Read Online The Second Chance Hero by Jeannie Moon - Free Book Online

call.”
    “But I hope you won’t do that.”
    Kim pressed a hand to her chest and smiled. He was too cute. He was a badass marine intel officer and the man was flirting with her.
    She hit reply and started typing. Then she stopped.
    She’d been here before. That feeling of being swept away by a guy who was strong and self-assured. She’d believed in him without question and lost herself.
    Based on her dream, she was already too attracted to him for her own good. If she was giving it all up in her subconscious after one day at a barbecue, what would a romantic dinner do to her? This was a bad idea, even if he was dream-worthy.
    Everything about Owen attracted her. His looks, his voice, his brains. There wasn’t one thing she could find that put her off. Well, except when he pushed her buttons about the war. And even then she was only mad because he was right about her. After they’d talked by the barn, he backed off. Instead, the conversation they had over burgers was about his business, about her job taking care of Anna, and a little about her experience in the navy. He asked very specific questions rather than about her feelings, which were such an unholy mess they scared her on her best day. But Kim had to admit, she’d never met a man who had such a great sense with people. He must have been a wonderful commanding officer. There was no bluster around him, just quiet confidence. It was attractive, sexy. What surprised her was that when she was with him she felt safe, secure, and Kim knew she could never rely on a man to provide that again. No. She couldn’t trust him, even if she wanted to.
    Even if her heart was aching to.
    Moving her thumbs, she started typing the message. “
That’s nice of you, but I don’t think dinner is a good idea. There’s no need to call.”
    Send.
    Her heart broke a little as the bubble appeared in the conversation and closed the door on the possibilities Owen represented. Standing, Kim decided it was time to go to bed. She left her phone on the table where she wouldn’t hear it.
    ***
    Owen stared at the screen when her message came back. He couldn’t believe it.
    Still not sure what to say, he shook his head and then glanced up at Jason and Nate. “She said no.”
    “Seriously?” Jason said. “No?”
    “Wow.” Nate rubbed the back of his neck. The bastard was pushing down a laugh. “Has any woman ever said no to you?”
    Once in a while he might get turned down, but not in recent memory, and in a lot of cases, women asked him out. Whether it was the uniform or the money he made, he was never short of offers. He dated here and there, but no one stuck. No one held his interest or made him feel anything. Over the past year, Kim was the only woman he thought about and he didn’t know why.
    Owen shrugged his shoulders. Obviously, Kim wasn’t as into him as he was her. It was odd, though. He was generally a better judge of people, and based on her reactions, all the body language, she liked him.
    “Are you going to give it up?” Nate asked.
    Again Owen shrugged. “She’s been through a lot.”
    “Yes,” Jason said, “But you could be what she needs, man. Make her, I don’t know, a mission objective.”
    Owen laughed. “You’re such an asshole. A mission objective?”
    Nate jumped in. “You’re a master strategist, Owen. Figure her out.”
    “See the hill. Take the hill,” Jason declared loudly.
    “Oh, my God,” he muttered to himself.
    Owen hadn’t considered that if he ever met Lieutenant Kim Torres again, getting to know her wouldn’t be easy. That was all he really wanted. Okay, that was a lie. He wanted to kiss the woman senseless and he’d felt that way since he’d seen her in the coffee shop.
    “She uses the gym at Reliance a couple days a week,” Nate shared. “She brings the baby to Harper in the afternoon for lunch and works out.”
    “Is that so?”
    “It is,” Jason said. “But be careful of Harper. She’s protective of Kim, so she might