26Lee lowered his gun and returned it to its holster without taking his eyes off of his sleeping partner. He stood transfixed by her unexpected presence until the sound of faint voices coming from the hallway reminded him that he'd left his door ajar. He knew that he should retrieve his luggage and lock the door, but he was irrationally reluctant to turn his back on Amanda. Finding her there waiting for him was a dream come true, and as he was painfully aware, his dreams had a tendency to devolve into nightmares.
Determined to not give into dark thoughts, he quietly retreated from the end of the sofa and mechanically collected his belongings and locked up. As he returned to the living area, his initial surprise at finding Amanda in his apartment gave way to questioning what had brought her there. Did something bad happen to her? No, if it had, Billy would have told me about it. What if it was something personal? Maybe she needed me and I wasn't there for her?
"Oh, Amanda," he unintentionally lamented out loud, as he drew closer to the corner of the sofa that she'd snuggled into.
"Lee," she replied sleepily, her eyes still closed.
"Ahh, yeah…it's me," he responded awkwardly, annoyed at himself for having inadvertently woken her up.
He watched as she slowly sat up straight and gently rubbed her eyelids, before ultimately revealing her expressive warm brown eyes. Even with tousled hair and smudged eye makeup she's still beautiful. How could it have taken me so long to notice?
As the last vestiges of sleep fell away, Amanda was chagrined to realize that she'd unwittingly fallen asleep in Lee's apartment. She could feel her cheeks growing warm as he stepped within an arm's length of where she was seated.
"Welcome home!"
"It's really good to be home," he said in a voice that was thick with emotion.
Their eyes locked and the only sound that could be heard was the rain that was splattering against the window panes, while a table lamp switched to its lowest setting was casting an ethereal glow behind Amanda. Looking up at Lee, she was blind to the war that was raging within him. He wanted to push past his natural reticence to express his feelings, yet he had no idea how to start. Determined to not let this chance slip away from him, he brushed past her, took a steadying breath and then seated himself next to her.
Getting her first clear look at him, she exclaimed, "You're all wet!"
"That I am," he replied, gazing down at his soaked clothes while feeling a mixture of relief and regret at having the moment shattered.
Amanda's discomfit at being found in his home resurfaced and she quickly rose. "I don't think the rain is going to let up any time soon…so I should head home."
"No, please don't leave; you shouldn't be driving in this weather." Way to go, man, hide behind an excuse instead of telling her how glad you were to find her here. "Besides you haven't told me why you are here," he questioned, as he also stood up and closed the distance between them.
She discreetly took a step backwards and began to smooth her barely wrinkled skirt. "I hadn't planned on falling asleep here. When I got here, there had been a break in the rain so I left my umbrella in the car because I hadn't planned on staying long. I let myself in with the key that you gave me when Mr. Melrose had me supervising your recovery. I'm sorry… I know how you feel about people invading your personal space and that wasn't my intent-
"Whoa, Amanda," he interjected, cutting her off in mid-ramble. "You don't need to apologize-you're always welcome here. I'm just wondering what brought you here tonight. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I've been a little worried all week, but everything is fine now," she quickly reassured him.
"Did something happen to one of the boys or your mother," he probed, genuine concern evident on his face.
"Oh, no, they're fine; it was you that I was concerned about. I know that you're very good at what you do, but I can't help worrying when I don't know where you are and what you're working on. Nobody would tell me anything about your mission…and I understand about 'need to know', but I would have felt a lot better if they'd at least dropped a few hints. Finally, this afternoon I heard that you'd be coming home this evening, and knowing you as well as I do I figured that you wouldn't have any edible food here so I did a little grocery shopping. While I was putting away the groceries, the skies opened up so I sat down here to wait for the rain to let up, and the next thing that I knew I was waking up and there you were. It's really good to see you."
"It's good to see you, too. I missed you…Europe wasn't the same without you there." He edged closer to her and was pleased that she didn't back away this time. "Since you know that there's edible food here, would you like to stay for a light dinner?"
"I'd like that. Why don't you take off those wet clothes and take a shower while I fix us some soup and sandwiches," Amanda suggested amiably.
"Sounds good, I'm hungrier than I realized I was." He gently stroked her hand and then headed through the double doors to his bedroom. "Make yourself at home," he said softly before shutting the doors.
Amanda waited until his silhouette had moved out of her line of sight and then sighed audibly. He's not only home safe and sound…he was actually happy to find me here. Could he be as tired of the one step forward, two steps backwards dance that we've been doing? Only time would tell and she was willing to wait.
Author's note: Thank you to everyone who read and commented on the beginning of this story. I loved hearing from all of you. To those who requested a second chapter, I hope this lived up to your expectations.
