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Authors: Jayne Castle
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Grim?"
"Nolan and Jeffrey. I love them both dearly, of course, but they
are the spitting image of my father. They're all convinced that
things started going wrong because I moved to California. You know
how California is. At first they were all relieved when I moved
out of state, but now they've decided I'm going from bad to worse
in Dallas." She gave a short laugh. "Maybe they're right. What
about your family?" she continued. "I don't imagine they approve
of your Acapulco lifestyle," Sabrina went on thoughtfully.
"My father is career military. A retired colonel. Saw action in
World War Two and Korea. My mother is the perfect colonel's wife.
I try not to inflict myself on them any more than is strictly
necessary. The mess I made out of my last mission was hard on
them."
"Was there anyone else for whom it was difficult? A wife?"
Sabrina couldn't stop the question, although she regretted it as
soon as the words left her mouth.
Matt drained the last of his whiskey and contemplated that query.
"Being an officer's wife can be very difficult," he said
neutrally. "I was gone a great deal of the time. My career had to
come first. That's the way it works in the military. Ginny began
to feel very frustrated in more ways than one, I guess. She
decided to put a little fun back into her life. And that brings me
to the explanations I wanted to make tonight," Matt concluded
roughly.
Sabrina stilled. "Last night is somehow tied up with your
ex-wife? I'm not sure I want to hear this."
"You said you'd listen."
"I'm listening."
Matt paused, clearly searching for the words. "Ginny's vision of
being an officer's wife consisted of dinners at the officers'
club, glittering receptions and afternoons at the golf course. But
my job kept me away a lot of the time, and when I was home I did a
very minimal amount of socializing. I always considered that side
of my career a real chore. Eventually Ginny went looking for the
kind of fun and excitement I wasn't giving her. She spent a lot of
time doing what you were planning to do last night. When you came
over to me in that bar, all I could think about was how I'd feel
if you were my woman and I was home in Dallas." He broke off.
"Hell, I told you this was complicated."
"Groveling usually is."
He shot her a lethal glance. "I guess I'd had one too many
whiskeys before you approached me, and then we had a few more
drinks. I kept thinking of Ginny, of all the times I was gone and
she was out playing around with anything in pants that caught her
eye. Then I imagined her first attempt at deliberately picking up
a man."
Sabrina shivered. "You confused me with your ex-wife, didn't
you?"
"No. The two of you are as different as night and day. On one
level I could see that. Which is why I felt I had to, uh, show you
that you weren't cut out for that kind of life."
"Oh, my God." She groaned. "You're going to claim that assault
was your way of teaching me a lesson?"
Matt shifted uneasily. "I had some notion of showing you that
there's nothing romantic or exciting or special about that kind of
encounter."
"Did it occur to you at any point that I was old enough to decide
that for myself?" she asked tightly.
"I wasn't thinking about your age. I was thinking about you. The
way you are. Something in me didn't want to see you being changed
into someone hard and cold like Ginny."
"Amazing how brilliant a man's perception becomes at the bottom
of a glass of booze! You realize, of course, that what you were
really doing was punishing me for what your ex-wife did?"
"That's not true!" He shook his head. "Well, hell, maybe it was
in some way. But I was thinking of you, not her. I honestly
thought you were married, or at the least seriously involved. I
wanted to show you that you're not cut out for that kind of life.
Frankly, she was."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" she breathed.
He stretched out a hand,
"Nolan and Jeffrey. I love them both dearly, of course, but they
are the spitting image of my father. They're all convinced that
things started going wrong because I moved to California. You know
how California is. At first they were all relieved when I moved
out of state, but now they've decided I'm going from bad to worse
in Dallas." She gave a short laugh. "Maybe they're right. What
about your family?" she continued. "I don't imagine they approve
of your Acapulco lifestyle," Sabrina went on thoughtfully.
"My father is career military. A retired colonel. Saw action in
World War Two and Korea. My mother is the perfect colonel's wife.
I try not to inflict myself on them any more than is strictly
necessary. The mess I made out of my last mission was hard on
them."
"Was there anyone else for whom it was difficult? A wife?"
Sabrina couldn't stop the question, although she regretted it as
soon as the words left her mouth.
Matt drained the last of his whiskey and contemplated that query.
"Being an officer's wife can be very difficult," he said
neutrally. "I was gone a great deal of the time. My career had to
come first. That's the way it works in the military. Ginny began
to feel very frustrated in more ways than one, I guess. She
decided to put a little fun back into her life. And that brings me
to the explanations I wanted to make tonight," Matt concluded
roughly.
Sabrina stilled. "Last night is somehow tied up with your
ex-wife? I'm not sure I want to hear this."
"You said you'd listen."
"I'm listening."
Matt paused, clearly searching for the words. "Ginny's vision of
being an officer's wife consisted of dinners at the officers'
club, glittering receptions and afternoons at the golf course. But
my job kept me away a lot of the time, and when I was home I did a
very minimal amount of socializing. I always considered that side
of my career a real chore. Eventually Ginny went looking for the
kind of fun and excitement I wasn't giving her. She spent a lot of
time doing what you were planning to do last night. When you came
over to me in that bar, all I could think about was how I'd feel
if you were my woman and I was home in Dallas." He broke off.
"Hell, I told you this was complicated."
"Groveling usually is."
He shot her a lethal glance. "I guess I'd had one too many
whiskeys before you approached me, and then we had a few more
drinks. I kept thinking of Ginny, of all the times I was gone and
she was out playing around with anything in pants that caught her
eye. Then I imagined her first attempt at deliberately picking up
a man."
Sabrina shivered. "You confused me with your ex-wife, didn't
you?"
"No. The two of you are as different as night and day. On one
level I could see that. Which is why I felt I had to, uh, show you
that you weren't cut out for that kind of life."
"Oh, my God." She groaned. "You're going to claim that assault
was your way of teaching me a lesson?"
Matt shifted uneasily. "I had some notion of showing you that
there's nothing romantic or exciting or special about that kind of
encounter."
"Did it occur to you at any point that I was old enough to decide
that for myself?" she asked tightly.
"I wasn't thinking about your age. I was thinking about you. The
way you are. Something in me didn't want to see you being changed
into someone hard and cold like Ginny."
"Amazing how brilliant a man's perception becomes at the bottom
of a glass of booze! You realize, of course, that what you were
really doing was punishing me for what your ex-wife did?"
"That's not true!" He shook his head. "Well, hell, maybe it was
in some way. But I was thinking of you, not her. I honestly
thought you were married, or at the least seriously involved. I
wanted to show you that you're not cut out for that kind of life.
Frankly, she was."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" she breathed.
He stretched out a hand,
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