that happened at work that morning. "I think I not only annoyed her but stumped her as well when I told her that Billy also knew your fiance."

They both chuckled. "I wish I was watching because I would've loved to have seen the expression on her face. At least that explained why she didn't hound me for answers when I talked to her. She must've still been in shock." Amanda took a bite of her salad, curiously glanced down at the paper Lee was holding, then back up to him. "Whatcha got there?"

Lee picked up the paper and smiled. "What, this? Oh, I just happened to be perusing it this morning and ran across a few open houses this weekend that I thought we could go check out. See what's out there. What we like and don't like. Then when we know what we really want and need, we can go to the Agency realtor and see what they can help us with." He gazed up at her with hopeful eyes.

"Sweetheart, that's a great idea! I would've never thought to look at all kinds of houses to help decide what we want and need. That's perfect. The boys will love it!"

"You really think so? I was serious when I said I want them to be involved in everything."

"We can tell them at dinner tonight. You are coming over for dinner, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He took another bite of his salad. "I do want to run to my apartment first, though. If it's okay with you, I thought I would bring a few shirts and ties over. Maybe some clothes for the weekends. You can keep some at my place as well. That way, one of us doesn't have to bring a bag along all the time. Just until we get into our new house and we only have one place."

"Boy, you're just full of good ideas today, aren't you?"

"Well, I have one more, if you think you can handle it."

Amanda seductively took a bite of her salad, slowly removed her fork, and licked her lips as she responded, "I can handle anything you bring."

"Oh, you think you can, huh?"

"Uh-huh!"

Lee smiled mischievously before getting back on track. He brought his head down and began to play with what was left of his salad, not sure how Amanda would react to his idea. "Anyway, I was thinking, since we are getting a new bed, what do you think about taking it a little further?" Amanda raised an eyebrow with curiosity. "I thought we could buy a whole new bedroom set. You know, something not mine, not yours, but ours."

"Lee, I love the idea, but isn't that going to be expensive?"

"Probably, but I have money saved up, and this is something I'd really like to do. Will you at least think about it? You never know. We may find something we like that's also inexpensive."

"Oh, sweetheart. I don't need to think about it. Of course, we can start shopping around for one."

The relief on Lee's face made Amanda smile. "Thank you, honey. This means a lot to me." He paused like there was something else he wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure how to. "Um, Amanda? Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Anything."

"It's about your current house. I was thinking. Something just popped into my head, and I didn't know how we should handle it. I mean, I don't know if it will be a problem or what we need to do—"

Amanda cut him off, "Lee, will you please just ask the question? You're starting to ramble like me."

"Sorry. I was just wondering if we need to contact Joe about selling the house?"

Amanda relaxed after she finally heard his question. "Lee, we need to try to contact him, but not about the house. Part of our divorce agreement was to transfer the house into my name. He has no say in what I choose to do with the house."

Relief crossed Lee's face. "That's good to know. I didn't know how hard it was to get a hold of him. I didn't want it to slow us down, in case we found a house we all liked."

"It is hard to get a hold of him since I don't know exactly where he is right now. But, I do need to try to get word to him about the wedding."

"How do you get word to him? If not directly to him, but someone that can get a hold of him. You know, just in case something were to happen to the boys. You would think he would get a hold of you and give you some kind of contact info. I know I would. It drove me crazy not being able to contact you on my last mission, and that's why I told Billy that I wouldn't do them anymore unless it was the last resort."

Amanda reached over and squeezed his hand. "I know it did, sweetheart. It was the same for all of us as well." After they lovingly eyed one another, Amanda released his hand. "I have a contact at the EAO if I ever need to reach him. So, I kind of have to trust that they will get word to him."

"That's not very reassuring."

"I'm not exactly happy about it either, but what can I do about it?"

"Does he ever call the boys?"

"He hasn't called in a while now. In the almost two years since our divorce, he's only called them a couple of times." Lee straightened out his plate and silverware just to avoid making eye contact with Amanda. He didn't want her to see the anger he knew was in his eyes. He couldn't fathom how a man could basically abandon his kids as Joe had. He could understand distancing himself from Amanda, but not the boys. They are still young, and from what they have mentioned about him, he could tell they missed him. Amanda touched his hand to get his attention. "Lee, what's wrong? You seem like you're a million miles away right now."

Lee picked up his head and disdainfully scoffed softly, "You're not far off. I was thinking about Joe and how he could live with himself without contacting his sons. It makes me so mad because you can tell how much they miss him sometimes."

Amanda smiled at him with admiration as she tenderly caressed his cheek. Lee wasn't even their father, and she could tell that he already held a strong connection to them. She knew in her heart he was going to be a great dad to them, not to mention if they were blessed with children of their own. "Lee, I love how much you care for my sons. It completely fills my heart and makes me love you even more than I did before. Thank you for that."

"It's not hard to do. They're great boys. You've done a great job raising them. You and Dotty, that is." He squeezed her hand and checked his watch. "Well, we should probably get back to work before Francine calls out a search party for us. "

Amanda nodded and collected her purse while Lee threw some bills on the table to cover the meal and tip. They contently moseyed out of the cafe hand in hand. Lee went to open the car door for her but pushed her up against it instead. His free hand reached for the back of her head and kissed her passionately. When they both came up for air, Amanda happily moaned, "Wow, now it's time for me to catch my breath! What was that for?"

"I knew I needed to kiss you now, or I wasn't going to make it through the rest of the day. Especially if you keep up with those sexy antics of yours." His dimples showed proudly as he winked at her and reached down to open the door for her. She beamed at him and quickly kissed his cheek as she stepped into the 'Vette. Lee jogged around to get in and head back to the Agency.