DISCLAIMER: I don’t own nor am I affiliated with Warner Brothers and/or Shoot the Moon Productions. I am not making a cent from this work of fiction.

AUTHOR: Kim C

TIMELINE: Season 3 – some time after the events in Over the Limit.

SUMMARY: An old friend from Amanda’s past re-enters her life. The first part of the story is told from Amanda’s POV (except for a small blurb); the second part of the story is told from Lee’s POV.

WARNING: AU/What if? If you’re a canon purist, you won’t like this.

RATED: PG-13

AUTHOR’S NOTES: A million heartfelt thanks to my amazing beta. This story would not be what it is without her supportive input. I thank her for always listening to my concerns, letting me sound off on ideas, catching all of my mistakes and goofs as well as making suggestions that made this a much better story.

BREAKING THE STATUS QUO

The clothes dryer buzzed at the exact second the kitchen timer began to ding insistently. Amanda King headed toward the oven, but stopped, turning around when the telephone rang. She rolled her eyes and hurried over to the kitchen phone. “Hello, hold on just a moment, please. I’ll be right back,” she said breathlessly, hastily setting the phone down and rushing over to the oven.

Turning the timer dial past zero, she opened the oven door, grabbing an oven mitt with her free hand. She pulled out the last batch of chocolate chip cookies and placed them on the rack to cool, then turned off the heat. The load of towels in the dryer could wait; there was nothing that would wrinkle if she left them for a few minutes. Hurrying back to the phone, she picked it up again.

“Hello. Sorry about that,” she said cheerfully. In addition to rushing around, the day had been uncommonly warm for late summer. When she’d caught Dean’s weather forecast on television, he had predicted that the high temperatures would last well into the evening. Having the oven on had made the house unbearably hot, and she was glad she had thrown on shorts and a T-shirt. Picking up a paper plate, she fanned herself vigorously.

“Amanda?” a familiar voice intoned.

“Yes, this is she,” Amanda replied, trying to place the voice while at the same time curbing her automatic disappointment that the caller wasn’t Lee Stetson.

At the thought of her partner, she felt a strange but familiar sensation. Glancing out her back door, she caught sight of Lee standing in her yard, a broad grin on his handsome face. He waved and beckoned her outside. She held up a finger and nodded, marveling at how everything seemed to happen at once. He nodded back but continued to watch her through the screen.

“You don’t recognize my voice,” the male caller teased. “I can’t believe you’ve forgotten about me so completely. I’m crushed!”

“Oh, my gosh – Phillip? Phillip North?” She grinned into the phone, still fanning herself. “How are you? I haven’t heard from you in at least, what? A year?”

“At least,” he admitted ruefully. “I’ve been busy, as always, with work and the girls and everything.”

“How’s Lisa?” Amanda asked.

Phillip hesitated briefly and then she heard him exhale loudly. He said, “She’s fine, as far as I know. But... I might as well tell you that Lisa and I... we split up a while ago. Divorced.”

“Oh, Phillip,” Amanda said, shocked. “I’m so sorry. I hadn’t heard a thing about it or I would never have... How’re the girls taking it?”

“Well, Amy’s stoic, as always, says it doesn’t bother her at all, but of course it does. But Macy... she’s really upset about it. The divorce was final just months ago. It was relatively amicable but the girls are taking it hard. Lisa’s gone a lot, taking a lot of overseas assignments, so she misses half of her time with them. They feel abandoned, and I can’t say I blame them,” he finished with a sigh.

Amanda shook her head. “Gosh, I’m so sorry, Phillip. Lisa should’ve hooked up with Joe,” she replied dryly, only half joking.

“Well, uh...” Phillip cleared his throat. “I kind of had the same thought, to be honest.” He paused, and she waited for him to continue. “Listen, we’re going to be coming to your neck of the woods this weekend and staying for several days. Aside from a bit of business, this is strictly a mini-vacation, an end of summer last hurrah. We’d love to see you and Dotty and the boys.”

Amanda grinned, excited at the prospect of seeing her old friend. “Oh, Phillip, that would be great! We’d love to see all of you too. In fact, you could stay here, if you like. You and the girls could have the family room.”

