Blown Away: A Small Town Military Romance (The Moore Brothers Book 1) by Abby Brooks Page A

promise you, the owner has earned his fair share of noogies in his lifetime.”
    “I take it this is a friend of yours?”
    “Friend, brother. Potato, po- tah -toe.”
    Juliet paused just inside the door, took in the simple yet elegant decor, unassuming and gorgeous. “This is James’s place?” Somehow, she couldn’t see the gregarious and tattooed James pulling off this level of understated sophistication.
    “Nope. Harry’s.” Ian nodded at the hostess who greeted him warmly and led them to a table with a view of the ocean.
    “Just how many brothers do you have?” she asked as Ian slid out her chair for her.
    “That’s it. James, Harrison, and me. That’s all the Moore men Bliss could handle. Of course, our sister has had the worst time finding a guy at least one of us didn’t want to pummel for some reason or another.” Ian took a seat.
    “Can I bring you something to drink?” asked the hostess, mostly addressing Ian.
    “What do you think about red wine, Juliet?”
    “Haven’t met one I didn’t like.”
    “Perfect,” replied Ian before turning to the hostess and ordering a bottle of something that sounded trendy and expensive.
    “You sure know how to spoil a girl,” she said as the hostess disappeared in the maze of candlelit tables.
    “Or maybe you’re just the kind of girl who deserves spoiling.”
    Juliet blushed and opened her menu, desperate to hide the goofy grin that slid across her face. “What’s good here?”
    “It’s run by a Moore. Everything’s good here.”
    Julz couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, what’s better than good here?”
    “Do you trust me?”
    Juliet eyed him. The honest answer was yes, she trusted him. For whatever reason, she felt completely at ease with Ian and she wasn’t even sure what it was about him that made her feel that way. Trust wasn’t something she handed out easily, certainly not to men she’d only known a handful of days. But, she nodded despite herself, going for the truth rather than what she thought the truth should be.
    “Good,” he said, taking the menu out of her hands. “Then I’ll order for you.” Juliet’s heart went to war with her head. There was something so appealing about letting Ian order for her, about placing herself in his hands. Yet, she was a strong woman, a capable woman, a woman who shouldn’t let men lead her through life. Just look what happened the last time she signed her decision making rights away to someone else.
    “You think you know me well enough to order for me?” she asked, keeping her tone light, hoping it hid the battle of intellect and emotion raging inside her.
    “You think you’re such a closed book that I can’t make a decent stab at it?”
    “Okay, Mr. Confident,” she said, closing her menu and placing it on the table. “Show me what an open book I am.”
    Ian pursed his lips and pretended to study her, slitting his eyes as if he intended to see through her into her soul, to discover her deepest secrets and truest truths. When the waitress came back with the wine, Ian ordered them both the same thing.
    Juliet took a sip of wine and raised her eyebrows. “Wow,” she said, nodding. “That actually sounds delicious.”
    “Of course it does.”
    “But you didn’t really take a chance and order what you thought I’d like. You just ordered me what you like.”
    “And who’s to say I don’t think you’d like the same things I’d like?”
    There it was again, that crazy happiness that just bloomed out of nowhere and made every single moment seem important and precious. She looked through the window at the ocean, the lights and the patrons of the restaurant reflected in the glass, superimposed on the water. Here she was, surrounded by the sounds of many people gathered in one spot, being made to feel beautiful and special by this handsome man. This handsome man whose kiss had been so deliciously rough and commanding this afternoon. She just wanted more.
    More kissing.
    More