Page 14 of Married to a SEAL

“I got it,” Patrick said easily.

“Ali, do you want anything?” Evan asked. “The kids told me you have to get ice cream at the beach—it’s some kind of rule or something.”

“It is,” Logan said. “We always do, so that’s the rule.”

“God, yes, I’ll have some ice cream, I’m starving,” Alison said as the rest of them burst into laughter. She told Evan what she wanted, and the rest of the group headed to the boardwalk.

“You guys are coming tomorrow, right?” Rebecca asked, taking a sip of her bottled water. “To the barbeque?”

“Yes, we wouldn’t miss it. Don’t forget, Evan and I met at one of Patrick’s barbeques.”

Rebecca laughed. “How could I? Evan was chasing after you like a lost puppy dog.”

Alison snorted. “He’d love hearing that.”

“It’s been a crazy year. You weren’t even interested in Evan at first, and now you live together and are having a baby.”

“In my defense, I thought he was younger than he is.”

“He does have boyish good looks,” Rebecca agreed. “The guys on the team still rib him like crazy. And Patrick loves throwing barbeques. I wonder how many we’ll be having next summer with a new baby?”

“My guess is none,” Alison said as Rebecca burst into laughter.

“Probably not many,” Rebecca agreed. “I just hope I don’t get sick in front of everyone tomorrow night. We’re not really planning to announce it to the world just yet.”

“You can always claim it’s Patrick’s grilling making you ill,” Alison teased.

“Yeah, that would work maybe one time. Everyone will catch on pretty quickly if I get sick at every barbeque we have this summer. Either that or they’ll think Patrick is the worst cook ever.”

“Well, it’ll buy you a little time. God, Abby is going to flip whenever you decide to tell her.”

“I know, she really will. She’s obsessed with your baby. And she’d love to have a younger sister.”

“She was a little disappointed that I’m having a boy,” Alison said with a grin.

“She’ll get over it as soon as the baby is born,” Rebecca said. “She’ll be begging you to let her feed him, hold him, play with him—”

“Hey, I’ll take all the help I can get,” Alison said, brushing a strand of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear as a breeze blew in from the ocean. “God knows I’m clueless around kids. Maybe she’ll have better instincts than me.”

“She’ll make a great big sister,” Rebecca said wistfully.

“Can’t believe it’s really happening, can you?” Alison asked.

“Nope.”

The two women burst into laughter.

She heard the kids coming back before she saw them, and a moment later they were running by to sit on their towels and enjoy the rest of their ice cream. Patrick crouched down beside her in the sand.

“I got you another bottle of water,” he said.

Their fingers brushed against one another as she took it from him, and for some reason she flushed. Seriously, anytime she was around Patrick her heart started beating faster. That short, cropped hair, chiseled jaw, and muscular physique got her every time. Not to mention the fact that he swept her off her feet—both figuratively and literally.

His eyes met hers, a hint of humor in them. “Abby asked if she could have extra whipped cream on hers,” he said huskily.

Her face flamed as Alison laughed at her reaction. “Do I even want to know this story?” she asked, taking the milkshake Evan handed her.

Patrick and Rebecca simultaneously said, “No,” which made Alison laugh even harder.

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