A Sexy Marine Neighbor?

Oorah!

The sight of the gorgeous, ripped military man across the street heats Mari McGuire from head to toe—and a whole lot in between. Yes, sir, she definitely has a case of Hot Marine Syndrome. And when First Lieutenant Brody Williams rescues her from an awkward run-in with her ex by pretending to be her boyfriend, Mari can confirm she’s got it bad...

Of course, they’re friends first, and friends help each other out. Mari needs a hand renovating the old Victorian house she just bought and Brody needs a girlfriend to secure his promotion. It’s the perfect temporary arrangement—and then there’s the sizzling chemistry. It’s wickedly racy. It’s addictive. But neither of them expects Cupid’s arrow to aim for their hearts!

Brody grabbed his tools and winked at her.

“Seems silly for you to get cleaned up only to get dirty again...” she said.

Dirty. Why did everything out of Mari’s mouth sound like sexual innuendo?

Because of the kiss and you were tight against Brody’s—

Stop it.

She pushed away the thoughts of stripping off his tank and running her hands across his tight abs. Far, far away.

“Right. Tile.” She gestured toward the staircase, so that he could get started.

“Cool.” He stepped past her and headed on up. “Where am I going?”

“Bathroom. Second door on the right.” The man’s butt as he climbed the stairs was a sight to behold.

No, this wasn’t going to be a bad idea at all...

Dear Reader,

This story, along with the two more in this series, was inspired by a group of Marines I saw in the airport in Dallas one day. They were sitting around—men and women, laughing and giving each other a hard time. Turns out they were heading home (I might have eavesdropped a little). I don’t know where they’d been, but it sent my imagination into overdrive, and I started writing furiously in my notebook.

I also have an addiction to HGTV. And those two things, the Marines and remodeling a house, sort of came together in my head. That’s how Brody came to be the handsome Marine who lives across the street from Mari, the heroine. While he’s far from perfect, he can fix almost anything—maybe even Mari’s broken heart.

I’d like to thank those Marines for inspiring me, and to all of the servicemen and women who put their lives on the line to protect our freedom.

I would love to hear from you. You can follow me on Twitter, @candacehavens, and Facebook, facebook.com/candace.havens.7, or visit me at candacehavens.com.

Candace

Her Sexy Marine Valentine

Candace Havens

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CANDACE “CANDY” HAVENS is a bestselling and award-winning author. She is a two-time RITA® Award, Write Touch Reader and Holt Medallion finalist. She is also a winner of the Barbara Wilson Award. Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist for FYI Television. A veteran journalist, she has interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood. You can hear Candy weekly on New Country 96.3 KSCS in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area.

Jill Marsal, thank you for your patience and for hangin’ tight. You are awesomeness.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Extract

Copyright

1

LIEUTENANT BRODY WILLIAMS dumped a bag of tortilla chips in his grocery cart and tried not to wince when the wheels squeaked. The headaches were less intense since the crash, but he still had them daily. That level of pain, paired with the dreams that had him waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, had left him feeling rotten for months. If he took the drugs the doctors gave him, he couldn’t fly, so he ran for miles every day and drank more coffee than any man should.

He added salsa to his cart. A hobby, that’s what he needed, something that would keep him busy and the memories at bay. Fixing up his rented house was almost complete. New projects—that would do it. He was about to turn the corner when he saw the familiar red head.

Shoot. His CO’s daughter was walking down the frozen food section.

Why does she always seem to turn up wherever I am?

He’d met her at a reception his boss threw a few weeks ago. At first, he’d thought she was pretty, but then discovered she was the boss’s daughter. Hands off that one. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to understand that dating her wasn’t even a remote possibility for him. His boss was already an aggravation, he didn’t need to be adding to it by taking out the man’s daughter.

Turning his cart quickly, he headed the opposite way. A woman plus a couple were blocking his escape. He stood off to one side pretending to look at the different brands of coffee.

“Marigold, I’d like you to meet my beautiful fiancée, Annalise. She’s a model,” the man said. “She’s been in a ton of magazines.” His tone was snide and Brody felt sorry for Marigold.

“Fiancée? But we only broke up two months ago,” she said. “I mean, congrats and all, but that’s kind of fast.” The voice was familiar to Brody, smooth and rich like honey.

The guy was showing off his new girl to his ex? From Marigold’s reaction, she was barely holding on by a thread. Brody’s guess was that this guy had done a real number on her. And she was right. A couple of months wasn’t nearly long enough to get to know someone well enough to marry them. Heck, twenty years wasn’t long enough in his book. Then again, he never planned on marrying.

He sucked at relationships. Mostly because he was seldom in one place for longer than six months. As a pilot, and a trainer, his situation could change any day.

“Oh, my little sweetie couldn’t wait to put a ring on it,” the woman named Annalise said, as she waved her hand back and forth. Brody realized he knew the poor woman who was caught in her ex’s crosshairs. She was his neighbor, Mari, or rather Marigold. He’d once lugged some wood flooring she’d been struggling with. She said she was flipping the old Victorian across the street from his place. He’d wondered then why she didn’t have someone to give her a hand with heavy loads like the flooring. Not that he minded helping. She’d been kind and even offered him lemonade.

That day she’d been wearing a ball cap pulled low, and baggy overalls and a fresh white tank, but those deep blue eyes had made him think about the sea off the coast of Greece. Today, her shiny blond hair was pulled up into a sleek ponytail and she wore denim shorts with a Dallas Cowboys jersey. He could forgive her choice of team, if only because of the startled look in her eyes.

He hadn’t been able to help his men a year ago. He’d barely been able to help himself, but he could do something about this.

“Mari, there you are,” he said before he even realized the words were coming out of his mouth. He pushed around her ex. “I’ve been looking all over for you, babe. I found the chips and salsa, but not the cheese stuff you wanted.”

At first, she glanced up at him as if he was crazy, but then she smiled when she recognized him.

That smile stole his breath away. As in, he could not suck in air even if he tried. Damn. She was beautiful.

She cleared her throat. “That’s okay, honey, I think I’ll make the queso from scratch,” she said without missing a beat. Then she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. Her lips were soft. “I love that you are so helpful.” And then in his ear she whispered, “Thank you.”

“You know I’d do anything for you.” He grabbed her and pulled her to him. Her vanilla scent made him forget where they were. “Who’s this? Do I need to be jealous?” He nodded toward her ex.

“Oh, uh...” She stumbled over the words. “My ex. He was introducing me to his fiancée.”

The other man appeared as if he’d swallowed a toad. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting Mari to find a man so quickly.

Brody chuckled. “Well, I should take you out to dinner, man. Because if you hadn’t been an idiot and left my Mari, my life would be empty. She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. The day we met was the most special one in my life.” Oh, now he was laying it on thick, but he couldn’t stop. He had this need to protect her. To show this fool what he was missing. The brunette with the false eyelashes and even falser breasts couldn’t compare to the natural beauty he held in his arms.

