Son-of-a…
He recovered the ball with his left hand and set what was left of his beer on the ground. “Which one of you idiots has the bad aim?” he asked, more than ready to rib one of the SEALs as he rose to his feet.
But it wasn’t one of the guys who rushed over to collect the ball. No. It was the woman with the brown and blonde curls and gorgeous…eyes.
They were big and brown, the color of melted chocolate, and so mesmerizing, Holden forgot how to breathe.
“That would be me,” she said, a hint of sarcasm evident in her tone, while color flushed her cheeks. “Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” he said, shaking her outstretched hand. “I’m Holden.”
Her eyes widened a fraction before she tugged free. “Uh, yeah. I know. You’re holding the ball. Can I have it?”
He blinked. “Oh…sure. Here.”
Ignoring the snickers behind him, he handed over the ball and watched her walk away, the sweet sway of her hips holding his attention. She had great form. Exhaling, he shook his head, hoping both actions would dislodge the proverbialfootfrom his mouth. Damn. It felt like he’d just been steamrolled by a tank.
“Smooth, Holden.” Carter chuckled. “Real smooth.”
“Ignore him,” Dex said.
“Yeah.” Mac nodded. “That was Emily, by the way. Best friends with Gabe’s wife, Lyndsey. In case you wanted to know.”
He didn’t and told them as much as he retook his seat. The guys all laughed with a look of disbelief in their eyes. Holden didn’t blame them. He wasn’t sure he meant it either.
“Like I told you,” Hunter said next to him. “It happens when you least expect it.”
That may be, but it didn’t mean he’d act on this unforeseen attraction to the woman. He had a new job with new rules that no doubt differed widely from the military. His focus needed to be on work and not on the beauty with brown and blonde curls.
Holden spent the better part of a half hour trying to get his body to fall in line with his mind, but his gaze kept straying to Emily. It wasn’t until she disappeared into the outbuilding with Lyndsey that his pulse returned to normal. Damn thing had adopted an irregular beat ever since he’d stopped that stupid ball with his head.
“Hey, baby. Good game,” Carter said, jumping to his feet as his wife neared.
Mel smiled. “Thanks.” She kissed the guy then turned to Holden. “Can you come with me for a bit?”
“Me?” He glanced from Carter’s frowning face to the redhead. “Uh, why?”
“I hear you’re good with dogs,” she said. “Lyndsey has a new foster that’s extremely frightened, and we were hoping maybe you could offer some suggestions on how to help.”
He relaxed. This was about a dog. “Sure. I’d be glad to.”
“Great.” She released her husband and grabbed Holden’s arm. “Come on, then. She’s in the building back here.”
In the building?
Damn.
The woman led him to the structure Emily had entered a few minutes ago. He straightened his shoulders. A dog in peril always trumped women in his eyes, and this would be no different.
He hoped.
Chapter Two
Emily knelt in front of a kennel, using all her knowledge and focus to coax the terrified Chihuahua to lift her head. The poor dog shook, laying in a corner, her back against the left wall, head on her front paw, gaze on the floor.
The unresponsive cutie broke her heart.
“You remember me, sweetheart,” she said, keeping her tone soft and low. “I’m the one who rescued you.”
