Always (Family Justice Book 1) by Suzanne Halliday

It’s like the damn Love Boat these days.”
    As he turned to dash out the door, Calder flicked the towel from around his hips, wadded it into a tight ball, and threw it at Alex’s head. It smacked him soundly, a second before he dashed to safety while his laughter split the air.

    “KEEP BREATHING, JUST KEEP BREATHING,” Stephanie chanted as she pounded away on the elliptical until her thighs screamed from the intense effort and her arms burned. Huffing loudly, she pushed and pulled on the handlebars while keeping an eye on the touchscreen and willed her mind to remain focused on what she was doing.
    Yeah, that worked about as well as a tea bag in a rainstorm when all she could think about was the wall of pumped up masculinity she’d stumbled upon. She’d always said that Alex Marquez was one serious piece of manly eye candy but holy cow, his uncle? That guy took eye candy to a whole new level. And then some.
    Calder Dane. Calder Dane. Calder Dane , her mind recited in rhythm with her legs until she realized what she was doing. Oh, my God, really? No, no, no. Not good. Not good at all.
    Switching into a slower cool down mode, she took a series of deep breaths and shook her head in disbelief. What in the heck was wrong with her that a piece of beefcake could shake her up so badly?
    So, okay. Maybe ‘beefcake’ was the wrong term. Stunner. Dreamboat. Superstud. Hunk. Yeesh. Apparently, the list of synonyms was endless. Alex’s ‘uncle’ had rendered her tongue-tied and almost speechless. And as if the sight of his incredible physique wasn’t enough to get her juices flowing, when he’d taken her hand and stared down into her eyes, she’d come dangerously close to embarrassing herself with a good old-fashioned case of the lady vapors. Imagining being wrapped possessively in those muscular arms and being pressed against his outrageously broad chest lit up her brain at the same moment that a delicious tingling warmth from his touch had invaded her senses.
    The guy was sex on two legs with a body to die for and a face that had probably gotten him a ton of pussy over his lifetime. He had the same shaggy hair of his nephew, only in a gorgeously burnished shade of blond that looked like a sandstorm mixed with coppery flecks, and a pair of steel blue eyes that seemed to pierce her soul. She’d almost giggled like a schoolgirl when his touch had sent shockwaves pulsing through her body.
    He looked a lot like that guy from Lost . What was the character’s name? Oh yeah, right. Sawyer. Only Calder was older, with the sort of ageless masculinity that made women forget their names. Damn. Men who looked like that needed a warning label. He exuded a dangerously sexy energy that she was not normally attracted to.
    What exactly did she even know about Calder Dane beside the fact that he was Alex’s uncle? Not a whole hell of a lot. She couldn’t recall exactly what the Major had said about him yesterday during the car ride from the airport except that he was staying in the casita behind the main house. And last night Draegyn and Tori had mentioned him almost in passing. Her daughter simply stated that he was some sort of computer genius who Alex was relying on to keep Justice running smoothly while Tori and he were occupied elsewhere. End of story.
    Nowhere in that description had she heard the words ‘hot’ or ‘sexy’. Stopping the elliptical, she climbed off and swiped the gym towel across her face and down her neck where sweat had run into the cotton sports bra she had on. Grabbing for the water bottle she’d stuck in the machine’s holder, she ripped off the cap and downed half of it. Unfortunately, not even the icy cool water was enough to quench the fire burning in her overactive imagination, sparked by the seriously hot surprise she had in no way been prepared for.
    Stephanie was reluctant to date. She just didn’t see the purpose in getting involved with someone, anyone . Convinced her best days were behind her