Page 3 of The Art of Loving Lacy
“I look forward to it.”
Chapter Two
“SPILL, WOMAN,” KAYLIE said to Lacy. She and Danica flanked Lacy, while Chaz and Blake were off retrieving drinks from the bar. The photographer had just finished taking photographs, and Dane and his family were filing back into the room.
“Yeah, what’s the deal?” Danica asked. “You said you two hadn’t even seen each other, but from the looks of it, I’d swear you two were picking up where a hot date might have left off.”
“Don’t be silly,” Lacy said. “We haven’t seen each other since your wedding. I always tell you the truth. Well, unless you include Skype or FaceTime.”
Kaylie took a sip of her drink. “Uh-huh. Virtual sex counts, sis.”
“Kaylie!” Lacy said in a harsh whisper.
“Sisters, remember? We want details,” Kaylie pushed.
“Not one single time,” Lacy lied. Some things were too private. Even for sisters. “Between his schedule and mine, we never connected.” She looked across the dance floor at Dane, standing with his younger brothers, Josh and Hugh. “Can you believe they’re all that good-looking?”
“Josh looks like he belongs on a runway,” Kaylie said.
“He’s a clothing designer, not a model,” Lacy said.
“Yeah, well, look at Hugh. He’s the racecar driver, right? Look at the way he’s eyeing all the women.” Kaylie nodded toward him. She looked at Max smiling at the head table, the sole object of Treat’s attention. He whispered something into her ear, and Max blushed. “Look at Max. Can you imagine how good-looking their children will be?”
“You go from topic to topic,” Danica teased. “Yes, they’re all cute, but no cuter than Blake and Chaz, right, Lace?”
When she didn’t answer, Danica elbowed her. “Right?”
“Oh, yeah, right.” Dane had locked eyes with her again, and she swore the temperature in the room increased ten degrees.
“Here comes your virtual honey,” Kaylie teased.
Dane crossed the dance floor. Each determined step caused the butterflies in Lacy’s stomach to flutter.
When he reached their table, he held out a hand. “I believe you promised me a dance,” he said in a seductively low tone. He drew her to her feet and placed his hand on the small of her back as he led her to the dance floor.
A shiver ran up her spine. She felt so feminine beside him. Lacy glanced over her shoulder at her sisters. Danica had one hand over her heart and a dreamy look in her eyes. She smiled at Lacy.
Dane wrapped his arms around Lacy’s waist. She placed her hands behind his neck and felt heat resonating between them. Lacy couldn’t remember ever feeling so drawn to a man. The soft lines of his cheeks were so different from the sharp edges of his brother Rex’s chiseled jaw or the refined angles of Treat’s nose and chin.
Dane leaned his forehead against Lacy’s and said, “I’ve missed you.”
She could get lost in Dane’s eyes, the way he looked at her like she was the only girl in the room.
“I missed you, too.” She rocked her hips to the slow beat of the music, and he moved in perfect rhythm.
“Why did we wait so long to see each other again?” he asked.
Lacy had been wondering the same thing. “Schedules,” was all she could manage. She’d been up for a promotion at World Geographic, where she worked as an account executive, creating and managing marketing strategies for nonprofit organizations. After five years of working her way up the corporate ladder, she finally had a shot at a senior-level position, and with the other account executives nipping at her heels, she hadn’t been able to afford to take time off.
He leaned closer, and Lacy held her breath, thinking he might kiss her right there in the middle of the dance floor.
“Stupid schedules,” he whispered next to her ear.
His breath was warm on her skin.
“You smell so nice,” he said, nuzzling into her neck.
Every nerve in her body tightened, including the ones down low—the ones she’d been trying so hard to ignore for the last few months, which called out for Dane and only Dane. Lacy had gone on a few dates when she and Dane first began their long-distance relationship. If she could call it that. She wasn’t sure how to define what had developed between them, but she knew that she couldn’t go to sleep without hearing his voice, and even now, so many months later, when she saw his name on her caller ID, her heartbeat quickened. She’d had opportunities to sleep with the men she’d dated, but every time a date turned intimate, she pulled away. It was Dane she wanted to be close to. It was him she craved.How on earth did that happen after one afternoon together?The answer was not far behind. More than a year of sharing secrets without the pressures of sex had allowed them to develop a closeness that included sharing their hopes, their dreams, and their fears.
