from perfection by a slight bump in the center. Nicely shaped lips, not too thin, and the bottom lip was a bit fuller than the top, and a shade lighter than his tanned face. Lord have mercy! She felt like a cat in heat just looking at him.
This had to be Josh. And boy, was he fine. And familiar looking. When he smiled and stood, and she caught a flash of a deep dimple, she knew it was him and obviously he’d figured out that it was her. He picked up his package and walked toward her. When he reached her he held out his hand.
“Hello, Lilliana?” He asked the question in his unmistakable, deep, do me voice.
She smiled and stood, allowing him to help her to her feet. “Yes, I’m Lilliana. You must be Josh.” Lilliana went to shake his hand, but he pulled her to his tall frame and gave her a light hug instead. He smelled like a combination of outdoors and the sea. Did he have to look good and smell so good, too? she thought. Come to think of it, he looked…familiar, but she was too nervous to figure out why. She stepped back quickly once he released her.
He allowed her to and asked, “Have you been waiting long?”
“No, not really,” she said. “Actually, I got here early on purpose so I wouldn’t be late. I took the bus and it’s been a while since I’ve been out this way. I didn’t want to chance being late.” She felt like a teenager, nervous and jittery.
“I wish I’d known that.” He smiled down at her and a deep dimple flashed in his cheek again.
Lilliana forced herself to calm down, and not act like a schoolgirl on her first date. He grasped her arm and guided her through the throng of people, toward the entrance to the Children’s Museum.
“Why’s that?” She cleared her throat when her voice came out high and squeaky.
“I arrived early too. Didn’t want to chance missing you, either,” he laughed and put her at ease.
They walked inside and Lilliana felt like a child again as they walked around, examining the statues and the variety of exhibits in the museum. “Wow, this is amazing! I’ve never been to a children’s museum this large before.”
“You’ve been to a lot of them, have you?” he asked.
“I’ve been to a few. I kind of like them.” Actually she’d been to more than a few. She loved museums, particularly children’s museums. The few times that she and Marcus had traveled outside of Southern California, she’d always go hunt out the local museum. When she’d look for a children’s museum, Marcus would either make fun of her or harass her and tell her she’d “better not be getting any bright ideas about having kids.”
As if.
So she hid her embarrassment that she secretly loved museums, particularly children’s museums, from him.
“If you tell either one of my older brothers I’ll flatly deny it…but I love them as well,” he told her and she laughed with him.
“Your secret is safe with me,” she promised, and her ridiculous embarrassment was eased with his light statement.
“When was the last time you were out to the Pier?” he asked her as they milled around the special exhibits.
“Oh, it’s been a while. Not since I left Chicago,” she replied softly, caught up in checking out the dinosaur expedition exhibit.
“You’ve been away from Chicago? Where did you go?”
“Actually, I’ve only recently returned. Chicago is home. But, I’ve been away since I was a teenager,” she said.
“Oh really? So you’ve been away for a few years.”
“It’s been more than a few,” she said. “It’s been over fifteen years!”
“What do you mean, over fifteen years?” He looked so puzzled that Lilliana felt like laughing.
“I left when I was seventeen. I’ll be thirty-three in November.” The look on his face was so comic that she felt like either hitting him or kissing him for the obvious surprise.
“You don’t look a day over twenty-five!”
“Well, thank you. But I definitely feel almost thirty-three. How old are you?” She suddenly knew she wasn’t going to like the answer, from the look on his face.
He didn’t answer right away.
Josh was thinking that she was even prettier up close where he could get a good visual of her. Her creamy, cocoa-brown skin looked so smooth he had to stop himself from reaching out to caress her cheek to see if it was as soft as it looked.
Josh had arrived at the Pier an hour earlier than usual, so that he wouldn’t miss seeing her when she arrived. He didn’t want to take any chances on missing her. When he’d spotted her, that curious clenching he’d felt in his gut came back again, this time stronger than before.
Each time he’d caught a glimpse of her at work, she’d been dressed in a long skirt or flowing dress of some kind. Now she was wearing capri jeans, a striped halter, and tall wedge heel sandals and because he didn’t want her to think he was a pervert, he’d tried his hardest not to stare too hard at her body.
But damn.
There was only so much a man could take.
Her jeans were soft and molded her round ass and thighs and showed off the perfection of her figure. Although she had a nice sized butt, her waist was small, and he already knew she had great breasts, as the blouses he’d seen her in at Longmire showcased them to perfection. However, in the halter she was now wearing, they jiggled just enough to make him salivate.
She was hot as hell and he didn’t think he’d be able to be noble and allow her out of her deal.
He’d known she was nervous about the date and had decided not to press the whole “big spankable ass” thing, but that was before she showed up looking so gorgeous and lush in those tight-fitting jeans, showing off her big spankable ass. Now, things had changed.
He smiled and finally answered her question. “I’m twenty-eight,” he said. He noticed the disappointed look cross her face, stopped walking and lifted her chin lightly with his forefinger. “And age has nothing to do with what I have planned for us. For today,” he amended.
He knew the smile he gave her wasn’t exactly…sweet as he took her arm. The quick, nervous-looking glance she threw his way as she accepted his arm confirmed that.
“Did you have a good time?” Josh smiled and asked, coming to a smooth halt outside Lilliana’s small cottage. He cut the engine on his low-slung Jaguar and turned to face her.
“Oh my God, I had a wonderful time, Josh,” she said sincerely and enthusiastically.
Lilliana didn’t know the last time she’d had so much fun. After they’d started walking and talking—and figured out that they worked at the same place—she’d become more and more comfortable in his presence.
They’d gone through the Children’s Museum before heading off to the Make a Bear store, where they’d both created bears. Lilliana made hers totally retro, complete with seventies
