There was exactly one problem with attending anniversary parties, Elizabeth decided as she retreated to the safety of the kitchen. Anniversary parties made the people attending them think of weddings. And thinking of weddings led to pointed questions and lingering glances on you when you were there as the girlfriend of someone.

The glances had started almost as soon as she had walked through the door. So much for her theory she would be old news. Once again it had slipped her mind that Robin had actually been married to Logan so her presence didn't cause so much as a curious eyebrow raise. Lulu had absolutely refused to bring anyone she could even be remotely interested in the future. So she was it. The lone girlfriend.

Then came the murmuring that would stop the second she and Lucky came upon a group of relatives. At least twice she could have sworn she had seen people kneel down to Cameron and point towards her, which made her feel oh so confident. Yes, she thought, ask the three-year-old who hates me no matter what everyone else says. And then it happened.

Lucky had left her alone. She wanted to blame him for this, she should blame for this. But she couldn't. Or maybe she just wouldn't. He had walked away to get them something to drink when an Aunt Somebody or Another had slid right up next to her, placing her hand on Elizabeth's arm, squeezing gently.

"This inspiring the two of you any?" Aunt Whoever-She-Was asked with a smile. "Any bells ringing in the near future?"

She bolted and ran straight for the kitchen. It was one thing when Laura was sort of joking with her. Or even Robin. But a relative that was a complete stranger to her? It was too much. She had to get away.

So what if she couldn't cook or would end up poisoning most of the guests if she actually made something other than carrot sticks? Better to only potentially kill someone than have to face those questions again. Ok so this was the second family function she had attended, but she couldn't' be the first girl Lucky had brought to two family events in a row! Cameron's mother must have come to one or two.

"Quick question. Did Lucky do something that will require me to help you plan revenge again or are you just hiding the barely well-meaning questions?" Cruz stood in the doorway of the kitchen, smiling at her. He had tried to talk with her before the toast, but there had been entirely too many people standing around. If he was going to be drawn into helping her again, he had a feeling the less witnesses to the planning the better. You couldn't be arrested for a crime if no one knew you had helped planned it.

"Questions, glances, and stopped conversations the second I walk up."

"Ouch." Cruz whistled. "Can't say I've been there."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Well I guess that is the one benefit of dating someone secretly I suppose."

Shaking his head, Cruz managed a low chuckle. "And Lucky wonders why he's the last to know anything."

"Well sometimes such cluelessness is adorable. But only sometimes." Elizabeth was about to say something more when she noticed Cruz wasn't looking at her. Oh he was looking in her direction but not at her. More like directly over her shoulder and out the window in the backdoor. And he wasn't so much looking as staring. But at what? Or who?

Confused Elizabeth turned around and looked outside, determined to see what was just so captivating. The party was still in full swing and everyone was mingling back and forth in the backyard. A quick glance at Cruz's eyes showed he wasn't following the motion. His gaze was fixed. The closer she looked at his eyes, the more she saw. Concern, longing, and could that even be love? Suddenly the reason for his stare hit her like a ton of bricks. She twisted around quickly, gasping in surprise.

"Oh my god! She's here isn't she? She's here at this party!"

Cruz sputtered and dropped the drink he had to the floor. "What? What? Who? I don't know what you are talking about." He tried to protest.

Elizabeth continued excitedly as if he hadn't spoken. "Your secret girlfriend is here right now and you've been trying to avoid each other all day."

"No. You're crazy."

"I'm brilliant and the quicker you learn it the better off you'll be." Elizabeth pursed her lips. "Now who is she?"

Cruz felt panic rise up in him. There was no way she would figure this out. Please don't let her figure this out.

"Obviously it's some one who is in town so that excludes all the out-of-town relatives." Elizabeth paused mentally crossing off figures in her mind as they passed by her. "For some reason you don't want Lucky and Patrick to know about her and being a relative would fit that bill. Someone they care about. And your eyes weren't moving a lot so it's not someone who's moving around a lot right now."

Her eyes widened as she focused in on the one group in her eyesight that wasn't moving. Bobbie, Laura, and Lulu stood at the table, organizing the distribution of the cake.

"Lulu? You're dating Lulu?"

There was no way he could fake the indignation that crossed his face. "What? Lulu? No. She's a little kid."

"And now that I think of it she wouldn't bring home a random guy for you all to torture. So if it's not Lulu..." If she hadn't thought of it herself, she would have never believed it. "Oh. My. God. Bobbie?" Her voice rose with every word she spoke.