“Thanks for the offer, Amanda, but we’re staying in a suite at the Arlington Inn, and the girls are excited about having their own room,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve already got reservations and everything.”

“Oh, how fun for them! Well, it’s going to be wonderful to catch up. The kids haven’t seen each other in ages, and we have so much to talk about,” she said enthusiastically. “Mother will be thrilled that you called! Can I at least pick you all up at the airport and give you a ride to the Inn?”

He laughed again, and she was reminded that his laugh was one of the things that had attracted her to him years ago. She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “You’re sweet to offer, but we’ll need a rental car and I have plans to pick one up at the airport.”

“Sounds like you’ve thought of everything,” Amanda commented, smiling. “Not that I’m surprised. Phillip the practical.”

They talked for a few more minutes, making final arrangements. When she hung up, Amanda was still smiling and had completely forgotten about her back door-tapping visitor. The sound of his knock startled her. She jumped, finally remembering that Lee had been waiting outside for the entire conversation. With a mental shrug, she headed for the door and joined him outside.

“You forgot I was out here?” Lee asked, his tone incredulous. Amanda felt herself bristle and then flush as she saw his eyes flick down to her bare feet and then slowly travel back up the length of her legs. Finally, he met her eyes again.

Suddenly self-conscious over her attire, she smoothed the front of her T-shirt and crossed her arms, wishing desperately that it hadn’t been hot enough to warrant shorts. Not that he hadn’t seen her legs before, because he had – on one of their early assignments. She shook her head, irritated with her own thoughts. Why was she even thinking about this?

Lee cleared his throat significantly, snapping her attention back to the here and now. “Well, hello, Lee, how are you?” She wasn’t about to apologize for taking a phone call while he waited outside. If he’d called her on the phone like a normal person, he wouldn’t have had to wait. Of course, if he were a normal person, he wouldn’t be Lee.

“Expecting friends, huh?” he questioned.

It galled her that he had no problem skulking around outside her home, listening to her conversations. “Yes,” she admitted curtly, not bothering to elaborate, which she knew was bound to aggravate him. For someone so tight-lipped about his own life, he sure wanted to know exactly what went on in hers!

He looked as if he wanted to pursue the matter but thought better of it. “Well, uh… anyway, I came by to see if you wanted to join me on some light surveillance tomorrow night.” He shrugged, looking across her yard instead of directly at her. “Nothing serious or dangerous. Kind of boring, actually.”

She cocked her head to one side and tried, unsuccessfully, to fight another flash of annoyance. “If it’s not serious and it’s not dangerous, do you really need someone with you?”

“Ah... no, not really,” he admitted, as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “I just thought you might like to tag along, that’s all.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but I’ve already got more hours on my timesheet than I should, and you know Mr. Melrose doesn’t like us to have extra hours unless it’s absolutely necessary,” she began.

“I’m sure I can convince Billy--”

Holding up a hand, she interrupted him gently. “Besides, I have a lot to do tomorrow since we have friends coming from out of town. Cleaning, cooking, baking--”

“You’ve already got your baking done,” he pointed out, gesturing toward her kitchen, from which wafted the tantalizing scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

She laughed, shaking her head. “Those are for Phillip and Jamie’s baseball team,” she explained. “Once in a while I like to bake cookies or muffins for them to take to their games. The kids are always ravenous.”

“Oh,” he replied, nonplussed. Shoving his hands into his pockets once again, he said, “Well, okay then. No big deal, I just thought I’d check and see if you were available.”

“Well, thank you very much for thinking of me, Lee,” she replied, patting his arm.

He turned to leave but spun back around and asked, “Amanda, I wanted to ask you -- were you upset with me yesterday?”

“Upset with you?” She tried to remember anything out of the ordinary about the previous day. “Not that I can recall. Why?”

He coughed, appearing ill at ease. “Well, uh... you seemed a little distant, that's all. And you didn't seem quite yourself when we went to lunch. When I tried to take your hand... to, uh, help you over those rough patches in the pavement, you pulled away. That's not like you, you know.” Clearly embarrassed, he looked around her backyard, his gaze studiously casual.

