“Goodnight, Craig.”
With a sigh of relief, Lacie closed the door behind him, engaging the deadbolt as well as the chain. She exchanged the thawing bag of peas for a wrap-around ice pack and shuffled toward the bedroom, where she peeled off her clothes and slipped between the sheets, not even bothering with the effort of pajamas. Her head barely hit the pillow when her cell chimed softly. She looked at the display, frowning when the caller id showed up as “withheld”.
Who the heck would be calling her at this hour? Curiosity got the best of her. “Hello?”
“Lacie? Did I wake you?” Shane’s voice flowed fluidly through the phone and into her skin. It was bad enough when she was fully clothed and in a public café, but now that she was naked between her sheets in the darkness it was downright erotic.
“No, I was just crawling into bed.”
There was a momentary pause before he asked, “I suppose it would be improper for me to ask what you’re wearing?”
If anyone else had said those words to her after knowing her for only a few hours she would have made a very rude comment and hung up on him. But this was Shane, and she could hear the teasing in his voice. Once again, he was an exception to her usual rules. She chuckled. “Very.”
“Right. I’ll just use my imagination then.”
“You do that.”
He laughed, confirming her belief that he was having fun with her and was not a complete pervert.
“I know there’s some protocol for exactly how long a man should wait before calling when a woman gives him her number, but I’ll readily admit to being woefully ignorant of such things and hope that you find my confession adorably honest enough to let me slide. Would you please have dinner with me this Friday, Lacie?”
The warmth that had sparked at the first sound of his voice now blossomed from the very core of her being, filling her with a sensation she found both intensely pleasing and exciting. “I would very much like to have dinner with you this Friday, Shane,” she said without hesitation.
She could practically hear the smile in his voice. “Excellent. Wear something nice, elegant but not too formal. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Sounds good.”
“Lacie?”
“Yes?”
“Pleasant dreams.”
With Shane’s velvety voice echoing in her head and the promise of seeing him again in three days, there was no doubt of that.
Chapter Four
Lacie was a patient person by nature, but anticipation rode her hard for the next several days. It was a good thing her kids kept her so busy. There were only a couple of weeks left in the school year, and there was still so much to do.
During the daytime hours, her mind was sufficiently occupied with word walls, story time, and other things to keep a room of twenty five-year-olds focused and busy. Not so in the evenings, when her thoughts were decidedly more adult-oriented. More than once she’d had to pull herself back from daydreaming about her upcoming date with Shane while grading papers or planning out the next day’s lessons.
Shane hadn’t provided much in the way of hints, so her active imagination was working overtime conjuring all sorts of images. She knew they were going to dinner, and that it would be a nice place. That left a lot of room for supposition.
Where were they going? Would there be that same inexplicable, instant attraction between them, and if so, would it be as strong as it was the first time? Would she be able to make it through the night without tripping or walking into something or knocking something over? If it went well, would he attempt to kiss her goodnight this time?
That last thought sent yet another delicious tingle of anticipation through her. Of all the things she’d been thinking of, kissing Shane was one of her favorites. In every one of her private, late night fantasies, Shane Callaghan was an exceptional kisser.
“So who’s the hottie?” Corinne asked, sprawled across Lacie’s bed as Lacie tried on her seventh dress.
“Who says he’s hot?” Lacie asked, turning in the mirror and frowning at her backside. Time to break out the Jillian Michaels DVDs again, she thought, having lost the motivation to exercise every day like she once did.
“He must be for you to give him the time of day,” Corinne quipped, sliding gracefully to her feet and selecting a black sheath from Lacie’s closet. “We all know how particular you are.”
Lacie took the dress and slipped it on. It was perfect. Conservative but flattering. Subtle, but sexy.
“I’m not that particular. It’s just that very few men ask me out.” It was true. There were quite a few who had shown interest, but for some reason, things never seemed to progress very far.
“That’s because Craig scares them off.” Corinne’s tone was less than cordial.
“You think so?” Lacie frowned. How would she even know that?