Shane walked her to her door. His hand rested lightly on her lower back, a simple gentlemanly gesture. He probably didn’t realize the thrill it gave her, or the desire it incited, now curling around deep in her center.
She hesitated, wondering if she should ask him in. She wanted to, there was no doubt about that, but she couldn’t quite form the words. It was only their first real date after all (second if she counted the coffee), and even though no man had ever made her feel quite so ... needy ... she didn’t want him to think she was easy. If she asked him in, and he accepted, there was no doubt in her mind where they would end up, no matter how good her intentions.
As it turned out, Shane made the decision for her. “I had a wonderful time tonight,” he said, lifting her uninjured hand to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to the back of it, then stepped back. “May I call you again?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “Please do.”
He waited while she unlocked the door, making sure she was safely inside. “Goodnight, Lacie.”
“Goodnight, Shane.”
And then he was gone.
Resisting the urge to lean against the door and sigh, she hurried to her window, peering out to see Shane get into his black car and pull away. Only then did she allow the full-body sigh.
“So. How was it?”
Corinne’s unexpected voice nearly gave her a stroke. “Corinne!” Lacie exclaimed, clutching her chest and willing her heart to stop pounding like a jackhammer.
“Come on, sister,” Corinne grinned unrepentantly. “Dish. I made popcorn. I want to hear every last detail.”
Lacie obliged, painting a highly accurate and very detailed account of their evening as she changed out of her clothes and slipped into soft flannel PJ’s. Corinne hung on every word, her mouth opening and closing several times as she made Lacie repeat the best parts.
Two hours later, they lay side by side in Lacie’s queen-sized bed, just as they had when they were teenagers. “I’m glad you’re here,” Lacie confided in the dark. “I think if I had to wait until tomorrow to tell you I would have exploded.”
Corinne laughed. “I’m still not sure I believe that really happened. It’s just too good to be true.”
“Believe it. Now that you know everything, why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?”
Corinne had been listening with rapt attention, but Lacie always knew when something was on her younger sister’s mind. Even if she hadn’t picked up on it, the telltale twisting of the hair tie in her hands would have clued her in.
Corinne exhaled heavily, not bothering to deny it. “Tomorrow, okay? Let’s just bask in the afterglow of your perfect date tonight. You can keep replaying it in your head, and I’ll do the same, pretending it was me instead of you.”
“Okay,” Lacie chuckled, setting her worries aside for a little while longer.
Chapter Six
In the morning, Corinne seemed even more preoccupied. She brooded over two cups of coffee and munched down some granola at Lacie’s insistence before finally raising the white flag.
“Alright!” she said. “I’ll tell you. But promise me you’ll listen and not jump down my throat and say I’m just being paranoid, okay?”
The somber look on Corinne’s face was worrisome. For as much as Lacie teased her younger sister about overreacting, she knew that when she got that look it was serious. She slid into the chair next to her and gave Corinne her full and undivided attention. “Okay. I promise.”
“I caught Craig sneaking into your apartment last night,” Corinne blurted out.
“What?!?”
“He had a key. Did you give him a key?” Corinne looked at her sister accusingly.
“Well, yes, but it’s only for emergencies,” Lacie said, slightly shaken. “I have one to his place, too, but I’ve never used it. What did he want?”
“He said he was looking for some chamomile tea or something, that Shelly had an upset stomach from eating too much pizza.”
The tone of Corinne’s voice revealed her thoughts on the matter more clearly than her words. Lacie caught the reflexive defense on the tip of her tongue, remembering her promise. “You don’t believe him.”
“No,” Corinne confirmed. “Before he realized I was here I saw him going through your desk. You don’t keep chamomile in your desk, do you?”
Lacie shook her head. Her hands gripped harder around her oversized “Teaching is Heart Work” mug, disturbed by Corinne’s reveal.
“Whatever he was looking for, I don’t think he found it. I made some noise to make it sound like I was coming out of your bathroom, and when I came back out, he was in the kitchen, getting the tea.”
A shiver went down Lacie’s spine. Craig had been in her apartment hundreds of times, knew where everything was. Why did that suddenly seem overly intrusive?
At least now she knew why Corinne was creeped out. “That’s why you stayed.”