“Is it because my mother vandalized your gallery and tried to ruin your business?” he asked. Sophia had to smile at the grim resignation in his tone because beneath it she heard the exasperated love.
“Of course not. I actually understand why she did it. And she’s more than made up for any problems she caused by hosting the series of Friends of Esprit Gallery luncheons. Who knew high society was so interested in naked breasts?”
Max’s smile flashed, but just as quickly it was gone.
“Then the fact that she’d posed with her naked breasts isn’t the problem?”
She had to give him credit. He barely cringed as he said the words. She figured it was his military training. The man faced live bombs; he wasn’t about to back away from his mama’s wild past.
“No. Like I said, I understand why she tried to hide it, but I also understand what it’s like to be seduced into letting go of all inhibitions.”
“Right,” he muttered, obviously more comfortable with his mother having her inhibitions intact. Then he shrugged it off, obviously not wanting it in his brain. “If it’s none of that, then what is it?”
Sophia licked her lips, sitting on the edge of the fountain and trying to gather her nerve.
“Here’s the thing,” she started.
Max shook his head.
“Nope. I don’t want to hear about the thing,” he insisted. But he was smiling.
“The thing is, I love you.”
He reached out to pull her into his arms, but Sophia shook her head.
“I love you. But I’m not ready to take that step. I’m afraid.”
“Of marrying a soldier?”
“No,” she insisted, jumping to her feet then and pressing her palms against his chest in assurance. “Oh, no. You were a soldier when I fell in love with you. I know your job is scary. It’s dangerous and hellish and it means you’re away for long periods of time. But I knew that when I fell in love with you.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Sophia sucked in a deep breath. “I’m afraid of losing myself. You’re a strong man. You know what you want. You’ve got a plan and you know where your life is going.”
Max frowned, shaking his head in confusion. “So? You’re a strong woman. You’ve got a gallery and you know what you want for it, right?”
“Yes. But it’s not enough.” She looked over his shoulder at the adobe estate, still amazed that she had her home back. Not because she’d suddenly gotten brave, but because Max had pushed her off the cliff. “I need to figure out where my life is going. Once I know, I can share it with you.”
“Does this involve other men?”
“No!” she exclaimed, horrified.
“Then go for it.”
She laughed. “Just like that?”
“Sure. I want you to be happy. I can’t think of anything you’d do that I couldn’t support.”
She took a deep breath, then blurted, “I want to be a photographer.”
“Are you planning an exposé of men’s anatomy?” he asked.
“Eww.”
“Then, again, why wouldn’t I support you? You’re a fabulous photographer from what I’ve seen. Whatever you need, just tell me. You want me to do security at your shows, I’m there. You want me to drive you to remote mountains so you can take shots of wildflowers, just say so. You want me to do nothing and stay out of it, I’ll try my best. This is your dream, sweetheart. You’re calling the shots.”
She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t think of a single reason. So she hugged him instead.
Not for the support, although that was amazing. But because he hadn’t even blinked at the concept of her being a photographer. He’d met famous ones. He’d been a part of a quarter-million-dollar exhibit this past weekend. And he believed in her so much that he didn’t question that she’d fit all of that.
It made her brave enough to continue.
“I want to be with you,” she told him. “I want to give us a chance. But like you said, I need to do this on my own. I need to know I’m strong enough to marry you.”
She held her breath. She’d taken more risks in the past week than she’d taken in her entire life. But this one scared her the most.
“I want to travel and take pictures,” she admitted. “There’s so much I want to see and do. So much I want to learn about myself. I’d visit you if you’d let me, but I don’t want to promise anything until we’re both sure.”
Max was silent at first. Sophia’s stomach tilted toward her toes. He puffed out a breath, then leaned his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. Then he pulled back and gave her a look of such intense love, her eyes stung. No, she wasn’t going to get all emotional here. She was going to stay in control.
“You need this time?” he said. “Then take it. I’m in the war zone for a year. I’m sure I’ll be stationed stateside after, unless you’d rather I request something else.”
“You’re willing to wait for me?” she asked, knowing tears were leaking down her cheeks but unable to stop crying. At least she’d learned from Tabby to wear waterproof mascara.
“Sweetheart,” he said, lifting both her hands to his mouth and pressing a kiss on her knuckles, “I’d be waiting anyway. I’ll do it better if I know you’re happy until I get back.”
Epilogue
Two years later
“ARE YOU SURE THIS ISN’T too cliché?” Sophia asked, her voice shaky with nerves. “It’s like Saint Valentine went crazy.”
