a jerk. Rafe had come through for him once again. He wondered if his friend—and now his brother-in-law—ever got tired of coming to his rescue.
The scrape of a chair against the cement floor drew his attention and he glanced up from his serious contemplation of his drink. The woman in the sexy sarong stood there at his table, looking down at him. When he finally focused on her face, she gave him a very seductive smile.
“You shouldn’t be sitting here all alone, you know,” she said in a husky voice. Without waiting for him to respond, she sat across from him and took a slow sip of her drink, her gaze focused on him.
His chair fell back onto all four legs with a resounding thud, jarring him.
He caught a hint of a floral scent that could almost be part of the tropical flowers on her clinging dress. Dan blinked, wondering if he’d fallen asleep without knowing it.
Up close he could see that her skin almost shimmered with the lustrous glow of a fine porcelain figurine. All right, he must really be dreaming. Granted he hadn’t been involved with a woman for a while. Maybe the booze had helped his fantasy woman appear to him in living color and fully dimensional.
He placed his hands on the table, cupping his drink protectively, and smiled at her.
She looked startled for a split second before she took another sip from her wine glass, then ran her tongue over her bottom lip in an unconscious gesture that caused his attention to focus on that full, pouty protrusion.
“I’ve never seen you in here before,” he finally said, then almost groaned at the banality of the statement. Yes, he was definitely rusty at this.
She leaned toward him, then lifted her hand and laid it against his cheek. He flinched and jerked back from her touch.
“Did you run out of razor blades?” she murmured.
He nodded toward the bar. “You’ll find all the clean shaves you want at the bar, if that’s what you prefer.”
If possible, her voice dropped to a huskier level. “Why would I do that, Danny, when you’re the one I came so far to find.”
All right, so he’d had too much to drink. That was the only explanation he could come up with to account for a beautiful stranger’s apparent interest in him. He had to be imagining this whole thing. But how did this woman know his name?
Peering at her through narrowed eyes, he asked, “Who the hell are you?”
She sat back in her chair and gave him a smile that would tempt a saint. “Why Danny, don’t you recognize me? I am your worst nightmare.”
“Oh, I don’t think so,” he replied, vaguely aware that his body was already responding to her.
She studied him in silence for a couple of moments, then as though speaking to herself, she said, “I think we need to get you home.” She stood and took his hand. Giving a slight tug, she smiled and said, “Let’s go.”
Conversation at the bar lessened. Dan glanced over and saw that most of the gathering was looking his way. Well, why not? He had this gorgeous woman coaxing him to take her home. He still was a little unsure how he’d lucked out, but he wasn’t going to question his good fortune.
He slowly stood, a lopsided smile on his face. “Whatever you say, honey,” he said.
“My name is Shannon. Think you can remember that?” She wrapped her arm around his waist and steered him to the door. He laughed. Damn. He must be doing something right.
He pushed the door open and stepped outside. A nice breeze caressed the island, coming off the Gulf. Dan took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air after the closeness of the bar.
A quarter moon hung in midsky, shedding enough light for him to see the surrounding area.
“Great time of the year to be here, isn’t it?” he asked, expansively.
She stepped away and watched him as though expecting him to fall over on his face. He took her hand. “I had no idea October would be the perfect time to come to the island. Few tourists, great weather. What more can ya ask?”
“It’s November,” she replied, leading him toward a small sports car. She opened the passenger door and nodded. “Get in. I’ll drive you home.”
He nodded wisely and followed her directions. “Good idea. It’s a long walk back. Normally I enjoy the walk, but you seem to be in a hurry tonight.”
He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes.
Shannon walked around the car and slid into the driver’s seat. She looked over at him and shook her head. Oh, Dan, what are you doing to yourself? Now that she was here, she could see why Mandy was so concerned.
Thank goodness she was ready for a little vacation of her own. Dan was right about this time of the year. Seasonal rains hadn’t started and it was too early for the winter tourists.
Mandy had told her where the condo was located. She stopped at the gate. “Dan? What’s the security code?” She waited. “Dan?”
“Hmph?”
“The security code.”
“Oh.” He rattled off the numbers. She prayed he’d remembered the right ones. The gate swung open as soon as she punched them in. So far, so good. She drove to the parking lot, pulled in and parked, then turned to him again.
“Okay, big guy. You’ve got to help me here.”
Dan opened his eyes and sat up, looking around him.
“Damn, I keep falling asleep. Or maybe I keep waking up.” He looked at her, his smile growing. “Oh yeah. You are definitely a part of my dream.”
She tried not to roll her eyes. She got out of the car and came around to his side. He’d managed to get out on his own. He grasped her hand and practically dragged her over to the building’s entrance. A security guard recognized him and opened the door.
“Evening, Mr. Crenshaw,” the man said.
“Yep,” Dan replied without pausing. He marched over to the elevators, punched the button and the door immediately opened. With innate courtesy he waved her inside, then stepped in behind her.
“What floor?” she asked.
“Top one.”
“Mmm. Must have a great view.”
“Good enough.”
Neither spoke until the doors opened and he stepped out ahead of her, fumbling in the pocket of those tight cutoff jeans for the key. Once he opened the door, he made a graceful sweep of his hand. “Welcome to my humble abode.”
Humble
