**Characters belong to Janet Evanovich, I make no profit, all mistakes are mine.**
A/N:Sorry for the longer than usual wait- my husband was rushed to the hospital and had to have Emergency lung surgery, so we are in the hospital and he has chest tubes... not the most fun week. Promise the next update will be in the next couple of days, hope you enjoyed the date so far, it's a longer than usual chapter ;) This chapter is un-edited so try to overlook the errors. Will edit when we get home from the hospital. Thank you so much for your messages, and reviews. I appreciate them, and read them all! Sometimes I don't get a chance to write back to you, but I swear I appreciate them, keep them coming!
I walked into La Bella Vida, and didn't have to look far for my friends. Sitting there (im)patiently waiting were Val, Lula, and Connie all with cat ate the canary grins on their faces. Geez, everybody is in a good mood today!
30 minutes, and a Mimosa into our beautification process, I found myself in the massage chair beside Val getting our pedicure on. The past month, I had spent more quality time by choice with Val than I can ever remember. My whole life, Val was Saint Valerie, Helen's pet, I truthfully always had a bit of animosity towards her for being so damn perfect all the time. Lately though, I have felt a real connection to her. Anytime I need advice in this new parenting journey, she is there. The girls love each other, and Val, and I have started to confide things in each other. It is really nice. Val played with the rim of her glass, and glanced over at me;
"So.. Mom keeps trying to call me. Truthfully, Steph, I had no idea things were so bad. Why didn't you tell me? I was so caught up in my marriage to Steve, the kids, then the nasty divorce, meeting Albert, having Lisa, being married again... I just, I didn't open my eyes. I can't even look at that bitch anymore. The things that she said when you left that day- I mean, Jesus! My children were there, and the nasty things she said. I can assure you, we will not be around Helen Plum again."
"Val, I appreciate you taking up for me, I just don't want to be responsible for you not speaking to your own Mom, and your kids not seeing their grandmother, I feel bad for doing this."
"Stephanie..DON'T. DO NOT put this on yourself. Helen Plum made her bed, now she needs to lay in it. If she is so in love with Joseph Morelli, maybe she should marry him. Her marriage with Daddy isn't going to last, I know that for a fact. Daddy has been in the spare bedroom since that night, and spends most of his time at the lodge. Grandma Mazur is the happiest I've ever seen her in your apartment with all the other old fogies. You don't always have to feel guilty for living the life that you were meant to live. You aren't Burg, hell Steph- I'm not perfect. I always thought Burg was my only option. Thanks to you, I am starting to really explore my possibilities. I mean, you are probably the best Mom I have ever met, and you have only been a Mom for like 5 weeks. You are a natural. Do you sit at home ironing, and cooking the perfect meal? No. You live your life in your own way. I want to spread my own wings for once. I want to get a job, Steph. I want to order a damn pizza, and eat it at 8:00 at night if I want to. I don't want Pot Roast Friday's, I swear to God if I see another Pot Roast, I'm going to run away. You are my hero, Steph... I'm lucky you will have anything to do with me after me being MIA for so many years. It just shows how amazing of a woman you are."
"I...I don't even know what to say. All I know is, you are a strong strong woman. If anyone can spread their wings, it's you. There is nothing wrong with us flying together for once. I am truly happy with my life for the first time, and being able to have my sister as an ally, and best friend is the best feeling. I don't think I could have went that whole month of being a single parent without you. I am beyond happy that Carlos is home safe, and wants us to be a family, but that whole month, I had no clue what was going to happen, and you were my anchor. Who would have thought that our daughters would end up best friends? Who would have thought that I would be a Mom a month ago? I'm proud of you Val. If you need someone along the way, know that Carlos, and I are there. I don't know what he has planned, but I'm beyond grateful that you are the one keeping Jules. I had a slight panic attack in the car when I had no idea where she would be going. I thought I was going to go into heart failure. Being a Mom is scary stuff."
