Page 10 of Loved by a SEAL

“There are exceptions to every rule. See you later, hun,” she added, blowing Morgan a kiss. “I gotta swing by the store and pick up something to bring. At the rate I’m going, I’m going to be late.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Yep, already am. And Atlantic Avenue on a gorgeous Saturday like this is always crazy.”

“So take another road.”

“The point of coming to the beach for the weekend is enjoying the beach. What’s the fun of driving around if I don’t have the ocean breeze blowing in through the windows?”

“You’ve got me there,” Morgan said. “Have fun.”

Sarah strolled down the steps of Morgan’s townhouse and crossed to the visitor spaces in the lot. It would be great to catch up with Patrick and her nephew. She wouldn’t have minded spending the day with him, but they were doing some kind of father/son fishing trip that had been scheduled months in advance. With Patrick’s crazy schedule with the Navy, constantly deploying to God knows where, she didn’t blame him for wanting to spend time with his son while he was actually stateside.

She rolled down the windows of her mini cruiser and stopped by the closest grocery store a couple of blocks away. If she’d been at home, she’d loved to have made some kick-ass homemade hummus and a huge veggie platter, but she settled for the store bought version. Her brother would probably grumble about it either way, preferring whatever meat he’d thrown on the grill. His girlfriend Rebecca enjoyed eating healthy, though.

Sarah paid for her purchase and then walked out to her car, tossing her purse onto the seat. Her phone beeped with a text, and she grabbed it from her bag, noticing it was from her brother. She rolled her eyes as she saw his message asking where she was. Twenty minutes late was practically on time.

So what if she still had to drive another twenty to his house. Give or take.

Forty-five minutes later, she pulled onto his street. Cars filled the driveway and curb space in front of his house. Naturally there was no parking close by since she was, oh, already an hour late. She drove to the end of the block and climbed out of her mini cruiser, popping open the trunk. Slinging her hobo bag over her shoulder, she lifted the ginormous veggie tray, shut the trunk, and walked down the sidewalk toward Patrick’s house.

She’d put on another strappy sundress earlier this afternoon, this one in muted tie-dye tones that hit at mid-thigh. It swung in the breeze, and she still felt sexy and pretty in it. Her gladiator sandals wound up her calves, and with the thin braid she’d pulled a small section of her hair back in, she was ready for a barbeque full of cute, unavailable Navy SEALs.

She blew out a sigh.

Maybe those guys had some single Navy friends that didn’t know her brother? Ha.

Dropping her purse off in Patrick’s living room, she went out the back door where the party was already underway. Music blasted from a stereo on the patio, the scent of charcoal wafted through the air, and the sounds of animated conversations drifted toward her. She called out hello to a few people before adding her food to the mix on one of the overflowing picnic tables.

“Aunt Sarah!” her nephew Logan shrieked, darting toward her.

She scooped him up in a big hug, amazed at how much he seemed to have grown in the month or so.

‘When did you get so big, Loganator?”

He squealed with delight. “I just ate a hot dog,” he said. “I finished the whole thing!”

“Well, you know what that means? Time for ice cream!”

She grabbed a couple of ice cream bars from the cooler, handing one to her nephew and enjoying the second one herself. It was no doubt loaded with sugar and artificial colors and additives that she didn’t usually eat, but you only lived once.

“Wait for me!” Logan shouted, racing after Rebecca’s daughter Abby a moment later, ice cream smeared all over his face. He darted away from where Sarah was standing, around the lawn chairs, and made a beeline for the corner of the yard. Ducking between the legs of the Navy SEAL team members and their girlfriends, he left a path of amused faces in his wake.

One of the women rubbed her extremely pregnant belly, the boyish-looking SEAL at her side grinning from ear-to-ear as he ducked lower and whispered something to her.

Sarah’s brother Patrick “Ice” Foster smirked as he tipped back his long-neck and drew a long pull. “Rebecca’s going to kill you for getting the kids so riled up this late at night.”

“I’ll just blame you,” Sarah said good-naturedly. “I’m pretty sure it’s all the ice cream.”

“Which you gave them,” Patrick commented dryly.

“They’re kids. Besides, that’s what aunts are for.”

She tossed her own ice cream wrapper in the trash, the white wrapper contrasting with the dark blue polish on her fingertips. She’d painted her toes a trendy shade of green earlier today, and Morgan had teased her, claiming Sarah had turned preppy with her choice of blue and green.

Sure. And next she’d be wearing polo shirts and shorts emblazoned with Maine lobsters or something.

Patrick raised his eyebrows. “Just remember what goes around comes around.”

“Meaning what exactly?”

“Someday when you have kids I’m going to load them up on sugar before bedtime.”

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