Page 67 of One Lucky Hero (Men in Uniform 1)

“Yeah, I know.” Dean couldn’t be mad at his friend; that was just the way Martinez was. Speaking the truth, no matter how brutal it may be.

“Besides, I thought you liked being the director and working with the kids at Alpha Dog. Why would you want to go back there?”

Because you want to prove that you won’t choke again in a crisis.

“I’m just not ready to be out, you know,” he said.

“I didn’t think I was either, but I gotta say, I don’t miss the stress,” Martinez said.

“I also don’t have a beautiful woman to come home to every night.” Violet’s face flashed through Dean’s mind, but that was so complicated. She was hot and cold with him, swearing she wanted nothing to do with him, then looking at him like it was only the two of them in the room.

“What about Casey Douglas’s sister? You two seemed pretty together when you barred the door to the visiting room,” Martinez asked.

Even though it was Martinez and not Best, Dean was still defensive of Violet. Her one worry was being discovered, and he wasn’t going to let it happen. “We did not bar the door.”

“Maybe she didn’t, but I’ve seen you when you want something. Besides, Best told me about you two hooking up before her brother even got there,” Martinez said.

“Best has a big mouth,” Dean said.

“That doesn’t change the fact that something is going on with you two. You took a group of kids out to her house to clean it up and wrote it off as community service. So, if you aren’t hooking up, what are you doing with her?”

Dean leaned forward and ran his hands over his face with a groan. “I have no idea, man. I don’t want anything serious, you know that, but with Violet . . . I mean, the girl has got drama up to her eyeballs and trust issues that would make most psychiatrists want to put her in a lab and study her. But I just can’t get her out of my head.”

“You know, once Eve and I let go of all the reasons why we shouldn’t be together, everything just seemed to make sense for us,” Martinez said.

“She says she doesn’t have room for me in her life,” he said.

“So prove her wrong.”

To what end? Even if he could convince her that they could have something more, there were no guarantees he wouldn’t be gone next week, and then what was he supposed to do? Just leave her high and dry like everyone else in her life?

“I don’t even know what I want from her, so why make it complicated?” Dean asked.

“Because if you really think you could love this girl—”

“Whoa, I never said love. Besides, she’s been through a lot, and when I get new orders, I don’t want to hurt her.”

“So be her friend. But if you just let her keep thinking that there is no place for you, then that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Fortune favors the brave, mi amigo.”

“I might also send her screaming to the cops for a restraining order if I push too hard,” Dean said.

“Well, I didn’t tell you to stalk her, man. I just mean that you should show her that whatever qualms she might have mean nothing because you’re a good guy. You’re exactly what she needs.”

Dean laughed. “That easy, huh? ’Cause it seems like no matter what I say, I’m going to end up being that guy she’ll tell her friends about. The cautionary tale about one-night stands.”

“Well, if you end up being that guy, at least it means she’ll remember you.”

Chapter Seventeen

THIS IS A disaster.

Violet surveyed the chaos that was her kitchen the next morning. She’d been up since seven, unable to decide what to make, so she’d ended up with a bit of everything: chocolate chip pancakes, biscuits and sausage gravy, bacon, and sliced watermelon and strawberries. Plus her mother’s special breakfast pizza, which was still baking.

“Holy hell, what is the occasion? I already had my birthday breakfast,” Daisy said as she walked into the room.

Violet glanced at the clock in horror. Dean would be there any minute, and she was still waiting on the breakfast pizza to finish.

“I got a little carried away making breakfast for Dean.”