“Oh, jeepers, I’m so sorry,” she mumbled, trailing her eyes up a broad chest to a face she didn’t recognize. And she would’ve recognized him if she had seen him before. His bright green eyes twinkled brightly, a slight amusement lingering. This wasn’t the time to be running into handsome men. She needed all her wits about her. Running into handsome men was supposed to come after the wedding, not before.
“My fault. I wasn’t paying attention.” He offered a charming smile, which lit his eyes up even more as he let his hands drop from her shoulders. “I’m Dax. I’m sorry for almost knocking you down.”
He reached out his hand. She couldn’t shake his hand. The brief moment when she smacked her face into his chest, his hands grabbing her to steady her, sent a tingling flame of desire down the length of her body. So brief, her imagination probably had run away from her. A simple touch couldn’t possibly send a burst of pleasure that quickly. What would it feel like to hold his hand?
His brow rose at her lack of response. Oh geez, she was acting like an idiot. She shoved her hand into his. “I’m Fina…or Sarafina. Most people call me Fina. You can call me that. Or you can call me Sarafina. Heck, some people even call me Sara.” She cleared her throat. She did not just ramble like that. Since when did she ramble like a moron? How long would he continue to hold her hand? Those flames of desire were starting to burn her from the inside out. Her imagination was intact. The tingles were real. And very, very wonderful.
He caressed her hand with the tip of his thumb before letting go. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sarafina. You have a beautiful name. Are you a bridesmaid?” He glanced at her dress, a small laugh escaping. “Of course you are. What position are you walking down?”
A trembling hand slid down her dress. “Um…I’m third. Why?”
Her insides continued to melt when another laugh left his mouth. “Me, too. It’ll be my pleasure to escort you down the aisle.”
Pleasure. Yeah, she was feeling plenty of that. Keep the smile. Do not look terrified at that prospect. How would she manage down the aisle with his warm hand on her the entire time? “Great. You weren’t at the rehearsal dinner, were you?”
“No, I had some business I needed to wrap up. Are you a friend or family of the bride?”
“A friend. You?”
“I went to college with Ryan.”
They stared at each other. She wanted to say it unnerved her, but she was almost getting used to the way his eyes held hers. Mesmerized. Enchanted.
Pathetic, Sarafina. Oh, darnation. This was too much. His gorgeous smile indicated he wanted to say more. But they had nothing else to say. Unless to brainstorm where the nearest closet could be found.
Nope. Bad idea. Not happening.
She needed some air. Especially if his hands would be touching her again so soon.
“I need a last minute touch-up…and I should go see if Lily needs my help. I’ll see you soon,” she said a bit awkwardly.
“I can’t wait.”
Dax watched as she hustled away, hiking her dress up a little. It gave him a lovely view of her legs. Way too lovely of legs.
Screwed. Easiest way to put it. This would be a lot harder than he imagined.
He groaned as she disappeared around the corner. How did he always manage to get involved in bad situations? Worst decision ever. He jumped when a hand grabbed his shoulder.
“I wish you’d stick by me,” Ryan said, the annoyance plain in his tone.
Dax resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “I’m a big boy. I don’t need a baby-sitter. I was meeting the lovely Sarafina who I’ll be walking down the aisle.”
“Keep your damn hands to yourself. I don’t need any trouble. I don’t want this,” Ryan said through clenched teeth.
“You have no say. You’re the one who decided to marry a woman who has ties to the Chilani family. Let me do my job. Go fix your bow tie. I’ll be right there.”
“If you ruin my wedding, I’ll…” Ryan shook his head and walked away.
“Good choice, buddy, not finishing that sentence,” Dax muttered under his breath.
Damn this assignment. He never worked undercover. Or had such a quick reaction to a woman before. Honey-golden hair. Hazel eyes. Softest skin imaginable. He needed to get Sarafina out of his head. Focus on the job. Definitely, worst decision ever.
He could honestly say it wouldn’t be a hardship escorting the lovely Sarafina down the aisle. The hard part would be keeping his hands to himself. She had sparked a desire by one simple bump. He couldn’t imagine what holding her as they walked down the aisle, even sharing a dance or two at the reception, would do to his libido.
It had been a while. Or, more like, too long since he had a woman. Just the way he liked it. After the fiasco with his ex, Bridget, he didn’t want to deal with another woman. Too much work. He already had enough real work to deal with, he didn’t need a nagging, in-your-face, why-don’t-you-ever-have-time-for-me woman again. Because that’s all he ever heard from Bridget.
“You’re never around, Dax. All you do is work, work, work. What about me? What about my feelings?”
He wanted to say, “What about me? I saw you flirting with my partner, Colt, last week.” But pointing that out would’ve started a new slew of accusations from her that he didn’t want to hear. So he nodded his head, like ‘yeah, I work too much.’ Sometimes it was better to agree with a woman than to argue.
Unfortunately, that sentiment and way of thinking had landed him a single man. Bridget moved out not long after. Her parting words, “You never communicate. I can’t stand the silence from you.”
For him, the silence was golden. He liked the silence. Appreciated it. Very, very fond of it. Most days, anyway. Some days. Very rare days. He didn’t like the silence so much. On those occasions, he did what he did best. Worked.
For the first time in his life, he hated his work. Normally his job was his livelihood. Today, more like a form of torture. Thinking about escorting Sarafina down the aisle had his skin prickling with delightful goosebumps. His hands itched to touch her again. Such beauty.
No touching.
He needed to remember that. Of course, sure, he had to touch her while he walked down the aisle. But after that, definitely no touching. Hands tucked nicely in his pockets.
Making his way back to Ryan, he tried to forget why he was here. Not that it did him any good. He could still hear his boss’s voice ringing in his ear.
“You’re our man, Dax. The show is yours.”
“Come on, Sloan. Don’t ask me to do this. That man was a good friend of mine in college. I can’t betray his trust like this.”
“That’s the only reason I’m asking you to do this because he was a good friend of yours in college. We can’t tip off Martin Chilani that we’re putting an FBI agent in his daughter’s wedding. This is serious, Dax. One tip-off that you’re an agent and you’re a dead man. He will get rid of you so fast, you won’t even know it’s happening. We don’t have time to get another agent ready for this undercover op and make a story seem believable. You were good friends with the groom in college. Nobody in the family will suspect a thing.”