Sarah rolled her eyes. “Right. As if a SEAL would even talk business with a lowly soldier.”
Regan laughed. “Come on, I won’t let him or anyone else give you a hard time. It’s different at Crescent Hall than what you’re used to, you’ll see. You’ll love it here.” She pulled into a long driveway that led to an old-fashioned house perched up on a rise of land. “There’s the Hall. Don’t you love it?”
Sarah could see why Regan had fallen for the place. The imposing, three-story, gray gothic building had a wraparound porch and a tower in one corner, and as they drove up and parked in front of it, she saw that the proud old house commanded a view for miles. There were the Absaroka Mountains in the distance again. Snowy pastures spread out from the house in every direction.
“It’s breathtaking.” She was surprised at the impact of the winter scenery on her. She’d never fancied herself a country girl, but something about the stark beauty of the landscape surrounding her touched her heart.
“Are you ready to meet the most handsome man in the whole world?” Regan broke into her thoughts. She got out of the truck awkwardly and Sarah followed suit. Several men and women spilled out of the house to meet them and she scanned them, looking for the handsome man who would be Regan’s husband. They were all good looking in their own way, but the one who caught her eye wasn’t moving to greet Regan.
He was staring straight at her.
His upright bearing betrayed his military background. His wide shoulders, powerful legs and chiseled good looks would have made him at home on a male pinup calendar, but his watchful gaze told her everything she needed to know. This was the SEAL Regan had told her about. Dan Hemmins.
And he was by far the handsomest man she’d ever met.
Sarah told herself her sudden tension came from the knowledge he’d be just as stuck-up and full of himself as her brothers were, but it had little to do with his attitude and everything to do with a vision that flickered through her mind—his hands on her bare skin, his mouth taking possession of hers—
Hell, where had that come from? Sarah shook off the thought and stepped forward to meet Regan’s family, shaken by the direction her libido had taken her. Even if it had been some time since she’d gone out with a man, she wasn’t attracted to SEALs. She wasn’t attracted to men in the military, period. And this longing to find a man to share her life with that had been haunting her lately? That was just a ridiculous holdover from the fairy tales she’d read when she was a child. She didn’t need a man and she didn’t want one, either. She was fine on her own.
She moved to shake hands with Mason when Regan introduced him. Mason was as upright as Dan was, with a friendly smile, blue eyes and hair barely longer than Navy regulations would have dictated.
“Glad to meet you,” he said.
He introduced her to each brother in turn, then to two couples who had come for the holidays, and lastly he turned to the man who’d been staring at her ever since she got out of the truck. “This is another guest of ours this Christmas—Dan Hemmins. Dan just left the SEALs, like me. He’s thinking of starting an extreme training camp to put civilians through their paces, right Dan?”
Dan shook her hand, and held it a second longer than necessary. A glint in his eyes told her he liked what he saw when he looked her over. “That’s right. Nice to meet you, Sarah.”
She nodded, disconcerted by his frank appreciation. She was used to being surrounded by men in prime fighting condition, but Dan was something special. Suddenly she was conscious of the fact she’d just spent most of a day on planes and in airports. Her hair was mussed, her clothes were wrinkled and she was sure what little makeup she wore was smudged. She wished she’d spent more time on her appearance, but there wasn’t anything she could do about that now.
Dan went on. “The idea is to give people a taste of Navy SEAL training.” He grinned. “Watered down to their level, of course.”
His final sentence hit her like a splash of cold water. Military men had directed that same kind of condescension at her all too many times. “Of course,” she said, then hoped Mason and Regan missed her sarcasm. This was a holiday party. She didn’t want to make waves, but from that one comment alone she could tell Dan was just like her brothers—so sure he was better than everyone else.
“Regan told me you’ll be looking for a new job soon, too?” he said.
Sarah nodded, following Regan inside. “I’m thinking about leaving the Army. I’ll put my paperwork in after Christmas, unless I change my mind.”