Page 56 of The Art of Loving Lacy
“Your company.”
DANE STOOD ON Lacy’s front porch with a bottle of wine and his leg bouncing with too much nervous energy to calm. He smoothed his black, short-sleeved button-down shirt against his stomach and checked the drawstring on his linen pants.What is taking her so long? Maybe she’s in the shower. Maybe she changed her mind.
He knocked again, and the door swung slowly open, revealing Lacy in a dark blue, off-the-shoulder minidress and sandals, a nervous smile inching across her lips.
“Hi.” She leaned against the door, looking up at him through wayward curls that hung in front of her eyes.
“You look beautiful,” he said.Why am I so nervous?He kissed her cheek and couldn’t miss the coconut scent of her shampoo. “Mm. You smell nice, too.”
“So do you,” she said, closing the door behind him.
The glass doors to the deck were drawn wide open; the sheer curtains blew in the breeze.
“You brought wine,” she said, eyeing the bottle. “Let’s open it.”
He followed her through the living room to the connecting kitchen. His eyes were drawn to the fabric stretched across her hips, the fine outline of a thong evident beneath the sheer material. He felt a familiar tightening between his legs, and he drew his eyes away from Lacy, settling them on the counter beside her.
“I’m glad you called,” he said.
She handed him a corkscrew, and he went to work opening the wine, a much appreciated distraction.
“I can never open those things. The corks just get me all befuddled,” Lacy said. “I’m always afraid I’ll drop the bottle or I’ll stab myself with the corkscrew.”
“Well, consider me your personal cork remover,” he said, trying not to stare at the silky, tanned skin of her shoulder. “How did you open the wine last night?”
“Screw top,” she said.
He lifted his eyes and met hers. She shrugged. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”
“I guess so,” Dane said. He filled their glasses, and they went into the living room and sat on the couch. When Lacy sat, her dress hiked up even farther, revealing the crests of her thighs. She angled her knees toward Dane, and he stretched one arm over the back of the couch.
“I was really proud of you today,” he said. “I’m sure that wasn’t easy for you, seeing the sharks, touching the pups.”
Lacy looked at her glass; then she looked up at Dane through her curls. He reached over and used one finger to draw the curls from in front of her eyes.
“I was proud of myself, too,” she said. “So…you called Danica?”
Dane closed his eyes. Danica had promised not to tell Lacy unless she asked.I guess she asked.He took a deep breath, ready to be chastised for going behind her back—again. He looked her in the eyes. “Yes. I’m sorry, Lace, but I wanted to help and she knows you so well and she was a therapist. I know you trust her, so…”
Lacy smiled, then looked down. “It’s okay.” She lifted her eyes to his. “I’m glad you did. That means you care, but just so you know, I don’t like things to be done behind my back. Next time, just tell me or suggest it to me.”
He let out the breath he’d held in as she spoke. “I talked to her before you even agreed to see me. I couldn’t have mentioned it to you, but I probably should have mentioned it before you found out on your own.”
“Dane, you do all these wonderful, romantic things for me, and honestly, I love them. But if we ever…you know…move past our friendship to something more, then I won’t ignore your calls and you can’t go behind my back. Deal?”
He’d agree to just about anything for Lacy, and the fact that she even mentioned moving past their friendship gave him hope. “Absolutely.”
“And I’m not mad, so there’s no reason for tonight to be weird.” Lacy took a sip of her wine.
Dane wasn’t used to anything even closely related to real dates, and even though this wasn’t a traditional date, it was still completely different from anything he was used to—and now, no matter what she said, it had a layer of discomfort added to it. Dane was used to showing up, making a move, and moving on. He wanted so much more with Lacy, and if that meant facing the things he’d done, like calling Danica, then so be it. The silence in the room was broken only by the swishing sound of the curtains and the faint sound of the waves breaking on the shore, and it was heightening his nerves.
“Want to turn on the stereo?” Dane asked.
“Yeah, sure.” Lacy turned on a local station, and when she returned to the couch, she sat closer to Dane. “I was hoping we could talk.” She ran her finger around the rim of the glass, then stuck her finger in the wine and brought it to her mouth. She licked the sweet nectar from her finger, then drew it out of her mouth slowly.
Dane bit back a groan. When she licked her lips, he let out a heavy breath.
“Talk?” Dane repeated.You’re killing me.