“Oh, that,” she brushed his concern aside. “Well, Lee, really… If Leslie were to run into us somewhere, she might not appreciate seeing us holding hands. Now that you have a girlfriend, you’d better start acting like it.”

His face flushed as he frowned at her. Clearly he didn’t share her line of reasoning. “Well, thanks for your opinion, but you never seemed to mind it before,” he replied petulantly, raising his voice.

“Shh,” she intoned, irritated that he assumed things would stay the same between them despite the fact that he now was in a steady relationship. Swallowing her jealousy over Lee’s girlfriend, she said, “Keep your voice down. Mother’ll hear you! Now listen. It’s nothing personal, Lee; it’s just respect for your relationship with Leslie.”

For a moment, she was afraid he was going to shout at her again, but then he shrugged. “Fine. Sorry to bother you.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t bother--”

He was already backing away from her. Despite his obvious irritation with her, she saw him glance at her legs again. “Look, I’ll see you later, Amanda.”

“Bye, Lee.”

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Lee sat in the borrowed sedan, down the street from where he normally parked in Amanda’s neighborhood. He hadn’t dared use his own vehicle; Amanda would have spotted it in a heartbeat. He watched as a rental car parked in front of her house. A tall blonde man and two little girls about Phillip and Jamie’s ages got out of the car and hugged Amanda, Dotty, Phillip and Jamie, who had come outside to greet them.

It looked like a picturesque family reunion, Lee thought sourly. It seemed that the man hugged Amanda a bit too closely and a bit too long to be called platonic, and he felt a twinge of… what? Jealousy? That was ridiculous. But if not, then what was it?

Once the group had made its way into the house, he was sorely tempted to get out of the car and sneak up to one of Amanda’s windows and peer inside. But that was far too risky; it was still broad daylight and would be for hours. At least they were staying in a hotel, and not at Amanda’s house.

Desperately he tried to think of a way to find out more about the man and what his intentions toward Amanda might be, but had to resign himself to waiting. If he were caught spying on Amanda in the middle of the day, she’d not only be livid – she’d never let him live it down.

In frustration, he started the sedan and headed back to the Agency. On the way, he tried to invent a plausible excuse for why he had checked out the vehicle in the first place, in case he had to explain his actions to Leatherneck.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

“Are the kids settling down yet?” Amanda asked as Phillip came down the stairs. She had put away the last of the dinner dishes and was relaxing in the family room with a cup of hot tea. “They’ve been so hyper all night!”

He nodded, smiling as he sat down on the couch next to her. “The girls are exhausted from the flight. They’re watching Phillip and Jamie play Nintendo.”

“I’ll bet you’re pretty exhausted, too,” Amanda said, handing him the cup of hot tea she’d fixed for him.

They talked for a while about what had been happening in their lives the last couple of years, and then Phillip brought up the subject of his divorce from Lisa. “We just... got to where we couldn’t agree on anything,” he confided, shaking his head in obvious regret. “We couldn’t even agree on what we disagreed about. Lisa could think of nothing but being a globe-trotting photo-journalist. There was more to it than that, though. The truth is… we’d grown apart long before those problems started; we just hadn’t realized it yet.”

“Phillip,” Amanda said softly, placing a hand on his forearm. “I’m really sorry it didn’t work out. It was similar for Joe and me. He was gone so much in the early years of our marriage, and even more so once I got pregnant with Jamie. I knew where we were headed before we ever even mentioned divorce, but I fought it for a long time.”

He glanced at her speculatively. “It could have been so different... If only they’d loved us like we loved them.”

“I think they did, in their own ways,” she replied in defense of her ex-husband and his ex-wife, whom she still considered a friend. “I think sometimes that Joe regrets the way things happened. But of course, it’s too late now. There’s no way I could ever... go back.”

He studied her for a long moment, his gaze intense. “I could,” he said enigmatically. He didn’t explain further, but she got the feeling that he wasn’t referring to Lisa.

Dotty came downstairs after a telephone call to her current gentleman friend, and Amanda and Phillip followed her into the kitchen, where she poured herself a glass of milk, laced with a splash of Galliano. “It really is wonderful to see you and the girls again, Phillip,” Dotty said warmly. “I’m really sorry about Lisa.”

