Page 76 of SEAL Summer Escape

“Looking good, sweetheart!”the last guy called out as her gaze slid over his muscled chest.

“Right back at ya!”she said, waggling her fingers at him as he jogged by.

She glanced over her shoulder, seeing him do the same, and he nearly crashed into a couple pushing a stroller.

Pausing briefly to apologize, he looked back at her and shrugged with a lopsided grin.

She laughed and kept on walking.Guys like him were a dime a dozen around here.Sure, he’d flirt with her if she encouraged it, but he’d be happy to be with any attractive woman, she was sure.

The beach would be filled soon with families playing in the surf, couples strolling hand-in-hand, and friends hanging out, sunbathing, and relaxing together.A few seagulls swooped through the air, the sunlight gleamed off the water, and the salty scent of the ocean blew in.

She adjusted the stack of bracelets on her arm, admiring her sun-kissed skin.She spotted Taylor already sitting at a table on the deck of one of their favorite restaurants, waving as she walked closer.

“You nearly caused a collision back there,” Taylor said with a laugh, her brown ponytail bobbing back and forth as she took a sip of her ice water.

Bailey stepped up onto the deck, laughing.She dodged a dog on a leash that leaped up happily wagging its tail to greet her, nodding at the couple seated there.“And that was my fault...how?”she asked her best friend.“I was just innocently walking along.”

“Innocently?Right.Trouble follows you wherever you go,” Taylor said with a knowing smile.

“Now that I can’t disagree with.And I’m glad you snagged a table.I parked a couple of blocks away so I could walk down the boardwalk.”

“It’s a perfect day for it.Mason dropped me off,” Taylor said, a slight flush creeping over her face.

Bailey waggled her eyebrows.“I get it; you were running late.Or was there more rolling around in bed than running?”she teased.“Congrats, my friend!”

“Shhh,” Taylor chastised her, looking mortified.

“Oh stop,” Bailey said, shushing her.“No one knows what I’m talking about.No one’s listening.And you two are practically living together anyway.We should probably start planning the wedding right now.”

“We’re not engaged,” Taylor said, looking embarrassed.“And we don’t even live together.I just stay at his place a lot.”

“Meaning all the time,” Bailey quipped.“Honey, if I had a hot Navy SEAL boyfriend, I probably would, too.Shoot, you probably wouldn’t be able to get me out of bed.Because the last couple of guys I’ve been with?Less than satisfying.”

“He’s got friends you know.”

“Uh-huh.And they’re all the biggest flirts imaginable.Not that I’d mind that if I was interested in a one-night-stand type of thing, but with one of Mason’s friends?No way.Because as much as I love hooking up with a hot guy for a night, I’d prefer it to be one I never see again.”

Taylor rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious.I tag along to one of your beach bonfires and see the guy I slept with snuggling up to someone else?”She shrugged.“No thanks.”

The waitress walked over, and the two women ordered mimosas.“Sorry for the wait,” the waitress apologized.“It’s filling up early today.Warm Saturday and all that,” she said, looking frazzled.

“No worries,” Bailey said.“I bartend further down the beach, and Taylor’s a waitress over at Anchors.”

“Believe me when I say we understand,” Taylor agreed.

“Thanks ladies.I’ll bring your drinks right out and then get your orders,” the waitress said.

Bailey pulled off her sunglasses, wiping them with a cloth napkin.She put them back on, eyeing her best friend.“So aren’t you going to ask about last night?”

“Let me guess.You went home with some random guy from the bar.”

“Actually, I didn’t.What I was going to say was a group of tourists gave me a $100 tip.Pretty sweet, right?”

“Were they drunk?”

“More like rich.Hey, I’ll take it.Most people are good about tipping their bartender, but there are definitely still some cheapskates around.Guys who drink too much and can’t calculate a decent tip if their life depended on it.And now I can splurge on those new shoes I wanted.”

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