"You're not kidding. Being a Mom is the scariest, most rewarding job in the world. You have taken to it better than I ever did in the beginning, and you started out with a teenager. I just felt like I should warn you that I have a feeling Mom isn't done making noise. I promise I won't leave the girls alone at all, and Carlos has guards outside, he installed a RangeMan security system for us, and gave Angie, and I both panic buttons to keep with us. I'm amazed how good of a man he is, Steph. Mom called him a thug, and it's the farthest thing from the truth. That man is protective, yes. But, he is crazy about you. I wish Albert looked at me like that. I can't really complain, because I've never looked at Albert the way you look at Carlos, either. I mean, I love him, don't get me wrong, but there has never been any fire, or excitement... it's kind of like granny panties, and premature ejaculation. Not that the granny panties cause the premature ejaculation, but you get my point. My life has always been about being a wife and mother at all times, and I never gave myself time to figure out who I was as a person, I just threw myself into what I was told I should be. I'm so scared to be happy."
I truthfully couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. I'm shocked she trusts me enough to talk about something she has clearly never talked about with anyone, and I can't help but feel bad. I was always the wayward child, and she picked up the slack. She never gave herself the time to find who she really was, and now she is 35 years old, 3 kids, married to the worst lawyer in the world, and she isn't happy at all.
Val married Albert because she got pregnant. That was clearly a hot mess when Carlos did the same thing, so I am just taking a guess that it's not a great formula to base forever off. I looked over at Val while she was looking down at her hands;
"I'm sorry that I didn't know you were unhappy. Is there anything you need me to do, or you want to talk about that would make you feel better?"
She looked up, and gave me a sad smile.
"No, Steph... not yet at least. I am serious about finding a part-time job though, I want to see if gaining a little bit of independence will make me start feeling like a contributing member of society. I want to take things as they go, but I just know at the moment, I'm unhappy. I don't deserve unhappiness for the rest of my life. I've made lots of mistakes, but the biggest one of all was ever listening to advice from Helen Plum. Never again."
"Truer words never spoken."
We both smiled, and I raised my glass.
"To Us. New beginnings, and finding ourselves."
"Cheers!"
A few minutes later, Lula, and Connie came in fresh from their facial, Lula sitting next to me, and Connie sitting next to Val; Mary Lou was still in the other room getting her facial.
Val, and Connie were the same age, so they were carrying on a reminiscent conversation about one of their old high school class mates getting busted for indecent exposure, and I tuned them out, closing my eyes while my feet continued to soak in the bubbly water.
A few minutes into my soak, I could feel eyes on me. I peeked out my right eye, and saw Lula looking at me with an inquisitive look on her face. I opened both eyes, and swiveled to the right a bit so I could see her whole face. She gave me a small smile, and twisted her hands.
"Steph... can we have a serious girl talk for a second?"
What on Earth is she nervous about? This isn't Lula the spandex flamboyant act, this is Tallulah Jackson, the actual woman behind all the acts of crazy.
"Umm... Sure Lula. Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine Steph, but I really just want to get a few things off my chest. When you rescued me off my fire escape, you saved my life. Not just from that incident, but your friendship got me out of the streets, and I did nothing but take advantage. I'm really sorry about that. You are such a good chick. I mean you give all you have, refuse to accept anything in return, and get burned for it. I realized I have been railroading you for years when you finally went off on me. A lot of the time, I was playing, but something was always jealous. You never tried, and you had two of the hottest men on the planet falling at your feet, I had no idea it wasn't always sunshine and roses as far as relationships go. I didn't know Morelli was THAT big of a douchebag. I finally realized that it was your amazing heart that causes people to flock to you. I never had real friends, I didn't know how to be one. Life on the street is different, and I really just never showed you how much I treasure who you are. You deserve this love you are getting now. Seeing you as a Mom is like finally seeing you the real woman I knew you had in there somewhere. Morelli held you back. You bitch ass Mom held you back, and as sad as it makes me, I held you back. I made you out to be entertainment through my antics, I left you when I felt uncomfortable around cops, I treated you like shit and you still love me. How, I have no idea, but I swear Stephanie, I will try really hard to be the person you knew I could be when you rescued me. I am done being the dumb ass ex-hoe wearing spandex 10 sizes too small. I'm done being a mockery, I just want you to know that you inspired me. Maybe I will meet me a man that really loves me one day, but really right now, I want to figure out how I can learn to love myself, because I really don't like me anymore."