“Thanks, Dotty,” Phillip said with a small smile.

“Well, goodnight,” she said. “I’m heading up to soak in the bath and read a few chapters of my new book, ‘Waltz of the Heart’.”

“Goodnight,” Phillip and Amanda replied together.

“You must be pretty tired,” Amanda said again, feeling awkward after he’d confided in her. Turning to Phillip, she slid her hands into her front jeans pockets. “I know flying always wears me out.”

“Yeah,” he admitted, glancing at his watch. “I confess I am. I’ll tell the girls to get ready to leave. We should get back to the hotel, unpack and get to bed.”

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

On Saturday, the two families visited the National Zoo. As they stood in line for lunch, an older woman who’d been observing them smiled at Amanda and Phillip and said, “You have four beautiful and very well-behaved children!”

Amanda blushed and stammered a bit until Phillip stepped in and simply told the woman, “Thank you.”

Glancing at Amanda, he winked, causing her to blush again. She was grateful that the kids were intent on deciding whether they wanted hot dogs, pizza, or hamburgers.

Leaning over, Phillip whispered teasingly into her ear, “We must look like one big, happy family.”

Amanda smiled but didn’t reply, feeling confused and a bit nervous. Before she and Joe had gotten together, she and Phillip had dated for nearly a year. At their wedding, Phillip had confessed to Joe that he was still in love with Amanda. Joe hadn’t told her for years, however, and she had assumed that it was all ancient history. They hadn’t seen one another in so long, yet here he was hinting that he still had feelings for her.

Lee’s face came unbidden into her mind. For a while she’d received mixed signals from him. Just when she would begin to think that they were taking their friendship to a new level, he would brush her off with a lecture about how they weren’t involved. The few times he’d kissed her ‘in the line of duty’, he’d made sure to tell her afterward that what had happened between them was just that: in the line of duty. And now he had Leslie… Amanda had to admit she was jealous over the attractive and intelligent woman Lee was seeing.

His message was loud and clear. He might as well have said to her, “I’ll never get involved with you in a romantic relationship, so don’t even think about it.” Well, she thought, that wasn’t entirely a surprise. Lee was a single man who had never been married, nor had he ever wanted to. He relished his bachelor life, his upscale friends, the parties, the fancy cars, the designer suits.

No; she knew a relationship with Lee would never happen. She had been crazy to think it was even possible. And now with a girlfriend on the scene, a serious, normal, intelligent girlfriend, it was further out of the realm of possibility than ever.

Try as she might, Amanda couldn’t picture them together. What was more disturbing than anything was the physical similarity between Leslie and herself. But Leslie was more educated, more sophisticated, more world-wise, and didn’t have children or a live-in mother. She was like Amanda, but she was all the things Amanda was not.

Well, it was high time to stop hoping for something that was never to be. Phillip was her friend; he’d felt something for her long ago, and apparently still did, to some degree. She knew him to be honest, hard-working, funny, kind, warm, and decent. He was also ruggedly handsome, even more so now than ever before.

And he was real. He wasn’t a fantasy, nor was he unobtainable. They’d had similar upbringings and had many of the same friends growing up, having lived only blocks apart. Plus he had kids of his own.

The issue of children was likely a major one for Lee, if he ever had toyed with the idea of being more than Amanda’s partner and friend. He was definitely not the father type.

It was time she faced the music and started looking at what was right here in front of her instead of what was dangling nearby, but always just out of reach. At the same time, it was a little early to be thinking along these lines, she chided herself; Phillip had just arrived yesterday!

“Penny for your thoughts,” Phillip said, breaking into her reverie.

She smiled up at him, liking the way the sunshine added highlights of bronze to his hair. “I was just thinking how perfect this day is,” she said. “And how glad I am that you and the girls are here.”

He smiled back at her, and the smile reached his eyes, crinkling the corners adorably. “My sentiments exactly,” he agreed.

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Monday morning, when Amanda arrived at work, she noticed that Lee looked disheveled and exhausted as he stood talking with Billy and Francine. He was intently listening to what Billy had to say, but when she entered the Bullpen, his eyes found and held hers. Deciding that it was time she be the one to break eye contact for a change, she turned and walked briskly to her work area.