Cruz moved quickly, rushing to keep her quiet. Placing his hand over her mouth, he glanced behind them to make sure no one else had come into the kitchen. "Keep it down."

Elizabeth pulled his hand off her mouth and took a few steps back in shock. "Bobbie? You're dating Aunt Bobbie?"

"She's not my aunt," he protested weakly.

"Obviously not. That's a whole different talk show. This is Sally Jesse and that is so Jerry." She started to pace holding her head with her hands. "Holy shit. You're dating Bobbie?"

"Keep saying it. There may be a few guests near the door who want to hear."

She ignored him completely. "No wonder you haven't told them. Oh it all makes so much sense now."

"It does?"

"Well the secrecy does. And why Bobbie knew about your award before everyone else. And why she was so pissed that night!" Elizabeth stopped pacing long enough to look him in the eye. "You lied about something didn't you?"

"Not answering on the grounds you may decide to punish me."

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long as this been going on? I'm assuming longer than Patrick or Lucky noticed." If it was longer than the few months the other guys had suspected something, it was way more serious than either one had even begun to suspect.

With a sigh Cruz surrendered. Part of him was still freaking out that Elizabeth had figured this out but another part of him was relieved. He had been wanting someone to talk about this for the past few months and now however unexpectedly, he was being presented with that exact opportunity. "Seven and a half months."

Elizabeth blinked. That was at least four months longer than Lucky had even been willing to speculate whenever he mentioned Cruz's secret relationship. "Level of seriousness?"

"Not living together obviously but she has keys to my place and I have a key to hers." That had been a new development, Bobbie's promise to him that she was serious about thinking about going more public with their relationship.

"This is real isn't it? Ok that sounded dumb. I mean this is serious isn't it? You really care about her."

Cruz squared his shoulder and looked her right in the eyes. "It's more than care Elizabeth. I love her." There he had said it, out loud to someone. It was real. He loved Bobbie Spencer. Cruz felt a weight lift off his shoulders as the words left his lips. He loved Bobbie Spencer and now it was true. He didn't care who knew about it.

Elizabeth was shocked. That was the last declaration she expected to hear today. What was it with her and learning about declarations of love these days? "Does she know this?"

"I haven't been able to say it to her yet but I think she does."

"So you're in this for the long haul then."

"As long as she wants me around." He smiled when he caught sight of Bobbie laughing something Luke said.

His smile was contagious. It was obvious however this started, Bobbie made Cruz happy. She recognized that smile. It was the smile of a man in love. However there was still one small issue.

"You realize you have to tell them soon right? I mean really soon."

"I know I need to tell them, but why the 'really soon' part?" he questioned.

"Because you are standing here staring at her, and grinning like an idiot I'm assuming because of her. I know some ideas take time to penetrate their skulls but eventually Patrick and Lucky will start to figure this stuff out."

"I know and I will. I promise I will."

"He did a real number on you, didn't he?" Robin was easy enough to find. As he had guessed, she was curled up in the swing, her knees to her chest, and her arms around her legs. She stared out at the nothingness that lay stretched before them in all directions. The sun had surrendered to the overbearing darkness ages ago.

Robin glanced up, but the words died on her tongue. She didn't know what she would have said, what she wanted to say. He had reacted the exact way she had expected, the way she had prayed he would, and now she was left to deal with the fallout. His ego was bruised for sure and, though no one else--save Elizabeth--even knew what he had said, it was a fresh wound, one he had been licking at all night.

"Would you at least look at me? You owe me that." Patrick stressed out the last few words, his eyes glossing over even though she knew for certain he wasn't crying. His voice was rough and impatient, his fingers gripping the belt loops of his blue jeans as he stood mere feet--might as well have been miles--from her.

Her first instinct said to fight back, to take his words as a challenge, and throw them back at him with volatile force. The woman she had been before marrying Logan would have let him have it. The woman before the one she was now would have twisted everything around and blamed Patrick's anger on him. She would call him irresponsible for telling her that he loved her. Where was that woman tonight? Where was the woman who had told Elizabeth, in no uncertain terms, that love wasn't in the cards for her and Patrick?

"I can't." She forced out, her hands shaking as she reached out to brace herself against the left side of the swing. What was he doing out here anyway? Why wasn't he fed up with her yet? She did whatever she could to make their lives together harder than their lives apart. It wasn't an intentional thing, but old habits, right? She wanted to push him, see how far he would let her go before deciding that she wasn't worth the effort.

