"Hey! Ben... what's going on?" Echo asked, sounding more awkward than normal. She'd almost had a heart attack when she saw his name flash on her caller ID. Then after panicking for the first four rings, she realized she was being silly. Ben called her all the time and it wasn't unusual, she wouldn't be surprised if he was going to ask her to come down and have lunch with him.

"Hey weirdo, did I wake you?" He said, thinking she sounded a bit groggy.

"Yeah, but It's okay. It was about time I got up." She said, sitting up and running a hand through her hair which was still damped and tangled.

"Feel like getting dressed and having lunch with me?" He asked. Echo yawned, what she really wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep all day but she was so bad at saying no to Ben. 

"Okay... I'll text you when I'm on my way." She said, tossing her phone aside and staring at the ceiling. No, she really wasn't in a mood to get up. She wanted to stay in bed all day and think about the night before... and be angry over the night before... and just hate herself for having loved every second of the night before.

Luke... that man was insufferable- He just loved to bark out orders and make plans that were terribly inconvenient but she couldn't help it. She found herself doing what he asked, agreeing begrudgingly, fighting him every step of the way but ultimately finding that she would give in to him because she could not resist those dark eyes. She closed her eyes, remembering the way he'd kissed her, the way he ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her closer and closer until she had no choice but to keep kissing him- to steal back the breath he'd taken from her.

"Let's go home, I'd love to feed you in bed." He said with a chuckle as he finally pulled his lips away. She'd laughed at the suggestion, thinking it wasn't possible he could be serious. She was in awe of it, her arms had not left him and she could only sit there in bemusement...

"Hmmm" was the only sound she could manage to make as he continued to kiss her cheeks and neck.

"You smell amazing..." he said, looking for her lips again. "Marco... home."

Echo laughed again as he continued to kiss her.

"Stop that. He'll take you serious." Echo said and Luke pulled away.

"I'm dead serious. I'm going to take you home and kiss every last inch of you." Luke said, placing a hand on her neck and preparing her for another kiss but she stared at him, reality finally hitting her.

"I... I can't." She said, trying to find her voice. It was Luke that chuckled this time.

"What do you mean you can't? You're doing so well so far..." He said, his voice low and husky but she pulled away as he tried to pull her back.

"I can't." She said, her mind clearing. "I can't go home with you..."

Luke was confused as she began to pull away and scramble out of his lap.

"I shouldn't even be here with you." She said, putting a hand to her chest and trying to control her breathing.

"Echo, what are you talking about?" He said, reaching for her hand but she snatched it away with a shake of her head.

"I'm not going home with you." She said firmly this time, "And I think you should take me to my car."

Luke stared at her for several quiet moments, his jaw clenched. He had the urge to tell her that he would take her home, make love to her and feed her supper in bed as he wanted too but... he also had the urge to go and dump her at her car and never see her again. He took a deep breath and shook his head. He had the urge to do a million and a half things to her but instead of any of that...

"No, we're going to have our dinner, here as planned and when we're finished, I'll take you to your car, you'll bat your pretty eyes- tell me what a lovely time you had- and I'll kiss you goodnight properly before promising to call you soon." He said, sounding far more reasonable than he usually did. He couldn't help it, he wanted to see her again, for whatever reason, he wanted to see her again.

"No, Luke. I'm sorry but this is not going to-" She began to say but he had enough.

"If you say this isn't going to work, I swear I will turn you over and spank you." He said, running a hand through his hair as he tried to cool down. Luke was not used to being told no. She stared at him wide eyed for a second, noting how very tense he was.

"Here..." She said, picking up the bag from where it saw on the floor.

Luke turned to her, watching her as she began to pull the food from the bag. She looked a little deflated, that was certainly not a look her liked for her, and her fingers shook as she took out the containers. Was she scared of him right now?

"You'll like that one." He said, reaching out and taking one of the containers from her. She looked up to him as he opened it and then reached into the bag for a spoon.

"Allow me?" He asked with a gentle smile as he held the spoon to her and she did.

Things had gone considerably smoother after that. He'd flirted as usual but he did not try to kiss her again, not until he left her at her car. He'd pulled her close and given her a short but passionate kiss. He'd promised he'd see her again, he promised next time he might not let her get away so easily.

She shivered. She'd run away from him because she was afraid- his promise of feeding her in bed... she wasn't ready for anything like that. She felt herself grow bright red as she thought of what that was.

"Get it together." She said to herself, swinging her legs over her and sitting up on the edge of the bed. She looked down at her right thigh, trying to imagine the hand that sat on it so casually the night before. She'd driven home in record time after she left him, trying to find a little clarity and a sense of normalcy. It was after midnight when she made it home and the moment she'd walked through the doors, she'd practically run for her bathroom, allowing herself to soak in the tub for nearly an hour as she processed it.

She was glad she slept through breakfast, she wasn't sure how she would have handled the questions about where'd she'd been or who she had gone out with. It was unlike Echo to have dinner in town with anyone although she was sure they must suspect it might be the same person who sent her the flowers.

