His First Choice

“Just think how unhappy you’d be, then, if you’d been the sunrise.”

Something new and beautiful flowered within her. In spite of herself.

Lacey smiled at him over the top of her wineglass.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

HE THOUGHT ABOUT having sex with her. About once a minute. Interspersed with keeping his mind on their conversation. More when they weren’t actually talking, like when she bent over to look in the pond to meet Levi’s goldfish—all of which had names. She learned them, too.

He thought about sex with her a lot as they ate and she slipped the fork between her lips and back out again.

But he thought of a lot of other things, too. Like how much he wanted to ask her out again, to have her over again.

Alone. And when Levi was home.

They talked a little bit about the world, society. Mostly in terms of bringing up a child in tumultuous and rapidly changing times. Her views mirrored his, and he hadn’t even told her where he stood. Not that that surprised him.

He had no idea who up there was in charge of this stuff, but he actually had the thought that maybe she had been picked especially for him.

He also knew that he was getting way ahead of himself.

She’d agreed to have dinner with him, not get married.

Not that he was getting married, either. He just wanted...more.

Sex, yes, but even more than that.

The sun had set. Their dishes were empty—Jem had eaten the last couple of bites of steak from her plate. They each had a little wine left in the bottom of their glasses. There was some in the bottle, too. Enough to take inside with them.

“What time did you tell Kacey we’d be home?” Levi was going to bed at Lacey’s and probably wouldn’t even wake up when Jem transported him to his car seat and then to his bed at his house. Even if he did, he’d go right back to sleep.

“I didn’t. She said stay out as late as we want.” She smiled in the way that made him think she was hiding something. Or enjoying a private thought.

He wanted in.

“What did she really say?”

“That she didn’t want me to ruin the evening with a timetable. I’m supposed to relax and just let everything flow.”

He nodded. “I like that.”

“How am I doing?”

“You tell me.”

“I think we’re flowing along pretty well.”

He grinned. He knew. But it was still good to hear.

“Do you ever get angry?” He just had to ask.

“Of course! Everyone does.”

Watching her beneath the soft outdoor lighting he’d installed, he said, “I want to see you in a bad mood.”

The words didn’t sound anything out loud as they had in his mind. He just couldn’t imagine Lacey screaming trash like Tressa did. Like his older sister, JoAnne, had when he’d been growing up and their parents went out and left her in charge.

“What? You want to see me in a bad mood? Why?”