Arriving at her desk, she found a stack of filing that needed to be taken up to the vault in the Q-Bureau. Removing her cardigan and stashing her purse in a drawer, she picked up the files and headed toward the elevator.

She could feel Lee’s gaze following her, but refused to let it give her the thrill it normally did. He was probably just placing a mental bet with himself that she would drop the files all over the floor before she reached the hallway. She hugged the stack closer to herself lest that should happen, smiling at and greeting co-workers as she passed out of the Bullpen and into the corridor.

Once up in the Q-Bureau, she sighed as she saw a tall stack of typing stuffed into a manila folder, on which Lee had hastily scrawled her name. Well, at least she knew what would comprise her day. Before settling down to work, she decided to call home and discuss dinner arrangements with her mother, since Phillip and the girls would be joining them. She was still on the phone when Lee came into the office and shut the door.

“Yes, I think that sounds great, Mother,” she said, sitting on the side of Lee’s desk and swinging one leg. She mouthed ‘sorry’ to Lee and glanced at her watch, holding up a finger to indicate she wouldn’t be much longer. “A salad and red snapper with new potatoes… Yes, it’s perfect. Phillip loves seafood… I think we have some fresh tomatoes in the garden that are ready to be picked, so they could go in the salad. Sure. Thanks, Mother.”

Hanging up, she smiled brightly at Lee. “Good morning!” she said.

“Good morning,” he replied, eyeing her quizzically. “What’s got you so cheerful this morning?”

She shrugged, wondering at his odd question. “I’m always cheerful.” She couldn’t stop smiling, and picking up the ‘to file’ stack she’d brought from her desk downstairs, she headed into the vault.

“Listen, do you want to grab some lunch together today?” he asked casually. “Your choice, my treat.”

Without stepping out of the vault, she replied, “Thanks, that’s really sweet of you to offer, but sorry -- I can’t.”

“You can’t?” he questioned, sounding surprised. “Why not?”

Mildly exasperated, she set down the folders she’d been sorting and poked her head through the door to look at him. “Because I can’t, Lee, that’s all. I have plans for lunch. Therefore I’m not available to have lunch with you.”

He stared at her for a long moment, until she raised her eyebrows in question. Finally, he swallowed and asked, “Plans with who?”

“Whom,” she corrected automatically. “And why do you need to know?”

Shrugging, he threw her a challenging look and said, “What’s the big deal? Is it some national secret? You can’t tell me because it’s ‘need to know’? Come on, Amanda, don’t be ridiculous. It’s not like you’re having an affair.” He chuckled, clearly amused at his own cleverness.

Outraged, she stepped out of the vault and crossed her arms. “Oh, and would that be so unbelievable? There’s no way I could be meeting a man for lunch? Is that what you’re implying, Lee?”

He held up his hands. “Whoa, calm down, Amanda. I was only--”

“Calm down?” she broke in, repeating his words incredulously. “Calm down? Lee Stetson, you are the most aggravating man I have ever known!” She debated with herself for a moment if she should tell him the truth, but decided against it. It was none of his business.

Instead she shook her head and went back into the vault, still seething. From there, she called out before she could stop herself, “Some men do find me attractive and desirable, Lee, even if you don’t.” She regretted her words instantly. She sounded jealous, as if she were complaining that he wasn’t attracted to her! It was just that he totally infuriated her whenever he expressed disbelief over the idea of a man wanting to get to know her.

Why was it so ludicrous to him that a man would be interested in dating her? She’d dated before – he knew about Dean and Alan Chamberlain, as well as others. Was she really so unattractive to him that he just couldn’t conceive of her being able to catch the attention of any other man?

Suddenly, Lee was right behind her. “Look, I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to imply anything like that... I just thought it was strange that you wouldn’t tell me whom your plans are with.”

Amanda shivered. Chastising herself for being so affected by his nearness, she turned to face him, and he placed his hand on her shoulder. She took the liberty of removing it for him. Looking up into his face, she narrowed her eyes. “Lee, how many times have you had lunch plans and not told me whom they were with? Do I ever ask you whom you’re meeting? No, I don’t. Just because I’m not available to eat lunch with you doesn’t give you the right to grill me over it!”