I sat there keeping eye contact with her as she looked completely, and totally sincere. Lula was finally being Tallulah, and letting her vulnerabilities show. I know that Lula has had a hard life. Her mother was a crack whore, she never knew who her father was. She had to sell herself to survive. She was beaten within an inch of her life, causing not only mental anguish, but taking away her ability to bear children. Lula is emotionally scarred, and stunted. She puts on a big bravado, and hides behind her spandex, and attitude the fact that she is just scared to find herself. Who would support her? She has lived her whole life on the streets, and had the care of nobody. My heart breaks for what Lula grew up with, but in the same token- I am no longer living for myself. I have put a distance between us ever since I had to go off on her at the Bond's office when I first got Julie. I cannot, and will not surround myself with gossip, and anything Burg. Lula has figured this out, and knows that if she wants my support, and wants to be a part of my life, she will have to take a hard look at herself, and be the woman she is destined to be, not a fake show to keep people from asking questions.
"Lula... I am really proud of your decision. I always knew one day you would figure out you are destined for great things, but you never saw yourself as worthy. You have to love who you are, I have learned that since I got Jules. Once I got Julie, I realized I only love who I am away from the Burg. I had to separate myself from any and all things negative in my life, so that I gave my child the best possible life. I don't live my life for myself anymore, it took that to make me realize I needed to change. I had to distance myself from you guys because I have to be able to have trust that you won't say something negative, or inappropriate in front of my child. Your life has been so difficult, and I can't tell you enough how proud I am of you, and that if you are wanting to really change, I will be here. Unfortunately, a change like this has to start from within. If you need support, I'm all ears. Now... it looks like Val, and Connie have left us to move on to a different treatment. How about we find Mary-Lou, and get these grubby fingernails done, then head to the mall. I have to impress my man tonight."
I got a genuine happy smile.
"Your right. Come on, White girl, lets get those nails looking hot, then get you an outfit to knock your mans socks off."
We met up with Mary-Lou, Val, and Connie and got our nails done, then sat in the cafe area to eat a light snack, and have a little more girl talk- much lighter talk than my heavy talks with Val, and Connie. Vinnie had thrown a fit when Connie, and Lula both left, until Ranger called in, pretty much threatening death if he gave anyone a hard time.
For good measure, since he was in a playful mood, Ranger called Grandma Mazur, and asked her to fill in answering phones at the bonds office while the girls were gone. Apparently, when Grams showed up, Vinnie paled, ran into his office, and was heard whimpering through the door. Grams brings out the fear in everyone. I really hope I take after her when I'm old.
We left the Spa after our waxes, mani, pedis, facials, and of course massages. I was carefree, happy, and ready to see my man. Only a few hours to go. Next, we headed to the mall to get me all outfitted out for tonight. I had no clue where I was going, but I was giddy with excitement.
We went through every dress in Macy's, and I truthfully wasn't feeling any of them, so we wandered the mall scouting stores. We happened upon a new specialty dress shop, and I immediately saw the dress I wanted. The dress, and color were like nothing I had ever dared to wear, but my life has evolved so much, I just wanted something different. I grabbed the dress, and headed to the fitting room.
As I pulled the dress on, I knew it was a winner. Good Lord, Carlos is going to have a heart attack, I will definitely have to be bra-less in this thing. I stepped out, and stood in front of the girls. From the front, the dress is quite conservative. Red lace, with a red underlay, and a neckline that goes straight underneath my collarbones. It is super tight, and lands about 3" above my knee.
The real show, is when I turn around. The entire back is out of the dress, and it lands directly above my butt crack, with a thin red string meeting in the center loosely hanging with a black jewel attached looking like a back necklace. The dress is sex in fabric.
I am not usually a red kind of girl- give me a LBD, or a turquoise to match my eyes, and I am in my comfort zone. Red? Never. To tell you the truth, I look hot, and I am ready to spend the night with the man of my dreams.
The girls were stunned when I turned around. Mouths wide open, no sounds coming out... for this group, I'd say that is a home run. Lula doesn't do silent.
Mary-Lou, and Val headed out after I found my dress, so they could get the kids from school, and I headed to Victoria's Secret for some special undies to wear under my dress. I scored with a red see-through lacey thong, going with the red theme. Go big or go home. Last, we headed back to Macy's for shoes. I needed some serious shoes to finish off my outfit.
