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Yeah, he needed to stop. Wouldn’t do him any good to imagine at the beginning of their date all the wickedly sinful things they could do at the end. He’d find himself in a state of semi-arousal for the rest of the night…and it would probably freak her out if she knew.

Not that she’d ever know.

“What do you like? Comedy, drama, action?” Think about movies, not about taking Jane to your bed

for the rest of the night.

“I wouldn’t mind a comedy. I’m in the mood to laugh,” she answered.

“Then a comedy it is. There’s one that just opened, saw the commercial for it. Looked kind of funny.”

“Sounds good.”

Pausing for a moment, he decided to go for it. “So how’s Lexi doing?” He glanced at Jane and caught the smile disappearing from her face. She glanced down at her lap, pursed her lips before she finally answered.

“She’s mad at me.”

Ah, damn. He didn’t want to come between this woman and her daughter. Had no clue if he was prepared to deal with something like this—let alone if he wanted to deal with it.

Hah. You have a clue. You don’t want to deal with something like this. It’s why you don’t usually get involved.

“If you feel better going back home, then maybe…” He had to make the offer, wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t.

“No.” She shook her head, smoothed her hair over her face. “I had a long talk with her today. I had a long talk with all three of my children, actually.”

“Is she angry at me?” He shouldn’t care. Really, he shouldn’t.

But he kinda did.

“No, not really. Her anger is all geared toward me.” Jane sighed, the soft sound wafting toward him, and it was full of so much weariness. And guilt. “She thinks I’m forgetting all about their father.”

“Jane—”

“No, it’s okay.” She shot him a tremulous smile. “She has to understand that I need some time on my own or with a friend like you. Going to the movies hardly compares to replacing her father.”

His ego deflated like a popped balloon. So she didn’t think of him in that way. They were just friends in her eyes.

Chris had looked forward to this evening, had felt like a kid about to take a girl out to the prom. Anticipation sizzled through his veins all day, and he’d been unable to focus. Unable to do anything but sit around and watch TV—and even then he couldn’t concentrate.

This sweet, shy woman had turned him into a bumbling, idiotic fool. Yet she didn’t feel the same way. He should be glad—she came with a ton of baggage. So why the fascination with her? The anticipation to see her?

He didn’t get it.

He parked near the theater and they got out of the car, walking across the vast lot at a brisk pace, since it was bitterly cold. Clouds hung low, clung to the mountains that surrounded them. A storm was predicted to start late in the night and linger throughout the next day.

Chris hung back, couldn’t help but admire Jane’s sashaying walk as she hurried ahead of him. Her hips swayed the slightest bit, her legs long and sexy in those lust-inducing boots. Her backside was nice, too, though she was still a little too thin for his taste. A couple more pounds and she’d be perfect.

Shaking his head, he hurried his strides, frustrated at his straying thoughts. She’d already declared her feelings. Chris wasn’t even sure why he’d agreed to this. Setting himself up to fail wasn’t his normal MO.

He rushed to catch the door for her before she got to it and she shot him an appreciative smile. The way it lit her eyes melted his hardened heart a little, even though he knew it shouldn’t.

The movie theater was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night before eight o’clock, and he figured the impending terrible weather had something to do with that. He approached the woman who sat behind glass selling admission tickets.

“You want popcorn?” Chris asked once he’d bought the tickets. They went to the snack bar together and he heard her soft gasp as she studied the menu on the wall.

“I can’t believe what they charge for a bucket of popcorn and a medium soda. No wonder I never go to the movies.”

“My treat, remember? So load up on all the popcorn, candy, and soda you want.”


Tags: Karen Erickson Lone Pine Lake Romance