"That's her," said a voice from the back of the limo.

David Rossi had ran into this gorgeous woman at a party a few weeks ago and had been trying to locate her since. He had known immediately that she was his mate, the one he'd been dreaming about for a long time. She was absolutely stunning with long black hair like his own and a tall slim form. Her eyes were blue and he suspected they had often been remarked upon. She had dark skin with a good dose of milk added, which meant she was mixed race not pure whatever nationality she was.

All he knew about her was her first name as she had been called away by her friend before he could get more than that. Her name was Samira, which was lovely and rather unusual. Dave knew that it was Arabic in origin which probably meant she was Arabic herself or at least partly Arabic. She had to be only partly Arabic, because pure Arabians didn't have blue eyes.

With only her first name no matter how unusual it had so far proven impossible to find her since Los Angeles was a very large city and there were several dozen Samira's in the yellow pages.

He had had some of his people try to track down those Samira's but every time had not been who he was looking for.

He had nearly given up until his chauffeur who was driving along slowly because of the traffic happened to spot the lady he'd been looking for, for weeks.

"Stop Jerry and let me out here," Dave ordered frantically. He was usually never frantic but he felt justified in this case. He tried to keep her in sight. Jerry did as ordered without a word or a protest as he knew how important finding this lady was to his master. His master had been around for centuries just as he had. It was only thanks to his master that he was now immortal just like his boss. He had once been a slave who had been treated cruelly and beaten so badly that last time that he would have died if not for David Rossi. Dave had found him and saved his life by giving him some of his blood, which had healed his wounds and also turned him immortal.

He had been so grateful and he had happily served him for centuries. Dave was a kind and good master and paid him very well for his services.

Jerry parked the car at a spot as close to the curb as he could, though it wasn't exactly at the curb as the limo was too long to park on the street.

Jerry drove away as cars honked around him and Dave swiftly pushed through the crowd to catch up with his mate.

People shouted and cussed at the rudeness, not knowing who Dave was, but Dave didn't care in the least as he was to frantic to catch up with the woman he had met several weeks ago very briefly.

Samira pretended not to notice all the shouts and curses, but in truth she did. When Dave finally caught up with her Samira didn't look at him as she knew she would be blushing if she did. This was a man that had been staring in her better dreams ever since the night of the party and she didn't even have a name in order to try to find him. She remembered being called away by her friend Cindy and hadn't had a chance to think about this stranger for the rest of the night. She only knew that he was one of the most handsome men, despite the beard, that she had ever seen. She usually didn't like men with facial hair, but for some reason this man it looked right and thought he'd probably look strange without the beard and sideburns.

Now here he was in the flesh so to speak. She really had never expected to run into him ever again. She had no idea why she was so attracted to this stranger, just that she was, so much so that her dreams always centered around him since they had met weeks ago. She felt like she had been hit over the head by 1000 pound weight the minute she had laid eyes on him so maybe that explained why she was dreaming about this man.

"I've been trying to find you for weeks," was Dave's opening line. The two of them walked along until Dave spotted a bakery just up the block. Dave guided her to it gently and Samira followed trying not to look directly at him.

"In that so?" Samira inquired once they were inside the bakery trying to appear calm. The bakery had tables that could be sat at while people enjoyed their treats.

"Yes, that is so," Dave answered as soon as the two of them sat down at one of the outdoor bakery tables with snacks that they had just gotten at the counter. "It's hard to find someone when you don't even know their name. I heard your friend who called you away, say the name Samira but other than that..."

"I suppose we didn't really have time to introduce ourselves," Samira said more calmly then she felt, as she bit into the cinnamon roll she had chosen. She tried not to groan out loud as it was the best cinnamon roll she had ever had. She would definitely have to come back to this bakery and try some of the other delicious looking treats.

She would definitely be coming back when she had a chance.

"Your friend kept you very busy for the rest of the evening," Dave said taking a bite of his own snack.

