Chapter 3
Kate and the guys returned to the station, with a promise from Henry that he would fax over the security badge logs as soon as he had compiled them. Back at her desk, Kate slogged through the paperwork that had accumulated on her desk over the long weekend. When her grumbling stomach told her it was time for lunch, she called Lanie to see if she was available. Given the gruesome appearance of their victim, they made a mutual agreement to have salads.
As they settled into their booth, Lanie eyed Kate. "Well?" she prompted.
"Well what?" Kate asked, feigning oblivion.
"Don't you toy with me, girl. You and writer boy stroll off into the sunset like a couple of teenagers, then I hear diddly squat from you ALL weekend. You show up at the crime scene this morning without him. What happened? Did Prince Charming fall off his stolen horse?"
Kate took avid interest in her salad greens, poked at her carrot shreds and rearranged her croutons. She was enjoying withholding the details from her best friend. That is, right up until she received a sharp kick under the table. "Spill it, NOW, girlfriend" ordered the sassy ME.
Kate took a sip of her iced tea, and decided to begin…well…at the beginning. "Ok, ok. For starters, he chartered a plane to get us out there. The plane was met by a limo…" she continued, describing the flowers, the amazing house, the adjoining bedrooms, and that sweet first kiss. This last tidbit was greeted by a coughing fit, as Lanie had chosen that unfortunate moment to take a sip of her own drink.
"WHAT?" she cried, causing startled people at other tables to look at them.
"For God sake, Lanie, how about a little discretion?" she pleaded.
"Ok sorry, but he finally kisses you and you wait till now to dish the dirt? Have I taught you NOTHING? Alright let's hear more. Continue!" Lanie ordered, waving her hand like the queen.
Kate told all, the breakfast in bed, the wine country, the balloon ride. Well almost all. She left out the part about the blindfold. No need to give her friend a coronary right away. She described the picnic(more kissing), the dress, the dinner and dancing(still more kissing). She paused, giving her friend a chance to brace herself. "Lanie, I swear, if you have to stuff a roll in your mouth, do it, but if you make other people stare at us again after I tell you the next part, I won't share details with you EVER again. Got it?"
Lanie's eyes widened. " This MUST be good."
Drawing a breath for strength, Kate continued, mentioning that they went for a swim and then a soak in the hot tub. At that Lanie actually did take a huge bite of her roll. Kate chuckled as she described leaving him all bothered. When she got to the part about the handcuffs, Lanie clapped a hand over her mouth and Kate prayed she didn't have a stroke.
She decided that for Lanie's sake as well as her own modesty, and because at this rate they would finish lunch and get back to the precinct in time for shift change, she would fast forward the story. "After that, we made love, caught a sunrise, made love again, had breakfast, hung out on the beach, made love again, played poker with Rick's writer buddies, made love yet again, went for a ride in his yacht, had dinner, toasted marshmallows, made love once more, then packed up and came back to the city."
It was a few minutes before Lanie found her voice. By then both had finished their lunch and were walking back to the police station. "Damn" she finally said.
"Oh yeah, one more thing…" Kate said, once Lanie was in the lobby of her lab and Kate was safely in an elevator with her finger on the "close" button. "We exchanged 'I love you's" she announced as the door closed.
Back in his loft, Rick was industriously typing away. He had given his heart to his muse, and received hers in return. The euphoria that came from that was better than any alcohol buzz he had ever gotten. He cranked out three full chapters before looking at the clock and seeing that it was close to 4pm. He hurried out to do some shopping, and when he returned it was after 5pm. Damn… he thought. Time to start getting things ready.
His first action was to go change the sheets on the bed. The housekeeper had been in over the weekend and made up his bed, but he had a couple of sets of satin sheets for "special occasions", and he always made the bed himself. Partly it was because he didn't want Helga getting the wrong idea about him, after all he had a mother and an impressionable teenage daughter living in the house. But mostly it was that he enjoyed preparing the bed for his lover. Never was it more important, for now it was Kate, and he wanted the experience to be perfect for her. To this end, he had purchased a new set, then ran the steamer over them to get rid of the funny rectangular wrinkles. She wouldn't want him to make a huge fuss, and new sheets were decidedly fussy.
He lit some scented candles, then went back downstairs. He took the fresh flowers and put them in a vase in the center of the table. Now to cook dinner. He had decided on mushroom soup, then a rich fettuccini al fredo, and brownie sundaes for dessert. He put some mood music on the stereo and began cooking, humming to himself.
