The Last Santini Virgin

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“Gina.” Mama’s voice broke in, firmly.

She closed her mouth, sighed then said, “He’s a pain in the drain, that’s all.”

Mama nodded, satisfied.

Jeremy snickered until his mother shushed him. Apparently, he hadn’t been fooled by his aunt’s quick save.

“I only meant to help,” Davis said, looking directly into Gina’s eyes.

Instantly she regretted shouting at him. He had meant well. And if you stopped to think about it, it was really very sweet, him rushing in to play big brother. Boy, would she have loved having him around when she was a kid.

“I know,” she said, giving him a smile and letting him know he was forgiven. It wasn’t his fault she had such conflicting feelings for Nick. Then she forced herself to add, “Thanks, Davis. You’re a good brother.”

He grinned at her. “Yeah, I think I’m getting the hang of it.”

Conversation flowed again, swirling around and past Gina. No one seemed to notice that she wasn’t taking part.

“Okay, let’s have it,” Gina said as they left the dance studio.

“Have what?” Nick glanced up at the starry sky and shrugged deeper into the windbreaker jacket he wore.

“I’ve been waiting all night,” she said, and grabbed his arm to bring him to a stop.

Scowling, he turned his gaze down at her. He should have known they wouldn’t be able to go an entire night without an argument. Although, up until now the evening had gone fine. They’d hardly spoken and they’d danced better than ever. Maybe that was the secret to getting along with Gina Santini. No talking.

“Waiting for what?” he asked.

“For you to make some smart remark about my brother-in-law hunting you down on base.”

“Oh…” Nick nodded and immediately understood. She was wondering why he hadn’t said anything. But the truth was, he’d been doing a lot of thinking since Davis Garvey had spoken to him a few days ago. In fact, he’d been trying to figure out exactly why Gina Santini rubbed him the wrong way more often than not. He’d lost his temper more times since he’d met her than he had in the past five years. And that wasn’t like Nick at all.

Then last night the truth had finally dawned on him. Gina reminded him—too much—of his ex-wife. Oh, she didn’t look anything like her, and if truth be known, Gina was a helluva lot nicer than Kim had ever been. But there were too many similarities to ignore, too.

Both of them spoiled, used to getting their own ways and not above using their looks to do it. Every time Gina tried to flirt her way out of an argument, Nick’s defenses went on full alert. He’d fallen once for a woman with more looks than heart. He wouldn’t let it happen again.

As for her brother-in-law’s visit, there was no need to say anything about that. If Nick had been in the same position, he would have done the very thing Davis had. In the Paretti household they’d learned one lesson very early in life. Family comes first.

“Forget it,” he said finally, and saw wary relief wash over her features.

Obviously, she wanted to believe him, but didn’t.

“Why are you being so nice?”

“I can’t be nice without an ulterior motive?”

“I don’t know.”

Well, hell. Good to know she thought he was a complete jerk. “Look, why don’t we call a truce for the duration of the lessons?”

“A truce?”

“Yeah. You know, a cease-fire.”

“I know what it is, I’m just not sure why you’re offering one.”

He inhaled sharply and let the cold ocean breeze reach down inside him and quench his budding temper. Even when he was trying to be agreeable, she fought him. “We both want to learn these damned dances, right?”

“Right.”

“We don’t have to like each other. All we have to do is dance together.” There. He couldn’t make it plainer than that. “Deal?” He held out his right hand.

She stared at it for a long moment as if it were a snake in striking distance. Then she slipped her hand into his and said, “Deal.”

Warmth skittered up from their clasped hands, and Nick released her quickly. Then she flashed him a million-watt smile, and he had to firmly remind himself that it would be easy to resist her charms.

“As long as we’re being so friendly,” Gina said as they started again for their cars, “maybe you’d like to reconsider entering that competition.”

He snorted a laugh. A private truce was one thing. Announcing publicly that he was taking dancing lessons was quite another. “Not a chance, princess.”

“So much for a truce,” she muttered.

“I’m not entering that contest.”

“But we’re really getting good,” she argued.

“No way,” Nick said and shook his head for emphasis.

She took his arm and stepped in close. “You could at least think about it.”

Her perfume drifted to him, and he inhaled it deeply. Light, flowery, it seemed to fill his head with images of summer nights. Her hand on his arm felt warm and entirely too good. He didn’t dare risk a look at her. No doubt she was wearing her patented, “pouting for prizes” expression. And as much as he’d like to pretend he could easily resist it, he knew darned well it would be tough.

“Gunnery Sergeant Paretti?” A woman called out to him from off to their left.

