Steele In My Heart

Part Eight

Laura left Katherine to examine the posters of old movies on the walls as she made some tea. “I see he still likes movies,” Katherine said as she returned.
“That’s putting it mildly. At times it borders on an obesssion ,” she said with a smile.
“This is a lovely apartment, Laura. Rather cozy, for being in such an impersonal building.”
“Thank you. Remington lived one floor up when we married. We moved here after we returned from England.” She poured the tea, then went to the window to watch for her husband’s return. Katherine stirred her tea, then put the spoon on the tray before saying, “Daniel told me about you, you know.”
Laura’s smile was a bit crooked. “I can well imagine what he told you. Daniel was never one of my biggest fans.”
“Oh, you’re wrong, Laura.” Laura turned to look at her in shocked surprise. “He told me how intelligent and attractive you are - and how lucky -Remington was to have found you.”
“He said that? He was always trying to convince Remington to leave with him on another grand adventure. He even tried to recruit me to join them, once.”
Katherine smiled. “He knew how long his Harry had searched for a place to call home - a place to belong. He told me that from the moment he first saw Remington Steele, he knew any attempt to lure Harry away would be useless. He said he’d never seen his son quite so content with his life.”
Laura took a sip of her tea. “You loved him a lot, didn’t you?”
Katherine’s attention was fixed on her own cup. “From the first moment I saw him. Poor Harry,” she said, speaking of her friend who had introduced her to Daniel. “He was in love with me, and here I was madly in love with his cousin. Daniel had- such a --zest for life. Always ready with a plan that would let him retire to the south of France and that villa he always talked about. He was charming, and handsome - and he treated me like a queen. I suppose I hoped that- one day -”
“But he met your sister and fell in love with her,” Laura said simply.
“Oh, I never blamed either of them for it. Seeing how he loved her made me realize that Daniel had never been in love with me- although he DID love me in his own way.”
“It’s no wonder you tried to hard to reunite him with his son.”
Katherine smiled at her. “I knew you were the right woman for my Danny, Laura, the moment I saw him look at you. It’s in his eyes how much he loves you. It reminds me of the way Daniel used to look at Megan. Even if the words don’t come easy to him, his eyes will tell you what you need to know.”
Laura refilled her cup and Katherine’s as Remington’s aunt began to tell her about her experiences on the London stage.

Laura was in the kitchen when she heard the front door open. After several moments, she went out to find the terrace door open. Remington was out there, examining the view. “I thought I heard you come in,” Laura told him, crossing to put her arms around him, to rest her cheek against his back.
“I took a long drive up the coast,” he told her, pulling her to his side. “I needed to think. Where is Katherine?”
“Resting. It was a long flight- and she’s exhausted. Emotionally as well as physically. I was just preparing a light meal for her. Do you think she would mind canned soup?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what Katherine Morgan might like. Now, Kitty O’Hara - most of her cooking was done out of tin cans -”
Laura smiled up at him. “Not much of a cook, eh?”
He smiled as well, remembering. “I used to tease her about it, saying she had better learn to cook edible meals if she wanted to find a husband.”
“And I said I wouldn’t HAVE to,” Katherine added, coming onto the terrace. “Because I intended to marry a man who could hire someone to cook FOR us.” She waited nervously as Steele turned to look at her. “Well, -Remington? Do I stay? Or shall I leave for London again?”
He put his hands in his pockets, his eyes on the terrace floor. “I did a lot of thinking while I was out. By the time I discovered that Daniel was my father, it was too late to heal any old wounds. If I let that happen again, then I don’t deserve to be where I am. And if you try to leave, Katherine, I shall do everything in my power to try and stop you.”
Katherine’s eyes filled with tears as he pulled her into his arms. “Oh, Danny. I’m sorry. I DO try to remember that you’re not my Danny any longer, but-”
“I understand,” he told her, offering her his handkerchief as Laura, her voice betrayingly husky, spoke up.

