Page 11 of One Lucky Hero (Men in Uniform 1)

She was done giving him the benefit of the doubt. He was a total jackass.

“No thanks to you. Couldn’t you at least have pretended to be a nice guy for two seconds?”

He shrugged. Shrugged! “The guy was hobbit-sized. I figured you could take him.”

“I didn’t want to take him,” she hissed. “I wanted you to come over and do that thing guys do to scare other men away so I didn’t have to.”

“Come on, how hard is it to tell a guy you aren’t interested? It’s better than leading the guy on.”

Violet, fuming, stopped dead in her tracks and faced him with her arms crossed over her chest, sarcasm dripping from her tone. “I figured I’d just take a page from your book and suddenly have to go to the bathroom.”

He didn’t say much, at least not right away. Finally, he cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. “You’re right. That was a dick move.”

“Yeah it was.” Not that I ever thought you’d admit it. “So, why are you following me? You’ve made it perfectly clear that I repulse you—”

“I never said you repulse me.”

“You didn’t have to say it; believe me, your attitude was all the evidence I needed.” She choked on the last word and spun away before he saw the tears swimming in her eyes, nearly knocking a couple of teenagers over in the process.

“Watch it!” one of them snarled.

Violet ignored them and walked off the path, trying to get it together.

Unfortunately, she had no time before Dean took her arm and pulled her behind a corn dog vendor and away from the crowds.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I think we need to clear a few things up.” He seemed so calm, almost amused.

Oh, hell no. He did not get to be an asshat and laugh at her when she blew up about it.

Pointing her finger at Dean’s chest and breathing so hard she was sure fire was exploding from her nostrils, she advanced on him, furious when he didn’t budge an inch. When she finally stopped, there were mere inches between them, her heaving chest brushing his as she raged quietly.

“Since the moment I met you, you’ve made me feel like I’m diseased. Wiping your hand on your leg, running off after I bought you a freaking beer without even returning the favor—”

“You want me to buy you a beer?” He still sounded like he was about to laugh at her expense, and it fueled her righteous indignation like wind on a wildfire.

“No, I don’t want your stinking beer! I just want to know what it is you have against me. Is it that you don’t like redheads? Am I too tall for you? Please, explain to me why you seem to be fluctuating between avoiding me and antagonizing me.”

“I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure? What the hell does that even mean?” Violet threw up her hands with a frustrated groan. “You know, I had plans today. I was going to sing and dance with my best friend, flirt with a hot guy. Maybe even hook up with him, who knows. Instead, I’ve been insulted by you, ditched by my best friend, and the only guy who has looked twice at me is a guy who was voted most likely to rule the world in high school.” About ready to go bury her head in a corn dog and a whole bottle of whatever alcohol she could grab, she took a step away from him, her face burning with humiliation. “So, if you don’t mind, I’m about to take the buzz I’m working on and upgrade it to a full-on bender.”

Before she could escape, she was jerked back and pressed against the hard side of the food truck. Dean loomed over her, his face so close her eyes nearly crossed.

“You done throwing a tantrum?” he asked.

As his hard body moved into hers, tension hummed around them. “I was not—”

“Yea

h, you’re revved up into a full-on hissy fit, but I’m going to overlook that while I . . . clarify a few things.”

The way his voice softened on those last four words made her body tighten, especially when she realized one of his legs was pressed between hers. His wide shoulders blocked her view of who might be watching them, and his hands were braced flat just above her shoulders. If she moved a fraction higher, he could graze her bare skin with his thumb, and just the thought of it made her nipples perk up against the sheer lace of her bra.

“First of all, yes, I was rude to you, but not because I wasn’t attracted to you.”

Violet held her breath at this, her eyes riveted to his lips.