CHAPTER 43

DAY 1 TRENTON

Sunday Afternoon

My mouth fell open when I walked into Kick It and saw Lula. There were no words. She'd always been larger than life, but I'd forgotten how original she was. She was wearing… sheesh… I don't even know how to explain it. She looked like an extra straight out of that Olivia Newton-John video—the one where she croons over and over to let me hear your body talk. Well, Lula's body was talkin' alright… loudly. She wore a high-cut cheetah print leotard, shiny fuchsia tights, electric blue legwarmers, and a matching headband. When she turned around, I saw that her leotard was a thong, and it was really wedged up in there. It was a lot to take in.

"Girl," Lula screamed, pulling me into a bear hug that made me squeak from lack of oxygen. She finally released me and stood back to look me over. "You look like one of them ladies from the infomercials who sell vitamins or exercise machines or something."

While I was trying to decide what she meant by that, Connie came over and hugged me, but with a little less gusto than Lula. "I'm so glad you're back, Steph. I think what Lula's trying to say is that you look great—refreshed and fit—and very tanned."

"Thanks." Seeing their pleased reactions made me feel like a million bucks.

Mare, Val, and Jeanne approached from the smoothie bar dressed normally in capri yoga pants and a sports bra like me. They saw me and smiled as they rushed toward me, talking at once. Damn, I'd missed everyone so much. After answering questions and catching up, Connie told us she had to leave after class to bail someone out of jail.

"How're things at the bond's office?" I asked Connie.

"Vinnie's being a bigger ass than usual, but business has been good. We've had more than the usual number of skips. Vinnie's even got Lula collecting the easier skips."

"I brought in that bag lady, Eula, and Carmen from the bowling alley," Lula said, pride making her stand a little taller. "I even brought in Caroline from Pleasure Treasures. She was real nice this time. She gave me a deal on the Herbert Horsecock 2.0 model."

Several women walking by gave us odd looks. Lula had only two volumes. Loud and louder. I swallowed, thinking about the weird life I was getting ready to jump back into.

"I'll be in tomorrow to talk to Vinnie," I told Connie.

"Thank goodness." She sagged with relief and stepped closer to whisper so only I could hear. "I'm glad to have someone normal back in the office."

Since bungee aerobics was new to me, I got a quick rundown, and we each got into our harnesses. I loved it. Afterward, we had smoothies in the bar area, laughing at various stories that had happened while I'd been gone. At first, Connie and Lula were careful to avoid mentioning Morelli, but after Mare told them I wasn't mad he and Terry were dating on the down low, they had a few unflattering things to say about the couple. Soon, everyone left except Jeanne.

"Want to show me what you learned while you were away?" Jeanne asked.

"These hands are a registered weapon." I made a chopping motion. "I wouldn't want to hurt you."

Her smile was indulgent. "Show me what you got." Sparring with a woman my size was different from grown men like Finn and Oz. We kickboxed for thirty minutes. Spoiler alert… although I put up a good fight, Jeanne kicked my butt.

"Were you taking it easy on me?" I asked while we took off our protective gear.

"Nope." She seemed mildly insulted that I thought she was capable of not doing her best.

"Watch out next time, 'cause I will kick your butt," I warned. "You just wait."

"Lookin' forward to it, Plum." She slung her arm around my shoulder, and we headed to the weights. It felt good to have a friend that challenged me.

Finn had suggested I work out daily for an hour to keep my body fit and skills sharp. I was also supposed to hit the shooting range at least once a week. Jeanne kept up with me as I did my lower body workout and ran two miles on the treadmill. Looks like I'd traded one training partner for another. Good thing I liked them both.

After saying goodbye to Jeanne, I picked up Rex from Mary Lou's and took him home. After placing him on the kitchen counter in his accustomed place of prominence, I tossed a couple grapes into his enclosure and leaned on the counter. "How does it feel to be home, buddy?" Rex stuffed his cheek with a whole grape and went for the other. "I know I haven't provided a lot of stability, and you've probably felt unsafe sometimes… maybe even scared. I was scared too. But you don't have to worry about that anymore because I've got things handled. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise." With his cheeks stuffed, he turned his back on me and went into his soup can, wiggling his butt. Probably his version of the finger. I didn't blame him. The poor guy had been through a lot in the last few years. I hadn't been the best hamster mommy. People broke in, firebombed the apartment, hell, even a cat was thrown into his cage to torment him. He was just as lucky to be alive as I was.

I checked the time and saw I had forty-five minutes to shower and get to Ranger's for dinner. With my grooming routine done in record time, I debated what to wear. I didn't want to send the wrong message by dressing up, but I also wanted to look nice, so I pulled on my best jeans, a casual blouse, and sandals. I looked good, and my ass looked even better. Working out sure as hell paid.

I knew I was on camera, so I tried not to show how anxious I was as I rode the elevator straight to the seventh floor. I'd already arranged to meet Lester and Hector at his mama's house for dessert, which gave me a reason to leave Ranger's if things got weird. That way, assuming he tried, I wouldn't be tempted to give in to his advances. I wasn't entirely convinced it was possible to just be friends now. Not after I'd let my heart get involved. But that was my problem, not his. I had to accept that although he did love me, he wasn't in love with me. If he was, there's no way he could have stomached seeing me in a relationship with Morelli without doing something about it. I know I'd have been heartbroken to see him with another woman.

I needed to remember how things were at the beginning of our friendship, so I could figure out how to get us back on track. I had literal seconds to get a plan together before the elevator arrived. My mind raced with all the scenarios of how to act with him now that we were just friends. Think, Stephanie, how do you behave with guy friends like Lester and Hector? We kidded each other and hung out like pals. Remembering the early days when Morelli and I were circling each other, he decided I was more trouble than I was worth and started tugging my hair instead of trying to look down my shirt. I'd been confused at first but soon realized he was sending me a silent message. I was friend-zoned. But I couldn't pull Ranger's hair. He definitely wouldn't go for that unless it involved sexy times. Okay, so no hair-pulling. Maybe, I could lightly punch him in the shoulder. Or call him dude. Yeah, that's good. I'm on to something. This would work.

The elevator doors dinged, and I took a deep breath for strength. Standing in front of Ranger's door, I raised my hand to knock. Here goes nothing.

AN: Stephanie has a plan to friend zone Ranger. She's going to treat him like a bro. How do you think that will go? Is she strong enough to resist any advances he might make? Being in his seventh-floor apartment can be quite cozy. Leave a review and let me know your thoughts.