The Marine Meets His Match Read online

  “Does the ring fit?”

  Rad slid it over her finger and the feel of his hand holding hers, the way he bent his head to watch what he was doing, all seemed like images from a real engagement, from a man presenting the woman he loved with a token of his intentions to spend the rest of his life with her.

  Serena swallowed the sudden lump in her throat.

  The ring fit.

  Perfectly.

  Her eyes met his. The intensity she saw there caught her by surprise.

  Then he smiled and said, “Mission accomplished.”

  If his mission had been to invade her heart, it looked like he was succeeding.

  Dear Reader,

  From a Texas sweetheart to a Chicago advice columnist, our heroines will sweep you along on their journeys to happily ever after. Don’t miss the tender excitement of Silhouette Romance’s modern-day fairy tales!

  In Carolina’s Gone A’Courting (SR #1734), Carolina Brubaker is on a crash course with destiny—and the man of her dreams—if she can survive their summer of forced togetherness! Will she lasso the heart of her ambitious rancher? Find out in the next story in Carolyn Zane’s THE BRUBAKER BRIDES miniseries.

  To this once-burned plain Jane a worldly, sophisticated, handsome lawyer is not the kind of man she wants…but her heart has other plans. Be there for the transformation of this no-nonsense woman into the beauty she was meant to be, in My Fair Maggy (SR #1735) by Sharon De Vita.

  Catch the next installment of Cathie Linz’s miniseries MEN OF HONOR, The Marine Meets His Match (SR #1736). His favorite independent lady has agreed to play fiancée for this military man who can’t resist telling her what to do. If only he could order her to really fall in love….

  Karen Rose Smith brings us another emotional tale of love and family with Once Upon a Baby… (SR #1737). This love-leery sheriff knows he should stay far away from his pretty and pregnant neighbor—he’s not the husband and father type. But delivering her baby changes everything….

  I hope you enjoy every page of this month’s heartwarming lineup!

  Mavis C. Allen

  Associate Senior Editor

  The Marine Meets His Match

  CATHIE LINZ

  For all the booksellers who have supported me over the years, including Judi Brownfield and Ellen Fryer from Books at Sunset (whose bookstore inspired my heroine’s store), Maureen Greene from Borders Books, Kathy Baker from Waldenbooks, Cindi Streicher from Waldenbooks, Betty Schulte and the gang from Paperback Outlet, and Sharon Murphy from everywhere —to name just a few. Your enthusiastic handselling has made all the difference in the world, and I appreciate your hard work more than I can say!

  Acknowledgment:

  Special thanks to United States Marine Corps family Susan and Harry Frank for

  answering my many dumb questions. Any artistic license that I may have used

  is my idea and my fault, not theirs. Semper Fi!

  Books by Cathie Linz

  Silhouette Romance

  One of a Kind Marriage #1032

  *Daddy in Dress Blues #1470

  *Stranded with the Sergeant #1534

  *The Marine & the Princess #1561

  A Prince at Last!#1594

  *Married to a Marine #1616

  *Sleeping Beauty & the Marine #1637

  *Her Millionaire Marine #1720

  *Cinderella’s Sweet-Talking Marine #1727

  *The Marine Meets His Match #1736

  Silhouette Books

  Montana Mavericks

  “Baby Wanted”

  Silhouette Desire

  Change of Heart #408

  A Friend in Need #443

  As Good as Gold #484

  Adam’s Way #519

  Smiles #575

  Handyman #616

  Smooth Sailing #665

  Flirting with Trouble #722

  Male Ordered Bride #761

  Escapades #804

  Midnight Ice #846

  Bridal Blues #894

  A Wife in Time #958

  †Michael’s Baby #1023

  †Seducing Hunter #1029

  †Abbie and the Cowboy #1036

  Husband Needed #1098

  CATHIE LINZ

  left her career in a university law library to become a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary romances. She is the recipient of the highly coveted Storyteller of the Year Award given by Romantic Times and was nominated for a Love and Laughter Career Achievement Award for the delightful humor in her books.

  Although Cathie loves to travel, she is always glad to get back home to her family, her various cats, her trusty computer and her hidden cache of Oreo cookies!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter One

  “Discipline is a critical part of being a Marine and of succeeding in life. Without discipline there’s chaos. Marines do not like chaos.” U.S. Marine Captain Rad Kozlowski narrowed his eyes, his stare drilling into those few who dared look him in the face. “Chaos indicates a lack of discipline. A lack of willpower. These are not things that will be tolerated in the United States Marine Corps. I want to make that perfectly clear.”

  Rad paused for emphasis. “But for those few who can make the grade, the reward is great. Not the financial reward. I’m not talking about money here.” He had an expressive voice and he made good use of it. His inflection was powerful, his delivery one step below barking orders. “I’m talking about being part of a brotherhood with values like honor, courage, commitment. The United States Marine Corps is not for everyone. Because only a few have what it takes to be part of this elite fighting force. Understood?”

