Blown Away: A Small Town Military Romance (The Moore Brothers Book 1) (2 page)

“Thank you,” she said, cradling Lulu to her chest and trying not to stare as he ran a hand through his thick, so-brown-it’s-almost-black hair. Clearly, Lulu had made it all the way to the beach because the man had little flecks of light brown sand all over his black tux.

“Oh, my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she said, brushing at the sand without thinking, and then pausing as she recognized the hard muscles of a well-defined chest underneath. He must do about a thousand pushups a day! She flushed and yanked her hand away before looking up to meet his eyes.

“It’s not that big of a deal.” The man brushed at the sand, unbuttoned the jacket and slid it off his shoulders. “It’ll shake right out. Besides,” he said with a lift of his eyebrows and a sexy little quirk of his lips, “just wait until you see how much sand is in my shoes.” He looked down and she followed his gaze, her heart wrenching at the mess of sand caked around the laces.

Nervous, Juliet laughed a little. Who was this guy? She’d spent a lot of time around the kind of men who could afford the things Mr. Handsome had and not one of them would ever be described as easygoing. And this guy? So far she’d have to call him easygoing. This almost felt like a trap. “Well, thank you again.” She nuzzled Lulu and smiled over the little dog’s ears at the man.

“It’s the least I could do, considering you were busy being a hero yourself,” he said, looking over her shoulder towards the woman and her Buick. Juliet whirled, suddenly afraid the old lady had collapsed after she’d left her to run after Lulu. The Buick was there, but the old woman was not, so she was either on the ground on the other side of the monstrous car, or she’d made her way into the restroom. “Was she alright?”

“Hmmm?” Juliet dragged her eyes back to Mr. Handsome.

“The woman who fell. She okay?” The man arched an eyebrow and gifted Juliet with another magnificent smile before he started walking back towards the cars.

Julz followed. “I think so. She said she was okay. I probably should have stayed, I just really…” Was it shallow of her to admit that she cared more about finding her dog than staying to make sure the old woman was really alright?

“I’m impressed you stopped to help her in the first place. A lesser woman would have run off after, what was it? Lulu?” He hit Juliet with a questioning look and she nodded. “If she said she’s fine, I’m sure she meant it.” They reached the edge of the grass and paused.

Juliet shook her hair back over her shoulders. “Thanks again. Like, lots of thanks. All the gratitude I can muster,” she said.
Great, Julz. Very articulate. Way to show off that sharp mind.
“I might have lost it if I lost her.”

“No worries. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go remove most of the beach from my shoes.” He gave her a wink and her stomach fluttered a little as he turned and walked away.

What the hell was that all about? You’ve sworn off men, remember? Especially that kind of man.
No more high-octane, commanding, take what they want kind of guys. You're leaving that life behind. Starting over. Keeping it small and simple and easy.

Despite all the well-meaning thoughts in her head, it took longer than she’d like to admit to get her eyes off Mr. Handsome’s ass as he sauntered into the men’s room. And as much as she hoped—and chastised herself for that hope—that he’d look back, he never did.

Chapter Two

Juliet

After retrieving Lulu’s leash and giving her a chance to go potty, Julz got out the directions she'd printed off from MapQuest and a map of South Carolina, and spread them out on the hood of the car. The map was new; she’d grabbed it at a gas station shortly after crossing the North Carolina state line. It only took about four hours of being lost in the hills of Virginia to learn that the MapQuest directions weren’t exactly accurate. As soon as she’d gotten herself back on track, she’d stopped and bought a map.

How did people live like this before cell phones? Without a GPS and Google? Were they just constantly lost and confused? She peered down at the map and compared it to the MapQuest directions she’d printed out at the library the day she’d decided to make a run for it. The day she’d just ran her finger down the map of the east coast and settled on a city based on the name alone. Bliss. How could she not want to live in a little coastal town named Bliss? The moment her index finger crossed over the name, she’d known that’s where she was heading. She’d returned home ... well ... to
Michael’s
home. He’d made it more than clear that she lived there because he let her, and she didn’t own a single thing in the posh penthouse.

