"What are you wiggling around so much for?" Luke asked as Echo fidgeted nervously. She was staring at her reflection in the elevator mirror, still unsure about how she looked.

One year, they'd been married an entire year. A year of him acting bossy and her telling him to shut up, a year of him teasing her, a year of blush after endless blush. 

"I wouldn't be wiggling around if you hadn't done what you did." She muttered, turning bright red and looking down as she did. Damn it, now she was doing it to herself. He chuckled. 

"I didn't hear any complaining in the car." He said with a smirk, straightening out his tie. 

"You caught me off guard." She muttered, thinking it must be obvious what they'd been doing only moments before the valet opened the car door. 

"I try my best." He said, throwing an arm around her shoulder in a smug, self satisfied way. 

"I mean with everything." She said, shaking her head. "I can't believe that you planned all this."

"Why not? I like to do things big." He said as if it was obvious. He was right, it was. Luke was not one for subtlety.  That morning, he'd surprised her with a kiss and a boarding pass. 

Happy Anniversary- we're going to New York. Something he'd promised her they'd eventually do but that he was always too busy for and she was always forgetting about. He'd actually woken her at 5 am to say "Be ready in an hour... we have a flight to catch at 8." 

She'd almost flipped out at the prospect of speed packing but of course, as always, Luke had thought ahead and packed for her. Of course, he'd packed what he wanted her to bring, including the little blue number he'd caught a glimpse of days before.  She felt like the entire day had been one endless blur, rushing to the airport, through security, shuffling through JFK, baggage claim, checking into a hotel, unpacking, hurrying through lunch to make on time to change and catch a play, and finally getting a couple of hours to themselves before having to get dressed to make their dinner reservations.

Luke had planned everything for the next few days down to the very last details- the reservations, the sight seeing, the food, the shopping, everything was carefully outlined in an itinerary that had overwhelmed Echo from the moment she glanced at it. He'd even had one of his men come along to drive a private car. She was still trying to catch her breath when Luke had rolled up the partition only to assault her senses as he silently worked his magic and slid a firm hand beneath her dress. She was mortified, what if the driver noticed- were they really alone, was the partition really enough? Why hadn't she asked him to stop?!

Because she loved it. Every bit of it. 

The elevator doors opened and Luke dropped his hand to her back, leading her out. 

"I've heard amazing things about this place." He said as he indicated to the hostess over their reservations. 

"You've never been here?" Echo asked and Luke shook his head. 

"No, I wanted us to try something new together. " He said, making her smile. 

"Well, what if this place isn't as great as you were told?" She asked.

"Then I guess we'll have to order a pizza and go back to our room." He said as he helped her into her seat. She chuckled. 

"That honestly sounds so tempting." She said. 

"If you had read the itinerary you would know we have that scheduled in on Monday night." He said and she raised her brow. 

"I can't believe you actually printed out an itinerary." She said. 

"I do it for pretty much any trip I take." He said with a shrug, as if printing itineraries was a perfectly normal thing. 

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be gone an entire week?" She asked. 

"I'm the boss, remember?" He said with a grin. "At least at work. At home I'm subject to the whims of a tiny little tyrant."

"I hope you're not referring to me." She said and he laughed. 

"No, I mean that ridiculous little dog." He said, thinking of the poodle that was so spoiled he couldn't get around it. For him to get near Echo was entirely dependent on that dog's mood. 

"Baby is such a sweetie." She said with a soft smile. "Did I ever tell you how much I love him?"

"All the time." Luke said, rolling his eyes. 

"Don't be a baby." She said, liking how he pretended to be jealous of the dog. "I love him more because he was the first gift you gave me."

"I already told you that you can have anything you want." He said. 

"Anything?" She asked playfully. 

"Name it." He said with an ear to ear grin. 

"An apartment in the city." She said and he raised a brow. 

"As long as it's not for secret rendezvous, yes." He said and she laughed. 

"Where's the fun in that?" She asked. 

"As long as it's not for secret rendezvous with anyone but me." He correct and she nodded. 

"Better. Vacation in Italy." She said. 

"Name the date." He replied. 

"Bigger house?" She continued. 

"Ours is pretty big. but if you want more space..." He conceded with a nod. 

"For more dogs?" She said and he frowned. 

"Nope, one is enough." He said and she burst out laughing again. 

"I thought you said anything." She replied and he leaned in. 

"I have to draw the line somewhere." He said. She smiled, giving in. 

"You're free to do anything you want, Echo." He said, reaching out and taking her hand. 

He wasn't lying, he wanted Echo to feel as free as she was. He just wanted her happy. Last month, she'd started working again- not on a regular basis and she wasn't doing what she did before. She was freelance writing for one of those online news websites and even though it had only been a few weeks, it was obvious that she enjoyed it. 

It was perfect. She loved to write, he loved to read and they loved to do it together. What an unusual pleasure to share with each other. 

"What are you thinking about?" He asked after a few moments. She sighed. 

"You." She said simply, running her fingers along his hand. "Just you and how wonderful everything is."