  The fifth-grade class at Kennedy Middle School nodded solemnly.

  “Uh, thank you, Captain Kozlowski.” Mrs. Simpson, the teacher who’d organized the event, sounded a tad nervous. “We appreciate you coming in today for our Career Day and speaking to the class.”

  “No problem, ma’am. I was glad to do it.”

  Not true. Rad hadn’t joined the Marine Corps to speak to a bunch of rug rats. But when duty called, he always answered. Even when he thought it was dumb and a waste of his time.

  “Does anyone have any questions for Captain Kozlowksi? No? Well, then, Captain, thanks again.”

  Rad recognized his cue to leave and headed for the nearest exit. He left the gymnasium by a side door. Once out in the Carolina sunshine of a late September day, he paused a moment to take a deep breath.

  He smelled her perfume a second before he saw her. The long-legged blonde wearing a red dress. She’d stood at the back during his presentation.

  “Congratulations, Captain.” Her mocking comment was not intended to be a compliment. “You managed to scare a bunch of ten-year-olds. Does that make you happy?”

  “Deep-dish pizza and cold beer make me happy, ma’am.” Sexy blondes like her also made him happy. Rad completed a quick visual check of her assets—long golden hair gathered up into a ponytail, lush lips, high cheekbones that gave her a ritzy look, big green eyes.

  She was tall, just a few inches shorter than his six foot one height, and the dress she wore displayed an incredible pair of legs. A breeze lifted the hemline, granting him a tempting glimpse of her tanned thighs.

  Oh, yeah, blondes like her definitely topped his list of things that made him happy. Maybe this day wasn’t a total waste after all.

  Rad flashed her a smile.

  She tossed him
a dismissive look laced with disapproval. “Don’t you think you were a little intense in there?”

  “Marines are intense.”

  “And competitive.”

  “Affirmative, ma’am. And your interest in all this would be?”

  “I’m a bookseller.”

  “A bookseller named…?”

  “Serena. Serena Anderson. I spoke earlier this afternoon for the Career Day event.”

  “I’m sorry I missed it.”

  “So am I. Maybe then you would have done your speech differently.”

  “I doubt that, ma’am.”

  “You could have been a little more approachable.”

  His smile widened. “I can be very approachable when the situation warrants it. Like now. How would you like to discuss this further over a cold drink?”

  “I wouldn’t like that at all.”

  “Why not?”

  The sexy Marine clearly wasn’t accustomed to having his invitations turned down, Serena noted. He might have intimidated the entire fifth-grade class, but there was no way he was going to steamroller over her.

  True, he’d made Serena’s heart beat faster without even trying and now that he was trying, well…He was good, she’d give him that. The gleam in his brown eyes let her know this was a man used to having his way with women.

  She could understand why. He was the kind of man who got noticed. And not just because of the impressive Marine dress blue uniform he was wearing, or the confident way he carried himself. Living as she did so close to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, she’d seen plenty of Marines.

  But this one was different.

  He’d gotten under her skin.

  At first she’d told herself it was because of the way he’d talked to the kids as if they were recruits in his command. He was definitely a man accustomed to giving orders and having them instantly obeyed.

  Serena was definitely a woman who didn’t respond well to being bossed around. She’d experienced enough of that to last her a lifetime.

  Maybe she wouldn’t have reacted so strongly were it not for the fact that her goddaughter Becky was in that group he’d just spoken to. And his forceful voice had made the shy Becky almost dive under her chair in the back row. Serena had been standing directly behind her at the time. Only Serena’s soothing hands on the little girl’s trembling shoulders had kept her in her seat.

  So Serena had waited out here to confront him, to tell him that kids needed special care.

  Instead of agreeing, he’d stuck to his guns.

  That figured. How like a man, especially a bossy man.

  “You’re not married are you?” he suddenly asked, his gaze sliding to her left hand.

  “Absolutely not!”

  So the blonde had a thing against marriage. Rad could relate. He was no big fan himself. Despite the fact that his two older brothers had gotten tied down with wives, Rad was in no hurry to surrender his freedom. He was in a hurry to get to know her better, however. “What’s the problem then?”

  “There are too many for me possibly to go into them all.” Her voice was tart.

  “Pick just a few then.”

  “You know the things that work for you as a Marine? Traits like being arrogant and bossy?”

  The seductive bookseller was trying to push his buttons. He wondered why. “We prefer to think of those traits as confidence and leadership.”

  “These are not traits I respond well to.”

  “And why is that?”

  His direct gaze and calm question flustered her. “I’ve got my reasons, okay?”

  “Okay. When you know me better, you can tell me what they are.”

  She blinked at him, her dark eyelashes fluttering against her creamy skin. Not that he was a guy who normally noticed a female’s eyelashes, but she had such great eyes. And legs. And breasts.

  The sizzle of attraction was strong. Stronger than he’d felt in a very long time. And it wasn’t one-sided. Despite her words, the lightning flashes of chemistry were definitely reciprocated.

