having a summer affair. She wasn’t.
Faith watched as Shane took a slow step to stand directly in front of her. “May I ask you something?” he inquired, his tone of voice a notch lower than before.
She swallowed. “Yes.”
“Do I make you nervous?”
The question for some reason gave him even more physical appeal. Yes, he made her nervous because around him she was starkly reminded that she was a woman with needs, needs that hadn’t been taken care of for some time. But to him she said, “No, you don’t make me nervous. What makes you think that you do?”
He shrugged. “Umm, no reason.”
She met his gaze. There was a reason or he would not have brought it up. She then decided to ask a question of her own, one she’d been wondering about since first meeting him. “Are you here with someone?” She couldn’t imagine a man who looked like him vacationing alone.
“No, I’m not here with anyone. Like I told you that day we met, I own a summer home here, but I live in Detroit. After enduring a hellishly cold winter, I was ready to head south for the summer.”
She understood the feeling. Minnesota’s winters were just as bad, which was why her parents had always come to Hilton Head each summer. She felt a rush of relief knowing she was not extremely attracted to someone else’s husband or significant other.
“So, if I don’t make you nervous, and you know I’m here on the island alone, can you think of any reason why I can’t teach you to play tennis?”
Shane’s words recaptured Faith’s attention. Oh, she could think of plenty of reasons, but none she wanted to share with him. So she answered his question the only way she could. “No, there’s no reason as long as we maintain a professional relationship.”
A smile tilted his lips and made that dimple in his chin definitely noticeable. Too noticeable. “We will, while on the courts. Beyond that I won’t make any promises.”
She knew she had found a loophole and that now was the time to say
Thanks, but no thanks,
that she didn’t need their professional relationship extended beyond the courts. But for some reason she couldn’t make herself say any of that. Around him she had no will to fight or deny what she really wanted. “Okay, fair enough,” she heard herself saying.
“Great. We can get those lessons started today and can meet again tomorrow. After the first week, once you get the swing of things, then we can meet twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays. Will that work for you?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Good and I reserved a court earlier that we can use today, and you’re dressed to play, so we—”
“But I don’t have a tennis racket.”
“We can rent one at the front desk. Besides, I don’t recommend that you go out and purchase one until it’s determined what kind is best for you. That will be decided by your stroke form.”
Faith nodded. He certainly
seemed
knowledgeable about tennis, and a part of her believed that he was. Her only misgiving was what being around him each day could and would do to her.
And she had an unfortunate feeling that she would find out. Starting today.
11
“
Nice place.”
Lyle glanced up from scrambling eggs and slanted a smile over at Monique, who’d been taking her own tour of his living quarters. “Yes, I think so. It’s nice to take a break from the hospital in Texas every once in a while to go somewhere and teach. Traveling is nice.”
She nodded. “That’s something I plan to do a lot of one of these days. I already have a list of places I want to go.”
Lyle reached across the range to the counter and picked up his glass to take a deep swallow of orange juice. He wished he could get ahold of that list. He would make it his business to make sure she got a chance to visit each and every place she named .. . with him, of course.
For the past couple of weeks he’d been trying to get her used to his presence with them jogging together every day, reestablishing their
Faith watched as Shane took a slow step to stand directly in front of her. “May I ask you something?” he inquired, his tone of voice a notch lower than before.
She swallowed. “Yes.”
“Do I make you nervous?”
The question for some reason gave him even more physical appeal. Yes, he made her nervous because around him she was starkly reminded that she was a woman with needs, needs that hadn’t been taken care of for some time. But to him she said, “No, you don’t make me nervous. What makes you think that you do?”
He shrugged. “Umm, no reason.”
She met his gaze. There was a reason or he would not have brought it up. She then decided to ask a question of her own, one she’d been wondering about since first meeting him. “Are you here with someone?” She couldn’t imagine a man who looked like him vacationing alone.
“No, I’m not here with anyone. Like I told you that day we met, I own a summer home here, but I live in Detroit. After enduring a hellishly cold winter, I was ready to head south for the summer.”
She understood the feeling. Minnesota’s winters were just as bad, which was why her parents had always come to Hilton Head each summer. She felt a rush of relief knowing she was not extremely attracted to someone else’s husband or significant other.
“So, if I don’t make you nervous, and you know I’m here on the island alone, can you think of any reason why I can’t teach you to play tennis?”
Shane’s words recaptured Faith’s attention. Oh, she could think of plenty of reasons, but none she wanted to share with him. So she answered his question the only way she could. “No, there’s no reason as long as we maintain a professional relationship.”
A smile tilted his lips and made that dimple in his chin definitely noticeable. Too noticeable. “We will, while on the courts. Beyond that I won’t make any promises.”
She knew she had found a loophole and that now was the time to say
Thanks, but no thanks,
that she didn’t need their professional relationship extended beyond the courts. But for some reason she couldn’t make herself say any of that. Around him she had no will to fight or deny what she really wanted. “Okay, fair enough,” she heard herself saying.
“Great. We can get those lessons started today and can meet again tomorrow. After the first week, once you get the swing of things, then we can meet twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays. Will that work for you?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Good and I reserved a court earlier that we can use today, and you’re dressed to play, so we—”
“But I don’t have a tennis racket.”
“We can rent one at the front desk. Besides, I don’t recommend that you go out and purchase one until it’s determined what kind is best for you. That will be decided by your stroke form.”
Faith nodded. He certainly
seemed
knowledgeable about tennis, and a part of her believed that he was. Her only misgiving was what being around him each day could and would do to her.
And she had an unfortunate feeling that she would find out. Starting today.
11
“
Nice place.”
Lyle glanced up from scrambling eggs and slanted a smile over at Monique, who’d been taking her own tour of his living quarters. “Yes, I think so. It’s nice to take a break from the hospital in Texas every once in a while to go somewhere and teach. Traveling is nice.”
She nodded. “That’s something I plan to do a lot of one of these days. I already have a list of places I want to go.”
Lyle reached across the range to the counter and picked up his glass to take a deep swallow of orange juice. He wished he could get ahold of that list. He would make it his business to make sure she got a chance to visit each and every place she named .. . with him, of course.
For the past couple of weeks he’d been trying to get her used to his presence with them jogging together every day, reestablishing their
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