Dance Like Nobody's Watching (Summer Lake 3)

by McCoy, SJ

  He smiled. “That's okay. I'll catch you up on Scot while we wait.” From the look Ben had given him when they'd left the table, he'd guessed they'd probably have gotten a drink sooner by staying outside and letting Ben take care of it. Dan was more interested in getting a few moments alone with her than getting a drink, though. And getting her away from that Michael guy.

  “So what did he have to say?” she asked. “How are they doing?”

  “They're doing really well. They placed first in their section in the first round. He wanted me to help him get some modifications ready for round two in the morning. He said to tell you not to worry if he doesn't call ’til late. They're going to be working on the robot for another couple of hours yet. You know how that goes.”

  She laughed. He loved the way she laughed so much. “I'll be surprised if he calls at all. I do know how it goes. I've had his whole life to get used to it. And these last few months, while he's been working with you, I can see it's not just a Scot thing. You're just as bad.”

  It was weird. When Olivia said stuff like that to him, it felt like a criticism. When Missy said it, it made him smile. It felt like she understood him and, even better, that she liked him anyway. “It's called dedication, Miss. And you know, he gets so involved in what he's doing, he forgets all about time.” Dan had always been that way with his work, but now it was how he felt when he was with Missy. Time disappeared when he was with her. He felt guilty about making the comparison, but time dragged with Olivia. She talked so much. About things that didn't interest him. “You don't mind that he called me?”

  She put her hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Mind? Dan, you have no idea how glad I am that he called you. Thank you so much. I mean, of course I want to talk to him, and I did want to ask him about my laptop, but it can wait ’til he gets back.”

  “What's up with your laptop?”

  “It's frozen up again. He put some partition thing on it, and I keep doing something wrong. It only takes him two minutes to fix it, but I can't figure it out for the life of me.”

  “I could take a look at it.”

  “That'd be great, if you get chance.”

  “We could take a look after we've eaten if you like?” What was he saying? He'd come to see Jack. He could fix her laptop tomorrow. She was looking up at him. He had no clue what she was thinking. Was he being too pushy? Should he take it back?

  “That would be wonderful, thank you.”

  He grinned. Wonderful indeed. “Okay, well let's get these drinks and go eat, shall we?”

  ***

  Dan shifted in his seat in Jack's truck. No one had been up for a late night of it. They'd said goodbye to the others and Jack had offered to drop Missy off on the way home. Dan had been trying to figure out what to say to Jack. He hadn't figured it out yet, and now they were pulling up at Missy's place.

  “There you go, Miss. Was good to see you. Don't be a stranger. You'll have to bring Scotty up for dinner one night when Em's back.”

  “I'd love that. Thanks, Jack. Give Em a hug for me.”

  Jack grinned, “Oh, okay then. I think I can manage that.”

  Missy opened the door to get out. Dan had to say something now or he'd be riding away with Jack and kicking himself as he went. He looked at his brother. “I said I'd give Missy a hand with her computer. I'm going to stay here. I mean in the RV.” He hadn't known what reaction to expect, but it wasn't the one he got.

  A huge grin spread across Jack's face. “Great. Give me a shout in the morning. I'm beat, and now I get an early night without having to keep you entertained.”

  That was a lot easier than he'd feared. He looked at Missy, who had climbed down from the truck, then back at Jack. His brother raised his eyebrows and gave him a knowing smile. “Call me in the morning. We need to talk about this. In the meantime, have fun, little bro.”

  Dan grinned back at him. “Thanks, Jack. See you tomorrow.” He climbed down and waved as Jack drove away with a beep of his horn.

  Chapter Two

  Missy fumbled with her key as Dan stood close behind her on the doorstep. All the little hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end. It was as if even they felt the tingly excitement that had been coursing through her ever since he'd put his arms around her in the bar.

  “Do you need a hand?” His breath tickled her ear as he spoke.

