Her Sexy Marine Valentine Read Online Free Page A

people they ended up dead?
    â€œBrody? Is something wrong with the taco?”
    Blinking, he refocused. After taking a bite, the spices a perfect blend with the meat and toppings, he shook his head.
    He pointed the taco at her. “You didn’t lie. It’s really good.”
    â€œTold you.” She paused. “You don’t sound like a Texan, in fact you don’t have much of an accent at all.”
    â€œMy dad is an entrepreneur and we moved a lot. Sometimes two or three times a year. More after my mom died.”
    â€œWow.” Mari frowned. “That must have been hard on you as a kid. And I’m so sorry about your mom.”
    â€œIt was and I do miss her. But it was a long time ago,” Brody said. He still smiled when he thought of her. His mom had been the one to make all the moving seem like an adventure. “And to be honest, it taught me to travel light.”
    â€œStill, adjusting to new schools and stuff. And always making friends. I can’t even imagine how difficult that must have been.”
    It was part of the reason he was such a loner. It was just easier that way. “So, Mari, can I ask why you decided to take on this house? Seems like a lot for one person.”
    She grimaced and put her food back on her plate. He’d upset her, but he didn’t know how.
    â€œTrue. It’s a lot. But I didn’t have a choice really. This started out as a project my ex and I had agreed on together. I bought the house and he would pay for the renovations, which were actually more than the house was worth. By the time we’d be finished though, the house would be worth four times as much. The plan was to flip it and move on to the next place. Except...the day after I closed on the house he broke up with me.”
    â€œLow blow,” Brody said through gritted teeth.
    â€œNot going to argue with you. And I can think of some nastier things to say. Anyway, I was stuck. I can’t sell the house as is, I won’t get back the money I put into it. So my only option is to fix it up as best I can and sell. But without his money, I’m having to do it all on a shoestring.”
    Her ex deserved a load of bad karma for doing this to Mari. Brody hadn’t known her long, but she was sweet, and didn’t deserve to be treated like that.
    Thinking of the situation at the grocery store only made him angrier. After all the jerk put her through, then he rubbed her nose in the fact he was marrying another woman.
    â€œDo you need me to kill him?”
    She smiled. “You know, earlier today when I found out how much it was going to take to bring the plumbing up to code, I might have taken you up on that. No, my proposition, well, it’s a little out there.”
    â€œJust ask. Honestly, my curiosity is starting to get the better of me.”
    She sipped, more like chugged, the sangria. Then she set down her glass.
    â€œI watched you fixing the roof on your house a couple of weeks ago. And then you repaired the mailbox and put in a new post. I promise I’m not stalking you, but I’ve also seen you tinkering with your motorcycle. A lot. And your truck. I just wondered if maybe you might be able to help me out around here. Maybe there’s something I could do for you in return. Wait. That came out really wrong. I meant cook or something.” She laughed nervously.
    It took him a minute to figure out what she was proposing. “You’d like me to do handyman stuff?”
    â€œYes. Over the years I’ve learned a lot. I’ve even helped out on jobs. I have to bring in tradesmen for the electrical and plumbing, and those guys aren’t cheap. So most of the other work is going to fall to me. This time, as I explained, I can’t afford to hire the guys I normally would.”
    He pressed his lips together. It wasn’t a matter of him not being able to do the work. He could. But hanging around Mari all the time probably wasn’t a