Page 11 of Loved by a SEAL

She laughed, holding up her left hand. Thin gold bracelets dangled from her wrist, but her all-important ring finger was decidedly empty. “Do you see a ring on this finger?”

“You didn’t see me planning to date ever again, and look around you,” Patrick said with a grin.

“Nope I sure didn’t.”

Sarah eyed Patrick’s girlfriend Rebecca moving around the yard, offering their guests brownies from a large tray. Her young daughter was chasing after Patrick’s son, and Rebecca glanced over at Sarah and Patrick and smiled, her face flushing as she met Patrick’s gaze. Rebecca was some hotshot divorce attorney, but seriously, the woman practically melted around Patrick.

“Do you need any help with the food?” she called from across the yard.

“It’s under control.”

“Maybe just help eating it,” Sarah chimed in. “Patrick made enough food to feed all of Little Creek.”

Patrick smirked, but his gaze flicked toward Rebecca again, and Sarah resisted the urge to rib her brother.

No, Patrick was certainly the last man she ever expected to settle down again. After a nasty divorce and losing his ex-wife to cancer, he’d been through a lot. More so than many other men his age.

Then again, he led a team of Navy SEALs into battles and on secret missions all over the world. Trained hard every day on base. She wasn’t even sure exactly what those guys did when they deployed, because they couldn’t say. They frequently left without even being able to tell their girlfriends where they were headed. Or when they’d return.

She shuddered.

Patrick raised his eyebrows. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I just don’t like the idea of you going away on dangerous missions all the time.”

“That’s my job. Always has been.”

“I know. I just have a bad feeling.”

Patrick raised his eyebrows. His icy blue eyes and the cool, calm demeanor that earned him the nickname “Ice” did little to dissuade her, though, from pressing the issue further.

“What? Can’t I worry about my own brother?”

“There’s nothing to be worried about. We’re well-trained. The best at what we do.”

“And so modest,” Sarah said, rolling her eyes.

Patrick smirked and set his beer down before grabbing a large platter. He flipped the last of the burgers from the grill onto it, the scent of charcoal and freshly grilled meat filling the air. “Last round!” he called out.

Conversations drifted across the yard, and Sarah glanced over at the rest of the men on Patrick’s SEAL team. Even though a year or so ago every man had been single, they each had a girlfriend or fiancée now.

Imagine that.

Who’d have thought they’d all settle down before she did?

Even Brent “Cobra” Rollins, the man with dark black hair and piercing eyes, who’d never even been with the same woman twice, had recently moved in with his new girlfriend Ella.

Brent.

With a girlfriend.

Wonders never ceased.

Matthew “Gator” Murphy laughed from where he stood across the yard beside Brent, Ella, and his own newfound love, Brianna. His southern twang drifted across the lawn as she heard the word, “darlin’” interspersed in the conversation. He was a southern gentleman through and through, but the accent seemed to only come out when he was embellishing a story.

Matthew was a good guy though. Just like all of the men on Patrick’s team. They might be big, tough guys, but they fought hard for what they believed in—including the women in their lives. And despite their brash, sometimes arrogant ways, they were a fun group to be around.

Save for the imposing figure standing off to the side.

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