Page 14 of Summer with a Navy SEAL

Crystal just grins. “Trust me, Willy. When we’re done, Brogan won’t be able to keep his eyes off you.”

I bark out a laugh. “Like that’ll be a problem.” The words are out before I can stop them as Willy’s eyes widen. Shit. Way to play it cool, Hollister.

But Crystal just squeals in delight. “Oh, you two are just too cute! Come on, Willy, let’s go get you a dress that’ll knock his socks off.”

Willy stares at her. “Right now?”

“Yes, right now. Alterations require time, girl,” Crystal replies, beckoning for Willy to come over.

“Well, let me brush my teeth at least and dress decent,” Willy says as she hurries back into the house, leaving me with Crystal who’s watching me with a knowing smile on her face.

“Who knew that all this time, you liked her,” she is saying as I roll my eyes.

“Mind your own business, Francia,” I mutter. How this fake relationship just got more complicated, I’ll never know.

But it certainly got more real.

No one’s at the family house when I roll up. Mother’s probably at her favorite shop, getting dolled up. Or she could be holed up in her room. That’s the thing about the Hollister mansion—it’s so damn big you could have a party in one wing and not hear a peep in the other.

Ever since Dad bit it from a heart attack three years ago, Mother barely leaves her rooms. Plural. She only comes out to make sure I’m decked out in the latest threads from Paris or Milan before some fancy shindig. Or to guilt-trip me about settling down and giving her grandkids.

Unlike Willy, who’s probably stressing over finding a dress, all I have to do is stroll into my walk-in closet and pick from hundreds of designer labels. Ferragamo, Zegna, Marc Jacobs—I could rattle them off, but that’d make me a joke to my Team. Still, I’m their go-to guy for dressing to impress.

For tonight I’m going with a Zegna tux. Can’t go wrong there. It’s weird to be pumped about this party, but I’m not gonna lie. I want to be seen with Willy. I want her next to me, smiling, laughing, looking at me the way she did this morning.

I’m adjusting my cufflinks when there’s a knock on the door and Preston strolls in, looking like he just stepped out of a GQ spread. “Well, well, little brother. Don’t you clean up nice?”

I eye him warily. “What do you want, Pres?”

He leans against the doorframe, smirking. “Oh, just wondering how long you plan on keeping up this charade with Willy. You know Mother’s going to figure it out eventually.”

I tense up. “It’s not a charade.”

Preston laughs. “Come on, Brogan. I know you. This isn’t your style. So what’s the real deal? Trying to piss off Mother? Or is this some misguided attempt to save Willy’s job?”

I clench my jaw. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” He raises an eyebrow. “Look, I get it. Willy’s hot. But Mother’s right. She’s not one of us, and you know it. She’s going to have a field day when she realizes you’ve been playing her.”

I take a step toward him, doing my best not to punch his lights out. But that would only prove Preston right. “Watch it, Pres. You don’t know a damn thing about Willy or how I feel about her.”

He holds up his hands in mock surrender. “Alright,alright. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you. This little game of yours is going to blow up in your face, and when it does, don’t come crying to me.”

As he turns to leave, I call out,” It’s not a game. Not to me.”

Preston pauses at the door, looking back at me with something that might be of pity. “For her sake, I hope you’re right.”

As he walks away, I’m left standing there, my heart pounding. My brother’s words echo in my head but I push them aside. I know what I feel for Willy is real. Now I just have to prove it to everyone else.

And to her.

CHAPTER SEVEN

WILLY

“I’m goingto forgive you for not telling me about Brogan,” Crystal declares as she takes a step back to look at me from head to toe. “Because, girl, this is the perfect revenge dress.”

I laugh, twirling around in the red dress in front of the full-length mirror. “It better be because it costs it, too.” A full paycheck, in fact.

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