She frowned. 

"So then, what's wrong?" He asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

"I'm just waiting." She muttered. 

"Waiting...?" He repeated. 

"You know... things are too perfect. Whenever things are too perfect, there's always something that comes along to ruin it." She said and he chuckled. 

"I promise, it doesn't matter what comes our way, whatever can go wrong... this..." He said, bringing her hand to his lips for a soft kiss. "This will always be perfect. You and me."

She smiled. He always had something wonderful to say. He was such a romantic cheese-ball. She had to suppress the urge to laugh at him, he'd said it so sincerely.  

Luke, on the other hand, knew she wanted to laugh and he wouldn't hold it against her. Sometimes he surprised himself with how very cliche he could be. With a sigh he glanced around the restaurant. It was a small, intimate place- set atop a skyscraper with an amazing view of the city and very exclusive. The restaurant was made to only sit 38 people despite the large space. The tables were so widely spread out that it would be impossible to overhear what anyone outside of your own party was saying and there were strategically placed walls and plants to help give the diners some privacy. 

"Stop leaning over like that, it's rude." Ryan said as he watched Gabriela pretend to stretch one more time. 

"I can't help it... I think they must be famous." She said, trying to peek another glance. Earlier that evening, a very handsome, very well dressed couple had walked through the door and just like she had been all week, Gaby was staring blatantly. 

"Not everyone you see is going to be famous." Ryan said with a frown. 

"This is New York, you never know." She said, leaning over again, "Besides, he's really something. You should look." 

Ryan watched as Gaby brought her hands to the rich red and brown strands of hair piled high on her head. She gently tugged at a diamond pin, allowing it fall on the ground next to her as if by accident. 

"Oops." She said with a sly grin, making him roll his eyes. She'd done it on purpose so that he would be forced to stand and pick it up for her. 

"I hate you." He muttered and she laughed. 

"Oh come on, you can't see them from where you're sitting. God, he's gorgeous." She said with a sigh, "What do I have to do to catch one like that?"

Ryan stood, walking around the table. 

"Maybe if you learned to behave." He muttered as he bent over and picked up the hairpin. 

"So?" She asked as he glanced up. Ryan blanched. He didn't say a word, only stood and walked back to his seat. 

"Gaby, we should get going." He said. She frowned. 

"Why? I thought we weren't in a rush." She replied. 

"That's him." He said and her eyes widened. 

"What?" She asked, leaning over to grab another look but she frowned. The woman he'd walked in with was standing and obscuring her view. "Are you sure?"

"Yes and we should leave before he recognizes us." Ryan said, standing. Gaby frowned. 

"Are you sure he will? I didn't recognize him at all." Gaby said. 

"Well, you were a lot younger last time you saw him." Ryan muttered. "I'm going to the restroom and then we're going."

Ryan walked off, aware that she was pouting up a storm at the table but not really caring. He needed to get them out of there- they were not prepared to confront him today, not yet. It had been Gaby's idea to come here tonight, she'd been enjoying the money that for such a long time they hadn't been able to use as well as they time they had left before getting back to work. For the last few days they'd almost forgotten why they were here... almost. 

"Oh." A soft voice made him turn and he instinctively stretched his arm out to catch a small woman from falling. "I'm sorry."

"Not at all... that was my fault." He replied as she straightened herself out. He might have said more but he was surprised by the sight of her. She wasn't a beautiful woman, or even what he considered pretty but she was a fine and elegant figure in a well cut dress with a pair of lips that would make anyone look twice. She smiled at him in a friendly manner and it was unsettling. What an interesting looking lady, what an interesting pair of eyes. 

"Well..." Echo said, her smile fading nervously, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "If you'll excuse me."

She rushed off before he could said anything else, back to the safety of her husband's arms as he stood to greet her. Ryan watched for several moments, unable to take his eyes off the unusual woman... she was... unique. Then his eyes glided over to her husband and his lips set into a tight line. 

"Until next time..." Ryan whispered, turning back to the table and knowing grimly that the  next time he saw that woman, she would not be smiling back at him. 

"Are you ready to go?" Luke asked. She nodded with a grin, accepting his hand as they exited the restaurant. What an interesting looking man, large and brawny, and still somehow elegant in that coat and tie. She'd detected an accent, a soft sort of burr... 

"Everything okay?" Luke asked as they sat curled up comfortably in their car. 

"Yes, just admiring the city at night." She said, deciding not to bring up the man. 

"Beautiful." He said. 

"Yeah." She agreed. 

"I wasn't talking about the city." He said, making her look towards him. Then, after a few seconds, she burst out laughing. 

"Oh no... that was terrible." She said, trying to stop herself. Luke sighed, shaking his head and letting out a laugh. 

"You're the worst. I can't give you a compliment..." Luke said but she reached out her hand, turning her face towards him. 

"Luke..." She whispered softly as she leaned in close. "I..."

"I love you." He whispered, kissing her until she forgot everything except him. 

---

To be continued...