The ex’s mouth opened and then closed, as if he couldn’t decide what to say. His brows furrowed and he opened his mouth again, but...

The brunette squealed. “I’ve had a marvelous idea. You guys have to come to our engagement party,” she said. “It’s so cool that everyone can kind of be bygones.”

Wow. He had a feeling the supposed model had no idea what bygones meant.

“That’s probably not a marvelous idea,” the ex said. “I’m sure they’re busy.”

“We do stay pretty busy,” Mari said.

“True,” Brody agreed. “But send us an invite anyway. You never know. I love showing off my Mari.”

The jerk’s eyes flashed wide. Good. Even if she didn’t go, he’d be worried she might show up.

“We should get going,” Mari said. She put a hand on his arm and shot him a quick grin. “I hope you two will be very happy together. Come on, Brody.”

He and Mari turned and made it several aisles over before stopping. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you,” she said softly. She blew out a breath. “That wasn’t how I imagined seeing him for the first time since we broke up. I was shocked. I mean, who gets engaged so fast? We dated for five years.”

“You’re better off without him,” Brody said honestly. “And you’re way too good for him.”

She grinned. “You’ve known me five seconds, but thank you. It was really kind. The breakup was bad and I thought I was over it, but wow. Just wow. You’re the best. I was sinking there and you threw me a life preserver.”

He still wasn’t sure why he’d done it. Wasn’t like him to butt into a stranger’s business. He preferred being alone. But there was something about her that made him want to get involved. “It’s a Marine thing. We live by our code. You were a damsel in distress and I came to your aid.”

“I’m not sure anyone, especially someone I didn’t know well, has ever been so kind to me. I’d say your duty is done, Marine. That was just a whole lot of awesome. He looked like a marooned fish trying to figure out what to say.” She laughed this time. It was a sweet sound. “You are the best boyfriend ever.”

“Brody?”

His shoulders tightened at the sound of his name. She’d finally found him. “Please help me,” he whispered to Mari before turning around.

“Hey, Carissa.”

The CO’s daughter had her eyebrow raised and seemed to be focused on something, or rather someone, just past his shoulder.

“Did I hear you say you’re dating her?” She pointed a red fingernail toward Mari.

“Do you have a problem with that?” Mari said. Her acidic tone very nearly made him chuckle.

Knowing a cue when he heard one, he quickly stepped aside and grabbed her hand. It was so small in his, and her skin was silky smooth against his calloused mitts. He raised Mari’s fingers to his lips and kissed them. “Calm down, babe. This is my CO’s daughter, Carissa. The boss’s daughter.”

“Oh. Ohhhh.” She smiled and then shook her head. “I’m so sorry. Hi, I’m Marigold McDaniels. You have to forgive me. My man is so handsome that I always have to be on alert to discourage women from throwing themselves at him. It gets annoying after a while. But he’s a sweetheart, and I’m maybe just a little bit the jealous type. At least, when it comes to Brody.”

Mari might win an award some day for this performance.

For once Carissa seemed speechless, but still, she recovered quickly. “Funny that he’s never mentioned you.”

“That’s my fault,” Mari said. “It’s so new between us, and I got out of a really bad relationship not that long ago. Like horrifically bad. So we haven’t been telling people, until, well, today. We just ran in to my ex.”

“Awkward,” Brody said in a singsong voice. That didn’t sound like him at all; it caught him off guard. Maybe he’d be the one winning the award. And if this charade of theirs kept the CO’s daughter from hitting on him in the future, he’d owe Mari for life. “I kind of wanted to punch his lights out for hurting my Mari.” That part was true. He’d never wanted to smack a guy so bad. “But at the same time, if he hadn’t been so dumb, Mari and I would never have met.”

“Huh.” Carissa gave them a weak smile. “Well, my dad will be glad to hear you’re putting down some roots finally. In fact, you should bring her to the picnic on Saturday. It will be good for you to socialize, get to know more people. Dad’s still trying to build camaraderie and teamwork hopefully by bringing folks together off base,” Carissa said to Mari. “He’s mentioned several times that Brody seems to be a bit of a loner.”

Why would the boss be discussing him with Carissa? Brody wasn’t happy to hear that.

He’d forgotten about the team-building events. He didn’t understand why simply doing the job wasn’t enough anymore. They were Marines. Being smart and self-reliant were the important qualities to have. Not worrying about connecting with others and all that stuff. You interacted with one another, sure, but everyone had to focus and do their own job.

He glanced down at pretty Mari. Shoot. The last thing Brody needed in his life was a woman. A relationship only meant complications. Once you cared about someone—

“Babe, you promised we could lay wood,” Mari said, with a giggle and a sexy smile on her lips. Parts of his body reacted. This woman was definitely dangerous if merely her laugh could make him hard. “Sorry. What I mean is we’re supposed to put the wood floors down on Saturday.”

He gently tugged her ponytail. “You’re a bad, bad girl.” She was funny and quick, as well as beautiful. Yep, a wicked combination. “I always keep my promises, but maybe we can figure out how to do both.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. He had to, she smelled so good, looked so good and...right, Carissa was watching. He knew there was another reason. He admitted it was hard to think when Mari was smiling up at him like that.

“You’ve got that look again.” She rolled her eyes. “But I can never tell if you want food or—”

Her. Naked. In his bed.

What was that? His imagination was in overdrive.

Food. He needed to eat, or maybe it was the headache. It was causing him to hallucinate.

“You. Babe, when it comes to a choice between food or you, it’s always going to be you.”

“Uh, right. Well, I believe that’s the sign for me to leave,” Carissa said, “but you two might want to get a room. The grocery aisle isn’t the place for that sort of thing, and I’m pretty open-minded. So we’ll see you both on Saturday.” With that she sauntered off.

Finally. He relaxed. But then he realized he was still holding on to Mari’s shoulders. He reluctantly let go.

“That was fun. We should start a theater group or something.” She chuckled.

“It was. Thanks for coming to my rescue. She’s been asking me out since I arrived at the base. I do a lot of stupid stuff, I confess, but messing around with the CO’s daughter is not on the list.”

“I can tell she’s used to men saying yes, so you must be quite the challenge. She’s superattractive, though.”

He shrugged. “Not my type. You have no idea how grateful I am to you right now. She’s too much, a real piece of work.”

“I should be thanking you,” Mari said. “In fact, let me make you dinner. A man cannot live on tortilla chips and salsa alone.” She pointed at his cart. “And I was making tacos anyway. We could combine our resources and have a great meal.”

A home-cooked meal didn’t sound so bad. It had been a while. He could cook, but doing it for one person always seemed a waste.

Though sharing a meal with Mari might not be the best idea. In just the few minutes they’d spent together, he’d become very attracted to her. And that was not a good thing. Better to let her down easy. “You don’t have to do that, we helped each other out.”

“I know, but I want to and I...” She stared down at her feet as if she were afraid to say whatever was coming next.

