Robyn grumbled to herself as she climbed out of her car. Cedric had called and told her to stop by. Apparently something had been delivered for her that just couldn't wait until the next time she was there. She couldn't imagine what though. She was still a bit cranky and didn't want to end up picking another fight. She entered the dining room, located Cedric and walked to his booth. In the middle of the table sat a bouquet of dark purple roses in a glass vase. The vase was still in a delivery box.

"Hey. Trying out a new centerpiece?" she asked as she sat down. "It's a bit tall."

"Nope," he said looking up from his paperwork. "Those are yours."

"What do you mean by mine?" she asked. "Oh, it must be a delivery for Dolly."

"No, I said they're yours," Cedric said, leaning back and looking at her. "He didn't know where else to send them." He set down his pen, turned the box and gestured to the card. "He doesn't have another address to use."

She looked at him then plucked the card from the flowers and opened the sealed envelope.

When you're ready, I'm here. Marcus

She sighed and her frustration at him melted away. She looked up to see Cedric watching her. "Want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not particularly," she said, ducking her head. He remained quiet, watching her. "Okay, fine. I might have taken some frustrations out on an undeserving Dante earlier."

"And he feels the need to apologize for it?" he asked.

She shook her head, "It's not an apology. It's more of a show of support." She sighed, "I'm the one who owes him an apology. Is he upset at me?"

"He's not. He's confused," he said with a raised eyebrow. He picked up his pen and pulled a paper toward him.

Robyn sighed, "Yeah, I get that. It's not actually his fault. It's a thing with me right now." She sat for a couple of minutes and watched Cedric fill out paperwork, "I gotta go." She stood up and picked up the flowers. "Thanks Ced," she said, leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Cedric could always say so much to her with so few words. She walked to her car and situated the flowers so they wouldn't tip over during the drive. She gently touched a petal and thought about the orange rose he got her. She pulled out her phone to look up their meaning. After a couple searches, she found her hue of deep purple meant wanting to show someone affection and that you value their opinions. It was also a close enough hue to mean a feeling of enchantment. They were a rare enough color to know Marcus hadn't selected them by accident or randomly.

She climbed into the car, started the engine and called him.

"Detective Dante," he answered.

"Hey, it's me," Robyn said. "Are you busy?"

"Hey," he said quietly. "I have some time. I'm driving to a scene."

"Thank you for the roses. They're beautiful," she said. "I just picked them up from Ced."

"You're welcome," he answered.

"I'm guessing that your color choice wasn't random," she said.

"It was not," he confirmed.

"I looked up the possible meanings," she said. She read him the info about what she found. "Is that one of the messages you were going for?"

"It was," he confirmed again.

"Which one?" she prodded.

"Yes," he answered.

So then all of what she found. "Marcus, I'm sorry. I know my reaction towards you this morning came out of nowhere. I shouldn't have taken my frustrations out on you when you were trying to help. Are you mad?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "Honestly, I'm just not sure what to expect at the moment."

"That's fair. I'm okay. I'm safe to talk to," she promised.

"It's not that I feel you're unsafe to talk to, I just don't want to make things worse for you right now. I know you're stressed," he said. "Do you really feel like I'm trying to control your feelings?"

"No, I know you're not. I also know you'd never use sleeping with me as a weapon," she assured him. She paused, "I took my mood out on you. I'm really sorry. Think you'll be able to forgive me?"

"I'm fairly certain I can handle that," he said with a smile in his voice.

"Did you still want to meet up with me this weekend or should we postpone?"

"Absolutely yes to this weekend," he said without hesitation. "Just because you know how to pick a fight doesn't mean I don't want to see you."

"Good. I'll let you go so you can concentrate on work," she said with a smile.

"See you later Robbie," he said.

She ended the call, put the car in drive and headed home.

Dante slowed and stopped at a traffic light. Viola had been right, Robyn would go see Cedric. Not that he had doubted her. If anyone was going to know Robyn, it was her aunt. He was glad to know that he hadn't upset her directly. She had the ability to shut down when she was unhappy and he wasn't about to let that happen with them. He moved forward when the light turned green.