  “Got it,” she said as she managed to unlock the door and push it open. She hurried inside, needing to put a little distance between them. She shouldn't be enjoying the feel of his closeness this much. She knew he was seeing someone else. Yet Missy wanted to feel his arms around her again, look up into those big brown eyes, and kiss him senseless...for starters! “I'll get my laptop. There's beer or wine in there, if you want anything.” She ran up the stairs, laughing at herself for wishing she could drag him up there with her.

  “Would you like a glass of wine with me?” he shouted after her.

  “Yes, please.” She grabbed her laptop from the bedroom and started back down the stairs. When she came into the kitchen he was holding two glasses of wine, smiling at her. She caught her breath. He was perfect. Tall, but not too tall for a shrimp like her. Muscled, but more wiry than bulky. His green T-shirt stretched over him, doing a very poor job of concealing the lean, well-defined chest and shoulders it was supposed to be covering. She met his eyes. They were twinkling again. Oh, boy!

  “Thanks.” She turned away and set the laptop on the table. Sitting in front of it, she jabbed at the keyboard, trying to make the thing wake up. “See, I can't make it behave!”

  He put her glass on the table and looked at the screen over her shoulder. “Be gentle with it. I think I'd freeze up too, if you poked at me like that!”

  She laughed. “I'd never poke at you. There's no need. You always behave exactly the way you're supposed to.”

  He reached over her shoulder and tapped a couple of keys. She tingled all over as he leaned closer.

  “What if I misbehaved?”

  Was she hearing things? Letting her imagination run wild? She turned her head and found herself face to face with him. He cocked his head to one side, his eyes dead serious as she looked into them. Damn! Why did she always want the ones she couldn't have? She jumped up from her chair, not realizing he had his glass in his other hand. He managed to cover himself in red wine as he moved quickly out of the way.

  “Sorry,” she gasped.

  “No, I'm sorry,” he said, not meeting her eyes. “I shouldn't have said that.”

  She grabbed some paper towels and started dabbing at his shirt. “It's okay, honey. I wish you would misbehave, but we both know you're not going to. You have a girlfriend and I have a son. Now let's get you out of this before it stains.”

  He kept his eyes lowered as he pulled his T-shirt up and over his head. Oh, this was cruel and unusual punishment, his body was as beautiful as his smile! He was lean and hard with a dusting of dark hair she wanted to sink her fingers into. And ink! She'd never have pegged him as a tattoo guy. He stepped closer and she dragged her gaze away from the string of Chinese characters that ran down his side and disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. He was so close now. Without conscious thought her hands found their way up to his shoulders. His arms fastened around her waist and, for the second time in one evening, she found herself pressed against his chest. He smelled wonderful. Some musky cologne that made her want to breathe him in.

  “You wish I would misbehave?” His voice was low. She watched his lips move, wondering what it would be like to kiss them.

  She reined herself in. “Dan, honey.” She couldn't help but sink her fingers in his hair. “In a different world, a different life, I think we could have great fun misbehaving together. But you have your girlfriend to think about and I have Scot. I would never do anything to hurt either of them.

  His gaze softened as he looked down at her. “I understand about Olivia, but how could we hurt Scot?”

  Oh, such a typical man after all! Didn't car
e how he might hurt a woman and didn't understand how he could hurt her son. She let go of him and stepped away, angry now. “You....” The sound of the doorbell cut off the choice words she'd been about to lay on him. Who the hell could that be at this time of night? She turned away from Dan and went to see, leaving him bemused and shirtless in the kitchen.

  She opened the front door. “Michael!”

  “Hey critter!” He held up a bottle of wine. “I told you we needed to catch up. No time like the present.” He stepped inside and grinned at her. For once, Missy was speechless. What game was he playing? Showing up at this late hour and coming in without waiting to be asked.

  “I'll be on my way then.”

  She turned to see Dan, still shirtless, face unreadable, standing in the kitchen doorway. Oh, for God's sake! What had she ever done to deserve this mess?

  “Sorry.” Michael had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I didn't realize. Didn't mean to come barging in and interrupt.” He looked from Missy to Dan.

