Page 17 of The Art of Loving Lacy
Before the words had left his lips, she was locking the door, and sauntering toward him with a seductive sway and a hungry look in her eyes.
“So am I,” she said. “I changed my mind. I don’t know what happens to me when I’m around you, but I swear I can’t control myself. It’s like I’m addicted to your touch.” She ran her finger down the center of his chest.
Dane groaned, unable to think about how wrong it was that his siblings were right outside that door while he was in heaven with Lacy. He kissed her passionately, surrendering to the heat between them and loving her until nothing else existed.
Only afterward did he worry. He wanted to cherish Lacy, to explore everything about her, and not just once, but twice, he’d taken her in less-than-appropriate places.
“I’m sorry, Lace,” he said.
“Why?”
Her eyes were so big and round, so innocent, that Dane knew she really had no idea why he was apologizing. He took her in his arms and said, “Because I like you too much for these quickies.”
“That’s good to know,” she said sweetly. “But after waiting all this time, I’m not sorry.”
AFTER RINSING OFF, being careful to keep their hair from getting wet, they carried lunch up to the deck. Dane was sure his siblings had heard the shower, but he knew they’d never embarrass Lacy by saying as much.
“Did you have to bake the bread?” Savannah asked with a wink.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, we did. Did you miss us?” Dane asked.
“I did, but only because I’m starved,” Hugh said.
Dane set the tray of sandwiches down on the table. Lacy smiled at Hugh as she sat beside him.
“Racing must be really exciting. How did you get into that type of career?” she asked.
Dane slid in beside her. He’d heard Hugh explain his career path more times than he could count. He watched a glimmer of excitement widen Hugh’s eyes as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“It was my dad, actually,” Hugh answered.
What?Dane narrowed his eyes, wondering what Hugh was up to now. Hugh was a self-proclaimed thrill junkie, and that had nothing to do with their father.
Hugh continued. “I watched my brothers each make these great careers for themselves—all from nothing more than an idea, or a passion. When I was in my second year of college, I was talking to my father about what I wanted to do when I graduated. I majored in business, so I figured I’d end up behind a desk somewhere.”
“Under a desk, maybe. On top of a desk, definitely, but behind a desk?” Savannah shook her head. “No way.”
“Anyway,” Hugh said, shaking his head at Savannah’s comment. “I was home for spring break, and my father asked me what business I wanted to go into. I had no idea. None. So I told him so, and he asked me one question: Was there anything in life that brought me happiness no matter when I did it.” He shrugged. “That was it. I told him driving fast, and he said,Then do it.”
“That’s the same thing Dad asked me,” Savannah said.
“Me too,” Dane added. “Hugh, why haven’t I heard this version of the story before?”
Lacy whipped her head around. “The thing in your life that made you the happiest was swimming with sharks?”
Hugh laughed. “No, it was convincing other people to forget their fears and save the animals they hated.” He leaned back and clasped his hands behind his head, trapping his thick dark waves as they blew in the wind, and flashed a wide smile.
“You’re kind of right,” Dane said. He remembered the day his father had asked him what he wanted to do as clearly as if it were yesterday. They were in the living room, his father in his favorite leather recliner and Dane sitting on the sofa. “It was right after I graduated with my double major—biology and social science. The more I studied, the more I wanted to know. The summer before I entered my master’s program, I completed a research internship, and something strange happened. My enthusiasm for knowledge and understanding became a passion for saving and educating. I think I told him something like,I wanna know more about sharks than anyone else in the world.I could see by the way he looked at me that he thought I was nuts, and honestly, I’m sure it sounded that way.” He smiled at the memory. “But Dad being who he is, he said,Then, by golly, make it happen.”
Lacy put her hand on his leg. “Your dad sounds really supportive.”
“Apparently, more so to the males in our family than to me,” Savannah chimed in. “I told him I wanted to be an accountant.”
“No way,” Hugh said with a laugh.
“You were always great at math,” Dane said.
“Yeah, and I like to figure things out, but he told me I was too smart to be a number pusher, and he asked me to think about it. The next day I told him that I didn’t care what I did as long as I was the boss, and he said—”
