She stood there for half a beat, unsure what to do with the unexpected courtesy.
She gave Rivers a small nod of thanks before slipping into the seat he offered, aware of Rome’s obvious irritation that Rivers pulled out the chair for her before he could get there. She dipped her head to hide her smile.
As the breadbasket circled the table, the arguments started almost at once.
Rivers leaned forward to look across Stina’s plate. “Don’t be a bread hog, Rome. Leave some for the rest of us.”
Rome shot Rivers a deliberate look and took a third slice. “There’s more in the kitchen. Get up and get it.”
“This is exactly what you did in Kandahar. Remember the last protein bar?”
Rome groaned. “For hell’s sake, are you still whining about the protein bar? You were asleep, Rivers.”
“I was resting my eyes.”
“For six hours?”
“At least I didn’t go left in Fallujah when everyone else went right.”
Rome passed Stina the basket with a soft look for her that turned to a hard one when he focused on Rivers again. “I told all of you that I had a feeling. My feelings have saved this team on multiple occasions.”
O paused midbite. “Didn’t your gut feeling get us pinned down for four hours in a drainage ditch?”
“Gentlemen.” Cannon didn’t raise his voice but the single polite word ended the argument.
Rome and Rivers picked up their forks and began to eat.
She looked up at Cannon and caught the glint of amusement in his eyes.
“Good bread, Stina.” He ripped off a bite and chewed.
“Thank you.” She couldn’t stop her smile after that as more teasing and insults volleyed around the table.
She’d grown up an only child. Her house had been quiet, and there weren’t a lot of surprises. Without knowing what she was missing, she secretly wanted this her whole life.
She’d gotten a version of it through Jolie, absorbing the chaos of Jolie’s siblings in a borrowed way where she could step into it for an evening and then go home to her own quiet—but lonely—apartment.
This was different. Sierra seemed bent on cheerfully dismantling each other’s dignity and then five minutes later passing the pasta to the same guy they’d just insulted.
And she loved it. Again, Jolie caught her eye and they shared a smile that said they both did.
After the meal was over and every plate was empty—even the last crumbs from the breadbasket had been picked up on the pad of Rivers’s thumbs and pressed into his mouth, Cannon declared the men were on kitchen cleanup.
When she tried to help, Rome took her by the hand and relocated her to a stool. She just shrugged at Jolie, who sat on a stool beside her.
Stina leaned to whisper to Jolie. “Do you think this is in the SEAL handbook?”
Jolie giggled. “I’m not sure, but this stool is pretty comfortable.”
That made Stina laugh, and they sat together, watching the guys clear the table in a minute flat with all hands on deck. When O handed Younger a kitchen sponge, he tossed it back at him.
“Oh hell no. I’m not washing dishes. I have rank over all of you. I’ll go set up the poker table.” With that, the towering SEAL swaggered from the kitchen, but the exchange left Stina hiding her grin behind her hand.
The longer she was here, the more she realized she’d missed out on a big family.
“Stina? Everything okay?” Rome asked.
She blinked up at him and drew a deep breath. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
