Free Drop Dead Gorgeous by Heather Graham

married early.”
    Her stomach tossed and turned.
    “Brad, I’ m just not ready.”
    “Well, fuck you, then!” he said, his voice a taut whisper.
    “Brad, don’t be mad—” she began, spurred by more than a twinge of guilt.
    But he had stood, and already flirted with Mandy and Ellie along with the other guys. She closed her eyes, casting a crooked arm over them to shield them from the sun. “Hey, we’re going on down to the pit, kid!” her brother called to her. She waved a hand in the air. She heard laughter as they all headed off toward the water.
    Her arm was still over her eyes when she felt someone come down beside her again. And then a subtle scent of well-known aftershave just lightly teased her senses, and she sat up with a jerk. Sean was next to her. He wasn’t laughing or smiling, and he wasn’t about to tease her. “Lori,” he said gravely.
    “Sean.” She was instantly nervous, so afraid of making a fool of herself, of letting her heart show—and being rebuffed. She inclined her head. “Mandy headed for the water.” Just at that moment Ted Neeson came loping back toward them. “Hey, Lori, you gotta come see this one! Mandy’s got her top off, and the guys are playing keep-away with it. I— oh, Sean! Uh, hey, Sean! When did you get here? Sorry, buddy, I didn’t mean—”
    “It’s all right,” Sean said evenly, dark blue eyes level, lips ruefully curled. “Mandy’s a big girl, a free agent. And her brother’s in the water, isn’t he?”
    “Uh… yeah!”
    “Then, I’m sure if she needs a rescue, he’ll provide it.”
    “Yeah, sure,” Ted said, and quickly went back the way he had come. He looked nervous as hell, as if he wished he hadn’t been the one to bring such sordid tidings to Sean’s attention.
    “Mandy’s a free agent?” Lori inquired. When pushed, Sean did have a bad temper. And he’d broken up with Mandy once before in their junior year when he’d been out of town with the football team and rumor had arisen about Mandy fooling around with Ricky. Mandy was a wicked flirt—but she always proclaimed h erself madly in love with Sean— the only “real man” among the crowd. Rumor was that she’d been ready for a “real man” too, when Sean came along—she’d already fooled around with a number of older guys when they’d started dating, and she knew—in Jan’s words—just how to satisfy a guy.
    Sean lifted his hands and shrugged. He was shirtless, and though he was still lean, he was already well muscled due to his football playing and the fact that he picked up any odd jobs mowing lawns and moving furniture for people whenever he could. He worked shirt less in the hot sun, so he was handsomely tanned, and he wore jeans cutoffs in which to swim. He had a serious look about him today and she found herself thinking that neither money nor a fancy home had much to do with making up a person; Sean was handsome with an arresting, strongly sculpted face, penetrating eyes, and a great height and body. She wanted to slip her arms around him then and there. She flipped back her hair instead.
    “I’m off to school in just a few days. I’m headed to Tallahassee, and Mandy will be in Denver by September.” He shrugged, staring at Lori again. “Besides, she’s always been something of a wild woman, huh?”
    Lori arched a brow. “You’re furious.”
    He shrugged. “Not really. She’s—she’s just kind of a … ” He paused, hesitating, then shrugged. “She’s just kind of a slut, and I can’t change that. While … God, Lori. I’m sorry about the other night. Really sorry.”
    Her face burned. She looked straight ahead. He wasn’t going to tell her that she had changed his life, that he’d discovered he couldn’t live without her. He was just sorry. He’d behaved badly.
    She didn’t speak.
    He c ontinued. “I was just so hurt… ”
    He had been hurt. Crushed. Five months ago, his brother Daniel had been reported MIA. He’d been assigned to a base