But he wasn't backing down and she was on unfamiliar ground. God, what had compelled him to speak those treacherous words aloud in the first place? She would have been fine if she never heard them again. Yet, he had said them. He had said them over and over again, his lips carefully brushing over her temple. She couldn't have gotten out of there any faster than she had. If there had been a fire, she would have been out before the alarm could be thrown, before even a bit of smoke could be spotted.

Patrick watched her shrink into herself as he edged closer, but he wasn't going to keep his distance tonight. He wasn't going to wait and wonder when she would feel brave again, when she would convince herself that they were right for each other, that they fit. He had spent far too much time doing that and look where it had gotten him! She couldn't even face him without a cluster of tears building up in her eyes. He was far too angry to care if he brought her pain because she had done far worse to him over the last six days.

"Look at me, god damn it!" He cursed darkly, grabbing her right wrist and pulling her to her feet, startling her. Good. Let her be a little afraid. He could feel her pulse quicken under his tight grasp and the air between them was thick enough to silence the crickets.

Robin met his furious glare with a meek stare, swallowing hard as she tried to will the words out of her mouth. She wet her lips unconsciously and tried to pull away. He held strong and, really, she hadn't put that much effort into escaping his grip. His fingers loosened slightly, but his face was still as hard as granite, his chocolate eyes looking empty as he waited for her to say something.

"I'm not Logan." Patrick spoke slowly, his tone giving away far more than his cold eyes were. He contemplated shaking Robin until she believed him, but it would have just scared her more, and he didn't want this to be how he got her to repeat the words back to him.

"I know that." Robin's head bobbed erratically as she struggled for composure. Why did you have to tell me you love me? She wanted to scream at him. Why? They had finally connected. She was perfectly comfortable with being important to him, had longed to hear him express his feelings to her, but she had underestimated how far he would take it. I should have warned you, she thought morosely. Was I not enough of an example?

"Do you? Do you really notice the differences, because I wonder sometimes…when you look at me a little too long and it's obvious you're not in the room with me anymore. Or when I say something out of line and you get really quiet. Am I really supposed to believe that you're not spending that time comparing me to my brother?" His voice was razor-sharp and he was holding her tight enough to make her skin whiten under his fingertips.

"Patrick, you're hurting me." Robin whispered hoarsely. He must not have heard her or he just didn't care; she was willing to bet on the latter. She had hoped her words would soothe his trigger temper a little, but, if anything, he looked manic as he stared back at her, his mouth twisted in an ugly frown.

"Answer the question. When we're together, are you or are you not comparing me to Logan?" Patrick instructed himself to not withdraw his hold until she gave him a suitable response, maybe not even then. Along with her racing pulse, he could hear her breath come out in short little pants.

"Fine. Yes. Sometimes." Robin whimpered, moving her eyes to rest on his left shoulder. It was just easier not to look at him. She could feel him start to tremble and wanted to gather him closer, wanted him to hold her in a way where the only pain she felt was caused by the immeasurable attraction that had tied them together since the very beginning.

"Why?" Patrick spat out, her reply shaking him to the core. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting her to say, but the truth in her words made him choke on a new wave of anger. Not only was he fighting a ghost, he was fighting his damn brother too. He jammed his left hand through his hair and tried to relinquish his iron grip on his girlfriend's wrist, but it was to no avail. She was his lifeline and they both seemed to realize it.

He didn't wait for her to answer him this time, just pulled her into his arms and dropped her wrist, his hand now occupying the spot just below her shoulder blades. His other hand dove into a mass of burnt honey hair. She tilted her head back, ready to accept his lips, but he buried his mouth in her neck instead and caught a bit of tender flesh between his teeth. She moaned, surprising herself, and leaned into him, her knees buckling at the fierceness in which he sucked her skin. She could already feel him leaving a mark where her neck met her shoulder and arched into him.

Small mewling sounds escaped her lips when he slid his hand to the zipper of her dress and started to tug it down. God, she needed him to touch her, it didn't matter where. Pressing her fingertips into the tense muscles in his back, she might as well have been trying to mold a finished slat of concrete for all the difference it was making. He drew each sleeve down her shoulders and grazed his teeth over her right shoulder first, his free hand twisting the remaining strap around his index finger and thumb.