She’d left the smartphone he’d given her on the kitchen counter where he'd be sure to find it. Wandered into the bedroom to pack and realized that she didn’t have much of anything that he hadn’t bought for her. She dug through the closet and threw what remained of her pre-Michael wardrobe in a bag. Grabbed the houseplant she’d brought with her from her old apartment and her old dishes and silverware that never got unpacked because Michael wouldn’t deign to eat off them. Then she tossed it all in her car and took off before she had time to talk herself out of it.

“No service?”

Julz jumped and spun, knocking the papers off the car. The heavy map hit the pavement with a thwack while the printouts seesawed their way out into the parking lot. “Sorry,” she yelped as she dropped to the ground and gathered the papers into her arms and came face to face with a pair of now sand-less black shoes.

“I’m the one who should be apologizing,” said Mr. Handsome Dog Hero Man as he bent down and helped her up. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Sorry,” Julz said again. “Just jumpy.”
Stop apologizing,
she told herself.
Next thing you know you’ll be calling him Sir. ‘Cause that wouldn’t be weird.

He lifted a finger and put on a serious face. “No more sorry’s, understood?”

Juliet’s heart sunk into her stomach, did a little dance there, and then both heart and stomach held hands and sunk to her feet together. She opened her mouth, but then clamped down on the apology that threatened to come out.

Mr. Handsome’s face softened. “Hey,” he said, lifting his hands and showing his palms. “Just playing around.”

“Oh.” Juliet buried the splash of fear behind what she hoped was a playful smile. “Well in that case, I’m sorry.” She made a silly little face and hoped he got the joke.

Mr. Handsome laughed and she immediately wanted to make him laugh again. “So, my little old fashioned traveler, where are you headed?”

She looked down at the mess of papers in her arms and went to work straightening them and then spreading them out on the hood of the car again. “A little town named Bliss. I think I must be close.”

Surprise danced in his eyes. “I’m from Bliss.”

She let her eyes travel over his whole body, from his expensive haircut, to his tux, to his fancy watch and shoes so shiny she could check her makeup in them. “Maybe it’s not as small as I thought it was.”

His eyebrows scrunched together in the most adorable confused face Juliet had ever seen. And then he laughed again and she couldn’t help but smile, too. “You mean the tux?” He waved his hand down his body and actually turned in a circle for her to see the whole thing. “Pretty sharp, isn’t it?”

“Snazzy, indeed.”

“I’m heading to an engagement party.” Her face fell and he hurried on. “For my brother.” And then he looked kind of embarrassed, which was also adorable.

“So am I close? To Bliss?” If she’d had any doubts about having picked the right town, they just flew out the window knowing that Mr. Handsome called the place home, too.

Now stop it. No men. Remember?

“It’s about half an hour or so south.” He took his phone out of his inside jacket pocket and opened up Google Maps. Using his fingers, he zoomed in and out until he could get both their location and Bliss on the screen at the same time. Then, being perfectly chivalrous, he checked her MapQuest directions and added some landmarks for her in the margin before tracing her route on the map.

“That should get you there just in case you don’t come back into range for your phone to work,” he said and she didn’t bother to tell him that she was so far out of range from her phone that she’d never get to use it again, given that it was still on Michael’s kitchen counter and all.

“Are there any good extended stay hotels there?” she asked, gathering the papers off the hood of the car.

“In Bliss? I thought we just covered the fact that this is a small town.”

“So, no extended stays?”
Damn! Now what?
she thought, totally aware that she actually sagged with disappointment in a nearly perfect Eeyore impersonation.

“Not a one.”

“Please tell me there’s at least a hotel. I’ve got my heart set on Bliss.”

“There’s only one I’d feel comfortable suggesting to you. I’m pretty sure it’s got rooms with kitchenettes, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

Juliet beamed. “Perfect.” Mr. Handsome smiled and took the map from her arms, his fingers brushing against hers. She bit her lip as he bent to make another note, marking the hotel on the map and jotting down the name.

