Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or places in this story. Thanks to Janet for all the great Plum novels.

Now that the legal is out of the way… It has been almost two years since this story was first posted. I lost my muse. She has returned, full force and I hope to finish this story over the next few weeks. If you have read the original, you may want to start again. Several things have changed to make the story line flow better. As always a writer is only good as her editors… Many thanks to Rach, Stephanie and Jenn for your time spent reviewing. Hope you enjoy!

Mission To Love

Someone once said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. Personally, I think it's more like a box of jelly donuts. Delicious, satisfying, but always leaves a stain on the front of your shirt. My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm a Bond Enforcement Agent, BEA for short. I work for my cousin Vinnie at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds and occasionally do research and other odd jobs for RangeMan. RangeMan is owned and operated by my former mentor and fellow BEA Ricardo Carlos Manoso, better known as Ranger, a man who repels donuts and disasters.

I've had a lot of jelly donut moments recently. First of all, my attack hamster, Rex, passed on to the big wheel in the sky. Second, my on-again off-again boyfriend, Joe Morelli, and I have officially called it off. Seeing how I refuse to be a Burg clone, I don't see us ever being on again. Last, Ranger's blown away into the wind, which leaves me to handle all the skips, no matter how dangerous. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the extra money for the higher bond skips, but even I know when I am in over my head. The worst part is that deep down, no matter how much I try to deny it, I miss him.

It was a dreary spring Monday morning in Trenton and since crime waits for no woman's misery, I was in need of a pick-me-up. Lucky for me, the bonds office is just down the street from the bakery. Thank God for fresh, piping-hot donuts! I found myself silently moaning in front of the donut case contemplating what treat would make me the happiest when a chill ran down my spine. This particular tingle could mean only one thing. Batman's returned.

"Babe," he said, placing a hand at the base of my neck that instantly put a smile on my face and set my doodah to humming.

"Welcome home, Ranger," I said, turning to look at him, resisting the urge to plant my lips on his. The corners of Ranger's mouth turned up slightly.

"I need you, tonight."

My mouth fell open as I tried to formulate a response. I needed him too, but I wasn't sure our definition was the same. "What can I do for you?"

His mouth quirked with playful innuendo, but he continued straight to the point as he explained, "I've got business to attend to before we can take care of my needs. Just stopped at the bonds office to collect files and let Connie know I'm back on the job."

"How did you know where I was? I haven't been to the office yet."

"Babe, it's Monday and it's raining... you need happy food to get you through the day." Who was he kidding, I needed happy food to make it through most days. "Dinner tonight. I'll be around to pick you up. Six?"

"I should be free by then." Ranger nodded, placed a chaste kiss to my lips and was gone. Off to save the world, one criminal at a time.

I purchased a dozen assorted donuts and made my way down the street to the bonds office. Connie was perched behind her desk working on her candy apple red nails. "Morning," I said as I laid the box of doughnuts on her desk.

"Morning Steph. I've got three new skips for you. Would have been four, but Ranger stopped in and I gave him the high bond. That leaves you with a shop lifter, grand theft auto and Mooner."

"What did Mooner do this time?"

"Nothing major for Mooner. He got caught having a bake sale without a permit. What started out as warning turned into a major problem when Picky figured out the secret ingredient to his brownies."

I'd gone to school with Walter "Moonman" Dunphy. Mooner wasn't dangerous by any means; he fit more into the pet category of society. Left to his own devices, he spent his days smoking a lot of his "secret ingredient" and watching reruns of TV shows from the seventies. Chances were high that Mooner didn't know his court date had come and gone.

"Where's Lula this morning?" I asked Connie as I took a bite out of a still warm Boston Crème.

"It's early yet. She hasn't been rolling in 'till ten thirty. Last night she was going out with Tank, so who knows when we can expect her."

As if on cue, Lula waltzed through the office door sporting a grin that told me exactly what she had been into last night.

"I guess someone had a good night," I said, smiling at Lula.

"You know it. Tank stopped by last night. I just love it when the big guy pays a visit to hotel Lula," she replied. I didn't want to stick around and hear about what happened at "hotel Lula."

"Well, gotta go, things to do."

"Where we headin' off to so quick? I didn't even get the chance to have a donut yet." Lula complained.

"I'm going to bring in Mooner, then to the mall to find something to wear to dinner tonight." I replied, hoping that she had picked up on the fact I had planned to go alone.

"Since when do you dress up to go to dinner with your parents? You gotta date you didn't tell me about?" Lula asked raising an eyebrow.

"Ranger's back in town." Connie offered before I could reply.

"You're having dinner with Ranger?" Lula grinned in a cat that caught the canary sort of way. I summoned my inner Ranger and gave her a slight nod. "You play your cards right girlfriend and you might be dessert." Lula said, fanning herself. "You know you need me to come with you and offer fashion advice." While I wouldn't quite call it fashion advice, I had to admit that she did give good feedback. I wanted something that would catch Ranger's eye but wouldn't leave me looking or feeling desperate, and her opinion couldn't hurt.