Silver hearts and red roses. Chocolate and champagne. Love and romance. It was almost too perfect.
Tabby smoothed her hand over the heavy white satin of Sophia’s skirt with a giddy sort of smile. The kind inspired by a proud mother or a woman who’d already downed half a magnum of champagne. Or in this case, both.
“It’s perfect,” the older woman declared. “You’re perfect. In that dress. For this day. And most of all, for my Maximilian.”
My Maximilian, Sophia silently corrected.
Who knew they’d actually make such a crazy relationship work, let alone work so well it’d flourish into a three-tiered cake and flower girl?
Max had completed his tour overseas with Sophia flying off to some exotic locales to meet him for a few days here, a week there. They’d written. They’d talked on the phone. They’d discovered that the rush of lust and excitement that’d launched their relationship was solid and lasting and real.
And today, they would promise to spend the rest of their lives together.
She’d risked it all. And she’d gotten everything she ever dreamed of in return. Both in love and in her career. While she traveled, Tabby and Gina ran the gallery, which was a surprisingly perfect pairing. On a roll with her success, Sophia had nagged von Schilling into mentoring her. It’d taken her a year to get past her insecurities. But Max had been there for her, totally believing in her. Then last month, her shots of the women in Afghanistan had won an award.
Sophia stepped into the hallway and took her father’s arm. His kiss on her cheek, the music and cheers as she walked down the aisle were all a distant blur.
There were hearts and flowers decorating the garden and she knew Rico was standing as best man. But all she saw was Max, there in his black tuxedo, waiting for her at the altar.
In her mind’s eye, she snapped a picture of this moment. Of their future together. She wouldn’t need to analyze it, though.
She knew it was going to be amazing.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8454-2
BREAKING THE RULES
Copyright © 2011 by Tawny Weber
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Subject: Army Major Chance Rawlins, Helicopter Pilot.
Current Status: Soon-to-be-deployed to Afghanistan.
Mission: Report to Captain Jenna Larson for a sexy, one-night inspection.
Obstacle: She’s mistaken him for another man!
Major Chance Rawlins has a bit of a reputation, both in and outside of the helicopter cockpit. He’s a hotshot, and he knows it. But when he enjoys a spontaneously naughty night with Captain Jenna Larson, Chance realizes Jenna has no idea who he is...and that she’s mistaken him for his twin brother!
Since it was just a one-nighter, Chance decides not to give the game away. But when their paths cross again in the dry heat of Afghanistan, Chance sees an opportunity to show Jenna exactly who he is—and what he can do to her. After all, the best pilots know when to hold back...and when to engage in a little sexy fire!
Uniformly Hot!
The Few. The Proud. The Sexy as Hell.
Six more military heroes.
Six more indomitable heroines.
One UNIFORMLY HOT! miniseries.
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Don’t miss Chance’s thrilling story:
COMING UP FOR AIR
by Karen Foley
May 2012
and his twin brother Chase’s sexy adventure:
NO GOING BACK
by Karen Foley
July 2012
Uniformly Hot!
The Few. The Proud. The Sexy as Hell.
Dear Reader,
About three years ago, I had the opportunity to sit in the cockpit of a Black Hawk helicopter. With the cyclic stick between my knees and all that powerful technology at my fingertips, I knew I had to create a heroine capable of flying these incredible machines, but also strong enough to hold her own in a male-dominated environment.
Army captain Jenna Larson is a top-notch Black Hawk pilot, but she’s sworn never to get romantically involved with another pilot, no matter how sexy he might be. But when she catches sight of Major Chase Rawlins, a hard-bodied special ops commando with a killer smile, she decides he’s the one man she wants to see out of uniform and in her bed.
What she doesn’t realize is that it’s not the professional, no-nonsense Chase that she’s been drooling over, but his cocky, devil-may-care twin brother, Chance, an Apache helicopter pilot. Jenna is convinced that she can spend one night with him and then walk away, but their red-hot hookup turns out to be the best sex she’s ever had, and she can’t stop thinking about him.
Chance Rawlins may just be my favorite hero yet! He has all the qualities that make a military hero irresistible, and I hope you find him hard to forget, too! And if you’re wondering about his twin brother…Chase Rawlins will have his own story in July 2012, where he encounters the one woman guaranteed to make him lose control.
Happy reading!
