Maggie didn’t give a rat’s ass about protocol. This was an emergency. But then she blinked.

Gina lay in bed in the arms of yet another stranger.

The man was broad-shouldered, had tattoos on his biceps, shaggy blond hair and a week-old beard that looked devilishly good on him.

Not that Maggie cared. “You were supposed to have my back last night. What happened?”

Gina grinned and pointed to a spot over Maggie’s right shoulder. “Him.”

Maggie turned to find Chase standing at the threshold of the bedroom door, a frown pulling his eyebrows together over his nose and still not wearing a stitch. Then his frown cleared, and he waved a hand in the direction of the bed. “Hey, long time no see.”

Maggie stared from Chase to Gina and back. “Gina, you know this man?”

Gina shook her head. “Nope. But I wouldn’t mind getting to know him.”

The man lying in the bed beside her tweaked the tip of her nipple through the sheet. “Sweetheart, you better not know him. I’m not much into sharing my women.”

“Carson, I thought you were in Mexico, but I wasn’t sure where.” Chase grinned. “What’s it been? Three months since your separation from the military?”

“Make that four, but it feels like a lifetime.” The man in the bed sat up, taking the sheet with him.

Gina squealed and grabbed for the sheet to cover her naked form.

“How’s it going, Flannigan?” The man in the bed flung the sheet aside and stood in all his butt-naked glory. He stuck out his hand to Maggie. “Carson Walsh.”

When she pulled back, Chase grinned and shook the man’s hand, and then pulled him into a bear hug. “Glad to know you’re still alive and kicking.” He pounded Gina’s bedpartner on the back.

“It’s good to see you, man,” Carson said. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. How are things with our old Navy SEAL team?”

“I don’t know,” Chase said. “I’m out on terminal leave.”

Maggie shook her head. “There’s nothing unusual about two naked strangers standing in my hotel suite, shaking hands like long lost friends. I don’t believe this. I don’t freakin’ believe this.” She held up her left hand to Gina and pointed at her ring finger. “Did you know about this?”

Gina blinked, and her eyes widened. “What the hell?”

“Exactly what I said.” Maggie paced the short length of the room in her bare feet and red dress. “Married.” She jerked her head toward Chase. “Show her the evidence.”

He held up the marriage certificate. “Signed and sealed.” He frowned. “And neither one of us remembers any of last night.”

“Nothing?” Gina asked. “Not even dancing in the bar downstairs?”

“Nothing,” Maggie said. “Zero, nada.” She moaned as a stabbing pain split her head in two. She pressed her palms to her temples. “I have one hell of a hangover to prove it.”

“Oh, honey,” Gina said. “This is too rich.” A chuckle sounded from deep in her throat. Then it turned into laughter, and soon, she was slapping her hand on the mattress, her eyes streaming with tears of mirth. “Oh my God, this is too funny.”

Maggie stopped in the middle of her pacing and glared at her friend. “Are you kidding me? You’re laughing when I’m married to a man I’ve never met?”

Gina wiped the tears from her eyes. “You have to see the irony.”

“I don’t see anything other than an annulment in the very near future.” Maggie stalked out of the room. “As soon as I’ve had a shower and a change of clothes, I’ll see that this mess is undone.”

She stomped into the other room and found her suitcase on the floor where she’d left it when they’d arrived the evening before. Neither one of them had bothered to unpack. They’d headed straight down the bar to celebrate her near miss with matrimony.

Maggie groaned. Near miss, hell. Near miss in the States and, the same day, a direct hit in Mexico.

“Perhaps, you can tell us what happened last night,” Chase said from the doorway of the other room.

Gina chuckled. “Obviously, you two got drunk. I only know what happened at the bar in this hotel.” Her voice grew closer as Gina moved from her room into Maggie’s. “Maggie wanted to start the party as soon as we arrived, so we went down to the bar. There was a band playing, and she downed three tequila shots to get the ball rolling. Within an hour, she added two margaritas to the total,” Gina patted Maggie’s back. “Sweetheart, you were pretty happy, dancing salsa by yourself, until this guy showed up.” Gina held out her hand. “By the way, I’m Gina. Nice to meet you. I’m her best friend.”

Maggie snorted. “Best friends keep best friends from doing stupid stuff.”

“Chase Flannigan,” Chase said and shook hands with Gina. “Nice to meet you, too.”

“Don’t go getting chummy with this devil,” Maggie said as she dragged her heavy case up onto the bed, unzipped and opened it.

Inside were layers of frothy lace and the sheer fabric of sexy lingerie. She rifled through the contents, tossing see-through nighties onto the floor. “Where are my clothes?”

Gina pressed fingers to her lips and gave a sheepish grimace. “The bridesmaids took them out. Each of us put in a sexy nighty in their place.”

Maggie turned on Gina, glaring. “Are you telling me, I don’t have any other clothes than what I arrived in?”

Gina gave her a weak shoulder shrug. “We didn’t think you’d leave your room. There are enough sexy night gowns in there for an entire week.” She grinned. “We thought you’d be happy. I mean, who leaves their room on their honeymoon?”