She looked down at the floor, where tucked into a tiny basket with a small pillow was the puppy Luke had given her and it was fast asleep. Maru had left him in here for her this morning although Echo barely remembered it as she was still half asleep. She smiled and picked him up, the little pup wiggling as she did so.

"What are we going to do with you?" She said to him with a sigh. "Come on, then. We have a lunch date with Uncle Ben."

---

"We're glad to hear that, Mr. Farina." Alice said, shaking Luke's hand as they packed up their items in the conference room.

"Please, call me Luke. I really hope that you'll feel comfortable approaching me directly with concerns you have." He said.

"That's our line. Anytime, give us a call, send us an email. We're excited to work with the Ark, it's such an intriguing project." Michael replied.

"I agree, it's one of the projects I'm the most proud of and I really want it to grow, to build it intentionally so that it flourishes. I know that in your hands it's going to do that." Luke replied.

"We'll see to it together." Michael said. "Do you have time for lunch? We know a spot nearby that's amazing."

"Well, it is getting late and I am rather famished." Luke replied, seeing no way out of it. He'd promised Echo he wouldn't interact more than necessary with her family but they were such nice people and he couldn't help but be intrigued by the people who raised her.

"Great, let me check with our son Ben and our daughters- We'd love you to meet them. They're essential parts of the team." Alice said, stepping out of the conference room.

"Do all your children work with you?" Luke asked Michael as they waited. He already knew Echo didn't and he tried not to laugh as he remembered that she was a 'technical' writer.

"No, only the oldest three. Ben is on our finance team and Romy is with our Marketing department." Michael said, "Vera is legal."

"Is she an attorney?" Ben asked.

"She is and brilliant, although still very new." Michael said.

"I'm impressed and intimidated a bit. It sounds like your entire family is full of talent. Do you have other children?" He asked, unable to stop himself. It was hard getting details like this out of his little Echo and so he relished the opportunity. He knew there was two younger ones but he was unsure what they did.

"We do. There's Echo, our writer. She's very talented but I'm afraid she doesn't come by here a lot. She works from home." Michael said, "and our youngest, the twins, Maru and Lena are still in school. Maru is studying biology... but she's expressed interest in becoming a veterinarian and Lena, that one is still undecided."

"They sound wonderful." Luke said, thinking of Echo and wondering if she ever found herself lost in this great big family of overachievers.

"They are. I'm extremely proud." Michael said as Alice walked back in.

"Hey, Ben says that Echo is actually on her way here so it looks like you'll be meeting her too." Alice said, moving towards Michael. Luke's eyes flickered.

"Sounds great." He said, wondering just how angry she would be and already trying to think of a present he could get her. He was sure she wouldn't want to accept it, he was sure she would have words for him but he was sure she'd forgive him. He had to sustain a chuckle just thinking of it.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the others while we wait." Michael said, leading him out of the conference room.

Echo walked through the doors that led onto the main floor. She was holding a small bag under her arm carefully and moving just a bit slower for fear of disturbing the puppy that slept inside. She didn't have the heart to leave him behind and he was so small that she was sure no one would even notice he was here. Unfortunately, this meant that more people took the time to greet her as she didn't seem to be in a rush... that was until she saw it... until she saw him. Then her heart dropped as she noticed how he was staring directly at Romy and she seemed to have his complete attention.

Luke watched Romy with interest. He wondered how Romy looked the way she did, acted the way she did and moved with the confidence that she did and somehow, Echo was the shy, antisocial and strange girl he knew her to be. How could two women who grew up with the same circumstances and same people... be so different? Even Vera, who was much more casual in her beauty, stood out confidently in the group.

"Oh look, here comes Echo now." Ben said, turning towards Echo as she approached. Luke turned, both his hands tucked into his pockets as he saw her, hoping she would understand that this had not been his intention. He saw her, looking around nervously as she moved, so different from the night before. Somehow, she didn't look quite as ridiculous as he'd always thought in her normal clothes... although they were absurd.

Still, he saw her and everyone else was inconsequential. There was something about Echo that her sisters lacked, and the strangeness of her, the simple and uncomplicated face with the pretty lips had all his attention. He only wished he could say that now, wished he could reach out and grab her hand and remind her that she was amazing in any room.

"Hi." Echo said, her voice barely above a whisper as she reached the group.

"Echo, this is our newest friend and client, Luke Farina. Luke... this is our Echo." Alice said with a smile.

Luke shook Echo's hand, noting how she nervously tried to avoid eye contact. Still, she followed obediently into the elevator, unsure how to feel.

"What's that?" Romy asked, raising her brow. They were all crowded into the elevator now, Luke in the back with Echo and Romy on either side.

"Oh, that's just the puppy." Echo said softly.

"You brought it along?" Romy said with shake of her head. Luke turned to Echo who was looking at the floor embarrassed. That was probably the sweetest thing he'd ever seen and without really thinking about it, he took his hand from his pocket and very discreetly reached over... grazing Echo's hand with his own.

And Echo let him.