Page 92 of One Lucky Hero (Men in Uniform 1)

“We only had the one night.”

“And . . . Scale from one to ten, where did it rank?”

“Twenty.”

“Daaaamn. I took home the wrong friend.”

Violet almost snorted her coffee. “What, Tyler didn’t rock your world?”

“Oh, no, the boy was good, but it just wasn’t . . . Sex is just sex unless it means something, you know?”

Violet hadn’t known . . . not until Dean. From the moment they had met, there had been something about their attraction that stayed with her. Haunting her and growing more intense with every touch.

“Okay, so we’ve established he is a sexy good time, but the house painting . . . Now that is a man who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Plus, any man who does manual labor for you is husband material.”

Husband? “Whoa, whoa, let’s take this down a notch. There is no talk of husbands or marriage or baby carriage!”

“Well, to be fair, you brought up the baby carriage, which makes me think you’ve been having your own thoughts.”

“New topic.”

“Fine, fine, but him painting your house is huge. Men do not cook or do chores for women they aren’t serious about.”

“So you think he’s serious, even if he’s been telling me he isn’t?” Violet’s heart did the tango, dipping and swooping around in her chest with excitement.

If she was happy about the potential seriousness of Dean’s intentions, did that mean she wanted serious? She’d been saying she had no room for him, but he already seemed to fit. With her. In her house. Her sister and brother liked him . . .

“Hello, are you listening to me?” Tracy hollered.

“Sorry, making breakfast.” Violet opened the package of Pop-Tarts and bit into one, speaking around the pastry. “You were saying?”

“Yes, I was. Now, as I was saying, men never know what they want until they meet the right woman.”

“That’s a little sexist, don’t you think?”

“No, it’s the truth. Every man says he wants to keep things light and casual until he meets a girl who makes him want to take out the trash, watch chick flicks, and even paint porches.”

“Anything else?”

“Are you chewing in my ear?” Tracy asked.

Violet stopped chewing and tried to spea

k but ended up sucking some Pop-Tart down the wrong tube. She barely made it to the sink before she spewed the rest of the Pop-Tart out.

In a strained, raspy voice she wheezed, “Of course not.”

“I know you’re lying but I’m going to let it go, even though you know how disgusting I think that is.”

“Fine, I’m done. What were you going to say?”

“I was just going to tell you that a man who will protect you with his life is something every woman wants, and if I were you, I would not let him go.”

Violet considered Tracy’s opinions, but even if all of those things were true and Dean was looking for something more, she hadn’t quite sorted through all her feelings on the matter. “Still, I’m not going to take advantage of the guy.”

“Well then who are you going to get to drive the U-Haul?”

Violet wasn’t sure.