"My Dad. Is really my uncle, and he's always a grump," Carissa sighed. "But he means well-most of the time."
Mari laughed. Carissa was probably one of the few people around the CO who could get away with saying something like that. But she wasn't supercrazy about her eyeing Brody. True, he wasn't really hers, but they didn't know that. And it was wrong for her to be drooling over another girl's man.
"If I were you, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off Brody. By the way, how did you guys meet?"
"I don't mind saving it for when we get home. I like to keep him happy," Mari said, as if she meant it. "And he lives across the street." Once again she was sticking as close to the truth as she could. "It was one of those weird moments where he ran over to help me with some stuff in my car, and then...boom. Instant chemistry. Like I told you at the grocery store, I'd recently been through a bad breakup, so I was in no rush. But well, look at him. How could I ever say no to that?" Maybe that would get her off Brody's back. Poor guy. No wonder he'd panicked when he met her while shopping.
Brody helped set up a play and they scored a point. He turned to look at her and she remembered to blow him a kiss. He pretended to catch it.
Cheesy. Yes. But it didn't keep the flutters from taking flight low in her belly.
That's dangerous.
I'm acting. Yep. Right.
And now she was talking to herself.
Speaking of bodies, that man's abs were outstanding. The last several mornings, as she'd been getting her morning coffee, she'd hear dogs barking in the neighborhood. The barking usually meant Brody was coming back from one of his twice-daily runs. She'd accidentally find herself at the front window watching his glistening body as he came up the street.
And he had to do weights to have all of those rippling muscles. What would it feel like to run her hands down-
"Whoa," the crowd around the game roared. Brody was in midspike. The other team didn't have a chance. The CO high-fived him. He glanced at her again and opened his hands as if to say "where's my kiss?" She smiled and blew him another one.
How he looked at her sent her body into a full-on heated flush. A potent combination of adrenaline and arousal sped through her veins. It had been a really long time since she'd had sex. Her ex thinking she was terrible in bed was the sort of comment that stuck with a girl. Whereas Brody made her dream about doing naughty things that would feel so good.
Maybe he could teach her-
No. Bad idea. First, he was free labor. And if she was really as terrible in bed as her ex said, then it would be all awkward and just plain wrong.
Probably best to keep Brody as a friend only.
The crowd roared again and she caught a glimpse of him as he high-fived the CO. Then he turned and winked at her.
She blew him another kiss.
He put a hand over his heart and the women around her sighed. Dang. He was getting into this. And so was she.
The rest of the game went by in a blur, as she imagined rolling around in the sand with Brody. Naked.
Wrong. So wrong. You can't think of him like that.
"Hey." Brody pulled her out of her reverie. "We won. And you owe me at least four more kisses." He glanced around them. "I'll make you pay up when we get home."
"That sounds like a threat." Her voice was low and raspy. "One I'm perfectly willing to give in on." And then she smiled at him. "You were kind of awesome out there."
"It was all for you, babe. You made this a great day." When he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips, someone walked past them and whistled. Brody leaned away and gave her one of his devastating smiles.
He had the towel from the beach bag and he was wiping the sweat from his arms and stomach.
Save me. Universe. Please.
"Can you get my back?" He handed her the towel and then turned around. There were scars up and down his spine. Some were round, others were thin and long, as if he'd been cut by something. While the round marks were faded, older perhaps, the slashes were pink and puckered, as if recent.
What had happened to him? He'd mentioned he didn't sleep much and there was always that hint of something sad in his eyes. The only time she'd seen it disappear was when he'd been talking to baby Lily.
She patted him down and then handed him the towel.
"Good game, Lieutenant," the CO said as he passed by.
"You, too, sir." Brody watched the other man with a smile on his face.
"Look at you, big winner. I bet you're happy," she said.
"I am. That was fun."
She laughed. "Yes, because you guys won."
"I'm surprised you noticed. You seemed kind of lost in thought while I was out there."
"I was thinking about the paint color for the kitchen. Maybe the off-white would be better. But then I worry about the whole thing being too white."
Liar. Big fat liar.
"I thought you'd settled on the cornflower blue," he said, as he took his T-shirt from her and slipped it over his head. She was sad to see the abs go, but it made it easier to focus.
"Too country for the Victorian. I'm thinking I need to stay true to the colors of the time period." Good cover.
"Hmm. It's up to you. I'm not a fan of the green that was in the bunch of historical swatches you brought home. And yellow always seems kind of girly to me."
She shrugged. Strange that they could have this conversation when a few seconds ago she was thinking about rolling around naked in the sand with him. "Yep. You're probably right."
"The blues seemed more calming," he said seriously. "I mean...it's your kitchen, you can do whatever you want."
"No, I like having a guy's opinion. The house has to appeal to all buyers. I appreciate the input."
"Hey," Brody said. "Before we head home, I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk on the beach. Mark was telling me about a bunch of starfish that washed up after the storm last night. They're trying to find volunteers to put the live ones back in the water a half mile down the shore."
"Oh, no. Patrick's in trouble," she said in her best SpongeBob impression, which was really awful.
He frowned. "Who is Patrick?"
He didn't get her joke. She laughed. "You know, the dude who is the best friend of the guy who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"
He felt her forehead as if she had a fever. "Did you maybe get too much sun?" She batted his hand away.
"Silly. It's a television show. Patrick is a starfish and he's SpongeBob SquarePants's best friend. It's been on a while."
"I pretty much watch sports and news," he said.
"Borrring."
"So we'll go save some Patricks?" He held out his hand, and she placed hers in it and tried not to think about what the warmth of his touch did to her body.
It's all for show. It's all for show.
Yep. You keep telling yourself that.
7
BRODY SAWED THE boards he needed for the kitchen floor, trying his best to avoid looking at Mari. She was bent over another board measuring his cuts for him. Her cute shorts rode high on her creamy thighs, and he didn't even want to think about how his hand would feel on her ass.
No. Just no.
Ever since this afternoon at the beach, there had been something between them. But for the past several days, he realized they'd been getting to know one another-swapping stories, exchanging knowing looks. Even finishing each other's sentences. There was an innate calmness to her, almost soothing to him in a way. She was a balm to his dark soul, seeing the light in most everything. When things went wrong with the house, she'd roll up her sleeves and do whatever needed to be done. And she never complained.
He respected the hell out of her, which was the main reason he could never touch her.
Yesterday he'd been in a bad mood at the base and he couldn't figure it out until it occurred to him that he was missing her.
It was strange. He'd never been so attached or attracted to a woman.
And he couldn't tell her. One of the greatest temptations of his life, and there was nothing he could do about it. At this point, and it had only been a week, it was more about losing her as a friend, rather than a fake girlfriend.
Except it wasn't so fake anymore. She was the kind of woman he needed in his life, but temporarily. And she didn't need that.
She hummed and he paused to watch her again.