The Next Santini Bride. Maureen Child

      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 lace and tulle, and the smile on her face was bright enough to light the room. The man guiding her proudly around the dance floor looked handsome in his Dress-Blue uniform, and together 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