“I’d better go check on the soup. Excuse me.”
Katherine watched her go. “She’s a fine girl, Remington. I approve of your choice.”
“I owe Laura a lot more than I can ever repay. And you should approve. She’s a lot like you, I think.”
“How?”
“Headstrong, intelligent, proud.”
Katherine shook her head. “It was my pride that cost me something very dear once. I shall never make THAT mistake again.”
He looked down at her. “How long can you stay, Katherine?”
“As long as I wish. Like Jessica, I’ve no pressing reason to return to London.”
“Then don’t. You can stay with Laura and me-”
“No, Remington. I’ll stay, but some other place -”
“Katherine-”
“No, dear. You and Laura are just married. Working so closely at the agency, you need your privacy at home that much more. I shan’t have any difficulty locating a place to go.”
“You’ll stay the night, at least?”
“Very well. But tomorrow, I’ll move to a hotel. Hadn’t you better go and check on Laura? Opening a tin doesn’t take that long.”
“That’s another thing you have in common,” he teased. “Your appalling lack of culinary skills. I shan’t be a moment. Make yourself at home.”

He entered the kitchen to find her at the stove, sniffing suspiciously. He approached her to place his arms around her waist. “Tears will add too much salt to that soup.”
“What- tears?” she denied, punctuating the question with another sniff. “I’m NOT crying.”
Steele turned her gently into his arms, tilting her face to his. “Are you certain about that?”
“Oh, Remington,” she whispered, burying her face against his already damp shirt. “It’s just- I know how much finding your family means to you. How long you’ve searched for a place you could belong -”
“I found that before Daniel told me the truth, Laura,” he said softly, lifting her face once again so he could look into her eyes. “I belong here, with you. And even if I find a roomful of cousins, that won’t change.” His lips met hers.
When the kiss ended, Laura’s eyes searched his face. “You don’t look like a Danny,” she told him.
“I agree. So does Katherine, I think. I’ve become more than comfortable with the name you gave me. I do love you, Laura. I don’t suppose you’ve noticed the inscription inside the ring I gave you in Las Vegas, have you?”
Her eyes widened. “I didn’t know there WAS an inscription.” She had been surprised enough when he had brought out two gold bands during the ceremony. One for her, the other for him. Slowly, she drew hers off and held it up to the light. “Love forever, To LHS from RS.” she read.
He examined her face carefully as he put the ring back on her finger. “You’re not going to cry again, are you?”
She sniffed. “I might. If I’d seen that, I might not have reacted the way I did- Oh, Remington, I love you, too.” She threw her arms around his neck, pulling his head down to hers, giving him a kiss that sent shock waves through his system.
He drew back out of breath. “As much as I would like to finish this,” he managed, “we DO have a guest. I’ve asked Katherine to stay the night, but she insists on going to a hotel tomorrow.”
She smiled at him, that smile that he was just learning to recognize. “I suppose you’re right. We’ll have plenty of time, later,” she paused, looking up at him through her eyelashes. “Won’t we?”
“Don’t look at me that way, or” Laura loosened his tie, unfastening the top buttons of his shirt. “Laura-” He still wasn’t used to his stable, sensible Laura turning into a temptress without warning. “Laura -the soup is burning.”
“Who cares?” she said. "It's not the only thing that's hot."
“I care. I didn’t eat very much at that luncheon. The food at those things always tastes like cardboard.” He forced her around, pushing her toward the doorway. “Go on out and entertain Katherine - I’ll finish up in here.”
She paused in the doorway. “If you insist, darling.” Her sexy smile promised him that they would finish this later.
Once he was alone, Steele reached for the spoon that Laura had left in the pan of hot soup and yelped as his fingers were burned. Laura paused, her smile growing wider as she heard his muffled curse, then went to join Katherine in the living room. Tonight was going to prove VERY interesting.

Once Katherine retired to her bedroom, Steele watched as Laura moved to lock the door, then smiled as the room lights dimmed. Laura dropped into his lap, her fingers burying themselves in his dark hair. “We have unfinished business, Mr. Steele.”
“Do we? You might have to remind me of exactly what that business might be, Mrs. Steele.”
“With pleasure,” she said, unfastening his shirt even further to slide her fingers inside. Her lips moved over his face, from his brow to his eyes, across his jaw to his mouth. When she lifted her head to smile down at him, she whispered, “Do you remember now, Mr. Steele?”
“I think it might be coming back to me,” he said, one hand cupping her breast as the other one drew her closer for another kiss. “I believe this is going to take further research,” he mused.
“Sounds interesting,” she said, sliding to her feet and pulling him out of the chair. “Let’s continue your- research in the bedroom, shall we?”
“An excellent idea, Mrs. Steele,” Remington agreed, following her into the room, kicking the door closed behind them as Laura turned once again into his arms.