Page 40 of The Art of Loving Lacy
They made their way up the deck, where they filled their glasses and settled onto the deck chairs. Dane felt like he was doing a balancing act. He’d restrain his desires to hold her, to touch her hand, or stroke her face if that’s what it took to spend time with her, but there was no way he wouldn’t try to get her to look past who he had been and see him for the man he was now, or the man he intended to be in the future.
“You know, you made a big mistake bringing me here. I’m not going to watch you catch sharks,” Lacy said.
The defiance in her voice startled Dane, until he caught sight of the tease in her eyes.
“If you’d looked at the itinerary, you’d have seen that there is no shark catching on it. Tomorrow we’re going to the library,” he said.
Lacy finished her wine and Dane refilled her glass. “You’re not getting me drunk, either. At least not drunk enough to do anything I’ll regret tomorrow.”
Dane’s stomach sank. “You regret being with me?” he asked. He expected a lot of things, but regret for their evening together was not one of them. “Lacy, maybe I made a mistake bringing you here. I never imagined that you felt that way.”
She tucked her feet beneath her on the chair. “I don’t regret that evening,” she said. “I’m just not going to jump into bed with you again.”
“That’s fair. We’re not heading that way anyway. No falling in love, remember? And I don’t sleep around anymore, so…” Dane said with a smile.
“I have to admit, I did miss talking to you last night,” Lacy said. When she looked up at Dane, the moonlight caught her big baby blues.
“I did, too.” He needed a safer topic to talk about. Talking about missing each other and jumping in bed together made his body crave her. He needed to talk about something that didn’t make him think about what her lips tasted like or the way her eyes fluttered closed in the throes of passion. “Fred seems like he’s a pretty nice boss.”
“Yeah. He’s great.” Lacy laughed under her breath. “He’s so smart, but really nerdy in that endearing sort of way. I can’t believe you were able to rope him into sending me on a vacation.”
“Oh, is that what you think this is? A vacation? You, my dear, are mistaken. This trip is to immerse you in the life of a Brave Foundation employee. This trip is to show you what we do, so you can sell us to the world.”And hopefully you’ll find me irresistible along the way.
Lacy emptied the remaining wine into their glasses. “Really? I had you pegged all wrong,” she said with a smile.
“I doubt that. You probably had me pegged pretty close,” Dane said.Unfortunately.
Lacy rested her head back on her chair and closed her eyes. Dane had the urge to pick her up and carry her inside, tuck her into bed, and let her fall asleep in his arms, safe and warm. Instead he pushed to his feet.
“I think I’d better go,” he said.
Lacy sat up. “You don’t have to go.”
“I do. I promised you that I wouldn’t fall in love with you, and spending too much time with you isn’t going to help me keep that promise.” Dane took her hand and helped her to her feet. Her body swayed with fatigue, and when she settled herself on her legs, her lips were inches from his. Dane inhaled the clean, fresh scent of her shampoo. His hands ached to touch her hips and pull her close, to draw her chest against his, his mouth to her lips. She looked up at him with wanting eyes, a look that was seared into his memory from their night on the dunes.
“I have to go,” he whispered.
She licked her lower lip.
Dane stifled a groan.Walk away.“It was nice to”—Man, I want to kiss you—“see you.” He shoved his shaking hands into the pockets of his jeans and took a step back through the doors that led from the deck into the house. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lacy.”
She arched a brow. “Tomorrow,” she said.
“Sleep tight.” He walked backward through the living room, knocking into a chair and stumbling over it. Lacy raced to his side, catching his arm. They stood at the same time, measured movements, each watching the other. Need flashed in her eyes.I’m not blowing this.
“Thank you,” he managed, then turned and headed for the door. “Tomorrow. Eight o’clock. See you then.”
THE SECOND THE door closed, Lacy groaned aloud, then threw herself onto the couch.
“Shoot.Shootshootshoot.” She rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in the pillow.What am I going to do? Go get him!She ran to the front door and peered out the sidelight window, but he was gone. She leaned her back against the door and sank down to her heels. She’d wanted to kiss him so badly that she could practically taste the sweet wine on his breath.
Her phone vibrated. She read the text from Dane.Good night, Lace.
He was doing exactly what he promised.No pressure.She wanted to tell him to come back, but she sat frozen, staring at the text. Should she tell him to come back? Tell him she didn’t want that promise?
After several painful minutes, she finally replied with a simple,Good night.
She stood in the center of the living room, waiting for another text. After ten silent minutes, she threw her phone on the couch. Then, spotting Dane’s sweater on the chair out on the deck, she went to retrieve it.