Ced and Vi confirmed his fear that she was still trying to fight her feelings for him. Her body and actions may say one thing, but she was really struggling with turning off her brain and listening to her heart about him. He figured he was just going to have to figure out a way to distract her from thinking so much. He had decided she was going to know exactly where he stood after their time together. He parked behind a patrol car with flashing lights and climbed out. He had his work cut out for him.

Days. Starting tomorrow night, she was supposed to spend days with Marcus. Everytime she stopped fighting her feelings for being with him, her desire to be around him only increased. The idea of uninterrupted time with him made her almost giddy. If he even really wanted to still spend time with her after her last reaction. He said he did, but she had literally picked a fight and hung up on him. She felt like a damn pouting teenager for that. She walked into her closet to locate her dress for tomorrow's dinner. She hung it on the hook on the back of the door then grabbed a duffle to pack for her time at his house. When the bag was packed, she dropped it inside the closet door. She smiled when she saw the vase of flowers on her nightstand. God the man was sweet. She turned and went to look for Aunt Vi. She found her in her studio downstairs.

"Hey Auntie," Robyn greeted her, leaning against the door frame.

"Hey Rob," Vi responded, looking up from her sketch. She looked at her for a moment then put down the charcoal piece she had been drawing with. Picking up a rag, she wiped her hands. "What's going on?" she inquired.

"Nothing," Robyn said. "I just wanted to let you know that starting tomorrow, I'm supposed to be away from the house for a few days."

"Supposed to be? Do I need to be worried? Is this a new case?" Vi asked. "Is it dangerous?"

"No, nothing like that," she said, standing up and walking over to look at her aunt's newest piece that was leaning against the wall. She smiled softly before responding, "I'm just going to try to take a bit of a break away from things."

"Ah," Vi said with sIow understanding. "You're going to spend some time with your detective. Good for you. You really need to figure things out."

"What? I never said..." Robyn said, her voice trailing off as she turned around and watched her aunt shrug.

"He's been good for you. He challenges you. You have this smile when you think no one is looking. I can tell when you're thinking about him," she explained. "He's got you going back to Lush too. Do you know how excited Cedric is to see you again? You even brought Dolly out from hiding. Even I haven't seen Dolly in years."

"Sometimes I forget you and Cedric grew up together and still talk," Robyn said.

"Of course, that's the part you chose to focus on from what I said."

Robyn shrugged and smiled. "Dolly has only made an appearance once," she said.

"That won't be the last time," Vi said in a knowing voice. "Rob, you like this guy don't you?"

"Yeah, I really do," Robyn admitted. "I don't know if I should though."

"Why are you fighting your feelings so hard?" Vi asked.

Robyn shrugged, "I've got my reasons."

Vi looked at her quietly. "You're hurting yourself far more than whatever it is you're imagining might happen," she said softly. "That man would do anything for you."

"I'm not sure he should care so much," Robyn said. "My history isn't the greatest and people around me tend to get hurt."

Vi sighed, "Not every man leaves, Baby. Detective Dante can hold his own." She held Robyn's gaze for a moment. "Are you going to tell Dee where you're going?" she asked, changing the subject.

"No, just that I'll be gone. I'll be reachable if you or her need me," Robyn promised. "All you need to do is call."

"I will do my best not to need you for a few days," Vi promised with a grin. "Don't behave."

"Love you Auntie," Robyn said, turning to leave the room.

"Think about what I said, Rob," Vi called after her. "It's okay to stop fighting yourself."

Dante leaned against his freshly washed car as he watched Robyn park her car. Cedric was right, he finally admitted to himself. At some point, he had fallen head over heels in love with this woman. He was looking forward to showing her how much he cared over their time together. Even if she wasn't ready to say it or even hear it, he knew she cared for him too. If there was any doubt about his feelings, there wouldn't be by the time she left. He stood up and walked to meet her when she opened her door. He smiled as he reached out to help her step out of the car.

"Hi," he said, holding out his hand.