"Yes, Cindy did," Samira agreed. "I helped plan the event where we ran into each other so she needed me. I didn't have much time for thinking about anything not party related for the rest of the night, much less guys. I still don't know your name though, even if you know my first name."

She did notice that the man she had run into a few weeks ago was very snazzily dressed in fine threads. Very expensive slacks and a casual shirt, though it also looked expensive, with a pair of expensive leather boots on his feet that she thought were probably hand sewn. The boots were real leather if she was any a judge and real leather from a good brand name was practically worth it's weight in gold. The boots alone had to be worth at least 500 dollars if not more. This told Samira that this man was very wealthy though perhaps they had been an investment.

"Oh sorry, I forgot to introduce myself I was so happy to finally run into you I forgot my manners," Dave said embarrassed. "I'm David Rossi."

"Now that's a name I've heard. That name is often in the paper in the business section, though I usually don't read that section," Samira said taking a bite out of a cinnamon bun. "But there must be at least a dozen David Rossi's in the city alone, as it's a pretty common name. You aren't the philanthropist, are you?" Samira asked.

"Yes, I am," Dave said finishing his snack.

"What would someone like you want with me?" Samira asked curiously. "Why would you have been looking for me for several weeks? I'm nobody to you. Just a woman that attended a party, even if I was helping out my friend more than enjoying myself. I'm sure you are running into people all the time that want a minute of your attention and think that somewhere like a party is the place to carry on a serious conversation you."

"That is more true than you know," Dave chuckled warmly causing Samira to shiver with delight at the sound. "As for the reason I was looking for you... I wanted to ask you out for a date but I never got the chance as you were called away by your friend Cindy. I didn't even get your name, except your first and that's only because Cindy yelled it when she was trying to get your attention."

"A date? You wanted to ask me for a date?" Samira stared at Dave as if she couldn't believe what she'd heard.

"Yes, why are you so surprised?" Dave asked. "I mean you are a beautiful woman, so why wouldn't I want to ask you for a date? I'm certainly free to ask out anybody I want. I'm not married or engaged nor am I seeing anyone seriously."

"We're hardly in the same social strata for one thing," Samira said. "I have no money to speak of."

"So you believe that makes you unworthy of me," Dave suggested with a frown.

"Well yeah," Samira said her voice rising higher then she intended. "Well yeah, I do," Samira repeated in a softer voice once she had controlled her emotions, as people looked over in their direction wondering what was going on. "There are plenty of stunningly gorgeous women with money. So why ask me out instead of one of them?"

"Yes, there are plenty of lookers out there that have money," Dave said calmly. "What makes you think I want to marry one of them or at even date them?"

Samira sputtered at Dave's words but agreed he could date whoever he wanted. She just didn't know why such a rich man would want to date her. From what she had heard about David Rossi he was generous with his time and his money and often got involved in charities or fundraisers for worthy causes.

"If I dated someone who had inherited their money for instance they would likely want to live a life of luxury and probably not want a lift a finger to do any actual work and probably be as shallow as a puddle in their personality. They would be constantly underfoot and I'd probably come to heartily dislike them at a minimum. As for those that have worked hard to make their money while I have no objections to dating somebody like that why should I go that route unless I want to? I've dated plenty of gorgeous women some with a load of money others without. When I saw you from across the room talking to another woman for the first time I felt as if I had been hit over the head with a heavy object. It was then I knew that I had to get to know you better."

Samira was moved by Dave's words, as she felt exactly the same when she had met him for those two seconds but had brushed it off as her imagination. She had felt as if a puzzle piece had clicked into place in her very soul.

Her parents always believed that everyone had a soulmate as they had married despite objections from her grandparents on her father side. They didn't think her mother was good enough for their son and had tried their best to break them up. Her parents had still went ahead and married despite the pressure put on her father to marry someone he had known all his life, but had no interest in for that type of relationship.

Her grandparents had cut off their son without a qualm so she had never met them. Her father had had a good job so had simply thumbed his nose at his parents.

Both her grandfather and father were prideful men and refused to make up, to heal the rift between them, even though it had been decades.

