Page 19 of SEAL's Paradise
And Sawyer had big plans of his own.
After dropping his duffle bag onto the bench, he spun the combination lock and opened his locker, methodically grabbing his other gear.He glanced to the side, noting that Wyatt was already gathering his own supplies.“Wildcard, I need the name of your jeweler.”
Silence descended in the locker room, each of his teammate’s heads swiveling his way.
“Come again?”Wyatt asked, shooting him a confused look.
“Your jeweler,” Sawyer repeated slowly, trying not to smile.“Didn’t you have a ring made for Callie when you proposed?I need to get in on that.Maybe something simpler, though, already in a display case.”
“Holy shit,” Hudson muttered, his jaw dropping.
Sawyer eyed him with a smirk then glanced back at his team leader.“I’ve seen the light when it comes to Riley.Maybe I was struck by lightning or something,” he joked.“Don’t you fellas always say, ‘when you know, you know’?I need a ring for my fiancée,” Sawyer clarified.
The locker room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.Then everyone started moving at once.
Aaron “Anchor” Nielsen stalked over to Sawyer, frowning.“Did you get hit in the head this morning?Fall out of bed or something?”
“Negative, my friend,” Sawyer said with a grin.
“What the fuck?”Hudson asked, moving beside Aaron to stare at Sawyer.“You’re shitting us.You barely banged the chick and now you think you need to marry her?Even I can’t knock up a woman that fast.”
Sawyer snorted.“Nice touch, buddy.And no, much to my dismay, I didn’t sleep with her yet—not that it’s any of your business.”
“Since when don’t you kiss and tell?”Hudson joked.
“Since now,” Sawyer said firmly.
Wyatt frowned, studying him.“So what’s your angle then?You haven’t slept with her.You’ve been on exactly one date, after she called you for help this weekend.She’s a single mom who needs your military benefits?That’s nice of you, Saint, but I have to say—”
“Wrong, wrong, and wrong again,” Sawyer said, pointing to each of them.“All of your speculations are way off, although Wyatt’s story is no doubt what most people will assume.”
“So, what’s the deal then?”Ryan asked, crossing his arms.“There’s no way in hell you’d marry a woman for no reason.You do realize you can’t date other women once you tie the knot, right?”
“Ha ha,” Sawyer said sarcastically.“Riley isn’t a waitress,” he added in a low voice, meeting the eyes of each of his teammates.“And she doesn’t have a child.She’s working undercover while here in Honolulu.The gig at Coconuts is just a cover.”
His teammates were silent for a beat, and then everyone was talking again.
“Undercover?”
“Whoa—hold up.Her working undercover, if it’s true, doesn’t mean you need to marry the girl.”
“Why the hell would you agree to this?”Aaron asked with a frown.
Sawyer shot him a pointed look.“Agree to it?You’ve got this wrong, Anchor.The wedding was my idea.”
Austin “Storm” Eckhart walked into the locker room just then, catching the tail end of the conversation.“What wedding?”he asked in confusion.
Sawyer smiled.“I’m getting married.”
***
“YOU’RE CRAZY,” HUDSONsaid twenty minutes later as the team walked outside for the day’s training.“Even if Riley is telling the truth—married?She could fight you like hell when you eventually get divorced.Demand your benefits.Turn it into some long, messy, drawn-out battle.”
“Nah.We have a mutual agreement.”
“So they all say,” Hudson muttered.“There’s no telling the woman won’t go batshit crazy and try to take you for all you’re worth.”
Sawyer frowned, eyeing his buddy.He wasn’t loaded by any stretch of the imagination, but he was comfortable.The team got hazard duty pay for all their missions, and he lived below his means.Sawyer was content spending his free time on the beach, not tossing his money around buying shit he didn’t need.A night out at the bar was easily the most he spent on his regular weekly activities, and that hardly counted.A couple of beers was nothing.
