She pouted, linking arms with her friend who was standing near Liam. “Let’s go find another group of guys.”
Liam shot him a look as they walked away. “What the hell, man? Just because you weren’t interested didn’t mean you needed to scare them off.”
Tyler shrugged. “So chase after them. Where’s everyone else anyway?”
Liam looked over at him, before he was drawn back to the game. “Jason’s with Amy tonight—no surprise,” he said, taking a swig of his beer as he watched the other team score a touchdown. “And while you were off house hunting with the hot realtor, Grayson met a woman at the gym. I think they drove out to the lake in his truck.”
“It’s freezing out,” Tyler said with a chuckle. “Why the hell would they go out there tonight?”
“I don’t think they’re planning to leave his truck,” Liam said, smirking. “They wanted to have a little privacy.”
“And what do you mean I was spending time with the ‘hot realtor.’ How the hell do you know what Melissa looks like anyway?” Tyler asked.
Liam chuffed out a laugh. “I’ve seen her around with Amy before—amazing curves, pouty lips, that long red hair. She was pretty put off on Marines when I met her though. I think she’d just broken up with her ex or something.”
“She’s off limits,” Tyler said gruffly.
“Didn’t say I was interested, did I?” Liam said. “I’ve got a thing for blondes. You seem awfully protective of a woman you’re supposedly just working with.”
“Didn’t say I wasn’t interested, did I?” Tyler quipped.
Liam shook his head, laughing. “You’re playing with fire. She’s not interested in anyone right now, from what I gather. And if you’re serious about buying a place, do yourself a favor and don’t fuck the realtor.”
Tyler clenched his jaw. “What I do and with who is none of your damn business.”
Liam shrugged. “I’m just saying don’t screw it up.”
Tyler’s phone buzzed on the bar, and he grabbed it, glancing down at the screen.
They want to think over your offer tonight.
We’ll know more tomorrow.
Tyler grumbled to himself, thumbing a response.
This is more stressful than deploying.
He laughed at her text.
Welcome to my world.
I’ll have to list the property tonight as planned.
Tyler swiped the screen, calling her. “You still have to list it?” he asked in disbelief.
“And hello to you, too. I’m acting as the buying and selling agent. If they want to move forward and potentially get other offers, I have to honor their wishes. That’s not saying you can’t put in a counter-offer though. Or wait to see if they decide to accept your initial one.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “I wasn’t expecting buying a place to be do damn stressful.”
“Some people put in multiple offers before theirs gets accepted. That’s the nature of buying a home. Unless you’re willing to pay significantly over asking price, we’ll have to wait and see what they say.”
“Then we wait,” he said, turning his empty beer bottle around in his hand.
“Where are you?” she asked. “It sounds really loud.”
“Sports bar. I met some of my buddies from base to watch the game. One of them already ditched us for a woman he met.”
Melissa laughed. “Goodness. He moves fast just like you.”
“I’m not with a woman now, am I?” Tyler muttered.
“How should I know?”
“That’s a negative, beautiful.”
She laughed, the sound doing funny things to his libido. “But you were late yesterday morning because you were. You expect me to think you’ve changed in a day? Not a chance.” He could practically hear the smile in her voice, and Tyler’s chest tightened. Who the hell was he kidding? She was spot on about him.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, Romeo,” she teased. “Don’t get into too much trouble.”
She disconnected the call, and Tyler was left gazing at the phone in his hands.
“Bad news?” Liam asked, raising his eyebrows.
Tyler cleared his throat. “Still no word on the house. They should let me know tomorrow.”
“Well drink up, then. No sense in worrying about it now. Bartender!” he called out, gesturing for another round. Tyler’s gaze fell on the other side of the bar, where the women from earlier had found a new set of guys to flirt with. He should go over there. Take one of them home for the night. Lose himself in a beautiful woman for a few hours.
Funny how he didn’t feel like doing any of that though.
Chapter 9
Melissa flipped her hair over her shoulder, crossing her legs at the table she was seated at in the coffee shop a few days later. She took a sip of her steaming hot latte, savoring the taste and the accompanying jolt of espresso. Tyler had texted her at six in the morning, no doubt on his way into base, but she could’ve done without the early morning wake up call.
Not that he’d seen a problem with it.
This was her third cup of coffee already, and she’d probably need more to get through her jam-packed day.
She adjusted her trendy off-the-shoulder sweater, smiling as a man glanced her way as he headed out the door. Wearing her pale pink sweater paired with her snug dark-wash jeans and knee-high boots, she felt sexy and sophisticated.
Not to mention more comfortable than prancing around in those power suits and sky-high heels.
Still, she had an image to maintain. She liked to look her best showing homes. If wearing business suits with stilettos made her feel powerful and put together—not to mention sexy and in control—then so be it.
Tyler certainly hadn’t complained.
Her phone buzzed on the table, and her eyes widened as she saw that it was the sellers of the home Tyler had put an offer in on. “Hello?” she said, lifting her cell to her ear.
“Hi Melissa. We’ve decided to go ahead and accept Tyler’s offer. What’s the next step we need to take to move forward?”
