Read Online Almost Perfect by Julie Ortolon - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Julie Ortolon
Tags: Humor, Romance, Literature & Fiction, Contemporary, series, Military, Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Women, Women's Fiction, Single Women, Domestic Life
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boom box in the corner, warring with the scream of the electric sander in Joe's hand. The sound of wild guitar licks suited him just fine as he sweated over prepping one of the canoes for a fiberglass patch. Finally satisfied that the area was smooth, he flipped off the sander, leaving only the angry beat of the music as he straightened. Removing his protective eye gear, he mopped his forehead with his arm. Fiber-glass dust gnawed at his skin, making him contemplate a dive into the river to rinse off. Maybe the exertion of a late-night swim would help him work off the temper simmering in his gut.
For now, he settled for pulling off his shirt and using the sink to wash up. He was drying his arms and chest with paper towels when his sixth sense raised the hair on the back of his neck. He whirled to find Maddy standing in the doorway against a backdrop of moon-washed night.
For an instant, neither of them moved. She stared at him with the wide-eyed shock of a virgin seeing a bare-chested man for the first time. Which might have made him laugh under different circumstances. Maddy was hardly a virgin, and he knew for a fact she'd seen a man's bare chest. His in particular.
Even so, her gaze traveled over his upper body, taking in the tattooed armbands circling both his biceps—which were new to her—then across his pecs and down his abs to the waistband of his shorts. His muscles bunched and fluttered as if she'd brushed him with her fingertips.
Swallowing a curse, he reached over and turned off the boom box, plunging the boathouse into silence. "You wanted something?"
Her gaze snapped back to his face and color flooded her cheeks. "I, um, I… saw the light on. From my balcony."
"And… ?"
"And, I thought maybe this would be a good time for us to…"
"What?" Screw each other's brains out ? The idea of an angry fuck appealed to him even more than a swim as a way to work off his foul mood. Espe-cially since she had caused both his mental and his physical frustration. The thought made his traitorous groin stir even more. Dammit.
"To talk," she finally managed to get out.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." He turned his back and tossed the paper towels in the trash. To save himself the embarrassment of standing before her with the beginnings of a hard-on, he reached for his shirt and shook it out with a snap. "In fact, I think you being here right now is a very bad idea."
"Joe."
He sensed her moving toward him and sent her a dark scowl over one shoulder.
She stopped. "We need to work this out."
"No. We don't." He jerked his shirt on, which made his skin itch all over again, but at least it hung down far enough to grant him some privacy. Reaching for a bottle of acetone and a cloth, he crossed back to the boat and started cleaning the area to be patched. "You're only going to be here twelve weeks. I've survived unpleasant situations longer than that."
"So that's it?" Her voice went up in pitch. "We're going to act like the past doesn't exist?"
"That's pretty much the plan, yeah." He concentrated on wiping dust away from the crack in the hull, forcing an outward show of calm when everything inside him wanted to lash out at her with all the things he wished he'd said fifteen years ago. Or pull her into his arms and beg her to take him back. His teeth clenched against the second impulse. He'd actually done that the last time, begged her and humiliated himself. With tears, damn it. He'd literally cried in front of her. The memory made him physically ill.
"Joe…" She took another step, sending his nerves on high alert. "I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that to the depth of my heart—"
"Stop!" He straightened, but refused to step back even as panic pounded in his chest. She seemed determined to rip open this old wound and watch him bleed all over again. If she stood there much longer, he feared she'd succeed. "Let's skip the big apology scene. What happened between us is ancient history. This may come as a shock to
For now, he settled for pulling off his shirt and using the sink to wash up. He was drying his arms and chest with paper towels when his sixth sense raised the hair on the back of his neck. He whirled to find Maddy standing in the doorway against a backdrop of moon-washed night.
For an instant, neither of them moved. She stared at him with the wide-eyed shock of a virgin seeing a bare-chested man for the first time. Which might have made him laugh under different circumstances. Maddy was hardly a virgin, and he knew for a fact she'd seen a man's bare chest. His in particular.
Even so, her gaze traveled over his upper body, taking in the tattooed armbands circling both his biceps—which were new to her—then across his pecs and down his abs to the waistband of his shorts. His muscles bunched and fluttered as if she'd brushed him with her fingertips.
Swallowing a curse, he reached over and turned off the boom box, plunging the boathouse into silence. "You wanted something?"
Her gaze snapped back to his face and color flooded her cheeks. "I, um, I… saw the light on. From my balcony."
"And… ?"
"And, I thought maybe this would be a good time for us to…"
"What?" Screw each other's brains out ? The idea of an angry fuck appealed to him even more than a swim as a way to work off his foul mood. Espe-cially since she had caused both his mental and his physical frustration. The thought made his traitorous groin stir even more. Dammit.
"To talk," she finally managed to get out.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." He turned his back and tossed the paper towels in the trash. To save himself the embarrassment of standing before her with the beginnings of a hard-on, he reached for his shirt and shook it out with a snap. "In fact, I think you being here right now is a very bad idea."
"Joe."
He sensed her moving toward him and sent her a dark scowl over one shoulder.
She stopped. "We need to work this out."
"No. We don't." He jerked his shirt on, which made his skin itch all over again, but at least it hung down far enough to grant him some privacy. Reaching for a bottle of acetone and a cloth, he crossed back to the boat and started cleaning the area to be patched. "You're only going to be here twelve weeks. I've survived unpleasant situations longer than that."
"So that's it?" Her voice went up in pitch. "We're going to act like the past doesn't exist?"
"That's pretty much the plan, yeah." He concentrated on wiping dust away from the crack in the hull, forcing an outward show of calm when everything inside him wanted to lash out at her with all the things he wished he'd said fifteen years ago. Or pull her into his arms and beg her to take him back. His teeth clenched against the second impulse. He'd actually done that the last time, begged her and humiliated himself. With tears, damn it. He'd literally cried in front of her. The memory made him physically ill.
"Joe…" She took another step, sending his nerves on high alert. "I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that to the depth of my heart—"
"Stop!" He straightened, but refused to step back even as panic pounded in his chest. She seemed determined to rip open this old wound and watch him bleed all over again. If she stood there much longer, he feared she'd succeed. "Let's skip the big apology scene. What happened between us is ancient history. This may come as a shock to
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