Lee quickly scanned the balcony for onlookers before he turned around. He could feel a hot lump in his throat rising. His jaw clenched and sent his cheek muscles dancing.

"Did ya hear me?" the voice said again in the all too familiar English accent.

Lee spun around to find himself face to face with the dark-haired gentleman smiling ear to ear at him.

"What in the hell are YOU doing here?" Lee said with several ounces of venom to his tone.

"Lee? Why are you ticked? You sound ticked? I thought that you would be glad to see me after all these months! Why don't I think that you are glad to see me?"

"Oh, gee, Nick….I don't know….maybe because the last time I saw you I got shot in the ribs and you almost screwed up my weh…my vacation! I really don't need your kind of trouble right now."

Lee stood up to get the height advantage over Nick. Nick quickly matched his gesture and motioned that the two of them should go stand near the edge of the balcony.

"Trouble? Lee? How long have we known each other? And that is how you greet me?"

"That is exactly why I am greeting you that way….BECAUSE of how long we have known each other. Now if you don't mind, I am supposed to be meeting a contact. Get lost."

"Well you already met him! The contact is me!"

"What? Damn it, Nick! I don't have time for games."

"No games! I really am the contact you are waiting for. You got my last note I see….8:30…come alone"

Nick started to laugh out loud. Lee began to become more enraged.

"That was from you? What the hell, Nick! Why all the secrecy? You really expect me to believe that you were the one leaving me notes?"

Nick leaned in closer to Lee and whispered, "Diamonds for weapons"

Lee stepped back with a shocked look on his face. Maybe Nick really did have some information to pass along to him.

"Ok, you've my attention…..what do you know?"

Nick once again began to laugh despite himself. Lee's face quickly changed from shock to annoyed.

"What's so funny, NICK?" Lee said through a clenched jaw.

"Haha..well, you see…..there isn't really any diamonds for weapons exchange going on. I just thought it would be fun to tell you that so I could see you again!"

"Oh! That is HILARIOUS, Nick! What the hell is your problem? I should shoot you right here and do the world a favor!"

"Geesh, Lee. What are you getting so steamed about? It was just a little joke!"

"A little joke? Do you know how much mental energy I have wasted on this since you sent me your first little 'tip'? Not to mention the man hours spent on some of my agents doing all the research they could on this trade of yours? I should have known it was you that was behind all this when I saw your picture in the paper! I knew it was you! Amanda said it wasn't, but I KNEW!"

Lee began to raise his voice and pace back and forth along the balcony.

"Amanda? You mean that sexy little Mrs. King of yours? Is she here, too? I would definitely like to have a go with her sometime if you know what I mean! Those quiet types are animals in the bedroom."

Lee suddenly found his hands around the lapels of Nick's jacket and his face nose to nose with Nick's face. Lee's eyes blazed with rage. Suddenly realizing where he was, he released his grip on Nick and gave him a shove backwards.

"You even THINK about touching Amanda and I will kill you where you stand. Understand? And it's not Mrs. King anymore. It's Mrs. Stetson and you would do very well to remember that."

Lee turned and walked away from Nick and headed back into the party. Nick was slightly stunned at the interaction that had just transpired, but once Lee's words began to settle in, Nick broke out into a devilish grin and quickly followed Lee into the party.

"See, Amanda? Look at these pastries! Aren't they to die for? Each one looks like a work of art! You almost hate to eat them!" Dotty said as she marveled over the delicacies that were displayed before them.

"Almost, Mother! But not quite!" Amanda said as she bit into a mini Napoleon pastry. Normally Amanda had all the willpower in the world to pass up sinful creations such as these, but lately her body was craving sweets more and more. She hoped this was just a phase. She was happy to feed the baby but not her own fat supply!

"Oh, Amanda! I can tell by the look on your face that it tastes like a little piece of heaven! Oh I need to try one, too! I want something chocolate…"

Dotty chose a cream horn filled with chocolate ganache and drizzled with 3 different types of chocolate. Amanda watched in sweet anticipation as Dotty bit into the chocolate treat. Dotty shut her eyes and moaned deep in her throat. It was clear that the simple pastry had evoked a feeling of ecstasy.

"Oh…oh….Amanda…..If I suddenly begin to die right now, don't save me! This is how I want to go out! With the taste of THIS on my palate!"

"Merci beaucoup!" a voice said from behind them.

Amanda and Dotty both quickly spun around, eyes wide, their faces still showing the remnants of the delicious treats they had both indulged in. They both quickly wiped their faces with a napkin. They both found themselves looking at the woman that had just spoken to them. She was about 5'5", blonde, blue eyes, slender and very attractive. She spoke with a very heavy French accent.

"Thank you so much for your kind words about my pastry. I am Sophia DuBois."

Sophia extended her hand to the women. Dotty quickly grasped her hand and introduced herself.