"What about the filing?" Connie asked.

"It's only Monday. There can't be that much. I'll get to it this afternoon." Lula avoided filing like the plague. We grabbed our handbags and headed out the door.

"It's too early to find Mooner. He'll still be in morning cartoon mode." Lula said. "Besides, the mall is priority. You know we're taking my car, right?" Fine by me, I was driving big blue since my CR-V was in the shop getting some body work done after my last fiasco with an un-cooperative skip. We got in and motored off in search of retail bliss.

"So where's he takin' you for dinner?"

"Don't know. All I know is he said he needed me and would pick me up at six. Not sure if this is for business or pleasure."

"Needed you? Batman don't need anyone. 'Sides, any time spent with that fine ass is pleasure. So what are you buying for tonight?"

Fine didn't cover half of it. Ranger was tall, dark, Cuban American with eyes the color of molten chocolates. He was big – everywhere – and physically perfect. Ranger radiates heat and pure unadulterated masculinity.

"Something with a price tag that matches the money in my wallet," I answered, getting out of the car and heading for Macy's. I wasn't sure what I was hoping for tonight. The one thing I was sure about was that I was done with Morelli and that left room for more than sexually-charged friendship with Ranger. Even if he has said on more than one occasion that he doesn't do relationships. The only thing holding me back was fear of losing the friendship if things ended badly. And of making a complete fool of myself if Ranger really didn't have feelings for me. What the hell kind of outfit was going to prepare me for all that?

By three in the afternoon, Lula and I had been through every store in the mall at least once, some of them twice. Between nerves and aching feet, I'd been too tired to think about Mooner so Lula had taken me back to the office where I decided the rest of my work day could be better spent at home making phone calls.

Two hours later, I woke from a nap on my couch. Probably no one would have answered their phone anyway.

I showered, applied make up, including a few extra layers of mascara, and a spritz of Dolce Vita. Then I started an inner battle to convince myself to put on the dress I had bought for the occasion. The dress was Ranger's favorite color - Black. I loved the way the satin dress hugged all the right places. It gave me just the right amount of cleavage, giving my B cup size a boost. My only issue with the dress was it stopped three inches below my ass. I stood there, clad only in the new Victoria's Secret panty set when I heard the distinct sound of my locks tumbling. Crap! I was late.

"Ranger?" I called out from my bedroom. No answer. Great. I twisted the lock on my bedroom door, hoping to slow him down long enough to get dressed. Too late to come up with an alternative, I quickly pulled on the dress and slid my feet into four inch Manolo heels, opened the door and walked right into Ranger.

"Babe." he said in a low growling whisper. To an outsider, it would appear to be his normal hello for me. I could tell it was more along the lines of happy-to-see-you-by-the-way-you're-gorgeous. I instantly warmed all over. The scent of his bath gel filled my nose and had me wanting to get him undressed. I took a step back so I could look him over, giving my senses a chance to recoup. He was business Ranger tonight, dressed in black pin striped dress pants, black dress shirt and black striped tie, his jacket thrown over the back of my couch.

Instead of stepping aside to let me out of the doorway, Ranger pulled me to him. He kissed me softly on the lips and along my jaw line to right below my ear and whispered, "You look beautiful, Babe." My body shivered as his warm breath tickled my ear.

"I've missed you." I said, not sure of what his reaction would be. He resumed kissing my neck. I needed to feel him closer; I leaned into him, curling my fingers into his shirt. He made his way back to my lips and kissed me deeply, heatedly. I let out a soft whimper as Ranger pulled away.

"Ready to go?" he asked, as his normal state of calm descended around him.

I nodded, still breathless from the kiss. Truth be known, I wasn't sure I could walk. His lips had turned my body into a big glop of goo. Lucky for me, Ranger sensed my trepidation and took me by the hand, leading me out of the apartment, locking the door behind him.

Once downstairs, Ranger opened the passenger side of his Porsche Turbo. I loved this car. All of Ranger's cars have two things in common, black and top of the line. It also seemed that he had an endless supply of them. "So, where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"RangeMan." he said flatly as we pulled onto the road and he entered his driving zone. RangeMan? Why are we going to RangeMan? "We're having dinner in my apartment. I need to discuss a business matter with you and it needs to be done in private," he answered before I could even ask my question. Seems his ESP was up and running.

"Business matter? What kind of business matter?"

"Babe, wait."

"If I had known we were staying in, I would have changed before we left. I assumed since you were dressed up we were going out."

"I was heading back from a meeting with a new client. I stopped by to pick you up on my way home." He gave me a wicked glance from the corner of his eye before adding, "I could've told you, but I like the dress." We pulled into the underground garage at RangeMan headquarters and Ranger pulled the Turbo into its spot along the back wall. I was surprised when Ranger reached for my hand as we walked to the elevator and rode it to the seventh floor. Had he heard that Morelli was out of the equation?

