Free Her Sexy Marine Valentine by Candace Havens Page B

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.
    â€œI 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.
    â€œToo country for the Victorian. I’m thinking I need to stay true to the colors of the time period.” Good cover .
    â€œHmm. 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.”
    â€œThe blues seemed more calming,” he said seriously. “I mean...it’s your kitchen, you can do whatever you want.”
    â€œNo, I like having a guy’s opinion. The house has to appeal to all buyers. I appreciate the input.”
    â€œHey,” 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.”
    â€œOh, 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.
    â€œSilly. It’s a television show. Patrick is a starfish and he’s SpongeBob SquarePants’s best friend. It’s been on a while.”
    â€œI pretty much watch sports and news,” he said.
    â€œBorrring.”
    â€œSo 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
    B RODY 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.
    Her long hair was piled on top of her head and for the past hour he’d been