Page 35 of Daring Lance

Lance couldn’t help but chuckle. Okay, she wanted to play it this way, fine. “The three hellions are staying the night at the hotel owner’s place. She has a large yard where they can run around and not bother other guests with their barking when I’m not here. If you want to give me the collar, I will make sure to swap it out for Daphne’s current one.”

The wash of disappointment that swept over her face almost brought him to his knees-but only almost because his brain was still in full protect mode. “Oh. Okay, thanks.” She dropped her gaze to a space by his feet, and he decided enough was enough.

Lance uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his side. “Willow, you didn’t hop on a plane and fly over three thousand miles to bring me Daphne’s collar.”

She lifted her gaze to meet his, her brilliant green eyes glowing. He watched her take a deep breath and then exhale slowly. At least she appeared as nervous as he felt right now.

“I made a mistake.”

He narrowed his brows over his nose. “A mistake?”

She slowly nodded and then raised her shoulders, straightening her spine. “I thought it was moving from place to place that I hated as a child, and I realized over the last two days that wasn’t it.”

Lance’s heartbeat kicked up a notch to a fast pounding against his rib cage. “What was it?”

She slid her hands from her back pockets to let her arms dangle at her sides. “I didn’t like leaving my friends, my teachers, the people I cared about.”

He pushed his lower back away from the dresser and took a step toward her. “I will never leave you.”

“But mostly, I didn’t like my parents leaving me alone all the time. I was basically raised by a nanny.”

Lance took another small step toward her. “You’ll never be alone again, Willow, because I will never leave you. You’ll likely get sick of me hanging around all the time.”

“You promise?”

A tear slid from the corner of her eye, and Lance lost the last of his restraint. He eliminated the gap between them in two steps and pulled her into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and Lance swore to himself that he would never let her go. “I promise,” he whispered against her hair.

He pressed a fleeting kiss to her forehead. “I love you, Willow.”

A smile curved her lips and lit up her entire face. “I love you, Lance. I’m sorry I couldn’t say it to you before now.”

He smoothed back a strand of hair away from her temple. “It’s okay. As long as you keep saying it for the rest of our lives, I forgive you.”

Willow traced her fingertip along his jawline, and several parts of him responded with pleasure. “I guess this means I won’t need my own hotel room?”

“You guessed right, but don’t get too comfortable because we are only staying one more night.”

She raised her eyebrows, her eyes growing wide. “We’re moving hotels?”

He placed a light peck to her lips. “No, we’re returning to Boca Raton.”

“What? Why? I thought you understood? It’s okay. I’m willing to stay with you here. You were right. I can work anywhere in the world, and what does it matter where that is as long as we are together? Of course, I’ll need to return to Florida for the rest of my things eventually and let Madison know that I’m giving up her apartment. But that probably doesn’t need to be for another week or—"

“Sweetheart, slow down.”

He dropped his hands to rest on each of her hips and she followed his lead and placed her palms at the waistband of his jeans. “Lance? What happened? Has the project here been canceled?”

He chuckled. “No, everything is fine, and it will continue to be when my brother Linc arrives tomorrow to take over.”

“I don’t understand?”

He grinned broadly, knowing he must appear like a kid in a candy store because that’s what he felt like. His happiness was that great. “Linc is going to oversee the operations here, and I’m returning to Boca Raton to work with Luke. We decided to start some of the projects in Florida sooner than originally planned.”

“But Costa Rica? I thought your client wanted you specifically for the project? Won’t that be a problem?”

He widened his grin. “Those seniors must take memory pills. I swear they don’t forget a single detail unless it’s convenient for them. Our client is fine with the change of plans. Turns out he has made some major decisions himself for love.”

“What?”

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