Cinderella's Sweet-Talking Marine. Cathie Linz

ahead, make fun of a guy after he’s bared his heart to you.”

      “You didn’t bare your heart, just your phobias.”

      “Hey, I didn’t say it was a phobia,” Ben protested. “Just that I’m not fond of naked snails.”

      “Oh, so now you’re backpedaling, are you? I believe the actual comment was that snails give you the creeps.”

      “They do. That doesn’t mean I have a phobia about them. A phobia would be the fear of running across naked snails everywhere I go. Usually the subject doesn’t come up that often. Unless I’m at a French restaurant. Getting back to you, you never said what you’re afraid of. Come on.” His sensual mouth quirked with an intimately teasing expression that made her heart skip. “There must be something?”

      There were plenty of things. Of being a single mom responsible for a five-year-old daughter. Of what would happen to Amy if anything should happen to Ellie. Perry would be useless and his mom not much better. The thought of her daughter having to go into the foster care program the way Ellie and her brother gave Ellie nightmares more nights than she cared to admit.

      Because she knew from personal experience how quickly lives could change. Their dad walked out shortly before Johnny had been born and died shortly thereafter in a fire. They’d been raised by a single mom. When Ellie was seven her mother died in a car crash, killed by a drunk driver who crossed into her lane of traffic. The head-on collision killed her mom instantly.

      There were no relatives to take them in so they’d gone into the system. The only good thing had been that, thanks to a compassionate caseworker, she and her brother had been allowed to stay together.

      That was one of the reasons why the failure of her marriage had hit Ellie so hard. Because she’d desperately wanted to have a family, to have some security. To have someone to share the good times and the bad times with.

      A tiny voice in her head wondered if having Ben in her life might not be a good thing. Marines had a reputation for being responsible. Maybe he would be dependable. Maybe he would be there for Amy should anything happen to Ellie. Yeah, right. She’d only known the guy a few hours and already she was turning him into a knight in shining armor despite her protests that she didn’t need rescuing.

      “Forget what you’re afraid of,” Ben said. “Tell me what makes you happy?”

      “That’s easy. My daughter.”

      “What else?”

      “Chocolate. Dark chocolate.” The rebellious thought crossed her mind that a sexy Marine like Ben might make her happy, but she quickly wiped it from her memory bank. She didn’t believe in the happy endings found in her daughter’s fairy tale books. Ellie knew from bitter experience that they rarely existed in the real world.

      “Come on, girlfriend, give me all the details.” Latesha made the demand as she and Ellie sat at a table, refilling paper napkins in the metal dispensers that went on every table. Al’s Place was temporarily empty. A fellow waitress and friend, Latesha was slightly older than Ellie and a whole lot more outrageous. “I want every single itty-bitty juicy detail.”

      “There aren’t any.”

      “Puhlease.” Latesha rolled her brown eyes in disbelief. “You take off last night with Mr. Too Yummy For Words hot on your trail. So come on…” She scooted her chair closer. “Tell me what happened.”

      “Nothing happened. He took Amy and me out to dinner last night.”

      “And…?”

      “And he took us home again.”

      “And then…?”

      “And then he told Amy a really clever bedtime story.” The first thing Amy had asked Ellie this morning was where Ben was and when he was going to tell her more about Sir Goodknight and Lady Blush.

      “What about you? What kind of bedtime story did he tell you?” Latesha’s grin was wicked.

      Before Ellie could answer, Cyn joined them. In her mid-twenties, Cyn had a fondness for anything black or purple. She also loved silver jewelry with a Celtic design. With her blond hair and green eyes, she looked nothing like Latesha, but the two shared the same personality type. Cyn perched on the edge of the table. “What are you two talking about?”

      “Ellie was just going to give me the juicy details about her night with Mr. Too Yummy For Words.”

      Ellie frowned. “His name is Ben and he didn’t spend the night.”

      “I hate it when they take off after getting what they want,” Cyn noted.

      “It wasn’t like that,” Ellie vehemently denied.

      “Then tell us what it was like,” Latesha said.

      “I’m trying to, but you keep interrupting me.”

      “I wasn’t interrupting you, that was Cyn.”

      “It was not. You’re the one who keeps talking.”

      Ellie cleared her throat. “Hello? Earth to girlfriends. Listen carefully.”

      “Yeah, Cyn, listen carefully.”

      “She was talking to you, Latesha.”

      Ellie sighed in exasperation. “I’m talking to both of you. Or trying to. Ben and I did not sleep together.”

      “Define sleep together,” Latesha said.

      “I mean we didn’t…you know.” Ellie waved her hand.

      “Why not?” Cyn demanded.

      “Because I just met him and because I’m a mother with a young daughter.”

      Latesha reached for another pile of paper napkins. “That doesn’t mean you can’t be attracted to a sexy bad-boy like Ben.”

      “If you don’t want him, can I have him?” Cyn asked.

      “Forget it,” Latesha said. “I have dibs on him. I talked about him first.”

      “Look at her face.” Cyn pointed at Ellie. “She wants him for herself.”