As we entered his apartment a sense of peace claimed me. I loved visiting his apartment. It was always clean, well stocked and comfortable. Completely Zen. Ranger shut the door behind us, locking it, and laid the keys to the Turbo in the dish on the sideboard. I followed the sound of soft music to the living room. "I called Ella on my way to pick you up. Dinner's ready for us." He said taking my hand again and pulling me to the dining room.

Ella was Ranger's building manager, house keeper and RangeMan mom; she's the heart and soul of the place. Tonight, Ella went above and beyond her job description. She'd set the table with a white linen table cloth. Tea lights and rose petals scattered across the table top. Dinner sat on the table under silver domes and it smelled delicious. Ranger opened a bottle of wine, poured two glasses and placed them on the table before helping me into my chair.

"Are we celebrating something?" I asked, not sure of what to make of the dinner set out before us.

"Possibly. As I said earlier, I need to discuss business with you. I need your help," Ranger said as he removed the domes from our dinner. Ella was a goddess in the kitchen. I couldn't contain the moan that escaped as the first bite of steak filet passed through my lips. Tender, juicy and just the right amount of spice. Ranger shifted ever so slightly in his chair. I took a sip of my wine before focusing on the reason I was here; His need for me.

"What do you need from me?" I said with a hint of seductive teasing in my voice.

"Babe." Ranger said with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Don't play with fire unless you're ready to get burned." I took another healthy sip of my wine as he continued. "You know I have been out of town a lot over the last few months. I've been working with an agency inside the UN to locate a security breach. I keep hitting dead ends. Without a solid lead, we end up a step behind. Next weekend, there will be a United Nations fund raising event that we think the insider will use as cover to pass along more information. We have the recipient of that information narrowed down to three men." Ranger paused, taking a drink from his glass.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I'm going to attend the fund raiser to keep my eyes on those three. See if I can pinpoint who's leaking the information and which one of those men is passing it on. I need to blend in. I need you, want you, to attend the event with me. You've a way of noticing things about people I sometimes miss."

"Where?"

"Paris. We'd leave on Friday."

"Why do I get the feeling there's more to the story?" I asked, taking a sip from my wine glass.

"You'd be traveling as my wife."

I choked. Did I hear him correctly? The cautious look in Ranger's eyes told me yes, I probably had. The thought of spending a week with Ranger in the City of Love was more than enticing, but could I pull off being Ranger's wife and not blow his cover?

"Babe? You're looking a little doe in the headlights over there."

"Yes. I'm fine." My breathing was returning to normal.

"It's not fair of me to ask you to do this. Morelli won't be happy that I've asked you. If you choose not to, I'll understand."

"Morelli be damned. I'm not his concern anymore. I'll do it."

Ranger smiled, a full melt your heart, knock it out of the ballpark, home run, kind of smile. He got up from his chair and disappeared into his bedroom. Moments later he returned with a black jewelry box. He grabbed my hand pulling me to my feet, kissing me fully, deeply, passionately. Breaking away just for a moment, he pulled out a platinum wedding set and gently slid it on my finger. "I told you we may have something to celebrate."

"Ranger..." I took a step away from him, looking down at my hand. "It's beautiful."

"It doesn't do you justice." Stunned, I sat back in my chair. "I want you to stay here until we leave. It'll be a busy week and you've got a lot of prep work to do. I'll need your full attention."

I hadn't heard a word he had said. I was staring down at the ring on my hand, taking in its full meaning. Did I just say I would play Mrs. Ranger for a week? Somehow, even with all my reservations about getting married again, this ring felt right. Not awkward, but like it belonged just where it was. It's just pretend. It's just pretend, I started repeating to myself.

"Earth to Babe..." Ranger said in a jarring tone. I jumped in my seat, returning my attention to him. He laughed. "Are you okay with staying here with me this week?"

"I...uh... Sure."

"Good. This will give us some time to get to know each other better." Oh boy.

"What'd you have in mind?"

"You need to learn our cover story." He cleared his throat and if it had been anyone other than Ranger, I would've said it was a nervous gesture. "The basics are that we'll be traveling as Mr. and Mrs. Ricardo Rodriguez. We've been married for less than six months, Christmas wedding. You've been a part of my company, RMS Inc, for years. You're the head of the New Accounts division. We're moving our headquarters from Newark to New York City. I've used our marriage and the setup of our new headquarters to explain my absences while investigating leads. RMS just renewed its contract to provide international security for our UN delegation. You'll get your cover story tomorrow. Memorize it."

Ranger got up from his seat and walked into the kitchen. "Good news, Ella left your favorite. Dessert."

My face lit up as he returned to the table with a miniature two tier cake. As he placed the cake in the center of the table, I noticed he had placed a platinum wedding band on his own hand. It took my breath away. For the next two weeks... Ranger was mine.