I lucked out by finding the most sinful black 4" FMP's by Chinese Laundry that had a thin single strap at the bottom, and a thin strap that buckled around the ankle. I seriously felt like a goddess in the shoes. I couldn't wait to put the whole outfit together.
We headed out from the mall, and Lula dropped me off at RangeMan, so that I could get ready. By then it was close to 4:30, and I needed Ella ASAP to help me get ready.
I know I say it a lot, but Ella is a goddess. The woman's talent knows absolutely no bounds. In an hour, and 15 minutes, I have been transformed to a freakin' sex kitten. I don't even know myself at this point.
Ella insisted that I keep my hair down, she reminded me that Carlos is a fool for my curls, I can definitely see that. He is always playing with my hair. My makeup is mostly understated, with a slight smokey eye to enhance my eyes, and a bit of bronzer on my face, but the star of the show is my amazing red lipstick. It seriously sends the look over the edge.
Ella wished me luck, told me I look like a movie star, and headed out about five minutes before I heard a knock at the door. A knock?
I opened the door to the sexiest thing I have ever seen in my life. Carlos had his shorter hair styled messy, a charcoal grey button up with the top two buttons undone, exposing the most delicious mocha latte skin I have ever seen, and black dress pants that hugged his perfect ass in a way that made me want to take a bite out of it. Good Lord I can't believe this piece of heaven loves me.
I finally made it up to his eyes after shamelessly oogling him for what felt like 15 minutes, but was probably closer to 15 seconds. His eyes were as black as night, and his mouth was slightly ajar, with heavier than normal breathing. He gave me that reaction without seeing the back of the dress? HA!
I gave a slow, wicked smile, and turned around slowly, walking the few steps to the couch to collect my purse. When I turned back around, his eyes had slightly widened, and somehow his eyes had taken on a darker than dark color, and were downright predatory in their gaze. Gulp!
I couldn't help myself, so I winked at him,
"Like what you see, Carlos?"
That seemed to snap him out of his lust induced stupor. A wolf-grin appeared, just before he took the last few steps towards me, and pinned me to the living room wall by his hips. He pulled my head up with one hand grabbing my hair, and his other landed on my ass, pushing us impossibly closer together. He leaned down, and gave me a deep, sexy kiss that lasted long enough that when he backed off, I thought I was going to pass out.
He tiled his head sideways, and finally replied;
"What do you think, Babe?"
From the intensity of that kiss, and from the rather enormous, hard piece of anatomy pulsing against my belly, I'm gonna go with a yes...
We headed out the door, holding hands, and made our way to the Turbo. He gave me a sweet kiss, put me in my seatbelt, then headed over to the drivers side. I felt a little bad for making him expose so much of his plan already, that I decided to just let him be, and for once just go along for the ride.
He held my hand the entire ride, but stayed in his zone for the most part. While we were in the car, I called Val to check on Jules, and they were all eating pizza, and watching "The Princess Bride." Julie loves that movie.
We made it to our destination which was about 35 minutes outside Trenton, in Philly. I'm not going to lie, my jaw absolutely dropped when I saw the restaurant.
R2L was the most stunning restaurant I had ever seen. It was a tall, high-rise boasting the most gorgeous views of Philly. We walked in hand, in hand, and when the hostess saw Carlos, she smiled.
"Mr. Manoso! So good to see you! Your room is ready, let me get you and your beautiful guest up there."
Okay... didn't expect that. Carlos is clearly a frequest guest here, and the woman didn't shamelessly flirt with him. Good, I guess I won't have to kill her.
The hostess, whose name I learned was Leah, brought us up several floors, until we reached a completely empty room lit by candlelight. My jaw hit the ground. He reserved an entire room, just for us- and it had floor to ceiling windows showing a panoramic view of the city. Stunning doesn't cut it, breathtaking comes a bit closer, but still doesn't do it justice. Perfection.
We were brought to the lone table sitting in the center of the room flanked by tons, and tons of candles giving off a romantic, soft glow. Leah poured us some wine, and told us our server would be with us in a moment. I was still working on recovering my ability to speak so I just smiled at her.
After about five minutes of looking around the room, I locked my eyes on Carlos, who had yet to take his eyes off me. He had no blank face, only a soft, loving smile on his face, and the amount of love in his eyes made me gasp.
