"Not really. Just finished up some paperwork on the Hitchcock case," she told him, moving toward the dining room, with her arm around his waist and his around her shoulders. In the doorway of the room, she stopped. Not to admire the view of the ocean through the glass wall, that was something that she'd long since gotten used to over the course of the past three years. It was the table set cozily for two, with candles lit- and a bucket of champagne on ice, waiting, that caused her to ask, "What's all this about?" A sudden thought struck her and her brown eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What've you done now that you're afraid I'll find out about? Daniel hasn't done something I won't like, has he?"
"This has nothing to do with Daniel," Remington assured her, picking up the bottle of wine. "You don't remember what today is, do you?"
Laura frowned, thinking. "The fourteenth?"
"Yes," Remington agreed, removing the foil from the bottle of champagne and working the cork free. "The fourteenth of March." When Laura shook her head, apparently still not understanding, Remington poured two glasses of the wine and handed one to her. "It's the third anniversary of our having-" he grinned knowingly as he sought the right word.
She smiled, understanding at last. "Crossed the line?" she suggested.
"Finally getting past the bedroom door," he said.
"Has it really been three years?" Laura asked.
"Umm," Steele nodded, touching his glass to hers. "To us," he said, recalling that night in very clear detail as he watched her tip the glass to her lips. They had argued again- over buying this place, actually. Laura had stormed out, going to her loft and locking the door. Since he hadn't been able to pick the padlock on the inside of the door, Remington had been forced to climb the fire escape to get into the converted warehouse apartment. They had gone round and round, yelling so loudly at one point that Laura's next door neighbor had threatened to call the police. The only thing Remington couldn't remember clearly was the catalyst which had sent Laura flying into him, knocking him onto the bed and kissing him in a way that let him know she wasn't going to back away again.
Remington gave Laura a long kiss and said, "I'll go get dinner," before heading toward the kitchen. He'd prepared all of Laura's favorites- including a chocolate mousse for dessert. Over the last three years, he had respected her wishes and kept their relationship out of the office, but tonight was going to change all of that, he told himself, patting the small velvet box in his pocket to reassure himself that it was still there. After dinner, they would move out onto the deck and watch the ocean. Then, when the time was right, he would bring up the idea of taking the next step. It was a plan that he was sure couldn't possibly fail.
****
Everything was going perfectly, Remington told himself later as he joined Laura on the deck, where she was already curled up on the wicker sofa. "Where did you say Daniel had gone?" she asked him, taking the glass he held out to her.
"He and Mildred went out for dinner and dancing, I believe," he told her. What he didn't tell her that his father had mentioned something about Bedard's as well. Apparently Mildred had taken to the place upon their first visit some time ago. No reason to upset her by letting her know that Daniel was taking Mildred to a gambling club. He didn't want anything to spoil the mood he'd achieved.
"I still can't believe those two are getting along as well as they do," Laura told him, resting her head on his shoulder as he settled beside her on the sofa.
"Maybe she's got a soft spot for charming con men as well," Remington suggested. "Daniel certainly raves about her."
"Much to Mother's chagrin," Laura recalled, and Remington felt her smiling.
"This is nice, isn't it?" Remington asked as silence fell between them.
Laura snuggled closer to him. "Hmm," she agreed.
"Cold?" he asked, and pulled her closer still, even when she shook her head.
"Happy," she confided, lifting her face to his.
"I'm glad." Remington touched his fingers to her chin and lowered his own lips to hers, capturing them easily. He pulled her across his lap, deepening the kiss.
"Thank you for this evening," she said at last, her fingers inside his now unbuttoned shirt. "I'm sorry that I didn't remember-"
"I didn't really expect you to," he confessed. "But I did get you something."
"You did?"
