“I know what you’re thinking,” she said, following his gaze to the piles of paperwork and boxes of arts and craft supplies. “But believe it or not, I know where everything is. Every time I try to organize things I lose them indefinitely.”
His lips curled into a smile. “Fair enough.” By nature, he was a very neat, organized person. He could definitely use a little disorder in his life, especially if it came in the form of a certain blonde school teacher that smelled like spring flowers.
“May I call you sometime?” he asked, leaning against the car as she fastened her seat belt.
Her grin lit a fire in his chest. “I’d like that.” A simple, honest answer, he thought with definite pleasure. So much of his life was based on secrets and deception, games of words and acts meant to hide the truth. He glanced again at her eyes, sweeping across her facial expression. Her body language was somewhat relaxed, comfortable, but he couldn’t help but notice the slightly nervous tap of her finger against the steering wheel. Not scared, but... a little excited, perhaps? Yeah, he’d take that.
She recited her mobile number, thanked him again, and wished him a good night.
Chapter Three
Lacie drove home without incident, a pleasantly warm, tingling feeling throughout her body, a contented smile on her face. Though it had started off badly, it ended up being a fine evening. Shane had been wonderful company, easily the best date she’d ever had, even though they’d done nothing more than talk over coffee.
It was a pleasant surprise. Usually men who looked like he did had egos the size of Texas, but he was nothing like that. He was down-to-earth and so easy to talk to.
He’d seemed to enjoy himself, too, though since she could literally count the number of dates she’d had on one hand, she was no expert. Not that it was technically a date, but she’d never felt so instantly at ease with anyone before. Well, perhaps “at ease” wasn’t the proper phrase. There were parts of her that had flared to life and remained fired up throughout the evening.
Besides being extremely handsome, he was also smart and funny, attentive and a perfect gentleman. He hadn’t even attempted to kiss her goodnight.
She had mixed feelings about that. Her cautious nature appreciated his self-restraint, but there were other parts that were more than a little curious about what it would be like to kiss him after secretly fantasizing about it half the night. It was impossible not to think about it while sitting across from him, looking into his beautiful, masculine face, listening to that velvety voice, smelling that clean, sexy scent that seemed to cling to his body.
Lacie shook her head and focused on the road. What the heck was wrong with her? She wasn’t the crushing type. She didn’t gawk over good-looking men (okay, maybe sometimes she did, but only discreetly), and was a firm believer in establishing compatibility before even thinking about progressing to something more.
Shane Callaghan, apparently, was a glaring exception to her usual rules, because she was crushing, they were obviously compatible, and she was thinking some very physical thoughts.
It was a constant battle back and forth for the five mile drive, but her propriety eventually won out. By the time she pulled into her complex, she decided she was glad he hadn’t tried to kiss her. Not only did it indicate that he was a gentleman, but it also hinted that he might be interested in something more than a good time. Not to mention it was already increasing her anticipation for when he did eventually kiss her, assuming that things did progress to that point, of course.
She tried not to get her hopes up. Yes, he had asked for her number, but that didn’t mean he would call. She hoped he did, though. After only a few hours with him she knew she would be terribly disappointed if he didn’t.
“Lacie.” The voice startled her, making her jump. She whipped around, accidentally pushing the car door closed before she could get her hand completely out of the way. She bit back a cry and extracted her hand, flexing it experimentally. Nothing seemed to be broken, but it would be sore tomorrow and she’d probably have to tape it up. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Craig, you scared me half to death! What are you doing out here?”