"Carlos... this, I mean... wow. How did you do this? You didn't have to spend this much money on me! I am in awe of this. This view is beyond! I love you so much."
He grabbed my hand, and said;
"Stephanie, you are the light to my darkness, I want to spend my entire life giving you things you never dreamed you would have. You are an amazing Mom to Julie, you make sure I am always okay, you are the most special, perfect woman I have ever laid eyes on. You are my entire World. It begins, and ends with you. Without you, I am a shell of a man, you are what makes me human. Nobody has ever made me feel like there is more to me than what the Government image I have to project. You have a way to cut through all the shit. You see me as more than a thug, you bring out Carlos. I never thought I would be anything but Ranger anymore. You gave me hope for more. You are an angel."
I didn't even try to stop the tears from falling. I got out of my chair, and sat on his lap, putting my head on his chest, and looking out at the view. I can't believe I wasted so much time with Morelli. I am a moron.
"Carlos, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. I feel like my heart doesn't work properly when you aren't around. I just want to be with you forever. You, and Julie are everything to me. I never thought I would be a Mom, but I can't imagine life any other way anymore. It's like my old life never existed."
He just sat there holding me, giving me sweet kisses until our waiter came into the room.
We skipped the appetizer, and ordered our meals, I ordered the Lobster Paella, and he ordered the Roasted Tuna Loin. I remained on his lap, just soaking in his amazing presence, and talking about random things. Our families, Val's new independence, Julie's love of History. I am a lucky lucky woman.
When our food came, I went back to my seat, but only after he scooted it over to touch his. We fed each other bites of food, and shared kisses the entire meal. By the time we were finished, dessert was the last thing on my mind. I was ready to go home, and have Cuban for dessert.
I have never felt such an electrical charge in my life, the entire time at the restaurant, there was a charge that threatened to ignite us into a ball of flames. I had to have this man tonight, or I was going to die. It was that desperate.
We paid our bill, headed out, and made our way back towards Trenton. He had told me earlier we were going to go dancing, but at this point, I was ready to forego the last part of this date if it means I can get into bed in the next 40 minutes. I was about to pass out from the sexual tension. It's probably not helping that his hand was on my thigh rubbing up, and down in a hypnotic rhythm. Good God, get me home!
I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, only his hand creeping up my leg, when the car stopped in a familiar garage... the garage of our new house. How on Earth did he manage to get us in the house already?
I looked over at him, and he smiled.
"This is your other surprise. I got the key early, and wanted us to have a special night in the new house, just us. I hope that is okay..."
God, this man... he is perfect.
"Carlos, this is the sweetest thing. Let's go in our new home."
He went around my side of the car, opened my door, and lifted me out of it bridal style-
"Put me down, Carlos! I'm too heavy!"
"Nope, carrying you across the threshold."
"We aren't even married, you nut."
He just gave me a wink, and a kiss, but continued to carry me until we reached the living room.
I gasped when he put me down, and I saw the dozens of candles, rose petals, and the fireplace going. There was a huge 4 poster canopy bed with a gauzy white canopy draping over the sides. The sheets, and comforter were silk, and white also. There was a table beside the bed, and a bottle of champagne in ice was sitting on the table. I was completely in awe of the scene he had set just for us.
"This is... I mean, how many times have I said WOW tonight? You are too much."
"Only the best for my Babe. I think I promised you a dance, though, didn't I?"
"I think I remember something along those lines..."
He walked over to the mantle, and grabbed a remote, hitting a few buttons. The soft strains of a piano started playing, and he walked over to me, and held out his hand.
We plastered ourselves together, swaying to the beautiful music. I couldn't look away from his beautiful eyes, listening to the song. It was absolutely perfect for us. I had heard the song before on the radio, but never paid attention to the words until now, looking at this beautiful man staring back at me. The song, John Legend's All of me had just become my new favorite song.
After the song was over, an instrumental version of the song played, and Carlos grasped my face tenderly, and leaned down to kiss me. The kiss started out tender, and loving, slowly evolving into the kind of kiss that I have never experienced before. It was like our souls completely intertwined.
He pulled his head back, looked straight into my eyes, and dropped to his knee right in front of me...
...Holy Shit!