Fiona had Henry drive them to a little café that was just off the park where she lived. The trip was silent as Henry kept looking in his mirrors and appeared distracted, causing Fiona to speak only to give him directions to the restaurant.

She kept stealing small glances at him from the corner of her eye. He looked so different without his beard. Henry had looked dangerous last spring in Texas, but now there was an edge to his look. It was as if he didn't play by the rules anymore.

There was a parking spot right in front of the restaurant. Henry parked the car with no trouble, then walked around the car and opened her door for her. At least his manners were still intact. Fiona thanked him nicely then led him toward the café.

"Would you like to eat inside or outside?" Fiona asked. It was a lovely spring night, and the bugs weren't that bad, plus she felt like things might be less stilted if they were outside for some reason.

"You pick," he suggested with a smile that once again didn't touch his eyes.

"We don't have to do this, Henry?" Fiona put her hand on his arm and stopped him. Their initial pleasure at seeing each other at the bar had turned horribly awkward for some reason.

"Do what, Fiona?" he asked as he placed his hand over hers.

"Have dinner. You look agitated and distracted. If there is something else you need to be doing, it's all right. We can catch up another time." Fiona met his eyes.

"I am agitated and distracted, but I really want to spend a little time with you." His hand came up to tweak a strand of hair. "You have no idea how much I have missed you."

Fiona's heart melted a little and she nodded then chose a table outside. There were only a few diners since the dinner hour had passed, which meant that they could have a private conversation if they wanted to.

It only took a moment after they were seated for a waitress to take their drink order and leave them with menus.

"How is school going?" Henry asked as he looked over the menu.

Fiona knew what she wanted, so she looked at him instead. He must have felt her gaze on him because he looked up and caught her eyes with his. It could have been a few seconds or minutes that they stared at each other as they tried to read each other's thoughts.

The waitress reappeared, breaking the spell, and took their order.

When she was gone, Fiona reached for her glass of water with a shaky hand.

"School?" Henry asked again.

"It's fine. I just finished the finals for this quarter. I have one more quarter to go for this year, and I'll be back home for the summer so that Mom and Dad can take a vacation." Fiona reached for her fork and straightened it as she spoke. "I'll probably spend a week in New York after classes end first, though. Aunt Grace invited me to stay with her.

"Lily and Cassie are doing a benefit concert in May," Henry supplied. His eyes were glued to her, and he had better control of his agitation than he had before.

Fiona nodded. "Aunt Grace said something about that. Will you be there?" Fiona asked, her eyes lifting to his in hope.

"I hadn't planned on it, but now that I know you'll be there, I'll try my hardest to make it. It all depends on where I am." Henry laid his hand flat on the table as if he was trying to ground himself.

"So you re-enlisted after all?" Fiona softly asked.

Henry's head shot up, and he looked at her. "I did. I thought I had told you." He frowned.

"No, Henry. You didn't, but you never tell me much. Our conversations always seem to be about me or other things." Fiona watched Henry's frown increase as he thought about what he said. She knew the moment he realized she was correct because he rubbed his forehead with his hand and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Fiona. I didn't do that on purpose, and I should have told you that I re-enlisted. I'm just not used to sharing with someone."

"Why did you re-enlist?" They had had a long talk about it in Texas when he was still undecided. They had talked about a lot of things in his few remaining days, but neither one of them had brought up her words of love again.

"I felt that I was letting the team down." He leaned back in his chair. "I wish to god I hadn't though."

"Has it been bad?" Fiona smiled her thanks at the waitress as she brought them food.

"Yes, in more ways than one." He shook his head.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Fiona asked as she reached for a fry.

Henry looked at her, and his look was so fierce that it made her look up from her plate and meet his eyes once more. His eyes were telling her he wanted to do more than talk, but as quickly as the look came, it went.

"We're about to have company," Henry said as she pushed his plate away. "I thought she might have followed us."

Fiona was utterly lost at the abrupt change in the conversation.

"I had to see you, Fiona. I needed to see you, but I should have stayed away." Henry pushed back his chair. "You'll be in New York?" he asked urgently.

"Yes, but what are you talking about, Henry?" Fiona frowned in confusion. He said had to see her, and he needed to see her, and those words lifted her spirits for an instant until he said he should have stayed away it

Fiona opened her mouth to object to his odd behavior when a woman appeared from out of nowhere. Was this the company he was talking about? Fiona eyed the woman. She was petite with black hair and brown eyes. Her pert little nose and large lips gave her the look of a child, not a woman.