"How wonderful to meet you, Ms. DuBois! I am Dotty West and this is my….this is Amanda Stetson. Oh I am such a fan! I watched you on the today show and I have been reading articles about your award winning pastries! I never in a million years thought that I would actually get to taste some of your baking! I love to bake, too but I could never create anything as exquisite as this!"

Dotty raised her half eaten cream horn in triumph. Amanda, in an effort to stop her mother's rambling extended her hand to Sophie. Sophie freed her hand from Dotty's vice grip and shook Amanda's.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. DuBois!"

"Sophie, please! It is a pleasure to meet you both as well!"

"We haven't had a chance to see your cake yet! Amanda, her cakes are unbelievable works of art! Simply unbelievable!"

"Well allow me to show you."

Sophie gestured to Amanda and Dotty to step to the other side of the buffet where her cake was on display. The cake was layers upon layers of decadence and confection, tiers and tiers of cake decorated with red, white and blue. The floral work and the piping on the cake was that of a true master. It was like no cake either of them had ever seen.

"Sophie! This is amazing! It is hard to believe that this is all made out of cake! It is like an architectural wonder! And you made this all?" Amanda marveled.

"It is something that I love to do! All my life I want to do this….and now I am. It is very difficult. I make many practice cakes before I make the final one. I also bring my own pans and ingredients with me where ever I travel except for things like the eggs, butter…..but the sugar and the flour and….I don't know all the English words…..but you know what I mean, yes?"

"Yes we do!" Dotty interjected. "You make practice cakes? What do you do with them after you make them? It seems a shame to throw them away!"

"I do not throw them away. I will donate them if possible. The cake I made to practice for this one was very beautiful so tomorrow I will bring it to the White House as a gift since the colors I used are the same for France as they are for the USA. I am told the President is a fan of my cakes!"

"Well who wouldn't be! I also happen to be a fan of the baker!" Nick said from behind the women.

The three ladies spun around to find Nick Grant standing there with his charming smile.

"Mon amour!" Sophie exclaimed as she jumped into Nick's arms.

"Huh-oh!" Amanda murmured under her breath. She wondered if Lee had seen Nick. Suddenly, her question to herself was answered as she saw Lee making an angry beeline to them.

Amanda quickly stepped away from the group to intercede Lee's obvious angry mood.

"Lee! Look who's here at the party! It's Nick! Isn't that….unexpected"

"You know my, Nicky" Sophia asked in excitement.

Amanda squeezed Lee's hand tightly. "Not in front of Mother" she whispered.

"Oh, yes. We both know Nicky, er um Nick. And this is my husband, Lee Stetson. Lee this is Sophia DuBois. She made these beautiful cakes and pastries that you see here. Tomorrow she is bringing a cake to the President. Isn't that exciting?" Amanda said with pleading eyes to Lee to do his best to calm down.

Dotty sensing the tension and guessing that this had something to do with the agency, excused herself to find Harry.

"Mrs. Stetson! How lovely to see you again!" Nick bowed deeply and kissed Amanda's hand. He could instantly see how uncomfortable this made Lee which of course encouraged him to play it up all the more. "And may I say that white is definitely your color? You look ravishing! I am surprised that Lee here can keep his hands off you! Lee told me about the good news! Mr. and Mrs. Stetson! When was the big day?"

Amanda could read Lee's mind. The big day was the day that he almost ruined for them both. She could see Lee's jaw clenching tighter and tighter.

"Oh, Nick. It doesn't really matter. We are just thrilled to see you again. How long have you and Sophia been together?"

"Oh I met this beautiful woman on a trip to the Ivory Coast of all places! We were both there on vacation."

"Vacation?" Lee chimed in. "You were visiting one of the largest diamond producing countries in the world just for a 'vacation'"

"Yeah, I was. Just on vacation."

"Excuse me, Lee? Amanda? Can I talk to you both for a moment?" Billy interrupted.

"Certainly, Billy. It was lovely meeting you Sophia and good luck with your cake delivery to the White House tomorrow!"

Amanda led Lee away from Nick and Sophia.

"What is it, Sir?" Amanda inquired.

"Well it seems as if we've got some trouble. Some of the remaining crown jewels of France are here at the embassy to be transferred to the Smithsonian for display for a few months."

"And let me guess, Billy…..the jewels are missing."

"No, Lee. The jewels are here, right where they should be."

"Then what's the problem, sir?" Amanda asked puzzled at what she was hearing.

"Well it seems that the jewels were being cleaned when they noticed that a setting was loose. The jeweler took the opportunity to look more closely at the diamond as he was resetting it and discovered it was a fake. He then looked at the rest of the diamonds and gems and realized that they were ALL fakes."

"That's terrible!"

"Yeah that is too bad, Billy but how do we know that they didn't come over here as fakes?"

"Because the Smithsonian had someone verify the authenticity of the gems yesterday. This switch happened sometime in the last 24 hours."

"And Nick Grant just happens to be in Washington, DC….isn't that convenient!"

To be continued….