Love Is In the Air Volume 1

by Susan Stoker

  Holly & Dash

  Susan Stoker

  About the Book

  The second they spot each other at Fort Hood, Dash and Holly’s happy ever after seems destined. While they didn’t exactly meet in a, um…conventional way, there’s no denying the fireworks from that fateful moment. Fireworks so hot, Holly suspects their first Valentine’s Day together will be one to remember. And it is—but not in a way either is expecting.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by Susan Stoker

  No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Edited by Kelli Collins & Rebecca Hodgkins

  Manufactured in the United States

  1

  “Stella!” Holly snapped, trying to get her best friend’s attention. But Stella was far too focused on climbing the stupid tree next to her neighbor’s balcony.

  Stella and Holly had clicked the first time they’d met at their job on Fort Hood Army base in Texas. They’d both just been hired and had been going through new employee orientation. One of the presenters had said something stupid, Holly couldn’t remember what it was now, but when Stella had turned to her and opened both eyes wide as if to say, “Oh my God, was that a stupid thing to say,” Holly knew she was someone she wanted to get to know better.

  And now, five years later, they were closer than ever—even if at first glance they seemed to be complete opposites.

  Holly was short whereas Stella was tall. Holly had dark hair, Stella light. Holly was more reserved, while Stella was outgoing and not afraid to try new things…like climb a tree to get onto her neighbor’s balcony so she could climb over the railing and break into her own apartment.

  And not just any neighbor either. The hot-as-hell Delta force operative she’d been crushing on for ages. The day he’d moved in, Stella had texted Holly and given her a blow by blow of what was happening. As hard as Stella had worked to try to finagle a way to run into him by “accident,” their schedules just seemed too different to have a more casual passing-in-the-parking-lot kind of interaction.

  It figured that today of all days, when Stella had locked herself out, Stella’s apartment manager was out of town and her friend had already borrowed the extra key she’d given to Holly for situations exactly like this one. A key that was currently locked inside her apartment, along with the one Stella had forgotten.

  But like usual, Stella wasn’t going to let a little thing like not having a key slow her down. Stella swore the door to her balcony was unlocked and all it would take to get inside was her getting up there.

  On one hand, they were both thrilled it was an unseasonably warm day for Texas in January. Stella had on shorts, as it was a weekend and she took every opportunity to wear casual clothes when they didn’t have to work. But on the other hand, shorts weren’t exactly great for tree-climbing.

  “We have a problem,” Holly told Stella as she stood under her, attempting to balance with her friend on her shoulders. Holly had no idea what Stella thought she was going to do if she actually fell. There was no way she could actually catch her, but just staring up at her felt wrong. So after Stella actually got hold of the branch, Holly hovered under her like a nervous mother.

  But they definitely had another problem at the moment. More than Stella’s shirt getting snagged on a branch and her flashing the entire neighborhood when she’d first attempted to shimmy up the tree.

  “We don’t have a problem,” Stella grunted as she did her best to reach upward toward the thicker branch above her head. She had her legs and arms wrapped around the lower branch like a monkey. She hung there for a moment, then exclaimed, “I almost have it!”

  “I told you to give me your spare key back,” Holly complained.

  “Whoop-whoop, I got it!” Stella crowed.

  Deep laughter sounded from behind Holly, and she turned to look again at the two men she’d seen approaching. She’d tried to warn Stella that they were no longer alone, but as usual, her friend was completely focused on the task at hand and oblivious to what was going on around her.

  “Girl, you need a throat lozenge,” Stella said, apparently thinking the men’s laughter came from Holly, as she began to shimmy hand over hand across the branch that led right to her neighbor’s balcony.

  “Abort mission!” Holly said.

  “Are you crazy? I’m almost there!”

  Holly gave up trying to warn her friend. How Holly always seemed to find herself in embarrassing situations like this when she was around Stella, she didn’t know.

  When the two men laughed again, Stella finally turned to look down. She froze mid-swing and hung from the tree branch halfway to her goal. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she hissed.

  “I told you we had a problem,” Holly insisted.

  Stella began to mumble under her breath, something about the scrapes she’d gotten on her knees and tearing her shirt, but all of Holly’s attention was on the two men.

  Figured it was none other than the sexy neighbor and his equally gorgeous friend. Why couldn’t it have been the maintenance man—the guy with the huge paunch and who smelled like bacon all the time?

  Holly hadn’t really admitted to Stella that she was interested in her neighbor’s friend. If she had, her friend would’ve been relentless in trying to set them up. For some reason, Stella felt it was her goal in life to get Holly a boyfriend.

  So Holly had admired the other man from afar. It seemed as if she saw him all over post too. They apparently liked to eat lunch at the same place in the PX, a small sub kiosk inside the lobby of the post exchange building. She’d smiled at him a few times but had never worked up the nerve to actually talk to him.

  And now, here he was, laughing at them.

