Page 49 of Deserving Lara
“You looked like you were having fun,” Owl told her, taking her elbow and moving her a little away from the table so others could get to it.
“Yeah,” she said a little wistfully. “It’s been a while.”
Owl couldn’t stop himself from leaning in and kissing her temple.
“What was that for?” she asked with a small smile.
“To tell you how pretty you look tonight. How I love seeing you relax with your friends. To let you know how precious I think your friendship is with Cora. She relies on you a lot, and having you here tonight, for one of the happiest moments of her life, meant more to her than you probably know. And…because I wanted to.”
Pink blossomed on Lara’s cheeks, and Owl couldn’t take his eyes off her.
She licked her lips, then looked around. Cora and Pipe were on the dance floor now, swaying back and forth more than actually dancing. Tonka had Jasna by the hands and was twirling her around in circles, while Spike sat at a table with Reese, his hand on her belly as he spoke in her ear. Alaska and Brick were standing off to the side, talking with Ryan and Jess. Stone had left not too long ago, and Tiny was chatting with Robert.
“You look tired,” Lara finally said as she turned back to Owl. “I know you’re still not sleeping through the night.”
Owl shrugged. “I’m used to it, sweetheart. I wake up in the middle of the night and no matter what I do, I can’t go back to sleep. It’s nothing new.”
“Hmmmm, well, maybe you just need someone to tuck you in.”
And just like that, the arousal Owl had been feeling all night came roaring back with a vengeance.
His lips twitched. “You want to tuck me in, Lara?”
The pink in her cheeks deepened as she lifted her chin and said, “Yes.”
Owl was in awe of this woman. She was obviously feeling out of her league, being so forward, and yet she was doing it anyway. She’d somehow managed to find herself again. And while he was certain he would’ve liked the old Lara…the one Cora had described to him and Pipe months ago, while trying to convince them to help find her…this new Lara was utterly irresistible. “You want to say bye to Cora?”
“I’ll see her tomorrow, I’m sure,” Lara said with a small shake of her head.
Owl forced himself to break eye-contact with Lara and looked over at Tiny. Catching his eye, he gave him a small chin lift, then motioned toward the door with his head.
Tiny smiled and nodded.
That taken care of, Owl didn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around Lara and pull her against his side, turning her toward the front door of the lodge. He thought he heard her giggle next to him, but was too focused on getting them back to his cabin.
“Are we going to get our coats?” Lara asked, just as he reached for the door.
Swearing under his breath, Owl turned them to head toward the smallest conference room, where everyone had left their jackets before dinner.
He quickly found theirs in the pile and helped Lara shrug into hers. He threw his coat on, then grabbed Lara’s hand and practically pulled her toward the door once more.
But they were stopped by Alaska, who wanted to say good night. Then Jasna ran over and wanted a hug. The next thing Owl knew, he was standing back while everyone came over to say their goodbyes to Lara.
He didn’t miss that they weren’t fawning overhim; instead, everyone wanted to make sureLaraknew how glad they were that she’d come. Now that she was getting back to herself, the woman was a magnet. She seemed to draw people to her because of her kindness, making everyone she came into contact with feel as if they were the most important person in the world.
Owl had a feeling this was why she was so loved at her job back in DC. Why kids flocked to her. They had an innate sense that she liked them exactly how they were. They didn’t have to pretend to be something they weren’t in order to feel as if they were important and worthwhile.
Ten minutes had passed by the time everyone had told her how much fun they’d had with her tonight…and Henley was quietly assured she wasn’t leaving because of a panic attack.
“Sorry,” Lara said a little sheepishly when she finally turned to him once more.
“About what?”
“We were leaving,” she said with a small shrug.
“If you think I was going to deny your friends a chance to say their goodbyes—and make sure you’re all right—you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
“I know you,” she said quietly. “Your eyes were on me all night. I could feel them. You were making sure I was okay. I knew without a doubt if I had any bad moments, you’d be there, which made me feel as if I could let go…just a little. Not worry about who might be watching or lurking in the shadows.”