Melissa grinned. “Fantastic,” she said. “I can meet you in the office to sign the papers. Tyler’s on base, but I’ll try to get a hold of him and see if he can meet me, too. Once both parties have signed and are in agreement, we’ll set up a settlement date.”
“Wonderful. At first we had wanted to see what other offers came in after listing the home, but after some consideration, we decided to go ahead with his offer.”
“I understand,” Melissa said smoothly. “Once the papers are signed today, I’ll take the listing down. We can take the lockbox off the door, too.”
“I’m so sorry,” the woman gushed. “I know you worked hard to get it photographed and listed over the weekend. We just didn’t know what we wanted to do.”
“It’s no problem. That’s my job,” Melissa assured her. “Goodness, I’ve listed some houses only to have the seller change their mind and take it off the market.”
“That’s horrible!”
“Nature of the job,” Melissa said, taking another sip of her latte. “Some have second thoughts about selling, some decide to rent. Sometimes a job offer or something falls through and they end up not moving.”
“Goodness, I can’t imagine. We’ll sign the offer papers and get them to you right away. Can I leave them at the office if you’re not there?”
“Of course. I’ll get in touch with Tyler, and then we’ll be all set.”
“Fantastic. Talk to you soon.”
The women said their goodbyes, and Melissa flipped her laptop shut. So much for getting a lot of work done here. She grabbed her suede jacket, slipping it on over her pale pink sweater. Packing up her things, she grabbed her latte and headed for the door.
***
Melissa looked up as Tyler sauntered into her office a couple of hours later, trying not to stare. He had on a tee shirt that showed off his muscular arms and khaki cargo pants, his green eyes gleaming in amusement as he watched her.
&n
bsp; “What’s so funny?’ she asked with a frown.
“You. Ogling me.”
“I wasn’t ogling you,” she protested, a feeling of warmth surging through her.
He smirked, coming to a stop at her desk. “I don’t mind, beautiful. A gorgeous woman like you, looking at me like that? It’s not exactly a hardship.” His gaze roamed over her, his lips quirking. “I was trying to figure out what looks different about you today, and I just got it—no suit or stilettos.”
“I hadn’t planned on any meetings today,” she said smoothly. “I was working remotely from the coffee shop in town.”
His eyes landed on her bare shoulder. “I like this look,” he said in a low voice. “It’s—softer on you.”
“I’m not soft,” she scoffed.
He chuckled. “I beg to differ. But I don’t want to get in too much trouble,” he added with a wink. “This is an office, not a date.”
Melissa rolled her eyes, standing up from her desk. She was even shorter without her stilettos on, barely coming up to Tyler’s shoulder as she rounded the desk. She forced herself to look up and meet his gaze. “I didn’t realize you dated.”
“Date. Flirt. Call it what you want. My thoughts still aren’t appropriate for this venue.”
“Not surprising,” she said dryly as he chuckled. “Here are the papers. Just sign where I’ve marked, and I’ll take the listing down from the database. We’ll get an appraisal and settlement date and be all set.”
“Sounds great,” he said, grabbing a pen from her desk and bending over to sign the documents. He scrawled his signature at the bottom and then stood up, gazing down at her. “So that’s it? Seems a little anticlimactic.”
She laughed despite herself. “Should we have balloons and a parade after your settlement? Maybe try to get it made into a national holiday or something?”
“Hell yeah. I worked damn hard to buy a place of my own. After moving around all the time? Spending years going wherever the military says? It feels good to say that I’ll finally have my own home. I’m not much into decorating and that girly shit, but I’ll set up a monster grill out back, have my buddies over—be all set.”
“I can understand wanting somewhere to call your own. Especially after moving around and deploying a lot. You don’t think you’ll get sent somewhere after this assignment though?”
“Negative. I’m not planning to re-up.”
“Oh,” she said, surprised. That changed things in a way. She’d assumed he’d eventually want to rent or sell when he moved on. But to find out he was really planning to stay?
Wow.
“I assume you own your own place?” he asked.
“You assume correctly. It’s somewhat rare to find a realtor not interested in real estate. Many own multiple properties—rentals and what not.”
“You could start your own show like that couple on TV—flip houses or something.”
“And move out to the west coast?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. “No thanks. What’s so funny anyway?” She cocked her head to the side as he chuckled, his green eyes sparking with amusement.
“You. It’s cute as fuck when you wrinkle your nose like that.”
“I’m not soft, and I’m most definitely not cute.”
“You’re attractive as hell, Melissa,” he said with a laugh. “But sometimes? Yeah. Definitely cute as fuck.”
“Well, don’t let the word get out,” she said, crossing the room to make copies of the documents. “Real estate can be a cut-throat business. That’s why you always see me in suits when I’m showing homes. I have to keep up a professional demeanor.”
“I don’t mind this look,” he said, his eyes heating as she crossed the room back toward him. “So what are you doing this afternoon anyway?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing? I’m working. Same as most people, I suppose.”
“No way. Not any more you’re not. We’re going out to celebrate.”
“Celebrate? We haven’t settled yet.”
“They accepted my offer. That’s damn good news to me. And hell, I’ve been on base since six-thirty this morning.”
