Dante paced back and forth in his former bedroom the next morning. Thoughts of what he would say to Lulu raced through his head. What was I thinking? How could I have been so insensitive? What am I going to say to her? He finally summoned enough courage and went downstairs, only to find that she wasn't there yet. A mixture of disappointment and relief washed over him all at the same time. He found Olivia sitting on the couch drinking her coffee.
"Ma, um, is Lulu still in her room?"
"I guess so, why?"
"Good, I really need some advice." By now, Sonny had walked in the room and took a seat next to Olivia.
Dante paced mindlessly. "Okay. Honey, sit down. You're going to wear a hole in my rug. What's got you so worked up?" she asked.
He finally sat down in the chair next to them. "Well, I, uh." He took a deep breath. "I kissed Lulu last night." Sonny and Olivia looked at each other with a smile that stated what they already knew. "Yeah, well, it didn't go so well. She started having flashbacks. I think they were the worst she's ever had. She was so upset that she couldn't even talk. Oh man, what have I done?" He put his head in his hands. Tears formed on the edge of his lower lids. "I can't stand the thought of hurting her in any way. I should have known that it was way too soon to do something like that." The tears that pooled in his eyes now spilled over.
"Dante, don't torture yourself like this." Seeing that it made no impact, she continued. "Okay, when she let you know that she wanted you to stop, did you?" asked Olivia.
"Well, yes, of course I did. What difference does that make? I shouldn't have done it in the first place."
"Honey, it makes all the difference in the world. It's a sign of respect, something that she knows you have for her."
"Dante, I think what your mother is getting at is that Lulu trusts you completely. She knew that you would never harm her and if she asked you to stop, you would. She wants her life to get back to normal. Maybe she really wanted to reciprocate her feelings toward you also," said Sonny.
"Son, we raised a man who respects women. That's what you did. We've seen how you are with her these last few days. I've never seen you so protective of anyone, ever. Besides, when we walked in last night, she looked pretty peaceful there with you on the couch. Do you really think that she would have been if you had caused her so much pain?" asked Olivia.
"No, I don't." Lulu had listened in on the last part of the conversation. As she descended the stairs, tears welled in her eyes. She sat on the coffee table in front of Dante and took one of his hands. "Please don't do this to yourself. I don't blame you for anything that happened. I wanted to kiss you. I thought that I would be okay because it was you. I guess it triggered the memories, though. That's not your fault. If you want to place blame, it's on the guy who raped me." She placed her hand on his cheek and wiped away one of the tears that slipped down. He turned to kiss her palm and then took her hand in both of his.
"I know, but I'm still so very sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about. I trust you. I know that you won't ever hurt me. Come on, let me see those infamous 'Corinthos' dimples." Dante looked deep into her eyes, his lips curled up to give away the hidden indentations in his cheeks.
"Now that that's settled, can somebody tell me how you guys got upstairs?" asked Sonny.
Dante looked sheepishly at him. "Oh, I, uh carried her up the stairs. I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst pain in my neck. That couch just doesn't cut it."
"And, I'm sure that carrying my dead weight helped that a lot too. Why didn't you wake me up?" She hit him on the shoulder.
"I knew that you had to be worn out and you looked so peaceful. I just couldn't bring myself to disturb you. Besides, why would I risk incurring the wrath of Lulu Spencer?" he asked, with a wink and a smirk.
After breakfast, Sonny pulled Dante aside to talk. "Son, I need you to do me a favor. Max and I are going to South America to find Luke. Milo will still be here, but I would feel a lot better if you would stay here too, since there will be one less guard."
"Sure, no problem. Do you have any idea where exactly Luke might be?"
"Some of my contacts down there say they have seen him near Caracas, but that was a couple of weeks ago. He could be anywhere by now. You know how fast he can move around."
"Sounds like the proverbial needle in the haystack."
"Yeah, tell me about it. It's not going to be easy, but I've got to try. Thanks, son, for doing this. For watching out for your mom and Lulu while I'm away."
"I promised them and myself a long time ago that I would always protect them both. That's what I plan to do."
Dante turned to Olivia and Lulu. "I need to go take care of something. Will you guys be okay for a little while? By the way, it looks like I'm staying here for the next few days while Dad goes to South America."
"Oh really. 'Cause I thought you had already taken up residence here again," said Olivia.
"Ha! That's a good one, ma. Seriously, I'm moving back into my old room, instead of sleeping on the couch this time. So, will you guys be okay without me?"
"We're over the age of 18. I think we can manage. Right Lulu?"
Lulu laughed and nodded. "It's under control, Officer."
"You are so funny," he retorted, as he walked out the door.
A half an hour later, Olivia's phone rang. "What? No, Marty. I told them a harp, not a carp. Oh, all right. I'll be there in a minute." She snapped the phone shut, in a bit of a snit. "Lulu, it seems that this party Carly is hosting is gonna be in the swimming pool instead of the restaurant unless I go and straighten things out. Will you be okay by yourself? Just say the word and I'll stay here."
"It's okay. You go. I'll be fine. Milo is here. He'll watch out for me."
"I'll be back as soon as I can. If you need anything, call me or Dante."
"Okay. Don't worry. Go." Lulu was glad to have the place to herself. Being under constant surveillance was getting old. She relished the time alone. She decided to get some work done on the laptop that Spinelli had set up for her. Even though Kate agreed to let her have some much needed time off, she still wanted to have something to do to occupy her time. She finished up the last of her work orders and decided to take a break in the pool. After her swim, she laid out on the patio to dry off. The phone rang. "Hello."
"Alone at last. I'm so glad we have some time to talk."
"Who is this?"
"Why Lulu, you don't know? I should be insulted, but you just look too beautiful out there swimming around. You know, I didn't like the way you were dancing with your so-called boyfriend last night. Being a cop is such dangerous work. I really would hate for anything to happen to him."
"Who is this? Why won't you leave me alone?" she demanded.
"You really don't remember me, do you? I'll give you a hint. We met about a year ago in a hotel lobby." She didn't respond, trying desperately to remember. "Oh, come on now, don't tell me you don't remember 'Fun Juan'?" Lulu froze. Suddenly, all of the memories she thought she had forgotten about that horrible night came back to haunt her.