they made an almost fairy-tale picture.
A pang of something sharp and bittersweet twinged around her heart. So much hope, so much love. Angela said a quick, fervent prayer that Gina and Nick would always be as happy as they were tonight.
Old tunes poured from the stereo system set up on the auditorium’s stage. The church hall was decorated in rose and white balloons, and baskets of fresh flowers dotted every table. The caterers had served dinner, and now it was time for everyone to enjoy the party celebrating Gina and Nick’s marriage.
Everything was changing so quickly. Just a few short months ago all of the Santini women had been sharing the family house. Now, it would be just Mama, Angela and Jeremy.
Her sisters were now officially halves of couples.
Marie and Davis.
Gina and Nick.
Angela and…she took a sip of champagne and turned away from the happy couple. No point in torturing herself, was there? Besides, it wasn’t as if she wanted a husband. Not again. She just didn’t want to end up a lonely old woman talking to cats and bothering her only son about bringing the grandchildren by more often.
Oh yeah, she thought grimly. Have some more champagne, it’s really helping your attitude.
“So,” Sam said, drawing her attention back to him, “what do you say to a dance with a lonely Marine?”
Lonely? She had a feeling Sam Paretti had never had a lonely day in his life.
“Sure,” she said, “I—”
“Sorry, Marine,” a deep voice said from behind Angela, “she’s promised this one to me.”
Angela’s breath caught in her throat, and her stomach flip-flopped wildly.
“Is that right?” Sam asked, looking down at Angela.
“Uh,” she cleared her throat, swallowed hard and said, “do you mind?”
The two men stared at each other for a long moment before Sam finally nodded. “I’ll see you later, Angela.”
“Thanks,” she said as he turned and moved off into the crowd, leaving her alone with the man she’d been catching glimpses of all day.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said in a throaty whisper that tingled along her spine.
A quick spurt of excitement sizzled through her bloodstream as she turned around to face Dan. They’d both been so busy doing wedding party things, they hadn’t spoken since last night’s interrupted dance. Well, they’d done more than just spoken, in Angela’s dreams, but since he didn’t know about that, it probably didn’t count.
“Was I that hard to find?” she asked.
“Not for me,” he said, leaning one hand on the wall above her head and bending closer. “I used to be Recon. Reconnaissance. The guys who go in, get what needs getting and get out.”
He leaned in even closer, and Angela swore she could feel the warm brush of his breath against her cheek. Or maybe that was just her own heated blood flushing her face.
“You should know, I’ve been warned about you,” Angela said as she looked up into the green eyes that had haunted her dreams all last night.
“Me?” Dan answered with that slow, crooked smile that was guaranteed to breach any defenses. “I’m harmless, lady.”
Oh yeah, she believed that. And chocolate had no calories when eaten at midnight. Ha! She took another sip of champagne and silently reminded herself that she was on a mission here. She didn’t want harmless. She wanted dangerous.
If just for tonight.
Actually, Gina’s warning the night before had been the deciding factor in this. Knowing that Dan was interested in nothing more than a one-night stand made it all so easy. She could have one night of magic after far too long a dry spell, and there wouldn’t be a single string attached. Well, except for the guilt strings she was already experiencing. Honestly, you wouldn’t think it would be so hard for a twenty-eight-year-old widow to seduce a man. Another swallow of champagne followed the last, and a part of her brain reminded her that she wanted to be loose, not unconscious. But heck, who could blame her for trying a little liquid courage? It wasn’t as if she did this every day.
“Harmless, huh?” she asked, giving him a smile she hoped was sexy. It had been so long, she couldn’t be sure. “That’s not what I hear.”
“Who’s been talking?”
Oh, brother, that smile of his should be classified as a lethal weapon. It did amazing things to a woman’s equilibrium.
“Who hasn’t?” she quipped.
“And do you always believe what you hear?” he asked, letting his gaze slide across her body with a slow, deliberately casual thoroughness.
Boy, he was better than she’d given him credit for. Her skin felt tight, and parts of her body she’d thought atrophied were galloping back to life. This was moving so fast she could hardly keep up. Taking a moment to calm down a bit, she looked around the room…actually, she looked anywhere but into those green eyes.
Angela studied the faces surrounding her, both familiar and strange. Dozens of Marines were sprinkled through the crowd, and she had to admit there was something about a man in a Dress-Blue uniform. It was an unfair advantage, really. No red-blooded woman, especially one who’d been living a celibate life for more than three years, could resist.
And the simple truth was, Angela didn’t want to resist. She’d made up her mind what she was going to do the minute her sister Gina had told her that Dan was known on base as the king of the one-night stands. And she wasn’t going to back out now.
“Want to try to finish our dance?” Dan asked, breaking into the thoughts swirling ceaselessly through her mind.
She inhaled and swiveled her head to look at him.
“For starters,” she said bravely, and watched as desire flickered in the depths of his eyes. She half turned to set her champagne glass on the closest table, then he took her hand and led her through the crowd. Angela’s gaze fixed on his broad back, narrow hips and long legs. A curl of anticipation unwound inside her, and her mouth went dry.
Ever since the night before, Angela hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. Sure, he was tall, dark and gorgeous. So were most of the other guys in the room. But there was something about First Sergeant Mahoney that made her blood boil and her usually cautious nature want to fly out the window.
And just for tonight, she was going to let it.
As they came to the middle of the dance floor, the music changed, shifting from a fast-paced, rock and roll number to an old Frank Sinatra standard. The voice of Ol’ Blue Eyes swept into the room and was welcomed like an old friend. If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn Dan had planned it this way.
Dan pulled her into his arms and pressed her body to his. Her mouth went dry, and her head swam. She wasn’t sure if it was the four or five glasses of champagne or the heady sensation of being
