Читать книгу Commander's Little Surprise - Mollie Molay - Страница 10

Dan O’Hara couldn’t sleep. Jet lag had finally gotten the better of him.

Wide-awake, he paused in his pacing to gaze out the floor-to-ceiling palace windows at the manicured gardens that stretched into the distance. Under the dim light of the crescent moon, trees and bushes were decorated with streamers and lanterns in honor of the upcoming festivities. A three-tiered water fountain, in which tinkling cascades of water tumbled from the mouths of unicorns, occupied the center of the lawn. In the distance he caught sight of a well-tended maze. Nestled in its center was the silhouette of a white gazebo.

Dan blinked. If he didn’t know better he would have thought that before him there was a fairy-tale setting in a fairy-tale country. He’d never even heard of Baronovia before his friend and fellow JAG lawyer, Commander Wade Stevens, had fallen in love with Duchess Mary Louise—better known to him as May Baron. In two days he was to be the best man at their wedding.

He’d taken off his suit jacket and tie, and was starting to unbutton his shirt when drifting clouds passed over the moon. He was about to turn away when he caught a glimpse of a slight, shadowy feminine figure slip out of the palace. To his bemusement, she was wearing a filmy white robe and white slippers. Her long chestnut hair flowed freely down her back almost to her waist. Enchanted, he moved closer to the window and watched as she stopped to gaze up at the moon. Moments later she raised her arms over her head to the moon, twirled around, then lowered her arms to her chest. It looked as if she was trying to draw the moon down to her. He found himself smiling in sympathy at the gesture.

Whoever the woman was, she was beautiful, ethereal and intriguing. After a long plane flight and with probably a sleepless, empty night ahead, she seemed a damn good reason to stay awake.

It took him only a few seconds to make up his mind to join her.