Page 28 of Loved by a SEAL

“You’re making it damn hard for me to do the right thing here.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean? You argue with me every time I see you. If I say ‘right,’ you say ‘left.’ If I want a tofu burger, you tell me that you love a good steak. I can see how you’ve made it up the chain of command in the military—simply by bossing people around and being a major control freak.”

“If I don’t have control, people die,” he said, his voice steel.

“This isn’t some highly classified military operation,” Sarah said in exasperation. “It’s a night at the beach—drinks at a bar.”

“And I have to go to work.”

“I understand. Go. I’ll catch a ride with Morgan.”

“I’m driving you back.”

Ignoring him, she turned and walked back toward the water, leaving Ryan looking dumbstruck behind her.

***

Sarah groaned as she woke up the next morning, curled up in a ball on Morgan’s sofa. Sunlight beamed in through the open curtains, and she squinted her eyes. Why the hell did she have a best friend that was such an early bird?

The universe was cruel, sometimes.

“Rise and shine!” Morgan said, walking over with a steaming cup of coffee.

“Well aren’t you a happy camper,” Sarah said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Seven a.m.!”

She pulled the blanket tighter around her camisole and boy shorts. “And what time did we get in last night?”

“One a.m. as I recall.”

“Exactly. And six hours is not nearly enough sleep.”

“Drink,” Morgan said, thrusting the mug under her nose.

“You know I’m a tea drinker.”

“Not here you’re not.”

Sarah rolled her eyes and took a sip from the mug, bristling at the combination of dark roast beans and accompanying jolt of caffeine. Just the aroma alone was enough to make her more alert. Never mind that she usually preferred her jasmine green tea. Morgan made killer French Press coffee that was so strong it just might actually kill someone.

She tucked her legs under her on the sofa, taking a second careful sip of her coffee. “Making a pitcher of margaritas after a night out is starting to seem like it was bad idea.”

“Yep. You said we needed to celebrate your last night at the beach though.”

“Next time do me a favor and don’t listen.”

“Ha ha. Not a chance. I think you left quite an impression with Commander Hottie though.”

Sarah smirked, recalling their walk on the beach after grabbing drinks. And her little dip in the ocean. ‘Left an impression’ was one way to describe it.

“Thanks for giving me a ride back to my car. I think your date Mike was pissed though—it seemed like he was still hoping to have you to himself for the rest of the night.”

“Oh, forget about him. He’s probably on a plane back to New York as we speak. And no problem about the ride.”

“I wonder what Patrick would have thought if I’d called him for a lift. Ha. I don’t think Ryan leaving me on the beach would have gone over so well.”

“He texted me you know.”

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