“Okay, okay!” he said, throwing his hands into the air in exaggerated surrender. “It’s not that big of a deal anyway. Geez, I was just making conversation. It was idle curiosity at best. I’m sorry I asked.”

He turned and left the vault, sitting back down noisily at his desk. She heard him pick up the phone and dial. A few seconds later, he said, a bit too loudly, “Leslie, hi! I just wanted to call and tell you how much I miss you. Yeah? You miss me, too, huh? Well how about you meet me for lunch today? You will? Great. Yeah, we haven’t eaten there in a while, have we? Sounds good to me. I can’t wait to see you.”

Amanda shook her head and rolled her eyes, putting away the last of the files. She only wished he’d repeated the name of the restaurant where he was meeting Leslie; it would have been nice to know which one to avoid. But she had already told Phillip where to meet her, so if Lee and Leslie showed up at the same place, there wasn’t much she could do about it. She dismissed the possibility as being highly unlikely.

Closing the file drawer, she picked up the typing Lee had left for her and headed toward the door. With her palm on the handle, she stopped and looked at him over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later, Lee,” she said, then added with mock sincerity, “I’m so glad you won’t have to eat lunch all by yourself.”

Closing the door firmly behind her, she headed downstairs, wondering if she would ever get her jealousy over Leslie under control, and fearing that the answer was a loud, resounding ‘No!’

SMKSMKSMKSMKSMK

Amanda smoothed the sage linen tablecloth under her hands and straightened her silverware for the third time. She always grew fidgety whenever she was upset about something, and for the life of her, she couldn’t keep her hands still now.

“So, how’s work going today?” Phillip asked, reaching over to take one of her hands in his. Probably because she was driving him crazy playing with her place setting, she reasoned.

“Oh, Phillip, let’s not talk about work. I mean, it’s fine. Typing, filing, typing and more filing, but it’s fine,” she said, her voice sounding hollow to her own ears. And no wonder, for she was using the same fabrication with him that she always used with her mother. “Right now we’re between documentaries, so there’s a lot of boring paperwork that needs to be done.”

Smiling, he tilted his head and said, “Ah. Well, if you don’t want to talk about work, then what would you like to talk about?”

Before she could respond, she looked up in time to see Lee and Leslie walking into the restaurant together. “Oh, my gosh,” she whispered faintly, closing her eyes and shaking her head in disbelief.

“What?” Phillip asked, glancing over his shoulder to see whom Amanda had caught sight of. “The handsome couple that just walked in the door? Do you know them?”

“Yep,” she affirmed, plastering a smile on her face, annoyed at Phillip’s assertion that Lee and Leslie made a handsome couple.

He grinned. “Well, that’s great!” Phillip was extremely friendly and outgoing, and he seemed not to notice her discomfiture.

As the hostess led Lee and Leslie to a nearby table, Lee spotted Amanda and his eyebrows rose in obvious surprise. He headed over to where she and Phillip were seated, Leslie following at his side.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he joked, but knowing him as she did, Amanda could hear the underlying tension in his voice. To Phillip, he said, “I don’t believe we’ve met. Lee Stetson. Amanda and I work together. And this is Leslie O’Connor, my uh...”

“Girlfriend,” Leslie supplied readily, her eyes darting to Amanda.

“Phillip North, an old friend of Amanda’s,” Phillip said, shaking Lee’s offered hand. “Join us, please.”

“Oh, no,” Amanda said, suppressing the urge to protest more vehemently. With an apologetic smile at Leslie, she added, “I mean, it would be fine with me, but I’m sure they would much rather--”

“We’d love to,” Lee cut in, sounding vindictive. He held out a chair for Leslie across from Amanda and then sat down between them. He had missed the look of apprehension that flashed across Leslie’s face, but Amanda hadn’t. “So,” Lee said too jovially, “how long have you two known each other?”

“Since junior high,” Phillip answered readily, oblivious to Lee’s overly friendly demeanor. “We actually dated for about a year in college, but then Joe came along and snatched her away from me.”