  “No worries. There's nothing to interrupt.” Dan came out with his T-shirt in his hands. He nodded at Michael, then fixed her with hurt brown eyes. “Good night, Missy.” Then he was gone.

  “Damn! Sorry, critter,” said Michael. “I had no idea there was anything going on between you two.”

  Missy rolled her eyes. “There isn't. Whatever that just looked like, there really isn't.” Right now she wished that she'd stayed home tonight. She let out a deep breath and looked at her old friend.

  He grinned. “But you wish there was, right?”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “There's no point. He has a girlfriend and I have Scot to think about.”

  “Ouch. He didn't strike me as the cheating type, but you know, those quiet ones can be the worst. Want a glass of wine and you can tell me all about it?”

  Missy couldn't believe the way this whole night had turned out. “Why the hell not?” It wasn't like she was going to be able to sleep any time soon for thinking about what had just happened with Dan. “But there's really nothing to tell. You said you wanted to catch up. You can tell me why you're really here. Come on.” She went into the kitchen. “Let's have that drink.” She looked at her laptop. Her home-screen waited patiently for her for the first time since Scot had left.

  ***

  Dan let himself into the RV and flopped down on the sofa. How had all that just happened? There was nothing logical or reasonable about his behavior back there. The only restraint he’d shown had been not following her upstairs when she'd gone to get her laptop—and that had been a struggle he'd almost lost! What had he been thinking? He hadn't been thinking at all, had he? What if I were to misbehave? Had he really said that out loud? What was happening to him? What was Missy doing to him? He closed his eyes and covered his face with his hand.

  Ever since he'd first come up here to meet Scot, he'd been attracted to Missy. She was so beautiful. Inside and out. Her long dark hair. Her steel gray eyes that lightened when she laughed and darkened when she got angry. And man had she been angry with him when that Michael guy arrived. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why though. Maybe he should have stayed put and waited for Michael to leave? With so many confusing emotions involved, he'd followed his instincts and walked away. It was too late to go back now. All he could do was try to figure out why she'd been so angry.

  He knew he had to break things off with Olivia. He wasn't looking forward to that. He bit the inside of his lip at the thought. Yeah, that wasn't going to be pretty. He should have stuck to his guns last year. She wasn't even interested in him, really. These days she only wanted to talk to him about the business—at least the money side of it. She didn't understand or care about his work. He couldn't remember the last time she'd even smiled at him. She was too busy telling him and Steven what to do. They'd had some fun in the early days, but that was three years ago. Even then, she'd never lit him up the way Missy had from the first time he'd met her.

  Missy said she wouldn't hurt Olivia, he understood that. He didn't want to hurt Olivia either, not that he thought he'd hurt anything but her ego. What he didn't understand was why Missy had said she wouldn't hurt Scot. How could their seeing each other hurt the kid? He'd already asked Dan a few times if he was going to date his mom. He chewed on his lip, trying to puzzle it out. People could be so confusing, with the weird emotional significance they attached to things. He'd be the first to admit that he could be quite clueless, but he usually understood and appreciated where Missy was coming from. He shifted on the sofa and folded his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

  Missy had said she'd love it if he misbehaved. He smiled at that. She was attracted to him too. He knew it, could see it, had felt it the two times he'd held her to him tonight. His smile faded; but that Michael guy was there now. She'd been sitting on his knee earlier, and now he was sitting in her kitchen, where Dan wanted to be. He jumped up from the sofa and went to peer through the blinds. The kitchen light was still on. He didn't know if that was good or bad. This was too confusing.

  He went to the bedroom, the one he and Scot had set up as a workshop. Sitting down, he fired up the computer. Time to get back to a world that functioned purely on logic and reason, a world he understood and felt comfortable in. He opened up a file of code Scot had been writing and smiled. It was brilliant. He opened a new file and his fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed code of his own and wrote the program that would allow Scot's idea to work.

