Page 64 of The Art of Loving Lacy
Damn.He looked at Lacy. She might be fine lying out in the sun on a luxury boat, but he doubted she’d be okay on a dive boat while he was underwater looking for sharks.
“Yeah, I did forget, but I’ll be there,” Dane assured him.
“Great. So, what’s the deal with Lacy? Is she everything you hoped for? She seems like a really nice girl,” Rob said.
“The deal?” Dane looked at Rob’s expectant stare and shook his head. “Every time I think I have her figured out, she throws me for a loop.”
“That’s women for you,” Rob said.
“I think it’s more than that,” he said. “I don’t know.”
Lacy came up behind the men. “Are you talking about me?” she asked. She put her arm around Dane’s shoulder and kissed his cheek.
“Not you—all women,” Rob said.
“That’s worse,” she said with a feigned pout.
Dane pulled her onto his lap. “Did you enjoy the sun?”
“Mmm. It was glorious, and I’m not the least bit anxious,” she said.
“There are no s-h-a-r-k-s here either.” Dane kissed her cheek.
“Rob, I’m glad things are going better for you and Sheila,” Lacy said. “I look forward to meeting her.”
“And you’ll meet my kids, too. They’re so cute, but they’ll pester you. Katie loves anything girlie—hair, nails, makeup—and Charlie is pretty quiet, but if you get onto a subject he likes, he’ll talk forever.”
“I love kids. I’m sure we’ll get along just fine,” Lacy said.
“So you work for World Geographic? You think you can help us get people to fund our research? It’s a tough job,” Rob said. “It’s like asking Hansel and Gretel’s parents to fund the wicked witch’s cooking classes.”
In addition to Dane and his siblings having very successful careers, they each had trust funds. Their father would never have allowed them to grow up acting as if they’d had silver spoons in their mouths. He’d instilled in them solid morals and work ethics, and to this day, Dane tried not to dip into his trust fund to subsidize the Brave research. He was emotionally and physically invested, but he knew the only way to get the public to care about the oceans, and the sharks that lived within them, was to educate them and enlighten them to the value of protecting the sharks and, in turn, the oceans.
“I think we’ll find a way to make it appealing. I’ve actually got a few ideas up my sleeve.”
“Have you?” Dane arched a brow.You’ve thought of something other than me?
“That is what I’m here for,” she said, leaning in to his chest.
“That’s great. I don’t know if Dane told you, but there’s some question about whether the Cape has become a shark breeding ground the last few years, so we’re also looking for residency hot spots, which we hope will give us enough information to help keep the sharks and the public safer,” Rob said.
“I think you can use that angle with your marketing, too,” Lacy said.
They talked about Brave and marketing strategies for the next hour. Rob pulled Dane aside and said, “She’s a bright woman. I thought you said she was afraid of sharks. She seems comfortable talking about them.”
“She is afraid. Talking and seeing are two different things,” Dane said with a smile.
Rob looked at his watch. “You wanna bag the sighting then and go back in?”
“I’ll leave that up to Lacy,” Dane said. They went back to the seating in the rear of the boat, where Lacy was sitting in the sun. Dane sat beside her. He put his hand on her knee and looked her in the eyes.
“Lace, we can take this next step toward helping you overcome sharks if you are ready, but if you’re not, we can go back in.” Dane searched her eyes, recognizing the flash of fear that she was trying to hide with her rapidly blinking lashes. Her leg went rigid beneath his palm.
Lacy nodded. “I think I want to try. I just need to remember that I’m not going in the water with them.”
“You control your safety when you’re in the boat, and I’m right here. I’ll be holding you tight, but we don’t have to do this. There’s no gun to your head, Lace. I’m so proud of everything about you. That won’t change at all if you decide we should head in. I don’t want you to feel any pressure,” Dane assured her.
“I know. Thank you.”