Karen
Karen Foley
Coming Up for Air
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Foley is an incurable romantic. When she’s not working for the Department of Defense, she’s writing sexy romances with strong heroes and happy endings. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters, an overgrown puppy and two very spoiled cats. Karen enjoys hearing from her readers. You can find out more about her by visiting www.karenefoley.com.
Books by Karen Foley
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353—FLYBOY
422—OVERNIGHT SENSATION
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504—HOLD ON TO THE NIGHTS
549—BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY
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563—HOT-BLOODED
596—HEAT OF THE MOMENT
640—DEVIL IN DRESS BLUES
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This book is dedicated to my own personal hero, John Foley, who didn’t have to deploy,
but chose to do so anyway. I’m so proud of you!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
1
THE WAY TO TELL IF A man was a good lover was to watch how he danced. Captain Jenna Larson didn’t know if the observation was true, since none of her exes had enjoyed dancing very much. That should have been her first clue, since none of them had been exceptional in bed, either.
A slow country song throbbed through the speakers at Shooters nightclub, and Jenna could feel the seductive pull of it in her veins. Finishing her beer, she set the empty bottle down on the bar. She’d told herself a dozen times since she’d first spotted him that she wasn’t going to look, but her gaze was drawn irresistibly back to the couple moving slowly across the dance floor. Despite the crush of people surrounding them, the man guided his partner effortlessly through the crowd, his hands holding her with an easy confidence.
He moved with a fluid grace, his body shifting and sliding in perfect rhythm to the music while accommodating his partner’s motions. He was lean and fit, the material of his black shirt stretched taut across the thrust of his shoulders. His jeans rode low on his hips and his scuffed cowboy boots lent him extra height. Watching him dance, Jenna had no doubt that he would be exceptional in bed, completely attuned to his partner’s body.
He bent his head to catch something the woman said to him, and then he laughed and drew her closer to the curve of his body, never missing a beat. His teeth were white in his suntanned face and Jenna noted the deep indents in his cheeks when he grinned. As they turned the corner of the dance floor, his gaze slid lazily over the crowd and, for an instant, his eyes met hers and held.
Jenna stared at him over his partner’s head, unable to look away. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been so enthralled by a man, military or otherwise. Everything about him commanded her attention, from his built-for-sex body to his lazy, devil-may-care smile. She didn’t know the first thing about him, except that he was in the army, assigned to nearby Fort Bragg, just like ninety-five percent of the men in the club that night.
Jenna had caught glimpses of him several times on the army base, and even from a distance he’d captured her attention. Less than two weeks ago, she’d run into him at the local supermarket. Literally, as she’d turned a corner, she’d collided wi
th his shopping cart. He had smiled at her as she’d apologized, and there had been no mistaking the masculine interest in his eyes. In fact, she’d felt him watching her as she’d walked away, and when she’d surreptitiously glanced back at him, he’d grinned shamelessly, making no effort to hide the fact that he was, indeed, ogling her. The knowledge had made her feel shivery and delicious.
Two days later, she’d bumped into him at the post office. Against her better judgment, she’d opened her mouth to introduce herself, but he’d looked right through her, without a hint of recognition or interest. The complete switch had puzzled her, making her wonder if she’d only imagined the heat she’d seen in his eyes just days earlier.
Now, as she watched him, the corners of his lips lifted and he closed one eye in an audacious wink, before smoothly swinging the woman away to the other side of the floor. Jenna realized she had been holding her breath and she let it out in a rush, signaling to the bartender for another beer. The music came to a stop and she peeked back in time to see him give the woman a brief hug before releasing her to rejoin a group of men shooting pool on the far side of the room.
She gave a snort of disdain as she watched the woman pause on the edge of the dance floor and preen for whoever might still be watching her. Wearing too-tight white jeans and a skimpy shirt that exposed her tanned midriff, she was obviously a local. Her long hair was dyed an unnatural shade of red, and she had enough makeup on to qualify as camouflage. But she had a curvy little body, and she smiled at every guy who looked her way, including her dance partner’s pool-shooting buddies.
Jenna covertly watched as his friends welcomed his return with nudges and winks. He took it in stride, but while the other guys looked longingly at the redhead’s ass when she finally sauntered away, he turned and stared directly at Jenna. She paused, her beer halfway to her lips, and then tipped the bottle toward him in a silent salute before taking a long swallow. He smiled, a slow tilting of his mouth that caused his dimples to emerge, then picked up his cue and turned his attention to the pool table.
Uniformly Hot! Volume 1 from Harlequin: Letters from HomeBreaking the RulesComing Up for Air Page 34