“Honeymoon?” Chase stood in the doorway, his hands planted on his hips. “You’re here on your honeymoon? And you ended up marrying me? That’s…that’s bigamy.”

Maggie tossed a deep red teddy nightgown over her shoulder. “I’m not a bigamist. I didn’t marry the bastard.”

“He ran off with the wedding planner,” Gina said.

“Gina!” Maggie squealed. “No one else had to know that little bit of information but you and me.”

Her friend snorted. “And everyone who showed up for the wedding. If you ask me, you dodged a fifty-caliber bullet.”

“I didn’t ask you, and I’d appreciate it if you kept your Army analogies about my personal life to yourself.” Maggie threw a sheer black froth of a babydoll nightgown at Gina. She missed, and Chase caught it before it hit the ground.

His brows lifted. “Let me get this straight…You’re here on your honeymoon, without the groom, and this is all you have to wear besides that red dress?” He held the black nightie by his index finger, a grin spreading across his face.

Maggie tossed more items out of the suitcase, torn between anger and defeat. “It appears I’m wearing the extent of my street clothes, besides a thong bikini.” She glared across at Gina. “You owe me.”

“I can loan you a pair of shorts and a couple of T-shirts,” Gina said, wincing.

Maggie threw her hands in the air. “Great, at least I won’t have to run to the store in my evening attire.”

“I wouldn’t toss the lingerie too soon,” Gina warned. “You might yet have use of it.” She winked at Chase. “I mean, seriously, these weren’t cheap.” She touched a finger to the sheer fabric.

“Wow.” Carson appeared in the doorway, dressed in jeans and pulling a shirt over his head. “Where was that last night?” he asked Gina.

“In Maggie’s suitcase,” Gina said. “That’s the one I bought for her wedding trousseau.” Gina took the garment from Chase and held it up to her chest, fumbling to keep from dropping the sheet. “You might be happy to know, I bought one just like it in royal blue for myself.”

“R-r-r-rrr,” Carson said, rolling the Rs across his tongue. He grabbed Gina from behind and kissed her neck. “I’m going for coffee. You want any?” He nuzzled the curve of her shoulder.

Gina giggled. “That tickles.” She turned in Carson’s arms. “Make mine a caramel latte.”

“You got it.” Carson turned to the others in the room. “Anything for you, Maggie, Flannigan?”

“I’m not Maggie Flannigan. I did not marry this man.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Carson’s lips twisted. “Maggie, do you want anything?”

“Yeah.” Maggie jerked her head toward Chase. “Take him with you, will ya?”

“Wanna go?” Carson asked, his eyebrows rising.

Chase shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m heading down to find breakfast, after I shower and change.”

A cellphone chimed from Gina’s bedroom. She frowned and disappeared into the room.

Maggie turned to face Chase. “Why are you still here?”

“I’m just leaving.” He spun on his bare heels and started for the door.

Gina called out, “Holy hell, Maggie. You and Chase have to see this.”

Maggie frowned. Gina tended toward drama. “What is it, now?”

“I got a text…from your phone number.” She entered Maggie’s room, her face pale. “It’s not good.”

Maggie’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?”

“Look at this.” Gina shoved her cellphone into Maggie’s hand.

Maggie glanced down.

Tell Maggie her husband better meet me behind La Casa Loca at midnight, or I kill the bitch.

“What the hell?” Her picture was at the top of screen with her name beneath. “That’s from my cellphone?” She shoved Gina’s phone at her and searched the room for hers.

“Let me see.” Chase bent over Gina’s cellphone and frowned. “Son of a bitch.”

“Where the hell is my phone?” Maggie cried. When her search came up empty, she darted out the door and back down the hallway to Chase’s room.

He’d left the door open.

Maggie pushed through and searched every corner of his room, but to no avail. She left his room and marched back to hers, meeting Chase at the door. “Who the hell has my phone?”

Chase shook his head and stepped out of her way. “I don’t know. If you recall, we both are having challenges remembering what happened last night.”

“I have no clothes. I have no phone. And I thought this honeymoon couldn’t get worse.” She turned all of her anger on Chase and pointed to the door. “You! Man! Get out of my room!”

He stood with his arms crossed over his bare chest. “Can’t.”

“What do you mean can’t?”

“You heard the threat. If I don’t show up at midnight, he’s going to hurt you. What’s to keep him from hurting you before that?”

“He has my phone. Not my name or address.” Maggie pointed to the door. “He’s not going to find me.”

“Cabo San Lucas isn’t all that big. If he’s a local, he may have ways to find you. And if he does, I will be around to protect you. I don’t know why he wants a piece of me, but until I figure it out, you’re stuck with me.”

Gina snorted and laughed all at once. Then she clapped a hand over her mouth. “This is too funny. You came to Mexico to get away from your wedding and landed smack dab in another. The first groom ran off, and now you can’t get rid of this one. That’s rich.” She dissolved in a fit of giggling.

Maggie glared at her friend. “You’re not helping.” Her gaze shifted to Chase. “And you need to get out of here.”

He crossed his arms over his naked chest, but his stern look lost some of its starch when his lips twitched. “Not without my bride.”