Page 19 of Guarded By the SEAL
“This is classic TV, you know. One of the best game shows ever made.”
He leaned his head back, his bark of laughter downright mocking. “What aboutJeopardy?Twenty-Thousand Dollar Pyramid?Password?”
“Pfft. Garbage.”
He shook his head and plopped on the bed beside her, gesturing to the screen. “It’s a series of bad setups for whoopee jokes.”
“That’s not true. A lot of the questions really show how well they know each other.”
“He’s about to read a question. Let’s see who’s right.”
“How much will your wife say she weighed when you first got married, and how much will she say she weighs now?”
The audience rolled with laughter, and Teslyn clucked her tongue. “That question is awful. They’re encouraging women to have a negative body image.”
“You’re the one who wanted to watch this show.”
She crossed her arms on her chest.
“On average, how many times a month does your wife give your house or apartment a really good cleaning?”
Wyatt laughed. “I take it back,” he said. “This show is awesome.”
Teslyn stood and marched to the TV, turning it off. “It was much funnier when I was young.”
“When did you even see it? That game show’s older than I am.”
She pursed her lips, considering her answer and settling for a half-truth. “I had a TV in my room when I was a kid. I’d watch it when I couldn’t sleep.” He didn’t need to know she was usually home alone at the time, scared out of her mind and wondering when her mother would return. Shows like that had kept her company, with husbands and wives who seemed happy. They could laugh at themselves. They didn’t yell at each other or break down into tears.
He harrumphed. “And that’s why children shouldn’t have televisions in their bedrooms, not to mention it spoils them rotten.”
That got her back up. She’d already told him her childhood was far from perfect. How dare he call her spoiled, of all things? “Is that what you think of me? That I was a spoiled brat? What part of, ‘we were the poorest family in town’ did you not understand?”
He held up a hand. “I was making a generalization. I wasn’t attacking you personally, though my family certainly couldn’t afford TVs in all the bedrooms.”
His stubborn refusal to see her childhood as she’d described it was her undoing. “That TV was Marilyn’s one and only childcare expense. She left me alone in that trailer all the time—sometimes even overnight. This is when I was little, like Ivy’s age.” She should stop, she knew she should, but she wanted him to eat those words and see what they’d cost her. “That TV was everything. My nightlight, my vision of what a mother should act like, what it meant to have a dad. TV taught me what lifeshouldbe like.”
His expression sobered. “I’m sorry, Tess. I didn’t—I wasn’t thinking.”
Sighing heavily, she turned to the bed, pulling back the covers before closing her eyes. She was overreacting and she knew it. “I’m sorry, Wyatt. Having Ivy here… brings me back.”
He stroked her back, startling her and making her jerk away.
“God, I’m making it worse,” he grumbled. “I’m like a bull in a china shop. Forgive me. I know you didn’t have the kind of upbringing I did, and I shouldn’t have called you spoiled for having a TV in your bedroom.”
She found herself wishing he’d touch her again, but didn’t have a clue how to make that happen or why she wanted it. She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I tried to make you feel bad for doing it.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You did that on purpose?”
She smirked. “Maybe, but you deserved it.”
He smiled, the simple change transforming his cold features. “Well, it worked. Have you ever considered using your powers for good instead of evil?”
Heat blossomed in her cheeks as they stared at each other. Had a man as good-looking as this one ever looked at her as he was doing now? She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, unable to keep herself from flirting. “Not really.”
His bark of laughter warmed her all over, but the distant sound of sobbing interrupted her reverie. She scooted by him and headed for the bathroom door. She knocked gently. “Ivy? Are you okay in there?”
The girl’s cries grew louder. “I want my mommy.”