“Don’t I know it,” she muttered, rounding her desk to file the papers.
“What? You didn’t appreciate my early morning text? I just wanted an update before heading in.”
“I think maybe you just enjoy torturing me.”
“That too,” he agreed, not missing a beat. “But I’m not going back to the office on a beautiful day like this. No way. It may be winter, but the sun’s out. Come on. Lock up or whatever you need to do. Shut down your laptop. We’re heading out.”
“We?”
“Yeah, we. I don’t bite. Not unless you want me to that is,” he added with a grin.
“You’re impossible. And where would we be going exactly?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise.”
“And I’m supposed to trust you?”
Those green eyes nailed her with another heated haze, and her heart unexpectedly fluttered. He took a step toward her, knowing he had her. Knowing she’d do whatever he wanted. “Implicitly.”
Chapter 10
Tyler glanced over at Melissa as they drove down the road heading out of town, amazed that she’d agreed to go somewhere with him. Not that he thought she didn’t trust him. They had mutual friends, for God’s sake. But he was sure he’d have to do a hell of a lot more convincing to get her out of the office.
There was light traffic this time of afternoon, and with the sun shining and bright blue sky, it was one of those days that sucked to be in the office.
Which was why he wasn’t headed back.
His buddies on base assumed he’d be a while at Melissa’s office. And the fact that he was now cruising around with a beautiful woman at his side?
They’d be none the wiser.
She flipped her red hair over her shoulders, some of that exotic floral scent she had on wafting his way, and he resisted the urge to groan.
Driving around with her in an enclosed vehicle was more brutal than basic training—it took everything in his power not to reach over and tug her closer. Haul her into his arms. He’d seen that creamy porcelain skin on her bare shoulders in that sexy little sweater she had on. It didn’t exactly seem like it would keep her very warm in the middle of winter, but as far as looking sexy as fuck?
It hit all the marks.
All he’d need to do was push that suede jacket she was wearing aside and he’d be able to run his fingers over her bare skin.
Feel her softness and warmth.
She looked casual yet incredibly sexy today—the woman certainly could wear a pair of jeans. Strutting around in those high-heeled boots of hers, wearing denim that hugged every inch of her curves? That perfectly highlighted her ass?
Melissa all covered up was even sexier than Melissa in those short skirts and stilettos.
And wasn’t that saying something.
Although she seemed to be wearing trendy clothes, she didn’t seem to realize how damn tempting she was. He was attracted to her without her even trying. A woman like her would look good in everything and nothing at all.
Hell.
He’d love to see her in nothing but lingerie and those stilettos she loved to strut around in.
A woman like her probably wasn’t shy about her body. She’d enjoy tempting and teasing him. And wouldn’t he fucking love every minute as well.
Still, he had no damn business dragging her away for the afternoon. Taking her down to the lake—a place where he liked to spend some alone time.
What the hell did he expect was going to happen?
They’d hang out for a few hours and life would go on. He’d be back on base tomorrow; she’d be back showing homes, driving around prospective clients. He frowned. The incident from a few weeks ago was niggling at the back of his mind. The BOLO they’d gotten on base. Nothing had been in the news about it since, but that didn’t mean it was necessarily safe for her either.
N
ot until he was caught.
And a single woman couldn’t ever be too careful.
“So, you’re not going to give me any hints?” she asked, looking around. “Why are we heading out of town anyway?”
“It’s a sunny winter day, I’ve got the afternoon off—I wanted a break. To go somewhere for a change of scenery.”
“And that scenery would be...?”
He chuckled. “We’re heading to the lake, beautiful. Nothing better than just hanging out by the water. We’ll enjoy some peace and quiet and pretend we’re not in the middle of the work week. Just relax and enjoy the great outdoors.”
“You don’t seem like the ‘peace and quiet’ type.”
“I’m full of surprises. You don’t seem like the type to run off with a guy you hardly know.”
“Touché. But you’re not exactly a random stranger or something. I know where you work. I know where you’re about to live.”
“I know. I just like riling you up, gorgeous. But I want you to know you don’t have to worry—you’re safe with me.”
She glanced over at him, those light green eyes of hers flickering with a hint of vulnerability for a brief moment before her shield was back in place. “I can take care of myself,” she said. “I wouldn’t have come with you if I didn’t feel comfortable.”
“I’m sure you can. I’m just letting you know you don’t have to worry about me. Speaking of safety—”
“We weren’t,” she commented dryly, shooting him a look.
He shook his head, glancing back at the road. “Aren’t you ever concerned about being alone when showing homes? That photographer of yours was prowling around outside the house. You were working at your laptop and didn’t even know he was there.”
“Of course I knew he was there. He was photographing the property,” she said, blowing out an exasperated sigh. “He gave me the photos, remember? And yes, he’s a little annoying. And also completely harmless.”
“But you met me, sight unseen, and took me into an empty house.”
“That’s not my usual practice,” she said. “I even explained that when we first met. I was doing Amy and Jason a favor. Usually I meet clients at my office, go over all their papers, get a copy of their driver’s license—”
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