Could Dave be the one she was going to marry? Samira wondered, even as she became lost in her thoughts.

"Alright, you've made your point," Samira said finally.

"Does that mean you'll go out on a date with me?" Dave asked trying not to sound to hopeful.

"Yes, it does," Samira told Dave with a smile as she finished her cinnamon roll. "You telling me that you felt as if you had been hit with a heavy object well, that echoes for me as I felt the same thing, even though we only met for two seconds.

"I didn't even know your first name like you knew mine because you heard Cindy call it," Samira said. "As for me, I am Samira Dankworth," Samira supplied.

"Well, at least now I can track you down if I have to," Dave said with a smile finishing his coffee that he had gotten to go along with his snack. "Your first name is Arabic, but I don't know the origin of Dankworth."

"I don't either really," Samira shrugged. "I just never bothered to do any research on it. As to my first name my family does have some of Arabic blood, but it's pretty diluted at this point we're mostly Irish with some black thrown in for good measure. I suppose that would be considered more black Irish than anything else."

"Why don't we exchange link numbers at least," Dave suggested. "I'll understand if you don't want to give me your address until we get to know each other better. There are a lot of predators out there that would take it advantage of you if they could."

Samira gave Dave her link number and also her address.

"Thank you for your trust," Dave told Samira with real genuine emotion in his voice. "It means more to me than you know."

"You're welcome," Samira said smiling brightly.

