Marine for Hire Read Online Free PDF

Her brain took another detour from there, conjuring up images of current-day Sam wearing nothing but a smile and a barbecue apron, the strings cinched loosely above that tight, curved backside and—
    “Wh—where did you do your culinary training?” she asked, tripping over her tongue.
    He wiped his hands on the dish towel and hung it neatly on a hook before leaning against the counter and looking at her with those piercing blue eyes. “I spent a lot of time training overseas,” he said. “Gonsalves in Japan, Sigonella in Italy.”
    “Wow, that sounds exotic.” She wasn’t sure if those were cities or restaurants or cooking schools, but figured it didn’t matter. The guy obviously knew which side of a pan to grease.
    “So tell me a little bit about the last family you worked with,” she continued. “What was that experience like?”
    He scratched his jaw, drawing her eyes to the faint dusting of stubble and the tiny scar running just below his left ear. She wondered what it would feel like to trace her finger over it, to touch the tip of her tongue—
    “It was noisy,” he said. “Chaotic. Messy. Sometimes heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking. There were times I thought I wouldn’t survive the night, and other times I kinda wished I wouldn’t, but I’m very proud of the work I did. Of my time there.”
    She smiled. “Sounds like you’ve got a pretty good handle on living with small children.”
    She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “You could say that.”
    “So why did you leave your last position?”
    He hesitated—so infinitesimally, Sheri thought she might have imagined it. Or maybe he just remembered he needed to put soap in the dishwasher, since that’s what he turned to do. “It was time to move on,” he said at last, clicking the door shut and flipping the switch to set the appliance humming. “Look, I know Mac did a thorough background check, and I’m sure he’d be happy to give you copies of my references and—”
    “No, that won’t be necessary,” she said, feeling a little foolish. “I just wanted to know a little more about you, that’s all. My brother might be a domineering jerk sometimes, but if he says he’s known you for years and he vouches for your qualifications, that’s good enough for me. He’d do anything to make sure the twins and I are well cared for.”
    “Very true,” Sam said, nodding. He pressed his palms against the counter again, then moved out from behind it to stand in front, less than two feet from where Sheri sat. She could feel the heat from the bare skin of his legs, and she wondered what it would feel like to run her fingers up those thick, muscular calves.
    “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” he asked.
    “By all means,” she said, drawing her eyes from his legs to his face. “I guess if you might be living here, it’s only fair that you know more about us.”
    “The twins’ father—is he in the picture?”
    Sheri gripped the edge of the table, surprised he hadn’t started with a softball question about nap schedules or immunization records.
    “Jonathan is…well, I’m not entirely certain. He’s PCSing—um, that’s military-speak for permanent change of station—but I’m not sure where his new command will be. He hasn’t told me, and I haven’t asked.”
    “So he’s in limbo?”
    “Something like that. Usually he has a few weeks between an old command and a new one, so he’s probably in Hawaii somewhere. Things are still pretty new with the divorce and everything, so we’re not really communicating that well.” She wished she’d agreed to that glass of wine after all.
    “Does he contact you?”
    “Sometimes.” Sheri glanced down at her hands, not sure she wanted to reveal how often Jonathan had been calling. She wasn’t afraid of him—not really—but she didn’t like talking to him. Especially when he started making noise about getting back together, about being a family again.
    She