Lindsey had already returned her focus to Maddie’s laptop. Eden, however, was smiling broadly at him, except then she frowned, put the laptop on the coffee table, took her phone from her pocket, and then gasped. But unlike his, her drama was not feigned.
“Maddie just texted me!” she said, her own thumbs flying over the tiny keyboard. “She must’ve unblocked me, but—No!She’s already blocked me again!”
“What’d she say?” Lindsey asked as Adam chimed in with, “Read it! Read it!”
“Tell my stupid father that I’m OK,” Eden read Maddie’s text aloud. “I’m safe, I’m with a friend. I need some space to figure some ship out.Thank you, autocorrect.Respect my needs—ooh, this girl’s learned the power of therapy-speak—and I’ll come back when I’m ready. Don’t, and I’m gone for good.”
“Dahn dahn dahhhhhn!” Izzy sang an appropriately dire soundtrack, but then said, “Except, if I know Grunge, he’s not gonna be moved by a threat from a fifteen-year-old.”
“Except, youdon’tknow Grunge,” Lindsey pointed out. “Apparently no one knows Grunge, so we really can’t predict what he’s going to do.”
“I’m texting him with a screenshot of Maddie’s message,” Eden said, even as headlights shone in through the front window because a car had pulled into the bungalow’s narrow driveway.
“Is that him?” Adam asked.
Eden stood up. “Maybe Maddie’sfriendhad a moment of clarity and brought her home. Please, God.”
Izzy looked out the window. “Nah, it’s Grunge. And…a woman.” Yes, that was definitely a female human who’d driven the lieutenant home. She got out, and stretched as if they’d been in her little car for a while. She was decidedly not unattractive, if a lot less fancy-clothes-big-hair-and-mondo-makeup than the women G usually hooked up with when he went to the LadyBug. She was older than his typical “date” type, too.
Her body language was friendly and comfortable—maybe a tad overattentive, but Grunge had that effect on just about everyone. His charisma was through the roof—and most people couldn’t look away.
Hewas standing as if he wanted something, though. And maybe that urgency came from his burning need to find his daughter, but it seemed like there was something more to it from the way he was leaning—just a little—toward the woman.
Eden came to look, too, as the woman and Grunge continued whatever conversation they were having over the top of the car. The window was closed, so they couldn’t hear more than the murmur of their two voices. But whatever Eden saw made her ask, “Does Grunge have a grown-up lady-friend that we don’t know about?”
Izzy looked at his wife. “Babydoll, your guess is as good as mine.”
“I’ve always thought he must have,” Eden said. “You know, at least a friends-with-bennies booty-call recipient.”
“I’ve heard the opposite,” Adam said. “That he’s into the transient, you know, one-and-done?”
“Yep. He’s a SEAL groupie-doer,” Lindsey put it bluntly.
“Ew, really?” Eden said.
“Don’t judge,” Adam chided.
“Heads up!” Eden pulled Izzy back, away from the window. “She’s coming inside with him, whoever she is. Act normally, everyone.”
Act normally?Izzy started to laugh, because thiswasnormal. Ergo, the upcoming was going to be interesting.
When Shayla walked into the Navy SEAL’s house to find his living room filled with beautiful people, she knew with a certainty that she was merely the witty neighbor in this story.
Wait, what?Harry, in her head, had been psyched that she was actually going inside Lieutenant Greene’s house, even if only “to see if Maddie had left her Facebook account up and open on her new laptop computer,chicka-chick-bow-bow,” but now he was confused.The witty what…?
The witty neighbor was always the sidekick; the friend. As innotthe romance-novel-type heroine.
In truth, Shay hadn’treallythought that she’d take on that type of leading role in the SEAL’s ongoing drama, but part of her—a small part, egged on by Harry’s rampant optimism—had foolishly started to hope. After all, the manwaslovely to look at with his pretty eyes and all those muscles—and he really seemed genuinely nice. And yes, okay,nicewas the kiss of death when it came to romance novel heroes, so really what she meant was that he was smart, he was funny, he was thoughtful and kind,andhe was clearly responsible and reliable, along with intensely, highly skilled. Although, here in the harsh reality of the non-romance-novel world, his incredibly dangerous job was more of a liability than an asset, but still…He really was quite perfect for something short-term, like a fling.
You’re seriously considering having just a fling.Harry was flatly disbelieving.Since when doyoudo short-term flings?
Well, she had been considering it, but not anymore—not as she looked at the two beautiful young women in the room.
So, what? You’re just going to quit?Now Harry was disgusted.
There was nothing here to quit.Look, you’ve won, she thought back at him. Meeting Peter Greene had made Shayla realize that Harry’d been right for quite some time. Sheabsolutelyneeded to get out more, and at the very least she was now convinced that she could, in particular, use a good happy ending—in the crassest, most sexual-innuendo-ish way—to finally and fully exorcise both Carter and all of the other angst and emotional pain from her life.
But that wasn’t going to happen any time soon—not with this SEAL. He wasn’t Shay’s Mr. Right or even her Mr. Right Now, becauseshewas his friendly, slightly older neighbor—a variation of the “big sister slash mentor” role. Her job was to dispense wit and wisdom to the man—hold the steamy kisses—and collect his mail while he went galloping off on some crazy, romantic adventure with someone else.
