The Inheritance: Anything He Craves by Terry Towers Page A

at herself in
the mirror - dark brown eyes peered back. She'd dated Dean when she
was twenty - ten years ago. It had been an intense and consuming
ordeal and she cherished the memories.
    Most people
said she looked to be in her mid-twenties. She huffed. They were
just being kind. She could see the faint wrinkles beginning to form
around her eyes, on her once smooth and flawless completion. She'd
also packed on a few pounds, enough that the thought of a bikini
was horrifying. Maybe a one piece swimsuit but a bikini was
definitely a no-no . Seeing a grey hair amongst her dark
chestnut locks she gave it a tug. That problem solved.
    Nope, she'd
aged. The thing was, at age thirty-five, Dean was as hot as he was
when he was twenty-five. She'd seen him one day at the supermarket
and instead of rounding up the courage to at least greet him; she’d
rushed off down another aisle before he caught sight of her.
Elizabeth did feel bad afterwards, Dean had been the one and only
man she'd held a torch for all these years. She groaned inwardly,
she felt like such a coward.
    Strolling back
out of the bathroom she returned to her seat next to the computer
and read his message again. This time she read it slowly. She'd
told him that he was her "what if" guy in a brazen moment after a
couple of glasses of wine the previous day. He'd replied that life
was too short for "what if's" if all you needed to do to make it a
reality was say yes to a simple coffee date or walk in the park. He
just wanted a chance to reconnect. No pressure, he said.... Hmmm, no pressure for him perhaps.
    Building up
the little bit of courage she had left in her, before she lost her
nerves she typed “yes”, requesting a date and time. Her finger
hovered over the enter key for a long second before finally
clicking the send button. The little envelope flashed and twirled,
then message sent popped up on the screen.
    Now she had to
just sit and wait.
     
    ****
     
     
    "Llama's,
llama's, llama's," Dean muttered to himself as he searched the free
standing zoo map looking for the llama exhibit where he was
supposed to meet Elizabeth, in less than five minutes. "There they
are," he tapped the glass covering the map, made a mental note of
the location and headed in the direction of the exhibit.
    He couldn't
believe that after all this time, nearly two years of conversation
via email and instant messenger, she'd finally conceded to meeting
him. For reasons unbeknownst to him he'd been placed in the friend
zone, while she dated a parade of losers. But he'd been patient and
accepted his place in the friend zone, pretending to feel bad for
each of her failed relationships. He did feel bad, on a
certain level. He wanted her to be happy, but he would have
preferred it take less than two years for her to come around to
realizing he may be the one to do just that for her.
    As he walked
past the monkey cages he caught sight of her, watching the llamas
intently, a smile on her lips. One walked over to her, eyed her
with disinterest and huffed loudly. She immediately jumped back
from the rail laughing, and running a hand through her long hair.
It had been ten years since he'd seen her. He'd caught sight of her
from time to time from afar, but he'd just never let on to her that
he had.
    He'd found her
email address through Facebook, but there was no mistaking her. The
long chestnut hair, her curvy frame, pale complexion and dark eyes
were unmistakeable. She looked slightly older, but still not near
her real age. Her frame was a little curvier than when they were
young, but it only added to her appeal. He wouldn't have guessed a
day over twenty-five.
    She. Was.
Breathtaking.
    As if sensing
his eyes on her, she turned her head and her eyes caught his -
their gazes locking. He could see both the excitement and the
nervousness in her eyes. An exact reflection of how he felt at that
moment. While he'd have never admitted it to anyone, he'd never
been so nervous.
    She'd told him
the other day