And then they were moving and Robin was confused. He had her hand in his and was dragging her around the house. With each step, she found herself thrown into an even greater patch of darkness. If he hadn't been leading her, she wouldn't have known where she was going. Not that she knew precisely. Honestly, it didn't matter. As long as they were away from the house, away from any witnesses, it didn't fucking matter. Sliding his right hand around to settle over the small of her back, Patrick walked her into the side panel of the house and softly blew a series of hot breaths over her left shoulder, his fingers returning to their task of unzipping her dress. Though he wasn't actually kissing her, she couldn't keep her body from moving against him seductively at the feel of his scorching breath on her skin.

Her fingers fisted in his tousled hair and the kiss he gave her was neither soft nor brief. His tongue immediately sought entrance, but she was too distracted by the firmness of his lips to grant him that small access. He wasted no time in drawing the dress down, the zipper giving way to his skillful fingers, and Robin felt it slide over her. Patrick caught it and held it against her left breast, his hand molding and shaping the small globe as he lost his senses in their kiss. Standing on tiptoe, Robin tried to deepen it without parting her lips, wanting to lock this moment away for the rest of her life.

Desperate for her tongue, Patrick squeezed her vulnerable breast in his palm and waited for her mouth to open on a slow, earth-shattering gasp before taking control. His tongue was restless as it ran over hers and several times she tried to break away from him to take in some much-needed air, but he wouldn't let her. The second he stopped kissing her, reality would set in and he had no place for it. Here and now he could revel in everything that made her a woman, everything that made her his woman.

"P-Patrick, please. I need you. I need you now." Robin emphasized the last word, barely able to say anything because Patrick wouldn't let her catch her breath. He smiled against her mouth when they both noticed her nipples perking up to attention as he lazily brushed his fingertips over them.

"How does it feel…" Patrick whispered in her ear, his teeth tugging on the tender lobe. "To get what you want? Is this how you always imagined it?" Pulling the dress up, Patrick yanked the zipper into place, and took a large step backwards.

Robin was no longer watching him with a mixture of passion and overwhelming lust: her lips were parted slightly forming an O and she had her arms wrapped around her as if she would fly apart otherwise. "How dare you--?" Robin began, advancing on him.

"How dare I? How dare you? All I was doing was giving you what you wanted. You said in the beginning you wanted sex with strings, but I realized the other night what a load of crap that was. You wanted me to be a pointless fling and, hey, maybe if Logan had taken care of you like he should have, if you hadn't been so tight against my fingers when we were in Santa Monica, I might already be onto my next conquest." His words caused Robin's eyes to flare instantly to life and she punched him in the nose, her teeth chattering together and her body shaking furiously as she watched him reach for his face, checking for any real damage. He was so damn unaffected that she wanted to knee him in the balls, but he was making sure to keep adequate distance between them now and she wasn't given a second opportunity.

"That is what you've been waiting for me to say, isn't it? That you're just one more flavor I've got to get a good taste of before I'm completely satisfied?"

"Stop it!" Robin screamed at him, her voice quivering.

Patrick grabbed her shoulders then, holding her in place, he hissed, "And just for the record, I was lying. I thought if I told you that I loved you, you'd loosen up. Just one more thing to blame Logan for: turning you into a paranoid masochist! Pressure's off now, I guess. You don't have to ever say those words to me. You're off the hook."

As he made his way toward the house, Patrick caught sight of something he had never expected to see: Cruz with his hand over Elizabeth's mouth, his eyes determined. Something in the moment told Patrick he shouldn't interrupt. Elizabeth moved Cruz's hand from her mouth and said something, her eyes startled and amused. No, that wasn't right. He wished he could hear what they were saying. Was Elizabeth glowing?

She started to laugh and lean into Cruz, his arms automatically wrapping around her petite body to snuggle her closer. Now, he knew why Elizabeth had struck him as odd so many times before: she had been the key to Cruz's mystery girlfriend. He had met her at the hospital, but that hadn't been the first time he had seen her. She had been at the wine shop with Cruz the night Patrick was finally able to catch up with his friend to give him hell for...well to give him hell. There had been definite flirting, but Cruz flirted with every woman. As he watched them now, spying and not caring, he noticed how comfortable they were with each other as they whispered back and forth. They didn't want anyone to hear them and he had a pretty good idea why. His cousin had called it. The only reason Cruz hadn't introduced them to his new girlfriend was because she was seeing someone else. She was dating Lucky.