rubbed the ache between his eyes before reaching into his pocket for the two aspirins he’d meant to take before seeing his commanding officer. He felt like a wimp for taking the analgesic, but he needed to dump this headache so that he could think of a way to dump this assignment.
Of course there was no way he’d refuse an order from his commanding officer. He was a Marine through and through. He’d never willingly be derelict in his duties.
What about that day two months ago? a little voice in his head said. If you’d done your duty two months ago and gotten on that helicopter, another man wouldn’t have died in your place.
Gritting his teeth, Joe willed the memories away. He needed to keep his act together here. One step at a time. First he’d locate his commanding officer’s daughter.
The walk down the hallway from the men’s room to the conference room was one of the longest he’d ever taken. To his relief there was another adult in the room. A woman. A good-looking woman. The teacher.
Ignoring all the sixth-graders, he focused his attention on her. Dark brown shoulder-length hair, chocolate-brown eyes, lush mouth, good figure showed off in a pair of well-fitting if conservative khaki pants and white T-shirt. She had a colorful scarf jauntily tied around her neck. She looked to be in her mid-to-late twenties. And she was definitely attractive.
Joe’s panic lessened. Here was one area where he still felt like a pro—the male/female arena. This was something he still excelled at, charming women. Flirting was second nature to him.
It started with his smile. He watched her reaction to it. Surprise and appreciation flashed in her dark eyes. Not for long, but long enough for him to catch it.
“Sorry I’m late, ma’am.” He added a touch of remorse to his expression.
“And you are?”
“Sergeant Wilder. Sergeant Joe Wilder at your service, ma’am. Before we begin our tour, I’ve got a question.” He drew the teacher aside to a quieter corner. “Which one is she?”
The sexy teacher gave him a blank look. “Excuse me?”
“Which one is Sergeant Major Martin’s daughter?”
“Why do you want to know?” She sounded curious.
“Because I’ve been ordered to give her the deluxe tour of the base and I want to be nice to her.”
“I don’t think you should single her out for any special treatment.”
“Hey, I’m just following orders here.”
“Right. Semper fi. A Marine always does his duty.” Her voice held a new edge.
“You don’t sound very pleased about that. I wonder why? Did you date a Marine or something?”
“That’s a safe bet,” she retorted. “Since this base is home to the largest concentration of Marines and sailors in the world, it would be hard to avoid bumping into a Marine in this part of North Carolina.”
“I wouldn’t mind bumping into you,” Joe murmured with a lopsided grin. “Just name the time and place.”
“I no longer date Marines,” she loftily informed him.
“Why’s that?”
“My reasons are too lengthy to go into here.”
“I’ve got time.” He was certainly in no hurry to have to deal with the kids.
“Well, I don’t,” she replied in irritation. The way she tossed her head and flicked her hair away from her face reminded him of a feral cat he’d tamed as a kid. That cat had refused to let anyone touch it, but Joe had slowly and patiently won it over. That same patience had come in handy where women were concerned.
“So tell me later.”
“Why should I do that?” she said.
“Because I’m a nice guy?”
“Who thinks he’s God’s gift to women.”
Ouch. So the little cat had claws. Placing his open hand on his chest, he said, “You wound me, ma’am.”
“I sincerely doubt that, Sergeant. I sincerely doubt any woman has wounded you.”
“Why? Because I’m a big, tough Marine?”
“Because you use your charm to keep them at a distance.”
“Hey, if I’m using my charm to keep women at a distance, then something is definitely wrong with my game plan.”
“Game plan? Don’t you mean your battle plan?”
“As in battle between the sexes?” Joe moved closer, so that he could smell her perfume. It was tart and citrusy.
Shifting his attention to that lush smart-talking mouth of hers, he wondered if she’d taste as good as she smelled. Oh, yeah, he had no doubt she’d taste better than a cold beer after a long hike.
He had to grin at his own lack of poetry. Beer and a long hike…that sounded like something his best friend Curt Blackwell would say about his new wife, Jessie.
Joe and Curt had gone to boot camp together and been buddies ever since. Curt was a brooding loner, but that didn’t seem to stop the ladies from lining up for him. Still, Curt had come to Joe for advice when it mattered, when he’d been reunited with Jessie after years apart.
Joe’s advice was good. Jessie had apparently agreed, because she’d become Curt’s wife last year in a full Marine dress wedding with Joe there as Curt’s best man.
Yeah, this male/female flirting stuff was something Joe could still handle with one arm tied behind his back…although he’d have preferred having one arm around the sexy schoolteacher’s shoulders.
She was narrowing her chocolate-brown eyes at him, as if she were able to read his thoughts and wanted to challenge him on their accuracy. Great. He loved a challenge. Especially one that involved a good-looking woman.
“I take it you consider yourself to be an expert in the battle between the sexes,” she said.
“My motto is make love, not war.”
“I’m sure that didn’t come out of the U.S. Marine Procedural Manual.”
“If you’ve been dating guys who base their romantic approach on the Marine Procedural Manual, then I can understand your dissatisfaction,” he murmured. “And I’d love to have the chance to show you how a real Marine woos a woman.” He leaned closer as if tempting her to kiss him, before leaning away to smile at the startled awareness in her eyes. “After I take care of my duty and give the Sergeant Major’s kid her tour. Which one is she? The one with the pigtails and strange socks?”
“No.”
He scanned the roomful of kids, trying to look for some kind of familial resemblance. “Then she must be the one with the short haircut
