Ranger's POV

I've been buried in work for the last few weeks, from sunup to far beyond when sun has gone down. I was out meeting with clients, virtually meeting with clients, setting up logistics for operations and a slew of other jobs. Rangeman has always been a successful business and this latest influx was going to put me up on a status of 'Forbes Most Successful Businessmen Under 40', that's what my attorney and accountant have been telling me. I couldn't give a shit about that, I hardly spent any money except for my investments and my Babe, and I sent money to my family but it didn't give me the thrill that I got when I spent it on Steph. I always got off on seeing my net worth rise, Steph wouldn't believe this, but an aptitude test had me pegged as an accountant for a career.

The bonds office was keeping Babe busy, between that and doing searches for me it seemed her free time was being as nonexistent as mine. Usually, she'd take jobs here when money was tight but I know for a fact she had been able to save a respectable amount in the bank, more than she has in the past anyway. I suspected she was doing work here so we could see each other more, at least that is what I was telling myself she was doing, wishful thinking maybe. Despite the workload I was under, somehow we still managed to spend a good bit of time together. She had been reforming a bit with regard to her wake-up times, by no means was she an early riser but she'd manage to join me at breakfast after I put my time in at the gym. Lunch together was easy enough and dinner was even becoming a regular occurrence. Some nights she stayed late and watched her "mystery godfathers" as she called them, Columbo or Matlock while I worked on my laptop. I'd rather have been holding her than letting her sit next to me on the sofa. I had to be satisfied with her shoulder leaning against mine, the twist of her soft hair between my fingers or the view that made my heart flutter, seeing our bare feet next to one another on the coffee table. Her small pale feet that were currently painted "Minnie Mouse" pink and my larger latte colored feet. It was one of the most recent domesticated things I had noticed we do, one that I would have anticipated having me run for the hills but instead I would "accidentally" brush my feet next to hers and she would do the same to me.

We were at a crossroads in our relationship. Ya, it was one and I admit that but I still couldn't say what kind of relationship it was. It was a very comfortable situation I'd found myself in but on the nights she wasn't with me, it felt...wrong.

She was done with Morelli, I had just fulfilled my last mission for the government even though she didn't know it yet. I knew I wanted to keep what we currently have, the best friendship I've ever had but there was always more simmering below the surface between us. In fact, it has boiled over quite a few times since we have known each other. The long looks we gave each other, the electricity that sparked in the simplest of touches and those dreams that kept coming back of the one night we were together. Jesus, that was one of the best nights of my life and I knew that every night with her would be just as phenomenal.

A couple of days ago, Steph had come into my office with her files. She was hot on the trail of Carl Royce, a habitual criminal that skipped on his bond for carjacking a woman with her baby in the car.

"Ranger, so um, what does your day look like?"

Steph sat in one of my office chairs, holding her files primly in her lap but she had been working over one corner of the folder to where it was about to fall off. Her nervousness was always so adorable to me, such a strong woman in many ways but unable to not show her vulnerability. Biting on her lower plump lip while she waited for my answer. I love her lips, a nice rosy shade and they always seemed ripe for a little suckling. Shit, I'm daydreaming and now she is staring at me.

"I have more meetings today, there are some emails I need to respond to."

"How can you have so much emailing to do, what do you even talk about??"

"I can't really figure that out sometimes myself, we have meetings and talk about other meetings and meetings we want to have," she giggles, "It's a exciting life, Babe."

She gives a full laugh, the one that instantly lowers my blood pressure when I hear it. "I don't envy you having to run a company, I would be having to put scotch tape on my eyes to keep them peeled open."

"How do you know that isn't what I do with my scotch tape, Babe?"

I'm wondering if she doesn't need help with her skip but doesn't want to ask. She is like me when it comes to pride getting in the way of asking for help. I've tried to make it a point of showing I do need help at times, hoping she will get the idea that it doesn't make you inadequate. I very much thought that before it pertained to her, just one more thing she has opened my eyes up to.

"Do you need help with your skip?"

"Umm, no not really, I just wanted us to talk when you didn't have your mind on a million other things."

"My mind is always just on you when we speak, Babe. Talk to me."

"No, not in the middle of your workday. How about after work today or will you be working late again?"

"I'll probably be done around 8:00pm, is that good for you?"

"Sure!" Giving me one of her winning smiles. I'm not sure what she wants to talk about but if it elicits more reactions like that, 8:00pm can't come soon enough.

My phone suddenly rings, it's a conference call with some government officials in regard to giving security for members of the Senate. She rises to leave, giving me hand signals of goodbye and tiptoeing her way out. My meeting is via webcam, the voice of the meeting coordinator says there will be a 60 second pause for the calls to be patched together. Steph has made it to the door, I knew this because I watched her luscious ass sway gently on her journey there, she stops short and slowly turns around to look at me.

She seems torn between wanting to say something and just making her exit, the dilemma clearly written across her face. The meeting coordinator announces 45 seconds until the patch is complete.

I give my one eyebrow raise to encourage Steph to just spit whatever it is out. There is no predicting what she might say but I didn't expect it to be anything like this.

Her blue sapphires target me, the connection is made, feeling like neither one of us can look away.

"You mean everything to me, you know that, right? You are kinda my life. And if I were given a magic spell that let me pick whatever type of life I wanted, I would choose this, here, what I have right now…with you. You're where I want to go."

And with that she swept out of my office, leaving me stunned and desperately playing her words over in my head.