Had it been awkward? Absolutely.
Had Julian enjoyed it? Hell, yes.
For a while thereafter, down-time had been an excuse to hit the bars and see if he could talk a woman into a night of pleasure. It had all been done openly and above-board with no expectations from any females he picked up. Still, he felt…awkward, and never once had his heart become involved.
Eventually the new-found joy of getting laid, lost its luster.
Not that he’d become a monk. Hell, no. He’d just become more discerning, hoping to eventually find someone who sparked more than just his libido, but that hadn’t happened.
Until P. Bothswait.
Which begged the question, why?
Why now, when he was just another civilian working in a family business; one Sothard face in a sea of impressive brothers, instead of being a decorated officer who stood out amongst his peers?
Julian doubted whether P. Bothswait saw him atall. He knew he practically disappeared every time he was around his boisterous and overachieving sibs.
The locally based brothers whoweren’tpartners in Diver Downeast, were Mason and Kyle, cops and SWAT team members who stopped by the shop quite often. And don’t even get him started on Vincent, the liveliest-wire of the bunch who was still in the Navy. For now. Vince kept talking about getting out and joining the new “family business”. God help Julian, then. If he hadn’t made a move on P. Bothswait by the time Vince got home, it would be game over, considering Vincent’s over-the-top charm.
Today, however, Julian might finally be alone when P. made her delivery.
Perhaps he could engage her in a way that would make him stand out from the pack.
At least, that was his goal.
Two dog heads popped up, suddenly alert, and Julian’s heart began to pound.
P. Bothswait always gave the pooches biscuits when she came around. Could it be…?
Julian heard the distinctive rumble of the UPS van moments after the dogs had alerted.
They were already headed to the door, and so was he.
Damn.
His insides roiled.
It was now or never.
Running his hand back over his hair that had gotten longer since he’d separated from the Air Force a month earlier, all Julian’s well-rehearsed greetings went right out of his head.
The dogs were whining now that the truck had come to a complete stop out front, and Julian tripped over his own feet as he took an anticipatory spot between the tongue-lolling pups, glancing out to ogle the woman surreptitiously.
Beautiful.
Auburn hair in a long ponytail, a button nose, and a firm chin. He wondered what color her eyes were, but she was too far away to see.
He yanked the door open.
Tinker and Langly bolted out, nearly knocking him down, then almost put P. Bothswait on her ass as they stormed her petite body.
She held her own, however, planting her legs…
Legs.
Holy crap. It was only March, but the woman who’d been starring in his fantasies was sporting shorts, and looking damned fine. Not only were they short enough to give Julian a glimpse of her toned thighs, he noted that her legs weren’t stark, winter-white, as he was sure his own were.
“Are you normally that color?” The question popped out of his mouth as his feet took him closer to where P. was navigating between the two rambunctious furballs.
