Page 8 of SEAL Summer Escape

Taylor blushed, her face flaming.“He texted me to say that he’s there with his friends now and misses my smile.”

“You should go out with him,” Bailey declared.“Hell, even if you don’t like him, go out with him.Just so that Eric sees a big, strong guy at your place.Maybe then he’ll stop trying to push you around.”

“He doesn’t push me around,” Taylor protested.

The car pulled to a stop at a red light, and Taylor watched the groups of people walking down the sidewalk of Atlantic Avenue.It was a perfect autumn evening.The summer crowds that visited Virginia Beach had died down, so it was mostly locals enjoying the bars and restaurants that dotted the strand.

Taylor loved spending afternoons basking in the sun, listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the shore.Some of her old friends from high school and college wondered why she was still working as a waitress at Anchors, but honestly?She loved the freedom.

A night job that paid well with decent tips left her days free for enjoying the beach.Even in the cooler months, she’d walk down the boardwalk, taking photo after photo of the ocean and enjoying the saltwater and sand.

Bailey tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear before admonishing Taylor, the tiny row of studs in Bailey’s ear glimmering in the sunlight.“Maybe Eric doesn’t push you around physically—yet.That could always change.But emotionally he sure yanks you the hell around.He’s controlling, manipulative, possessive—”

Taylor burst into laughter.“Tell me how you really feel.”The car pulled forward again as the light changed to green, and Taylor inhaled the salty ocean air before glancing back at her best friend.“I mean, yes, he’s a jerk,” she continued.“That’s why I broke up with him.I don’t want him to go and do something crazy though.”

“Like barge into your apartment and refuse to leave?”Bailey asked drily.“And what happened with your car anyway?I thought you were getting it fixed?”

“Eric has a buddy that owns an auto shop.”

“Then why has it been there for a week?If he knows someone, it should get done faster, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose.I just thought maybe he was squeezing it in as a favor.And Eric always had a good reason why it wasn’t ready yet.”

“How convenient.Was his buddy the guy that gave you a tow a few weeks ago?”

Taylor muttered under her breath.

“And overcharged you, right?Did he ever reimburse you?”

“Not yet,” Taylor said with a sigh.“And I didn’t want to push it.He’s helping me out by repairing it in the first place.”

A small niggle of worry snaked through her.Mason and his SEAL friends had been furious when they’d found out how much she’d been charged for a tow.She’d been desperate though, and when she’d been stranded on the side of the road, what was she supposed to do?She’d been relieved when her ex had happened to call and sent someone over to help her.

Anchors came into view in the distance.“What time do you need me to pick you up?”Bailey asked.

“I don’t get off until one a.m.I’ll just grab a ride home with someone.One of the other waitresses should be able to give me a lift.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, sometimes we stay late to wrap up, so I don’t want you to have to wait around for me.It shouldn’t be a problem to find a ride.”

“Have them drop you off at my place,” Bailey insisted.“You have a key, so let yourself in.Don’t go back to your apartment with Eric there.”

“All right,” Taylor said, climbing out of her best friend’s convertible.“Hopefully he won’t wake up until morning.The last thing I need is him coming over to Anchors looking for me.”

“Wait—he’s done that?”Bailey asked in surprise.

“Just once,” Taylor said.“And I told him I was working.He hasn’t been back yet, but there’s no telling when he’ll change his mind.”

A couple pushed open the doors to Anchors, and Taylor watched them, thinking the guy in aviators looked like one of Mason’s friends.They all kind of blended together sometimes with their buzz cuts, muscles, and bravado—that, and the fact that she usually kept her focus on Mason.

She’d barely noticed the others enough to tell them apart.

The guy in aviators nodded, his gaze locking a moment on Bailey, still seated in the convertible.

“Looks like you’ve got an admirer,” Taylor teased as she shut the passenger door.

“He’s with another woman,” Bailey said with a laugh, watching them walk down the block toward the ocean.“He’s a hottie though.I’d do him.”

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