The two of them parted after agreeing to go on a date the next day.

~~~Dave and Samira~~~

"It was so weird," Samira told her friend. "We met for like two seconds that night and yet I felt as if the breath had been knocked out of me. When we were finally officially introduced due to rather weird circumstances he actually asked me for a date."

"What's so unusual about him asking you for a date?" Emily asked curiously with a frown.

Samira and Emily had been friends for a long time. Emily's family was very well off due to her mother being some type of businesswoman though Samira had never understood what type of business she was in.

Samira supposed she shouldn't have said all that to Dave about him dating within his social set since she and Emily had known each other forever and Emily dated whoever she pleased.

In Emily's case though, Samira could understand this because from what she knew of her mother she had always been busy and Emily had been raised by the housekeeper and also the nanny when she was really young.

So it wasn't really unusual for Emily to be rebelling even into her 30s. That Emily and her mother Elizabeth weren't close was an understatement.

Emily barely talked to her mother at all if she could get away with it and had been living on her own from the minute she turned 18. She was the same age as Samira, which was nearly 30 and she still hadn't settled down and likely had no intention of doing so anytime soon.

Considering her mother's rather dubious example Samira really couldn't blame her friend for that. Samira had never understood why Elizabeth Prentiss just didn't have an abortion if she hadn't wanted the baby, though she was glad that Emily's mother hadn't gone that far. If she had something against abortion why Emily's mother had just given the baby up for adoption was a mystery or even left at a church or hospital.

Thanks to Emily's mother her friend hated parties and social events and so hadn't attended the one several weeks ago where she had run into Dave. She especially hated those formal parties and receptions that her mother went to for some social event.

"I'm not in his social circle for one thing," Samira said.

"Please," Emily snorted rolling her eyes at her friend. "This isn't the far past Samira where the rich stuck to their own kind. Alright, some still do that, but they also more often then not end up unhappy with their choices. So tell me why do you think that this Dave Rossi should follow the same old pattern and perhaps end up miserable? That kind of scenario only leads to taking a sidepiece and cheating on their spouse. On the other hand, if a man is happy with his relationship then he's not likely to cheat."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Samira said quietly. Emily was right on the money as being unhappy with your spouse led to cheating. Either that or divorce after only a few short years, which usually ended up hurting the children more than adults involved.

"That's obvious," Emily told her friend bluntly. "Why in the hell would he search for you for several weeks after that party after just a two second meeting if you hadn't made an impression? That ought to tell you that he can't get you off his mind and so he likely sent out of his people to look for you, but since it's a big city and he only had your first name it would have taken a miracle to find you, as it's possible you weren't listed in the phonebook since many people aren't. You should be counting your blessings not putting up obstacles. It shouldn't matter if David Rossi is as rich as Midas or as poor as a church mouse. This isn't a society based on any class system, not like it was in the past anyway. I won't say some of those ideals don't remain, but most people just do what they want and don't give a damn who looks down on them for it."

"Alright, alright," Samira finally said before Emily could go on. "You've made your point. You were saying Dave wouldn't have bothered to look for me if he hadn't wanted to."

"If you hadn't made an impression," Emily corrected. "I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't get you off his mind even if he tried to."

"Well, I can't get him off mine either and don't think I haven't tried," Samira said, as she and Emily sat in a little café close to her apartment that had excellent food. Samira didn't admit that she had been dreaming of David Rossi, but would be astonished to discover that Dave had also been dreaming of her just from that first two second meeting. "I would think though that he be afraid of being taken to the cleaners if we get married and then divorced, which I know is why most rich men go after women with her own money."

"That's what prenups are for," Emily told Samira firmly.

In someways, her friend was very naïve about the ways of the world, but then, unlike her own mother her parents and tried to protect her and her sisters and brothers from the realities of life. Something her mother had failed to do so Emily had lost her innocence a very long time ago.

"Don't go assuming that you're going to get divorced if you do happen to get married as that's a good way to ruin your relationship. Yes, I realize it happens quite frequently but that's only because I firmly believe that those couples refuse to compromise. Either gender can make unreasonable demands. Instead of talking about it they argue which just creates bad feelings which only leads to divorce. Even if what they asked for is reasonable a lot of times the other one of the couple refuses to give it to them out of sheer stubbornness and pride.

"It's probably not gonna go that far," Samira offered. "I'm sure it's just going to be a fling. I mean every man has needs after all and I don't see how he could possibly fall in love with someone like me. I know I am a beautiful woman, but I still say I'm nowhere in David Rossi's league no matter what you say. I am sure he'll realize that sooner or later if we do start dating and marry someone with money."

Emily rolled her eyes an exasperation. "Someone like you?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Someone ordinary," Samira said.

"You are delusional," Emily told Samira rolling her eyes in exasperation again at her friend answer. "You're so afraid of having your heart broken that you refuse to even try. Considering your parents example I would think that you would want to find love. David Rossi could be the 'one' or as you say it could be just a fling. You can sabotage yourself and not even realize it if you don't drop the attitude."

"What attitude?" Samira asked curiously.

"The attitude that I am not good enough for him and therefore, I'm going to sabotage my relationship so he'll have to find someone else," Emily told her bluntly. "Frankly, I don't see him doing what you think he will because he did spend several weeks looking for you after meeting you at that party and with only a first name to boot. That ought to tell you that he can't get you off his mind as I told you earlier."

"Well maybe," Samira said uncertainly.

"No maybes," Emily told her firmly seeing that she was finally getting through to her friend.

Samira had had her share of relationships over the years and none of them had worked out just like hers hadn't. Dating was a minefield where you had to avoid all the duds out there. You could get so many duds that you lost confidence that you would ever find someone and when Mr. Right came along well it was possible they would be rejected due to previous bad experiences.

Emily was determined not to let that happen to her friend.

She had only heard good things about David Rossi. He was a gentleman, that he was heavily involved in numerous charities, that he gave of his time and his money generously, that he was always showing up with a gorgeous woman on his arm at events and according to rumor usually a different one for every event and that was only if he didn't go stag.

He was always in the business section or on the vid screen with a reporter telling people how he had bought this company that was on the rocks financially and how he had saved peoples jobs. Maybe he was thinking that he needed an heir to pass on his money to for all Emily knew.

While he could marry someone wealthy in their own right Emily didn't see David Rossi doing that unless of course he also loved her. She was sure that he had dated plenty of wealthy women over the years.

David Rossi changed lives and saved peoples livelihoods so if her friend was to get seriously involved with him Emily would be happy for her.

~~~Dave and Samira~~~