“What?” he asked.

“I have a proposition for you.”

Brody nearly choked. Had he stepped right into another messy situation? Granted, Mari was sweet, but the last thing he needed was to potentially ruin his relationship with a neighbor.

Tell your dick that.

True. He should be alone. Still, that didn’t keep him from asking.

“What kind of proposal?” Intrigued, he followed her to the checkout counter. He only had a few of the items he’d planned on buying, but his curiosity was piqued and the rest could wait.

She bit her lip. It was adorable and sexy. “I need to work it out in my head first before I tell you. So come over for dinner in an hour and I’ll explain. Bring your chips and salsa. I’m about to rock your world with some of the best tacos you’ve ever had.”

She winked at him.

Everything about her was fun. He should lighten up. Besides he couldn’t resist her offer without looking like a complete jerk. Not that he couldn’t be a hard-ass, just ask the men and women he commanded. No doubt his face was used as target practice on dartboards all over the base.

“That’s a pretty big claim. Tacos are one of my main food groups.” It wasn’t a lie. He had them three or four times a week.

“Ha! I’m a native Texan,” she said with a slight twang that hadn’t been there before. “If I can’t make a great taco, they’ll kick me out of here.” Then she batted her eyelashes at him.

He laughed. It was a meal, what would it hurt? And they had helped each other out. She’d shown she was a good sport.

“All right. You’re on.” He wasn’t sure he could recall the last time he’d smiled this much, and he was hungry.

As she headed to her car in her short shorts and football jersey, he put his items up on the checkout counter and smirked.

What he needed more than anything was peace and quiet, to focus on being a helicopter pilot and instructor. He’d been given a great opportunity for someone his age and he didn’t want to screw it up by losing his drive.

That woman was trouble.

Damn if he didn’t want to find out what kind.

* * *

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Mari tossed her groceries into the fridge, which was in the garage. That’s where she’d set up her temporary kitchen while hers was under construction. How was she going to cook a meal for a man like him on her tiny hot plate? And where exactly was she going to serve it?

She tapped a finger against her chin. The inside of her house was chaos. A construction zone with no end in sight. She sighed. She didn’t have time to worry about that now. She had to plan dinner.

One hour at a time she reminded herself. It was how she lived her life now. Otherwise it was too overwhelming.

Inspiration hit. Her back deck. It was clean and she had a great fire pit to keep her and Brody warm. The hot tub hadn’t been installed yet, but there was a decent table and chairs. She rolled her eyes; she wouldn’t have used the hot tub with her to-die-for neighbor anyway.

Don’t go there.

So handsome. So built. No. Not even a possibility. She needed him for one thing and one thing only—and it was not to satisfy her lust-fueled thoughts. Although feeling those manly muscles around her shoulders—and those abs.

Those abs. He must work out every stinkin’ day. She shook her head as if to erase the image.

Nope. Not going there. She had a plan, or at least the beginnings of one, and it did not include having sex with the neighbor. No matter how terrific he might be.

No. Really. Stop thinking about him that way. Mere moments ago he’d had to extricate himself from the clutches of his boss’s daughter. The last thing he wanted was Mari trying to seduce him. But it had been so long. So very long since she’d even felt the urge to—

Tacos. She had to get the tacos started.

She switched on the hot place, got out a frying pan and crumbled the hamburger meat into it. After adding some spices and a bit of minced garlic, she started chopping vegetables and shredding cheese.

This meal was the least she could do for her white knight of a neighbor. When he’d appeared out of nowhere and pretended to be her boyfriend, she’d almost collapsed with gratefulness.

The ex, Gary, had left a soul-crushing mark on her, and she wasn’t sure she’d ever trust another man. He’d made her believe they had a future together, and then he’d come home one night and said she was boring. That he’d had an affair at a conference and it helped him realize he wasn’t as into her as he thought he was.

Whatever. The cheating jerk acted like everything was her fault.

“You’re too vanilla, Mari,” Gary had said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been this bored in bed. I shouldn’t have cheated on you, but after that one night at the convention I knew what I was missing. And then I couldn’t help myself. You’re just not it for me.”

Queasiness hit, as it did whenever she remembered his words. He could have shot her and left her for dead that day and she wouldn’t have been more surprised.

It wasn’t the first time a romance of hers had gone down in flames. She’d dated her fair share of Garys, but she’d thought this one was different. Even if their ideas on design clashed, and he didn’t like Mexican food and he demanded the towels be folded in halves, when she liked them another way. Who didn’t go for a three-quarter fold? It always looked nice on the towel rack.

That should have been my first clue. Still, it didn’t keep her ex’s words from churning through her head in a hateful litany. All right, fine, so she wasn’t an expert when it came to sex, and she’d had to fake the majority of her orgasms with Gary.

Oh, who am I kidding? I faked them all. But she didn’t imagine she was boring in bed.

Now Gary was with a model? And she didn’t even know what bygones meant. But she was probably great in bed, which evidently was Gary’s primary criteria when it came to the woman he wanted to marry. Engaged. Already.

Ugh.

She rolled her shoulders, trying to ease the tension, and took a couple deep breaths. It’s what she did to release the nerves.

I’m definitely better off without him. That fact didn’t keep the loneliness at bay, however; and all the good guys in Corpus Christi seemed to be taken or unavailable. Even the hot, sexy Marine from across the street was too good to be true. He had women like the redhead throwing herself at him and there he was turning her down. How could Mari compete with that? Not to mention, what if she did sleep with him and he thought she was boring?

Why are you even thinking about sleeping with him?

Come on. How could she not? Those biceps and that smile. When he’d thanked her ex at the grocery store for giving her up, her heart had skipped a beat. She had to remind herself he was too good to be true.

But it felt wonderful to have him in her corner. And that fish face Gary had made, that was the best.

No, it wouldn’t do at all for her to think about Brody as anything more than a nice neighbor.

Although he might be able to assist her with the one thing she needed most.

She’d seen him in uniform a couple of times and he was breathtaking. After he’d carried in her flooring that day, she kept meaning to take him cookies or maybe bake him a pie. But without a real kitchen it wasn’t easy.

She stirred the meat and then returned to chopping.

Her cell rang and she checked it. Mom again. She swiped the screen, making the phone silent. She didn’t have time for this. And she knew it was only her parents checking in. They were still worried about her breakup with Gary even though it had been months ago.

Her ex’s expression when he’d taken in Brody had been hilarious. As if the idea had never occurred to him that she could attract someone like the Marine.

Even if she couldn’t, she sort of loved the fact that now Gary would think she’d traded up, silly or not.

Brody...he was all man. Those biceps under his black T-shirt could not be denied. And when she’d leaned against him, those abs she’d touched were washboard-hard. That was the third time she’d thought about his abs.

No. Do not go there.

Admittedly, in hindsight, the lack of sex between her and Gary hadn’t helped their situation. It wasn’t as if he had been initiating things and she was turning him down. They often came home tired. She was always busy with her interior design business and closing on the old Victorian, and he worked for one of the top architectural firms in South Texas. But she’d failed to see the signs. They had been going through the motions.

