Read The Santini Collection 1-4 for Free Online Page A

and downright scary.
    “ I’m going to kill him. Dead. First, I will make him cry and then I will kill him.”
    “ I can see you, MJ. If you don’t want me to kill your Army guy, you might want to get out here right now.”
    Regretfully, Leo straightened and pulled her with him.
    “ I am so sorry.”
    Leo shook his head. “Don’t be. I proved my theory right.”
    “ Are you going to get out of there?” Jack asked.
    She turned her head. “You want me to tell Grannie about Vivi Sanders? I didn’t think so.”
    Then she looked at him.
    “ Vivi?” he asked.
    “ He snuck her into the house one night when he was fifteen. I think it was…you know his first. Well, I saw it and I have used it as blackmail since.”
    He watched her brother walk away but only to the sidewalk. “Wow. You’re…”
    “ What?”
    “ Pretty cool.”
    She laughed and he responded in kind. He couldn’t help it. When she was happy, it made him happy. And that probably made him a sap, but he didn’t care at the moment. He had never felt this intrigued by a woman…at least not as long as he could remember. They had a bumpy start, but now they seemed in tune with each other. There was a vibe there between them that had his head buzzing and his body yearning.
    “ That theory?” she asked.
    “ I think you can agree there’s some sparks there.”
    She nodded. “Yeah. But…”
    “ Listen, we’ll take it slow. No rushing it.”
    She sighed. “Okay. I’ll be busy with Jack all weekend. There’s something going on with him.”
    “ No worries. I understand brothers.”
    “ I bet you do,” she said with a smile. Then, she leaned over, cupping his jaw and gave him a kiss. It was sweet, and definitely not as erotic as the one they had just shared but it pulled at him the same way.
    “ I don’t have all night,” Jack bellowed outside.
    He laughed. “Lord help any daughters your brother has.”
    She smiled. “Thank you for dinner.”
    Then she opened the door and stepped out of the truck. She walked up to her brother who was saying something to her and pointing to the truck. She reached up and smacked him in the back of the head again. Then started walking to her apartment. He watched until she opened the door and waved.
    He drove to his own parking space, his mood definitely lighter than it had been in a good long while. There was something about her, something that made him think it was more than mere attraction. She was skittish for some reason and mainly because he was military. He would have to be careful about scaring her. He needed a plan.
    And, if there was one thing Santinis knew it was how to make a plan. The woman wouldn’t know what hit her.
     
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    Maryanne walked down the hall, her mood getting worse by the moment. She thought coming to work would help, take her mind off things, but nothing seem to be helping. Of course, Jack’s news had been bad—worse than she was expecting. She still wasn’t ready to accept it. He had stayed for two weeks, leaving late the night before. And he had waited until the last minute to tell her. Well, okay, not the last minute, but pretty damn close.
    Inwardly, she sighed. It had taken all her control not to cry. The Johnson boys didn’t like any crying. Truth was, they fell apart when she started weeping. She had used it against them for years because she could get just anything she wanted. Now, though, it would not work. A job’s a job and the dedication her brothers had to theirs was admirable. Or so people told her. At the moment, she thought it just sucked.
    So, she had driven from the San Antonio Airport, barely holding it together until she closed her front door. She had ignored Leo’s messages because she didn’t want to embarrass herself. In her experience, men, especially ones who had just met her, didn’t want to deal with a blubbering mess.
    As if conjured out of her thoughts, she saw Leo walking down the hallway. She couldn’t fight the little sigh