Page 12 of Loved by a SEAL

Ryan stood alone, jaw taut, his muscular arms crossed. Thick biceps gave way to corded forearms and muscular hands. His broad chest narrowed at the waist. He had pounds of muscle beneath all that toned flesh. Her girly parts unexpectedly did flips, not that she was really into brusque authority figures.

He’d looked somewhat annoyed earlier when the kids running around the yard had bumped into him.

Kids. At a backyard barbeque.

He probably was the type of man to complain about crying babies on airplanes, too.

Besides, this was a party. Everyone else looked rather content. Happy to have a beer in their hand and friends at their side.

That couldn’t exactly be said about Ryan.

Seriously. Why come to a party if you were barely going to talk to anyone there?

Patrick probably felt obligated to invite his CO to the barbeque since the entire SEAL team was there, but he was as different from the rest of them as night and day.

Patrick and the other guys were a tight-knit group that trained and fought together. Drilled on base every day and went off to war together. They used to hang out at Anchors every weekend, chasing after the pretty college co-eds around Virginia Beach. Flirting with more than their fair share of beautiful women. Sarah had even babysat her nephew a couple of times so Patrick could go out with his team when they got back from missions. The guys needed to decompress when they were finally stateside after some of their longer deployments. And she’d been more than happy to help.

Although the men had each settled down to a certain extent after having found their significant others, Ryan seemed content to be alone.

Almost as if he knew Sarah was watching him, his dark eyes swept her way. His face was expressionless, but he held her gaze.

Full lips.

Chiseled jaw.

A poker face like no other.

What on Earth was he even thinking about standing there all alone? She schooled her expression and turned back to Patrick, suddenly feeling foolish for at least not waving hello. Despite her ability to chat up anyone, make new friends everywhere, something about him always gave her pause. He was always watching her too closely. Almost like he could see right inside her.

Which was crazy, because he didn’t know the first thing about her.

She looked over again and was surprised to find him still watching her. Even out of uniform, he managed to look commanding and ready to go at a moment’s notice—a dark polo shirt contrasted against his perfectly creased khakis. Which fell at the perfect spot over his polished shoes. The silver watch on his wrist glinted in the waning evening sunlight. He looked like he could roll right onto base for an impromptu meeting or something. Simply give the word and send the team on another dangerous mission.

He gave a brief nod in her direction before turning away toward Brent and Matthew.

“I’m amazed you got him to acknowledge you,” Patrick commented, setting the tray of steaming burgers down on the full table.

“What do you mean?”

“The CO usually keeps to himself.”

Sarah laughed. “So I noticed. He’s standing there by himself. At a party. Where he knows everyone.”

“I was surprised he came, to be honest. I’ve invited him over in the past, but he generally turns down the invitations.”

“Maybe he was hungry.”

Patrick smirked.

The youngest man on the team, Evan “Flip” Jenkins ambled over, a grin on his face. With his blond hair and boyish good looks, he could pass for a college kid. “The food smells awesome. I’m always up for another burger. Ali and I need to have you guys over sometime, Ice.”

Patrick nodded. “I’m sure you’ll have your hands full for a while. And I doubt you’ll want our kids tearing around your townhouse with a new baby.”

Evan’s fiancé Alison groaned as she walked to his side, one hand still on her stomach. “If this baby is anything like his father, he’s going to eat us out of house and home.”

“You love it, Ali,” Evan joked, putting his plate down on the table and wrapping his arms around her from behind. Evan towered over Alison’s petite frame, still willowy despite the burgeoning bump, as she leaned back against him, her eyes closing for a moment.

Sarah felt a brief pang of regret as she watched the two of them for not having gone down that path in her own life, then brushed it aside. She was thirty years old, not fifty. If she wanted to, she could still settle down. Have kids.

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