Still, it didn’t mean he had a right to cheat. He’d met his fiancée at the convention and told her it had been love at first sight, and that he couldn’t pretend any more with Mari.

Pretend.

She took another deep breath. The hurt still stabbed at her chest.

I’m over him.

I’m lucky he’s out of my life.

Her brain believed her. Her heart, not so much.

Focus on dinner.

After digging around in her many boxes, she found the small red bowls that matched the plates she wanted to use. It was late January in Corpus Christi, which meant eating outside would be chilly, but fine with a fire. She took some wood from the cord she’d bought, then dashed through the house and stacked it in the fire pit out back.

Then she set the old wooden harvest table she’d stored there on the deck.

She opened the garage door to let out the smell from the meat that was cooking, and standing there was the dreamy Marine with a confused expression on his face.

Not expecting him to be standing there, she jumped and maybe screamed...a little.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. Uh, why are you cooking in your garage?”

“Long story.” Now she’d have to recount her very ugly history with this darn house. If he didn’t already think her lame, he would soon.

Oh, well.

It’s not like you wanted to make him yours.

Liar.

“Follow me and I’ll explain everything.”

2

BRODY FOLLOWED HIS neighbor through her house, which looked like a war zone, and after several tours in the desert, he’d been in a few. It wasn’t junky, but most of the walls had been taken down to the studs. And the wood floor had large holes in it.

“Watch your step,” she warned as she led him out to the backyard. “There were plumbing issues and they had to rip up some of the boards to find the pipes under the house. One of the five million things that have gone wrong since I bought this place.”

The despair in her voice was clear. Why was someone like her living in this mess? He’d seen her in heels and brightly colored dresses when she came home at night. Even in her shorts and jersey she was immaculate. It didn’t make any sense.

“I knew we, I mean I, was in for a lot of work, but I really underestimated the project. If I’d done this with one of my clients, I’d have been fired.”

They stepped out onto a wooden deck. There was a table set with smart-looking ceramic bowls positioned near a fire pit. Strings of twinkling lights wrapped around the wood posts and portico. This was more of what he expected from Mari’s house. It was casual but in an elegant sort of way.

“Clients?” he asked as he sat the chips and salsa on the table.

“I’m an interior designer. I have my own firm, but I work with architectural and construction companies around Corpus Christi and South Texas to design spaces from the ground up.”

He didn’t know anything about design, but he’d helped out at his uncle’s construction company every summer in North Carolina. His family had moved a lot over the years, but the summers at his uncle’s were something Brody looked forward to when school was out. Even though it was hard going, he’d enjoyed being a part of building homes, or at other times doing smaller remodeling jobs. From the look of her house, she had a hard road ahead of her.

“I can guess what you’re thinking.” She laughed. “I’m insane. You aren’t wrong.”

He laughed, too.

She glanced at the table. “I forgot the taco shells and sangria. Or would you rather have beer?”

“I’m good with water.” Alcohol made the headaches worse and the headaches led to nightmares of his men screaming, waking him up in the early morning hours. The other night he’d left the ceiling fan on and he’d freaked out for a few seconds, imagining the blades from the Viper helicopter coming at him. Once he’d realized what was going on, he sent his fist through the bedroom wall.

Another patch job to add to his list of things to fix around the rental.

Most of the older homes in the neighborhood were stately and needed a lot of upkeep. His rental wasn’t as big as Mari’s, but it was just as old. Most of her Victorian had been remodeled, he noticed.

She frowned. “Oh, are you an, um— Sorry.”

“No, I don’t have a drinking problem. I can drink. But I want to lay off for a while. Been getting headaches and alcohol only seems to fuel them.” Why was he telling her that? It would lead to more questions.

“Got it. Were you injured? Uh, I don’t want to pry.” Yep. More questions.

“Yes.” He couldn’t tell her. Couldn’t talk to anyone about it. “My last tour we hit a bad patch.” That was putting it mildly. But Brody refused to think about that flight.

She smiled and then touched his arm. It was a kind gesture. “Oh. Sorry I brought it up. Okay. Be right back.”

He wished she’d just tell him what it was that she wanted to talk about. Her proposal. And he really hoped it wasn’t to do with sex, although that’s pretty much all he’d thought about for the last hour. He didn’t think he’d be able to tell her no, but it was the wrong choice for him right now.

“That’s a lot to carry, I’ll help.”

“No problem. I got it. If you don’t mind, maybe you could get the fire going?” She handed him a lighter from her pocket. “The temperature’s good, but as the sun goes down it will get pretty cool out here.”

“Sure.” He should have suggested that they eat at his house, but he was worried about offending her. More than ever he was curious about whatever proposal she had. Strange that she’d invite him for a meal when she didn’t have a proper kitchen. Not that he was one to judge. There were many times he’d used a hot plate, either in the barracks or at a temporary camp.

She emerged from the house with a pitcher of sangria in one hand and in the other hand she held a plate full of taco shells. She’d also tucked a bottle of water under one arm.

He grabbed the pitcher and the water and put them on the table.

“I had to heat the shells up in the microwave. Usually I’d do that in the oven, but I probably won’t have one for another three weeks, and that’s if the cabinetmaker finishes on time. His wife is having twins, so it’s probably a little sad that I say nightly prayers she doesn’t have those babies before he’s done with my job. I’m a horrible person.”

He laughed. “You’re not horrible. You made me tacos.” He meant it. The meat smelled great and he couldn’t wait to dig in.

She handed him a plate with four tacos on it. “My apologies again. Didn’t mean to unload on you. It’s been a day. You were there for part of it, but before that came the plumbing news.”

She took the top off a large tray that had several small bowls. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so there is cheese, tomatoes, jalapeños and some caramelized onions. Oh, and I made guacamole. I left it in the fridge. I’ll get it.”

He loaded up his tacos and waited for her to return.

“This smells delicious. It’s been a long time since someone made me an actual meal.” Mostly he ate at a couple of local restaurants or the chow hall on base. The last six months he’d had to remind himself to eat. Food wasn’t that important to him. The second he let his guard down, the guilt overtook him.

The muscles in his gut tightened.

No. He had to force the visions from his head. His men were gone. They’d never share another meal.

And this wasn’t the time.

Focus. He had a beautiful woman sitting in front of him and she was sweet. He could try not being a hard-ass for an hour. And he was still more than a little curious about her proposition.

“Cooking is one of the things I do to relax,” she said. “I miss it. I haven’t had a kitchen for two months, well, one that had more than a hot plate in it. But enough about that. How did you end up here? What do you do?”

“I’m a helicopter pilot. I fly Vipers and Venoms, and when necessary, Stallions. I’m teaching Boots studying navigation at the base.”

“Boots?”

