LITMIR.BIZ

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about jumping back into the fast lane, hmm?”

      “I just need changes,” she repeated. “Don’t you ever get…restless? Itchy?”

      “Itchy?” His grin turned wicked. “Sounds to me like what you need is a sex life.”

      “I just need a life,” she retorted flatly. “Of any kind.”

      “Well, as happy as I would be to offer my services in certain areas, I know you too well. You’re the kind who gets involved with a guy and you start thinking permanence. Commitment.” He gave a dramatic shudder before adding, “Kids.”

      He was right, of course. Lindsey was the traditional type at heart. Marriage and children had always been in her plans. Unfortunately, her long-time obsession with a man who gave little indication of returning her interest had kept her from looking seriously in other directions. It was probably time for that to change, too.

      With a bittersweet smile, she replied, “No offense, but I can’t see the two of us having babies and growing old together. So, as fond as I am of you, we’ll stay just friends.”

      “I’ll have to defer to your wisdom. Even if you do look incredibly hot in that dress.”

      Because he sounded sincere enough about the compliment to give her a completely feminine little thrill, she went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “If a no-strings, ungrown-up affair was what I wanted, you would be at the very top of my list,” she assured him.

      “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

      “It was intended as one.”

      The music came to an end. Riley released her, but laid a hand on her arm to keep her still for a moment. “Seriously, Lindsey, if you need to talk, you always know where to find me.”

      “Thanks, Riley.” She smiled at him, then turned away—only to find herself face-to-face with Dan, who didn’t look at all happy with her.

      She and Dan hadn’t exactly parted on the best of terms earlier, she remembered. And it had been her fault, she admitted now. She’d been prickly and defensive, and she couldn’t expect him to understand why. She was the one who had suddenly changed. Dan hadn’t been acting any differently than he ever had—which, of course, was exactly why she was upset with him. It was no wonder he was watching her now as if he wasn’t sure what to expect from her.

      She managed to smile at him. “Hi, Dan.”

      “Hi.” Someone bumped him from behind as the dance floor began to fill again. Dan reached out to take Lindsey’s arm and walk with her to the side of the room, out of the way. “Are you having a good time?”

      “So far, but I haven’t been here long. How about you?”

      “Oh, you know. This isn’t really my sort of thing. Mostly I’m here because I’m expected to be.”

      “You’d probably rather be at your desk.”

      He seemed about to agree, then he smiled a little and shook his head. “To be perfectly honest, I’d rather be fishing.”

      She placed a hand on her heart. “Why, Dan Meadows. You mean there’s actually something you like as well as your job?”

      “I’m not quite the hopeless workaholic everyone thinks I am.”

      The music started again—another slow song. Across the room, chattering townspeople gathered around the heavily laden refreshment tables. There would be live entertainment and drawings for door prizes later in the evening, but the first hour was set aside for visiting, dancing and munching. The event primarily provided an excuse for the locals to dress up and mingle, raising money for good causes in the process.

      This crowd differed from the one she’d seen at Gaylord’s last night, of course. This was a somewhat more sedate gathering, with no alcohol served, so she didn’t expect to see Bo or Jimmy there. It wasn’t at all their style.

      “Do you want something to eat?” Dan motioned toward the tables.

      “No, not yet. Dance with me.”

      He looked startled by her impulsive invitation. “Uh…dance?”

      “Sure, why not? C’mon, the song’s just starting.”

      “I’m not much of a dancer. Not like Riley.”

      She caught his hand and tugged. “Dance with me, Dan.”

      Though he still looked doubtful, he allowed her to lead him back on the floor.

      Dan wasn’t a bad dancer, she quickly discovered. Just a stiff one. Holding her several inches away from him, he rested his right hand sedately at her waist and held her right hand loosely in his left. He would have danced just this way with the minister’s wife, Lindsey thought in exasperation, and deliberately moved a little closer to him.

      After a few moments of silence, she tilted her head back to look up at him. “Do you remember the last time we danced together?”

      Dan seemed to be counting musical beats in his head. “It’s been a while.”

      “It was five years ago—on my twenty-first birthday. My family threw a surprise birthday party for me at the country club. They hired a band.”

      Dan had attended the party with a date. Melanie. She of the perfect hair, teeth and breasts. Melanie had made little secret of the fact that she would rather have been just about anywhere other than at a college girl’s surprise party, and she hadn’t liked it at all when Dan had given Lindsey a brotherly birthday kiss after their dance. At least, Lindsey supposed he’d intended it as a brotherly kiss. It was a lot more than that to her. She’d replayed that kiss during a hundred daydreams afterward.

      Three days later Dan and Melanie had eloped. And Lindsey’s young heart had been broken.

      Was she really willing to go through that again?

      Did she really have any other choice?

      “I remember,” Dan said.

      She doubted his recollections very closely mirrored hers. She wondered if thoughts of that night brought back painful memories of Melanie for him. Since he never, ever talked about his ex-wife, Lindsey had no idea how he felt about her now.

      Letting the dance steps move her a bit closer to him, she slid her hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck. It felt so good to be in his arms.

      Dan lifted an eyebrow, his smile faintly teasing. “Careful, princess. A guy could start getting the wrong ideas.”

      “Or he could finally start getting the right ideas,” she murmured, tightening her arm just enough that their bodies brushed together.

      The song ended, and Dan set her away from him so quickly she nearly stumbled. “Uh…thanks for the dance,” he said.

      Before she could respond, they were surrounded by acquaintances and eventually separated by the crowd. Lindsey was left to wonder if he’d gotten the message or if he’d convinced himself it was only a joke. Knowing Dan, it was probably the latter. He would find that a much more comfortable conclusion.

      She knew that eventually she was going to have to openly confront him if she wanted to find out once and for all if there was even a slight possibility that they could ever be more than old friends. She not only wanted to know—she very much needed to know. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life wondering about what might have been if only she’d had the courage to take a chance.

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