Page 31 of SEAL's Temptation

“Oh, he was,” Avery agreed.“He wasn’t happy when he brought me another coffee this morning and I told him it was rude to ignore you.”

Luciana laughed.“No, Mr.American Doctor did not like that.He’d rather order us around to do his bidding but ignore the fact that we’re his colleagues.”Avery didn’t disagree.The man was dismissive and downright rude to the other staff, clearly favoring Avery.

“The missing box yesterday was strange,” Avery said.“Isabella thought a supply box was gone from their tent, too.”

“Si.It is a problem, but I don’t think it’s the nursing staff.Someone else has been rummaging through our supplies.”

“The cabinets are supposed to be locked,” Avery mused.“They have been each morning we’ve arrived, but someone could be getting there sooner.If it was an outsider, someone not on staff, they’d have to break into the lockers.”

“Agreed.It is someone involved in Doctors Without Borders.”

“Dr.Walters denies there’s an issue.The strange thing is, there wasn’t anything great in those cabinets anyway, just basic medical supplies.Drugs and medications are locked up elsewhere, and those are all accounted for.”

“We should keep an eye on Mr.American Doctor,” Luciana said.“I don’t like him.”

Avery nodded, mulling that over.He’d been vetted and hired in the same manner she had, but it did feel like something was going on.Avery wondered if anything had gone missing before his arrival.She’d have to question the other nurses about it at dinner.At the moment, she needed to clean up and get ready for the meal.

***

AVERY’S FINGERS FLEWover the keyboard of her laptop later that night.She’d sent Ryan a quick note earlier but promised a lengthier message after she’d eaten.

“You look happy,” Luciana gently teased her.“I always know when you have an email from your man.”

Avery smiled at her roommate.“I miss him.We were long distance before, but this is different.With our busy schedule and cell reception being so terrible, we can’t just call or text when we want.It’s hard not being able to talk every day.Oh my gosh, look at this picture he sent!”she said with a laugh.

Ryan had emailed her a picture of him completely covered in wet sand, a huge grin on his face.He’d clearly crawled through something in training and was a hot mess—emphasis on the hot part, she thought as she flushed.He had sunglasses on in the photo, but she could imagine the gleam in his eye.

“Muy caliente!”Luciana said.“Very nice indeed.I can see why you miss him,” she joked.“And you were long distance?No, no,” she gently chided.“If I had a man like that, I’d move closer in an instant,” she teased.

Avery’s smile grew wider.“That’s the plan after my stint here in South America.We were both interested in each other but friends first.”

“And then he couldn’t keep his hands off you,” Luciana teased.

“Well, he tried,” Avery said with a laugh.“Ryan’s actually friends with my older brother.”

Luciana laughed.“He must really like you then.Usually, men don’t date their friend’s sister unless they’re serious about her.Or looking for a fight,” she joked.

“There was no fight,” Avery protested, amused at Luciana’s line of thought.As she mulled it over, however, she realized that it made sense.A guy wouldn’t risk pissing off his good buddy if the woman he was chasing after wasn’t worth it.Ryan wasn’t the type of man to consider a woman a conquest, either.He’d always been protective of her, even before their relationship had moved to the next level on her last trip.

“Well good,” Luciana said firmly.“I’m glad you’re happy.You should show that picture to Dr.Walters,” she added with a laugh.“Maybe then he’d stop paying you special attention.”

Avery snorted.“He’d love seeing a picture of my boyfriend, wouldn’t he?But no, I don’t want to piss him off since we still have to work together for eleven more months.”

“You miss your Ryan though,” Luciana said knowingly, before moving across the room to gather up some things, readying for tomorrow.Her long, dark hair swung behind her, and Avery watched as she sorted through her clothes for a moment before turning back to her laptop.

Her Ryan.

Avery liked that thought.And while eleven months felt like forever some days, she knew plenty of couples dealt with long distance relationships during deployments.It was ironic that Ryan was the servicemember, yet she was the one gone for a year.His job as a Navy SEAL didn’t usually require lengthy deployments like other members of the military faced, but that could change.She’d just have to hope the time flew by quickly so she could get to the next phase of her life—taking a chance on moving to Hawaii and seeing what could really bloom between them.

Smiling, she finished typing a flirty email.She was in a good mood tonight.Just seeing Ryan’s picture had brightened her spirits.Maybe she’d take a quick picture tomorrow to send to him.She’d have to seriously look into taking some leave at her halfway point in this job, too.It was amazing how six months ago, she’d been single in California.Her life was on an entirely different trajectory now.

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