“New Marines.” His CO’s order that he develop better camaraderie with the new squad flashed through his head. Brody didn’t understand why he had to make friends. His job was to teach these guys how to best do their jobs so they didn’t die. Maybe if he’d prepared his other squad more, they would have survived.

His gut tightened again, the wave of sadness culminating in the pain and tension behind his right eye. Why did it always seem that when you cared about people they ended up dead?

“Brody? Is something wrong with the taco?”

Blinking, he refocused. After taking a bite, the spices a perfect blend with the meat and toppings, he shook his head.

He pointed the taco at her. “You didn’t lie. It’s really good.”

“Told you.” She paused. “You don’t sound like a Texan, in fact you don’t have much of an accent at all.”

“My dad is an entrepreneur and we moved a lot. Sometimes two or three times a year. More after my mom died.”

“Wow.” Mari frowned. “That must have been hard on you as a kid. And I’m so sorry about your mom.”

“It was and I do miss her. But it was a long time ago,” Brody said. He still smiled when he thought of her. His mom had been the one to make all the moving seem like an adventure. “And to be honest, it taught me to travel light.”

“Still, adjusting to new schools and stuff. And always making friends. I can’t even imagine how difficult that must have been.”

It was part of the reason he was such a loner. It was just easier that way. “So, Mari, can I ask why you decided to take on this house? Seems like a lot for one person.”

She grimaced and put her food back on her plate. He’d upset her, but he didn’t know how.

“True. It’s a lot. But I didn’t have a choice really. This started out as a project my ex and I had agreed on together. I bought the house and he would pay for the renovations, which were actually more than the house was worth. By the time we’d be finished though, the house would be worth four times as much. The plan was to flip it and move on to the next place. Except...the day after I closed on the house he broke up with me.”

“Low blow,” Brody said through gritted teeth.

“Not going to argue with you. And I can think of some nastier things to say. Anyway, I was stuck. I can’t sell the house as is, I won’t get back the money I put into it. So my only option is to fix it up as best I can and sell. But without his money, I’m having to do it all on a shoestring.”

Her ex deserved a load of bad karma for doing this to Mari. Brody hadn’t known her long, but she was sweet, and didn’t deserve to be treated like that.

Thinking of the situation at the grocery store only made him angrier. After all the jerk put her through, then he rubbed her nose in the fact he was marrying another woman.

“Do you need me to kill him?”

She smiled. “You know, earlier today when I found out how much it was going to take to bring the plumbing up to code, I might have taken you up on that. No, my proposition, well, it’s a little out there.”

“Just ask. Honestly, my curiosity is starting to get the better of me.”

She sipped, more like chugged, the sangria. Then she set down her glass.

“I watched you fixing the roof on your house a couple of weeks ago. And then you repaired the mailbox and put in a new post. I promise I’m not stalking you, but I’ve also seen you tinkering with your motorcycle. A lot. And your truck. I just wondered if maybe you might be able to help me out around here. Maybe there’s something I could do for you in return. Wait. That came out really wrong. I meant cook or something.” She laughed nervously.

It took him a minute to figure out what she was proposing. “You’d like me to do handyman stuff?”

“Yes. Over the years I’ve learned a lot. I’ve even helped out on jobs. I have to bring in tradesmen for the electrical and plumbing, and those guys aren’t cheap. So most of the other work is going to fall to me. This time, as I explained, I can’t afford to hire the guys I normally would.”

He pressed his lips together. It wasn’t a matter of him not being able to do the work. He could. But hanging around Mari all the time probably wasn’t a good idea.

She was the sexiest woman he’d met in, well...forever. And he didn’t need complications like that. And he sure as hell didn’t want to care about her or her rickety house.

He glanced up to see her chewing on her lip again.

“It was a dumb idea. Forget I asked. Really.”

“No. It’s that I’m pretty busy at the base. Lots of new recruits and...”

Liar. He could do the job in his sleep. And he was out of there every weekday at five because he didn’t like being reminded of the past, which left him hours at home with nothing to do.

“Of course. Like I said, forget I asked. I don’t know why I even thought it—I probably sound totally desperate. Can we just drop it? Please?” She cleared her throat and averted her eyes.

Shoot. He’d disappointed her. Her ex had left her in a bad spot, and Brody wasn’t the kind of guy who could say no if someone genuinely needed his help. He’d done his best when he’d visited the families of his team members to make sure they got the benefits they were due and lend a hand any way he could. It didn’t get rid of his survivor’s guilt, but it made him feel useful. Mari was a kind woman who didn’t deserve what life had thrown at her; he hated to see injustice of any kind, no matter what form it took.

“Tell you what, let me see what my schedule’s going to be like the next couple of weeks. Maybe I can take care of a few things on the weekends, or some weeknights. Can I let you know tomorrow?”

Her head popped up and her smile did strange things to his insides, not to mention what was going on in his lower regions. He was glad she couldn’t see under the old table.

“Are you sure? I mean, if you decide it’s a no, I’m okay with that. You helped me more than enough today.”

He had a feeling it was going to be hard to say no to Mari, and this was just the start.

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING at her Bay Area office bungalow, Mari crossed her arms on her desk and put her head down. This was why she was swearing off men.

“I’m an idiot.”

“Hey, don’t be so mean to my boss. She’s a sweetheart.”

Mari lifted her head as her trusted assistant, Abbott, walked in and took a seat on one of the upholstered chairs in front of her desk. She was also her closest friend. One of the few people Mari could confess to about her crazy night with the Marine. The one where she’d put the poor guy on the spot and begged him to fix her house.

What was I thinking?

“Still an idiot. You won’t believe what I did yesterday.”

Her friend steepled her fingers and waggled her eyebrows. “Oh, this has got to be good. I haven’t seen you this bent out of shape since you broke up with the turd, which, let me remind you, was the best thing that ever happened to you. Do tell.”

Abbott had been joyous over the breakup with Gary. She’d always disliked him. If only Mari had listened to her friend’s warnings, she might have saved herself some heartbreak.

She told Abbott about what happened.

Her friend sat back and blew out a breath. Her brown curls in a righteous halo were piled on top of her head. “Wow! A true hero. What a great guy.”

Mari lifted her face to the ceiling. “I know, right? And you should see his abs. He’s hotter than any man has a right to be. That’s what makes what I did next so atrocious.”

Abbot’s eyes widened. “You threw yourself at him? I told you this not dating thing was going to backfire on you. Those hormones can only be caged without release for so long. And then, boom!” She slapped the desk and made Mari jump.

Her friend had a thing for the dramatic. “No. Though, I wish I had. It’s probably the last time I’m ever going to see him. He’ll probably move.”

Abbott leaned forward on her elbows. “Now I’m totally intrigued. Seriously, what did you do this time?”

“I asked him to be my handyman.”

If she hadn’t felt so bad she might have laughed at her friend’s confusion.

“Is that some kind of new kink? I’ve never heard of that. Does he show up in just a tool belt or something?”