His eyes locked with hers for a long moment, then he shifted her position slightly, letting her return to sitting at his side as he put a hand into his pocket and pulled out the box. "Laura, I know that we haven't discussed it, but really I think it's time that we took this- relationship to the next level. Took the next logical step," he said, already seeing the withdrawal in her eyes as she looked at the box in his hand. "These last three years have been the most incredible, wonderful experience and I want -"
"Remington-"
He opened the box and let the moonlight glint off of the diamond. "It's one of the stones that Daniel gave me in London," he explained. "I thought we could- arrange everything for this summer while Nathan and Maeve are here for a visit- We could invite your mother out here from Connecticut-"
"Remington-"
"You keep saying that," he said nervously, aware that he was babbling but unable to stop.
"Because I'm not sure what else *to* say," Laura said, standing up to pace short distance across the deck.
"How about 'yes'?" Remington suggested.
"I want to, Remington, it's just that-"
"Just what?" he asked, closing the box with a loud snap to return it to his pocket.
"I'm not sure that we're- that *I*'m ready for that. What's wrong with continuing the way we have been?" she wanted to know. "Why change things?"
"Maybe I'm tired of trying to decide where we're going to be. Here, your loft- Maybe I'm tired of trying to keep our relationship a secret," Remington said. "Of sneaking around like we're fooling the entire city. Maybe I'm tired of-"
"And I'm tired of this discussion," Laura told him, heading toward the sliding glass doors into the house.
Remington grabbed her arm to stop her. "You can't run forever, Laura."
"I'm not running," she told him, shrugging off his hold on her arm.
"Aren't you? How long as we known each other, Laura?" he asked.
"Seven- seven years," she told him.
"Seven years," Remington repeated slowly. "Seven bloody years, Laura. How much longer is it gonna take for you to trust me, eh? I mean *really* trust me with the most important thing in the world? To realize that I'm not going anywhere, hmm? That for as long as I live, I'll be right here, where I belong?" He placed a hand to the side of her face as he spoke again, this time in a quiet, controlled voice. "I'm not your father, Laura. When you going to realize that?"
It took him a full minute to realize that she had left. One moment, she was there, looking up at him, her eyes filled with a fear that she was afraid to acknowledge, and the next, she was gone, running past him into the house. "Laura?!" he called after her, entering the house, only to hear the front door close behind her. He heard the sound of her car starting, and went to the door, jerking it open in time to see the tail lights of the car disappearing down the drive toward the road.
Remington slammed the door behind her, angrier than he'd been in a long time. Angry at Laura- and at himself for not handling things better. He shouldn't have lost his temper. He should have cajoled, eased her into the moment. Not hit her over the head the way he had.
Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he felt the ring box and pulled it out. He very nearly threw it across the room, but instead he opened it, and suddenly felt totally, absolutely drained. He dropped onto the sofa, the box in his hands. "Oh, Laura, love. What am I going to have to do?" he wondered aloud, then closed the box and put his head back on the sofa. "What?"
****
Daniel closed the front door, unbuttoning his tuxedo jacket as he moved toward his bedroom. The clock on the wall revealed that it had already gone two a.m. It was a good thing that Mildred didn't have to be at work in the morning, he reasoned, smiling at the memory of the woman. She was a surprisingly good companion- and not at all his usual type. He smiled, realizing that he had never considered Laura to be Harry's type, either, but that they had somehow found each other. He started through the living room, his jacket across his arm, when he suddenly stopped upon seeing his son on the sofa, his head back, snoring slightly. "Harry?" he said quietly, uncertain about waking him.
Remington woke suddenly, wincing as he moved his head. "Ooh, my neck."
"Sleeping sitting up tends to have that effect," Daniel noted.
"Daniel. I didn't hear you come in," Remington said, peering at his wristwatch when he realized that he couldn't focus in on the clock above the mantle. "What time is it?"
"Almost three," Daniel told him. "When I didn't see Laura's car outside, I thought that you and she might have-"
"No. Laura- left," Remington said in a halting voice.
Something in that tone made him realize that things had gone seriously wrong with Harry's planned marriage proposal. Sitting in a chair across from his son, Daniel asked, "Things didn't go well, did they?"
"That's a bloody understatement if I've ever heard one. No. Things didn't -go well."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Daniel offered.