  Like now, when her gaze got all tangled-up with his. The male-female message was there. The awareness, the temptation. The sparks, the struggle. She licked her lush lips before finally looking away.

  “I’m not going to get to know you better, Captain.” Her voice was breathless and abrupt but emphatic. “Goodbye.”

  He watched her hurry away, appreciating the sway of her hips. He remembered a song that had been big a while back, something about a Lady in Red. She was like poetry in motion, the way she moved. Southern women had a natural way of doing that, making a man take notice. But he hadn’t detected a local accent when she’d spoken.

  Still, if she’d spoken at this school today, she had to live nearby. The tote bag she carried had an open-book design and a bookstore name on it: The Reader’s Place—Home Of Novel Ideas.

  He had plenty of novel ideas about her. All of them steamy. He had to get back to the base now, but tomorrow, he’d make a stop at her bookstore. Because Rad was not a man who gave up easily. He wasn’t a man who gave up at all.

  He was still thinking about Serena when he returned to Camp Lejeune. Which was why he didn’t see Heidi Burns until it was too late.

  The general’s eighteen-year-old daughter was a beauty with her dark hair and big blue eyes. She was also a pain in the keister.

  The general’s daughter had been making Rad’s life difficult for several weeks now. Which was how he’d ended up with that school assignment. Not his usual type of mission.

  When Rad hadn’t accepted Heidi’s invitation to go out with her, she’d warned him that she’d go to her daddy to get what she wanted if necessary. He hadn’t believed her. Then his CO had given him the school assignment, saying the “request” had come from the general himself.

  Rad knew he had to do something about this situation. Heidi had decided she wanted him. Not that he’d ever given her one iota of attention. Well, okay, so he’d smiled at her when he’d first met her. But that was it. She claimed to have fallen in love with him on sight.

  Staying out of her way was difficult, because she followed him like a lost puppy. She was daddy’s princess who could do no wrong. Spoiled all her life, she’d always gotten what she wanted.

  Now she wanted Rad.

  “There you are.” She grasped his arm. “You, like, have to join Daddy and me for dinner tonight.”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?” Her expression warned him that he’d better have a good reason and that no reason would be good enough.

  There was only one thing he could think of saying. “My fiancée wouldn’t approve.”

  That stopped Heidi in her tracks. For barely a second. Then she laughed. “You don’t have a fiancée.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Heidi was no fool. She clearly suspected something was up. “Then why haven’t you mentioned her before?”

  “We just recently got engaged.”

  “What’s her name?” She shot the question at him with machine-gun speed, rattling him with her dogged persistence.

  “Serena. Serena Anderson.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. “She’s a bookseller.”

  “The building sold?” Serena looked at the Realtor removing the For Sale sign from the front.

  “That’s right. The new owner wants to meet with you later today, between five and six.”

  “About renewing my lease?”

  “I’m assuming so, yes.”

  Serena felt as if she’d swallowed a swarm of bees. Nerves jangled in her stomach.

  A yellow butterfly fluttered over the red petunias in the store’s window boxes before floating away without a care in the world. What a life. She wondered what it would be like to be so free of worries, free of debt, free period.

  Yes, but butterflies had problems too. They had to be careful or they’d end up splat on some car’s windshield.

  First bees, now butterflies. She was clearly on some
kind of insect train of thought here. And such cheerful thoughts they were, too. She grimaced.

  She didn’t consider herself to be the over-anxious type. If asked to describe herself, she’d say she was good with people, that she’d worked hard over the years to try to find the good in the bad, and that she could be bribed with Belgian chocolate. Dark chocolate.

  The distant rumble of thunder meant that Serena could cross watering the flowers off her list of things to do today.

  Before entering her store, she paused a moment for her daily ritual—brushing her fingers against the lettering on the glass door. This was her dream come true.

  Her bookstore, The Reader’s Place, was located on the main floor of the three-story brick building. The second floor had a one-bedroom apartment, which she also rented. Another apartment, exactly like hers, was on the top floor.

  When she’d found the location she’d known it was the perfect place, and had signed the one-year leases the same day for both the retail space and for the apartment.

  A new owner most likely meant an increase in her rent. The question was, by how much? She was barely squeaking by as it was.

  Her stomach shifted and did that buzzing-bee dance thing she hated. Thunder rumbled again just as a streak of sunlight beamed down on her. Find the silver lining. Maybe the new owner would be great. Maybe he’d leave the rents exactly as they were. Maybe he’d buy some books while he was there. It could happen.

  “Did you forget your keys?” The question came from Jane Washington. She and her husband, Hosea, owned the florist shop in the building next door. In her early fifties, Jane’s mocha skin had the youthful glow of a much younger woman.

  “No, I was just thinking.”

  “Better do that inside,” Jane advised. “There’s a storm coming. I’ll let you know if there are any weather advisories.” Jane kept a radio on at all times. “There’s a funny feeling in the air, like something big might happen.”

  “Something big did happen. Someone bought my building.”

  “Is that good news or bad?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’ll find out later today when the new owner stops by.”