"Well, of course I have a nice dress," Amanda rolled her eyes even though Lee couldn't possibly see it down the phone. "You know I have a nice dress. You've seen me in a nice dress."

"I prefer seeing you out of a nice dress," said Lee, and unlike the eyeroll, she could definitely hear the leer that accompanied that comment.

"Did you really just call here to ask about my wardrobe?" she inquired. "Because I have two small baseball players here in need of consolation ice cream cones and if you really wanted to be helpful, you could come over and take them out to Baskin-Robbins."

"Well, I can't do that," Lee answered immediately. "But I can stop and pick up a gallon of Rocky Road on my way over to pick you up."

"Pick me up for what?" demanded Amanda. "I just told Mother I was staying in tonight and resting this foot - I can't just go off gallivanting with you at the last minute."

"I only need two hours," promised Lee. "I'll have you home and ready to kiss the boys by their bedtime."

"Two hours? That's a lot longer than you usually promise me," she joked. "And I need a nice dress for these two hours?" she pressed him. "Where are we going?"

"I have to meet a contact at a reception being held tonight and I need a date," Lee wheedled. "I'm sure this was in our vows – I mean, what kind of wedding vows wouldn't include last-minute date nights?"

Amanda bit back a smile. "You know, one of these days, I'm going to remember what we did say in those vows and there is no way they were as dumb as promising to go to boring receptions at the last minute."

"But you'll go anyway, right?" he asked. "Please? A gallon of rocky road, home by bedtime and I won't even try to get you out of the dress."

"You won't?" said Amanda without thinking.

"Oh darlin', you know I was lying about that part," Lee shot back. "Pick you up in an hour?"

"Bring a gallon of mint chocolate chip for Mother as well and you've got a deal," Amanda sighed. "I've already ruined her plans to spend the evening with a shirtless man, the least I can do is provide a man with ice cream."

"I could take off my shirt when I bring you home if that would help," offered Lee, laughing.

"I'm counting on it," smirked Amanda. "See you in an hour."


"I was only gone ten minutes!" spluttered Lee in disbelief a few hours later. "How did you manage to enthrall James Delano in ten minutes?"

Amanda shrugged. "I asked you what I supposed to be doing while you're off doing super spy stuff and you told me to have a good time," she answered.

"And you decided that would include hitting on the host?" asked Lee, incredulously.

"It was a room full of corporate management types, all enjoying a drink and too many canapés on someone else's dime. I'm sure a few seconds of harmless flirtation was as much of a good time as I could possibly have had here. And besides, I didn't hit on him," she added. "He hit on me."

"Why would he hit on you?" asked Lee.

Amanda raised a brow and stared at him. "Well, thank you so much," she said in icy tones.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said hastily. "I know why he would hit on you, but how did he even spot you in this crowd?"

"He was at the podium speaking, he saw I was at the bar – alone" she said pointedly. "And when he was done with his speech, he came to ask me for a dance. What?" she asked defensively when Lee rolled his eyes. "You said I should have a good time and being asked to dance by a nice looking man at a party seemed like a start. You never said you were there to investigate him! How was I supposed to know there were people I wasn't supposed to have a good time with?"

Lee stiffened. "Does he know you were there with me?"

"No," she replied. "He knew someone had brought me, but I didn't want to attract attention to you, so I just said I'd been abandoned by my date."

"I didn't abandon you! I was working!"

"Well, I know that!" Amanda defended herself. "It was just what I said to distract him!"

They pulled onto Maplewood Drive and Lee parked and walked around the car to help her out.

"So, what else did he say? And what else did you say?"

Amanda shrugged. "The usual. He complimented me, I told him I hoped he was successful with the business expansion. He asked me to dance, I said I had an injured foot, he said we could wait for a slow dance…" she paused as Lee emitted a growl. "It was just party talk, Lee – don't tell me you don't use all the same lines!"

"Well, I don't now!" he spluttered. Amanda looked at him skeptically and he went on more quietly. "Well, not unless I have to."

"Exactly," she said. "So, as I was saying, he flirted, I was polite, we danced, he asked for my number…"

"He asked for your number?" Lee exploded.

"Why do you keep sounding so surprised that another man might be interested in me?" Amanda shot back, sounding hurt.

"I'm not surprised," Lee defended himself. "I'm… I don't know what I am," he admitted. "But I'm feeling very caveman right now."

"You're acting jealous and territorial and it's all ridiculous because I gave him a fake number and anyway, he doesn't even know my name."

"How does he not know your name?" Lee asked, completely diverted.

"I gave him a fake name too," said Amanda simply. "It seemed like something a secret agent would do."

"You're not a secret agent, Amanda," Lee reproached her.

"No, I'm a normal person, and normal people have fantasies about secret agents," she smiled at him. "Instead of actually living them."

Lee finally relaxed enough to smile back and wrapped his arms around her waist. "So, you want to share some of these fantasies with me?"

"Well like I said, I'm just living them now," she nuzzled his cheek. "Big handsome fella sweeps me off my feet, introduces me to a life of intrigue and romance…"

"Romance, huh?" His lips brushed hers. "Are you sure you need to get home early? Because I have a few secret agent fantasies of my own and they mostly involve you not being in this extremely lovely dress."

Amanda sighed against his cheek. "I promised the boys – and you said you needed to talk to Billy."

Lee rested his forehead against hers and heaved a sigh of his own. "My very own practical Amanda. You're right, I do. But there's always tomorrow night, right?"

"You're assuming I don't already have a date on a Saturday night," she replied. "I'll have to check my calendar. Contrary to what you think, I'm quite in demand, you know."

"Oh, I know," he chuckled. "But I'm going to have to insist – husband's prerogative."

"Well, when you put it like that, I suppose I could cancel my date with Mikhail Baryshnikov," she dimpled at him.

"Good choice – you wouldn't have enjoyed it anyway - he's shorter than you," said Lee, waving his hand somewhere around her shoulder.

"Well, there you go," she agreed. "All my fantasies involve tall, handsome spies."

"Isn't that lucky? Mine all involve gorgeous mothers of two."

They kissed again, enjoying the quiet of the evening and each other for a few minutes.

"See you tomorrow," Lee murmured finally. "I'd come in and say goodnight to everyone, but I really do have to go talk to Billy."

"It's okay," she responded, pulling out of his arms. "I probably have to go settle two boys with stomach aches from too much ice cream."

"That'll take their minds off the big loss," chuckled Lee.

"Always a silver lining," agreed Amanda. She tipped up to give him another quick kiss. "Talk to you tomorrow."