"Okay, nice invite," she murmured, frowning. "Drake, this is Virginia. Ginny, my Navy SEAL rescuer, Drake."
The two of them shook hands and she watched Drake's face to see how he reacted to the sultry, dark-haired, perfectly made-up Ginny. There was no reaction. His gaze flicked away as soon as he dropped her hand, focusing back on Izzy.
"Let's go." He held a hand out toward the buffet line.
Rather than cause a scene she headed that way, tugging Ginny along behind her.
"What is this about," Ginny hissed in her ear.
Izzy shrugged and shook her head.
They made their way to the line and several men stepped aside to let she, Ginny and Drake ahead. It must be a rank thing or something because Drake stood glowering just behind them.
Tyler and Kiko were already at the raised table, eating with their parents. Izzy gathered her utensils and went down the line, but she was too conscious of the man behind her. The food looked delicious, but she only took a few things. Ginny did the same. She glanced back at Drake. His plate was heaped with food.
"Do you need a back-up plate?"
He glanced up at her and gave her a slight grin. "I like to eat."
"I guess so," she murmured.
She didn't wait for him to finish piling, just headed back to their table. Ginny was already there, swirling sugar into a glass of tea. "So is this good or bad?" she whispered.
"I have no idea. He's kinda purty, though, isn't he?"
Ginny giggled and nodded, face flushing pink. "In a dangerous, 'I might snap your hand off if you try to pet me' kind of way. I'll make sure if things start getting intense to find something important to do."
Drake sat down beside her in the almost-too-small white folding chair and plunked down his plate. Then he got back up and waded through the crowd. When he returned he had a handful of longnecks woven through his fingers. He set them in front of the three of them. "Help yourselves."
Izzy took one and unscrewed the top. Maybe she needed a little liquid courage to steady her rioting nerves.
"So," she said. "What happened to not being good for each other?"
Drake threw Ginny a glance, then looked at Izzy. "We're just grabbing a meal. What's wrong with that?"
Izzy narrowed her eyes at him but didn't say anything. If he wanted to play dense she would let him, for now.
“I do need to apologize, though,” he murmured gruffly. “I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that, especially after what the other guy did.”
Tilting her head to the side, Izzy considered him. “You’re apologizing for rescuing me?”
“No,” he said, voice firm. “But I am apologizing for manhandling you afterward.”
Izzy smiled slightly. “Well, in all fairness, I kind of encouraged it.”
He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and gave her a tight nod. They ate in silence for a few minutes.
"So, Drake, you're a Navy man, huh?" Ginny asked.
He flashed her a grin and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Izzy tucked into her food, letting Ginny ask questions. Her friend seemed to know what Izzy wanted to know, but was afraid to ask. Drake was based out of Virginia Beach, had three siblings all male and was not currently attached.
He sounded like a typical bachelor, living it up while he could. But he was definitely older than she'd expected. If he'd been in the SEALs fourteen years, he had to be about mid-to-late thirties, well into the time when he should have started to settle down.
"No skeletons in your closet?" she asked impulsively.
With a quirked brow, he grinned at her. "No, not really."
