A Marine for Christmas (Hearts Ablaze: Men in Uniform) by Makenna Jameison Page A

forgoing their jackets on the playground.
    Fifteen minutes later she pulled into the parking lot adjacent to a row of shops in town.   There was a bakery, which was just closing for the night, a small coffee shop, a used bookstore, and an art gallery.  The gallery taught classes to the locals and had a small display area for people to purchase artwork.  The coffee shop usually had a small piece or two of art on display as well, and the cross-promotion seemed to work well for the two small businesses.
    Amy had dreamed of owning the art gallery someday.  She knew the couple in their mid-sixties that owned it wouldn’t want to forever.  It would be heartbreaking to see it close down if they were to retire.  She certainly couldn’t swing her mortgage plus rent for the gallery now though.  Maybe someday if she saved up enough or managed to make money selling her paintings.  Or if she ever rented out a room in her home.  She wasn’t too keen on that idea though—Amy enjoyed her privacy and alone time after being in a classroom full of children all day long.
    Jason was already standing in the storefront when she walked up.   He’d come straight from work and was in his dress uniform.  Well, maybe it wasn’t a dress uniform—it wasn’t quite as fancy as what some of the Marines wore when they attended formal events.  Melissa’s ex-fiancé Michael, although not exactly her type, had looked incredibly dashing in his dress uniform.  Jason looked equally handsome tonight though, his muscular frame accentuated by the cut of his uniform.  His dark hair looked shorter than she remembered, but maybe he just looked more “military” now that he was standing before her in uniform.
    Amy felt a slight flutter in her stomach as she approached him and wondered how he could have been living across the street from her all this time without her giving him a second look. Was she really that wrapped up in Ben these past few months?  Sadly, she knew the answer was probably yes.  When she’d been with Ben, she couldn’t get enough of him, and even after they’d broken up, he’d been on her mind all the time.  It was nice to have someone else she looked forward to seeing.
    “ Amy, thanks for meeting me,” Jason said warmly.  “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get home in time to pick you up.”
    “Oh, no problem,” she said, waving her hand in dismissal of his apology.  “I had lots to do at school anyway, so this was perfect timing.  Let’s see if we can find you something.”
    “ Lead the way,” he said with a smile, opening up the door for her.
    Amy brush ed past him as she walked inside, feeling her skin prickle and then go all warm over their closeness.  He was so big and masculine, and as she caught a whiff of his cologne, it was all she could do to continue walking.  If only she could stop there a moment, breathing in his scent and basking in his warmth.  She could feel his eyes burning into her and forced herself to keep walking, wondering if something in her expression or body language had given her away.
    Jason stepped in beside her.  “Hmmm, I’m not sure this is what I had in mind,” Jason said with a low chuckle.
    They looked around the room together at the pastel watercolors.  The gallery frequently changed the theme of the pieces on display.  Amy had stopped by several weeks ago, and the place had been filled with landscapes of forests and fall foliage.  While that had seemed like it could be a possibility for Jason, the pastels were not at all what she could envision him enjoying.
    “Darn it; they changed the display.  It looks like they’re featuring the work of an artist from DC right now.  I’m surprised they don’t have something more seasonal….”  Her voice trailed off as she looked around.
    Jason caught her eye and walked closer.  “I’ll have to check back another time then.  How often do they change this?”
    “I’m not sure.  Monthly?”
    “I definitely had