Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(111)

"maybe not" fears. I'd bounced from one extreme to the other and he'd had to know, had to sense.

That's why we were here, at this point. I had done this. Me.

Could I win him back?

Lexis paled, her mouth flailing open and closed. "You're right," she said quietly. "What I did was terrible and I'll try not to make the same mistake again. But I saw myself with Jean-Luc, Belle. Last night in a vision, I saw him standing at the end of a hallway and smiling at me. That smile - " she shivered, wrapped her arms around herself " - it set my blood on fire. I wanted to go to him more than anything in the world, and I saw love in his eyes. Love for me, no one else. I want that. I want the vision to come true." She was so passionate about it, I couldn't doubt her. Even though I wanted to. "Doesn't matter. He deserves a woman who will love him back. A woman who will stay with him 'till the end."

"I plan to be that woman." She chewed on her lower lip. "I just have to convince him of that." I pointed a finger in her face. "If you lie to him..."

She held up her hands, total innocence. "This time, I'm going to play fair. Believe me, I've learned my lesson. I just wanted you to know I'm out of the game when it comes to Rome. He's yours."

"How nice of you," I said drily. "You can go now."

She didn't. "I had one more thing to say." She gazed down at her shoes and kicked an imaginary rock.

"A favor, really."

I laughed without humor. "Sorry, I'm all out of those."

Her gaze swung up, pinning me. "Don't go on those dates with Jean-Luc. Please, Belle. I know I don't deserve it, but I'm begging you."

Before I could respond, she walked away. I stood there, shaking my head in wonder at her daring. I was going on those dates, and that was that. If Rome hadn't talked me out of it, no way Lexis would.

My motions were jerky as I stuffed my hands in my pockets. Something crumbled against my fingers.

Frowning, I withdrew the note. Oh, yeah. The note. I unfolded it and, when I read the contents, I actually flinched.

You didn't kill my daughter when you probably wanted to, and for that, you have my gratitude. But I know you and your team are now looking for me. I won't allow myself to be found, Belle. I will do whatever is needed to remain free - even, if you force me, take you down. I don't want it to end that way, however. Let's part now. In peace.

Dr. Roberts had been inside PSI and no one had known.

What a freaking cluster.

Turned out , my first "date" with Jean-Luc was a double. Jean-Luc and me, Tanner and Elaine. The latter pair was here to watch for Dr. Roberts. Just in case. Sherridan was pouting at home, keeping my dogs company. (I missed them already.) Rome was...I don't know where. He'd said he had no plans to come and I couldn't see him in the dim lighting of the bustling restaurant. But I could feel his eyes on me, watching.

Wishful thinking?

He'd arrived at my house two hours before Jean-Luc had come to pick me up. And yes, he'd brought Sunny. That sweet little girl who looked like Lexis but had Rome's indomitable spirit had leaped into my arms, giggling and unaware her world was about to be rocked.

"I missed you so very much," I'd told her.

She'd kissed my cheek and looked up at me, beaming. "I missed you, too, and guess what?"

"What?"

"You got it right."

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You came home when you was 'post to."

Ah, our negotiation. I smiled at her, my chest aching, my throat constricting. How many more would we be allowed? "Come on, scamp. I want to introduce you to our new friends." We'd played with the dogs for over an hour. And yes, we'd put them in pink dresses with ruffles and bows. (They'd been adorable!) I'd tried to pull Rome aside for a private chat, but he'd said, "John told me about the note. He's worried Dr. Roberts will try and hurt you, despite what he said about making peace."

"I know." He'd told me the same thing. After he'd congratulated me on the successful apprehension of Desert Gall and I'd beamed like the sun in shock and pleasure. "He's placing me under surveillance for a while, in case the note was meant to lure me into a false sense of security. I'm supposed to act like everything's normal." Which I couldn't do until I had this Rome and Jean-Luc thing figured out.

I wanted Rome in my life, and I wasn't letting him go. If he cut me out of his, fine. But I wasn't going easily. Once these dates with Jean-Luc were out of the way, I was going to fight for my man like I should have done from the beginning. Fight harder than I'd ever fought a scrim.

Yeah, if I convinced him to keep me around, we desperately needed to discuss our future. Like whether or not we wanted children. And I needed to know he would be okay with my being an in-the-middle-of-the-action agent. He'd said he would always want to protect me. Now I wondered why I'd ever thought that was a bad idea.

Stupid Belle.I'd let my fears get the better of me and had begun to look for reasons to end things. No more.

If we disagreed about something, we could hash it out and reach a compromise. As long as we were together, nothing else mattered. All relationships were work, after all. It was who you wanted to put that work into that mattered. And I was willing to work for - and with - Rome.