Of course, there was no way she would do something like that. In fact, a part of her was shaking inside at the thought he wanted to join her for lunch. She quickly wondered how Chloe would handle the situation if she was in her place. The answer came easy, but then she wasn’t Chloe. However, she had to keep her cool and respond with the confidence Chloe possessed. The confidence that she lacked.
Lucia forced a smile to her lips. “I think that’s a good idea, Derringer.”
His lips eased into a smile right before her eyes. “Glad you agree,” he said, taking the chair across from her.
She forced herself to breathe and belatedly realized just what she’d done. She had agreed to let him sit at her table. What on earth would they have to talk about? What if she let something slip and said something really stupid like, “Oh, by the way, when can I drop by and get the panties I left behind the other night?”
She sighed heavily. For all she knew, he might have figured things out already. Seriously, why else would he give a royal flip whether or not McKay’s was crowded for lunch? That in itself was suspect because he’d never sought out her attention before.
She glanced over at him and he smiled at her, flashing those same dimples that he’d flashed that night she almost melted in her chair. He looked the same, only thing was that his eyes no longer had a hungover look. Today his gaze was as clear as glass.
The waitress saved them from talking when she walked up to take both their lunch orders. When she left, Lucia wished she had a mirror to see how she looked. She would die if she didn’t at least look halfway decent. Absently, she ran a finger through her hair and pressed her lips together. She was grateful to feel her lipstick still in place, although she was tempted to get the tube of lipstick from her purse and apply a fresh coat.
“I understand you’re back in school.”
She was watching his mouth and his lips moved. She realized he’d said something. “Excuse me?”
He smiled again. “I said I heard you were back in school.”
“Yes, I am. How did you know?”
“Chloe mentioned it.”
“Oh.” She wondered why Chloe would mention such a thing unless he’d asked about her. Had he? She shook her head, finding the idea unlikely. Her name must have popped up for conversational purposes and nothing more than that. If there had been anything more, Chloe definitely would have told her.
“Yes, I’m back at school taking night classes to get my master’s degree in mass communications.” Then, without missing a beat, she said, “You seem to be doing well from your fall.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than she wished she could take them back. Why on earth would she bring up anything relating to that day?
“Yes, but I’m doing better now. I’ve been taking it easy for the past week or so and sleeping most of the time. It helped. I feel in pretty good shape now.”
She didn’t know how to tell him that as far as she was concerned, he’d been in pretty good shape that night as well. His movements hadn’t been hindered in any way. The thought of all he’d done to her sent heat soaring all through her body.
“So, what else have you been up to lately?”
Lucia felt her heart give a loud thump in her chest and wondered if he’d heard it. Dragging her gaze from her silverware, she thought that she could remember in vivid detail just what she’d been up to lately with him. Sitting across from her was the man who’d taken her virginity. The man who’d introduced her to the kind of pleasure she’d only read about in romance novels, and the man whom she’d loved forever. And knowing he probably had no idea of any of those things was the epitome of insane. But somehow she would fake it and come off looking like the most poised person that ever existed.
“Not a whole lot,” she heard herself saying. “School and the magazine keep me pretty busy, but because I enjoy doing both I won’t complain. What about you?” His gaze seemed to linger on her lips.
He chuckled. “Other than making a fool of myself with Sugar Foot, I haven’t been up to a whole lot either.”
She inclined her head. “What on earth would entice you to ride that horse? I think everyone has heard how mean he is.”
He chuckled and the sound was a low, sexy rumble that made goose bumps form on her arms. “Ego. I figured if Casey could do it then so could I.”
She knew his cousin Casey and her husband, along with his cousin Durango and his wife, Savannah, had come visiting a few weekends ago. She’d heard everyone had been amazed at the ease with which Casey had gotten on Sugar Foot’s back and held on even when the horse had been determined to get her off.
“I’m a pretty good horseman,” Derringer said, breaking into her thoughts. “Although I’d be the first to admit I wasn’t personally trained by the renowned and legendary Sid Roberts like Casey and her brothers while growing up.”
Lucia nodded. His cousins Casey, Cole and Clint were triplets, and she had heard that they had lived with Roberts, their maternal uncle, while growing up. “We can all learn from the mistakes we make,” she said, taking a sip of her water to cool off.
“Yes, we sure can.”
Deciding she needed to escape, if only for a short moment, Lucia stood. “Would you excuse me for a moment? I need to go to the ladies’ room.”
“Sure, no problem,” he said, standing.
Lucia drew in a deep breath, wishing she was walking out the restaurant door with no intention of returning and not just escaping to the ladies’ room. And as she continued walking, she could actually feel Derringer staring at her back.
Derringer watched Lucia leave, thinking she looked downright sexy in her below-the-knee skirt and light blue pullover sweater. And then he couldn’t help but admire her small waistline and the flare of her hips in the skirt as she walked. Standing about five-seven, she had a pair of nice-looking black leather boots on her feet, but he could recall just what a nice pair of legs she had and remembered how those legs had felt wrapped around him the night they’d made love.
He would be the first to admit that he’d always thought Lucia was pretty, with her smooth brown skin and lustrous shoulder-length black hair that she usually wore pulled back in a ponytail. Then there were her hazel eyes, high cheekbones, cute chin and slim nose. And he couldn’t forget her luscious-looking mouth, one that could probably do a lot of wicked things to a man.
He leaned back in his chair remembering how years ago when she’d been about eighteen—about to leave home for college—and he had been in the process of moving back home from university, she had caught his eye. In memory of his parents and his aunt and uncle, who’d died together in a plane crash while he was in high school, the Westmorelands held a charity ball every year to raise money for the Westmoreland Foundation, which had been founded to aid various community causes. Lucia had attended the ball that year with her parents.
He had been standing by the punch bowl when she had arrived, and the sight of her in the dress she’d been wearing that night had rendered him breathless. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her all evening. Evidently others had noticed his interest, and one of those had been her father, Dusty Conyers.
Later that same night the older man had pulled him aside and warned him away from his daughter. He let Derringer know in no uncertain terms that he would not tolerate a Westmoreland sniffing behind his daughter, creating the kind of trouble that Carl Newsome was having with Derringer’s cousin Bane.
Bane had had the hots for Crystal Newsome since junior high school, and since Bane had a penchant for getting into trouble, Newsome hadn’t wanted him anywhere near his daughter. Unfortunately, Crystal had other ideas and had been just as hot for Bane as he’d been for her, and Crystal and Bane managed to get into all kinds of naughty trouble together. Once, they’d even tried their hand at eloping