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for?” Her normally sultry voice had dropped an octave.
    There came another pause. “That’s something you don’t need to know.”
    Alex emitted an unladylike snort. “You want us to become friends, yet you don’t trust me enough to tell me who you work for.” She stood up, Merrick following suit. “Well, I just evened the score, Merrick. You don’t have to tell me. Once Michael returns from his honeymoon I’ll ask him.”
    Merrick knew when he was bested. He didn’t want Michael to know that he was seeing his cousin—not yet. “CIA,” he said reluctantly.
    Her mouth formed a perfect O with his disclosure. “You were with the Central Intelligence Agency?” He nodded. “Intelligence?” Merrick nodded again. She squinted up at him. “I see why you and Michael are friends.” Her cousin, a West Point graduate, was a highly-trained army intelligence officer.
    Merrick extended his free hand. “Are you ready to dance with me?”
    Grasping his hand, Alex smiled up at him. “Yes.”
    Holding hands, they retraced their steps to where couples were swaying to the band playing Stevie Wonder’s “You and I.” Merrick wrapped his arm around Alex’s waist, holding her close to his heart, and closed his eyes as she curved her arms under his shoulders. There was no need to concentrate on his footwork as they sank into each other’s warmth, as if dancing together was something they’d done before. Before the last note faded, the DJ segued into the old-school ballad, P.M. Dawn’s “I’d Die Without You.”
    Resting her cheek on her dance partner’s shoulder, Alex closed her eyes and sang the words of the passionate love song. She lost herself in the strong arms, the sensual scent of his cologne and temporarily forgot her promise not to entertain notions of a romantic nature until she completed her education.
    Going completely pliant in Merrick’s embrace, she thought of a time when she’d lost her heart to a man who was undeserving of her love and trust. The song ended and they pulled apart.
    Lowering his head, Merrick pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you for the dance.”
    Easing out of his loose embrace, she gave him a dimpled smile. “Thank you for asking.”
    His gray eyes boring into her, Merrick inclined his head. “Good night, Ali.”
    Her arching raven eyebrows lifted. “Good night and Happy New Year.”
    Without another word, he turned and walked off the dance floor, leaving her staring at his broad shoulders until he blended into the crowd. She was in the same position when Jason reached for her hand.
    â€œCome dance with me.” He steered her to the middle of the dance floor as hip-hop blared from the powerful sound system. Raising her arms above her head, she snapped her fingers and lost herself in the driving rhythm of the infectious baseline beat. Her older brother, Gabriel, cut in, then Diego. After a while she lost count of the number of men she danced with as the hands on the clock made several revolutions. It was after four in the morning when she finally took off her shoes, walked across the carpet of grass and into the house that her grandfather had built for his wife before the Great Depression.
    The twenty-four-room mansion designed in a Spanish revival style with barrel-tiled red roofs, a stucco facade and balconies shrouded in lush bougainvillea and sweeping French doors that opened onto broad expanses of terraces with spectacular water views was still one of the finest homes in West Palm Beach. The magnificent structure, set on twelve acres, was surrounded by tropical foliage, exotic gardens and the reflection of light off sparkling lake waters.
    Alex always looked forward to coming to West Palm Beach for the week spanning Christmas and New Year’s because it gave her the opportunity to reunite with her extended family and reconnect