  “Are you open to suggestions?” Stella’s neighbor asked, but Holly couldn’t take her eyes off his friend. He was tall, but not too tall. Muscular, of course. Had brown hair that was longer than most soldiers were allowed, most likely because he was a special forces operative. His hazel eyes were locked on hers, which made Holly’s heart speed up until she was afraid she was going to have a heart attack.

  Her attention was jerked back to Stella when she screeched. But her neighbor stepped forward and caught her friend before she hit the ground. It was like a scene from one of the romance books she loved to read.

  “Gotcha,” he said in a deep, rumbly voice. “You’re bleeding,” he added.

  “Yeah, that happened when she said she knew how to climb a tree. Obviously, she’s not very good at it,” Holly explained helpfully. It felt better when she concentrated on her friend and tried to ignore the handsome man now standing next to her.

  “Let’s get you upstairs and get your knees cleaned up,” Stella’s neighbor said.

  “She’s locked out,” Holly blurted. Stella turned and gave her a shut-up face. In return, Holly widened her eyes and gave her a small headshake.

  Both men chuckled once more.

  “Come on, Lucy and Ethel, we’ll go to my place then and get you cleaned up.”

  “Um, I’m Stella, and she’s Holly,” Stella told the man holding her.

  Holly rolled her eyes and turned to the man’s friend. “She’s actually brilliant. I know it’s hard to tell by her cockamamie idea to trespass on your friend’s balcony so she could
jump over to hers, but she knows five languages and her IQ is only a few numbers shy of genius. But you know what they say about smart people—many times they lack common sense. And apparently, they don’t get classic TV references either.”

  The look in the man’s eyes made her heart rate pick up once more. She felt off-kilter and extremely nervous. He smiled and chuckled, and it was all Holly could do not to throw herself at the man and beg him to be her boyfriend. Some impression that would make.

  “I’m Dash,” he said, stepping closer.

  “I’m Holly. Holly Culver.” She took the hand he’d extended and her entire body tingled when she felt his warm palm engulf her own.

  She vaguely heard Stella’s neighbor introduce himself as Magic, but Holly’s attention was glued to Dash. He hadn’t let go of her hand, and suddenly she felt awkward. Should she pull back? Was this weird? This was definitely weird.

  But he didn’t give her a chance to comment, or do anything really, before his friend was striding across the lawn toward the apartment complex.

  “Um, I should go make sure she’s all right,” Holly said.

  “Magic’s got her,” Dash said. “I give you my word that he won’t hurt her. You live here?”

  Holly’s mind was spinning. It didn’t help that Dash still hadn’t let go of her hand. “No. Stella picked me up and we went out for lunch. She was going to drop me off later.”

  “I’ll take you home.”

  It wasn’t a question, and before Holly could respond, he’d shifted, moving the hand that had been holding hers to the small of her back and propelling her toward the parking lot.

  Holly knew she should protest. This was how people got kidnapped and killed. But this was the man she’d been secretly crushing on for weeks. And she knew he was a Delta Force operative. She was ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure he wasn’t going to drive her to some deserted wheat field and rape and murder her.

  But she still turned and looked back at Stella and Magic. She caught her friend’s eye and raised a hand up and mimicked talking on a telephone. Call me later, she mouthed.

  Stella gave her a thumb’s up behind Magic’s back, then rested her head back on his shoulder.

  A deep chuckle sounded from next to her once more, and Holly looked up at Dash.

  “If it makes you feel better, you can text her my license plate number. But, Holly, you’re safe with me.”

  And just like that, Holly knew she was a goner. His low, earnest voice, along with the sincerity in his gaze, almost had her melting into a pile of goo right there on the sidewalk. It was stupid—she didn’t know this man, but everything within her was telling her he was one of the good guys. That he wouldn’t ever hurt her.

  She let him guide her to his car, a black Dodge Dart, and she couldn’t stop smiling as he opened the door for her. Once she was settled, he stood there for a second looking down at her.

  “What?” she asked, nervously pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

  “Nothing. It’s just that I can’t believe you’re here. Finally.”

  And with that, he shut the door and began to walk around to the driver’s side.

  Holly had no idea what that meant, but it had to be good, right? Could he possibly have noticed her too and been interested? No, that couldn’t be what he meant.

  But the spark that had been lit when she’d touched his hand the first time flared inside her. She had no idea what was happening, but she took a deep breath and told herself to not do anything embarrassing. If there was even the slightest chance Dash might be interested in her, she didn’t want to do anything to mess that up.

  2

  Dash couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he followed Holly’s directions to her apartment. The first time he’d seen her at the PX on Fort Hood, he’d been interested, though he wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was her quiet confidence. Maybe her feminine shape, which he couldn’t take his eyes off of. Whatever it was, she just seemed to exude something that drew him in.

  He knew that was crazy. Love at first sight didn’t exist. But he couldn’t deny there was something about Holly that had definitely gotten to him.