“Wow. Come on, Abbott, do you ever think of anything but sex?”

“Nope. Not really. So what do you mean?” Abbott wasn’t supercrazy about commitment, either, but she also never lacked for a date. Her friend was the queen of love ’em and leave ’em. Mari had never been able to do that. Just have sex to have sex. In a way, she was envious of her friend’s ability to have fun without getting emotionally attached. It wasn’t that Mari was clingy. She just wanted something more than just the physical from her sexual partners. Not that it had worked out well for her so far.

She explained.

“Wow. You really are desperate.”

Mari frowned. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious.”

“So what did he say?”

“He was sweet. He said he’d think about it, but he added he was really busy at work.”

“So he gave himself an out?” Abbott asked. “Hmm.”

She nodded. Secretly, Mari had been a little crushed when Brody had said he was busy, which was stupid since she’d never believed he’d agree to her off-the-wall plan. “I think he was trying to get out of it gracefully, and he didn’t want to have to tell me to my face that I was totally crazy.”

Abbott leaned back. “So what are you going to do?”

“Well, I can’t afford to move. Though, I did consider it. Living with my parents again, well, I just can’t go there.” She was only half-joking. Part of her wanted to give up on everything and go home to Austin. Her parents would understand. Heck, they’d probably welcome her with open arms. It’d been more than a year since she’d been to Austin to see them. She was always too busy with the next project.

Strangely, given everything that had happened, she wasn’t sure she could handle being around them. Theirs was the standard to which she held all relationships—thirty years together and they were so in love with one another it was annoying.

Nope. She couldn’t handle being around that right now.

There was also the fact that she’d built an up-and-coming business in Corpus, and she wouldn’t give that up for any man. No matter how embarrassed she might be about her failed romance.

She’d have to stick it out and figure out how to hide from, or at least avoid, her oh-so-hot neighbor.

“So play it cool. Tell him you had too much sangria and it went to your head.”

She pursed her lips. “That might work. Or I could simply barricade myself in my basement.”

Her friend laughed. “Mari, we don’t have basements in Corpus. How about I come help you paint one of the bathrooms this weekend?”

“You want to secretly stalk the Marine.”

“True. But can you blame me? You make him sound so yummy. And he didn’t take his tacos and run when you propositioned him with the worst offer ever, which means he’s superbrave. Brave guys are so hot.”

Mari shook her head. “Don’t even go there. Though I might take you up on the offer to paint. That is if I can figure out how to get the drywall up. That stuff is heavy. I gave it a try in the dining room last night. By the fourth board I was in tears. I gave up and drank the rest of the sangria.”

“Oh, you are so sad. You make my heart hurt. Incidentally, Mercury is in retrograde and it affects everyone in a negative way. However, it’s going to get better. All of it. The house. The men. You’re just in a downturn.”

Mari didn’t know anything about how the planets aligned, but she definitely could use a bit of luck. “That’s pretty optimistic coming from you.” Abbott called herself a pragmatist, yet Mari had always thought it bordered on pessimism. And it was weird that her practical friend had this fascination for horoscopes, as in she believed how the planets aligned ruled human emotions. More importantly she was a brilliant designer and an even better friend.

If only she could believe Abbott. That it would get better. But she’d been through two months of chaos and confusion, and while she wasn’t one to feel sorry for herself, her perfectly ordered life was in the garbage. For the first time, she didn’t have a plan, other than trying to get the house finished without ending up bankrupt.

The no security thing was a big deal for her. While her business was doing well, her stash of savings had dwindled quickly, thanks to her time-money-suck of a house.

It was a shame she’d royally screwed things up with the Marine. He was so caring. Guys normally didn’t do what he’d done for her in the grocery store. But there was also pain in his eyes, and it wasn’t due to the headaches he said he suffered from. Over the past few weeks, she’d noticed through her nonstalking observance of him that he pretty much kept to himself. If she wasn’t such an idiot, they maybe could have at least been friends.

With benefits.

Stop it.

Well. Truth. No man had affected her physically like he did. She wasn’t into casual sex, but he made her think all kinds of naughty things.

Really. Naughty. Things.

3

“CO WANTS TO see you in his office.” Ben Peterson, one of the other instructors, popped his head into the classroom.

“What kind of mood is he in?” Brody asked, though he knew the answer.

Peterson rolled his eyes. “Let’s say I may need a new ass by the time this assignment is over. I just got chewed out for failing to enlist my fellow blah, blah blah. He starts talking and I don’t even hear what he’s saying after the fifth or six word. Good luck.”

Brody chuckled and then winced. He’d been grading tests and his head hurt. The last thing he needed was the CO on his back. He gathered his laptop and his phone and stuck everything in his pack. Might as well get it over with, and then he’d go for a run. Get rid of the tension of the day. His Boots weren’t absorbing the test material like they should. The test scores were low. Somehow the CO saw that as his fault and not the problem of the undisciplined grunts under his command. The ones who spent a lot of time thinking they were on some sort of vacation rather than studying. Not that he had been much different when he was a grunt, but he’d quickly learned if you wanted to make it in the pilot or navigation programs, you had to be dedicated.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he strode through the long corridors. Seemed like the harder he tried with this job, the worse things were. Some days he wondered if he should just go ahead and get cleared for active duty again. Maybe he wasn’t suited to be an instructor.

But first he had to lose the headaches. They were a distraction that interfered with his flying. He couldn’t protect people if he had a blinding migraine.

He partly blamed Mari’s proposal for the tension today. He’d been thinking about her a little too much. That sweet smile of hers and her ability to make such a great meal on a hot plate were turn-ons. The rockin’ bod and beautiful eyes didn’t hurt, either.

His body tensed.

Mind out of the gutter.

He had a new rule. One he’d added to his code in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep. No more attachments. Ever. Life was easier like that. Mari deserved the kind of man who could cherish and protect her. A man who could make that lifetime commitment and wanted the white picket fence.

That man is not me. Maybe he had a little of his father in him after all, because when it came to women, Brody couldn’t see himself settling down. That might make him selfish, but at least he was aware of it—unlike his dad, who seemed to be perpetually married, perpetually looking.

He’d had a string of stepmothers, several he’d never met, since he was off serving in combat missions for the better part of the last ten years. Though his dad’s recent email had mentioned he was single again, it wouldn’t be long before his father hooked up with someone else.

Not my thing.

Nope. Women were a distraction that he didn’t need right now. He liked his quiet life.

The outer office was empty, so he knocked on the CO’s door.

“Enter.”

Brody straightened his shoulders before he turned the knob.

“Sir, Peterson said you needed to see me.”

The other man nodded, but didn’t look up from the papers he was signing.

“My daughter tells me you have a girlfriend.”

What? Aw, man. He remembered meeting up with Carissa at the grocery store. “It’s kind of new.” That much was true. They’d only just met officially.

“Good to see you making friends. Be sure to bring her to the picnic on Saturday.” What the...? The CO was ordering him to bring a date?

