Celine was a blond, Marie a redhead, and Theresa a brunette. All were beautiful. He couldn’t help but wonder if Julian had specifically picked them to give him a choice of colors. Christ, did his friend really consider him that shallow?
And he didn’t want Dani in the same grouping. “Dani’s different,” he said, and then wished he hadn’t, as the whole room focused on his words.
“How different?”
“And who is she?” Celine said. “Julian told us you were out here with nothing but a couple of burly bodyguards and needed cheering up.”
“Actually, Jake called me before his wedding, suggested we might visit.”
Trust Jake. He must have called Julian after he’d suggested Zach invite people over. Before Jake had decided he could be trusted with Dani.
Now what? They were all watching him with eager expressions. “Dani is one of my bodyguards.”
Julian raised an eyebrow. “She looked a little…small.”
“She’s a dog-handler. She comes with two extremely large Dobermans.”
“Really. And…?”
“And what?”
“Come on, Zach. Humor us.”
What could he say about Dani? He didn’t want to talk about her. He wanted to talk to her. “Dani is a sergeant in the army. She was wounded fighting for her country, and today she put her own life at risk to save a little girl who was drowning.”
They all stared at him as though he’d sprouted an extra head.
“So I’m guessing she’s not after a part in your next movie then,” Celine drawled.
He grinned. Celine had always been upfront about what she wanted—he actually liked her for it. “No, she’s not after a part in a movie.”
“And where is this paragon of virtue?”
He frowned. “I don’t know.”
“But I’m guessing from the expression on your face and the way you keep glancing at the door that you’d like to find out.”
“Yeah.”
“Go, then. We’ll entertain ourselves.”
Night had fallen, but the moon had not yet risen as he left the house. The dogs ran up to him out of the shadows, but sniffed him once and then bounded away. Skip wasn’t with them, so he guessed Dani wasn’t out here.
Perhaps he should have warned his guests to stay inside, but the dogs wouldn’t harm them, just maybe scare them a little. And he presumed Simon must have said something when he let them in.
He could hear murmured conversation from the guesthouse but didn’t recognize Dani’s voice. He found Gary and Simon sitting across from each other playing cards. Dani was curled up in the corner of the sofa, legs tucked under her, head resting on a cushion, Skip on her lap. She was fast asleep.
A wave of tenderness washed over him.
“She’s wrecked,” Gary said. “Today took it out of her.”
Zach knew he was referring to the talk afterward rather than the life-saving. He didn’t want to wake her; she looked too comfortable. Instead, he sank down on the sofa beside her and picked up what he presumed was her half-empty beer bottle, took a gulp.
She turned in her sleep and snuggled up to him.
“You want to play?” Gary asked and held up the deck.
“Why not?”
An hour and two beers later, Dani lifted her head from his lap and blinked sleepily. “Did I miss something?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Nothing important,” Gary said. “Just Simon and me beating the shit out of your boyfriend.”
Zach didn’t think anyone had referred to him as a “boyfriend” in too many years to remember. He quite liked it, especially coming from Dani’s friends. He stood up and stretched. “Come on, I’ll take you to bed.” He didn’t wait for her to get up, just scooped her from the sofa and held her against his chest.
“Night, guys.”
He carried her across the lawn to the house. She was so small it was hardly any effort. As he crossed the hall, the lounge door opened and Julian popped his head out. “You found her.”
Dani hid her face against his chest and pretended to be asleep.
“Everyone else has gone to bed,” Julian added.
“Good. Sorry I haven’t been a better host.”
“No worries. It’s been…interesting.”
Zach decided not to ask for more details. Instead he headed up the stairs, pushing his door open with his hip and gently lowering her to the bed.
“I know you’re not asleep,” he murmured.
“I am nearly.” She sounded grumpy, and he smiled. She peeked at him from beneath her lashes. “I promise I’ll be friendly tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want. Just be yourself.”
A weak smile curved her lips. “They’d probably run away screaming.”
“They’re tougher than they look.”
But she was already asleep.
He stripped off his clothes and lay down next to her. He didn’t bother trying to remove her robe; he didn’t want to wake her again. He lay on his side and watched her sleep. Her skin was no longer pale, but golden, and the freckles had multiplied until he could spend all night counting them. Her lashes were dark red, tipped with gold from the sun, and her lips were slightly parted. He lowered his head and kissed her gently then gathered her in his arms and slept.
A scream tore him awake. Panic gripped him. He bolted upright and reached for the lamp by the bed.
Chapter Fifteen
“Dani?”
Even as Zach spoke, he realized that she was still asleep and deep in some nightmare. Her brother? The explosion?
Should he wake her? She opened her mouth in a soundless scream, and he made his decision, reaching out and shaking her shoulder. “Dani, wake up.”
For a few seconds, she didn’t respond and he shook her again, harder this time, needing to get her out of whatever hell she was trapped in.
Finally, her lashes flickered open and she blinked up at him, her eyes dark and watchful.
“You’re all right. You were dreaming,” he murmured.
She pulled herself up so she was leaning against the headboard, then ran a hand through her hair with fingers that trembled. A pulse beat in her throat.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded, but he could see she was shaken. “I was dreaming about the explosion. That moment when the dog whined, and I knew there was something wrong, but I couldn’t move, I couldn’t get away, like I was locked in place.”