Remington put the ring box on the table. "I'm not sure there's anything *to* talk about, truth be told," he said, and Daniel thought he sounded tired. Not physically tired, but emotionally.
He spared a moment of anger that was directed in Laura Holt's direction and bit back the comment that was birthed by that anger. Anger at Laura wasn't what Harry needed at the moment. His son needed him. As a friend- and perhaps, even, as a father. "She turned you down?"
"I never got the chance to ask, really. She took one look at the ring and was- gone."
"You didn't follow her?"
"The last place she would have gone to was the loft. By the time I got to the front door, it was too late. Oh, Daniel. I'm at a loss, mate. I thought she'd finally started to trust me. To believe that I was in for the duration, you know? But- when she saw the ring, she got this look- like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I wish I knew. Right now, I'm going to bed. Try to get some sleep."
"I'm sure things will look much brighter tomorrow, my boy," Daniel assured his son with false bravado. "A good night's rest does wonders for one's outlook."
"If you say so. 'Night." Remington paused in the doorway to his room. "How was your evening?" he asked.
"Went splendidly. I think Mildred's my lucky charm," he said, fanning a handful of cash that he pulled from his pocket.
"Good for you.
"Good night, son," Daniel said, and then waited for him to close the bedroom door. He poured himself a glass of brandy, scooping up the velvet box on his way out to the deck, his expression thoughtful. He opened the box to look at the ring. There had to be some way to make Laura realize what she was tossing away.
***
Mildred came out of the bathroom, and was surprised to find that she wasn't ready to go to sleep yet. She was still too keyed up from her evening. Daniel's winning streak at Bedard's had been unlike anything she'd ever seen- even that time Laura had won all that money at the crap table in Vegas. He'd so sweet, wanting her to stay right beside him at the table, calling her his good luck charm. Of course, if Laura ever found out they'd been there, and not for the first time, she'd give it to Daniel with both barrels.
She went to the kitchen to get a glass of warm milk, thinking that it might help her get to sleep. She had just turned off the light to return to her room, when the telephone began to ring. Flipping the switch again, she picked up the receiver. "Hello?" she said, wondering who was calling at this time of the morning.
"Did I wake you, Mildred?"
"Daniel? No. I was just on my way to bed- what's wrong?"
Daniel made doubly sure his bedroom door was closed before continuing. "I could say that I called because I wanted to hear your voice again before I went to sleep," he said quietly.
"But you didn't, did you?" she asked.
"No. But I might have if I hadn't come home to a- slight problem."
"Laura found out that we've been going to Bedard's, didn't she?" Mildred guessed.
"Mildred-"
"Oh, I was afraid of that. Was she very upset?"
"That's not the problem."
"Oh. What's wrong, then?"
"Harry asked Laura to marry him tonight, and-"
"He did? Oh, it's about time. Did they-"
"Mildred," Daniel said with a heavy sigh and a smile. "She said no."
"She *what*?!" Mildred sat down heavily a kitchen chair. She was beginning to have serious doubts about Laura Holt's sanity.
"She turned him down."
"Is he okay?" Mildred asked.
"It's difficult to tell with Harry, but- I don't think he's 'okay' at all, Mildred. Do you have any idea where Laura might go if she were upset about something?"
Mildred frowned. "She's missing?"
"I called her loft- there was no answer," Daniel admitted. "Harry didn't think she would have gone back there in case he tried to follow her. Would she have gone to her sister's?"
"Frances?" Mildred asked. "Not likely. Laura knows how much Frances likes the Boss. She'd think Laura was crazy for turning him down."
"She might have company in that," Daniel commented wryly. "Anywhere else?"
"I'm drawing a blank, Daniel," she told him. "I'm sorry. The office, maybe?" she said, grasping at straws. "Maybe I should call and see if she's there?"
"Let me handle it, okay? I think it's time that Laura and I had a little chat," Daniel said. "Why don't you come out here for lunch tomorrow instead of our meeting in town as we planned?" he suggested. "I'm sure Harry would like the company."
"Where will you be?" Mildred asked.
"Trying to talk some sense into Laura," he told her. "If I can find her."