Page 30 of Daring Lance

Willow shook her head as she scrambled out of the bed, practically tripping over the blanket that now lay tangled at her feet. The emotional roller coaster of the last few weeks and then the heartwarming moments spent with the baby had finally caused the damn to burst within her. “Lance, please. This needs to end…we need to end. I should have said something sooner. I can’t do this anymore. I thought I could, but I can’t.” In her haste to leave, she left her shorts and tank top on the dresser, deciding she would rather risk running through the hallway and up the stairway in Lance’s oversized t-shirt, which she had borrowed to sleep in, than stay within arm’s reach any longer.

She was halfway through the bedroom door when Lance grabbed her from behind, pulling her into his embrace. Her initial reaction was to wrestle her way out of his arms. She needed to put some distance between them as quickly as possible.

“Willow, please don’t leave before we talk this out.”

The distinctive hint of hurt, laced with confusion that echoed in his voice, stopped her in her tracks. “I want to go home, Lance. I told you earlier that I had a deadline to meet. I need to go.”

Lance held on to her as he ran his hand up and down her forearm. Slowly, and to her irritation, she felt her resolve slip away. Finally, her rational side took over, and she determined that he was right. They needed to talk.

“Willow, please don’t leave. Not when you tell me it’s over, when we both know that’s not what we want. We’ve avoided the topic until now, ever since my plans were confirmed for Costa Rica. I know I promised you that I would not bring it up again, and I’ve kept my word for the last month, but I need to ask you one more time.”

“Lance—”

Lance twisted her around to face him, and she didn’t resist. He pressed a kiss so softly against her lips that she thought she might begin balling and never stop.

“Willow, will you please come with me to Costa Rica? I promise, I will do everything in my power to make you happy. If this project goes well, our client has already indicated that he has plans to build several other complexes in the same area. That could mean staying put for at least a few years. That would be good, wouldn’t it, sweetheart? We could be happy there.”

She pressed her eyelids shut, willing back the tears. “And then what? We move again and then again? What about us? Me? The kids I want to have? Where are they?” Lance brushed a piece of hair that had fallen against her brow, and she gulped back a sob that threatened to escape from her lips.

“If that’s what you want Willow, let’s do it. We can get married in Costa Rica and have a kid when you’re ready. I’m not going to lie. I have no experience with children as I proved tonight, nor do I have any idea about raising one, but if that’s what you want and what we need to do for you to come with me, I’m good with it.”

The temporary haze of longing that descended upon her quickly evaporated. Willow shot her eyes wide open and then pulled herself out of his embrace. “Good with it? You’re good with it? Good with what, Lance? Have you heard a single word I’ve said to you the last three months? Seriously, Lance.” Willow spun around and rushed out of the bedroom, heading straight for the front door.

Lance beat her to the front door. He placed himself between her and any potential exit she might make, forcing her to hear him out. She took a deep breath but avoided looking at him, instead she pretended to watch each of the puppies, asleep on one of the many large dog beds Lance had purchased, this one placed in the living room.

“Willow, I’m well aware that we’ve only known each other for three months.” He brought his hand under her chin and tilted her head upward, and she didn’t resist. Again, she figured she should at least be mature enough to hear him out, and, even more, he needed to listen to her. But she swore if he said anything as remotely asinine as he had in the bedroom, she’d hit him over the head with the closest thing possible, even if that was a lamp.

“I also know that I have never had the same feelings for a woman as I do you. I look forward to seeing you every day. I want to come home to you after work, to spend time with you. That’s never happened to me before. I think this is real between us Willow, real, and that it could be forever.”

“Lance—”

He ran the palm of his hand over her hair, from the crown of her head to the back of her shoulders, causing a shiver to spread across her skin. “Willow, don’t you feel the same way?”

She breathed deeply, twice, in an effort to gain every ounce of courage she possessed to respond to him. “Lance, it doesn’t matter how I feel right now. I’m not moving to Costa Rica, nor anywhere else in a ‘few years.’ Why can’t you understand that?”

“Willow—”

She immediately cut him off. “Let me ask you this, Lance. Why don’t you give up going to Costa Rica? Why not work with Luke on the projects here in south Florida? With the building that is going on in this area, we would never have to leave.”

Lance’s eyes grew wide, and he appeared at a loss for words, words he didn’t need to say because Willow already knew his response. He would never be willing to stay in one place for any length of time, regardless of how much he claimed to feel for her. “I need to go, Lance.”

“Wait, Willow, please.”

Willow withdrew her wrist from his hold and stepped around him. She looked him straight in the eye and saw the same regret that she knew was reflected in her own gaze. “Lance, we both knew from the beginning that we wanted different things. The last three months…I don’t have any regrets, nor do I hold either of us responsible for our relationship ending. It is simply time. I’d like to say that I will see you when you return from Costa Rica on visits, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Willow opened the front door and was halfway through the threshold when Lance came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder, his face pressed against the side of her cheek. “Please, don’t go. Please don’t end it with us, Willow,” he whispered into her ear, causing Willow to swallow back yet another sob.

Willow slowly turned around, placing her hand on the side of his cheek. He was so handsome, and she had spent so many hours admiring the strong lines of his cheekbones and jawline that she knew their image would be emblazoned in her memory forever. “Lance, please, I need you to accept my decision. It wasn’t…it wasn’t easy.” Her voice broke, and she paused to recompose herself. “The last three months have been amazing for me as well, but they’re over. We want different things, but that’s okay. It happens.”

“Willow—”

She pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “Safe travels, Lance.” She dropped her hand to her side and while she still had the strength to do so, she walked out into the hallway, taking hurried steps to the elevator. To her relief, or so she told herself, Lance did not follow her.

ELEVEN

“Bernadette? Lily? I’m sorry, ladies, but I’m not very good company right now. Perhaps you could come back tomorrow?” Or next year, she thought, although Willow didn’t think she’d feel any better than she did right now by that time either.

“Nonsense, dear. Lily made a special blend of her mango martinis. You’ll feel better in no time,” Bernadette proclaimed, using her cane to push her way past Willow and into her apartment.

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