Page 11 of Daring Lance

“Okay guys, I’m not going to be gone long. Willow and I are having dinner at the Oceanside Bar, and we will be back before you’ve woken from your third nap of the day.” Lance scratched the fur at the back of both the Boxer and the Pitbull Mix’s necks. He would miss the canine duo when his brother returned from his honeymoon in a few days and took them back to his own home. Luke had purchased a condo in the new complex that he had played a major role in designing. Their family construction company had been the contractor on the project. Prior to the purchase of his new place, Luke had been living in their Aunt Lorraine’s condo as she now spent most of her time with her new husband traveling the world or at his home in Arizona. Now that Luke had his own place, the condo was available again, and Lance had moved in. He was only in south Florida temporarily to help with the recent boom in business their company had experienced with their eco-friendly condo complex design. Their firm had contracts for three additional developments in the area and another five under negotiation. Luke had created an astonishing demand for a concept that resonated with current home buyer trends. Lance was proud of his younger sibling, especially as the business demand had meant that Luke needed additional resources, which had brought Lance to the area for support and allowed him to spend time with Willow.

Lance stuffed his house keys in his front pocket. He was looking forward to this evening. It would be the first time that he and Willow were going somewhere other than the beach together, and she had suggested it. He had kept his promise and had not made any overtures toward her that could be interpreted as a violation of his earlier commitment to her. They had windsurfed over the past weekend, snorkeled two days ago, and now they planned to walk to a local hangout for dinner. Even though it was less than a mile walk each way to the restaurant, it would give them a chance to spend some time together without the distraction of the wind and surf.

If anyone would have previously told him that he would be this into a woman he’d met only a month ago, he would have laughed at them, especially a woman he hadn’t done anything more with than kiss and not even on a consistent basis. While he swore her body language, especially a longing that radiated from her emerald eyes, told him that she was definitely interested in a deeper relationship with him, she had yet to say or do anything that communicated that he should pull her into his arms like he wanted to do.

“No chewing on the sofa pillows or breaking into the treat jar while I’m gone.” Lance ran his hand over the top of Harold and Cooper’s heads before he grabbed his wallet from the countertop and then opened the front door. Willow had suggested they meet in the lobby of their building, probably, Lance decided, because she considered it a safer place than her apartment, the last place that they had shared a kiss. Lance blew out a long breath, figuring she was probably right. He took the hallway stairs two at a time until he arrived at the ground floor.

“Hi.”

Willow stood only a few feet from him, a radiant smile on her lips. Lance stopped mid-step. “You look great.” She wore a simple powder blue tank top dress that hugged her slender curves, stopping several inches above her knees. Her long, thick, black hair fell straight to the middle of her back, and Lance knew first hand that it felt like silk, having made sure to run his fingers over it the few times he’d had the chance. Her jewelry was simple, which was perfect, he decided. She didn’t need anything to enhance what was already beautiful, and so far, that was everything about her. When he’d agreed to a friendship-only relationship, he had convinced himself that their agreement would be easy, that he wouldn’t respond to her as anything more than a friend unless she initiated it. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Her flawless skin and full lips, enhanced with a pale pink gloss, beckoned to him like the crashing waves of the surf.

“Thanks.” Lance swore she sounded almost shy.

“You still game for the Oceanside Bar?”

She nodded, and he noticed that she wore a large silver hoop in each of her ears that dangled against the smooth column of her neck. “Of course. In the last scene of the movie I translated today, the main characters met up at a sports bar and ordered burgers with a side of onion rings. I’ve been craving onion rings ever since.”

Lance couldn’t keep his grin from growing at the corner of his mouth. “I do appreciate a woman who isn’t afraid to eat. Especially the greasy stuff, which is one of my favorite food groups.”

“Me too.” Willow laughed, and he found himself caught up in the way her emotions overtook her entire expression. She made it easy for him to be able to read her emotions. He inwardly shook himself. Had he ever been this in tune with a woman before? He didn’t think so and wasn’t certain if it was a good thing or not, for either of them. Willow wasn’t interested in leaving South Florida, and he had no plan to stay here. The world awaited him, and it was only a matter of time before he was off again, most likely to South America.

This didn’t stop him from wanting to make the most of their time together. He only hoped they each escaped with their hearts intact, something he wasn’t sure would be the case for him. Huh, this might be a reason to keep his internal guard on high alert, but later, not now. Willow and he were just getting to know each other, nothing to worry about yet, and the way things had been going and the ease with which Willow seemed to maintain a friends-only relationship, the reality of his heart being in jeopardy was pretty small.

He bent his head with a slight tilt toward the condo building’s front door of the lobby. “Shall we go?”

“I’m ready.”

They walked out of the building and through the parking lot, toward the sidewalk that would take them to the Oceanside Bar. Willow kept up with him stride for stride, which wasn’t difficult as her legs were nearly as long as his, the entire length of her only a few inches short of his own six-foot-one frame. He figured she was five-ten, and much of her height came from her legs, something he didn’t like to think about because it always led to fantasies of those same legs wrapped around his waist.

“How was your day?” He quickly shot out in an attempt to wipe the mental image that had begun to form in his brain. He didn’t dare look anywhere below her eyes in order to prevent any visions of her legs wrapping around any part of his body.

Willow’s arms swung gently at her sides, and Lance was tempted to take hold of her hand- only tempted because of the agreement that he had begun to think of as “the damn aggravating agreement.”

“Pretty good. I finished up the final translations for a K-drama and was able to submit them this afternoon.”

“K-drama?”

Willow chuckled. “Korean dramas. They’re like one of our television series, only they are typically one season of sixteen one-hour episodes. A few go more than one season, but not many. They have a major global following, especially the romantic ones.”

“Are they soap operas? Or more like an extended Hallmark movie? Which I find frightening, by the way.”

Willow punched him softly in the upper arm, and he stopped to stare at her. “What did I say?”

She crossed her arms in front of her, which Lance didn’t mind as it pushed her full breasts closer to the neckline of her dress. “K-dramas are amazing, although I’ll admit I’m a bit biased as they are a major source of income for me, but there are millions of people who agree with me. As for Hallmark movies, I’m sort of glad they are not your jam. I’d be a bit concerned if they were!”

Lance laughed under his breath, and they resumed their walk, Willow matching him stride for stride again. Her hand brushed against his, and he swiveled his head to glance at her profile. She ran her tongue over her upper lip as her gaze remained fixed on the ocean to the east of them. Lance smiled inwardly. He’d bet money she was as aware of him as he was of her right now, barely a soft breeze separating them as they walked next to each other. She was obviously determined to maintain a friends-only relationship with him, and he was willing to wait until she changed her mind, with a little help from him, of course. He smiled to himself, conjuring up ideas on how to nudge her into thinking about their relationship the same way he did.

They spent the next ten minutes walking to the bar making small talk, while thoughts of how much he wanted her teased him the entire time.

* * *

Willow tooka bite of her blackened salmon before she sipped from her wine glass. “The food is really good here. We should come here more often. How’s your fish and chips?”

“Great.” Lance wondered if she realized how easily she included him in her future plans and decided not to risk asking her. He dunked a French fry into a small saucer of ketchup. “It’s hard to screw up fried food. That’s one reason I love it so much.”

Willow placed her fork down on her plate. “I’m full. If you want any of mine, please be my guest. I can’t eat another bite.”

“Same here.” He signaled the waiter for their check and took his wallet from his back pocket.

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