  ***

  The banging in his head sounded like drums, or was it thunder? He opened one eye and saw the letter 'P'. He sat up and stretched. He'd fallen asleep at the keyboard again. The banging hadn't stopped. He pushed the sleep out of his eyes, wondering how long it would take.

  “You awake, bro?”

  Ah! It wasn't inside his head. “Almost,” he shouted back. “Come on in. It's open.”

  He emerged into the hallway as Jack let himself into the RV. He was carrying two coffee cups and a large grocery bag. He looked Dan over and raised an eyebrow. “You know some day you're going to end up with a permanent imprint of the letters, 'A', 'S' and 'D', on your left cheek.”

  Dan rubbed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah. I guess. I was working.”

  “I gathered.” Jack smiled. “Want to tell me how the rest of your evening went?”

  Dan took the coffee his brother held out with a grunt of thanks and went to sit at the table. “I don't know.”

  “You don't know how it went?” Jack sat down opposite him. “Or you don't know if you want to tell me?”

  “Both.” Dan took a slug of his coffee and waited for the caffeine to hit his system. Jack was looking at him expectantly. “I screwed up. I'm not even sure how or why. Then that Michael guy showed up looking to share a bottle of wine with her. So I left.”

  “Whoa,” said Jack. “How do you think you screwed up?”

  “Well...I kind of ended up without my shirt and with my arms around her.” He could see a smile playing on his brother's lips.

  “And?” Jack prompted.

  “And then she got mad at me about Olivia and Scot. And then that Michael arrived. And I just got out of there. And....”

  Jack held up a hand. “Slow down. What has Olivia got to do with anything?”

  “Missy said she'd never do anything to hurt Olivia or Scot. I understand we can't start seeing each other while Olivia is still my girlfriend, but I don't see how we could hurt Scot, do you? Am I missing something? I really like the kid, he really likes me!”

  “Okay, first of all, Olivia is still your girlfriend?”

  Dan put his hand to his face and chewed his thumb. “Yes, but....”

  Jack scowled at him. “Then what the fuck did you think you were doing last night, Dan? I can't stand the girl myself, but you have to end it with her before you can think about starting anything with Missy.”

  “I know! I just can't think straight at all when I get around Missy. She shorts out all my circuits.”

&
nbsp; Jack smiled. “I can see that, and it looks like you have the same effect on her.”

  “Hmm.” Dan drank some more of his coffee. “I was hoping so, until I saw her with that Michael guy last night, and then he showed up at her house later.” He chewed on his thumb some more.

  “I think he's just one of the gang,” said Jack. “They're all so close, you know. For a while there, I was jealous of Ben with Emma, but they're just really good friends. I'm sure it's the same with Miss and Michael. And anyway, you've still got Olivia around. What's the deal with that? I though you broke it off with her last year.”

  “I tried.”

  Jack shook his head. “Tried?”

  “Yeah, she didn't want to break up. She said we didn't have to see as much of each other. I think it's more about Prometheus than about me. She likes being in charge of the business.”

  Jack shook his head again. Dan knew that look on his face. It meant he disapproved, and somehow expected Dan to know why. He didn't. “What?”

  “You need to get that woman out of your company and out of your life. She doesn't understand software, she doesn’t understand you. She just wants the money, and the control over her brother.”

  Dan hung his head. “Yeah, Steven's been pretty stressed about her lately. She's been talking about some deal that will make us all a lot of money. As if we needed more. I manage to avoid her most of the time, and I get up here weekends.”

  “And you still call her your girlfriend?”

  Dan pulled a face. “That's what she calls herself. I just agree cos it's easier than arguing. But as soon as I see her, I'm going to tell her. Even if I don't get a chance at anything with Missy, she's made me realize that I'm capable of feeling major attraction for a woman. I didn't think I worked that way.”

  Jack grinned. “Then we need to see that you do get a chance with Missy. I don't think it's about how you work, or what you're capable of. It's about finding the one person that makes you feel that way. Why don't you take a shower, and I'll make us some breakfast.”