Kate Hoffmann - Off Limits Marine

She’d been mourning her dead husband, she’d been emotionally overwrought, she hadn’t been thinking straight. Her whole world had been turned upside down, and Gabe had offered her comfort in the only way he knew how—by kissing her. By kissing her?

Even she wasn’t deluded enough to admit that the kiss wasn’t about just comfort. There was an underlying passion, a need that couldn’t be ignored. It had been the last thing she’d expected Gabe to do.

Since that unexpected moment had happened, she’d wondered what Gabe had been thinking. Had he been so crude to believe that now that she was a widow she was free to indulge? She couldn’t come up with any other explanation. In all the time they’d spent together before Erik’s death, he’d always seemed mildly annoyed with her, as if she were standing in the way of “bro” time with his best friend.

She clutched her bouquet more tightly, trying to focus on the job at hand. Just five more steps. Four. Three. Two. And stop. She slowly turned to watch the bride come down the aisle, flanked by her parents.

Maybe he’d been testing her. That was probably it. Testing her loyalty to her husband. What better place than after his funeral. Annie felt her anger rise. How dare he question her fidelity. After all, she was the one left behind all those times when Erik was deployed.

He was out fighting wars and doing his patriotic duty, while she was at home, worrying about him. And never once, not in five years of marriage, had she thought about straying. Never once had she regretted marrying Erik, even though they’d been miles apart for more days than they’d been together.

She wouldn’t be tempted by Gabe again, Annie mused. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing between them. He was her husband’s best friend, but they had never had a relationship. She’d say hello, make polite chitchat and then leave him to his own devices.

She glanced over at him again and found him staring at her. He smiled, and Annie felt her stomach flutter. He looked good. He was even more handsome than she remembered. Oh, damn, this was going to be a lot harder than she could have ever imagined.

* * *

SHE WAS DELIBERATELY avoiding him. The reception was in full swing beneath an open-air tent at the edge of the orchard, people dancing to a country band after a meal of barbecue and burgers. Strings of lights crisscrossed the canvas above their heads, mimicking the stars that twinkled in the night sky.

The mood was casual, and everyone was out of uniform and primed to party into the night. Hell, most of the guests were already well beyond their limit, but Gabe had decided to forgo the alcohol and keep his mind sharp and focused on just one thing—Annie. Oddly, every time he moved in to try to talk to her, she slipped away.

He was beginning to feel like some crazy stalker, but he’d decided the moment he saw her that he was going to find a way to talk to her, to apologize for what had happened that night in the boat shed.

Annie had danced with nearly every single guy at the reception and was dancing with Lisa and her kids when he decided to make his move. She was distracted and didn’t see his approach.

“Hey, kids. Can I dance with you, too?”

“Uncle Gabe can always dance with us,” Lisa said, reaching out to pull him into their circle. “Annie, you don’t mind if he dances with us, do you?”

“Actually, I’m a bit tired. I think I’ll go sit down and rest.”

“No,” Sky said. “Stay with us!”

“Yeah, stay with us,” Gabe said.

Annie shook her head, then turned and walked off the dance floor. The three kids watched her leave, then gave Gabe a disapproving look. “She was tired,” he said with a shrug.

“Maybe you should go after her,” Lisa said.

“She’s been avoiding me all day. She’s so good at it, I’m thinking she might have gone through SERE training since the last time I saw her. Survival, evasion, resistance and escape. She’s got evasion down.”

“So go ahead and test her resistance,” Lisa teased.

Gabe grinned. “We do have a lot to talk about.”

“I’m sure you do. I’d start with that kiss.”

“She told you about...”

Lisa nodded. “She sure did. Bold move, Captain Pennington.”

“Stupid move,” he said. “I need to apologize.”

“Ask her to dance,” Lisa said. “I’ll go request a slow song, and you’ll have four or five minutes to say what you need to say.”

Gabe left the dance floor, more determined than ever to speak with Annie. She had to know that the kiss was just a simple expression of affection. He’d never meant to cause her a single moment of pain or regret.

He found her at the dessert table with a plate full of sweets. She watched his approach with a suspicious eye but didn’t make a move to evade him. Gabe decided that humor was the best option, so he stood next to her and stared out at the dance floor.

“If that plate is too heavy, I’d be happy to hold it for you,” he said.

“You once said I was the strongest woman you knew,” she said. “Were you lying to me?”

“I wasn’t referring to your biceps,” he said. “And I think I said that you were the most amazing woman I knew.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Trust me,” he murmured. “I remember every word we said to each other that day.”

“Just the words?” she asked.

He turned to her, their gazes finally meeting, her eyes flashing with defiance. Gabe grabbed the plate from her hand and set it on a nearby table. The band began a soft country ballad, and he jumped on the opportunity. “Why don’t we dance? It will make it much easier to talk. And it will burn off a few of those calories you were about to consume.”

“Do we have anything to talk about?” Annie asked.

“I’m sure I’ll find something,” he said, taking her arm and leading her along. When they reached the dance floor, he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. He’d never been much of a dancer, but he decided to do his best impression of Fred Astaire. “I’m going to start with an apology. I’m sorry about that night. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I never should have kissed you.”

“Why did you do it?” she asked.

He fought the urge to tell her the truth. That he’d been desperate, convinced that the moment between them might be the last they ever spent together. He was heading back into a war zone, and though he didn’t want to think about dying, he couldn’t help himself. For him it was a life-and-death decision, not the impulse of a horny Marine.

No, he wouldn’t tell her the truth. He’d take a page out of Erik’s playbook and let her believe that it was driven by some other form of desire.

“You know, I’ve tried to figure it out. I think I just wanted to make you feel better. Kissing is the only thing I know that always works with a weeping woman.”

The explanation sounded silly and shallow. He added a crooked smile as she regarded him suspiciously, hoping that might sell it.

“You’re speaking from your considerable experience with women?”

Gabe chuckled. “See? We’re talking. That’s a good thing. Do you forgive me? Because I am sorry. And I do regret my behavior that night. If you forgive me, we might be able to be friends. And besides being an excellent dancer, I’m an outstanding friend.”

He could see her softening, and when she finally smiled, he felt a surge of satisfaction. It wasn’t over between them. He’d have another chance. And this time, he wasn’t going to blow it.

“Come on,” he murmured, leaning closer. “You’re not the type to hold a grudge.”

“All right. I forgive you. But if you try it again, I might have to punch you.”