Chapter 14:
It had been a long day, and both detectives were in the mood for a relaxing dinner. Fred dropped them at the office, and they followed their trip with the Rabbit. The loft was their final destination.
They were going to have a delicious dish of pasta perfectly combined with an Italian Chianti. Mr. Steele was pouring them some wine, while Laura was checking their last advances on the case.
"Did you find anything else, Laura?"
"No, I didn't. Maybe I could leave that for later," answered Miss Holt.
"Good thought. Dinner is almost ready."
They ate the fettuccini Alfredo with gusto, and after that, Mr. Steele took care of the dishes. Laura left him finishing his task alone; to go ahead with her previously planned idea. She decided some music would be welcomed. She'd missed dancing with him. They used to indulge themselves with more dancing when they were in the middle of their confused relationship. Dancing was an unspoken truce for both of them; a peaceful time to enjoy each other sensual proximity without the caution the absence of music would add. Since they had crossed the line, it was less usual to spend part of their evenings dancing. Laura was ready to change that.
"Would you dance with me, Mr. Steele?" she asked.
"You know I love to dance with you, Laura. Always," he answered.
They started to move slowly, breathing the romance surrounding them. Laura leaned her cheek on his shoulders, and he put his chin over her head. Hands around their backs, they were moving very slowly, almost remaining at the same place. They were deeply entranced by the glorious sensation when she told him, "It feels perfect, alone, no interruptions, I love it."
"I liked to dance with you from the first time, Laura. Do you remember our first dance?"
"Mm, vaguely…I wasn't able to pay enough attention to the speech. I was invaded by a mix of stupor and rage at the moment," she answered him smiling coyly at the reminder.
"I remember vividly every word," he stopped then and kissed her forehead, "I told you that I didn't plan on assuming Remington Steele's identity; that I was after something entirely different. I think I was cheating on my own self. I thought I was after a blue jewel at that moment and I was ready to leave after the project went down. But then, a need I couldn't elude caught me to stay, or someone, expressing myself in more accurate words: the brave, intelligent and beautiful Laura Holt. I guess I know it now; it was from the first moment I saw you that I was ready to stay in one place for the first time in my life. I'm falling in love with you again every day since the first day, Laura."
Her head slowly left his shoulder. She remembered then his words to Abigail some days ago. With her eyes fixed in his blue ones, she told him, "I know." Then she smiled a sweet smile full of the joy that only love can draw, "I love you too." She stared at him, waiting for his lips to touch hers. Once they met, they shared the highest intensity they'd have guessed through all these years of waiting. After some time that lasted like a brief eternity, they followed with their dance…