“There he is,” Kaylie said.
“Stop,” Lacy said under her breath. “I’m nervous enough.”
Dane walked toward her, his perfect pearly white teeth visible through his wide smile. His broad shoulders swayed slightly, and those dark eyes of his never wavered from hers. Her legs turned to Jell-O, and she gripped the back of the chair for stability. The man in the aisle in front of hers reached for Dane.
“Hey, buddy. I haven’t seen you in months. Good to see you,” the older man said.
Dane embraced the tall, thin man, his eyes still pinning Lacy in place. “You, too, Smitty. We’ll catch up at the reception.” Dane took a step closer to Lacy’s row. He embraced his cousin. “Blake, great to see you.” Then he pulled Danica into a soft hug and kissed her cheek. “You look as gorgeous as ever,” he said. He reached for Kaylie next.
Lacy’s heart slammed against her chest as Blake and Danica moved into the aisle, following the rest of the guests into the reception room. She had forgotten how tall he felt when he was near, and as she watched him wrap his arms around Kaylie, she realized that she’d also forgotten how large his hands were. Big hands, big— Stop it!
“We need to call our sitter before the reception. Good to see you,” Kaylie said. She gave Dane a quick hug and pulled Chaz behind her, leaving Lacy alone with Dane.
IT HAD BEEN four hundred and fifty-seven days since Dane had seen Lacy in person. Too damn long. He reached for her hands and then drew her close, placing one soft kiss on each cheek and inhaling the sweet smell that he remembered: a combination of citrus and floral with an underlying hint of musk. To anyone else, it was Chanel Coco Noir. To Dane, it was the smell of Lacy that he remembered from the day they’d met, and their only afternoon together, the day before her sisters’ double wedding in Nassau. The smell he’d dreamed of, which had carried him through those long afternoons out at sea when they were tagging sharks miles from shore.
“Lacy.”
Her slim fingers trembled against his palms. A shy smile lifted her supple lips and sent Dane’s pulse into overdrive.
“Hi,” she said softly.
Her blond curls fell in thick spiral ropes across her tanned, lean shoulders. She wore a royal-blue halter dress that fell to the middle of her thighs, revealing her long, toned legs. It just barely covered the edge of the scar Dane knew held the worst of her fears. Dane lowered his lips to one of her slender hands and pressed a soft kiss to it. All those months of emails, phone calls, and video chats came rushing back. They had never been enough, but his demanding travel schedule as founder of the Brave Foundation made it almost impossible to steal away for a weekend, and Lacy was working day and night in hopes of obtaining a promotion, so even if he had found the time, she probably wouldn’t have been able to break away. Brave’s mission was to use education and innovative advocacy programs to protect sharks, and in a broader sense, the world’s oceans. Dane’s passion for saving and educating had begun right after college and had only grown since. He’d created a life around doing what he loved, and now he lived on a boat on the coast of Florida, where Brave’s headquarters were located. He had a small administrative staff and was well connected enough to have temporary staff and volunteers in the areas where he worked. When he wasn’t in the water, he could be found running the foundation, which required heavy travel, a busy social calendar, and a boatload of ass-kissing. Unfortunately, over those months, his and Lacy’s schedules hadn’t come together.
“Are you going to introduce me, or just block the aisle?” Dane’s younger brother Rex pushed in between them.
Dane shook his head to clear his thoughts. Rex was a year and a half younger than him and had worked their family ranch for years, which was apparent in his brawny cowboy build. Dane turned to face his brother with a joking sneer.
“Isn’t Jade around here somewhere?” Dane asked.
A year earlier, Rex had fallen in love with Jade Johnson, and their love had brought a long-standing family feud to a head—and then to a long-overdue end. Dane had never seen his brother so happy. Rex and Jade had bought the property in between the two families’ ranches in Weston, Colorado, and had recently built a house there.
As he stared into Rex’s dark eyes, he had a momentary flash of unease. His height matched Rex’s six-foot-three inches, but his brother’s arms were as thick as tree trunks, and the way his tux stretched tightly over his massive chest would turn on any woman. He knew his brother’s ever-present five-o’clock shadow and longish hair gave him a bad-boy quality that had sent even the strongest women into a state of rapture. But Dane also knew that there was no need for a silent warning, or even a hint of possessiveness where Lacy was concerned. Rex had eyes only for Jade, and he was all too aware that Lacy wasn’t his to possess.
“Step aside.” Rex pushed his massive forearm across Dane’s chest and held out a hand to Lacy. “I’m Rex, Dane’s brother. You must be Lacy.”
Lacy blushed. “Yes, hi,” she said. Her eyes darted to Dane, and the surprise in them was blatant. “He’s mentioned me?”
Rex laughed. “Oh, he might have mentioned you once or twice.” He cracked a crooked smile at Dane. “Pleasure to meet you, Lacy. No wonder Dane was so distracted during the ceremony. Well”—he let out a dramatic sigh—“you two kids have fun. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find my girlfriend.”
“Bastard,” Dane whispered as Rex passed with a sly grin and gave Dane a playful shove. The room emptied quickly as the guests moved toward the reception hall. Dane turned his attention back to Lacy.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too.” Lacy smiled. “Your brother seems nice.”
“Yeah, he is,” Dane said. The image of Lacy wearing the tiny bikini she’d worn in Nassau came rushing back to him. He swallowed hard to repress the memory before it could excite him the way it had over recent nights, when he knew he’d be seeing her again.
“Save me a dance?” He’d felt the anticipation of seeing Lacy mounting for weeks, but he hadn’t expected his nerves to be strewn so tight, or the desire to kiss her to be so strong. He stood so close to her that all it would take was the slightest dip of his head to settle his lips over hers, to tangle his hands in her hair and pull her against him.
“Sure,” she answered, and he’d almost forgotten that he’d asked her a question.
“Dane.”
His father’s deep voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Hal Braden took a couple steps toward them. He stood a few inches taller than Dane. His skin was a deep bronze, rivaling Dane’s rich tan. Fine lines snaked out from his father’s eyes and mouth, and a deep vee hunkered between his thick brows. “Excuse me. I’m sorry for interrupting.” He held his hand out to Lacy. “Hal Braden, Dane’s father.”
Lacy shook his hand. “I’m Lacy.”
“Dad, this is Lacy Snow.” Dane watched his father’s dark eyes change from serious to warm.
“Lacy Snow. Related to Blake’s wife, Danica?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m her half…her youngest sister.” She flushed again.
Dane had an urge to put his arm around her and comfort the nerves he heard in her voice.
Hal nodded. “Well, any sister of Danica’s is a friend of ours. It’s a pleasure to meet you. They’re taking pictures, Dane. Don’t be too long.”
“I’ll be right in, Dad,” Dane said. He watched his father walk away and felt pride swell in his heart. He’d always had a good relationship with his father, and now, at almost thirty-seven years old, he found himself seeing his father in a different way. Dane’s mother had passed away when he was only nine years old, and his father had raised him, his four brothers, and their sister. And to this day, when he spoke of their mother, the love he exuded hadn’t dimmed. Dane hadn’t thought of marriage very often, but lately he wondered—no, he hoped—that one day he’d find whatever it was that his parents had found together. He wanted to experience that love.
“You’d better go in,” Lacy said. She blinked her long lashes several times and fidgeted with her hands.
God, she’s cute when she’s nervous. Dane wondered if she could tell that he was just as nervous as she was. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her side, but the sooner he got those pictures over with, the sooner he could be with her again. “Yeah. I’d better. Remember our dance, okay?”
“I look forward to it.”
(End of Sneak Peek)