Page 17 of SEAL Ever After

Christopher hastily apologized, and Ryan chuffed out a laugh. Although the men all tried to stay on the good side of their CO and several of the women were reserved around him, Lexi had worked with Ryan on base at Little Creek and they’d established a rapport. Sarah appreciated the fact that someone else called it like it was around him. Goodness knows sometimes the man didn’t even know what was for his own good.

“I fought long and hard against it,” Ryan agreed with a smirk. “There was no stopping what was brewing between Sarah and me though.”

Sarah beamed. “Seriously. You argued with me for an entire year before we finally got together. Better late than never though, right?”

“Disagreed with you, perhaps. But you’re the one who tried to punch me at your brother’s house,” Ryan quipped dryly.

“You were sneaking around in the dark,” she reminded him as Christopher and Lexi both burst into laughter. “And I think you’d been arguing with me all that evening, too. Anyway,” she said, glancing back at the other couple. “Thanks! We’re so excited. We’re going to invite everyone to the wedding and throw an amazing reception.”

“Are you going to have a beach wedding?” Lexi asked, her jet-black hair blowing in the ocean breeze.

“For sure,” Sarah said. “Can you imagine anything more fantastic? Sunset. The Ocean. Ryan standing there looking handsome in something beachy. Or were you planning to wear your uniform?”

“Most likely my uniform. But I’ll let you handle the rest of the decisions. The sight of you walking down the aisle toward me in a wedding dress is all I need,” Ryan said in a low voice.

“What’s this I hear about an engagement?” Ryker “Bulls-Eye” Fletcher called out, sauntering over with a beer in hand. “Congratulations, sir,” he said, nodding at their CO.

“Where’s your better half?” Ryan joked, referring to Ryker’s new girlfriend Emily. The Delta team had recently rescued Emily from Afghanistan, and then Ryker had rescued her again when she’d been tracked by kidnappers back in Washington.

Sarah shivered slightly in the ocean breeze. A lot of the women had been involved in all sorts of scary situations. Kidnappings. Accidents. Stalkers. She was thankful and relieved nothing like that had ever happened to her. For a brief flicker of a moment she felt a chill snake down her spine, but then it passed just as quickly.

The last time she’d felt that way, Patrick had been injured on a mission. It’s like she’d had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.

Was something else going to happen to one of them soon, too?

Shaking her head slightly to clear those thoughts, she listened in on the conversation again.

Worrying about the unpredictable was crazy. She wanted to live and enjoy life, not focus on the unknown.

“Em’s down by the water,” Ryker said with a nod in the direction of the surf. A few women stood where the water lapped against the shore, the golden sunlight bathing them in its rays. Emily turned and waved, and Sarah had the sudden urge to run down there and join them.

“She’s moving down here next month,” Ryker continued. “She’s asking some of the other women for info., but she’ll move in with me.”

“That’s fantastic,” Sarah said with a smile. “It’ll be great having her here. I’m going to go over and say hi!”

She broke away from the men and Lexi, heading to greet the other women.

“Congrats, girl!” Bailey said, engulfing Sarah in a big hug. They’d only meet a handful of times, but Bailey was a local bartender and friendly and outgoing to everyone. She was dating Noah “Viper” Miller, one of the guys on the Delta team. “Some of us never thought we’d see the commander settle down,” Bailey continued. “He sure looks happy as hell now.”

The women all glanced over at them, and Ryan raised his eyebrows. Sarah waved and blew him a kiss. “He knows we’re talking about him.”

“Of course he does,” Taylor said. Her boyfriend, Mason “Riptide” Ryan was also on the Delta team. Sarah saw him over talking with Hunter and Emma. “But congrats, girl! This is amazing news.”

“Thanks! Maybe you and Mason will be next.”

Taylor nudged her best friend Bailey. “I’m convinced it’s going to be Bailey and Noah.”

“Well goodness,” Sarah joked. “Maybe we’ll have a triple wedding or something.”

Bailey laughed, pulling her blonde hair back into a ponytail as the wind whipped it around. “God, can you imagine? I doubt Ryan would want to share his big day though.”

“Agreed,” Sarah said. “It seems unreal around here lately though. I mean, shoot, I remember when Patrick and his buddies would be going out to Anchors every weekend.”

“Me too,” Taylor said with a laugh.

“That’s right!” Sarah said. “I totally blanked on the fact that you worked there. That’s how you met Mason, right?”

“Absolutely,” she agreed.

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