There’s no way he’d drag Mari to anything base-related. That part of his life he wanted to keep private. Besides, the less time he spent with her, the better. The more he thought about her proposal, the more he thought it might be best to stay as far away as possible.

“She’s pretty busy on the weekends renovating an old Victorian.” Again it was the truth. “I’m not sure she’ll be able to get away.” He stood by the door, hoping that he could make a quick escape.

“It’s only a few hours. You’re in charge of a large squadron. We like to see our Marine instructors as leaders. Setting a good example. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Now he had to tell his CO the truth.

One of the support staff stuck his head in the door behind Brody. “Sir, your daughter is on line two.”

The CO nodded. “You’re dismissed, Brody.” Then he picked up the phone.

Brody hesitated. He had to be honest about Mari, he owed it to her, if not himself, but the other man motioned him out.

What have I done? He couldn’t ask Mari to a silly picnic. After his abrupt departure last night, she probably hated him. He’d finished his tacos, chugged his water and then booked it as fast as possible. He’d promised to think about her proposal and he had.

Bad idea.

But did he have a choice? She was a woman in need. Though he liked to think of himself as tough and unsentimental, he couldn’t leave her in the lurch. The house was a disaster at the moment. It was sad that she had to live in it while she fixed it up. She should be in a fancy penthouse somewhere and enjoying her life.

Fine. He was going to help her.

And now he’d have to convince Mari to help him, as well.

Why couldn’t people stay out of his personal life? That the CO thought it was better that his soldiers be married or engaged in order to get ahead made no sense to Brody.

But the CO hadn’t really given him a choice. Toe the line or you’re out. The message had been clear.

Forty-five minutes later, he was back home. He changed into his running gear and five miles after that he stood in front of Mari’s door. Before he had a chance to knock, she opened the door. She must have seen him coming up the drive.

His shirt was stuck to him, and even though it was January, he was sweating from every pore. Probably should have showered first, but he didn’t want to lose his nerve.

This had to be done. He had to at least try.

Her hair was in a high ponytail and she was wearing short overalls with a pink bikini top underneath. There was dirt on her nose, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anyone so gorgeous.

That bikini top was—

Eyes on her face, Marine. It was a challenge because of how she filled out the top, and then there was the curve of her hips. For the life of him, Brody couldn’t look away. She was funny, gorgeous and good-hearted. And strong. To have gone through what she had with her ex, he had a lot of respect for her. He’d been thinking about that last night, too. Most people, men and women, would give up trying to fix something like this house on their own. But not Mari. He admired her work ethic.

And the idea of him lounging on his butt across the street while he knew she was struggling didn’t sit well with him. They’d help each other out. Maybe even be friends. She might even cook him another meal.

She smiled.

Dang. Keeping his hands off her was going to be problem. But he had to do this. He was a Marine, trained to handle any situation.

“I’m sorry about last night,” she said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Now that he thought about it, the night had been kind of perfect, eating tacos outdoors by the fire. Until he’d left like a jerk. She had no reason to apologize.

“Please don’t make me repeat it. You know, the part about working on the house. We’ve just met and I feel dumb for asking you.”

He’d made her feel bad. Now he really felt like a jerk.

“I will,” he said quickly. “Help you, and I’ll do it for free. But you have to do something for me in return. And it doesn’t involve home-cooked meals.”

She smiled. “Free? I’ll do anything.”

His cock twitched, instantly ready for action. Was she flirting with him?

That loaded comment burned him from the inside out.

Be calm.

This would only work if they kept things casual between them. He didn’t have many friends who were women, but he could do this.

He shifted to attention and put his hands behind his back to keep from touching her.

This might be tougher than he thought.

He cleared his throat. “I need you to be my girlfriend.”

* * *

MARI WAS GLAD she had her hand on the door frame or she might have fallen to the dusty floor.

His girlfriend? This was some kind of weird dream. She’d fallen asleep while tiling or something.

Wake up, Mari! Wake up! You’re probably snoozing on the bathroom floor.

Brody wore a tank that left his muscular biceps free. He must train for hours every day. The damp shirt clung to his abs.

Why am I so obsessed with this guy’s stomach?

Because it’s awesome.

What was he saying?

“Remember at the grocery store?”

“Not a day I will ever forget. You saved me,” she said honestly. Her voice was slightly hoarse from the need coursing through her body.

Focus, Mari. Don’t look at his... OMG. Eyes, focus on his gorgeous eyes.

“Right. Not that. After, when Carissa, my CO’s daughter, came up. She told my boss we’re dating and he’s insisting we come to the picnic. I tried your excuse of ‘we have to put in the floor’ and had no luck. I even tried to tell him the truth about us, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Mari was still trying to adjust to the idea of the sweaty, broad-shouldered Marine being at her door. His muscles glistened. The man was too much.

Too much man for her.

“Picnic?”

“Yes.” He ran a hand through his short, dark hair. He didn’t have the buzz cut a lot of the Marines around town did. “I’m making a mess of this. Probably totally confusing you. See, they do these events where we all get together, something about creating a more cohesive unit.”

“Okay? And you need a pretend girlfriend, why? I mean, you’re a good-looking guy, just about any woman would be happy to hang on your arm.”

“You think I’m good-looking?”

She snorted. It wasn’t very attractive.

He frowned as if he didn’t believe her.

“Seriously? Dude, you’re hot.”

He looked skeptical. “I never really thought about it. Carissa saw us together and— Are you okay? You’re all flushed.”

Her entire body was warm from the top of her head to her toes. It had been a long time since she’d been this turned on. “Fine. I’m fine. So explain it again. Sorry, I’m a little out of sorts. I was working in the bathroom and then you showed up. And you want me to do this because...?”

His eyebrows drew together as if he was trying to determine if she was sane.

Right now, I’m not sure. Back away, handsome man. Back away.

“Anyway. I don’t want a real girlfriend. I’m not good with that kind of long-term relationship. There are always too many expectations. And I...that is, I don’t need complications right now. I need to focus on work and make sure my team is as strong as possible before they’re deployed. So I was hoping that I could help you with your house, and maybe you could go as my ‘friend’ to these required outings the boss has put together.” He air-quoted the friend bit.

She wasn’t sure what to think. Why couldn’t he form attachments? Do a long-term gig? Then again, she was in no shape for any kind of relationship, either. She was seriously off men for good.

No, for real. You are off men. No more. Ever. Well, at least until the house was finished.

And he’s free labor.

And, oh, yes, she deserved a little man candy to look at. Every woman did. He could put up the drywall and she could stare at those powerful muscles of his.

There was that.

“What exactly would I have to do on these dates?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever women do. Can I be honest?”

“Sure.”

“I’m up for a promotion. The CO wants to see that I’m settled. Stable. For some reason, having a woman in my life would make him think that I’ll be more focused, which is not exactly how I see things, but he won’t see reason. So, yeah. I just need you to act like you’re into me, and be polite and stuff.”

