Free Blown Away: A Small Town Military Romance (The Moore Brothers Book 1) by Abby Brooks Page B

what to say to fit in. And still, despite all of this, sadness sung her to sleep at night. She had tried to focus on what she had, had yelled at herself for being greedy, for wanting more when she already had so much. Would nothing ever be good enough for her?
    Yet, sitting here wrapped in a blanket, the hard wood of the back porch digging into her tailbone, scanning the horizon while the ocean birthed the sun, Juliet finally felt happy. Like maybe she hadn’t been greedy after all, like maybe she’d just misunderstood what she needed.
    After finishing her first cup of coffee, she stopped in the kitchen for a refill before heading upstairs to shower and get ready. When Ian finally drug his lazy butt out of bed and got in touch with her, Julz was going to be completely ready. He'd given her such a hard time yesterday about being sure to be awake early enough, she wanted to be waiting for him on front porch, tapping her foot impatiently when he finally showed up today. She'd show him she wasn’t afraid of a little hard work!
    Hot water hissed to life behind the new shower curtain Ian had brought her. She stepped in and smiled, letting the water run down her body while she lost herself to thoughts of him. Soap ran down her torso and she slid her hands over herself, stopping to tweak her erect nipples, imagining Ian’s mouth there, while she slowly circled her clit with a finger on her other hand. When she realized what she was doing, she jerked her hand away and leaned her head against the tile.
    Come on, Julz. Stay focused. Ian Moore is a friend. Only a friend. Because you’re not in the market for anything else. Remember?
    After her shower, she spent some time drying her hair and applying a quick dash of eyeliner and mascara, a bit of red on her lips, and then found herself in front of her closet wishing she had more choices in front of her. It looked like she was going to have to make do with the same little shorts and tank top she had on yesterday. That wasn't ideal, but given her limited choices, it was just going to have to do.
    She finished getting ready and went back outside to sit on the front porch, Lulu trotting out after her. She took a deep breath, enjoying the unusual heaviness in the ocean air. It was already warm, warmer than it would be in New York at this hour, that's for sure, but Juliet wasn’t going to complain. She’d always hated the cold, her fingers aching at the first sign of winter, her feet in constant need of socks or slippers as soon as the sun went down. It’d be nice to deal with a little heat and humidity for a change.
    Finally, a little after seven, her phone buzzed in her hand. Juliet actually laughed out loud at the text.  
    Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby...
    First Wizard of Oz, now Top Gun? Could he be any more the man of my dreams? She picked up the phone, still laughing, and tapped out her response.
    Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full...
    Pleased with herself, she snapped the phone shut and waited for his response. It only took a few seconds for a new text to come in and when it did, Juliet didn't know how to take it.
    Well, at least we can say we tried. Sorry it didn't work out.
    Wait, what? What does that mean? Juliet waited for another response, some clue as to whether or not Ian was joking. He had to be joking, right? Here she was, in his house. Waiting for him to come by so they could begin renovations. There's no way he was going to ditch her, kick her out. Right? She waited longer than she wanted for a follow up text that never came. Irritated at the uncertainty fluttering around her belly, she picked up her phone and sent him a text.
    What do you mean?
    She knew, or at least most of her knew, that she was being silly and irrational. But the longer she waited for his response, the more nervous she became. She had the phone open in her hand when Ian’s response came in.
    You just told me I wasn't welcome. I wanted to come help, but you said no.
    Still a