"Hi yourself, " she replied, accepting his hand. Her eyes were dark and smokey black and her lips red. He didn't know what made it different, but her smoky eyes when she dressed up were so much more dramatic. Her hair was in loose spirals and pulled up into a high ponytail. A couple of tiny curls escaped the ponytail and hung by her face. Diamond studs sparkled on her ears. She was wearing a black coat that fell to just below her knees. It covered her dress, but he glimpsed a flash of red underneath as she stepped out in strappy red heels. He couldn't wait until he got to see what was underneath. She turned to take a silver purse off the seat then popped the trunk to get her duffle. He grabbed her bag for her and closed the trunk.

"Let's get you in the car, then I'll drop your bag off inside," he said. She reached over, took his free hand in hers and stepped close to him.

"Marcus, before we go anywhere, I need to say I'm sorry again," she said softly as she looked into his eyes. "I know you were only trying to help."

"You already apologized. I was trying to help," he agreed, "but I'm also willing to admit I shouldn't have kept pushing when you started to sound upset."

"I wanted to apologize again, in person, before you're stuck with me for days. You deserve that. We can talk about things more later," she promised. "I promise to remain level headed this time."

"I'm not going to push," Dante said. "And I'm not 'stuck' with you. I've been looking forward to spending time with you since you agreed to it."

They walked the short distance to his car and he helped her settle in. He gently closed the car door then walked back to the house to put her bag inside. He returned a moment later and climbed into the driver's side.

"You ready?" he asked, starting the car.

"Very much so," she replied with a smile.

"Cedric said normal spot. You'd know where to go," Dante said as he started to drive.

"Same booth as last time we were there," she confirmed. "It's got the best view and my favorite picture wall," she explained. "I've always sat there."

"Spoiled," he teased.

"Absolutely!" she said with no remorse.

They laughed throughout the rest of their conversations to the restaurant. Dante appreciated how comfortable he could feel with her. He pulled up to the valet and put the car in park. Robyn's door opened and the valet helped her out. Dante walked around the car to join her, taking her hand in his. They turned to walk into Lush. Turning to walk into the dining room, Robyn gave a wave to the hostess on the way by. The hostess smiled and waved back, marking something on a tablet in front of her.

They walked over to their booth and Dante turned to help Robyn remove her coat. She rotated to face him as he slowly looked her up and down. She was wearing a ruby red dress. The top of the dress was form fitting with thick straps and showcased a deep v-cut, revealing a delicious amount of cleavage. A diamond solitaire necklace sparkled just above her breasts. When the dress reached her waist, the skirt flared out and loosely flowed until it reached just above her knees.

"You look beautiful," he said as he removed his coat. Someone appeared next to them to take their coats then disappeared just as quickly.

"Thank you," she replied. He waited while Robyn got seated before walking to the other side to join her. "I like this suit,"she said, reaching over and brushing a hand down his lapel. He had decided to wear his dark gray suit with a white shirt and black tie.

They looked up as the server came to take their drink order and they each ordered a glass of wine. Dante looked at Robyn while she finished talking to the server. He was really looking forward to the next few days. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of looking at her.

"You okay?" she asked, turning to look at him.

He smiled and nodded. "It should be noted, Cedric said that unless he hears otherwise, he's taking care of tonight's menu."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," she laughed. Shrugging, she replied, "My taste hasn't changed much. He knows what I like."

"He hasn't steered me wrong yet," Dante said."I'm willing to let him decide." They drank their wine and listened to the music for a couple minutes. "Have I mentioned you look beautiful?" he asked, turning to her. She looked at him and smiled. "Looking forward to the next few days?"

She set down her glass and locked eyes with him. "Days of uninterrupted time with just you and me?" she asked. "That's all I've been thinking about," she admitted in a low voice.

He let his eyes roam her visible body, focusing on her breasts before moving back to look into her eyes. He shifted as he felt his body respond to her. "You realize that I'm not going to be able to keep my hands off you the entire time right?" he verified.

"I am 100% fine with that," she said, leaning over to place a short soft kiss on his lips. She sat back and picked up her wine glass as bread and salads were delivered to their table. "Plus, I think I owe you some make up sex."

