Hot, curvy woman leaned back.
“Good service in this shop. Good quality.” Frank nodded his approval, all his frustrations forgotten as he snatched up his bags and grinned at Dean. “For a while there, I was worried, but you came through. Good man.”
“DreamMakers is glad to help,” Dean said. “Enjoy your party.”
Frank headed to the front door, his purchases in hand as he whistled happily.
A gentle touch landed on Dean’s arm, female fingers curling around his biceps. “Did you need to try on any suits today? Because I don’t mind giving you a…hand.”
Dean turned in time to spot Sandra swipe her tongue over her lips as she winked mischievously. “I have the worst time with zippers. You might need to help me.”
He did check over his shoulder as she hooked a finger into his belt loop and tugged him into a dressing room, but the rest of the staff were fully occupied.
Mirrors. A room full of wonderful, amazing mirrors. Dean caught a glimpse of his satisfied grin before Sandra went to work helping him with his zipper, and all sorts of other things.
Damn, he loved his job.
Chapter Ten
“You need to breathe, Lynn.”
She sucked in a gulp of air, trying to focus on Parker’s firm voice and determined green eyes. The dirt smudging his handsome face made him look almost feral, and every muscle in his strong body was tense, providing her a hard, comforting surface to lean against. Up above, thick gray clouds had crept in front of the early afternoon sun, casting shadows over the entire area.
“It’ll be okay,” Parker told her. “Don’t let Maddie’s death crush you. Don’t let the enemy win.”
“There are too many of them!” she hissed. “We’ll never get out of this alive!”
“We will. We just need to work together.”
Lynn shoved away a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail. “We’re outnumbered, Parker. This is a suicide mission.”
“You can’t go into this final battle with that attitude, babe.” His grip on his rifle tightened. “Follow my lead, and we’ll get through this. I promise.”
“Okay. Let’s get it done.”
“That’s my girl. All right, we move on three.”
Lynn drew another breath as Parker began to count. In less than a second, they would have to leave the meager cover they’d found behind this splintered sheet of plywood and dive back into the warzone that had already claimed too many innocent lives.
“Three.”
Acting on instinct, Lynn jumped out from behind the board.
And was promptly shot down by a rainbow of paint balls.
Next to her, Parker’s camo jumpsuit was equally colorful.
He glanced over with a wry smile. “Well, we tried.”
She sighed. “We fought the good fight.”
A second later, a gaggle of whooping, cackling boys spilled into the area, holding their paintball guns up in the air as they formed a victory line in front of their victims. It had taken three hours, but the eight-boy team had successfully eliminated Lynn and Parker’s team using some seriously impressive combat strategies.
“Sorry it had to go down this way, mister.” Billy, the other team’s captain, pulled off his protective mask and approached Parker with a sheepish grin.
“Don’t you dare apologize,” Parker told the kid. “That was some of the best shooting I’ve seen in my life.”
“And when Donny trapped Gil and Landon in the tree fort?” Lynn piped up, turning to grin at the redheaded boy at Billy’s side. “That was crazy ruthless.”
The curly-haired Donny flashed her a beaming smile. “I know, right?”
“You boys should consider enlisting when you’re old enough,” Parker said. “We need good soldiers like you.”
Billy eagerly sidled up to Parker. “Are you really in the army?”
“Used to be,” he answered as the group headed back to the main clubhouse. “I got out a few years ago.”
“Did you kill Osama Bin Laden?” Donny demanded.
Parker chuckled. “’Fraid not.”
Lynn fell behind as the rest of the boys swarmed Parker, peppering him with questions about his time as a soldier. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him with the kids. He was so good with them, so easygoing and encouraging, and it was clear they all worshipped him. She’d never be able to wipe away the memory of Parker giving their team of misfits a pep talk in the woods, though she’d probably have to overlook the part where he told a nine-year-old girl to “man up and eliminate the threat”.
Seeing Parker interact with the children brought a rush of warmth to her chest. Every time she saw the man, he surprised her with another aspect of his personality, and her Why Parker is Incredible list was rapidly growing.
Phenomenal in bed, check. Attentive and sweet, check. Masculine as all get out, check. Good with kids, check.