“All right, but so we’re clear,” she said, having a brief, rare moment of clarity. “I think this is a superbad idea. Someone will probably find out. And then we’re both going to look foolish.”

“Ten-four. I couldn’t agree more. And if I could manage to tell him without him reading me the riot act for the fifth time this week, I would. But this will be more of a business relationship between us, right? You need a handyman and I need a girlfriend. We fix up your place, go to a couple of events and chill out, and then we break up, like most couples do.”

Hmm. “Can I be the one to break up with you?” She didn’t know why, but that was a deal breaker.

He shrugged. “Fine by me.”

“Can you tile a floor?”

“Yes.”

“How good are you with a paintbrush?”

“Better than most.”

“How about drywall?”

He peeked around her into the dining room behind her. “I could have those walls up in less than an hour.”

Really? He would save her countless days and all she had to do was go out on a couple of dates with a good-looking guy?

And we’re questioning this because...?

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

He smiled then, and her heart tugged. She suddenly remembered why this was a bad idea.

Danger. Danger. Danger.

“Really?” He stared at her as if he expected her to take it back or something. What? Were they in second grade?

Why not torture yourself? At least you get the eye candy up close. “Yes. It’s a win-win. You’ll be forcing me to get out of my house once in a while and I get free labor. I might even cook for you, as long as you don’t mind simple food. I can’t do much more than tacos on the hot plate.”

He thumbed some dirt off her nose.

Great. So attractive. Should have washed her face or at least looked in a mirror before she opened the door. She’d caught a glimpse of him running up the street and had stood staring until he’d jarred her to her senses by approaching her house.

Well, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about him making moves on her, given her messed-up appearance.

He was staring at her again as if she were crazy. Had he been saying something?

“Okay. Deal.” She held out her hand and pretended to have been thinking about whether or not she wanted to do this.

His hand swallowed hers. It was so big and rough and she wondered how it would feel on—

“What are you working on?” he asked.

It took a few seconds for her to clue in to what he’d said. No sex. Just friends.

Keep telling yourself that.

“Bathroom fixtures arrived. I’m laying tile so I can put everything together.”

“I can help you with that.” He glanced down at his sweat-soaked shirt. “Forgot I might need a shower.”

She shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “Seems silly for you to get cleaned up only to get dirty again.”

Dirty. Why did everything out of her mouth sound like sexual innuendo?

Because those shorts were tight against his—

Stop it.

She pushed away the idea of stripping that tank off him and running her hands across the tight abs underneath. Far, far away.

Until she was alone, later, in her bed.

He’s staring again!

“Right. Tile.” She opened the door wider.

“Cool.” He stepped past her and into the house. “Is the bathroom on the second floor?”

“Yeah. First door on the right.”

The man’s backside as he climbed the stairs was a sight to behold.

Free labor. Free labor. Free labor.

No, this wouldn’t be torture at all.

4

BRODY USED A rag to clean the last of the grout off the guest bathroom floor. The black-and-white hexagon tiles were dizzying up close, but when he stood and backed toward the door it made the bathroom appear bigger than it was.

“It’s an optical illusion,” Mari said from behind him. “And you did that so fast. I can’t believe it.”

“I put down floors in my grandmother’s house the last time I was on leave. She wanted tile and wood, so I learned a lot through trial and error. Every summer from about the time I was eleven until I went into the Marines after high school, I worked for my uncle’s construction company.”

It was one of the final chances he’d had to be with his grandmother, and he was glad it was a happy memory. She’d died from complications from a stroke later that year. As her only grandson, and with his mom gone, his grandmother left him her house, which he’d sold. That place had nice memories for him, but the offer had been good. And it would be several more years before he’d be able to pick where he wanted to live. Probably not until he retired from the military. He missed her—she’d been the one constant in his life when he was growing up. Well, that and working with his dad’s brother. But his grandmother had been such a solid female influence, and one of the kindest women he’d ever known. He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. Best not to start thinking about the past.

“I brought you some water, I didn’t know you’d be done so fast.” She handed him the bottle. Her pink bikini top was snug against her breasts and he had to force himself to look away. She was going to be his fake girlfriend, not the real one. It wouldn’t pay for him to act on his attraction to her. Keeping it simple was how he made it through each day. Work, eat and sometimes sleep.

Her head cocked. She was watching him.

“So it needs to dry overnight, and then we can start moving in the cabinets and stuff. Is there anything else we should get done tonight?” He chugged down the water.

“You’ve done so much already, thank you.” She handed him another bottle of water and took the empty from him. But her eyes were on the room behind him. He stepped around her, so she could have a better view.

“Wow. This is...wow. You really are fantastic at this. I mean, beggars can’t be choosers and all of that, but I wasn’t expecting it to look so professional. I’d hoped, but...this would have taken me at least a week and it wouldn’t have been nearly as good. I feel like I should pay you.”

“No,” he said quickly. He really needed her to help with his CO problem. “I mean, we have a deal and I don’t mind. To be honest, I like to stay busy.” When you slept only an hour or two a night, it left a person with a lot of free time. His landlord had been so pleased with what he’d done to the house he was living in, she’d knocked another fifty bucks a month off his rent. He still wanted to do the landscaping for her, but that wasn’t possible until spring.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said.

She glanced back at him.

“About needing anything else done tonight?”

Her eyebrow rose, and he’d give anything to know what she was thinking. From the expression on her face, he wondered if she might have taken his question the wrong way. As in sexually.

Nope. He couldn’t let his mind trip down that path, or he’d never survive the next week.

“There’s always something to do around here, but it’s almost nine. If you have time tomorrow night, maybe you could help me replace those fixtures. Meanwhile, the plumbing should be finished in the kitchen by Friday, until then I’m going to paint the bedrooms up here.”

“I could paint one of the bedrooms tonight.”

She put a hand on his arm. “You have to be exhausted. You worked all day. It can wait, and honestly, painting is the one thing I do fairly well. I’d rather use your help on some of the more difficult projects like the drywall.” While still holding onto his arm with one hand, she reached back to point downstairs with the other. Her bikini top slipped just a bit. Her luscious tan globes were absolutely mouth-watering. A little farther and he’d see—

No. He forced himself to look away again.

That didn’t keep her touch on his arm from sending heat to his groin. When he glanced at her hand on his forearm, she lifted it away as if he was hot to the touch.

“Sorry,” she said. “I—I know some people don’t like to be touched. I wasn’t thinking.”

He shrugged. “Not a big deal.”

Except when you do it. What was that? The urge to pull her close and kiss her senseless was overwhelming.

Have to get out of here now.

“Okay. Right. It’s late. You probably need your rest. I’ll be back tomorrow to give you a hand,” he said quickly. Then he was down the stairs and out the door before she could say anthing else. He hoped she hadn’t seen the erection tenting his shorts.

Jerk. She probably thought he couldn’t handle the soft touch of a woman.

You are a jerk and you can’t handle her touch.

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