He finished what he was doing and studied her for a minute, considering something before taking a tentative breath. “Believe me when I say that I’m not trying to take advantage of a damsel in distress,” he said with a self-deprecating grimace, “but I own some rental properties on the beach. If you need more of a long term solution…” he trailed off and handed her the map back.

Juliet’s heart leaped. Beachfront properties? Yes, please! He was only talking about one of her lifelong dreams. She could just imagine it, falling asleep to the sound of the ocean, waking up and tasting salt in the air. Watching the sun rise over the sea, light glinting and glittering off the water. Lazy days spent digging her toes into the sand while the sun thawed her frozen heart.

But there’s no way she could afford it. She’d cleaned out her meager savings and had all four grand of it in an envelope in her purse. And, since she was trying to be untraceable until she knew if Michael was more of the cold-and-sadistic brand of bad guy rather than the crazy-stalk-you-and-kill-you type, she wasn’t going to open a bank account. She really didn’t want to ask this guy if he’d take cash. Probably make him think she was a criminal or something.

“That sounds amazing, but I’m sure I couldn’t afford it. Maybe it’s something I can keep in mind for when I’m more established.”

“Hey, it was a long shot. Just didn’t want to leave a pretty woman all stranded and homeless when I have homes to offer.” He reached into his pocket again and brought out a card. “Call me if you change your mind. Or if you find yourself in need of anything.”

She took the card, purposefully brushing her finger against his just because she liked the way it felt. The little flicker in his eyes told her he liked it too.

Stop it. Stop flirting. This guy is everything you don’t need.

And now they were just standing there in the middle of the most awkward silence ever. What was she supposed to say? She glanced at the card, expecting to find the name of his company, but the only thing written on it was his name.  

“Ian Moore,” she read as she flipped the card over and found his phone number and email on the back. Nothing else. How perfectly mysterious. “It’s very nice to meet you.” She used her formal voice and extended a hand, the business card somehow switching on her inner New Yorker.

He noticed the change and straightened, took her hand in a very alpha male, his-hand-on-top type grasp. “The pleasure is mine, Miss…?” Somehow, he managed to make powerful so very appealing, the little glimmer of a smile in his eyes softening the whole dominant male thing.

“Lane. Juliet Lane.”

Ian checked his watch and shook his head. “I’m now officially late for my brother’s engagement party and my sister will never let me live it down.”

Julz started to apologize and Ian held up his hand. “Stop. No more apologizing.” And then he slid one eye closed in the most captivating wink Juliet had ever seen. “It’s all good. I get a kick out of annoying my sister. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Juliet Lane.”

And with that, Ian hopped into his car and pulled out of the parking space, gave her a sharp little salute, hit the gas and zoomed out onto the road.

As soon as he was out of sight, Juliet let out a long breath through pursed lips and shook her head. “I don’t know if I should be mad at you or if I should thank you,” she said to Lulu as she buckled herself back into the driver’s seat. “That man is absolutely perfect, and just about everything I don’t need.”

Although, just because I don’t need it, doesn’t mean I can't want it
, she thought as she pulled her own car out of the lot and hit the highway. She drove the rest of the way, following Ian’s directions, daydreaming of sunrises and new beginnings.

After so many years in the city, living in a constant state of rush, rush, rush and late, late, late, the thought of leaving all that behind and starting over was decadent. She’d fought hard throughout college to stay at the top of her class. And when she graduated, she worked hard to stand out amongst her peers. And when luck came her way, she was prepared for it. Or at least that’s what everyone said when she’d gotten the job offer to be Michael Phillips’ admin with almost no applicable experience on her resume.

She had to wonder what they’d think now, if they knew about the whole whips and chains thing. The whole ‘yes, Sir, if it pleases you, Sir’ life she’d been living for the past couple months. Would they still call her lucky? She doubted she’d ever get to find out. Her dad was busy loving his other family. Her mom was busy focusing on herself. And her step dad never did anything to earn that title other than marry her mom. Plus, there was the whole non-disclosure clause she’d signed in the contract Michael had presented her that day in the boardroom. The one she’d signed almost gleefully.