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“Yes, that’s for you, old man. Easier to digest,” Amy said. “And better for you than puppy chow. You don’t need the extra calories.”
“But you do.” Eloise held out a bag. “Blueberry muffin. I’m guessing you forgot to eat this morning.”
“I was planning to grab a doughnut while I discussed the opening with the guys.”
Eloise stepped around her and stood on her tiptoes to peer through the glass. “Wow. Talk about testosterone overload. I don’t know how you do it. If I was in the same room with them, I wouldn’t be able to form a coherent sentence. I’d be too busy trying to figure out which one would look best without his shirt.”
Mark. Her brain heard the words without his shirt, and she thought of Mark. Those muscles begging to be touched, maybe more...
Amy swept her long bangs behind her ear, trying to erase the thought. Months had passed since she’d seen a half-naked Mark on her computer screen, and still, she couldn’t forget the well-defined lines of his chest and his sculpted abs. Probably because he was the only half-naked man she’d seen in more than a year—the ones on the covers of her romance novels didn’t count—but even if she wanted a hot fling, it wouldn’t be with a man serving his country. Active-duty soldiers spelled heartbreak, and she’d learned that lesson already.
“My bet?” Eloise continued, gesturing to the men on the other side of the window. “Gabe. But T.J.’s a close second.”
“Stop,” Amy said. “They’re my brothers-in-law.”
And Mark was like a pseudo-brother-in-law, too. Except she didn’t think of him that way anymore. He was her friend, first, foremost and always. He was the one who had been there for her, talking to her each week, not only about Darren, but also about life. She spoke freely with him, holding almost nothing back. Almost. There were some things she couldn’t share, especially not through a computer screen.
“Or maybe Luke,” Eloise said. “The way that man talks about his dog, you can tell he loves her to pieces. It’s so easy to trust a man who is crazy about his four-legged friend. And trust, well, that can be key in the bedroom. I bet—”
“Please, I’m begging you,” Amy said. “I’ve known them forever.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that you are about to enter a room full of hotties. Maybe I should stick around and wait until you put them to work, so I can see those hard bodies in action.”
“It’s cold today. Even for March. I think they’ll keep their clothes on while they work. And don’t you have patients to see?”
Her cousin shrugged. “Two cats coming in for teeth cleanings. Both owners are young, single women. I’m sure they’d understand if I told them I had to watch the Benton brothers.”
“Your feline patients might not be so understanding.”
“True.” Eloise moved away from the door. “I don’t think they left you a doughnut. I didn’t even see the box.”
“I need to get in there. If I don’t keep them busy, they’ll get into trouble.” Amy tossed the bag of dog food over her shoulder. “Thanks for driving out here. I couldn’t handle a sick Jango on top of everything else.”
“Anytime. If you need help keeping those boys busy, call me. I know a few ways to keep bachelor soldiers entertained.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Amy said drily.
Eloise pointed at the bag. “And eat your muffin. You won the tall-gene lottery. You don’t get to be superskinny, too.”
Amy waved to her cousin and went into her meeting, Jango following at her heels. “Hi, guys.”
“Let me get that.” Gabe, the oldest of the bunch, plucked the bag from her shoulder.
Her cousin had been right about one thing. The testosterone level in here was through the roof. Thank goodness the fourth brother, Jeremy, was still deployed. One more and she might have to take precautionary measures.
The Benton brothers each possessed an overwhelming male presence. When they got together, they were lethal. Three brown-haired, blue-eyed gods among men. And apart from T.J., the youngest and the runt at six feet, the brothers towered over mere five-foot-seven mortals like her.
Amy watched as Gabe placed the dog food bag on the ground, his biceps flexed. These men had to-die-for muscles. Eloise was right about that, too. Every woman in Heart’s Landing would love to see these guys without their shirts.
Except Amy.
To her, the Benton brothers were walking, talking reminders of the man she’d loved and lost. Darren had inherited the same blue eyes and brown hair. And like his brothers, Darren had walked into a room, and everyone had known he was there. They’d gravitated toward him. For most of their marriage, Amy had been by his side, content to bask in his glow.
But he was gone. The loss had been crushing at first. Darren had defined her world since she was fifteen. Year after year, she’d waited for him to come home and counted down the days until he deployed again. While he’d been on the other side of the world, she’d trained and boarded other people’s pets, dreaming of the day when she would have her own kennel and raise her own dogs. But those plans had always taken a backseat to Darren’s commitment to the SEALs.
Now, after eighteen months of mourning, she was ready to redefine her life.
“Do you want me to fill his bowl?” her brother-in-law asked, drawing her attention back to the office.
