Page 4 of Wrong Number Right Grumpy Navy SEAL

“Yeah. He asked for a pin and showed up immediately. He got me out of there before Jason arrived.”

I wrap both hands around my mug and try not to think about the way he held my coat open for me. Jason certainly never did that. How his knuckles grazed the back of my neck and every nerve ending in my body stood at attention. How he didn’t ask a single unnecessary question—just handled it, like rescuing an emotional woman from an engagement party was just another night for him.

Something must be wrong with me if I’m lusting after Cole like this. I just found out my boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—has been cheating on me for months and was about to dump me. Fantasizing about another man should be the last thing I’m doing. Though maybe it says something about my relationship with Jason that it is.

“He’s Jared’s best friend,” I say, like that settles it.

“And?”

“And nothing. He gave me a ride. That’s the whole story.”

Marisa gives me the look she’s given me since we met freshman year of high school, the one that says I know you’re full of shit, but I’ll wait for you to figure it out.

I sneeze, and that triggers even more sneezes. Whiskers flicks his tail.

By noon, we’re one cheesy movie down on Netflix, but my eyes are now swollen half-shut, and my throat feels like I swallowed a cactus. Whiskers owns everything in Marisa’s apartment, and my allergy meds are in the bathroom of the apartment I used to share with my cheating ex-boyfriend. Used to. Past tense.

“I’m not sure you should stay here another night,” Marisa says, handing me a box of tissues. “You’ll asphyxiate.”

“I can’t afford a hotel. Not right now.”

“So stay at your brother’s.”

I blow my nose. “Cole’s there.”

“And?”

“And—” I sneeze again, hard enough that my ribs ache. “I’ll call Jared.”

He answers on the second ring, and I tell him what happened.

“I’ll kill him. You deserve better, sis. Just go over and stay at my place, if Marisa’s cat is bothering you. You already have a key.”

“Cole’s there, Jared.”

“I know, Dahlia. Cole is the safest person I know. You don’t have to worry about him. He got you out of that mess, didn’t he?”

“You’re probably right. I’ll head over there soon.”

“Good. You need anything, call. Or just ask Cole.”

The problem is all of my dreams last night were X-rated and featured Cole doing things it would make me blush to say aloud.

Safe isn’t the problem.

My fantasies about Cole are the problem.

“Hey,” I call out as I unlock the door and walk into my brother’s apartment.

I hear a muffled sound from one of the bedrooms, and Cole walks out and stares at me.

“Hey.”

I pull my coat tighter over my chest. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he was just being nice last night and won’t take kindly to me being here. “Jared said I can stay here. Is that okay?”

“He’s your brother. Of course it’s okay,” he says, but there’s a hesitation in his voice.

“Unless you don’t want me here.” Marisa isn’t my only friend. Though after hearing the girls in the bathroom say everyone knew but me, I’m not sure what other friend I could trust right now. What if all my friends also knew and didn’t say anything?