Amanda’s eyes widened at this subterfuge. “Phillip North! You can’t say that any more than I can say Lisa stole you away from me, and you know it,” she said sternly, feeling her cheeks burn.

“Yeah, well,” he gave her a sheepish grin and shrugged. “At any rate, we see now where those two got us, don’t we?”

Knowing her face was pink with embarrassment Amanda picked up her menu and pretended to study it. “Yes. I’ve got Phillip and Jamie, and you’ve got Amy and Macy,” she reminded him in an admonishing tone. “Besides, I’m sure Lee and Leslie would rather not hear about our past, Phillip.”

He cast an apologetic glance her way, chastened. “Yeah, sorry. I’m sure you’re right.” Glancing at Lee, he changed the subject. “So how did you two meet?”

Leslie jumped in, relating the story in great detail, sure to say more than once how romantic it was and how dashing Lee had been. “He swept me right off my feet; it was just like a fairy tale,” she gushed, covering Lee’s hand with her own. He smiled, but looked as though he wholeheartedly wished he hadn’t agreed to join Amanda and Phillip for lunch.

Amanda forced herself to smile politely at Leslie. “How nice for you,” she said and then added, with a sideways glance at Lee, “And Lee himself told me recently how perfect you are for him, Leslie. Didn’t you, Lee?”

Lee’s eyes had widened at Amanda’s words and his mouth gaped slightly. “Uh... yeah, I think I may have said something to that effect.” He frowned slightly at Amanda but she pretended not to notice, picking up her water glass for a sip.

Leslie grinned at him, having missed his chagrined expression. “Oh, Lee... “

The waiter appeared and took their orders, then retreated again with the promise of a basket of warm bread and butter when he returned.

“That’s great,” Phillip said, “What you two have is really special. Some people take a long time to find a relationship like that, don’t they? But as long as you find what you’re looking for eventually, it’s all worth it in the end.” Reaching into Amanda’s lap, he placed his hand over hers and held it there. He smiled at her and said, “Some people just look for it in the wrong places for too long.”

Leslie nodded eagerly, and it was clear that she was relaxing a bit, probably picking up on Phillip’s proprietary attitude toward Amanda. “That’s so true. I know I sure did,” she said, and went on to relate a humorous story about one of her previous relationships.

It wasn’t as uncomfortable or awkward a meal as Amanda had first thought it would be, but she could tell that Lee was not enjoying himself at all. He had only himself to blame; she’d given him a perfect out, but he had stubbornly ignored it.

Amanda was perplexed as she watched Lee with his ‘perfect’ girlfriend. Every time Leslie tried to take Lee’s hand, he found a reason to pull it away, and she saw him studying Phillip at every opportunity. He also subtly grilled Phillip whenever he could, though Phillip didn’t seem to notice or mind.

Unlike the other men Amanda had gotten involved with since meeting Lee, Phillip was no stranger; she knew there was nothing unsavory Lee could uncover about him, no matter how deeply he dug.

When they were ready to leave, Lee and Phillip shook hands again and the four walked out together into the sunshine. “It was very nice meeting both of you,” Phillip said warmly. “We should get together again before I head home, maybe for dinner.”

Leslie looked at Lee and then said, “Why don’t you both come over to Lee’s apartment for dinner tomorrow night? I’ll cook.”

Amanda was surprised that Leslie had made such a bold invitation without talking to Lee first, but not as surprised as Lee apparently was. She saw him glance at Leslie in consternation, a frown upon his face. He recovered quickly, however, and said weakly, “Of course.”

Amanda gave Lee a pointed look that let him know she knew exactly what he was thinking. To Leslie, she smiled and said, “Thanks so much, Leslie, but that won’t be possible. My mother has a date tomorrow night, and we can’t leave the kids home alone. Besides, I’m sure Phillip wants to spend time with his girls. After all, they’re on vacation together.”

Before Leslie could open her mouth, a very relieved-looking Lee said, “We understand. Too bad, though. Maybe some other time?” Not giving them the chance to reply, he said, “Goodbye. Amanda, I’ll see you back at the office.” He put an arm around Leslie and ushered her away.

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