He wasn't the only one who wouldn't be able to keep their hands to themself, she thought. He'll be lucky if she even lets him put clothes on. The man could wear a suit like no one's business, but him with nothing at all? Perfection. She took a sip of wine before setting the glass back down and picking up her fork. She glanced at the pictures on the wall above Dante's head. She stopped and looked again.

"Huh, well that's a new one," she said.

He looked up at her. "What is?" he asked after he swallowed.

As she chewed, she gestured to the wall behind him and he turned to look. There was a new picture of her. Well, of Dolly's last performance anyway. It was full-length and she was highlighted on the stage in the spotlight, holding the mic stand while singing. Even in black and white, she seemed to glow. Next to her picture was another new image, this one of a man playing piano. A profile shot of Marcus, on an empty stage, playing the piano. It must have been taken before the guys arrived and joined him. She was going to need to get a copy of his picture from Cedric. That image was sexy.

Dante turned back to look at her. "You look amazing," he told her. "I will never forget anything about that night." He paused, " But uh, why am I up there? I haven't played here."

She smiled, "You've played here."

He laughed, "Fine, if you want to be technical. I haven't performed here."

Robyn sat back and looked at him for a moment. "The main reason? Ced considers you part of the family now. It doesn't really matter whether you have played for yourself, a crowd, or just him." She smiled, "If he has anything to say about it, at some point, he will break you and you'll be on stage just like I was."

"Oh, um okay," he said in a surprised voice. "I didn't even notice anyone taking pictures."

"He's always been sneaky with that camera," she said, taking another bite.

"Wait, Cedric took those pictures?" he asked, turning to look again.

When he turned back to her, she raised a hand to gesture around the room. "He's taken every picture in this room that he's not in."

"Well damn, he's really talented," Dante said.

"Yeah, he is," she agreed. "Aunt Vi and my dad always said if this restaurant and music weren't his passion, photography would be." They sat back as their plates were cleared and new glasses of wine were brought.

"So, come on, tell me really, how am I considered part of the Lush family when all I did was play a couple of songs in an empty room? I really don't understand the logic." Dante said. "I barely even helped the band warm up."

Robyn looked at him and reached over to straighten his tie. She paused before responding, her hand resting on his chest. I guess it was time to admit something to him. "I didn't say Lush family," she clarified, raising her eyes to lock with his. "I said 'the' family. You are with me. I care for you and you matter to me, so you're family."

He reached up and caught her hand in his, holding it to his chest. "Is that a fact?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah, it is." she responded. "Don't forget, Ced gave you the intentions speech and everything," she reminded him, looking away.

"Oh, I remember. I guess I passed muster," he smiled. They seperated when their plates were set in front of them. Dante was served a steak with a side of garlic mashed potatoes and green beans, while Robyn received butternut squash ravioli with a sage and white wine sauce.

"Yum!" she said with a grin.

"I'd say Cedric got it right again," Dante agreed. They listened to the music in a comfortable silence while they ate. She noticed him glancing at her throughout dinner. When they finished, Robyn turned to Dante.

"Dance with me?" she asked quietly. Dante stood without speaking and walked around to help her up. They walked hand in hand to the dance floor and he pulled her into his arms. She brought her hands up to circle his neck and smiled up at him. "So then, that's a yes to dancing?" she asked.

"Always," he agreed. "Any chance I have to get you in my arms, I'm taking it." He brought his hand up between them to trace a finger along the edge of her v-cut before holding her waist again. "This dress is doing amazing things to your breasts," he said in a low voice.

"I bought it when I went shopping this week," she said.

"You made a good decision," he said.

"I was able to find a few things I liked," she responded.

"Wait. Didn't you go shopping last week too?" he laughed.

She grinned and shrugged, "Different reason this time."

"I guess," he laughed. They danced for a few more songs before going back to their booth. "Do you want dessert?" he asked, as she finished her wine.

She shook her head. "Not from here," she said in a husky voice.

"Are you hinting at going home with me?" he asked.

"If you have to ask..." she teased. She signaled to have their coats brought over.