"Henry!" she cried as she raced toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Henry's arm fell lightly across her shoulders because there was nowhere else for it to land.

"What's wrong, Dixie? I told you I had something personal to take care of and would see you tomorrow." Fiona had never heard Henry use such a monotonous tone of voice before.

"I was worried I would lose you too!" Dixie cried and then buried her head in Henry's shoulder.

Fiona did her best to suppress an eye roll at the woman's dramatics, and when Henry's eyes met Fiona's over the woman's head, Fiona shivered at what she saw. They were blank. His eyes reflected no feeling whatsoever.

However, his gaze was only blank for a moment because when Fiona bit her lip in concern, his eyes followed that movement, and a tiny spark lit them before it quickly died. He was making a choice not to feel even though he wanted to.

"Dixie, this is my friend Fiona. Fiona, this is Dixie." Henry said as he stepped away from Dixie.

Fiona didn't miss the fact that he didn't introduce Dixie as his friend. "Are you hungry, Dixie?" Henry asked.

"No." Dixie shook her head and started to cry again gently. "Will you take me home, Henry?"

Every bit of warrior woman Fiona had inside her began to rise to the surface.

Henry was hers!

He didn't know it yet, but watching him being smothered by the female octopus who had managed to wrap her arms around him once more had assured her of that very fact. Dixie the pixie had chosen the wrong woman to fight.

Fiona knew in her heart that whatever was going on was not of Henry's choosing. He was in it up to his head, but she wasn't sure what it was yet.

"All right, Dixie," Henry said as she started to walk her towards his car. "Let me settle the bill, and then I'll take you home."

Dixie's eyes met Fiona's as Dixie did her best to hide a smirk.

Henry closed the door on her and then turned back to Fiona. Fiona was pleased to see the realization of the mistake she had made cross Dixie's face. She was trapped in a car with the door and window closed while Fiona and Henry were outside, together.

Henry took a deep breath, about to say something, but Fiona stepped toward him, placing a finger on his lips, and her stomach flipped when she saw a flare of desire enter his eyes.

"You have your hands full." Fiona smiled. "Is that why you should have stayed away?"

"Yes, she's..."

"Crazy?" Fiona finished.

"Confused, hurting, looking for stability." Henry sighed as he felt the weight of the situation.

"I'm sure whatever you are doing, you have a good reason to do it." Fiona tried to reassure him that she knew he wasn't playing games. "And now you need to understand that what I do is for a good reason."

Fiona stepped close to him, pressing her body against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You know where to find me, but either way, I hope to see you in New York in May."

"She's unstable, Fiona. You shouldn't be doing this." Henry's objections were half-hearted as his arms snaked around her waist.

"The women in my family are very adept at taking care of themselves. We were taught at a very young age to shoot straight." Fiona let her finger brush the nape of his neck and had the pleasure of feeling him shiver.

"I'll pay for dinner, and you take Dixie the pixie home. You can call me soon and tell me what's going on with you for a change, all right?" Fiona suggested

Henry nodded, his gaze glued to her lips.

"Henry?"

"Hmmm," he asked.

"What did I just say?" Fiona smiled a slow sexy smile. She felt like a goddess because Henry made her feel that way with a simple look.

"Call you." Henry cleared his throat. "Fiona," he whispered.

"Yes?" Fiona whispered back.

"Are you still in love with me like you were all those years ago when we were kids?" His voice cracked.

Fiona swallowed hard. "Yes, Henry. Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you too," he said before his lips stole hers.

Fiona had planned to kiss him, but as his lips met hers, she forgot that fact and kissed him back for all she was worth. She'd take 'pretty sure'; it was a move in the right direction.

Fiona broke the kiss and looked up at him. "You think about it and let me know later."

Henry nodded and looked at her lips again.

Fiona was enjoying her newfound power. If it was this easy, why hadn't she seduced Henry Mercer years ago?

"Dixie is waiting for you," Fiona reminded him, looking over his shoulder at Dixie, who was looking straight ahead and not at them. It effectively brought them back to reality with a bump.

"Don't let her fool you, Henry. There is nothing wrong with her." Fiona gave him one last kiss. "Please be careful wherever you go and whatever you do."

Henry took a deep breath and smiled. "I'll call you."

Fiona nodded and then watched him walk around to the other side of the car. She didn't move until the car was out of sight.

It was so much easier to believe her dreams were coming true when he was with her