Nick glanced her way and simply stared at the woman. Good Lord. The new Colonel’s wife. A thousand thoughts ran through his head in an instant. Would she know that he and Gina had come from the dance studio? No, he told himself. Close by, there was a theater, the Bayside Seafood Restaurant, an art gallery and a drugstore. They might have been in any of them. Nope. He was in the clear. Relaxing just a bit, he smiled and said, “Mrs. Thornton, ma’am. Good evening.”

“Hello,” she said and walked closer, smiling warmly at both Gina and him.

Gina.

Oh, man. How could he silently tell his dance partner to keep quiet about what they’d been up to?

“Mrs. Thornton, Gina Santini,” he said, unable to avoid introducing the two women.

“Nice to meet you,” Gina said.

“Thank you.” The Colonel’s wife smiled at the two of them again before saying, “My, what a lovely couple you make.”

Nick almost choked.

Gina actually chuckled.

“Taking in a movie?” The other woman asked.

Gina opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Nick said, “That’s right.”

Gina frowned up at him, but he ignored her and slipped his arm around her shoulder. If the Colonel’s wife believed he and Gina were a happy couple, then he’d just play along. It was certainly a better option than letting her know the truth.

“Well, I’m so glad I ran into the two of you,” Cecelia Thornton said.

“Ma’am?” Hurriedly, Nick tried to think of a way to get Gina and him out of there. But there was no polite way to leave the Colonel’s wife standing alone in a parking lot, so he could only hope to escape this meeting unscathed.

“As you know, we’re new on base…”

“Yes, ma’am.” He shot a glance at Gina. What was she thinking?

“The Colonel and I will be hosting a small get-together at our house in a couple of weeks for the staff NCOs and their wives. A barbecue, if the weather looks fine enough.”

Nick nodded. It was customary for a new officer to get to know the noncoms in his command.

“I look forward to it, ma’am.” He’d already heard about the coming party and had been planning on making an appearance and then leaving as soon as politely possible. Just like every other single Marine he knew. The married guys always stayed longer at these things, mainly because their wives were enjoying themselves too much to leave.

“I hope you’ll attend as Gunnery Sergeant Paretti’s guest, Gina,” the Colonel’s wife was saying, and Nick’s breath knotted in his chest. Okay, he hadn’t expected that. Maybe trying to look like a couple hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

“Well…” Gina stalled as she looked up at Nick.

Silently he attempted to tell her to say “thanks, but no thanks.” Giving her shoulder a hard squeeze, he tried to give the appearance of a solicitous boyfriend all the while, wiggling his eyebrows and scowling slightly in warning.

She knew what he wanted her to say. He could see it in her eyes. Naturally, though, she didn’t say it. Instead, she leaned into him, laid one hand on his chest and smiled at the Colonel’s wife. “Thanks so much for inviting me,” she said. “Nicky and I are looking forward to it.”

Nicky?

His mind blanked out briefly while he enjoyed the play of Gina’s fingers against his chest. Oh, she was really burying herself in the part, he thought as she cozied into him. And damn if it didn’t feel good, too.

A few more minutes passed while Gina and the Colonel’s wife chatted aimlessly. He didn’t even hear what was said. Nick’s mind whirled with thoughts of murder while he continued to play the good boyfriend.

When the other woman finally strolled off toward the drugstore, Nick grabbed Gina’s arm and turned her around to face him. “What was that all about? Didn’t you get that I was trying to tell you to say no to the invitation?”

“Of course I got it,” Gina said, and pulled away from him with a smile. “You’re not that hard to read.”

“Then why?”

“Because, Nicky,” she said, “something suddenly occurred to me.”

“Yeah…?” Oh, this didn’t bode well for him at all. She looked entirely too sure of herself.

She grinned up at him and pushed her dark-brown curls out of her eyes. Devilment shone in their chocolaty depths, and he knew he was in for it.

“You didn’t want her to know you were taking dance lessons, did you?”

Shoving his hands into his back pockets, he said shortly, “No, I didn’t.”

“That’s what I thought,” she said, nodding slowly.

“Now, why’d you agree to go the party?”

“So that I would have a good position to bargain from.”

Here it comes, he thought, and tried to brace for whatever was coming. Hell, he’d been in combat. Surely he could take whatever Gina Santini could dish out. “Bargain for what?”

“I’ll go to that party with you—” she paused and smiled “—and you’ll enter the dance contest with me.”

So much for bracing himself. “Whoa,” he said, and held up one hand. “Back up and regroup.”