Willa had taken the news in stride. He could tell she was worried, but she was sleeping and seemed happy. Having the alarm on at night probably went a long way in making her feel safe.
His work was back to the usual grind. They did a few extra workouts and spent time going over their last mission. Working through everything they’d done and why wasn’t his favorite task.
Being a SEAL was both easier and harder than he’d thought it would be. Some of the easiest tasks he experienced were the things he thought would be the hardest when he became a SEAL.Like missions where they experienced heavy fire, those were easy compared to dissecting every move they made. He knew it was necessary to get into the details of what worked and why it worked, but the task was arduous.
Forcing their way into a building and taking over was almost second nature to him now. He knew how terrorists reacted and could almost predict their next moves. But explaining to people who weren’t on the mission what they’d done, then having to defend their actions, was difficult.
“Hey, Cy, you coming tomorrow?” Kevlar asked.
“Sure am. I’m bringing a friend.”
Kevlar’s eyes went wide as his eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
“Yes, and she’s just a friend. I’m helping her out of a tough spot.”
Kevlar’s lips spread wide, and Cy rolled his eyes. The guys would believe what they wanted to believe, but he knew what his relationship to Willa was about.
They weren’t dating, mainly because she hadn’t shown any desire to be with him. It took the pressure off. He was relaxed with her, as he would be with a friend. As long as she wasn’t interested in him, he wasn’t going to let his desire for her show.
After work, he headed home, then ran by Aces later in the evening to wait for Willa to get off work. The place was busy, which was good for Willa’s tips. In just the few short days of her staying with him, he’d learned that tips made her night.
She was diligent about saving money. When he suggested they order pizza, she got up and made food, saying that it was much less expensive to make dinner than order out. She was right, but there were times he just wanted a greasy pizza that wasn’t homemade.
“Hey, you about ready to go?” Cy said when she came over to where he was sitting at the bar.
“Almost. You didn’t have to show up here to escort me home.”
“I wanted to.”
Her lips tipped up in a smile, and he wanted to tell her that her smile was nice, but he held his tongue.
“Thank you. I do feel safer when you’re here.”
“Hey, Willa,” one of the waitresses said in a singsong voice as she passed by.
Willa shifted almost uncomfortably. “Hi, Cindy. I’m headed home.”
Cindy laughed as she shook her head like she didn’t believe Willa. “Of course you are.”
What was that about? He didn’t like how Willa stiffened when Cindy was near. And what was Cindy trying to imply?
“I need to grab my bag in the back. I’ll be out here in just a moment, then I can leave.”
“Sure.”
Willa made her way to the back of the restaurant, and Cindy came over. The top button of her shirt was open now and spread wide. It was like she wanted him to look at her breasts. He ignored her display of flesh and focused on her face.
“So, what’s your name?” Cindy ran her fingers over Cy’s shoulder as she moved to his other side.
At the moment, he wasn’t into flirting with women, but he knew what this was about. Cindy was trying to get between him and Willa. They were just friends, but he wasn’t going to fall into this trap.
Cindy was just trying to cause trouble. Why? Who knew why people did what they did? Some people just like to stir up problems. It didn’t matter if they were man or woman, the shit stirrers liked to dump a bucket load of crap on other people.
“My name is Carter.” He didn’t want this woman having his nickname or asking what he did for work. The chaser vibes werecoming off her strongly. She didn’t need to know he was a SEAL. If she kept up this kind of shit, she wouldn’t last long at Aces.
“Carter, that’s such a plain name. Don’t you have a nickname like the other guys who come in here?”
“Nope, I’m just plain ol’ me.”
