He nodded and turned toward Jill's boyfriend, Teo. She couldn't tell what the two said but the slap on the Hulk's back was a sure sign that he was heading out.
With her.
Why, of all the guys, of all the times did her libido have to perk up right now?
Had he been waiting for the purple haired woman? Was she his date? They seemed very familiar.
The purple haired woman flashed Teo and Dylan a smile, waved good-bye and turned toward the door.
Hunky Hulk's gaze found Jill. “Thanks for a great party.”
He pegged Sabrina with a long, indecipherable look. Time stood still. So did she. What was he thinking?
Jill called out her goodbyes and he blinked. The spell was broken. He turned toward the door, squeezing between two women dressed as mermaids.
Sabrina stayed rooted to the spot, strangely numb. Acutely disappointed.
But then the drive that had made her a successful business woman kicked in and she stepped forward. She should go after him. After all, a connection like this didn't come around every day. Maybe once in a lifetime, if you were lucky.
Then what? Give him her number?
She didn't even know his name.
But she didn't need to.
An image flashed through her head, so real she could feel the heat racing over her skin. Except it was more than an image. A tantalizing video played in her mind, full of passion and steam as she pushed through the crowd, caught his arm.
He turned back to her, those gorgeous eyes widened with surprise. She reached for him and he regarded her only a moment before he reached for her too. Stretching way up on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
His skin felt like a furnace beneath her fingertips. He didn't utter a word, and he didn't need to. Everything she needed to know was right there in his eyes.
Attraction.
The heavy, thick, undeniable kind that took your breath away and threatened to never give it back.
Need.
Desire.
Her body responded in kind; tingling, tightening, warming. There was a moment of breathless anticipation as his palms slid around her waist. Every nerve ending was alive and focused on him, his touch, his lips.
He stared back and forth into her eyes, almost like he was memorizing every eyelash. She dropped her gaze to his lips. Such a delicious, masculine mouth. Completely kissable.
Shivers raced over her skin as his right hand skimmed up her side, over the curve of her breast, across her shoulder, beneath her hair to cup her neck.
She'd never felt so small or delicate before. Everything feminine in her was put on notice as his thumb trailed over her jaw. Her eyelashes fluttered down to meet her cheeks.
She never wanted a kiss more in her life.
And just like that, the daydream was over, leaving her bereft and hungry. But as her vision cleared and her focus returned, she saw his broad back headed for the door.
The butterflies in her stomach shriveled and died.
Did she really want to be with a guy who passed her over for someone else? Then again, how many men had she found a spark with?
None like him, none like this. That all-consuming awareness that left a tingle in some important, recently dormant, places.
It was silly to feel dejected. She was a grown woman, she'd traveled the world, and most days she liked to think she had her shit together. Which was why moments like this threw her for a loop.
Only, now it was worse. She glanced over her shoulder at the happy pairings.
Jill, lips pursed, and Teo. Reya and Dylan. Baby and Joe.
Couples. Coupledom. Once again, she was alone while all her friends partnered up. It almost felt like the story of her life.
Just as depression nipped at her heart, a booming laugh carried across the room, rich, loud, so unique.
Her head swiveled back around, and she saw Hunky Hulk, head thrown back, laughing with so much joy and mirth she got chills.
She'd know that laugh anywhere.
“David Lee Jameson!”
David heard Sabrina's voice over the din of conversation and music. His laughter died at her shocked tone.
Fifteen years had passed since he'd heard his name on her lips. Back before he'd joined the Navy, before BUD/S, before Vanessa, before Samuel, before he'd become Boomer - the laid back, affable, dependable SEAL.
Back then he'd been D, Sabrina's best friend, her confidant, the guy who'd secretly been crazy about her and tried his darnedest to make her his without ruining everything.
Bang up job, there, Jameson. Bang up job.
What he'd never been able to figure out was how the most magical night of his life had sent her running in the other direction.
And now, somehow, she'd figured out the man under all the green paint was her long-lost friend. She pressed through the crowd, headed right for him. Those aqua eyes pinned him in place and he couldn't have moved if he'd wanted to.
Despite years of training, which had helped him conquer fear and move his ass in dangerous situations, knowing that he needed to stay away from this woman, he couldn't do it. He couldn't move and the masochistic part of him needed to know what she was going to say. What would her next words be?
Didn't matter.
He'd made his peace a long time ago and moved on.
Except...
“Is it really you?” she asked when she'd almost closed the distance between them.
Aww fuck. Did she have to look so happy? So utterly pleased to find out the guy she'd been ogling was her childhood friend? The same friend she'd gone on one date with and then barely spoken to ever again?
Forget it, Jameson. Once it's in the past, we move on.
He took a deep breath, knowing there was no way out of this. “Hello Mouse.”
She rocked back slightly, and her perfect mouth dropped open, stretching the