  On the day he’d first seen her, she’d seemed oblivious to her surroundings as she’d stood in front of the sub shop and contemplated the menu. Her long black hair had been up in a messy bun and her clothes were professional, yet comfortable. No high heels, no tight skirt. She was petite, probably about half a foot shorter than he was, and round in all the right places.

  Dash had worked with many sizes and shapes of women in his lifetime, but there was just something about a woman who had soft curves that drew him like a moth to a flame. Her belly was slightly rounded and her breasts were more than a handful. Her thighs were thick, and he had a brief thought about how they’d feel around his hips.

  He’d immediately felt ashamed; it wasn’t fair to her to think that way when he didn’t even know her.

  As he’d stood there daydreaming about her, she’d gotten her sub and walked out the opposite door. Dash had thought he’d missed his chance, but the next day, he saw her again when he was walking from one building to the next.

  She obviously worked on the Army post and, from that day on, he seemed to see her all the time. He was still working his way up to actually talking to her when he’d taken his friend, Magic, home that afternoon.

  Neither could believe their eyes when they’d walked toward the complex and saw the scene in front of them. Magic had told him all about this gorgeous woman who lived next door to him, and Dash couldn’t deny the tall blonde was a knockout. But he only had eyes for the mysterious woman he’d seen on post.

  Holly.

  He hadn’t needed to consult with Magic about their plan. They’d worked together long enough on their Delta Force team to know what the other was thinking. Magic would take care of Stella and Dash would finally get his chance to get to know Holly better.

  “So…is Dash your name or a nickname?” Holly asked.

  “Both,” Dash admitted.

  “That’s…unusual, isn’t it?” she asked. “I mean, Army guys love nicknames, and especially soldiers on the teams.”

  “On the teams?” Dash asked, needing to know what information she had about Delta before he said anything.

  “Oh, um…yeah. So, here’s the thing, I have a top-secret clearance. Stella and I are linguists. We’re civilian contractors, but because I’m fluent in Pashto and Arabic, I’m privy to a lot of what’s going on overseas. I translate secret communications between the Taliban and their supporters. Emails and phone calls, that sort of thing. I’ve met a few Delta teams when they had questions about my translations. And now that I know your name…I know you’re Delta. I saw your name on a list of personnel. But I won’t say anything. I mean, I could lose my job and get in deep shit, but…yeah.”

  Dash didn’t mind that Holly knew he was special forces. It made things easier for him. “Impressive,” he said. And it was. “Thank you for all that you do.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t do much. I sit in my cubicle and stare at a computer all day,” she said. “You and your team do the hard stuff.”

  “Which we couldn’t do without intel…so thank you for helping make our jobs safer.”

  Dash saw Holly blush, and it only made her more attractive. Since it was obvious talking about her job made her uncomfortable, he moved on. “So, my name really is Dash. I don’t know what my parents were thinking, but it was easier to yell at me using my first name than my last in basic training.”

  Holly smiled.

  “I take it by that smile that you agree,” Dash said.

  “I don’t remember exactly what your last name is, but I do remember it was long,” she admitted.

  “Anagnostopoulos,” Dash told her.

  Holly chuckled and the sound went all the way through him, making his toes curl.

  “Yeah, I can’t see a drill sergeant yelling that. Dash was obviously much easier for them.”

  “Yup,” he agre
ed. He wished he could think of something else to say that would make her laugh. He had a feeling it was going to be his mission in life to get her to giggle just so he could hear it.

  As he wracked his brain for something else to talk about, he neared her apartment complex. He pulled into the lot, hating that their time together was already over. He hadn’t gotten to know her nearly well enough. He longed for more information.

  He pulled into a space, turned off the engine, and turned to her. He opened his mouth to ask her something, but Holly spoke first.

  “So, what’s your story, Dash? Why’d you want to join the Army?”

  Loving that she seemed to want to prolong their time together as much as he did, Dash was more than happy to tell her about himself. He told her about his close-knit family and about the worst day in his life, when his father had a heart attack and passed away. He talked about his sisters and how strong his mom was. The story of him joining the Army was a little embarrassing, as he hadn’t really planned on it, but when his grades in college were terrible, he decided there had to be more to life than partying and sitting in classes he had absolutely no interest in.

  Dash knew he’d been talking way too long and eventually turned the conversation back to Holly. He yearned to learn every little scrap of information about her that he could. He found out that she was thirty-three years old—only two years younger than he was—had grown up in Maryland, had one brother, and her parents were divorced.

  But it was when he asked her about how she’d learned Pashto and Arabic that he fell hard and fast for her.

  “I was in the fifth grade and a new girl joined our class. She was from Egypt. I felt awful for her because she was extremely shy and didn’t speak much English at all. She went to an ESL class in the afternoons, but in the mornings, she just sat at her desk and wouldn’t meet anyone’s gaze. So I started teaching myself Arabic so I could at least say hello to her. The rest, I guess you could say, is history.”