Page 6 of Fake Dating the SEAL
“How about you?” She shifted her attention from the beach ahead and glanced at him. “Plan to buy a house some day, or already own one?”
“I actually do own a small house. In California. I fell into a sweet deal when I was stationed there, then when I moved on, I decided to keep it. I mostly rent it to other military personnel. So far it’s worked out well.”
“So you plan to settle down some day in California?”
“Not some day. In a few months I’ll be free to settle anywhere I want, I just don’t think it’s California.”
“Where do you want to go?”
That was the same question he’d been asking himself since he put in his retirement papers. He’d been in the military moving from place to place for so long, he was ready for a home. That much he was sure of. The only thing close to family he had were the Everretts, but that didn’t mean settling here was the answer. California was a nice house, but not a home. So he was still circling the same question. “I’m not sure.”
Silent, they walked a bit further, taking in the sound of the waves rolling ashore and the gentle breeze on their faces.
“Is there a man in your life?” He couldn’t believe he’d just asked that. It was none of his business, but curiosity had gotten the best of him.
“You mean a boyfriend?” She shook her head before he could answer. “I’ve been on a few dates here and there since Vinny, but nothing serious. You might say once burned, twice shy. I suppose eventually I’ll be ready to find someone. I just wish everyone would stop feeling sorry for me.”
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Oh,” she stopped to face him, her eyes wide, “I really meant my mother and Maile.”
“Billy’s mom?”
She nodded, and looking straight ahead again, continued walking.
“What do they do?”
“You mean besides try to match me up with every and any eligible bachelor on the island?”
His mind ran through all his visits to the island. A vague memory tickled the back of his thoughts. “Didn’t they set you up once with Doug?”
“They tried.”
He squinted, turning his mind back in time. “And John Maplewood?”
Her head bobbed. “Yeah, they tried that too. And now even Emily is getting in on the ‘poor Sara’ mindset.”
Kenny studied her profile in the moonlight. Red hair catching the silver light, intelligent eyes, easy laugh, and the kind of straightforward personality that made conversation effortless. “I don’t understand. Why poor Sara? You’re smart, have a good sense of humor, and are a total knockout.”
Looking at him, surprise flickering across her face. “Thank you. That’s… actually really nice to hear.”
“It’s the truth.” He shrugged. “Their matchmaking efforts seem like a solution in search of a problem.”
“Well. Regardless.” Sara stopped walking and turned to face him. “I love Mom, and Maile’s been like a second mother to me, but sometimes I feel smothered by their efforts. Especially this time of year.”
“Why this time of year?”
She shrugged and returned to walking. “I think around the holidays, they think that everyone should have someone to kiss under the mistletoe.”
“Well, it is nice not to be standing alone on New Year’s Eve watching all the happy couples ringing in the New Year with their lips locked while you fold yourself into a corner.”
Her face tipped up at him. “At least you weren’t forced to go to that party with someone your mother picked for you.”
Now he laughed. “No. And for the record, I don’t go to many New Year’s Eve parties. Most of the time I’ve been deployed somewhere. Heck, half the time I didn’t even realize it was New Year’s Eve.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why? I don’t regret my twenty years of service. I made a choice. I married the Navy. It wouldn’t have been fair to leave a wife behind to worry about me three hundred days a year or more. Or to be home alone on New Year’s Eve watching the ball drop, wishing she had someone to kiss under the mistletoe.”
