he said, taking her hand and heading for the small patch of parquet tiles passing itself off as a dance floor.
Angela concentrated on the feel of her hand in his. Wow. It was really an amazing sensation. Flesh pressed to flesh. Warm, strong fingers folded around her own. She hadn’t even realized just how starved she’d been for a simple touch. And now that she had, other parts of her body were demanding a little attention, too.
That thought even surprised her.
In the midst of the other dancers, Dan pulled her into his arms and started swaying in time to the music. He held her right hand in his left and kept it tucked close to his chest. She felt his heartbeat beneath her hand, and the steady, even beat of it calmed her even as it excited her. It had been too long, she thought, as she began to relax and follow his lead. Too long since she’d danced with anyone but an exuberant Jeremy. Too long since she’d felt the hard strength of a man’s arm around her waist, the press of his body against hers.
“You’re a good dancer,” he said, and his breath brushed her ear even as his voice rumbled along her spine.
“Thanks,” she said, pulling her head back in self-defense. She was way too close to him for comfort. “You’re a good liar.”
He laughed shortly. “Okay, so neither one of us is Fred Astaire.”
Nope, this slow turn in a tight circle would hardly qualify as great dancing, but Angela didn’t care. It was way more than she’d had in years. “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “It’s nice.”
“Yeah,” he said softly, letting his right hand smooth up and down her back, “it is.”
Angela shivered, and her eyes closed as she savored the feelings he inspired in her. Oh boy. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea, living like a recluse for the past three years. She was way overreacting to this situation.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
Her eyes opened, and she stared up into those green eyes. If this was his regular line, it was pretty good. But it wouldn’t do to let him know she was in desperate danger of falling for it. “And like I already said, you’re a good liar.”
“Not this time, lady,” he whispered.
Her stomach flip-flopped, and her mouth went dry.
There was something happening here. Something that ran in a tense, hot undercurrent. The calm, rational side of her, the side that had had her in hiding for the past three years, was telling her to run fast and run far. The other side however, urged her to get closer. Urged her to enjoy this moment in time.
“Can I steal my sister for a minute?”
They both turned toward the woman speaking, and briefly Angela considered telling her little sister to take a hike. But something in Gina’s eyes stopped her.
So instead, she reluctantly slipped out of Dan Mahoney’s grasp and said, “Thanks for the dance.”
“My pleasure, ma’am,” he said, then gave her a slow wink before drifting off toward a cluster of Marines.
Sighing for opportunities lost, Angela turned to her sister and asked, “Okay, little sister, what’s up?”
“Nothing yet, I hope,” Gina muttered, glancing over her shoulder at Dan.
“What are you talking about?” Honestly, she loved her sister, but…
“Stay away from that guy,” Gina blurted out.
“Excuse me?” She stared down at her sister in disbelief.
Muttering, “Come on,” the younger woman grabbed her arm and dragged her across the room toward the open double doors leading to a brick patio.
A cool ocean breeze wafted into the room, and in the press of people, the chill was welcome. Stepping outside, Angela sent a quick look up at a star-filled sky, took a deep breath, then looked at Gina. “This had better be good.”
“Nick says you should keep your distance from him.”
“Oh, Nick says.” Angela nodded and threw her hands wide. “Well, sure. Why didn’t you say so?”
“Angie, he says that Dan’s a nice guy, but he’s a one-night stand kind of man.” Gina shook her head. “Not really the type for you, y’know.”
Amazing. Her younger sister giving her advice on men, for heaven’s sake. Although, she had to admit that Gina probably knew what she was talking about. After all, she’d already decided that Dan Mahoney was a smooth talker. But whether she listened or not should be up to her.
“How about you guys letting me decide who my type is?”
Gina pushed her hair out of her eyes, winced as if she knew she’d stepped into something, then tried to salvage it. “Nobody’s telling you to do anything.”
“You did,” Angela reminded her. “You said to ‘stay away from that guy.”’
“Okay, I put it badly, but I just wanted you to be careful….”
Careful? She hadn’t been on a date, had in fact, hardly spoken to a man in the past three years. What could be more careful? For the first time in ages she was dancing with an attractive man, feeling those feelings she remembered so vaguely, and what happens? Her family comes so unglued you’d think she was a vestal virgin being slated for sacrifice.
Geez. If she wanted to do something daring…something out of character…something dangerous, wasn’t she old enough to make that choice for herself?
“Gina—”
“Angela,” her sister interrupted, “we’ve all been trying to get you back into the dating pool for years. I just don’t want you to drown on your first time out.”
She looked so concerned, Angela let her anger dissolve into nothingness. Reaching out, she pulled Gina into a tight hug then held her at arm’s length and said, “Okay, I swear, if I start going down for the count, I’ll give a yell, okay?”
Although right now the thought of drowning in Dan Mahoney’s pale-green eyes didn’t sound like such a bad idea at all.
Two
“We ought to get together,” Sam Paretti said. “Brother of the groom, sister of the bride…how perfect is that?”
Angela looked up at him and grinned. She couldn’t help it. After meeting Nick’s two brothers, Sam and John, she was willing to admit that the Paretti men were not only gorgeous, but charming, too. God had been on a real roll when he’d created these three.
“It’s perfect, all right,” she said, “heck, it’s practically a romance novel.”
“There you go,” Sam said, and glanced toward the bride and groom. “They look happy, don’t they?”
“Yes, they do,” she said, watching her little sister dance with her new husband. Her wedding dress swirled around her in a froth of
