Page 21 of Daring Lance

Lance willed himself to count to ten and made it to eight before he responded. “I know we have, Willow. What I don’t understand is why not? And please don’t tell me it’s because I’m not your type, because we both know that’s not true. We have twice as much in common as most couples. We’ve practically spent every free hour together over the last month, and we have yet to argue about something that we can’t eventually talk about reasonably.”

“But you aren’t my type, Lance.”

Lance inhaled a deep breath, biting down on his back teeth. “Come on, Willow—”

“You’re someone who will leave me.”

Her voice was scarcely stronger than a whisper, but Lance heard it loud and clear. “What?”

“I said you will leave me. You rarely stay in one place for more than a year. I don’t want that life forever, Lance. Been there, done that enough times to want to block it from my memory. If my parents hadn’t left Hawaii, selling our family home before their departure, I would still be living in Honolulu. I didn’t buy a place of my own there because of the housing prices. I don’t want the stress of having to pay a mortgage that eats away most of my income. At least in Florida, I can save enough to purchase a condo, and I have Madison and now her husband, too, close by.” Lance was annoyed when she refused to meet his eyes, instead staring somewhere over his shoulder.

Lance ran his fingers through the hair at the side of his head. “I can’t believe that we are having this conversation in front of the animal shelter—”

“I’m sorry, but you’re the one who brought us here and said, said what you said.”

Lance shook his head. “I know, and the more I think about it, I’m actually glad.” He glanced down at the pavement, and with the toe of his shoe, he pushed a pebble to the curb and then lifted his gaze to her. “Willow, you have me. I promise you. I’m not going to leave you.”

Willow finally lifted her eyes to his, and he saw there a faint glistening in her irises. “That’s just it, Lance. I don’t have you. The next adventure on the horizon has you. I will always be chasing a few steps behind, and I don’t want that for my life. I’m thirty-one years old, and I’m ready for the whole white-picket-fence life, complete with husband and children. I want to invite the neighbors over for barbecues. I want my kids to have lifelong friends and do stuff like join the local soccer team or girl scouts or attend their best friend’s birthday party every year. Uprooting kids every year is not fair to them. Believe me. I know this from experience.”

A pain, similar to being sucker punched, swelled in his gut. While he had never wanted a woman as much as he did Willow, he had not made the mental leap from desiring her to marriage and children. Eventually, probably, a few years from now, likely, maybe, but he had places to go, things he wanted to accomplish. He didn’t know if he had ever wanted to stay in one place for good, and if he was truthful with himself, he hadn’t given much thought to it, either. He wanted to go where he wanted to go, and that was it. He’d only thought about wanting Willow by his side, without a thought about what she wanted out of life. Damn. “Willow, I, ah, I’m sorry. I had no idea. I mean, you’ve never explained it to that extent—”

To her credit, she patted his upper arm, her eyes now clear and shining, a generous smile gracing her full lips. “Relax, Lance. I never shared my dreams with you because I knew you didn’t want the same things out of life, so what was the point? I knew before meeting you in person that life for you was a journey and not a destination. Both Luke and Madison mentioned it several times when they spoke of you. It’s also why I’ve insisted that our relationship remain on the level of friends…er, with, um, benefits.”

Lance managed to eke out a slight grin. “Very good benefits, I might add.”

Willow smiled, and it lit up her entire face. The previous pain in his lower abdomen returned, and he forced himself to ignore it because she was right. Life was a journey for him with the final destination unknown. While the idea of remaining friends with benefits was very appealing, he regretted that she wanted different things out of life than he did. This meant that her future would more than likely not include him because he had no intention of changing his life plans, or better put, his plans for a plan-free life.

“I guess we should probably go home?”

Willow bent her head slightly to the right, her eyes wide. “Why? You’re here to rescue a dog, who will soon be your new running partner, and I’m going to make sure it really is if it will keep you from asking me to go with you.”

“You’re sure?”

She nodded. “Yup and I will even dog sit for you when needed. I may even walk it every day at lunch if you let me pick out the new collar and leash.”

Lance laughed, relieved that they were back on solid ground again. While he was disappointed that she wouldn’t be accompanying him to Costa Rica, probably more than he cared to admit if he’d had time to give it more thought, at least their relationship hadn’t been harmed. They could continue to see each other until he left in a few weeks and maybe even when he came back to visit because he was needed for support on a project in the south Florida area. “Deal.” He lowered his head to place a swift kiss on her mouth. “I’ll even let you make the final decision on a dog.”

“Iama good judge of character,” she retorted with a smirk.

He pressed another swift kiss to her lips. “How could I not agree?” He took her hand, clasped it in one of his, and with the other, opened the shelter’s front door. His stomach still felt strange, and there was a dull ache in his upper chest, but these pains were likely temporary and soon would be forgotten, at least that’s what he told himself. He watched Willow eagerly approach the shelter’s reception desk and announce the reason for their visit, her enthusiasm bringing smiles to everyone in the room, including himself.

* * *

“I can’t believe it.”

Willow bit back a giggle. She and Lance sat on the floor of his aunt’s condo, a smattering of dog toys, food, leashes, and collars scattered around them. “You said I could make the final decision.”

The brow above his right eye shot skyward. “And I clearly remember saying a dog, Willow. Not three. What am I going to do with three dogs?”

Holding a squirming puppy in one arm, she scooped up a second one and held it in the opposite crook of her arm. A third puppy crawled over Lance’s chest, eager to escape his embrace in order to explore its new surroundings. “We couldn’t separate them, Lance. They are sister and brothers. Can you imagine being separated from your siblings at sixteen weeks old?”

Before he could respond, the puppy nipped at his chest with his teeth, and Lance let out a yelp.

Willow shook her head. “Don’t be such a baby, Lance. How could he possibly hurt you with only his baby teeth?”

He glowered back at her, and Willow sucked in her cheeks to keep from laughing.

“Wait until the two cradled in your arms wake up. You’ll be crying right next to me.”

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